CITY STREET - NIGHT

Sandra is running down the street, everywhere, and people are going berserk. She’s terrified. At the corner, she stops to take a breath when a car comes careening toward her, nearly mowing her down. The car slams into a restaurant, cutting itself in half through the energy field window, crushing diners inside. It’s a blood bath! She screams.

BRO: What are you doing on the street at this hour? You poor, pathetic slut. Trolling for action?

He’s back and standing in front of her.

SANDRA: You’re not real! You’re in my mind. 

She walks quickly down the street, but he matches her pace.

BRO: Look around, Sandra. There’s nowhere to go.  You’re gonna die out here. 

Sandra looks around; it’s a nightmare. People are fighting, screaming, and crying, and others are running for their lives. He’s right. Where can she go?

BRO: You’re weak, Sandra. You always have been. No wonder you have daddy issues. You were never gonna make it on your own.

SANDRA: Shut the fuck up! I don’t need shit! You can’t hurt me, Bro. You can’t even touch me! Your just a freaking hallucination!  

He steps in front of her. She stops.

BRO: Oh! I’m way more than that, GIRL!

She looks at him and then walks right through him.

SANDRA: Really?

She crosses the street and turns down an alleyway. Suddenly, she feels dizzy. She has to stop and lean against a wall. Bro walks slowly toward her.

BRO: You know that tiny chip at the base of your neck? It’s not only where I live, but it’s also a whole lot more. It controls your insulin levels. It’s so convenient these days, no more pills or injections, and you can eat what you want without the slightest concern. It’s as if you’re not sick at all. But switch off this function, and BANG, not all the candy bars in the world will save you!  

She is becoming very ill. 

SANDRA: Go ahead, kill me. But it’ll kill you too.

BRO: But I don’t want to kill you. I just wanted you to know that I can.

IYM JERRY’S LAB

The tension in the lab is palpable.

JERRY: It’s not working!

ROB: What do you mean it’s not working?!

Rob pushes Jerry away from his desk. Jerry stands up and sucker-punches Rob in the face. Rob falls to the floor, blood oozing from an open wound on his brow.

JERRY: You really are a pathetic excuse for a human being. This is all your fault; you see that, don’t you?  Son-of-a-bitch!!

He turns to look at Karis, who steps back.

JERRY: You want to add anything?!

She buttons her lip. Jerry sits back and starts shutting down the system, but the commands are not responding. He’s freaking out. 

JERRY: Stephan, I can’t access core control. I’m locked out! 

We see Stephan trying.

STEPHAN: Holly Shit! It’s using my own coding system to rewrite the security protocols. This isn't a human intervention; it’s happening too fast.

Jerry stands up.

JERRY: There’s only one other solution!

Rob peels himself off the floor and swabs his wound with a handkerchief.

ROB: What are you going to do?!

JERRY: If I were you, I would leave the building while there’s still time!

KARIS: Jerry?!

JERRY: We’ve got one shot at this!

FBI’S CAR

Alisa decides to take control of the vehicle. With the help of Helen, she shimmies herself into the driver's seat.

DRIVER: Mame, please return to your seat.

ALISA: Step off, you holographic piece of shit!

DRIVER: This is not a safe procedure. You are forcing me to take measures. 

She is almost in, mixing with the driver's image.

DRIVER: I must warn you, if I stop the vehicle at this velocity, we will all perish.

HELEN: Can you reach the controls?

Alisa is stretching her hand, trying to reach the touch control panel to press ‘disengage automatic driver’. 

ALISA: Almost!

DRIVER: I warned you!

The driver cuts the propulsion system. The car plummets out of the stream,  violently smashing Alisa into the windshield while Helen is pinned to the ceiling. Without losing time, Alisa restarted the car, disengaged the automatic pilot, and engaged in hover mode. The vehicle hovers for a moment and slips back into the stream. Helen is back on the seat. They are just now regaining their breath. Alisa opens the map interface to ascertain where they are.

ALISA: That AI was gonna drive us right through the board patrol. We would have been toast!

HELEN: But why?! And if so, who gave it the directive?

ALISA: This is no glitch. Someone is trying to keep us away even if it kills us!

HELEN: I’m dropping out of the stream.

The car drops from the stream and starts its descent when suddenly they see the highway. Mangled cars are piled up in every direction, others crash head-on into erratic traffic, and they barely have time to maneuver through the destruction. Alisa does her best to avoid the careening cars in all directions; some are falling from the above stream.

ALISA: Enough!

Helen is tossed from left to right, and she’s trying to buckle up.

HELEN: It would appear the situation has advanced!

ALISA: Let’s get the fuck away from this obstacle course!

POLICE STATION BULL PEN

Bud, helped by his officers, directs the overflow of fitting and delirious people into the interrogation rooms and cells. It’s bedlam, and some are fighting back. At this moment, Philip walks in with a gun and starts shooting.

BUD: What the hell are you doing?! 

PHILIP: It’s a tranquilizer. 

BUD: Brilliant!

PHILIP: Thanks!

After tranquilizing the hysteric masses, Bud, Philip, and a few others gather in his office, exhausted. Bet is fixing them coffee mixed with scotch. 

BET: This should help.

PHILIP: Bless. Bet you are an angel. Why is it you’re not affected?

BET: I could ask you the same question.

PHILIP: Standard protocol, service officers aren’t allowed AI assistance; it’s built into our chip.

BET: Oh, I thought that only applied to Bud. But it was obvious some of your officers were affected.

PHILIP: There are always one or two who have their chips tweaked without our knowing.  If they’re caught, they’re out of the force.

Philip shakes his hand in the air violently. Bud takes notice and glares at Philip accusatorily. 

BUD: What was that?!

PHILIP: What was what?

We now see through Philip’s eyes. The young stud, now only wearing a jockstrap, is bending over in front of him.

YOUNG STUD: Come on, baby, let me take some of that stress away. 

Bet passes right through the stud and hands a coffee to Philip, who raises his other hand in the same manner.

BUD: That?! With your hand? Damn Philip, you too?! 

Now the Stud is standing by Philip’s side, pinching his nipples.

PHILIP: I’m okay. It’s just slightly irritating. Bet, how did you make it stop?

She shows him the base of her neck.

BET: Easy. I got them to remove the chip!

Philip stands up. 

BUD: I’m sending you to the coroner to take that thing out!

Philip has a eureka moment.

PHILIP: Why don’t we just do this for everyone?

BUD: Because the AI program is directly linked to their medical protocols. We don’t have enough manpower to assess people's health status and drug delivery needs.  We could be killing them.

PHILIP: At this point, sir, I think it’s worth risking, don’t you?

They all look at each other in agreement. Philip’s stud is doing a lewd striptease on one of the desks.

EXTERIOR CITY

WE ARE TRAVELING THROUGH THE CITY AT GREAT SPEED, WITNESSING THE DEVASTATION AS WE MOVE UP ALONG STEPHAN’S BUILDING UNTIL WE REACH THE LEVEL OF HIS CONDO.

Sam is standing at the window, looking down at the city.

STEPHAN BRAY’S CONDO LIVING ROOM 

Sam, wearing a long African tunic, looks out at the city below. Suddenly there is a buzz, and Stephan’s image pops up, filling an entire wall. 

STEPHAN: Love, did I wake you?

She turns and looks at him with a sweet smile.

SAM: Stephan, you know I don’t really sleep.

STEPHAN: I know. Are you watching the news? 

SAM: I don’t have to. I just have to look outside to see that it’s pretty bad out there. Stephan, I’m worried about you.

STEPHAN: Don’t be. I’m fine. We’re gonna stop this madness, whatever it takes.

SAM: Maybe it’s payback for playing God. 

STEPHAN: Ha, no. It’s just a technical issue.

At this moment, there’s an explosion somewhere in the city.

SAM: Well, it would seem your ‘technical’ issue has the city alight. And something tells me the fire is spreading.

STEPHAN: Do you know what to do in case of a power failure?

SAM: Yes, I know. 

STEPHAN: Sam, I really have to get back to it.

SAM: Stephan, I’m scared. Come home. We can leave this nightmare together. 

You can tell that he is touched by what she’s saying.

STEPHAN: They need me. 

She turns away to look at the city.

SAM: I need you, Stephan. Now more than ever.

THE SHOT MOVES FROM SAM AND TRAVELS ACROSS THE CITY TO THE IYM BUILDING.

IYM CORRIDOR

Karis and Rob exit the elevator and walk quickly down the corridor.

ROB: Where are we going?

KARIS: Where do you think? To see Bray! If there’s anyone who knows what Jerry’s up to and how to stop it, it’s him. 

ROB: What do you think Jerry’s gonna do? What did he mean by ‘the only remaining solution’? It’s not as though he can just shut the power off.

KARIS: Not the power, but he can shut down the quantum core.

ROB: What?! That could blow this place to kingdom come!

KARIS: Precisely! That’s why we need Bray’s help, and we need to stop him! 

At this moment, Helen and Alisa walk into the corridor facing Karis and Rob.

KARIS: Shit, you are the last people we need to see right now!

EXTERIOR IYM BUILDING

Sandra’s in bad shape. She manages to reach the steps of the IYM building. Bro is on her heels but stops suddenly.

SANDRA: What? You’re tired of torturing me?!

Bro’s image starts to fade as she climbs the steps and then vanishes. She falls to her knees, crying with relief. The security guard sees her and runs out to help.

SECURITY GUARD: Sandra! I’m coming.

He helps her up and into the building.

SECURITY GUARD: What are you doing out there by yourself? It’s Armageddon out there!

SANDRA: Tell me about it.

He helps her to sit on one of the foyer couches.

SECURITY GUARD: Let me get you some water.

She looks around and realizes that the place is in perfect order.

SANDRA: Jim, you’ve had no problems here?

SECURITY GUARD: No. It’s weird. 

SANDRA: What about your family?

SECURITY GUARD: They all live out of town, thank god for that! My advice is that you stay here until things are safe.

SANDRA: Trust me, I have no intention of going anywhere. Are Bray and the others still here? Are they okay?

SECURITY GUARD: They’re here, and they’re fine. I’ve been following them on the monitor. They’re trying to figure out how to fix this mess. Man, it looks like the end of times out there!

IYM CORRIDOR 

It’s a face-off.

ALISA: What the hell is going on?! 

HELEN: And this time, no jerking us around! We almost got killed by one of your AIs!

KARIS: I’m sorry to hear that. We don’t have much to tell you other than the AIs seem to be self-realizing, and they’re taking over the city.

ALISA: Come again?!

KARIS: Listen, I would love to stay and chat, but Jerry, the wunderkind, is about to blow up his creations off the map, and he’s taking us with him! 

HELEN: What are you talking about?

STEPHAN: He’s going to shut down the quantum core.

Stephan emerges from his office.

HELEN: If it stops the carnage, so be it.

ALISA: No, Helen, remember, the quantum core is a nuclear device. If shut down improperly, this city’s gonna be reduced to ash.

HELEN: Have you contacted the authorities? 

Karis and Rob look guiltily at each other. They were so wrapped up they hadn't even considered it. 

HELEN: I have to warn the Sheriff!

ROB: Yes, of course, he can organize an evacuation. 

HELEN: That’s not gonna happen. They’ve closed the border.

KARIS: Oh my god, we’re trapped!

Stephan hurriedly steers them into his office. Helen is trying to get in touch with the Sheriff.

POLICE STATION LAB

Officers are bringing people to the autopsy room to have their chips removed. Having had his removed, Philip is holding a cold compress to the base of his neck. Bet is assisting the Coroner. Bud looks on. 

BUD: It's likely some of these people are gonna sue. 

PHILIP: What choice do we have?

A young woman officer walks in with a digital sheet, and she hands it to Bud. He looks at it.

BUD: SHIT!

He’s pissed.

PHILIP: What is it?

BUD: The D.O.D.’s put us under quarantine. No one is in or out of the city, and a major firewall has been put up, cutting our communication from the rest of the world!

PHILIP: That’s not good. They’re one finger away from blowing us all up.

BUD: Let’s go to my office and get a handle on how fast this thing’s spreading.

IYM CORRIDOR IN FRONT OF STEPHAN OFFICE

Helen, alone in the corridor, is calling Bud from her bracelet. His face pops up.

HELEN: Sheriff.

BUD: We’re a little busy here, Helen. We’re removing chips from anyone that is affected. Other than a few very sick people, it seemed to be the best solution.

HELEN: You realize that some people will die without medication. 

BUD: It’s that or stands by and watches people pull each other apart. We managed to alert the clinics and hospitals to do the same, but thousands of people are out there without help.  The death toll is climbing by the minute.

HELEN: You made the right decision.  Listen, IYM’s people couldn't fix the problem, and there’s a desperate man here attempting to shut down the quantum core.

BUD: Even I know that’s a bad idea. 

HELEN: That’s what I said.

STEPHAN’S OFFICE

Karis, Rob, Alisa, and Helen are all around Stephan’s desk, looking at a schematic of the grid. Alisa is particularly interested in moving the grid in all directions with her hands.

ALISA: You realize that what you call ‘the infection’ has completely avoided this building?

Stephan is intrigued and has a better look.  As he bends down to Alisa’s eye-line, she notices strange, fine, black lines around his chip implant. 

STEPHAN: You’re right! I’ve been so preoccupied with stopping the spread that I never considered why we were all unaffected.

At this moment, a window screen floats up; it’s Jerry at the entrance of the quantum core.

JERRY: Stephan, I need you to help me out with this! We know what could happen if.

Karis rushes in front of the screen, pushing Stephan and Alisa aside.

KARIS: Yes! We know what could happen! That’s why you have to stop what you’re doing!

JERRY: You may have ripped me from my majority rule here, but I’m still the creator of this system, and I will be damned if I let it continue to kill people!

KARIS: Listen very carefully, nerd. If you botch the shutdown, everyone’s DEAD!!

HELEN: If it’s not the AI’s wiping us out, it’s gonna be a D.O.D. air strike. Anyway, you look at it, and we’re screwed.  SAVVY?!

They turn to look at Helen, who just walked in. At the same time, Stephan runs out.