SHAMAN SPIRITS Written by: Steve Granat, Cydne Clark, and Rick Shin Gould Carmen wakes from the nightmare. Carmen: "Oh, that same nightmare...again." Carmen watches the news and the reporter clues us in on what Carmen's been up to. Reporter: "After a daring string of unprecedented thefts including a Native American headdress, the Rosetta Stone, and the Elgin Marbles, the world's most famous thief Carmen Sandiego has taken a sudden and mysterious leave of absence. Authorities are baffled by her prolonged disappearance. Where on earth is Carmen Sandiego?" The Player and Carmen. Player: "Come out, come out, wherever you are, Carmen. Carmen?" Carmen: "I'm back in action, Player. Only this time, it's not a game." Carmen running from the detectives on a street in Alaska. Carmen: "Out of my way, detectives. This isn't about fun and games." Carmen jumps over a fuel truck on one of her cool gadgets. Zack: "Oh, man. Those are definitely custom pipes." Before Carmen escapes, she turns to Zack and Ivy... Carmen: "You know, you kids really need a vacation. I'll talk to the Chief for you." Zack and Ivy warm up after Carmen escapes. My kind of camping. Zack: "I don't like it. I'm cold, I'm hungry, and I'm not into roughing it, okay?" Ivy: "Zack! You're roughing it next door to an all-night mini-mart." Carmen left a clue with Jon Silver Moon: a little raven carving. Jon Silver Moon: "Oh, Mr. Raven here was a trickster, all right. Like this friend of yours, Carmen Sandiego." Jon Silver Moon tells the detectives the story of Raven. Very neat. A sun stealing chief and a skin stealing bird. Of course Zack doesn't get it. Jon Silver Moon: "There is a story where a great chief claimed the sun and moon all for himself and hid them in a chest within his home so now darkness covered the land all day and night. But Raven, who then was a white bird, knew the chief loved his grandchild more than anything and spoiled him terribly. So Raven scooped the child out of its skin and took over the baby's identity. Raven was then given everything imaginable by his over-indulgent grandfather. But one day, nothing could bring a smile to Raven's face. So like all grandfathers, anxious to please and to make the child happy, the great chief took out his finest treasure. A box containing the sun and the moon. Raven accepted the great gift from the chief, seized it and flew out of the smokehole of the house. At that moment daylight burst upon the world. Thanks to Raven, the trickster, who after was a black bird because of the soot of the great chief's chimney." Zack: "That's the ending? No explosions? No Terminator? Just daylight and a white bird turned black?" Zack likes the view from the top of the Anasazi cliff dwellings. Zack: "Wow! Room with a view!" Ivy: "We'll admire the scenery after we nab Carmen." The detectives arrive too late. Carmen: "Sorry. I've already got what I came for, detectives. Now I'm off to steal the sun." Billy Running Bird tells Zack and Ivy the story of Coyote. Billy Running Bird: "I remember one story of coyote I used to love as a little kid. Coyote stole the colorful blanket of grandfather rock. So, grandfather rock began rolling after him to get it back. Coyote ran and ran, but he couldn't escape grandfather rock. Soon he was out of breath and begged Raven to help. So, Raven began pecking and pecking at grandfather rock until he was no more." Zack: "What happened to the blanket? Man, I'm not getting this one either!" Billy Running Bird: "My ancestors told the story of the rolling boulder to explain the sound of thunder to their children." The Chief quizzes the audience right before a commercial break. Chief: "Whoa! That's what I call one bombin' shaman. Okay, calling all Acme clue busters. And that means you, you, you, and you. If you've been paying attention, and not hunting for loose change in the sofa cushions you've probably noticed something that will help Zack and Ivy figure out what Carmen's up to. Which of these are not important to solving the case? [Pictures of: Jon Silver Moon and the little raven carving, the "troll" bridge, Christopher Columbus finding "India", and Billy Running Bird's grandmother finding the clue in the little coyote carving.] Talk amongst yourselves, I'll be back." Zack reads the Carmen clue found in the little bear carving. Zack: "You will find what you seek where the seven sisters touched the sky." Grey Cloud's sister tells the detectives about the seven sisters Grey Cloud's sister: "You know, my people have a story about a place where seven sisters once touched the sky. How the seven girls get chased up a tree stump by a giant bear. To save them, the great spirit made the stump grow and grow until it became "Great Tree Rock". And it was so high the girls were saved from the bear and became the stars of the Big Dipper." Carmen asks the Native American healers about her dream. A really long quote but shines some light on Carmen's soul. Some really deep stuff here. Carmen: "But why am I having nightmares about the raven, coyote, and bear? And why does it always end up with me being chased up to this spot on Devil's Tower?" Billy Running Bird's Grandmother: "This place, like all the objects that surround us, have their own spirit and each spirit has its rightful home to which it must always return for their to be the proper balance in the world." Carmen: "I only know the nightmare began since my latest...wait! Are you saying the items I stole before I started having this nightmare- the Elgin Marbles, the Rosetta Stone, and the headdress -want to be back where they belong?" Jon Silver Moon: "If that's what you believe the dream means, you must act on it." Gray Cloud: "Carmen, my great-grandfather was a wise chief who had much property and many possessions. At his wedding potlach it was his great joy to give everything he had away. He said it helped him find a balance as he began making new things for himself." Billy Running Bird's Grandmother: "Perhaps there is a balance missing in your life." Billy Running Bird catches Carmen. Billy Running Bird: "Game's over, Carmen!" Carmen: "No game being played, Billy. This is about real life, this time." Zack: "Glad you agree, Carmen." Carmen: "What?" Ivy: "Because life is exactly what you're going to be doing!" Billy Running Bird had Carmen but his grandmother cut the line. Carmen parachutes off Devil's Tower. Grandmother: "I made her a promise, Billy. She would meet us and give back the stolen Kachina doll..." Jon Silver Moon: "...the rattle..." Gray Cloud: "...and the shield..." Grandmother: "If we would not detain her in any way but talk with her about the symbols in a nightmare she's been having." Gray Cloud: "And because her life is out of balance is not a good enough reason for us to go back on our word. I'm sorry." Ivy is upset Carmen got away. Zack is surprisingly ok. Ivy: "Oh, fine! But what about our balance? We do everything right, catch her, and she gets away!" Zack: "Sis, relax! You've got to be more like Raven. He captured the sun and moon by tricking the great chief. Just like how we'll eventually catch Carmen." A news report on what Carmen did after Devil's Tower. Reporter: "And in an astonishing turn of events, Carmen Sandiego has actually returned several stolen items. Not from where she stole them, but to the lands they originally came from. Including the Rosetta Stone to Egypt, the Elgin Marbles back to Greece, and a Native American headdress back to its original home in America." The Player and Carmen discuss the outcome of the latest case. Player: "Returning stolen items? Have you really turned over a new leaf, Carmen?" Carmen: "A little balance is better than no balance, Player." Player: "But face it, Carmen. You're a thief at heart and this is only a quick fix for your guilt. Will you be able to sleep after your next theft?" Carmen: "There's only one way for us to find out...see you next crime." until next crime https://members.tripod.com/thalesia/ daggair@hotmail.com last tweaked: 1-14-00