The barrel of a rifle ROLLS the Bearded Man onto his back. A JAPANESE SECURITY GUARD looks down at him, then calls him up the beach to a colleague leaning against a JEEP. behind them is a cliff, and on top of that, a JAPANESE CASTLE.

INT. ELEGANT DINING ROOM, JAPANESE CASTLE – LATER

The Security Guard waits as an ATTENDANT speaks to an ELDERLY JAPANESE MAN sitting at the dining table, back to us.

[ATTENDANT]:
(In Japanese) He was delirious. But he asked for you by name. And... (to the Security Guard) Show him.

[SECURITY GUARD]:
(In Japanese) He was carrying nothing but this...

He puts a HANDGUN on the table. The Elderly Man keeps eating.

[SECURITY GUARD]:
...and this.

The Security Guard places a SMALL PEWTER CONE alongside the gun. The Elderly Man STOPS eating. Picks up the cone.

[ELDERLY JAPANESE MAN]:
(In Japanese) Bring him here. And some food.

INT. SAME – MOMENTS LATER

The Elderly Man watches the Bearded Man WOLF down his food. He SLIDES the handgun down the table towards him.
[ELDERLY JAPANESE MAN]:
(In English) Are you here to kill me?

The Bearded Man glances up at him, then back to his food.

The Elderly Japanese Man picks up the cone between thumb and forefinger.

[ELDERLY JAPANESE MAN]:
I know what *this* is.

He SPINS it onto a table– it CIRCLES gracefully across the polished ebony... a SPINNING TOP.

[ELDERLY JAPANESE MAN]:
I've seen one before. Many, many years ago...

The Elderly Japanese Man STARES at the top mesmerized.

[ELDERLY JAPANESE MAN]:
It belonged to a man I met in a half-remembered dream...

MOVE IN on the GRACEFULLY SPINNING TOP...

[ELDERLY JAPANESE MAN]:
A man possessed of some radical notions...

The Elderly Japanese Man STARES, remembering...
[COBB]:
(V.O.) *What's the most resilient parasite?*

CUT TO:
INT. SAME ELEGANT DINING ROOM – NIGHT (YEARS EARLIER)

The speaker, COBB, is 35, handsome, tailored. A young Japanese man, SAITO, eats as he listens.

[COBB]:
A bacteria? A virus?

Cobb gestures at their feast with his wine glass–

[COBB]:
An intestinal worm?

Saito's fork pauses, mid-air. Cobb GRINS. A third man is at the table– ARTHUR. He jumps in to save the pitch–

[ARTHUR]:
What Mr. Cobb is trying to say–

[COBB]:
An *idea*.

Saito looks at Cobb, curious.
[COBB]:
Resilient, highly contagious. Once an idea's taken hold in the brain it's almost impossible to eradicate. A person can cover it up, ignore it– but it stays there.

[SAITO]:
But surely–to forget...?

[COBB]: Information, yes. But an *idea*? Fully formed, *understood*? That sticks... (taps forehead) In there, somewhere.

[SAITO]:
For someone like you to steal?

[ARTHUR]:
Yes. In the dream state, conscious defenses are lowered and your thoughts become vulnerable to theft. It's call extraction.

[COBB]:
But, Mr. Saito, we can train your subconscious to defend itself from even the most skilled extractor.

[SAITO]:
How can you do that?

[COBB]:
Because I *am* the most skilled extractor. I know how to search your mind and find your secrets. I know the tricks, and I can teach them to your subconscious so that even when you're *asleep*, your guard is never down.

Cobb leans forward. Holding Saito's gaze.

[COBB]:
But if I'm going to help you, you have to be completely open to me. I'll need to know my way around your thoughts better than your wife, your analyst, anyone. (gestures around) If this is a dream and you've got a safe full of secrets, I need to know what's in that safe. For this to work, you have to let me in.

Saito gives this a flicker of a smile. Rises. A BODYGUARD opens double doors which give onto a LAVISH PARTY.

[SAITO]:
Gentlemen. Enjoy your evening as I consider your proposal.

They watch Saito leave. Arthur turns to Cobb, worried–

[ARTHUR]:
He knows.

Cobb motions silence. A TREMOR starts, they steady their glasses, Cobb glances at his watch– THE SECOND HAND IS FROZEN.

[ARTHUR]:
What's going on up there?

And we–