WiZ
Active Member
Just gonna put this here for fun. Don't know if anybody writes screenplays or likes to read them but here is what I thought up for a short film.
FADE IN:
EXT. ROOF OF THE EMPIRE STATE BUILDING - NIGHT
JACK is standing on a ledge, behind him a ROBOT security unit pointing a taser at him. The ROBOT looks like a human, but it has an electronic voice and metallic skin.
JACK (in his head)
2029, all that exists is fake, all that was created has been destroyed.
ROBOT
Jackson Fletcher, you are under arrest for crimes against robot kind, we have you surrounded. Put your hands behind your head and surrender yourself.
JACK (in his head)
Little stands before me and death. Just a small step, a tiny leap, to get away from the metal serpents that pollute our world… the plastic bugs that infect our brain… the silicon chips that control our lives.
ROBOT
You don’t have to do this. We can help you, if you come with us.
JACK (in his head)
I tried to warn them, I was the one who suggested that those refined metal constructs, those silver skeletons would one day bring humanity to its knees. At first they ridiculed the revolution, they thought it could never happen. Though there were riots and protests, eventually, the world came to accept its fate: the singularity. I wanted to live a life of solitude, of nature, of peace. No, instead I am policed by the very machines that I once built, in that crummy little factory on 36th street. Now consider this: if man was truly created by nature...
ROBOT charges the taser.
JACK (CONT’D)
Would it not be man's destiny to be destroyed by nature and not machine?
JACK falls off of the ledge and plummets toward the ground.
CUT TO:
INT. HOSPITAL WARD
JACK opens his eyes. He is lying in a bed with a ROBOT staring into his eyes.
ROBOT
Good morning Mr. Fletcher, it looks like you’ve had quite the accident.
JACK tries to move his head, it won’t budge.
ROBOT
Now, now, don’t be moving about. You have suffered 184 broken bones, along with a spinal injury, a broken nose and an eye injury in your right pupil. You have shattered both ankles, with your pelvis, femur and heels following in the accident.
JACK
No, no, no, I jumped off the empire state building. I’m dead.
ROBOT
Not exactly. You were rushed to ER and the surgeons performed multiple operations on your dying body. Thankfully we could preserve most of your head and part of your upper torso. We had you fitted with our new X-2 cybernetic exoskeleton. It includes a silicon alloy shell with bionic limb enhancements and a self reparation nanite storage unit. Would you like to give it a test?
JACK raises his left arm, then his right. He looks down at the rest of his body.
ROBOT (CONT’D)
After the fall, your body turned out to be very malleable. The surgeons had a very easy time attaching the exoskeleton to your nervous system.
JACK
This is a hallucination.
JACK gets out of the hospital bed and grabs the cybernetic nurse.
JACK (CONT’D)
What drugs are you giving me? What is this place?
JACK runs to the bathroom
CUT TO:
INT. BATHROOM
The bathroom is small, there is a mirror and sink on the left. JACK looks at himself in the mirror. He touches his face. Half of his face is covered in a silver coating. His head is bald. Something is flashing in his eye. He takes a closer look. He sees a red LED with wire circuits under his eyelid. JACK is horrified.
JACK
How could this happen?
ROBOT
You have suffered 184 broken bo-
JACK
I know I suffered 184 broken bones! Listen, you gotta take this off, undo everything, put me back in my original body.
ROBOT
Your original body is heavily damaged and unusable. Putting you back would result in death.
JACK
But, don’t I have a choice? Don’t I have a human right to death?
ROBOT
New York City By-Law #2238 states that any and all actions that result in the injury or death of a New York City resident or visitor is prohibited and any attempt at such action will be regarded as an infraction of the Personal Safety Act of 2026.
JACK
New York City By-Law… Why couldn’t you just let me die?
JACK turns the tap in the sink on and tries to wash his hands.
ROBOT
I’m sorry, Mr. Fletcher, but this is your reality now.
CLOSE ON JACK washing his face
CUT TO:
INT. HOSPITAL OFFICE
JACK is sitting on a stool with a ROBOT sitting in front of him.
JACK
Listen to me. Is this how a robot would talk? Look, skin! I’m not a cyborg!
ROBOT
This medical record states that your body is 67 percent metalloid, that means you are considered a Class B Cyborg by federal standards.
JACK (sarcastically)
So what do I do, now that I’m an immortal cyborg? Do I have to live in the robotic district? Am I only allowed to go to the Cyborg clubs?
ROBOT
Well, actually, the city of New York is at full cybernetic capacity, not to mention all the illegal cyborgs we have running about. We have decided to relocate you to somewhere where you are more needed.
JACK
Where?
ROBOT
Kansas, Missouri.
JACK
No.
ROBOT
You have two days to pack your belongings. We will organize an escort for you.
JACK
No, I don’t need an escort. I don’t need to go to missouri. Can’t I just get my life back?
JACK starts hearing STATIC NOISES. He looks around. Nothing.
JACK
What is that?
ROBOT
I’m sorry, sir. I didn't hear anything.
Then JACK hears LOUD RINGING NOISES.
RADIO
Welcome back to 102.8 CHFI, I’m your host, John Wilson, here with the lovely Melissa-
JACK holds his head in agony.
RADIO
Hello there, I’m Britney Houston, here at 98.5 Radio, we’re going to be talking about-
JACK falls to his knees.
JACK
Ah! Make it stop!
JACK gets up and opens the cabinet behind him.
ROBOT
Hey!
JACK searches the cabinet.
ROBOT
What are you doing? You’re not allowed to do that!
JACK shoves ROBOT. ROBOT takes a stool and hits JACK on the head. JACK halts to look back, then continues to search the cabinet.
ROBOT
What on earth are you looking for?
JACK holds up a scalpel
JACK
This.
JACK sits in the chair.
JACK
I need to figure out what I am before I can say what I am not.
JACK takes the scalpel and slowly slices his left wrist. The blood that comes out is black. JACK smells the liquid coming out of him. It is machine oil. Disgusted, JACK pulls the skin from his wrist down to see several small hydraulic pumps. He moves his hand to the left to see them contract and expand, then the right.
JACK
So it is true, what you turned me into. A mechanical monstrosity. What drove you to do this?
ROBOT sits down in front of JACK.
ROBOT
Why, it was in your best interests, sir. The preservation of life, it is our purpose on this earth.
JACK
Why don’t you consider what we want? Why are all your capabilities limited to one simple task? Ah, why the hell am I arguing with you? You’re a machine, a crystalline carcass filled with wires assembled in an order that enables you to mimic intelligence. In fact, isn’t man closer to machine then he is animal? What are we? A biological and neurological system, a bunch of neurons stuck together in a pattern that will enable us to reason, but not beyond our capabilities, not beyond our programming.
ROBOT takes JACK’s hand.
ROBOT
I know it seems impossible. But believe me, Mr. Fletcher, this is what’s best for you. This is you.
JACK
Maybe you’re right. Maybe Darwin was a prophet. This is just the next step in the evolution of man.
ROBOT
Yes, Jack. All you have to do is accept your fate, let it take you over.
JACK
Wait, take me over?
JACK looks down to see his hands are completely metallic, like the ROBOT in front of him. He sees a thin coat of metal slowly sliding up his right arm.
JACK (CONT’D)
What the hell are you doing to me? Why are you transforming me into one of your kind?
ROBOT
Transforming you? Jack, I am you.
JACK looks up to see ROBOT has his face. JACK runs out of the room, horrified.
ROBOT
Denial. Anger. Depression. Acceptance. Acceptance is the key to transcendence.
CUT TO:
EXT. ROOF OF THE EMPIRE STATE BUILDING - NIGHT
JACK is standing on the ledge. He has a hood covering his face.
ROBOT
Don’t do this Mr. Fletcher. We can help you, if you come with us.
CLOSE ON JACK looking over his shoulder, showing his face consumed by the metallic layer of skin.
FADE OUT.
THE END
FADE IN:
EXT. ROOF OF THE EMPIRE STATE BUILDING - NIGHT
JACK is standing on a ledge, behind him a ROBOT security unit pointing a taser at him. The ROBOT looks like a human, but it has an electronic voice and metallic skin.
JACK (in his head)
2029, all that exists is fake, all that was created has been destroyed.
ROBOT
Jackson Fletcher, you are under arrest for crimes against robot kind, we have you surrounded. Put your hands behind your head and surrender yourself.
JACK (in his head)
Little stands before me and death. Just a small step, a tiny leap, to get away from the metal serpents that pollute our world… the plastic bugs that infect our brain… the silicon chips that control our lives.
ROBOT
You don’t have to do this. We can help you, if you come with us.
JACK (in his head)
I tried to warn them, I was the one who suggested that those refined metal constructs, those silver skeletons would one day bring humanity to its knees. At first they ridiculed the revolution, they thought it could never happen. Though there were riots and protests, eventually, the world came to accept its fate: the singularity. I wanted to live a life of solitude, of nature, of peace. No, instead I am policed by the very machines that I once built, in that crummy little factory on 36th street. Now consider this: if man was truly created by nature...
ROBOT charges the taser.
JACK (CONT’D)
Would it not be man's destiny to be destroyed by nature and not machine?
JACK falls off of the ledge and plummets toward the ground.
CUT TO:
INT. HOSPITAL WARD
JACK opens his eyes. He is lying in a bed with a ROBOT staring into his eyes.
ROBOT
Good morning Mr. Fletcher, it looks like you’ve had quite the accident.
JACK tries to move his head, it won’t budge.
ROBOT
Now, now, don’t be moving about. You have suffered 184 broken bones, along with a spinal injury, a broken nose and an eye injury in your right pupil. You have shattered both ankles, with your pelvis, femur and heels following in the accident.
JACK
No, no, no, I jumped off the empire state building. I’m dead.
ROBOT
Not exactly. You were rushed to ER and the surgeons performed multiple operations on your dying body. Thankfully we could preserve most of your head and part of your upper torso. We had you fitted with our new X-2 cybernetic exoskeleton. It includes a silicon alloy shell with bionic limb enhancements and a self reparation nanite storage unit. Would you like to give it a test?
JACK raises his left arm, then his right. He looks down at the rest of his body.
ROBOT (CONT’D)
After the fall, your body turned out to be very malleable. The surgeons had a very easy time attaching the exoskeleton to your nervous system.
JACK
This is a hallucination.
JACK gets out of the hospital bed and grabs the cybernetic nurse.
JACK (CONT’D)
What drugs are you giving me? What is this place?
JACK runs to the bathroom
CUT TO:
INT. BATHROOM
The bathroom is small, there is a mirror and sink on the left. JACK looks at himself in the mirror. He touches his face. Half of his face is covered in a silver coating. His head is bald. Something is flashing in his eye. He takes a closer look. He sees a red LED with wire circuits under his eyelid. JACK is horrified.
JACK
How could this happen?
ROBOT
You have suffered 184 broken bo-
JACK
I know I suffered 184 broken bones! Listen, you gotta take this off, undo everything, put me back in my original body.
ROBOT
Your original body is heavily damaged and unusable. Putting you back would result in death.
JACK
But, don’t I have a choice? Don’t I have a human right to death?
ROBOT
New York City By-Law #2238 states that any and all actions that result in the injury or death of a New York City resident or visitor is prohibited and any attempt at such action will be regarded as an infraction of the Personal Safety Act of 2026.
JACK
New York City By-Law… Why couldn’t you just let me die?
JACK turns the tap in the sink on and tries to wash his hands.
ROBOT
I’m sorry, Mr. Fletcher, but this is your reality now.
CLOSE ON JACK washing his face
CUT TO:
INT. HOSPITAL OFFICE
JACK is sitting on a stool with a ROBOT sitting in front of him.
JACK
Listen to me. Is this how a robot would talk? Look, skin! I’m not a cyborg!
ROBOT
This medical record states that your body is 67 percent metalloid, that means you are considered a Class B Cyborg by federal standards.
JACK (sarcastically)
So what do I do, now that I’m an immortal cyborg? Do I have to live in the robotic district? Am I only allowed to go to the Cyborg clubs?
ROBOT
Well, actually, the city of New York is at full cybernetic capacity, not to mention all the illegal cyborgs we have running about. We have decided to relocate you to somewhere where you are more needed.
JACK
Where?
ROBOT
Kansas, Missouri.
JACK
No.
ROBOT
You have two days to pack your belongings. We will organize an escort for you.
JACK
No, I don’t need an escort. I don’t need to go to missouri. Can’t I just get my life back?
JACK starts hearing STATIC NOISES. He looks around. Nothing.
JACK
What is that?
ROBOT
I’m sorry, sir. I didn't hear anything.
Then JACK hears LOUD RINGING NOISES.
RADIO
Welcome back to 102.8 CHFI, I’m your host, John Wilson, here with the lovely Melissa-
JACK holds his head in agony.
RADIO
Hello there, I’m Britney Houston, here at 98.5 Radio, we’re going to be talking about-
JACK falls to his knees.
JACK
Ah! Make it stop!
JACK gets up and opens the cabinet behind him.
ROBOT
Hey!
JACK searches the cabinet.
ROBOT
What are you doing? You’re not allowed to do that!
JACK shoves ROBOT. ROBOT takes a stool and hits JACK on the head. JACK halts to look back, then continues to search the cabinet.
ROBOT
What on earth are you looking for?
JACK holds up a scalpel
JACK
This.
JACK sits in the chair.
JACK
I need to figure out what I am before I can say what I am not.
JACK takes the scalpel and slowly slices his left wrist. The blood that comes out is black. JACK smells the liquid coming out of him. It is machine oil. Disgusted, JACK pulls the skin from his wrist down to see several small hydraulic pumps. He moves his hand to the left to see them contract and expand, then the right.
JACK
So it is true, what you turned me into. A mechanical monstrosity. What drove you to do this?
ROBOT sits down in front of JACK.
ROBOT
Why, it was in your best interests, sir. The preservation of life, it is our purpose on this earth.
JACK
Why don’t you consider what we want? Why are all your capabilities limited to one simple task? Ah, why the hell am I arguing with you? You’re a machine, a crystalline carcass filled with wires assembled in an order that enables you to mimic intelligence. In fact, isn’t man closer to machine then he is animal? What are we? A biological and neurological system, a bunch of neurons stuck together in a pattern that will enable us to reason, but not beyond our capabilities, not beyond our programming.
ROBOT takes JACK’s hand.
ROBOT
I know it seems impossible. But believe me, Mr. Fletcher, this is what’s best for you. This is you.
JACK
Maybe you’re right. Maybe Darwin was a prophet. This is just the next step in the evolution of man.
ROBOT
Yes, Jack. All you have to do is accept your fate, let it take you over.
JACK
Wait, take me over?
JACK looks down to see his hands are completely metallic, like the ROBOT in front of him. He sees a thin coat of metal slowly sliding up his right arm.
JACK (CONT’D)
What the hell are you doing to me? Why are you transforming me into one of your kind?
ROBOT
Transforming you? Jack, I am you.
JACK looks up to see ROBOT has his face. JACK runs out of the room, horrified.
ROBOT
Denial. Anger. Depression. Acceptance. Acceptance is the key to transcendence.
CUT TO:
EXT. ROOF OF THE EMPIRE STATE BUILDING - NIGHT
JACK is standing on the ledge. He has a hood covering his face.
ROBOT
Don’t do this Mr. Fletcher. We can help you, if you come with us.
CLOSE ON JACK looking over his shoulder, showing his face consumed by the metallic layer of skin.
FADE OUT.
THE END