The barrel of a rifle ROLLS the Bearded Man onto his back. A JAPANESE SECURITY GUARD looks down at him, then calls him up the beach to a colleague leaning against a JEEP. behind them is a cliff, and on top of that, a JAPANESE CASTLE.
INT. ELEGANT DINING ROOM, JAPANESE CASTLE – LATER
The Security Guard waits as an ATTENDANT speaks to an ELDERLY JAPANESE MAN sitting at the dining table, back to us.
[ATTENDANT]:
(In Japanese) He was delirious. But he asked for you by name. And... (to the Security Guard) Show him.
[SECURITY GUARD]:
(In Japanese) He was carrying nothing but this...
He puts a HANDGUN on the table. The Elderly Man keeps eating.
[SECURITY GUARD]:
...and this.
The Security Guard places a SMALL PEWTER CONE alongside the gun. The Elderly Man STOPS eating. Picks up the cone.
[ELDERLY JAPANESE MAN]:
(In Japanese) Bring him here. And some food.
INT. SAME – MOMENTS LATER
The Elderly Man watches the Bearded Man WOLF down his food. He SLIDES the handgun down the table towards him.
[ELDERLY JAPANESE MAN]:
(In English) Are you here to k** me?
The Bearded Man glances up at him, then back to his food.
The Elderly Japanese Man picks up the cone between thumb and forefinger.
[ELDERLY JAPANESE MAN]:
I know what *this* is.
He SPINS it onto a table– it CIRCLES gracefully across the polished ebony... a SPINNING TOP.
[ELDERLY JAPANESE MAN]:
I've seen one before. Many, many years ago...
The Elderly Japanese Man STARES at the top mesmerized.
[ELDERLY JAPANESE MAN]:
It belonged to a man I met in a half-remembered dream...
MOVE IN on the GRACEFULLY SPINNING TOP...
[ELDERLY JAPANESE MAN]:
A man possessed of some radical notions...
The Elderly Japanese Man STARES, remembering...
[COBB]:
(V.O.) *What's the most resilient parasite?*
CUT TO:
INT. SAME ELEGANT DINING ROOM – NIGHT (YEARS EARLIER)
The speaker, COBB, is 35, handsome, tailored. A young Japanese man, SAITO, eats as he listens.
[COBB]:
A bacteria? A virus?
Cobb gestures at their feast with his wine gla**–
[COBB]:
An intestinal worm?
Saito's fork pauses, mid-air. Cobb GRINS. A third man is at the table– ARTHUR. He jumps in to save the pitch–
[ARTHUR]:
What Mr. Cobb is trying to say–
[COBB]:
An *idea*.
Saito looks at Cobb, curious.
[COBB]:
Resilient, highly contagious. Once an idea's taken hold in the brain it's almost impossible to eradicate. A person can cover it up, ignore it– but it stays there.
[SAITO]:
But surely–to forget...?
[COBB]: Information, yes. But an *idea*? Fully formed, *understood*? That sticks... (taps forehead) In there, somewhere.
[SAITO]:
For someone like you to steal?
[ARTHUR]:
Yes. In the dream state, conscious defenses are lowered and your thoughts become vulnerable to theft. It's call extraction.
[COBB]:
But, Mr. Saito, we can train your subconscious to defend itself from even the most sk**ed extractor.
[SAITO]:
How can you do that?
[COBB]:
Because I *am* the most sk**ed extractor. I know how to search your mind and find your secrets. I know the tricks, and I can teach them to your subconscious so that even when you're *asleep*, your guard is never down.
Cobb leans forward. Holding Saito's gaze.
[COBB]:
But if I'm going to help you, you have to be completely open to me. I'll need to know my way around your thoughts better than your wife, your an*lyst, anyone. (gestures around) If this is a dream and you've got a safe full of secrets, I need to know what's in that safe. For this to work, you have to let me in.
Saito gives this a flicker of a smile. Rises. A BODYGUARD opens double doors which give onto a LAVISH PARTY.
[SAITO]:
Gentlemen. Enjoy your evening as I consider your proposal.
They watch Saito leave. Arthur turns to Cobb, worried–
[ARTHUR]:
He knows.
Cobb motions silence. A TREMOR starts, they steady their gla**es, Cobb glances at his watch– THE SECOND HAND IS FROZEN.
[ARTHUR]:
What's going on up there?
And we–