1. The souvenir
MCCLANE: So what do you think?
MISS LONELYHEARTS: I don’t know. Won’t I get any souvenirs?
MCCLANE: Yes. For a few extra credits, we offer T-shirts, snaps of yourself in the
centre and letters from the handsome guys you’ll meet there.
Fragment from the conversation between a seller of holiday souvenirs and a potential customer. Total Recall, director : Paul Vereoven, screenplay: Ronald Shusett and Dan O’Bannon, Universal Pictures 1990.
(…)
MCCLANE: Help me now, Doug. I need a souvenir of…
QUAID: Mars.
MCCLANE: Right, Mars.
QUAID: If you want me to be frank with you, Doug, if you want outside spaces, I think you’d prefer one of our trips to Saturn. People rave about them.
MCLANCE: I’m not interested in Satuurn. I said Mars.
QUAID: Alright, you’re in charge, Mars
McClane taps on his computer and figures appear on the screen.
MCCLANE: Let’s see… the basic package will only cost you eight hundred and ninety-nine credits. That includes two complete weeks of memories, with every possible detail. A longer journey would be a bit more, because you’d need a deeper implant.
QUAID: What does the two-week package include?
MCCLANE: In the first place, Doug, when you go with Rekall, you only get first-class memories: a private cabin on the air-bridge; a luxury suite at the Hilton; and the best views: Pyramid Mountain, the Grand Canal, and naturally, Venusville.
QUAID: To what extent does it seem real?
MCCLANE: As real as any other memory you’ve got in your head.
QUAID: Come on, guy, don’t try to fool me.
MCCLANE: I’m telling you, Doug, your brain won’t notice the difference. I guarantee you, and if not, we’ll give you your money back. […}
MCCLANE: Besides, real holidays are fucking awful: lost luggage, bbad weather, taxi-drivers who cheat you. When you travel with Rekall, everything is perfect. So, what do you reckon?
QUAID: OK
MCCLANE: Smart guy. Now, while you’re filling in the questionnaire, I’ll explain some of the options to you.
QUAID: I don’t want any options.
MCCLANE: As you like… Just answer one question. What’s been repeated exactly on every holiday you’ve ever had?
QUAID: I give up.
MCCLANE: You. You are the same. Wherever you go, you are always you. The same as ever. Let me suggest you take some holidays from yourself. I know it seems crazy but it’s the latest we have in travel. We call it “Ego Trip”.
QUAID: That doesn’t interest me.
MCCLANE: You’ll love it. We let you choose from a series of identities on the trip.
A-14 A MILLIONAIRE PLAYBOY;
A-15 A SPORTS STAR;
A-16 A BIG FISH FROM INDUSTRY;
A-17 A SECRET AGENT.
Think it over…. Why go to Mars as a tourist when you can go as a playboy, or a famous sportsman or a…
QUAID: A secret agent… And how much does that cost?
MCCLANE: Aah, let me tempt you. You are an important agent, on a special, secret mission. Everywhere people are trying to kill you. You meet a beautiful, exotic woman….
QUAID: Go on.
MCCLANE: I don’t want to spoil it for you, Doug. Don’t worry, when the trip’s over you get the girl, kill the bad guys and save the whole planet. Now, tell me. Do you think that’s worth three hundred wretched credits?”
Excerpt from the film Total Recall. op.cit