Solar Warflare
Using the power of the sun, one man seeks to change the world for the better. But the US military has other ideas.

In the 1940s, scientist Arthur Galston, uncovered a way to make soybeans grow faster using a chemical mixture called 2,3,5-triiodobenzoic acid. However, he also discovered that when applied in large quantities, it would cause the plant to die. In essence, a concentrated dose of this mixture could dissolve vegetation. Obviously, this was not the outcome he was looking for. But that doesn’t mean it couldn’t be applied for other purposes. And that’s when the military came and took Galston’s ‘soy steroids’ and created something called ‘Agent Orange’; a lethal herbicide that was utilized by the US Military in Vietnam to wipe out vegetation over huge parcels of land, being used by combatants for food. Galston would later go on to regrettably refer to this as ‘Ecocide’.

This is certainly not the first or only time an unexpected offshoot from an altruistic scientific research study has been repurposed for something more nefarious and deadly. Which leads us to the unsettling theme of Gary Parr’s ‘Solar Warflare’. A dark and disturbing story about a scientist attempting to harness the power of the sun to ‘super-grow’ vegetation, and thereby solve hunger issues the world over. Unfortunately, his benefactors have other ideas.

Meet Professor Graves: the genius behind a program that has deduced how to utilize pure solar energy to amplify the growth of organic material. Clearly, it is a project that the professor is very proud of and feels can change the world. However, the folks funding this program are the US Military. Specifically, General Maxwell, who is the commanding officer responsible for their budget and determining the military application of their results. Suffice to say, when the General stops by for a tour, the Professor is keen to make a solid impression. Alas, quite the opposite initially occurs. The professor takes Maxwell into the heart of their research center; the ‘solar enrichment chamber’. Or, as Graves describes it:

PROFESSOR GRAVES
In simple terms, the solarium is fed pure
solar energy using mirrored satellite arrays.
That energy is then absorbed and
amplified by high gain solar panels.
It’s then stored in supercapacitors we call sun-traps.

The only organic material on display in the chamber is a massive Pineapple. In short: the fruit of their labor--and the general’s budget--is something best applied to pizzas and pina coladas. So, it is somewhat unsurprising that Maxwell is less than impressed.

GENERAL MAXWELL
Let me get this straight.
We’ve given you five years and several billion dollars
and all you have to show for it is a  single pineapple?

Frazzled and annoyed by the General’s response, the Professor decides to give Maxwell an impromptu, in-person demonstration of how their instrumentation works in real-time. Wanting the General to see for himself a before-and-after example of the profound power of their creation. So, he switches on their device and a glowing panel luminates brightly above the pineapple, then blasts out a blinding white light over the fruit.

After several seconds the process is over. The lights are switched off. And the pineapple has now doubled in size. The Professor is certain that this visceral and viable spectacle, showcasing the potency of their contraption, will ingratiate the dubious and abrasive General. Yet, all this illustrative demonstration only manages to further vex Maxwell.

GENERAL MAXWELL
What good is this to me?
Do you expect us to send out troops into
a war zones armed with exotic fruit?

PROFESSOR GRAVES

But General, with this technology we
could end famine and solve the global
energy crisis. We could change the world.

But this does not move the General on iota. As all he cares about is how to weaponize the technology. Instead, all he sees is a ‘Glorified greenhouse’. Which, in turn, only makes the Professor more defensive and desperate for Maxwell to look beyond the destructive applications of what they have created.

However, before their argument can descend into further derision, a ‘loud bang fills the room’. The instrumentation behind the technology for their ‘sun traps’ starts to is malfunction, creating a catastrophic build-up of energy within the solarium.

As the Professor attempts to fix the problem, the General notices that the infamous pineapple has doubled in size yet again. But is now also presenting with a ‘deep red glow’ from within. Which also comes as a surprise to the flustered Professor Graves.

GENERAL MAXWELL
What’s happening to it?

PROFESSOR GRAVES
The chamber is being flooded with pure solar energy.
The pineapple is absorbing it all.

Then, quite unexpectedly the exotic fruit EXPLODES. And the damage of the blast is extraordinary in terms of its vividly violent destructive power. It basically vaporizes everything within the containment field. Not surprisingly, this accident and its after-effects is what finally impresses the General. Especially upon learning that he just witnessed the awesome ferocity of what happens when you tap into the ‘unbridled power of the sun’.

Instead of commanding the Professor to shut down the program, the General is now a ‘true believer’. Factitiously imploring Graves to plant more of his pineapples, while he is likely fantasizing about what magnificent, monstrous weapon he is about to create to become the next ‘destroyer of worlds’.

At the crux of Parr’s smart and cynical story, is an audience-friendly narrative about the nature of the never-ending tension between the forces of creation and destruction, and how they are often sides of the same coin. This short script has the potential to be a highly satisfying movie for the film festival circuit. And while it may seem rather straightforward, this is a production for a filmmaker who already has one or two shorts already in the bag, as the key to audience satisfaction will be in the FX around the science… and yes, the damn big pineapple.

Check out ‘Solar Warflare’ today. It’ll unquestionably warm the creative cuckolds of your heart!