Free Selby Shattered by Duncan Ball Page B

soon as I start uploading. The guys are working on a tiny technical problem with the last scene right now.’
    Selby peeked out into the darkened theatre. There, in front of him, was the young man sitting alone in one of the seats. The theatre was completely empty except for him.
    ‘Guys?’ Selby thought. ‘What guys is he talking about? Who’s he kidding? There’s nobody here but him.’
    ‘What did you say, Harry?’ Jigsaw went on. ‘Don’t worry. Just feed the movie reviewers some popcorn. Yes, I know how important they are. It’ll be worth the wait. This movie will knock their socks off. Now let me get back to work, okay?’
    Selby watched as Jigsaw Jabbar opened the laptop that he held on his knees. Suddenly the movie screen flickered. Selby made his way up the side aisle and parked himself on a seat behind Jigsaw.

    ‘Hey, that’s great!’ Selby thought. ‘The big movie screen is showing what he’s doing on his laptop.’
    Selby settled back into his seat as Jigsaw Jabbar fast-forwarded through the movie.
    ‘Even when it’s going really really fast, I can tell it’s fantastic,’ he thought.
    Jigsaw stopped the action. He closed his eyes and leaned his head back. Suddenly he opened his eyes and jerked forward again.
    ‘The poor guy is really tired,’ Selby thought.
    ‘Got to get through this,’ Jigsaw said out loud. ‘Got to make the last scene and the film will be finished.’
    ‘Make
the last scene?’ Selby thought. ‘Is he kidding? It takes weeks — or months — to do a scene in a movie. You’ve got to get the actors and they’ve got to learn their lines. And then there’s the make-up people and the sets. What is it with this guy?’
    Jigsaw typed something on the keyboard and then picked up a little microphone.
    ‘Mountains,’ he said.
    Suddenly the outline of mountains appeared on the movie screen.
    ‘Colour,’ he said. ‘Grays and browns. Jagged rocks. Tufts of grass. Snow on mountain peaks.’
    Each time Jigsaw spoke, the picture changed, becoming more and more realistic.
    ‘This guy’s a genius!’ Selby thought. ‘He’s invented a computer program that turns his words into movies. No wonder he can do everything himself. And no wonder he doesn’t want anyone snooping around to find out his secret.’
    ‘Mountains higher,’ Jigsaw went on. ‘Steeper. More cliffs. Waterfalls. Eagles in the sky. Stone castle on top of rocky peak. Six wooden towers on castle. One tower very tall.’
    Jigsaw put his head in his hands.
    ‘Wake up!’ Selby thought. ‘Come on, you can do it!’
    Jigsaw slowly stretched his neck by turning his head from side to side.
    ‘Sounds. Water and wind,’ he said. ‘Action.’
    Suddenly the scene came alive. Eagles soared in the sky. Grass bent in the wind. Waterfalls streamed out of the rocks and into the valley below.
    ‘Soldier style twenty-two B,’ Jigsaw said. ‘Body armour style three-six-seven J.’
    A huge man with long black hair appeared. He was holding a club and a whip.
    ‘Multiply soldier times six hundred.’
    Suddenly there were six hundred warriors.
    ‘Bows and arrows. Clubs. Whips. Spears. Selection twenty-three. Armour Selection four Q. Mix.’
    ‘Wow!’ Selby thought. ‘This is the most fantastic computer program ever!’
    ‘Lower drawbridge,’ Jigsaw went on. ‘Warriors into castle. Take up guard positions. Insert Princess Fairhair from Clipboard two-three-five.’
    There in the middle of the screen was a beautiful young woman with long blonde hair.
    ‘Princess into tall tower. Insert Army of Akrads from scene six-two-nine approaching on horseback. Play drumbeat. Start battle set-up fifteen and twenty-one. Action.’
    Selby watched as a thousand dark figures poured through mountain passes riding their elephant-like beasts. The half-human, halfmonster figures now filled the screen, their huge teeth dripping goo, their eyes blood red.
    ‘Music continuity. Sequence ten minutes,’ Jigsaw called out. ‘Akrad attack on