This is an excerpt from the final script. It's kind of long so bear with us through it. I've added a brief note in explaining what the scene's about, after the excerpt.
Before you read the scene, I'll give a little history of Mephistopheles and the two Dukes, Agares and Raym's, current situation.
When Lucifer had changed the old system in Hell, he divided up the whole planet into territories. Rafael has a fourth of the United States, Mephistopheles has all of Asia, and so on. Each recruiter is given a quota that has to be finished every month. When the desciples of Hell kill a bad seed on Earth, they collect their soul in what Lucifer calls "recruitment". Since the use of anything other than knives are prohibited, the job can get a little busy. And this is what the scene is about.
Int. Cafe' - dayThe Cafe' is small and mostly empty. A few regulars, consisting of farmers and drunks, sit at seperate tables and chatter. Int the front of the Cafe', next to huge windows are Mephistopheles, Agares, and Raym. They all stare into cups of black coffee. Agares and Raym have sunglasses on and sit comatose. Mephistopheles shreds a blueberry muffin into little pieces, devouring it bit by bit. He takes a sip of his coffee. A cigarette burns in an ashtray. Mephistopheles grabs it and takes a drag.
Sure is a bright day today. I can't see a cloud anywhere. Agares and Raym shutter and grunt.
You guys don't look too good. You know I felt the same way a little while ago. Asia can keep you on your toes, let me tell you. Some days it's easy but some days it's really hard. Canada is about as big as Asia but there are a billion of those foul creatures running around over there. I'd love to work in Canada. There I'd at least be able to skip a day and relax, but one billion.
How much of Canada do we get?
Between you too? A third to each of you. Mostly stick around the border, the higher up you go, the more Mountain men and Eskimos you find. Stay to the border.
For how long? I have other work to do.
Well, until boss says you're done.
We could be here indefinitely. (sighs) I didn't like all this from the beginning and still don't. I said it, too.
I never said it but I didn't agree with the system, either.
Good thing you didn't say anything. Nergal tried to stab Agares in the throat. He thought he was a traitor.
We don't have enough time to carry out all this recruitment stuff for him. He wants everything now, now, now.
What about you, Mephistopheles? There's a rumor saying that your coming in under schedule. What's that all about?
It's nothing. What I do is study. These primates up here may be revolting but they sure do have a lot to teach us. They had refined efficiency to an art form. The higher their technology, the lazier they get. We're over worked because we're old fashioned.
But that has nothing to do with coming in under schedule.
It has everything to do with coming in under schedule. The human found the club, then metal for weapons, finally came the knife. Hunting became more efficient. After that, they stepped it up a bit, their inquisitive minds bubbling with ideas, and made the gun.
Are you saying that humans are smarter than us because they invent stuff?
Nothing of the sort. What I'm saying is that they had decided to change with the time. Hunting, killing, and fighting became easier. Now they can kill millions of people in a few minutes. That's easy... that's efficiency... and that's what they have to teach us.
Why do you come in under schedule, again? Mephistopheles' pager beeps. He opens his coat and pulls his pager from out of his pocket. A gun is clearly revealed. He checks the message. Agares and Raym look at the gun, shocked. Mephistpheles puts the pager back into his pocket and closes his coat. He looks at the two Dukes.
Oh, yeah... how I come in under schedule? Mephistopheles sips his coffee. The Dukes look at him curiously, then at each other. Cut to:
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In the scene, Mephistopheles shows his hidden schedule, his dis-taste for the system that they're using in Hell. He feels that things could be better if, even the littlest of change. That is what he was implying when he talked about the human's knack for efficiency.
In the current system, Lucifer wants to keep things as originally based as possible, hence prohibiting the use of anything but knives. Since Lucifer was created in Heaven during the time of spears and swords and only knew the skills that accompany knives, knives is all he wants the rest of his minions to use. Mephistopheles think otherwise.
The exact reason Mephistopheles comes in under schedule, collecting or recruiting souls, is because he had disobeyed Lucifer law and started to use a gun. His job at collecting souls had become easier because he didn't have to use close-quarter tactics anymore. He just had to pull a trigger.
In a round about way, he gets Agares and Raym to side with him, to build his own political standing in Hell. Behind Lucifer's back, of course.
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