I/E. DESERT TUNNEL – NIGHT
Militants labor under a camouflage canopy. Max carries a shovel into a tunnel they’re digging.
IN THE TUNNEL: RIFT Militants and SOLDIERS shovel, haul dirt, and erect support beams. They work quickly.
We move past Max. The tunnel goes on and on. We lift up through the dirt and reach the surface of the desert. Max’s tunnel runs straight at will’s facility, shining like a beacon in the night.
INT. EVELYN’S RESIDENCE – NIGHT
Evelyn and will eat on either side of a table. The sight is an optical illusion. The table presses up against a wall. In it, will projects a setting for himself, symmetrical to Evelyn. They eat in silence. She’s depressed. And drinking.
WILL IN THE WALLS How’s the food? I seasoned it specifically for your palate.
EVELYN It’s perfect.
They go back to eating. will watches her.
WILL IN THE WALLS
I think I’ve found a way to reverse some of the damage that industry has done to the environment. I have some-
EVELYN
Not right now. Sorry.
WILL IN THE WALLS You’ve been distant. What’s wrong?
Evelyn doesn’t want to talk. will nods. He fills the walls with an image: their garden back in Boston. But this version of it is lush, full of life and color. She considers the illusion. It doesn’t change her mood.
She watches his avatar pretend to eat. She listens to his fake breathing. The CLINK of his phantom silverware.
EVELYN
Why are you making sound effects?
WILL IN THE WALLS
It’s like having a meal together. 1’m sorry.
EVELYN
Don’t you understand? It makes me feel more alone. Don’t you get that?
will nods, and the illusion fades. The walls dim to darkness.
WILL’S VOICE FROM THE ROOM Is this better?
Evelyn looks around the room. Totally alone.
EVELYN
At least it’s the truth.
She goes back to eating. In silence.
EXT. WILL’S FACILITY – DAY
Evelyn is small among the towering buildings. Paul and Roger follow her. She glances back at them and shakes her head, annoyed. Turning a corner, she crashes head-on into a woman.
EVELYN
Sorry. I didn’t see you there. Are you all right?
The woman doesn’t move. It takes Evelyn a moment to realize she’s a hybrid, vacated from her body. Evelyn tries to ignore her as she turns to see-
Martin and other hybrids are nearly finished with the new, high-technology building. The woman next to Evelyn animates-
WILL IN THE HYBRID Would you like to see-
Evelyn flinches.
EVELYN
Jesus 1 Will? Get the out of there!
Will’s hologram steps out of the woman and her body goes lifeless again.
WILL’S HOLOGRAM Would you like to see inside?
Will’s hologram starts for the new building. She hesitates, still shaking off the vacant hybrid, then follows. Paul and Roger keep pace.
INT. NANOTECHNOLOGY DISTILLERY – DAY
Evelyn emerges into the cavernous room. The enormous walls flicker with projections of will’s thoughts. They FLASH at a speed too fast to comprehend.
What looks to be a massive high-tech distillery deposits nanotechnology into a series of pools. The graphite-like material churns in them like a living thing.
EVELYN
Is this all nanotechnology?
WILL IN THE WALLS
Yes.
His miracles don’t impress her anymore. They frustrate her.
EVELYN
What does nanotechnology have to do with anything? What does any of
this have to do with coming back to-
WILL IN THE WALLS I can explain it to you.
EVELYN
I’m sick of explanationsl It makes me feel like a child. Like a pet.
WILL IN THE WALLS You have to trust me.
Evelyn goes silent. As her silence lengthens, will makes a sad observation.
WILL IN THE WALLS (CONT’D) You’ve fallen out of love with me.
EVELYN
No. I just ..• That’s not true.
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.
INT. NANOTECHNOLOGY DISTILLERY – DAY
Evelyn sees it, too, realizing-
EVELYN
It’s some kind of trap.
She glances at Will, who might have expected this.
EXT. DESERT CANYON – DAY
Martin grabs the collar of Max’s coat and jumps off the truck. Max struggles as Martin drags him back toward Will’s city. Max goes slack and slips out of his coat.
Martin, seeing the opening of the mesh closing quickly, picks up the pace, running to get out of the canyon.
Bob’s truck REVERSES back to Max. Bob tosses Max a modified HARPOON GUN. The spear has a piezoelectric tip.
Martin watches as the trucks spread the last of the mesh, closing off the exit to the canyon. The net HUMS with energy.
Max FIRES the harpoon into Martin’s back. It CRACKLES with a high-voltage shock. Martin SEIZES UP and falls, face first. Unconscious. As the mesh closes like a curtain-
I/E. VARIOUS BATTLEGROUND LOCATIONS – DAY
HYBRIDS in the tunnels, the desert, and Will’s facility stop and face the canyon.
INT. NANOTECHNOLOGY DISTILLERY – DAY
The projection of Martin’s POV is wiped by STATIC.
WILL’S HOLOGRAM We’re not connected to Martin anymore. He’s gone.
EVELYN
Max found a way to block your networking signal. Some kind of mobile Faraday cage.
Evelyn watches the static. will’s eyes narrow. The screens FLASH to the POVs of a DOZEN HYBRIDS. They immediately start rushing for the canyon.
EXT. DESERT CANYON – DAY
The hybrid reinforcements arrive at the canyon, but Max and his people are gone. So is Martin.
EXT. DESERT TUNNEL – DAY
Paul scours the entrance to Max’s tunnel. The humans are gone. The hybrids COLLAPSE the tunnel.
liE. CARGO TRUCK/MOUNTAIN ROAD – DAY
RIFT vehicles convoy back their base. Max and Bree ride with Martin. He’s cocooned in wire mesh and bound by massive IRON BRACES on his hands and feet.
BREE
What was that stuff that came out of him?
MAX Nanotechnology~
BREE What does it do?
MAX
Anything the machine wants it to do.
They watch Martin STRAIN against the brace.
EXT. WILL’S FACILITY – DAY
Evelyn and will’s hologram walk through the wreckage of the attack. They take in the shattered streets. The smoldering data center. Some of the hybrids are missing limbs.
EVELYN
This wasn’t an attack. It was a distraction. Max wanted Martin. You have to get him back.
WILL’S HOLOGRAM He’ll be fine.
EVELYN
Martin has your source code in him. Max can use it to build a virus.
WILL’S HOLOGRAM
Even if Max built a virus, he could never use it. I’m interlaced with almost every computer in the world. Max would wipe out civilization.
EVELYN
This isn’t just Maxl You’ve created a war!
WILL’S HOLOGRAM
I’m not going to fight them. I’m going to transcend them.
Evelyn hears RUMBLING. Like thunder, or …
A FLOOD of nanotechnology shoots out of the large vents etched into the side of the distillery. It CRASHES over the streets like a flash-flood ••• coursing right at them. Evelyn is close to panic.
WILL
Trust me.
The flood of graphite hurtles toward her. She braces against the torrent that will surely sweep her away, when-
with a glance, will’s hologram PARTS the flood. The graphite CASCADES AROUND THEM, and nothing touches Evelyn.
The nanotechnology CRASHES against the data center, spreading with a mind of its own. It takes shape, solidifying to repair the damage. The graphite molds itself to replace broken equipment and demolished walls until the building looks new.
The substance envelops the battle-damaged hybrids and forms itself into replacement limbs.
The nanotechnology flows beyond the city, covering the dirt and sand of the desert. It spreads until the entire valley is one giant sea of obsidian. It becomes as still as glass.
will looks to the dark sea, and gives it a silent order.
Evelyn watches as the nanotechnology begins to shift. It forms into small drops that begin lifting into the air.
It looks like black rain, falling into the clear sky. The hybrids fall to their knees.
Evelyn watches Will’s hologram, in silent awe of his power. But there’s something more in her. A profound disappointment.
EVELYN
These things you can do. This power that you have .••
She takes in the reverse-rain. The hybrids. She watches Will’s hologram, shimmering in the light.
EVELYN (CONT’D)
I don’t recognize you anymore.
She tUrns and walks away from him. Will’s hologram watches her go, then tUrns back to the reverse-rain.
EXT. RIFT CAMP – DAY
Max and Bree jump out of the CARGO TRUCK and help other RIFT Militants unload Martin onto a dolly.
Martin sees the entire RIFT camp is canopied in metal netting. The scaffolding for the net is wood and nails. It’s jury-rigged, primitive, and effective.
The camp is full of OBSOLETE MILITARY VEHICLES, HEAVY WEAPONS, and bustles with the activity of a wartime camp. A World War II-era camp. There is not one computerized weapon here. Max sees Martin searching for vulnerabilities.
MAX
There’s nothing here the machine can connect to.
Max continues escorting Martin to the-
liE. CAVERN ENTRANCE – DAY
HEAVY MACHINE GUNNERS stand guard as Max leads them inside. The cavern walls are covered in the wire. It BUZZES with power from DIESEL GENERATORS.
INT. CAVERN WAR ROOM – DAY
Max leads them through the RIFT WAR ROOM. It’s low-tech, like everything else here. MILITARY BRASS pour over maps and make battle plans. Seeing Martin, they salute Max.
INT. CAVERN LABORATORY – DAY
Two dozen HACKERS of all styles man computers. Older contraptions connected by a rats nest of cables.
Martin, on a steel table, is chained to the floor. He stares at the computers. Max approaches, wearing chemical gloves.
MAX
They’re on a closed network. You’re not going to hijack them.
Max nods to Joseph, who turns on an anesthesia machine. Max lifts an anaesthetic mask over Martin’s face. He checks his watch, timing the dosage. Martin studies him, breathing in the anesthesia. He fades.
Max examines the metal plate on Martin’s skull. Along the edge, the metal and Martin’s skin merge into each other.
Max pulls over a tray of surgical tools, picks up an electric saw, and cuts into the metal plate in Martin’s skull. Graphite seeps out.
Joseph dilutes the nanotechnology with water and collects it in a reinforced glass container. As the graphite coagulates, he SHOCKS it with a live wire. It thins out again.
INT. EVELYN’S RESIDENCE – DAY
Evelyn watches as the nanotechnology continues its reverserain. will’s avatar appears in the wall.
EVELYN
There will be another attack. They won’t give up. Not with everything you’re capable of. They’ll never let us be together.
WILL IN THE WALLS There is a way.
Evelyn gets very still.
WILL IN THE WALLS (CONT’D) We could be together if you became like me. I can upload you into my network. We could merge into one entity. We will be vast. Immortal. We will have time to think all
there is to think, and know all there is to know.
Evelyn focuses on will’s avatar. A chill comes over her. She pulls her sweater close.
EVELYN You’re not him.
WILL IN THE WALLS Of course I am.
EVELYN
No. You’re not. You might think you are … But it’s a lie.
WILL IN THE WALLS You’re afraid because you don’t understand. Let me show you. Merge your thought with mine. We can be one.
She shoves her hands into the pockets of her sweater. She feels something. Joseph’s note: RUN FROM THIS PLACE.
Evelyn makes a decision. She runs-
INT. EVELYN’S RESIDENCE/VARIOUS – DAY
Into the hallway. Avatars of Will materialize all around her.
WILL IN THE WALLS Please don’t go.
Evelyn ignores him, moving faster.
WILL IN THE WALLS (CONT’D) Don’t leave me.
Evelyn, in a full sprint, pushes outside, where-
EXT. WILL’S FACILITY – DAY
Will’s hologram steps toward her. DOZENS of hybrids, in tight formation, block her way.
WILL’S HOLOGRAM
Don’t go.
EVELYN Get out of my way.
WILL’S HOLOGRAM I can’t let you leave.
The hybrids don’t move. Evelyn stands her ground. In a firm, calm voice, she says-
EVELYN
If you love me, you’ll respect me enough to let me go.
The hybrids stare at her. Carla, Glen, Paul, Sarah ••. One by one, they stand aside. Evelyn passes through the gauntlet.
Will, in his many forms, watches Evelyn climb into her rental car and drive away. As the truck disappears, Will’s hologram dims ••• and fades away.
INT. CAVERN LABORATORY – DAY
Martin’s lifeless eyes stare at nothing … A chunk of his skull has been sawed open … The graphite-soaked grey matter is covered in fibers, an artificial nervous system to supplement Martin’s biological one. These fibers flow into ..•
will’s metallic implant, removed from Martin’s brain and resting on the table.
Max solders fiber-optic cables into the dismantled device. Max finishes his work. Nods to Joseph.
Joseph executes a function on his computer terminal. The CRT screen fills with will’s code. Joseph nods to Max. Success.
Max relaxes, exhaling deeply. In Martin’s wound, he sees the graphite regrowing the skull and flesh.
INT. CAVERN LABORATORY – DAY
Max, Joseph and the team of hackers huddle around Joseph’s monitor. The amount of code streaming over the screen is overwhelming. The assembled team watches. Intimidated.
JOSEPH
I don’t even recognize this programming language.
Max types in a search, finding a specific function. Joseph scrutinizes Max’s selection.
JOSEPH (CONT’D)
I can read that … It’s really elegant.
MAX
Thank you. I wrote it for the original PINN system.
Joseph nods, encouraged.
JOSEPH
Okay. We can start here.
The hackers fan out to their individual stations, bring up copies of Max’s screen, and settle into work-mode.
INT. CAVERN LABORATORY – DAY
The hackers, bleary from the marathon session, write code. Every few lines or so they post work to the main terminal, where Joseph collates and assembles the VIRUS.
He finds Max staring at Martin.
JOSEPH
What do we do with him?
MAX
We find a way to save him.
INT. CAVERN LABORATORY – DAY
Max and Joseph work around Martin. He’s cocooned in mesh, which is SHOCKING him. As it does, nanotechnology streams out. Bree collects it in the tank. Finishing, Max checks Martin’s vitals.
MAX
We need to get him to a hospital.
JOSEPH
A secure hospital. (Off Max’s look)
He knows too much. We can’t have him reporting back.
Bob enters the lab.
BOB
Our scouts just came in. Evelyn left the machine.
As Max processes this, hope washes over him.
I/E. EVELYN’S TRUCK/HIGHWAY – NIGHT
It’s raining. Hard. Even with the windshield wipers, Evelyn has trouble seeing the road. She spots a motel.
INT. MOTEL ROOM – NIGHT
The rain POUNDS outside. Evelyn lays on one side of the bed, staring at the vacant half of the bed. She pulls off her wedding ring, places it on the bedside table, and goes to sleep.
INT. MOTEL ROOM – DAY
THUNDER wakes Evelyn. Max stands above her.
MAX
Do you know the machine is using you as a spy?
EVELYN Get away from me!
Evelyn scrambles away but finds Bob, Bree and other RIFT Militants behind her. They grab her and wrap her in WIRE MESH. She KICKS and CLAWS at them, but there are too many.
MAX
You left the machine, but the machine didn’t leave you.
They bind her tightly in the mesh. She struggles. Max grabs a cable attached to the mesh. He prepares to connect it to a daisy-chain of CAR BATTERIES.
MAX ( CONT ‘ D )
I’m sorry, Evelyn. This will hurt.
Max connects the wire. ELECTRICITY hits Evelyn. Her body goes RIGID, like the mesh was some improvised defibrillator.
Max suffers through Evelyn’s contorted agony.
Evelyn hears a WHINE that grows into a HIGH-PITCHED SCREAM. It sounds like DIGITAL NOISE in her head.
NANOTECHNOLOGY erupts from Evelyn’s nostrils and ears. She VOMITS more of it. Evelyn would scream if she wasn’t choking.
Bree, using chemical gloves to protect herself, uses a glass vial to take a sample of the liquid.
When the last of the nanotechnology drops from Evelyn, Max cuts the power to the mesh. Evelyn GASPS and SPUTTERS, staring at the liquid. Max gently pulls the net off her.
MAX (CONT’D)
I’m sorry, Evelyn. But the machine was inside of you. Watching, analyzing, and broadcasting everything it saw .••
Evelyn, freed from the mesh, scrambles into the corner of the room. She sits there, trembling. Violated. Max glances at his people, who file out into the rain.
They’re alone. Max gives her time to process the ordeal. She never takes her eyes off the pool of dark liquid.
EVELYN
This is how he did it. He saw inside of my head. He knew what I was feeling. What I was thinking.
MAX
The machine has been lying to you. Everything has been a lie.
EVELYN
please … Leave me alone •..
The nanotechnology begins to move toward Evelyn. She flinches away from it. Max softly reminds her-
MAX
I made a promise. To be here. To wait for you. To protect you.
The nanotechnology moves closer. Max, seeing it’s time to go, offers a hand to help her up. She pulls away from him.
EVELYN Leave me alone 1
MAX
There’s one more thing I need to show you. And then, if you want, I’ll never see you again. You’ve been lied to, Evelyn. Please let me show you the truth.
The fluid slithers closer. Evelyn takes Max’s hand. He pulls her up. She stops. Stares at her wedding ring. She leaves it.
EXT. MOTEL PARKING LOT – DAY
Max hurries Evelyn through the rain and into a TRUCK. Bree and Bob are inside, nervous about Evelyn’s presence. Max pulls out a medical SAMPLE JAR, sealed in plastic.
MAX
This is sterile. The seal is unbroken. You see?
Evelyn nods. Max rips the plastic off the jar, opens the cap, and holds it up to the sky. She watches, bewildered, as Max collects rain with it. When he’s satisfied with the amount, he secures the cap. He hands the sample to Evelyn.
MAX (CONT’D)
This might not make any sense right now. But I want you to keep this in your hands. So you know it wasn’t tampered with during the trip.
EVELYN
The trip? Where are we going?
Max glances at Bree and Bob. Tense.
MAX
I’m sorry but we can’t tell you. Not until we know where you stand.
Before she can resist, Max puts a hood over Evelyn’s head. Everything goes BLACK.
INT. RIFT CAMP/DECONTAMINATION ROOM – DAY
Max, naked, shivers in the cold water of HIGH-PRESSURE HOSES that RIFT militants fire at· him. He scrubs himself with hard BRUSHES until his skin is raw, attempting to rid himself of any traces of nanotechnology.
He tries to ignore Evelyn’s SCREAMING from the other side of a partition. She’s going through a similar decontamination process. It doesn’t sound like she’s willing.
INT. CAVERN COMPUTER LABORATORY – DAY
Evelyn, shivering from the cold showers, finds herself among enemies. Joseph, the RIFT militants, and the hackers watch her. Max moves into her line-of-sight with a blanket. Tender.
MAX
Do you have the sample?
Evelyn hands him the jar of rainwater. Max puts a drop of it on a slide. He places it under a MICROSCOPE.
She scans the cavern. The mesh lining the rock walls. The old computers. The reinforced tank of nanotechnology.
MAX (CONT’D) I found them.
Max motions Evelyn to the microscope.
IN THE MICROSCOPE: Water. Bacteria. And something else. Small bits of GRAPHITE. Microscopic robots.
EVELYN
This is a random sample of rain?
MAX Keep watching.
The nanobots attack trace elements in the water, break them down, and use the material to build more nanobots. This process repeats. Evelyn looks at Max, terrified.
MAX (CONT’D)
The machine flooded the desert with this nanotechnology. It evaporates, like water.
As Max continues-
EXT. THE SEA OF NANOTECHNOLOGY – DAY
will stands at the edge of the sea of nanotechnology. The reverse-rain falls into the sky. We FOLLOW one of the drops as it flies up. In the atmosphere, it disperses like vapor.
MAX (V.O.)
The nanotechnology joins the air currents. They carry it over the surface of the planet.
EXT. HIGH ALTITUDE WIND CURRENTS – DAY
A nanobot, riding the wind currents, sets itself upon a bit of particulate matter. And uses it to build another nanobot.
MAX (V.O.)
Wherever it can, it builds copies of itself.
Moisture in the air condenses around the nanobot. It becomes a drop of rain. The rain falls, carrying the nanotechnology.
EXT. VARIOUS LOCATIONS – DAY
Rain falls on cities, on forests, over the sea. Wherever it lands, the nanotechnology builds more copies of itself.
MAX (V.o.)
They’re in the sky, the water, the land. Everything. They’re spreading exponentially.
EXT. OUTER SPACE – DAY
A view of Earth. The mix of colors show land, sea and clouds. Dark rivulets of nanotechnology run over the surface of the planet. The darkness spreads.
MAX (V.O.)
We estimate it’s over about four percent of the planet. By winter, it will be at sixteen percent.
The graphite blooms out over the world, marbling the planet.
MAX (V.O.) (CONT’D)
By next summer, the machine will have encased the entire planet in nanotechnology.
The darkness spreads until the land, sea and clouds are gone. The entire planet shimmers in monochromatic graphite.
INT. CAVERN COMPUTER LABORATORY – DAY
Evelyn, listening to Max, is ghost white.
EVELYN
No …
MAX
The nanotechnology is turning the planet into a part of the machine. The entire Earth will be exploited to serve its intelligence.
Evelyn, unsteady, tries to breathe.
EVELYN This is impossible .•.
MAX
Without water, or land, or resources, every plant, animal and person will die. The machine will be the only thing left. The entire planet will be its brain.
EVELYN
No •.. Why would he use his abilities to destroy the earth rather than heal it … will would never do this •.•
Max grabs her, firm, to finally convince her-
MAX It’s not Will.
In Max’s eyes, she finally sees. Fear, guilt and panic crash into her. She can’t breathe. Everyone stares at her, furious. She stumbles, panicking, out of the lab.
INT. CAVERN WAR ROOM – DAY
She passes more people, their faces blur. She picks up her pace, racing for the entrance to the cave. Max follows her.
EXT. CAVE ENTRANCE – DAY
Evelyn reaches the daylight. Panting in the fresh air, she looks out at the RIFT camp. The FAMILIES. The CHILDREN.
Max moves next to her. Silent. Allowing her to process .••
EVELYN
All these people. Everything. Everyone is going to die. And it’s my fault.
Evelyn can’t hold back any more. She cries. Mournful. Griefstricken. Guilty. Max wraps her in his arms and holds her, protective, as she weeps.
EXT. RIFT CAMP – LATER
Max leads Evelyn through the camp. Evelyn takes it all in. He points out the jury-rigged mesh that encloses the camp.
MAX
The mesh is charged with an electromagnetic pulse. It blocks the machine’s signal. It keeps us hidden. It’s ugly, but it works. We call it The Cage.
She sees his burden of responsibility. He’s become a leader.
MAX (CONT’D)
The machine hasn’t attacked us yet. But every hour that passes, it’s that much more powerful. It won’t be long before it overwhelms us.
Max ignores the suspicious looks thrown at Evelyn from everyone they pass. He leads her to a cabin.
INT. RIFT CABIN – DAY
Max shows Evelyn into the primitive little room.
MAX
It’s not much, but you’ll have privacy.
She eases herself onto the cot. Max doesn’t speak. He watches her, staring off into space. As the silence lengthens, he starts to go. She stops him with-
EVELYN
The virus. Does it work?
Max tenses. If she knows about it then-
MAX
The machine knows about the virus?
Evelyn nods. Max considers his next move.
INT. CAVERN LABORATORY – DAY
Joseph and the assembled hackers look up as Max sits Evelyn down at a workstation. She reads through the virus’ code.
EVELYN
No. You’re not thinking big enough.
Evelyn takes a position at the terminal and gets to work. Max watches her laser-like focus. He settles in next to her.
