THE WEST WING “GALILEO” WRITTEN BY: KEVIN FALLS & AARON SORKIN DIRECTED BY: ALEX GRAVES TEASER FADE IN: EXT. THE WHITE HOUSE COLONNADE - DAY Bartlet and C.J., along with other aides behind them are walking down the colonnade. BARTLET Galileo V. C.J. Yes, sir. BARTLET Just the name... C.J. Galileo V! BARTLET You can feel the adventure. C.J. Yes, indeed. BARTLET NASA's great at naming things. C.J. They are. BARTLET Mercury, Apollo, Atlantis, the Sea of Tranquility, the Ocean of Storms... C.J. Good names! BARTLET First time I heard ‘Galileo V,’ the way the imagination immediately... It reminded me of the way folks in my generation felt when we heard "Yellow Submarine." C.J. Okay. BARTLET We really did all want to live in a yellow submarine. C.J. I can't believe they gave you people drivers' licenses. BARTLET Tell me where we're going again. C.J. Mars briefing rehearsal. BARTLET Why? C.J. To rehearse. BARTLET Say the name. C.J. I said the name. BARTLET Say it again. Your imagination, like a child, will explode with unrestrained possibilities for adventure. C.J. [with gusto] Galileo V! BARTLET You didn't say it right. C.J. I said it fine! BARTLET Say it again. CUT TO: INT. MARS BRIEFING REHEARSAL - DAY The TelePrompTer shows the name “Galileo” on it and Sam's head pops up. The crewmembers of the NASA Public Affairs are around the place. SAM Who wrote this intro? SCOTT TATE I did. SAM You're from NASA Public Affairs? TATE Yep. SAM You mind if I give it a polish? TATE Is there a problem? SAM No, it's great. You mind if I change it? TATE I'd prefer if you didn't. SAM Just the same... TATE The Public Affairs has cleared the text. If it's gonna be changed, I'd prefer that the President change it. SAM See, that's kind of what he pays me to do, so... TATE Look, I don't want to step on your toes. You don't want to step on mine. We're both writers. SAM Yes, I suppose, if you broaden the definition to those who can’t spell. TATE Excuse me? Bartlet walks in with C.J. BARTLET Good morning! EVERYONE Good morning, Mr. President. C.J. Sir, this is the crew from NASA Public Affairs. BARTLET How you doing? C.J. Sir, we're going to run you through the drill for tomorrow morning. First of all, you'll be flanked on either side by the Flight Operations Manager David Narakawa and NASA Chief Administrator Dr. Peter Jobson. On either side of them will be Dr. Samuel Thurman of the Meteorite Analysis team from the Johnson Space Center, and Dr. Joyce Grey-Sutton, Planetary Geologist from Cal State Northridge. On these monitors you'll be seeing the images beamed back from the surface and on this computer screen you'll be able to read the questions being sent in by the kids. I strongly urge you... BARTLET Yes. C.J. I strongly urge you... BARTLET I know. C.J. I strongly urge you, Mr. President, to act as moderator and pass the questions of to one of the experts on the panel rather than answer it yourself. BARTLET Yes. C.J. Would you like to see some of the questions? BARTLET We have questions in advance? C.J. Some of them. Would you put them on? CREWMEMBER [OS] Sure. Bartlet sits on one of the chairs in the front and reads from the computer monitor. BARTLET Katie, sixth grade, Green Oaks Junior High School, Austin, Texas, asks, "How old is the planet Mars?" That's a great question, Katie. The planet Mars is 4.6 billion years old. C.J. What did I just say? BARTLET I knew that one. C.J. Nobody likes a know-it-all! BARTLET Yes, God forbid, that while talking to 60,000 public school students, the President should appear smart! C.J. That's fine. Just don't show off. BARTLET I don't show off. [reads again] Stevie, fourth grader, PS 31, Manhattan, asks, "What is the temperature on Mars?" Well, Stevie, if one of our expert panelists were here, they would tell you the average temperature ranges from 15 degrees to minus 140. C.J. [looking through her papers] That happens to be wrong. It ranges from 60 to minus 225. BARTLET I converted it to Celsius in my head. C.J. Thank you. BARTLET Can I see the intro? SAM It's up on the Prompter. BARTLET [reads] "Good morning! I'm speaking to you live from the West Wing of the White House. Today we have a very unique opportunity to take part live in an extremely historic event which..." Whoa, boy... SAM [waves and smiles] How you doing, Mr. President? BARTLET Who wrote this intro? TATE I did, sir. I'm Scott Tate from NASA Public Affairs. BARTLET [gets up and shakes his hand] Scott. "Unique" means "one of a kind." Something can't be very unique, nor can it be extremely historic. C.J. While we're at it, do we have to use the word "live" twice in the first two sentences like we just cracked the technology? TATE Look... C.J. We're also broadcasting in living color, right? BARTLET Sam? SAM Yeah. BARTLET [to Tate] He's gonna make some changes. TATE [following Sam] You're going to clear them with me? SAM I doubt it. [to a recording staffer] Write this: "Good morning. Eleven months ago a 1200 pound spacecraft blasted off from Cape Canaveral, Florida. Eighteen hours ago..." Is it eighteen hours ago? We're on the air at noon eastern. C.J. Yeah. SAM "Eighteen hours ago it landed on the planet Mars. You, me, and 60,000 of your fellow students across the country along with astroscientists and engineers from the Jet Propulsion Lab in Southern California, NASA Houston, and right here, at the White House, are going to be the first to see what it sees, and to chronicle an extraordinary voyage of an unmanned ship called Galileo V." BARTLET [taps C.J. on the arm] He said it right. C.J. nods. SMASH CUT TO: MAIN TITLES. END TEASER * * * ACT ONE FADE IN: INT. THE WHITE HOUSE MESS - DAY We see busy chefs in the kitchen of White House Mess as the camera pans to Josh and Toby sitting at a table. JOSH I don't understand how if it's noon in the East, and 9 Pacific, how it's 2:37 on Mars. TOBY [while reading a newspaper] Well, Mars is a different time zone. JOSH Yeah, it's the 37 minutes I was... TOBY Mars rotates on it's own axis every 24 hours and 37 minutes. JOSH Ah. TOBY Have you seen this morning's news report? JOSH Yes. TOBY About green beans? JOSH I didn't... see anything about the green beans. [picks up coffee cup and drinks] TOBY The Milwaukee Journal is quoting an unnamed White House source as saying the President doesn't like green beans. [looks up] JOSH That's a pretty slow news day in Milwaukee. TOBY Josh... JOSH It's not gonna be picked up by... LEO [entering] Josh! You guys done? JOSH Yeah. LEO Walk me out. Josh and Toby get up and follow Leo. JOSH Oh Leo, ask me how long a Martian day is. LEO No, I don't think I will. Toby, do you know how a stamp is chosen? TOBY A stamp? LEO Yeah. TOBY No. The three walk out of mess. LEO You're gonna learn. TOBY Why? LEO The Postmaster General needs your help. TOBY Why?! LEO The Citizen's Stamp Advisory Committee has... JOSH There's a Citizen's Stamp Advisory Committee? LEO Yes. JOSH Made up of members of the There-But-For-The-Grace-of-God-go-I Club? LEO You want to mock people or let me talk to Toby? JOSH I want to mock people. LEO The Citizen's Stamp Advisory Committee has recommended to the Postmaster General that Marcus Aquino be put on the next stamp issue. TOBY You know who he is? JOSH No. LEO He's a former Resident Commissioner of Puerto Rico and a Korean War hero. TOBY Then what's the problem? JOSH He advocated statehood, right? LEO Strongly advocated it. TOBY Give it to somebody else! LEO No. TOBY Please? LEO This is a public face thing, and the Postmaster General wants your help! TOBY Well he can wait on a line around the block! Even while I have two of my 20 teller windows are open! LEO Make a recommendation by the end of the day. TOBY Yeah. They stop walking. LEO [to Josh] What are you smiling at? JOSH Nothing, I just... Toby got the stamp assignment. [chuckles] TOBY Leo, I might need some help. LEO Take Josh. [goes into an office] TOBY Thanks. [to Josh] Congratulations, you're choosing the next stamp. [leaves Josh alone] JOSH Wow, that happened fast. CUT TO: INT. C.J.’S OFFICE - DAY C.J. comes out of her office to Carol’s desk. C.J. 687 days. CAROL Yeah! C.J. goes back in her office as Toby enters. TOBY Hey, Carol. CAROL Hey, Toby. C.J. [comes out of her office again] A Martian year is 687 days. TOBY Yes. [clears throat] Did you see this morning's news report? C.J. I'm boning up on my Mars. [Both enter her office.] TOBY C.J.? C.J. [walks over to desk and sits] He thinks he's so smart just because, you know, he's so smart. TOBY Did you see this morning's...? C.J. Of course I saw the news report! I highlighted your copy! TOBY You didn't highlight the green bean story! C.J. No, I thought it was best just to alert Justice Department Officials. TOBY [quoting] "An unnamed White House source..." C.J. I read the story. I just didn't highlight it. TOBY You don't think this is gonna get picked up? C.J. No. TOBY Why not? C.J. It is absolutely not a story! TOBY Come see me in three hours. C.J. It's not a story! TOBY See me in three hours. C.J. How many moons does Mars have? TOBY Two. Phobos and Deimos, the two horses that pulled his chariot. C.J. Get out! [gets up] TOBY [leaving] Three hours! C.J. [calls] Carol! CAROL Yeah? TOBY She wants information on green beans. C.J. [walking out of office] You have work to do? TOBY I'm picking a stamp! C.J. Nobody likes people who know everything! TOBY So I've discovered in my life! C.J. [whispers to Carol] Get me information on green beans. CUT TO: INT. THE WHITE HOUSE COLONNADE - DAY Bartlet and Charlie are walking along. CHARLIE Most of the afternoon's blocked off for budget meetings. Three O'clock is HUD, 3:30 is Health and Human Services, Four, interior and 4:30 Agriculture. They enter the OUTER OVAL OFFICE. MRS. LANDINGHAM Good Afternoon Mr. President. BARTLET Yeah. What else? They finally reach THE OVAL OFFICE. CHARLIE Five is a reception for the U.A.W., and then you've got phone calls from 5:30 to 6:30. BARTLET Okay, but then, let's bring the curtain down. I got a great night planned. I got two books on Mars and one on Galileo himself. I'm gonna go to the Residence and read. CHARLIE Sir... BARTLET [calls] Mrs. Landingham! [approaches Mrs. Landingham’s desk] MRS. LANDINGHAM Yes, sir? BARTLET Nothing after 6:30. I'm gonna go to the Residence and read about Mars, which while colder and drier, has four Earth-like seasons. MRS. LANDINGHAM No sir. BARTLET It does! MRS. LANDINGHAM I'm sure you're right. But I'm saying no, you won't be reading tonight. You're attending a concert at the Kennedy Center. BARTLET Since when? MRS. LANDINGHAM Mr. McGarry's office put it on your schedule. BARTLET Get me Leo! He walks back into THE OVAL OFFICE. CHARLIE I was about to tell you. Apparently, it's important that you go. BARTLET To a concert? CHARLIE Yes sir. BARTLET Did Buddy Holly come back? CHARLIE It's the Reykjavik Symphony Orchestra. BARTLET The Reykjavik Symphony Orchestra? CHARLIE Yes sir. BARTLET [yelling] Leo! CHARLIE It's in Iceland. BARTLET I know where Reykjavik is, Charlie. I wish I was there right now. LEO [enters from his office] Yes, Mr. President? BARTLET The Reykjavik Symphony Orchestra? LEO I hear they're pretty good. BARTLET Why do I...? LEO Because you canceled yesterday's meeting with the Icelandic Ambassador. BARTLET I'm being punished. LEO No, sir. Iceland is considering defying the ban on whale hunting, imposed by the International Whaling Commission. They're in danger of joining Norway and Japan. There's a lucrative international demand for fresh Icelandic mink whale meat. BARTLET Is this a joke? LEO No sir. Needless to say both the State Department and the Fishery Subdivision of the Department of Agriculture feel that we shouldn't do anything to offend Iceland right now. BARTLET Which we did, by canceling the meeting yesterday. LEO Apparently. BARTLET So to make up for it, I'm going to see the Reykjavik Symphony. LEO Yes, sir. BARTLET With, uh, Ambassador... LEO Vigdis Olafsdottir. BARTLET Okay. Mrs. Landingham enters with papers for Bartlet and leaves. LEO He's very excited to meet you. BARTLET I'll give you a thousand dollars if you don't make me go. LEO Think of the whales. BARTLET Do they vote? CHARLIE Mr. President? BARTLET Yeah. CHARLIE Intelligence briefing. BARTLET Send them in. Three Intelligence officers enter. LEO This might be something. BARTLET Why? LEO There was an explosion in a Russian oil refinery. BARTLET Ah. JACK Good Afternoon Mr. President. BARTLET Hey, Jack. Charlie. CHARLIE Yes sir. BARTLET Gentlemen, please. Charlie leaves as everyone sits. BARTLET There was an explosion? JACK Well, INTARTASS is reporting that there is a fire burning in an oil refinery in Kozelsk. LEO It's in the Oblast region? JACK Yeah. BARTLET What's the problem Jack? INTELLIGENCE OFFICER 1 There is no oil refinery in Kozelsk. LEO Oh man. INTELLIGENCE OFFICER 2 The closest oil refinery is about twenty kilometers southeast. BARTLET It's not a refinery fire? LEO It's a missile silo. BARTLET There was an explosion in a missile silo? JACK We can't confirm that at this point, but the Russians have twenty SS19's in the quadrant and Keyhole has pictures of a column of smoke, emergency personnel on the ground, but no burning structure. Certainly no oil refinery. BARTLET If a missile exploded, is it possible it was armed? Was there a warhead? JACK We can put together a briefing for you in an hour. LEO Half hour, Jack. Jack looks at one of the other officers, then nods at Leo. BARTLET Thank you. JACK Thank you, sir. The Intelligence officers exit. BARTLET Did they really think we weren't gonna see it, Leo? LEO It's a cold war mentality. BARTLET If they asked, we could help. LEO I wouldn't wait for the phone to ring. BARTLET Yeah. Yeah. Galileo Galilei. He sat in a cathedral in Pisa. He watched a lamp suspended from the ceiling as it oscillated back and forth. He used his pulse to keep time and discovered that the period of oscillation was independent of the size of the arc. A few years later he contradicted the theory that a heavier body falls faster than a lighter one. Which took some guts back in 1609, when you consider that the theory he was contradicting was Aristotle's. LEO You want a broader theme for the classroom? BARTLET [calls] Charlie! [to Leo] I really do. Have Sam and C.J. come along tonight. LEO I'll be in my office. BARTLET Thanks. Leo goes to his office as Charlie enters. CHARLIE Yes sir? BARTLET He contradicted Aristotle, Charlie. Mrs. Landingham enters with papers for Bartlet to sign. CHARLIE And saw the rings on Saturn. BARTLET Yes, he did. CHARLIE Did you need something, sir? BARTLET Yes. What's next? CHARLIE Deputy Secretary... Mrs. Landingham leaves the Oval Office, shutting the door. FADE OUT. END ACT ONE * * * ACT TWO FADE IN: INT. JOSH’S OFFICE - DAY Donna is going over the stamp assignment with Josh, who is staring into space. DONNA [reading] “The process by which a stamp enters into circulation begins with the American people.” JOSH What? DONNA Are you even listening? JOSH No. DONNA Do you want to do this or not? JOSH I don’t. DONNA I did index cards. JOSH How many? DONNA 87. JOSH Reduce it to 3. DONNA Philately’s fun, Josh. JOSH I’m sorry. What’s fun? DONNA Philately -- stamp collecting. JOSH Careful how you say that cause... DONNA Can we work? JOSH Tell me what you know. DONNA [reading] The process by which a stamp enters circulation begins with the American Public... JOSH Well, that’s always our first mistake. DONNA “About 50,000 proposals a year are submitted to the Citizens Stamp Advisory Committee, the acronym for which is...” JOSH Dork squad? DONNA “C-SAC. The committee then makes a recommendation to the postmaster general -- in this case, Marcus Aquino. He won the Silver Star for Service in Korea. There are numerous instances listed here of lifesaving valor and actions well above and beyond the call of duty. As Puerto Rico’s resident commissioner, he served Congress faithfully and well.” Let’s put him on a stamp. JOSH Let’s put you on a stamp. DONNA Okay. JOSH Let’s talk about the problem. CUT TO: INT. TOBY’S OFFICE - DAY C.J. is hovering outside Toby’s office. She then walks in with a fake smile on her face. C.J. Toby. TOBY [turns and looks at his clock] Two hours and 20 minutes. C.J. Yes. Let me say first that you were right and I was wrong. TOBY And the odds makers take a beating. C.J. When I said before no one was going to pick it up? TOBY Yes? C.J. Everybody’s picked it up. TOBY Yes. C.J. And when I said that even if they did, it wouldn’t be a big deal? TOBY Yes? C.J. Turns out, it’s a bit of a deal. TOBY Yes. C.J. You know where? TOBY In Oregon? C.J. In Oregon. You know why? TOBY Because they’re a major producer of green beans? C.J. They’re a huge producer, Toby. Green beans, or snap beans, represent a significant percentage of Oregon’s annual revenue. But here’s the thing... [starts to sit] TOBY There’s an electoral problem? C.J. [standing back up] There’s an electoral problem. We won Oregon by less than 10,000 votes and we’re going to need them. TOBY [smiles knowingly] Yeah. C.J. Okay, well, I’m on it now. [turns to leave] TOBY Good. C.J. turns to face Toby at the door of his office. C.J. So, you know what? It took me two hours and 20 minutes longer to figure it out than it took you. That doesn’t make you smarter than me. TOBY Of course not. C.J. Thank you. [starts to walk out again] TOBY My S.A.T. scores, on the other hand... C.J. [looks at him] I’ve got to go start spinning the green bean problem. TOBY Knock ’em dead. C.J. walks out into the COMMUNICATIONS OFFICE and runs into Leo. LEO C.J. C.J. I had fine S.A.T. scores. The two starts to walk out to the HALLWAY. LEO The President wants you to go with him tonight to the Kennedy Center. C.J. Why? LEO He wants to discuss a theme for the closed-circuit classroom tomorrow morning. C.J. [puzzled] A theme? LEO Yeah. C.J. We’re landing a probe on Mars. LEO Yeah. C.J. That’s the theme. LEO He wants to discuss a broader theme. And he wants Sam there too. C.J. Who else? LEO That’s it. Oh and Mallory’s going. You, Sam, Mallory, the President and an Icelandic delegation. C.J. [stops walking near her office] Hang on. LEO What? C.J. I can’t go. LEO Why not? C.J. There’ll be State Department people there. LEO Yeah? C.J. I just added a new deputy. Most of the people I interviewed were from State. The Kennedy Center is going to be packed to the Potomac with people I just rejected. LEO So is the bar at the Four Seasons. What do I...? C.J. Leo! LEO Be there. Tell Sam. C.J. [yells down the hall] Carol! CAROL Yeah? C.J. Would you have somebody go to my apartment and pick up my blue Armani? CAROL Yeah. C.J. And a pair of shoes. CAROL Yeah. Sam walks by, and C.J. runs after him. C.J. Sam? SAM Yeah. C.J. The President wants us to go to the Kennedy Center concert tonight so we can discuss broader themes for the televised classroom. SAM Great! C.J. Great? SAM It should be about more than rocks and average rainfall. C.J. Oh God, does it rain on Mars? SAM No, but I’m saying.... C.J. The White House should develop a broader theme. SAM [smiling] That’s right and I think it’s incredible the President’s asked the two of us. It’s a privilege and we should attack with energy due the moment. C.J. Mallory’s going to be there. SAM [looks alarmed] I can’t go. C.J. [mocking him] God, Sam, I would think that faced with the privilege of attacking with energy due the moment... SAM Screw the moment. I can’t go. C.J. Well, I’m afraid -- as we used to say in my hometown -- that’s just hard cheese. SAM That’s a real Algonquin Round Table you grew up with, C.J. C.J. Hey, that is like the fourth time I’ve been called dumb today. SAM [stops walking] I never called her after the picture... [pause] ...of me and Laurie in the newspaper. I never called her and she never called me. C.J. You haven’t spoken to her since the picture? SAM No. C.J. What about the shooting? You didn’t see her at the hospital? SAM No. I mean, I did, but no. She started seeing someone else. C.J. Sam, didn’t I tell you not to get a crush on the boss’ daughter? [starts walking again] SAM Yeah. Don’t you have a vegetable crisis to fix or something? C.J. Yes. SAM Okay. CUT TO: INT. THE SITUATION ROOM - DAY Bartlet, Leo, the Joint Chiefs, and other officers are already inside. OFFICER The warhead didn’t detonate. The SS-19s had just been downloaded. LEO But you’re ready to confirm... OFFICER An SS-19 Stiletto Intercontinental Ballistic Missile blew up in its silo? Yes. BARTLET What do you think happened? OFFICER Mr. President, every morning at your intelligence briefing 7 days a week you’re told about the troubling state of the Russian military. I think you just saw evidence of it. LEO You think somebody screwed up? OFFICER I think either somebody screwed up or a computer did. You wanna know the truth? I think an early warning ballistic missile system and the troops running it mistakenly detected a bogey from a flock of Norwegian geese. An aide hands Bartlet a note. BARTLET Where are we with the Russian ambassador? FEMALE OFFICER She’s still claiming it’s an oil refinery fire. BARTLET Leo, I want you to see her as soon as she can get here. Thank you everybody. AIDES AND OFFICERS Thank you, Mr. President. They rise to leave as Bartlet reads the note. He looks up at Leo. BARTLET Leo? He hands the note to Leo, who reads it. LEO [to another military officer] Mike? MIKE Yeah? LEO Can you have the President’s NASA Advisor come over? MIKE Yeah, can I tell him why? BARTLET We lost the signal from Galileo. We then close up on the wall computer screen with several messages of the Galileo V communications failure. FADE OUT. END ACT TWO * * * ACT THREE FADE IN: INT. JOSH’S BULLPEN AREA - NIGHT Donna and Josh are still on the stamp assignment. DONNA [irritated] It’s a stamp! JOSH Yes, but we have to remain neutral. DONNA [louder] It’s a stamp! JOSH I understand that it’s a stamp but I’m saying when it comes to statehood for Puerto Rico, the United States has to remain neutral. DONNA Puerto Rico’s in the United States. JOSH Once again, thanks for that review of fifth grade social studies. But I meant the federal government must remain neutral. DONNA Puerto Rico is in the federal government. JOSH No, it’s not. DONNA They send a resident commissioner to Congress. JOSH Who can’t vote. But that’s beside the point. DONNA What is the point? JOSH [walks to the copy machine] Aquino was strongly in favor of statehood. To put his face on a stamp would be promoting his beliefs. We can’t do that. DONNA Because we have to remain neutral? JOSH Yes. DONNA That’s idiotic. JOSH Oh, like it’s the first time. DONNA He voiced an opinion so he can’t be on a stamp? JOSH [sighs] Donna. He turns to walk down the hall. Donna follows him. DONNA Sides have been taken: former Presidents, the Speaker, Minority Leader. They all said that statehood is in the long-term interest of Puerto Rico and that, as it stands, 3.8 million American citizens have been relegated to second-class status! That’s more people than Mississippi! Josh has poured himself a cup of coffee and stirs it. JOSH Mississippi’s never minded being relegated to second-class status. DONNA Oh you’re going to make your little bigoted Mississippi jokes? JOSH Yes, I am. [walks] DONNA Isn’t anyone worried that if they’re not given statehood, they’re going to want independence? JOSH Exactly no one is worried about that. You know why? [stops] Because Puerto Rico is absolutely dependent on U.S. manufacturing, which contributes 40 percent to the GDP and accounts for 24 percent of their workforce. DONNA I don’t care! People don’t sit still for tyranny! JOSH How’s it tyranny? DONNA Puerto Ricans have to register to be drafted into the armed forces, yet they’re not allowed to vote for President. They’re expected to die for a Commander-in-Chief they had no voice in electing? JOSH Donna... DONNA We have colonized Puerto Rico and they will rise up against us. JOSH I think we can take ‘em. [walks away] DONNA That’s what we said about the British. JOSH [turns to look at her] We took the British. DONNA You know what I’m saying. JOSH Hardly ever. Toby strides down the hall quickly toward Josh. TOBY Josh... JOSH What’s going on? TOBY They know it entered the Martian atmosphere at 3:01 p.m. Eastern, which it was supposed to do. He follows Josh to the copy machine and to JOSH’S OFFICE. TOBY They know it was on course traveling at a rate of 15,400 miles per hour, which it was supposed to. Somewhere during its descent it was also supposed to release two probes -- each about the size of a basketball -- firing them deep into the ground as part of the mission’s search for evidence of water under surface. JOSH We think if we hit the ground hard enough, we can make it to the center of the planet and find water? TOBY Yeah. JOSH That’s not a theory of physics pretty much disproved by Wile E. Coyote? TOBY The probes were supposed to send a signal back to Earth through the Global Surveyor Orbiter. JOSH And we haven’t gotten the signal? TOBY The last the flight controllers heard from Galileo was 11 minutes before landing, when all systems were operating normally. Then it entered what they call a communications blackout period and it hasn’t been heard from since. [beat] I know how it feels. JOSH What are they trying? TOBY They’re... uh... trying the things they try. I’m going to give it an hour and then tell Leo we got to cancel the classroom. DONNA [from the other room] Josh! JOSH Yeah? DONNA The stamp? JOSH [to Toby] You were supposed to do this, you know. TOBY I delegated. JOSH Yeah. Toby comes out of Josh’s office. He walks down the HALLWAY and sees C.J. coming out of her office wearing her blue Armani evening gown. TOBY C.J.? C.J. I’m late. TOBY Where are you going? C.J. I have to go to the Kennedy Center to be with people who don’t like me. TOBY You can do that right here. Sam walks by wearing a tuxedo. C.J. and Toby follow. SAM Sorry. C.J. We’re late. TOBY [to Sam] You’re going too? C.J. The President wants to discuss broader themes for the classroom. TOBY I don’t think there’s going to be a classroom. C.J. The President’s holding out hope. SAM In the meantime, Mallory’s going to be there with her boyfriend. And it’s going to be weird because we haven’t spoken to one another since the picture, which was wrong, I know. But I’m not even sure there was an implied obligation to do that. C.J. stops to talk to Carol. Toby and Sam continue walking. SAM [cont.] Please, let’s remember, it’s not like we were dating. It was a flirtation. We had one date. The rest were all with groups of people and... Sam stops and Toby does too. SAM [cont.] I don’t know, I don’t even know what dating is anymore. TOBY Well, that’s 20 seconds of my life I’m never going to get back. C.J. catches up to them and takes Sam’s hand, pulling him with her. C.J. Let’s go. Toby watches them go as we stop by LEO’S OFFICE. Margaret is standing in front of the Russian Ambassador, NADIA KOZLOWSKI who is sitting on a chair. MARGARET Mr. McGarry will be here in a moment. NADIA KOZLOWSKI Yes. MARGARET Yes. Are you sure I can’t get you anything? NADIA No, thank you. MARGARET [pauses and then nods] I’ll be waiting outside then. If you need anything, please don’t hesitate to shout my name, which is Margaret. [holds her hand to her chest] NADIA Yes. Margaret walks into her office and sees Leo entering. MARGARET The Russian ambassador is here. LEO Thanks. MARGARET I left her alone cause I think I was freaking her out. LEO [dryly] It wouldn’t surprise me. He enters his office and greets his guest, who stands and smiles. LEO Madame Ambassador. NADIA Leo. LEO Thank you for coming. [shakes her hand] NADIA You look handsome, Leo. LEO [walks to his desk] Thank you. You look very nice. NADIA You get more handsome every year. And you’re having your suits handmade now. LEO Nadia, are you hitting on me? NADIA I was sorry to hear about your divorce. LEO [irritated] You have a fire in a missile silo. NADIA It is an oil refinery. Leo grabs a folder and holds it up as he walks toward her. LEO These are Keyhole satellite photographs. Would you point, please, to the oil refinery in these pictures? NADIA I’m not at liberty to comment on matters of national security. LEO Can you tell me how an oil refinery explosion would affect national security? NADIA This is really a matter to be taken up with the Foreign Minister. LEO No, I’m taking it up with the Russian Ambassador to the United States. Is your country ready to deny an explosion at Sego Silo 14-D? [pause] We know how to deal with these kinds of emergencies. We have guys who train for it all the time. Ask us for help. CUT TO: INT. THE PRESIDENT’S LIMOUSINE - NIGHT Bartlet and Charlie, in tuxedos, are riding inside. BARTLET Do you know what they’re playing? CHARLIE I’m sorry, sir? BARTLET The Reykjavik Symphony. Do we know what they’re playing and for how long they’re playing it? CHARLIE [looking at program] It says here “an evening of modern music.” BARTLET Turn the car around. CHARLIE [reading] “The orchestra features 90 pieces, including anvils and castanets.” BARTLET Turn the car around. CHARLIE Modern music is cool. BARTLET Modern music sucks. Anything written after 1860 sucks. CHARLIE [reading] “Samuel Barber, Symphony No. 2.” BARTLET Sucks. CHARLIE [reading] “Stravinsky, Variations on a Theme.” BARTLET Sucks. CHARLIE [reading] “Schoenberg, Enlightened Night for String Orchestra.” BARTLET Totally blows. CHARLIE [reading] “After intermission, they’ll be performing the world premiere of a piece...” BARTLET Played on teapots and gefilte fish. CHARLIE [reading] “...by a new Icelandic composer.” They told me he got so nervous when he heard you were coming that he was rewriting the piece until 6 o’clock. BARTLET If he wants more time, I’d be happy to take a rain check. CHARLIE I thought you liked classical music. BARTLET This is not classical music. It is not classical music if the guy finished writing it this afternoon. Charlie smiles. CUT TO: INT. THE KENNEDY CENTER LOADING DOCK - CONTINUOUS The limousine arrives at the Kennedy Center and goes underground to the loading dock. Secret Service Agents are everywhere, securing the area. Charlie gets out of the limousine and comes around to the President’s door. Bartlet gets out and walks up the ramp with Charlie and several Agents. He sees C.J. walking out into the loading area. BARTLET C.J.! C.J. Yes, sir. BARTLET A broader theme. C.J. Sam and I will be talking about it. She joins Bartlet and Charlie and walks back inside. BARTLET I don’t get that many opportunities to talk with kids. C.J. Sir, at some point, I’m going to have to pull the plug to give everyone enough notice. BARTLET Yeah, but let’s let 'em work for a while. C.J. Yes, sir. BARTLET Where’s Sam? C.J. Upstairs hiding from Mallory. The group gets inside freight elevator. BARTLET Why is he hiding from Mallory? C.J. Do you really want to know? BARTLET Not at all. C.J. I didn’t think so. The elevator rises. CUT TO: INT. THE KENNEDY CENTER - FRONT BALCONY - NIGHT Sam is leaning over the balcony near the box seats in the Kennedy Center. He is holding a flute of champagne in his hand. There are dozens of people walking, talking and drinking in the balcony area. FIRST MAN Hey, Sam. Sam smiles at him. SECOND MAN How you doing, Sam? SAM Pretty good. THIRD MAN Hey, Sam. SAM Benny. Sam turns and sips his champagne. A voice comes from behind him. MALLORY Hey, Sam. Sam turns quickly to look at Mallory. MALLORY How you doing? SAM I’m good. MALLORY Good. Sam looks around for a place to put his half-empty flute. He finally throws it in a garbage basket behind him. SAM And you? MALLORY Good. SAM Excellent. [pauses, then speaks quickly] Can I just say that I was the one who was in trouble? I was the one under siege. It was my picture in the paper. And, I don’t know why I need to call you and explain myself. MALLORY It was a picture of you and a call girl. SAM [flustered and defensive] Oh, like there aren’t any pictures of you and a call girl. MALLORY No, there aren’t any pictures of me and a call girl. SAM Well, that’s a crime. MALLORY You know, if you had just picked up the phone... SAM [interrupts] Yeah. Yeah. Who’s your boyfriend? MALLORY I don’t think... SAM What’s his name? MALLORY His name is Richard Andrewchuk. SAM There’s a hockey player named Richard Andrewchuk. MALLORY Well, unless there’s two of them... SAM You’re dating Richard Andrewchuk? MALLORY Yes and we’re having quite a lot of sex. SAM I think you’d almost have to. MALLORY What does that mean? SAM What do you and Richard Andrewchuk have to talk about? MALLORY He happens to be a terribly bright guy. SAM Well good, because he’s a really bad hockey player. MALLORY He’s had injury problems this season. SAM From falling down. MALLORY Look, I came over here to.... WOMAN Excuse me. The woman interrupts them, hands Sam a note and whispers to him. Sam reads the note and walks away without a word from Mallory. CUT TO: INT. KENNEDY CENTER - NIGHT In another section of the balcony, Bartlet is talking to two members of the Icelandic delegation. He is walking them towards the box area. BARTLET I took trombone lessons when I was a kid. Not much solo music written for the trombone, but I wanted to play in the marching band. They walk past Charlie and into the box reception area. BARTLET [cont.] The thing was my arms were too short to reach seventh position. One of his companions laughs. Sam arrives and stands near Charlie, waiting for Bartlet. BARTLET One afternoon, during the game, I gave it all I had and ended up throwing the slide into the end zone, which is more than I can say for our quarterback. They laugh again, and Bartlet notices Sam. BARTLET Would you excuse me just one moment? He walks out to Sam and they move away from the box area. BARTLET Galileo? SAM No, sir, the oil refinery. BARTLET Yeah, what? SAM You’re going to need a briefing from the Pentagon, sir. Bartlet shakes his head to indicate he doesn’t understand. SAM The explosion occurred while liquid nitrogen was being drained. BARTLET [pauses and sighs] Okay. [beat] What about Galileo? SAM They’re working on it. BARTLET Okay. SAM I’ll get a statement ready. BARTLET Yeah. [beat] Somebody was draining hydrogen? SAM Yeah. Charlie steps down to Sam and Bartlet. CHARLIE Mr. President? BARTLET Yeah? CHARLIE Your box is ready. BARTLET Thanks. He nods at Sam and walks into the box. The camera focuses on the Presidential seal over the doorway to the box. FADE OUT. END ACT THREE * * * ACT FOUR FADE IN: INT. KENNEDY CENTER - NIGHT C.J. comes out of Bartlet’s box, where a woman, phone in hand is waiting for her. C.J. passes the two agents standing outside and takes the phone from the woman. WOMAN Toby Ziegler. C.J. Thanks. WOMAN You’ll need to take this outside. C.J. Yeah. As C.J. passes by, Charlie, who was waiting outside, goes to follow her. CUT TO: INT. KENNEDY CENTER - FRONT STAIRS - CONTINUOUS C.J. goes down the red-carpeted flight of stairs, with Charlie following behind. CHARLIE C.J.? C.J. They said modern music. I thought they meant, you know, Jackson Browne. CHARLIE Jackson Browne is modern? C.J. He used to be. CHARLIE Yeah. Look... C.J. Yeah. CHARLIE Twice a year, the White House kitchen staff has writers come in from food magazines. C.J. Yeah. CHARLIE They were in last week, and I mentioned to one of them... C.J. Charlie... CHARLIE I said the President doesn’t like green beans. C.J. stops at her tracks and turns around. C.J. Why? CHARLIE ‘Cause he doesn’t. C.J. How did you say it? CHARLIE What do you mean? C.J. What question did they ask? CHARLIE Is there any food he particularly likes or dislikes? I said the President likes steaks. He likes lobster. He likes spaghetti. He likes ice cream. C.J. And? CHARLIE He doesn’t like green beans. C.J. Did you leave any wiggle room? CHARLIE Wiggle room? What the hell, C.J.? He doesn’t like green beans. C.J. We won Oregon by 10,000 votes. I don’t know how many green bean farmers they have out there, but if there are 10,001... CHARLIE C.J.... C.J. This is a serious thing now. CHARLIE Well, I’m sorry I mouthed off to a reporter, but you’re out of your mind. C.J. No, I... CHARLIE Education’s a serious thing. Crime, jobs, national security. In 18 months, I’ve been to Oregon four times, and not a single person I’ve met there has been stupid. C.J. Everybody’s stupid in an election year, Charlie. CHARLIE No. Everybody gets treated stupid in an election year, C.J. C.J. [beat] All right. Look, just, from now on, there’s no food the President doesn’t like, okay? CHARLIE Yeah. C.J. I have to take this outside. CHARLIE Yeah. C.J. heads out, and Charlie goes the other way. CUT TO: INT. TOBY’S OFFICE - CONTINUOUS Toby is on the phone with C.J. C.J. [VO] Can you hear me? TOBY Where are you right now? CUT TO: EXT. KENNEDY CENTER - SIDE TERRACE - CONTINUOUS C.J. comes out of the building into the quiet terrace, where several people are hanging out. She is now talking to Toby on the cell phone. C.J. I’m out in back. I’m on the terrace. I passed Gary Saunders on the way out. He booed me. I swear to God. I passed by. He went “boo!” TOBY [VO] Who’s Gary Saunders? C.J. He’s the Deputy Spokesperson at the Department of Energy. TOBY [VO] You didn’t hire him? C.J. I promoted Simon Glazer. I promoted from within, Toby. TOBY Anyway, they’re hypothesizing that the thing came down at an odd angle, and that its position might be preventing the antennae from establishing a downlink. They say it’ll take a few days to try everything they want to try. C.J. Days? TOBY [VO] Yeah. C.J. sees someone behind her and quickly looks away. C.J. Oh, God. TOBY [with a chuckle] Look, if this is the worst thing that happens... C.J. No. Tad Whitney’s coming over to me. TOBY [VO] You interviewed Tad? C.J. Oh, God. He’s got me in his tractor beams. He’s walking right over. TOBY [VO] [hurriedly] Goodbye. C.J. I’m not very good at confrontation. TOBY You have no problem with me. C.J. This time of year, is the water in the Potomac very, very cold? TOBY Yeah, but if you rub chicken fat all over yourself, it’ll insulate. C.J. Don’t hang up. If it seems like I’m talking... Toby has stopped listening and hangs up the phone. C.J. shakes her head, as TAD WHITNEY comes up behind her. TAD WHITNEY Hey, C.J. C.J. holds up her index finger, pretending to talk to someone on the cell phone. C.J. Yeah, okay. Well, we’re gonna put those figures out at the morning briefing... Yeah. Thank you. [hangs up] TAD What was that about? C.J. I... you know... I honestly couldn’t tell you. TAD I saw you come out. C.J. Yeah. There’s some stuff going on. TAD I didn’t get the gig, huh? C.J. I gave it to Simon Glazer. TAD I heard. C.J. I promoted from within. TAD Yeah. C.J. Promoting from within is very big in my family. TAD Yeah. I’m surprised ‘cause I’m pretty qualified. In fact, there’s a lot of people at State who thought I was a lock. C.J. You’re very qualified. TAD Yeah. And it wasn’t because I’m a man. C.J. Well, no. Simon Glazer’s a man. TAD I suppose. C.J. Hey! TAD And it wasn’t because I stopped seeing you. C.J. Tad, it honestly was a matter of Simon... [beat] No! Of course it didn’t have anything to do with... That was six weeks, five years ago. TAD Because I thought you might want an explanation as to why I did. C.J. Why you did what? TAD Why I stopped calling you. C.J. I don’t need an explanation. TAD Believe me, it wasn’t because you were bad in bed or anything like that. C.J. No, I didn’t think it was, Tad. TAD I mentioned it because I know a lot of women who worry about that. C.J. I don’t. TAD You’re good in bed. C.J. I’m great in bed! Three men near them heard C.J.’s remark and looks at her. C.J. [to the men] How you doing? TAD C.J.... C.J. Tad, you know, I’m sorry you didn’t get the job, but there’s really no... TAD You’re really gonna stand there and tell me this isn’t personal? C.J. I really am. TAD I think it is. I think it’s personal, and I think it’s unprofessional. And I think people are gonna know about this. And I think you’ve got a problem now. C.J. I have a number of problems today, and you’re not close to being any of them. TAD Well, I was hoping we could be adult about this. C.J. I have to go. You’re gonna get a briefing in about an hour. C.J. starts to head back to the building. TAD On what? C.J. A Russian missile silo. TAD Listen. Um... C.J. Yeah? TAD Playing along with this for a moment... Is there anything I should do to prove my chances next time around? C.J. Well, when we run for reelection, I’d vote for somebody else. C.J. turns around and heads back. CUT TO: EXT. OUTSIDE THE KENNEDY CENTER - NIGHT Sam, sitting on the passenger seat of the open car, talks to Josh on the phone. SAM Can you read the last part back to me? JOSH “The flight manager at J.P.L. will be working round the clock until all hope is exhausted.” SAM Okay. JOSH I’ll give it to Carol. SAM Yeah. JOSH [VO] Is she there? SAM Mallory? JOSH [VO] Yeah. SAM Yeah, she’s here. She snuck up on me from behind. You’d think women would make more noise with their big high heels, but they don’t. They got this stealth thing going, which I really ought to be clever enough-- Mallory appears on the other side of the car and taps on the window. Sam looks, but quickly turns away, a little surprised. SAM Oh my God. JOSH [VO] What was that? SAM Nothing. JOSH [VO] She’s there, right? SAM [stands] Yeah. Mallory starts to go around the car and stands in front of Sam. JOSH How’s she look? SAM She looks pretty good. JOSH Can you describe what she’s wearing? SAM Well, yeah, ‘cause she’s standing right in front of me. JOSH So you want to get off the phone? SAM Yeah. JOSH Okay. [hangs up] MALLORY You know what I think? SAM What? MALLORY I think you’re caught between wanting to be mad, and wanting good seats for home games. SAM I get pretty good seats as it is, Mallory. I don’t know if you noticed the motorcade I rode over in. MALLORY I talked to my dad. I’m sorry about Galileo. SAM They’ve got a lot of tests they can still try. MALLORY How much money is it gonna cost to try them? SAM Don’t start with me. MALLORY I’m asking as a taxpayer. It cost 165 million dollars to lose the thing. How much more money is it gonna cost to make sure you’re never gonna find it? SAM I don’t know, Mallory, but we certainly won’t divert any municipal tax dollars, which are always best spent on new hockey arenas. MALLORY No, it’s best spent feeding, housing and educating. SAM There are a lot of hungry people in the world, Mal, and none of them are hungry because we went to the moon. None of them are colder, and certainly none of them are dumber ‘cause we went to the moon. MALLORY And we went to the moon. Do we really have to go to Mars? SAM Yes. MALLORY Why? SAM ‘Cause it’s next. For we came out of the cave, and we looked over the hill, and we saw fire. And we crossed the ocean, and we pioneered the West, and we took to the sky. The history of man is hung on the timeline of exploration, and this is what’s next. MALLORY I know. SAM People like you, who say that... [beat] What? MALLORY I said I know. We’re supposed to be explorers. SAM Then what the hell? MALLORY I just want to hear you talk about it. SAM You know something? MALLORY You get all puffed up. SAM You’re a pain in the ass. MALLORY Yes. SAM Anyway... look, about the picture... MALLORY Don’t worry about it. SAM You’re not pissed? MALLORY I’m totally pissed, but I’m saying don’t worry about it tonight. C.J. [walks up] Sam? SAM Yeah? [to Mallory] I appreciate that. Thank you. MALLORY Yeah. C.J. Hey, Mal. MALLORY Hey, C.J. C.J. [to Sam] Let me see what you got. SAM This’ll be for tonight’s briefing, but doesn’t include the notes from J.P.L. C.J. Can I talk to Jason Stark? SAM Yeah. CUT TO: INT. JOSH’S BULLPEN AREA - NIGHT DONNA [yells] Aha! Josh sees Donna stand up and shout with her arms raised. JOSH What you got there? DONNA Precedent, baby! JOSH Precedent? DONNA Precedent. The mother’s milk of you know, making your point and being right. JOSH Okay. DONNA The Jewish War Veterans lobbied to get a stamp, even though the criteria prohibits people or groups whose principal undertakings are religious. JOSH Right, and what happened? DONNA The J.W.V. argues that their principal achievements have been fighting wars for their country, just like Aquino. JOSH Right. What happened? DONNA They were denied. JOSH Yes. DONNA Okay. That doesn’t help me. JOSH No. Josh walks away, Donna following. DONNA [flipping pages] Hang on! JOSH Look... DONNA The Luna Moth has its own stamp. JOSH What’s a Luna Moth? DONNA It’s a moth, and you don’t see the National Organization of Entomologists freaking out. JOSH No, but I’d pay good money to see that. DONNA [flipping pages again] Hang on. Hang on. JOSH Donna... DONNA Aha! JOSH Here we go. The phone rings as Josh and Donna enter JOSH'S OFFICE. DONNA The following groups have been issued stamps: Disabled Veterans of America, American Confederate Veterans, American Legion and its black soldiers who served as buffalo scouts in the West. JOSH Uh, are you gonna get that? DONNA I-I meant in the 19th century. The black soldiers from the West. JOSH Yeah. I didn’t think we still had buffalo scouts. [picks up phone] Josh Lyman. DONNA The guy should be able to be on a stamp. JOSH [into phone] Okay. [hangs up] DONNA What was that? JOSH The President’s back. CUT TO: INT. LEO’S OFFICE - NIGHT Leo’s meeting continues. NADIA Any inspection team will have to include neutral representatives. LEO Who do you want? NADIA The Finns. LEO I’ll take it to the State Department. They’re not gonna want limits on the inspection team. NADIA No one enters the country without our approval. LEO They’ll agree to notification, if not approval. NADIA And I’m going to insist on notification and approval. In addition, results from the inspection will remain in the country. LEO Nadia... NADIA Leo, soil samples, carbon residue, photographs and photographic negatives... LEO Listen... NADIA All that must remain under Russian control. President Bartlet, who has sneaked inside the office behind Nadia, slams the door behind him and makes his presence known. Leo and the Nadia stand up. BARTLET [to Nadia] Your paranoia was a lot sexier back when you guys are communists. NADIA Mr. President. How good to see you. BARTLET From where do you get the nerve and try to dictate terms on this? Are you insane? Your missile regimen is in a horrifying state of disrepair. Your best-trained operators have left or died. The ones you’ve got aren’t paid very much when they’re paid at all. They don’t have enough to train with. Your ICBMs are well behind their warranty life. Not seven weeks ago, you mistook a Norwegian weather rocket for a submarine launch Trident missile because the CrossTac information never made it to the Russian C&C system. [looks at Leo] Leo, at the time the S.S.19 exploded, it was being drained of its liquid hydrogen in an attempt by deserting soldiers to -- wait for it -- LEO Steal the warhead? BARTLET Steal the warhead! [beat] When were you gonna tell us about that? You realize how dangerous... NADIA Mr. President, you shouldn’t be concerned with the welfare of the Russian people. BARTLET Well, I am concerned with the welfare of the Russian people, but that’s not what they pay me for. You guys fall asleep in the switch in Minsk, and I’ve got a whole hemisphere hiding under the bed. How do you not tell us this is going on? How do you not ask us for help? NADIA We’ll not need help finding the leaders of the black market network - BARTLET Yeah, thanks. We’re sending in NATO inspectors. NADIA Leo and I were just discussing the terms. LEO The terms are we’re sending in NATO inspectors, or he’s taking a walk to the pressroom. BARTLET Get your Foreign Minister on the phone. He walks to the door and opens it, but turns around to make a point. BARTLET I really don’t know from where you guys get the nerve. NADIA From a long, hard winter, Mr. President. A few seconds of exchanging looks, then Bartlet goes into his office. CUT TO: INT. THE OVAL OFFICE - CONTINUOUS The four murmuring senior aides, Toby, C.J., Josh and Sam did not notice bartlet as he comes in. He takes off his jacket and goes behind his desk. BARTLET This is still my office, right? TOBY Sir, we have some press things for discussion. BARTLET Nothing new from NASA? SAM They’re testing the idea that it may have turned into what’s called a “safe mode.” If it sensed trouble, it’s programmed to turn its systems off to avoid further damage and wait for instructions from earth. BARTLET Earth’s giving it instructions? SAM It’s not responding. BARTLET Like my kids. All right... C.J. Sir, that leaves us with the televised classroom, the green beans... JOSH The stamp. C.J. ...the stamp, and depending on who those people were that were standing near me, the possibility of a story about me being good in bed. TOBY [suddenly looks up] Good in bed? C.J. Yes. TOBY Why? C.J. Because I am. TOBY Okay. BARTLET Green beans? TOBY [while giving C.J. weird looks] Let’s do a photo-op with the President... eating green beans. We can drop in a quote. He’s always looking for new green bean... recipes. JOSH Next time we’re in California, we schedule a pop in Oregon, make sure nothing’s burned down. BARTLET Yeah, okay. What about the stamp? JOSH Here’s the thing, the Citizen’s Stamp Advisory Committee... C.J. [whispers to Toby] He doesn’t like green beans. BARTLET What? C.J. I’m sorry, sir. Nothing. JOSH The Citizen’s Stamp Advisory Committee... C.J. No, I’m sorry. I said you don’t like green beans, sir. TOBY C.J.? C.J. He doesn’t enjoy them. He doesn’t think they’re bad for you, and he doesn’t think the people who make them are evil. They’re simply not his cup of tea. He doesn’t care for them. Why do we think the adults of Oregon would be okay with that if put to them just that way? [turns to Josh on her left] And Josh, why do you think the people, adult Americans, why do you think they can’t understand that we can honor a man’s contribution without necessarily subscribing to his politics? They can understand a lot of things. People stopped trusting the government during Vietnam, and it was because government stopped trusting them. It’s a cautionary tale, Josh. JOSH [beat] Okay. I was gonna say I think we should put them on a stamp. C.J. Oh... Okay. Good. JOSH Yeah. BARTLET All right. Everybody go away. We’ll call you back when there’s a NASA update. SAM Thank you. C.J. Thank you, Mr. President. JOSH Thank you, sir. Josh and C.J. continue to whisper to each other while walking out. Bartlet goes to a side table. BARTLET C.J.? C.J. approaches. BARTLET Did you hear the end of the concert? C.J. I didn’t hear much of the concert at all. How was it? He takes a cigar and lights it. BARTLET Well, first of all, let’s not kid ourselves. The Reykjavik Symphony can play. These guys have some serious game. In this particular case, their talents were tragically misapplied to an atonal nightmare of pretention, but after intermission... He heads outside to the COLONNADE to smoke his cigar as C.J. follows. He walks to a pillar and looks up to the night sky. C.J. After intermission? BARTLET They played a piece by a new composer. First, I wasn’t hearing it. I had 19 different things on my mind, but then I did, and C.J., it was magnificent. It was genius. He built these themes, and at the beginning, it was just an intellectual exercise, which is fun enough, I guess, but then in the fourth movement, he just let it go. I really didn’t think I could be surprised by music anymore. I thought about all the times this guy must’ve heard that his music was no good... I’ve got to write this guy a letter. C.J. Mr. President, about that televised classroom tomorrow... BARTLET I’m gonna wait up for a while. See if we hear anything. It’s out there somewhere... It’s so close. C.J. I think you should do the classroom either way. BARTLET Yeah? C.J. We have, at our disposal, a captive audience of schoolchildren. Some of them don’t go to the black board and raise their hand ‘cause they think they’re gonna be wrong. I think you should say to these kids you think you get it wrong sometimes, you should come down here and see how the big boys do it. I think you should tell them you haven’t given up hope, and that it may turn up, but in the meantime, you want NASA to put its best people in the room, and you want them to start building Galileo VI. Some of them will laugh, and most of them won’t care, but for some, they might honestly see that it’s about going to the blackboard and raising your hand. [beat] And that’s the broader theme. BARTLET I’ll say. C.J. I’ll be in my office, Mr. President. C.J. heads back inside, turning around to the President’s call. BARTLET C.J.? C.J. Yes, sir? BARTLET You said it right that time. C.J. [with a smile] I’ll be in my office. The Agent opens the door for C.J. as she goes back inside. Overhead, we see Bartlet looking up at the sky again as he speaks to no one in particular. BARTLET Talk to us. DISSOLVE TO: END TITLES. FADE TO BLACK. THE END * * * The West Wing and all its characters are properties of Aaron Sorkin, John Wells roduction, Warner Brothers Television, and NBC. No copyright infringement is intended. Episode 2.9 -- “Galileo” Original Airdate: November 29, 2000, 9:00 P.M. EST Transcript By: Irene, Tobyfan, LocalGomer8, and Giorgio