Trancendence
WILL IN THE WALLS And you’ve started lying to me.
Evelyn searches herself. His accuracy unnerves her.
EVELYN How do you know?
WILL IN THE WALLS
Because the balances of oxytocin and serotonin are irregular in your endocrine system.
Evelyn tries to catch up.
EVELYN
Wait. You’re measuring my hormones?
WILL IN THE WALLS
Yes. The biochemical ingredients of what the mind processes as love.
EVELYN
Show me all the information you have on my physiology. Now.
The walls show a spectrum of images concerning Evelyn’s biological makeup. Evelyn trembles with anger.
EVELYN (CONT’D)
This is wrong. This is beyond an invasion of privacy. These are my feelings. My thoughts. You’re not allowed to know them.
Evelyn, angry and hurt, turns away from Will’s projection. His hologram appears in front of her-
WILL’S HOLOGRAM Please, Evelyn-
EVELYN No! Leave me alonel
She walks through his hologram and out of the room.
EXT. WILL’S FACILITY – DAY
Evelyn storms out of the laboratory. At that moment-
The wall of the main server building EXPLODES. Debris flies in all directions. Paul and Martin throw themselves in front of Evelyn to shield her. A massive chunk of rock FLIES through Will’s hologram.
Roger and the other hybrids rush to contain the damage, but SECONDARY EXPLOSIONS knock them off their feet. Evelyn wrestles free of Paul and Martin-
EVELYN Get off me!
WILL’S HOLOGRAM We’re under attack.
She scans the streets. There’s no trace of an enemy.
EVELYN Where are they?
Paul, Martin and Will’s hologram face different directions. They each see everything the others can. Martin looks down.
MARTIN They’re under us.
Subterranean detonations BLOW HOLES in the streets around them. Max climbs out one of the holes, armed with an assault rifle. Bree follows. Dozens of RIFT Militants pour out.
Evelyn sees Max. Her eyes narrow-
EVELYN
Max, you bastard! What are you doing!?
Max spots her as Martin lifts Evelyn and throws her into the-
INT. NANOTECHNOLOGY DISTILLERY – DAY
Evelyn tries to escape but the door SLAMS shut, and LOCKS.
EVELYN Let me out!
WILL IN THE WALLS It’s for your protection.
The walls go transparent, so Evelyn can see-
EXT. WILL’S FACILITY – DAY
The hybrids fan out to face Max and his militants. A standoff. Will’s hologram materializes right in front of Max.
WILL’S HOLOGRAM Don’t do this.
Max steps through the hologram, lifts the rifle and .••
Max and the RIFT Militants FIRE on the hybrids, riddling them with bullets. The wounds POP with nanotechnology. Max UNLOADS his machine gun on Martin. Martin drops.
INT. NANOTECHNOLOGY DISTILLERY – DAY
Stray bullets POP along the outside of the transparent wall. Evelyn, seeing the carnage, steps back in horror.
EXT. WILL’S FACILITY – DAY
Max empties his clip. Soon, all the militants are reloading. As Max shoves in a new clip, he sees •••
Martin climbs back to his feet. The hybrids are still alive, and recovering. Max and the other humans stare.
Martin looks down at his body, drenched with the nanotechnology pouring out of his bullet wounds. The liquid begins to shift, moving with a mind of its own. It covers Martin’s head … face … and the entirety of his body.
All of the hybrids go through a similar process. The microscopic robots cover them. They solidify. Soon, they’re encased in cruel-looking exoskeletons.
Martin steps for Max. Max FIRES, but the bullet is absorbed into his body. Max switches to automatic and UNLOADS, but Martin dodges the onslaught. Max knows its time to-
MAX
Retreat!
RIFT militants scramble for the tunnels. Max turns for the closest tunnel, but Martin darts for him with a speed that blurs the eye. He grabs the rifle – and SLAMS Max ten feet back. Max tumbles and falls in a heap.
Bree runs to help him, firing a GRENADE LAUNCHER at the approaching Martin. Martin dodges it with unnatural celerity.
Bree pulls Max to his feet. Martin and three other hybrids block their path to the tunnel. Max and Bree turn and run. Martin and the others chase them.
The last of the militants drop into the tunnel. Paul crouches down to see-
A RIFT Militant aiming an RPG. Which he fires. Paul bats the missile away and drops into the tunnel.
INT. TUNNEL – DAY
Paul faces the militants, who OPEN FIRE … to no effect.
IN PAUL’S POV: His machine eyes take IMAGES of each human face. In a transparency over his field-of-view, he runs FACIAL RECOGNITION SOFTWARE and discovers … several of the humans have ACTIVE MILITARY STATUS.
INT. NANOTECHNOLOGY DISTILLERY – DAY
Will’s hologram sees what Paul sees-
WILL’S HOLOGRAM
There are military personnel working with the RIFT terrorists.
EVELYN
This has gone way too far.
WILL’S HOLOGRAM There is no way they can win.
INT. TUNNEL – DAY
Seeing the bullets are useless against Paul, the humans run. Paul chases them until he sees-
A grenade launcher. The militant FIRES. In the tight space, Paul has nowhere to dodge. The grenade EXPLODES, blowing Paul off his feet. The smoke clears. Paul stands back up, his damage already repairing itself. The RIFT militants lose their enthusiasm.
The CEILING gives way as FIVE MORE HYBRIDS drop into the tunnel. The humans run like mad. The hybrids give chase. Paul, taking the rear, SNAPS the thick SUPPORT BEAMS, COLLAPSING the tunnel as he goes.
EXT. WILL’S FACILITY – DAY
Max and Bree sprint for the desert. The hybrids gain on them.
SIX OLD MODEL PICKUP TRUCKS head for them. The RIFT cavalry. The trucks SKID TO THEIR SIDES, revealing M2 BROWNING MACHINE GUNS mounted to each of them.
Bob, manning one of the .50’s, OPENS FIRE on Martin. The ARMOR PIERCING ROUNDS POCKET Martin’s exoskeleton. As soon as Martin hits the ground, his damage starts self-repairing.
Max and Bree scramble into the truck bed. The vehicles tUrn for a line of canyons. Bob covers their retreat with the M2.
The hybrids sprint after. Martin, his armor completing the last of its repairs, stands up to continue the chase.
Bob’s TRACER BULLETS find the closest hybrid. The highcaliber rounds POUND the cyborg. MACHINE GUNNERS from the other trucks add to Bob’s fire. The hybrid darts and dodges the majority of the rounds.
Bob keeps firing. The hybrid materializes a thick SHIELD. Bob keeps firing. THOUSANDS of rounds shred the shield and the hybrid falls.
One of the hybrids VAULTS into the air, arcs overhead, and CRASHES onto the hood of truck next to Max’s. CRUSHING it.
BOB We’re outgunned.
Max checks the canyon line. They’re almost to the ridge.
MAX We’ll make it.
He turns back, only to find-
MARTIN, RIGHT IN FRONT OF HIM. Martin grabs the machine gun and RIPS it from its housing. Bob pulls his 9MM pistol and FIRES the clip ••• a minor annoyance.
Martin grabs Max’s leg. Starts pulling him in. Max kicks at Martin, to no effect.
The truck enters the canyon. Martin spots MILITANTS waving FLAGS. A signal. Martin sees the canyon walls around them are covered in insect netting. More of the mesh canopies the open sky, like some giant aviary HUMMING with power. Behind them, trucks UNSPOOL more of the mesh.
Martin looks back at Max. Max gets a little smile.
