WORDS
Split Mind
What if the two hemispheres of your brain each had their own distinct personalities?
Split Mind |
PAGE 1 | 4 PANELS
PANEL 1
JAYNE is in bed, sleeping. MARA – an old hag – stands at her side, peering at Jayne. Mara’s long black hair hangs down over her face, concealing her features. Mara looks more like a shadow than a human.
PANEL 2
Mara sits on the chest of Jayne, her fingers hovering above Jayne’s forehead.
PANEL 3
Mara’s mouth is open a few inches above Jayne’s, as she breaths in Jayne’s life force.
PANEL 4
Jayne is sitting upright in bed, eyes wide with fear. Her fingers gripping the sheets. There is no sign of Mara.
PAGE 2 | 5 PANELS
PANEL 1
Jayne is at the library, her pointer finger resting on a book with a large spine as she removes it from the shelf.
PANEL 2
Jayne is sitting at a table in the center of the college library, reading the book she grabbed from the shelf. A stack of books sits nearby.
PANEL 3
Jayne is sitting in a college classroom, taking an exam.
PANEL 4
Jayne is turning her exam in.
PANEL 5
Jayne is walking out of the school.
PAGE 3 | 7 PANELS
PANEL 1
Jayne is walking down the city streets, with Julian in control of the body. Julian is talking directly to the reader, breaking the fourth wall.
PANEL 2
Jayne is walking through a city park.
PANEL 3
Jayne is watching teenagers spray paint graffiti on the side of a building.
PANEL 4
Julian picks up a can of spray paint and starts painting graffiti alongside the other teenagers.
PANEL 5
Jayne is at the aquarium, purchasing a ticket at the counter.
PANEL 6
Jayne is staring into the glass panel of a giant fish tank, while a dolphin stares back at her/him.
PANEL 7
Jayne is looking directly at the reader.
PAGE 4 | 5 PANELS
PANEL 1
Mara and JULIAN face off in dream land. Both are hovering above the ground. There is a storm brewing in the sky behind them.
PANEL 2
Mara’s hand is outstretched, pulling Julian forward through the air, the outer edges of his body dissipating like dust being sucked into a vacuum.
PANEL 3
In the real world, Jayne is awake but paralyzed, staring into the hollow eyes of Mara, who is sitting on her chest.
PANEL 4
Close up of Jayne’s eyes, wide with fear.
PAGE 5 | 2 PANELS
PANEL 1
Julian is spinning, creating a vortex that changes his dreamworld surroundings. Mara dissolves into the vortex.
PANEL 2
Jayne is sitting up straight, no longer paralyzed. Mara has disappeared. Little specks of dust float around and in front of Jayne… these are the particles of Mara as she vaporizes into the ether.
END
PANEL 1
JAYNE is in bed, sleeping. MARA – an old hag – stands at her side, peering at Jayne. Mara’s long black hair hangs down over her face, concealing her features. Mara looks more like a shadow than a human.
- CAPTION (JAYNE): In my sleep, she visits often.
- CAPTION (JAYNE): The witch. The old hag.
- CAPTION (JAYNE): Mara.
PANEL 2
Mara sits on the chest of Jayne, her fingers hovering above Jayne’s forehead.
- CAPTION (JAYNE): She haunts my dreams.
- CAPTION (JAYNE): Tries to control my mind.
PANEL 3
Mara’s mouth is open a few inches above Jayne’s, as she breaths in Jayne’s life force.
- CAPTION (JAYNE): Like a succubus…
- CAPTION (JAYNE): Draining the life from me.
PANEL 4
Jayne is sitting upright in bed, eyes wide with fear. Her fingers gripping the sheets. There is no sign of Mara.
- SFX: GASP
PAGE 2 | 5 PANELS
PANEL 1
Jayne is at the library, her pointer finger resting on a book with a large spine as she removes it from the shelf.
- CAPTION (JULIAN): Jayne.
- JAYNE: Go to sleep.
- CAPTION (JULIAN): Let me take over.
- JAYNE: No. Go to sleep!
- BOOK COVER/SPINE: The Origin of Consciousness
PANEL 2
Jayne is sitting at a table in the center of the college library, reading the book she grabbed from the shelf. A stack of books sits nearby.
- CAPTION (JULIAN): C’mon, Jayne. It’s my turn.
- JAYNE: Not right now, Julian. You wouldn’t study.
- CAPTION (JULIAN): Fine. But after the test, I get a whole day!
PANEL 3
Jayne is sitting in a college classroom, taking an exam.
- CAPTION (JAYNE): The voice I hear comes from Julian. He lives in my right brain. While I – Jayne – occupy the left.
PANEL 4
Jayne is turning her exam in.
- CAPTION (JAYNE): Julian is my sidekick, though he doesn’t like when I say that. He’s me, really… or at least a non-integrated, detached version of me.
PANEL 5
Jayne is walking out of the school.
- CAPTION (JAYNE): In most people, the two hemispheres of the brain are fully integrated. But not with Schizophrenia, where they act independent of one another.
- CAPTION (JULIAN): Jayne, it’s my turn.
PAGE 3 | 7 PANELS
PANEL 1
Jayne is walking down the city streets, with Julian in control of the body. Julian is talking directly to the reader, breaking the fourth wall.
- JULIAN: Hey, it’s me now. Jayne’s asleep. I was getting sooo restless in there!
PANEL 2
Jayne is walking through a city park.
- JULIAN: Jayne is wonderful, truly… but she can be so… boring.
PANEL 3
Jayne is watching teenagers spray paint graffiti on the side of a building.
- JULIAN: Jayne’s a thinker. She wants everything in its right place. That’s not me.
PANEL 4
Julian picks up a can of spray paint and starts painting graffiti alongside the other teenagers.
- JULIAN: I’m the creative one.
PANEL 5
Jayne is at the aquarium, purchasing a ticket at the counter.
- JULIAN: I know the doctor is wrong. We don’t have Schizophrenia.
PANEL 6
Jayne is staring into the glass panel of a giant fish tank, while a dolphin stares back at her/him.
- JULIAN: But there is something different about our brain.
- JULIAN: We’re like a dolphin…
- JULIAN: The way half their brain sleeps while the other half stays awake to keep swimming.
PANEL 7
Jayne is looking directly at the reader.
- JULIAN: Usually, Jayne does the swimming.
- JULIAN: But I’m learning how to take control.
PAGE 4 | 5 PANELS
PANEL 1
Mara and JULIAN face off in dream land. Both are hovering above the ground. There is a storm brewing in the sky behind them.
- CAPTION (JULIAN): In the dreamworld, I remain lucid.
- CAPTION (JULIAN): Sometimes, I gain control the dream.
PANEL 2
Mara’s hand is outstretched, pulling Julian forward through the air, the outer edges of his body dissipating like dust being sucked into a vacuum.
- CAPTION (JULIAN): Jayne calls the dreams “thought experiments”.
- CAPTION (JULIAN): I run through multiple scenarios until I find something that helps. Then I tell Jayne.
PANEL 3
In the real world, Jayne is awake but paralyzed, staring into the hollow eyes of Mara, who is sitting on her chest.
- CAPTION (JULIAN): But sometimes she makes me mad.
- CAPTION (JULIAN): So I keep it to myself.
PANEL 4
Close up of Jayne’s eyes, wide with fear.
- JAYNE: Julian, now!
- CAPTION (JULIAN): Only if you let me have a full day.
- JAYNE: Okay, fine. Now!
PAGE 5 | 2 PANELS
PANEL 1
Julian is spinning, creating a vortex that changes his dreamworld surroundings. Mara dissolves into the vortex.
- CAPTION (JULIAN): Most the time though, we work together.
- CAPTION (JULIAN): We discovered that if I spin, I can reset the scene.
- CAPTION (JULIAN): Force us into a new dream.
- CAPTION (JULIAN): Or pull us out of the dreamworld entirely. Then, Jayne takes over.
- CAPTION (JULIAN): She logs each incident with Mara as we look for weaknesses.
PANEL 2
Jayne is sitting up straight, no longer paralyzed. Mara has disappeared. Little specks of dust float around and in front of Jayne… these are the particles of Mara as she vaporizes into the ether.
- CAPTION (JULIAN): Mara always returns.
- CAPTION (JULIAN): But Jayne and I will be ready.
- CAPTION (JULIAN): Together, we are The Bicameral Mind.
END