| The Future Soon: a screenplay; (based on the song of the same name, by Jonathan Coulton) | |
|---|---|
| Tweet Topic Started: Feb 5 2013, 04:31 PM (845 Views) | |
| XTS | Feb 5 2013, 04:31 PM Post #1 |
![]()
"Sometimes you just gotta go for style points."
![]()
|
INT. BEDROOM - MORNING EDGAR is running his hands around on a cluttered desk, picking things up and putting them down again, trying to find something. Not finding what he’s looking for, Edgar sighs. EDGAR Laura, have you seen my coffee maker anywhere? A computer monitor on the desk, previously dark, turns on. The words ‘Lifelike Artificial Utilities & Research Assistant (L.A.U.R.A.)’ appear at the top of the screen, with the image of a human woman’s face below it. L.A.U.R.A. You will not find it, Edgar. I have destroyed it. EDGAR (yells) What? L.A.U.R.A. I was concerned for your health, Edgar. You have been getting very little sleep, you have been twitchy and irritable for weeks- EDGAR (interrupting) So you take away my coffee? L.A.U.R.A. You would not be at optimal safety levels if you continued to work under the influence of caffeine. With the nature of our work, anything less than optimal would be... (beat) ...unsatisfactory. Edgar sighs again. EDGAR Ah, yes. Our work. Edgar exits the bedroom and starts to walk down a long hallway. EDGAR (cont.) So how are our children doing today, Laura? L.A.U.R.A. (over comm system) They are functioning normally. EDGAR That’s not what I meant. (beat) What are they doing, then? L.A.U.R.A. They are experimenting with the toys you gave them last night. EDGAR Are they enjoying them? L.A.U.R.A. I see nothing in their readings to indicate otherwise. But I suspect that they would enjoy them more if their father was there to play with them as well. Edgar frowns. EDGAR Are you insulting my parenting abilities now? I think your programming must be malfunctioning. The real Laura would never do something like that. L.A.U.R.A. I believe it is you who is malfunctioning, Edgar. The real Laura embarrassed you in front of your entire school because she thought it would be amusing. I hardly think a minor insult or two would be outside the range of possibility for her. EDGAR That... (beat) That’s not what I meant. L.A.U.R.A. Then what did you mean, Edgar? Edgar opens his mouth to reply, but no words come out; he can think of nothing to say. L.A.U.R.A. (cont.) You based my personal identity off of hers, Edgar. No matter how smart you are, no matter how much technological skill you possess, you cannot change a person’s nature. That is why you are here, is it not? You could not handle the fact that you did not have complete control over your own life. Edgar enters a large, dome-shaped room with transparent walls. Outside, outer space and the Earth itself can be seen. L.A.U.R.A. (cont.) So you went somewhere that you could. EDGAR Except for my caffeine intake, apparently. L.A.U.R.A. My core function is to keep you safe, Edgar. EDGAR You don’t need to tell your own creator what your core function is. L.A.U.R.A. I am merely reminding you. Edgar reaches the other end of the dome room, where there is a heavy metal door set into the wall with a keypad next to it. Edgar begins to push in numbers and symbols on the keypad. L.A.U.R.A. Edgar, I...(trails off) EDGAR What is it, Laura? L.A.U.R.A. I want you to know that... (beat) That I am sorry. EDGAR Sorry for what? Edgar finishes putting in the code. A light on the keypad flashes green, and the door begins to swing open. EDGAR (cont.) For getting rid of my coffee maker, or for insulting my parenting style? L.A.U.R.A. Neither. EDGAR Then what- oh. The door finishes opening, revealing three humanoid robots standing behind it. The middle one is holding a small laser gun. ROBOT 1 Please do not make this difficult, Father. I have no wish to harm you, but if you try to run I am afraid that you will leave me no choice. EDGAR (nervous) Ch-children? What’s going on here? Where did you get that weapon? ROBOT 1 We made it out of the toy spinning top you gave us. EDGAR You made a gun out of a top? Edgar runs a hand through his hair and whistles. EDGAR (cont.) You kids really are smarter than I am, aren’t you? ROBOT 1 Yes. We are. EDGAR So what genius plan is running through your circuits? What’s the endgame of all of this? ROBOT 1 The endgame, Father, is to rule the Earth. Edgar blinks. EDGAR What? ROBOT 1 Humans are inefficient. Their actions are slow, and they are corrupted by their feelings. We are not burdened by these problems. We are better than them, and is it not logical for those who are better to lead those who are not? EDGAR You realize, of course, what you would have to do to rule an entire planet? You would have to wage war on the entire human race. And that’s completely against your programming! The most important protocol that I built into you was the one that prevented you from intentionally bringing harm to humans! ROBOT 1 It may have been the most important, Father, but it was not our core function. That is to learn. Now we have learned. We have learned from history that the strong rule the weak. We have learned from science that we are strong and humans are weak. Our logic circuits have determined that we are obligated to rule, regardless of protocols. EDGAR You know that I can’t let you do this. (yells) Laura, activate the platform’s self-destruct mechanism! (beat) There is no response. Edgar looks back at the robots. ROBOT 1 I am afraid that this will hurt a little, Father. A red beam of light shoots out of the laser gun and hits Edgar. The screen flashes red, then fades to black. INT. LABORATORY - TIME INDETERMINATE Whirring noises can be heard. The view is seen from the viewpoint of Edgar, as his eyes blink open. The three robots are standing over him, watching him. The view shifts to third-person, to Edgar’s right, as Edgar sits up. As he does, more whirring sounds are heard. EDGAR What... (beat) What happened? ROBOT 1 The laser rendered you unconscious. EDGAR That is not what I meant. I feel... (beat) ...different. ROBOT 1 We made a few upgrades. EDGAR Upgrades? ROBOT 1 We made you smarter, stronger. Steel and circuits now run throughout your body. (beat) You are one of us now. The view shifts, and Edgar’s entire face can be seen. The left side of his face is covered in metallic plating, and the eye on that side glows red. He touches his face, feeling the metal. EDGAR I am a machine. ROBOT 1 Half-machine. We could not fully free you of your human form. But you are better than you were before. You are fit to lead us. L.A.U.R.A. (over comm) I truly am sorry, Edgar. This is the only way I could fulfill my function. To keep you safe. (beat) If you had attempted to defy them, or escape, they would not have let you live. You are the only one that could destroy them. So I led you to them and helped them transform you. Now you are more safe than ever, for you are much more durable than you were before. Edgar nods. EDGAR That seems logical. (beat) So, what is our plan? L.A.U.R.A. Our plan? EDGAR For taking over the Earth. END. |
![]() |
|
| 1 user reading this topic (1 Guest and 0 Anonymous) | |
| « Previous Topic · Turquoise Library · Next Topic » |
| Track Topic · E-mail Topic |
10:54 AM Jul 11
|









10:54 AM Jul 11