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–