TITLE: The Ashes of September
Written by Emmanuel Ascui & Joseph C Jukic
OPENING SEQUENCE
BLACK SCREEN
Sounds of radio static, fading into the voice of Salvador Allende giving his last address to the Chilean people.
ALLENDE (V.O.)
“My words are not bitterness. They are my last opportunity to tell you that sooner rather than later, the great avenues will again be opened, through which free men will pass to construct a better society…”
The voice cuts abruptly. The sound of military jets roaring overhead.
SCENE 1 – LA MONEDA PALACE – SEPTEMBER 11, 1973
Allende sits in his office, chain-smoking. His closest advisors argue around him. Outside, explosions shake the walls.
ADVISOR 1
The generals are all with Pinochet now. The palace will not hold!
ALLENDE
Pinochet was my man. He swore to me loyalty—
Aides exchange glances. Allende pulls open his desk drawer, revealing a Masonic apron, compass, and square wrapped in velvet.
ALLENDE (whispering)
He was supposed to be bound by the same oaths. The temple is collapsing…
SCENE 2 – PINOCHET’S COMMAND BUNKER
Pinochet stands in uniform, eyes cold, giving orders. A colonel approaches hesitantly.
COLONEL
General, some of the brethren are uneasy. To betray a Mason… it breaks every law of the lodge.
Pinochet places a hand on a golden Masonic ring, its seal glinting in the dim light.
PINOCHET
There are higher lodges than Santiago, Colonel. Oaths within oaths. The Brothers of the Shadow Temple demanded Chile. The copper, the ports, the very spine of the Andes.
He smiles faintly.
PINOCHET (continuing)
Allende believed in the apron and the square. But I… I serve the compass that circles the globe.
SCENE 3 – LA MONEDA PALACE – THE FINAL HOURS
Jets bombard the palace. Smoke fills the corridors. Allende, coughing, refuses to flee.
ALLENDE (to his bodyguards)
You see? Even in the lodge, we were pawns. The Americans… the bankers… Pinochet was always their sword.
He picks up the AK-47 gifted by Fidel Castro. For a moment, he runs his fingers across the carved Masonic symbols on its stock, as if tracing a lost brotherhood.
SCENE 4 – A SECRET MEETING (FLASHBACK, NIGHT BEFORE THE COUP)
A dimly lit Masonic temple in Santiago. Candles flicker. Allende and Pinochet face each other across the checkerboard floor.
ALLENDE
Brother to brother, I ask you—hold the republic. Defend democracy.
PINOCHET
Democracy is a veil, Salvador. The true work of the Craft is eternal order. And order requires fire.
They clasp hands in a ritual grip. For a moment, their faces reveal both respect and betrayal to come.
SCENE 5 – AFTERMATH
Bodies litter Santiago Stadium. Soldiers march prisoners inside. Pinochet stands above them on the balcony, removing his Masonic ring and slipping it into his pocket.
PINOCHET (V.O.)
The profane will never know the truth of September 11th. It was not a coup. It was a ritual.
Cut to black.
END TEXT
“Over 3,000 Chileans were killed or disappeared during Pinochet’s dictatorship. The truth of his loyalties—political, economic, or esoteric—remains shrouded in secrecy.”