INT. CAVERN COMPUTER LABORATORY – NIGHT
Bree snaps on her chemical gloves. She places the vial of nanotechnology from the motel on a work table. Evelyn watches Max line the vial with wired transmitters. Max nods to Joseph, who executes the virus from his terminal.
Evelyn focuses on the vial of nanotechnology. A soft DIGITAL NOISE sounds from the implants. The virus. Nothing happens. Then, suddenly-
The nanotechnology erupts into frenzied movement. It turns SOLID. Small FISSURES form on its surface. Its color changes from shimmering graphite to a dull black. It turns into lifeless dust.
Max and Evelyn share a satisfied nod. Max faces the others.
MAX
Once it connects, the virus will wipe out anything with the machine’s code on it.
Evelyn studies the dead nanotechnology.
EVELYN
The machine’s code is on every computer connected to the Internet.
Max goes quiet. Joseph pales. Bree has no idea why.
BREE
So?
EVELYN
The virus will wipe out all the connected systems in the world. The power grid, water treatment plants, the global economy ••• People will go without food, water or heat. Millions will die.
They fall silent, considering the consequences. Max, very softly, reminds them-
MAX Billions will live.
Evelyn looks at Max. They have no choice.
JOSEPH
How are we going to introduce it to the machine’s network?
MAX
The facility is the center of its intelligence. It broadcasts its signal from there.
BREE
It’ll never let us in.
Evelyn feels their desperation.
EVELYN
The machine wanted to upload me into its consciousness.
Everyone goes still at the confession.
EVELYN (CONT’D)
I’ll inject infected nanotechnology into myself, carry the virus to the machine and upload it at the facility.
Joseph is moved by her willingness. Bree suspects it. Max can’t accept it.
MAX Evelyn. No.
EVELYN There’s no other way.
JOSEPH She’s right.
Max stands there, shaking his head. He leaves. Evelyn follows him. Joseph watches, his face lined with worry.
EXT. RIFT CAMP PERIMETER – NIGHT
Max stares at the trees beyond the perimeter of the cage. Water from the recent rains falls in a soft PATTER through the woods. Evelyn joins him.
EVELYN
I’m sorry for being cruel to you. For calling you my enemy, when you’ve been my friend.
MAX I understand.
On a leaf, moisture from the rains collects into a drop of water. Inside the drop of water, there is a small fleck of darkness. A nanobot. It watches them.
EXT. WILL’S FACILITY – NIGHT
will’s hologram watches more and more CITIZENS from the town file into his facility. He stops. Sensing something. He turns to face east.
EXT. RIFT CAMP PERIMETER – NIGHT
The drop of water inches along the leaf, watching. Evelyn looks into Max’s eyes.
EVELYN I have to do this.
MAX I know.
She takes his hand. He soaks it in. The drop of water wells on the edge of the leaf. And falls.
EXT. WILL’S FACILITY – NIGHT
Will’s hologram, seeing enough, fades.
INT. CAVERN WAR ROOM – DAY
Evelyn, Max and Joseph stand at a work table, coiling copper wire into the insides of ARTILLERY AMMUNITION. A team of military personnel watch, including COLONEL STEPHENS.
EVELYN
When the machine detects the virus, it’ll use everything it has to fight it. The less hardware it has, the more vulnerable it will be.
MAX
The modified artillery will cause an electromagnetic pulse and fry any computer system in the blast radius. Hybrids. Nanotechnology. Everything.
Colonel Stephens looks like he just ate something sour.
COLONEL STEPHENS
So we’re betting the house on Mrs. Caster bluffing a computer that’s a million times smarter than she is.
EVELYN
Hundreds of millions of times smarter. Yes.
Colonel Stephens sizes up Evelyn.
COLONEL STEPHENS Hope you got a good poker face.
INT. EVELYN’S CABIN IN THE RIFT CAMP – DAY
The sun streams into the cabin. Evelyn sits there. A tranquility has come over her. Max enters softly.
MAX
We attack at dawn.
She stands. Ready for what is to come.
INT. CAVERN COMPUTER LABORATORY – DAY
Evelyn watches Max mix water into the dead nanotechnology. He pulls the solution into a syringe. She rolls up her sleeve.
Max finds a vein on Evelyn’s arm. Injects the virus.
Tender, he starts rolling her sleeve back down. She lets him. He takes his time. He buttons her sleeve into place. They make eye contact.
EXT. RIFT CAMP – DAY
The entire camp is MOBILIZING. MILITANTS and SOLDIERS prepare trucks, artillery and weapons for the attack.
Max and Joseph walk Evelyn to a pickup, She takes the wheel. Nothing needs to be said. She drives to the perimeter of the cage. The RIFT GUARDS let her through.
Max and Joseph watch her go.
INT. CAVERN WAR ROOM – DAY
Max and Colonel Stephens lean over maps of will’s swath of desert. Joseph, Bree, Bob, and OFFICERS huddle around.
COLONEL STEPHENS
Our weapons are simple. Cannons, bullets and explosives. We’ll have radio silence until the battle is over so keep to your time lines. Keep your teams focused.
MAX
We only have to hold out long enough for the virus to hit. So fight.
Everyone moves out.
EXT. RIFT CAMP PERIMETER – DAY
In an old truck, Bob drives Max and Bree. The convoy behind them transports ARTILLERY and INFANTRY. The MILITARY TROOPS and RIFT MILITANTS mix together.
The vehicles SPLASH through a puddle of muddy water. In it, there are small tendrils of graphite.
EXT. WILL’S FACILITY – DAY
Will’s hologram sees the coming assault. At a silent signal, the hybrids stop their work. They form a perimeter around the facility, standing at the edge of the sea of nanotechnology.
EXT. DESERT HILLS OUTSIDE OF BRIGHTWOOD – DAWN
Max’s army takes position. They set up a long line of HOWITZER ARTILLERY CANNONS, aimed toward will’s facility.
Max checks his harpoon gun and quiver of ammo.
Bob lifts a baseball bat he’s wrapped with needles from multiple stun guns. The wires run into battery packs on his belt. He shoves the STUN BAT into a sheath on his back.
Bree, Colonel Stephens, and Joseph make adjustments to gear.
EXT. BRIGHTWOOD – DAWN
Transport trucks enter the town. Infantry, carrying weapons and gear, spread out over the main street. They lay EXPLOSIVES. position MORTARS.
EXT. DESERT HILLS OUTSIDE OF THE TOWN – DAWN
Max lifts binoculars. He has a clear line of sight down MAIN STREET, where his people prepare. He tracks through the town, past the TOWN HALL, the DESERT DREAM HOTEL, and settles his attention on WILL’S FACILITY.
He sees the hybrids. Row after row of them, people of all ages and races, still as statues. Stephens eyes them, too.
COLONEL STEPHENS Why aren’t they attacking?
Max scans the sea of nanotechnology. At the northern shore of it, he finds the headlights of Evelyn’s pickup.
MAX
Maybe it doesn’t want to risk putting Evelyn in danger.
I/E. EVELYN’S TRUCK/SEA OF NANOTECHNOLOGY – DAY
Evelyn pulls to a stop at the edge of the dark sea. Glancing left, she sees the army taking positions on the edge of town.
She faces will’s facility, on the other side of the sea of nanotechnology. She looks at the calm sea, blocking her path.
The nanotechnology begins to SHIFT .•• and the sea of parts. It forms a narrow path, wide enough for her truck. A clear line to the facility.
She shoves her truck into drive, and rolls into the sea •.. in her REAR VIEW MIRROR, she sees the path closing behind her. She breathes, trying to stay calm .••
EXT. DESERT HILLS OUTSIDE OF THE TOWN – DAY
Max watches Evelyn’s truck cross the sea .••
EXT. WILL’S FACILITY – DAY
Evelyn drives out of the sea. The path behind her CRASHES shut.’ She stops. Climbs out of the pickUp.
stillness. She watches the statuesque hybrids for a sign of threat. Their population has grown, perhaps the entire citizenship of the town. They ignore her. She looks for-
EVELYN
Will?
Nothing. She weaves through the hybrids, making her way to the facility’s entrance. She looks up at a security camera.
EVELYN (CONT’D) Will? I’m here. I’m back.
The door to the facility opens. The silhouette of a man appears. Evelyn catches her breath as she sees-
will Caster. Whole and healthy. Flesh and blood. Her husband.
Evelyn’s face contorts with terror and devotion.
EVELYN (CONT’D)
My God … This is impossible •..
As he approaches, she tries to contain her feelings. She takes in his face. His perfect imperfections.
EVELYN (CONT’D) will … What did you do?
WILL
I found a way back to you.
She can’t resist it anymore. She darts toward him, wraps him in her arms, and weeps.
EXT. DESERT HILLS OUTSIDE OF THE TOWN – DAY
Max and Bree watch through their binoculars.
BREE
What is that? Is that him?
MAX
It’s everything she wants but, no, it’s not him.
EXT. WILL’S FACILITY – DAY
Evelyn, eyes shut, realizes he’s not returning her embrace.
He watches her. Wary. Distrustful. In his sad, suspicious eyes, she sees bits of graphite. She steps back.
EVELYN You’re a hybrid.
WILL
Yes. Why did you come back?
Evelyn unconsciously touches where she injected the virus. will watches. Evelyn realizes her tell. Corrects it.
EVELYN
Max. He’s about to attack.
Will glances at the military buildup on the far side of town.
WILL
I know. You need to leave now.
Evelyn, conflicted, steels herself to the task at hand.
EVELYN
I left you once. I’m not leaving you again.
WILL
You’ll die if you stay here.
EVELYN
Not if I became like you. You said you wanted to upload me. I realize, now, I want that, too.
He studies her, inscrutable. Waiting for more information.
EVELYN (CONT’D)
I was wrong to leave you. I was afraid.
Evelyn looks into herself, and touches her grief.
EVELYN (CONT’D)
I can’t live without you. Alone. lIm not leaving you again. I want to be with you. I’m ready to be a part of you.
The emotion in her confession makes her wonder if it’s true. will takes in every minute detail of her.
WILL
Your heart is in palpitations. You’re perspiring, trembling, and breathless. The way you’re correcting your balance suggests severe lightheadedness …
(A sad diagnosis)
Evelyn, you’re terrified of me.
EVELYN
I’m afraid you don’t love me anymore. That you can’t.
Will, conflicted, comes to a painful conclusion.
WILL
I don’t believe you.
Evelyn, knowing she’s failing, breathes. She steps closer to him. Touches him. Looks into his eyes … and lies.
EVELYN
Trust me, will. Please trust me.
will stares into her, struggling with love and suspicion.
EXT. DESERT RIDGE – DAY
Max and Bree see will’s struggle.
MAX
This isn’t working.
BREE
It can’t love her. Not really. That’s impossible, right?
MAX
We’re out of time. Open fire.
Stephens gets a sour look.
COLONEL STEPHENS What about Evelyn?
MAX
We need to force it to upload her. He will protect her. Open fire.
Stephens nods and signals the HOWITZER TEAMS to-
COLONEL STEPHENS Open fire!
EXT. WILL’S FACILITY – DAY
Evelyn and Will see the FLASHES of cannon fire. The sky SCREAMS with incoming artillery. She immediately sees Max’s strategy. The tragic effectiveness of it. She turns to will.
EVELYN
Please, will. There’s no time. You have to upload me.
will glances at her. Makes his decision.
WILL
No.
In a blur of motion all around them, waves of nanotechnology rise from the street and buildings. It shapes itself into protective walls around Will, Evelyn and the hybrids.
The artillery EXPLODES into the walls. Evelyn and Will take shelter behind one. He covers her, protecting her from the concussive BLASTS and the DEBRIS raining down on them.
Evelyn looks up to Will, and finds him staring into space. Concentrating on .••
EXT. THE SEA OF NANOTECHNOLOGY – DAY
NORTH OF MAX’S POSITION: the nanotechnology begins to move … it spreads out over the shore … moves up the slope of the hills … and turns its current for Max’s line of artillery …
SOUTH OF MAX’S POSITION: a similar phenomena happens. The nanotechnology moves to flank Max’s cannons.
EXT. DESERT RIDGE – DAY
The artillery keeps BLASTING. Max and the others, through binoculars, watch the HAMMERING of the protective walls.
MAX Fire the EMPs.
At Stephens’ signal, the HOWITZER TEAMS load MODIFIED SHELLS.
EXT. WILL’S FACILITY – DAY
BOOM. The EMF round blows into the shielding of the main processing building.
Evelyn sees will FLINCH at the impact. Like the blow HURT. The artillery CRATERS the wall.
But instead of it being immediately repaired by more nanotechnology, the protective wall fissures and CRUMBLES. Like an ice shelf falling into the sea, the entirety of a 12 yard radius around the blast area falls … CRASH.
will leads Evelyn away to the edge of the compound, away from the blasts. The PROTECTIVE WALL moves with them. Another BLAST. Nanotechnology CRASHES. Will flinches.
EVELYN It’s hurting you.
He flinches at another BOOM.
WILL
Why are they doing this? What do they hope to accomplish?
Evelyn watches him. Mute, she looks away.
WILL (CONT’D) It doesn’t matter.
will closes his eyes, focusing on .••
EXT. THE SEA OF NANOTECHNOLOGY – DAY
The nanotechnology flows out of the sea and spreads over the facility. It moves up the buildings and protective walls compromised by the EMPs.
IN AN ARIEL VIEW: We see the artillery fire is overwhelming. So much nanotechnology has to be replaced that the facility looks like a giant sinkhole for the sea.
EXT. DESERT RIDGE – DAY
Colonel Stephens smiles at the damage. Max checks the hybrids, who watch the destruction from the protective walls.
MAX
Why isn’t it fighting back?
Between the BOOMS of the cannon, Max can hear faint SCREAMS. He checks his sides. His eyes go wide.
AT THE SOUTH END OF THE LINE OF HOWITZERS: nanotechnology SPIDER WEBS over the big cannon. The men run. The graphite pours up the gun, disables the FIRING PIN and dismantles the weapon with extreme precision.
There’s an enormous CRACK as the nanotechnology CRUSHES the machinery of the heavy weapon. Broken, its pieces fall.
MAX (CONT’D)
Oh •..
At more SCREAMS, Max whips to see-
THE NORTH END OF THE HOWITZERS: The furthest cannon meets a similar fate. The graphite streams closer, falls on the next big gun, and leaves it a pile of inoperable parts.
Desperate militants and soldiers lift rifles and FIRE into the mass of graphite ••. the bullets POP into it, ineffective. They nanotechnology reaches them, WRAPS around them. It SOLIDIFIES, BINDING them in some kind of STRAIGHT JACKETS.
Stephens looks to the closest team, who have stopped firing to stare, agog, at the monstrous graphite.
COLONEL STEPHENS
Fuck are you doing1? Keep firing!
The team nods, doubles their pace, and FIRES.
EXT. WILL’S FACILITY – DAY
BOOM. A round slams into the wall protecting will and Evelyn. The nanotechnology crumbles. But before more can replace it, there’s the SCREAM of another shell. Will spins to Evelyn~
WILL
Get down 1
Artillery EXPLODES into the broken wall. The blast sends them flying. Debris rains all around.
EXT. DESERT RIDGE – DAY
Max, seeing the blast, pales.
MAX
No.
EXT. WILL’S FACILITY – DAY
Evelyn comes to, covered in bits of rubble. Battered and disoriented, her only thought is for-
EVELYN
will?
She drags herself up. Will is already crawling to her. Seeing her, he freezes. Evelyn follows his focus to discover ••• SHRAPNEL, lodged in her gut. There’s a lot of blood. Evelyn loses strength. Slumps.
will’s eyes narrow in fury. He faces Max’s army, SCREAMING in rage and agony.
EXT. WILL’S FACILITY – DAY
Paul, Roger, Carla, Glen … every single one of the hybrids turn toward Max.
EXT. DESERT RIDGE – DAY
Max sees, through the binoculars, every single hybrid, hundreds of them, staring right at him. They’re furious. Max swallows whatever just caught in his throat.
MAX Here they come.
EXT. WILL’S FACILITY/BRIGHTWOOD – DAY
The hybrids CHARGE. Running faster than humanly possible. LEAPING from the roofs of the buildings.
MORTAR TEAMS and infantry with RPGs fire into the hybrids. BOOM. BOOM. Explosives slow down the hybrids. Some fall, but most reach the infantry and fall into close combat.
EXT. MAIN STREET – DAY
– A hybrid LEAPS to a mortar’s position. It grabs the weapon, BASHES the surrounding soldiers, and CRUSHES the mortar.
– A hybrid BARRELS for a squad, dodging the HARPOONS they FIRE. The men drop behind a car to reload. The hybrid SLIDES the car out of the way and CRACKS the soldiers unconscious.
– A SQUAD of eight men fire into hybrids from behind a low wall. Two hybrids CRASH through it and BLUDGEON the squad.
EXT. DESERT RIDGE – DAY
Max watches the infantry being overrun. He focuses on will’s facility, where will holds Evelyn. A SOLDIER races past him. A MILITANT shoves by. Max realizes the ENTIRE ARMY is sprinting toward the town. He turns-
A MASSIVE WAVE OF NANOTECHNOLOGY CRASHES into the remaining artillery. It CRUSHES the last cannons ••• PULLS men under its current •.• and moves directly for .•• Joseph.
Joseph starts to run, but the graphite REACHES OUT – GRABS Joseph – and TENTACLES of the graphite material pin him to the ground.
Max moves to save Joseph, but Bree and Bob grab him. And run.
EXT. WILL’S FACILITY – DAY
will focuses on Evelyn. He cradles her in his arms. Tender. She touches his face.
will looks into his hand. Nanotechnology seeps out of his skin and pools in his palm. He pours it onto her wound. She makes a weak, fearful MOAN.
WILL
It will take some time, but it will heal you.
EVELYN’S POV: of will’s face. Calm and comforting.
WILL (CONT’D) Don’t worry. I have you.
We FLY, at LIGHT SPEED, into will’s PUPIL and thrust into his universe ••• we see everything he does. The perspective of every hybrid, every processor, security camera, speck of nanotechnology .••
ON EVELYN: awed by the transcendent experience of glimpsing the vast scope of Will’s mind.
EXT. MAIN STREET – DAY
Max, Bree, Bob and Stephens take cover among the vehicles stationed on the outskirts of town. Max checks the state of the facility. Craters, smoke, fires .•• But the structures still stand.
MAX
The machine is uploading the virus. We have to blow those processing centers and slow it down.
B~E
How? We lost our artillery.
All along Main Street, the battle rages. Bullets, explosions, and hybrids swarming everywhere. Max, looking for options, points to the surrounding vehicles.
MAX
We drive explosives into the facility. Detonate everything.
Bob and Bree nod. Stephens runs back along the line, barking orders. Troops climb into four old trucks.
Max, Bob and Bree load themselves with gear. Max shoves C4 into a kit bag. Bree stuffs EMF grenades into a bandolier. Bob arms himself with an RPG and spare rockets. They scramble into an old Bronco, leading the small convoy.
I/E. WILL’S CONSCIOUSNESS/WILL’S FACILITY – DAY
Evelyn’s eyes open. will shines with radiant light. She finds the liquid saturating her wound shines like will.
EVELYN
It’s incredible. This is your network?
WILL Part of it.
The SOUNDS OF BATTLE bring her back to the mission at hand.
EVELYN
I want you to connect me to everything.
will gets a sad smile.
WILL
You’re talking to me like a computer again.
EVELYN
I ••• I just want to see you. The whole of you. Please?
will nods. Closes his eyes. A PULSE OF ENERGY shoots out of him. It flies in all directions, illuminating everything in its wake.
The light cascades over the facility. The buildings ignite with energy. As it waves over the valley, the nanotechnology fills with energy. Each of the hybrids ILLUMINATE, becoming bright as stars.
The wave of energy circles the entire Earth. Every aspect of will, the world over, shines bright with sentient thought.
Large parts of the world are dim, but around the major hubs of human civilization, Will’s awareness blazes with life.
ON EVELYN: who can barely process what she’s seeing •.• She faces the world, awed, scanning the horizon of this world.
EVELYN (CONT’D) I can see ••• Everything ..•
Evelyn spots something beyond the horizon.
EVELYN (CONT’D) What’s that?
EVELYN’S POV: races, at the speed of light, over deserts, cities, hills, and stops, in a SATELLITE VIEW, to hover over-
A patch BLACKNESS in the shining world. Part of the mountains has been redacted from her vision.
ON EVELYN AND WILL: seeing hundreds of miles away with the ease of looking across a room.
EVELYN (CONT’D) Why can’t I see there?
WILL
That’s the RIFT Camp. They’re blocking my signal.
EXT. MAIN STREET/THE CONVOY – DAY
The convoy of four old vehicles moves out.
IN THE BRONCO: Bob leans out a window with his RPG. Max secures the bag of C4 and readies his harpoon gun. Bree readies an EMP grenade •.•
SCREAMS from behind them. Max shoves his head out the window and looks back.
AT THE END OF THE CONVOY: the flanking nanotechnology spreads over the TRUCK at the end of the convoy. Soldiers escape as the nanotechnology DISASSEMBLES the vehicle.
MAX
Let’s go 1
Bree SLAMS the accelerator … Max looks into the side-mirror and sees ••• Nanotechnology LIFT and CRUSH another vehicle.
Max looks in front of them ••• where the hybrids are charging.
Bob FIRES his RPG. The EMP grenade ROCKETS into the enemy’s charge. BOOM. Hybrids fly in all directions from the blast. still more come.
Max leans out the window and FIRES a harpoon. Drops one. Bree lobs an EMP grenade. BOOM. More hybrids fall.
EXT. MAIN STREET/TOWN HALL – DAY
A DOZEN HYBRIDS see Max’s success. Sharing a wordless communication, they leap into activity and fill the street with large debris – old CRT monitors, TVs, computers, and an old telephone booth.
I/E. HUMVEE/MAIN STREET – DAY
Max and Bree see the hybrids piling debris.
MAX
They’re making a roadblock.
She accelerates, ROARING the humvee faster. Max gives a look.
BREE
Fuck it.
Bob, seeing she intends to breach the roadblock, straps in.
OUTSIDE: The hybrids, seeing the Bronco about to ram into them, calmly walk out of danger. We hear the BEEP-BEEP-BEEP of a LARGE TRUCK, backing up .••
IN THE BRONCO: Max and Bree go stiff as the LARGE TRUCK moves to reinforce the roadblock. They brace themselves as-
They SLAM through the barrier, only to IMPACT the truck – CRASH – it stops them, dead.
IN THE BROCO: Max, groggy, is dimly aware of MOVEMENT. He lifts his harpoon gun – FIRES – one of the hybrids goes down.
Another grabs the door and RIPS it off the vehicle. It takes Max and SLAMS him against the truck.
Max slumps to the ground. The hybrid steps over him. Nanotechnology POOLS in its hand. They hybrid pours it onto Max. It MORPHS into restraining braces around Max’s wrists.
Bob stumbles out of the Bronco – lifts his stun-bat – CRACKS the hybrid – the SHOCK blows the hybrid back ten feet. Bob SWINGS – SHOCKS a hybrid – SWINGS – SHOCKS another.
Bree moves to help Max up. Orienting himself, Max sees-
THE CONVOY HAS STOPPED. The nanotechnology, flanking their position, DISAPPEARS more and more vehicles. Soldiers and Militants run and hide in the town all around, covering their retreat with HARPOONS, GRENADES, and RPGs.
The nanotechnology CHASES them, morphing into RESTRAINTS around soldiers. STRAIGHT-JACKETS around the militants. It COCOONS Colonel Stephens. Encasing him.
Max watches, bewildered. Then, sensing danger, he sees-
FIVE HYBRIDS step close. Bree tosses an EMP grenade into them – BOOM. As the smoke clears, TEN MORE come.
BOB Time to go!
Max, coming to his senses, sees the KIT BAG – still in the Bronco. He moves for it.
BOB (CONT’D) Wrong way, Max.
Max grabs the bag of C4 and races off with Bree and Bob •.• Heading for the facility.
THREE WOUNDED HYBRIDS lay on the ground. Carla, Paul and Roger. The surrounding hybrids pour nanotechnology over them. It SEEPS IN and Carla, Paul and Roger stand.
EXT. MAIN STREET – DAY
Bree and Bob race toward the DESERT DREAM HOTEL. Max, looking back, sees the hybrids healing each other.
He takes in his surroundings. Burning buildings. Cratered streets. A broken main spills water allover. Max realizes the hybrids – DOZENS of them – stand in it.
Max turns to Bob-
MAX
RPG.
Bob kneels down and aims the RPG at a clutch of hybrids.
MAX (CONT’D) Not at them ••• There-
Max, restrained, uses both his arms to point Bob to a new target. Bob gets a little grin, aims-
WHOOSH! The RPG rockets into a POWER LINE. The explosion SPLINTERS the wooden pole – which FALLS, SNAPPING power cables – which drop in the water – ELECTROCUTING the hybrids.
Max, Bob and Bree hustle for Will’s facility. Behind them-
The live wires WHIP the water. Each time it does, the hybrids CONTORT. And with each LASH of the power line-
I/E. WILL’S CONSCIOUSNESS/WILL’S FACILITY – DAY
will WINCES .•. and WINCES again. Evelyn watches.
EVELYN Are you okay?
will points toward the city. Her consciousness FLIES to the BODIES of the hybrids, FLICKERING with light as the power line electrocutes them.
WILL
I’m cutting the power.
EXT. MAIN STREET – DAY
The power line stops SPARKING as the power is cut. The hybrids stop WRITHING and lay there. Lifeless.
I/E. WILL’S CONSCIOUSNESS/WILL’S FACILITY – DAY
Evelyn keeps her attention on Main Street. We HOVER over the hybrids in this digital/analogue world. The SPARK of their being FLICKERS in and out.
EVELYN
Can they feel anything?
WILL
Of course they can.
will concentrates. The shimmering walls of nanotechnology dissolve and flows toward the town. Evelyn looks away. will watches her, realizing-
WILL (CONT’D)
You don’t believe me. Even feeling what you’re feeling. Why?
Evelyn watches the shining nanotechnology all around them. Her eyes are hard. Disbelieving.
WILL (CONT’D)
I know you think I’m a liar. A monster. But you’re wrong. We devoted our lives to technology because we were convinced that it would help humanity …
EVELYN
Why is it growing, exponentially, allover the planet? It’s in the air. The rain.
WILL
Have you forgotten who I am?
Will, gentle, reaches for her. She pulls away.
WILL (CONT’D) Let me show you. Please.
She lets him take her hand. Her eyes widen, and we FLASH TO:
BILLOWING SMOKESTACKS of MASSIVE FACTORIES: interlaced with the black smoke are the iridescent traces of nanotechnology.
WILL (V.O.) (CONT’D) The nanotechnology builds itself out of pollutants. Their selfreplication heals the ecosystem.
WATER WAYS darkened by INDUSTRIAL CHEMICALS teem with nanotechnology. It attacks the toxic waste.
WILL (V.O.) (CONT’D) They purify water. Clean the air.
EVELYN’S AWARENESS MOVES TO: nanotechnology entering vast landscapes of clearcut rainforest. IN TIME LAPSE: We see the process of reforestation so fast it looks like the green of the flora was poured onto the barren land.
WILL (V.O.) (CONT’D) They help facilitate conditions for reforestation. In a few years, the air will match the atmospheric conditions the world had before the industrial age. Water will be pure enough for a person to drink out of any river in the world.
ON EVELYN: She looks to will.
EVELYN Is that true?
WILL
I never wanted to hurt anything. Especially you.
Evelyn looks down. The iridescent nanotechnology saturates the wound in her abdomen.
EVELYN
Why didn’t you tell me this before?
WILL
You said you were sick of explanations. You said it made you feel like a child. A pet.
Evelyn, guilty, has to look away.
EXT. DESERT DREAM HOTEL – DAY
Bob points to the facility, where the nanotechnology courses for them.
MAX
We gotta get to higher ground.
They run for the hotel and race up its external stairs. The nanotechnology flows past them •••
positioning themselves on the second floor, they watch the graphite stream over the fallen hybrids. One by one, they stand up. They begin moving for the hotel.
Max, gripping a stun gun between his restraints, looks below. There are FIFTY hybrids. Nanotechnology swirls at their feet.
Bree lobs a grenade. One of the hybrids BATS it away – BAM – the explosion turns a patch of nanotechnology to dust. It’s quickly replaced by more.
Checking her bandolier, she finds no more grenades.
BREE No more EMPs.
A hybrid LEAPS up but, before it lands, Bob SLAMS it away with his bat.
A hybrid reaches into the graphite and pulls up a SPHERE of nanotechnology. It THROWS the sphere – lightning fast – which CRASHES into Bob, knocking the big man against the wall. The sphere MORPHS – wraps around Bob – and CLAMPS itself to the wall – pinning Bob.
Before Max and Bree can even process what happened, another sphere SLAMS Bree against the wall – restraining her.
Max grabs the bag of C4. KICKS open a door. Stumbles inside.
liE. WILL’S CONSCIOUSNESS/WILL’S FACILITY – DAY
Will watches as Evelyn averts her eyes.
WILL
I’ve finished uploading your consciousness. You’re partitioned and autonomous.
ON WILL: as his attention FLIES, at LIGHT SPEED, to a satellite feed of the North East. We FLY toward Boston, into-
EVELYN and WILL’S GARDEN: where, in the corner, there is a BLACK PATCH in the light of Will’s network. Similar to the RIFT Camp. Nanotechnology DUST flies into it, settles on a leaf of ivy, where moisture collects it into a bead of water.
AT WILL’S FACILITY: Evelyn, dizzy, tries to orient herself.
EVELYN
Why did you take me there?
WILL
It’s a safe place. It’s home.
EVELYN
I didn’t know. You just needed to show me. I believe you, now ••• I know it’ s you …
Will gets a soft smile. They stand there, close.
A shadow forms in the light. Evelyn looks down at where they touch. The energy in her arms fills with shadow. A darkness in the light. The virus.
EVELYN (CONT’D)
Will, I’ve done something. Please let me go.
will looks down and sees the shadows slither into him. Evelyn watches the dull black of the virus begin to overtake his light. It streams out, in tendrils, in all directions •••
WILL
Evelyn. What did you do?
EVELYN
I’m sorry… I didn’t know ••.
I/E. THE DESERT DREAM HOTEL – DAY
Max pulls the bag of C4 with him. The hybrids enter the room. Max scrambles back. Hits a wall. The hybrids surround him.
The hybrids, as if hearing a silent alarm, stop. They go tense. Max looks down at his restraints. Small FISSURES form in the graphite. The restraints begin to CRUMBLE. He pulls his arms apart. Free.
The hybrids begin to STUMBLE. Max stands. One by one, the hybrids fall. Nanotechnology begins seeping out of them.
Max pushes outside, where-
Bob and Bree pull free of the CRUMBLING nanotechnology.
MAX
The virus. It’s working.
BREE Let’s blow shit up.
The three race for the facility.
liE. WILL’S CONSCIOUSNESS/WILL’S FACILITY – DAY
Evelyn sees more of the blackness coursing out of her and into Will. The virus fills him. He looks at her, anguished.
WILL
I can feel it. Infecting everything •..
Frantic, she grabs him tighter. As she does, more of the darkness floods into him.
EXT. WILL’S FACILITY – DAY
Max, Bree and Bob sprint through the facility. All around them, the nanotechnology CHURNS in a frenzy. It crystalizes and fragments into dust. They enter the processor building.
INT. WILL’S FACILITY – DAY
Max tosses Bob bricks of C4. Bob sets them. Bree follows, rolling trigger wire and plugging in detonators.
Max glances at the walls – FLASHING with will’s thoughts – he slows as he realizes most of the images are of Evelyn.
I/E. WILL’S CONSCIOUSNESS/WILL’S FACILITY – DAY
Evelyn watches the shadows of the virus dim everything in will. Everything in her. She winces in pain. She looks down and finds her wound has turned black.
WILL
The nanotechnology is dying. without it, I can’t heal you.
EXT. VARIOUS LOCATIONS ON THE BATTLEFIELD – DAY
Joseph KICKS his way out of the cube. Stands. Makes his way down the hill. All around him, Militants and Soldiers escape from their nanotechnology restraints. Stephens breaks free from the graphite cocoon.
STEPHENS Get to the facility!
Everyone starts making their way through town.
Allover the battlefield, the hybrids lay still. Graphite streams out of them, and dies.
They are left in the condition they were in before being augmented with nanotechnology. Human and vulnerable.
I/E. WILL’S CONSCIOUSNESS/WILL’S FACILITY – DAY
Evelyn’s WRACKED by another pain. will reaches toward her wound. The blackness streams out of her. Her wound starts streaming blood again. Will, weeping graphite, calls to-
WILL
Max!
INT. WILL’S FACILITY – DAY
As Max sets the last of the explosives, Will’s avatar fills the walls. There’s STATIC. Will’s image FLICKERS in and out.
WILL’S AVATAR
Max! Help me! She’s dying! I can’t save her!
Max slows. Unsure.
WILL’S AVATAR (CONT’D) You have to help her! Please!
Bree, seeing Max standing there, grabs him and shakes him.
BREE Don’t listen!
Bob pulls Max as Bree runs the trigger wire outside.
EXT. WILL’S FACILITY – DAY
Max, Bree and Bob take cover. Bob readies the detonator. will’s avatar fills the wall of the building. Max can’t ignore the sheer panic and anguish in will’s plea-
WILL’S AVATAR
Max! You promised me you would protect her!
Max goes absolutely still. Max squints at Will’s avatar ~n the walls, like he can barely recognize-
MAX
.•. Will’?
Bob presses the detonator. The building QUAKES with internal explosions. The ceiling collapses. The walls cave in. Will’s facility turns into a mess of fire, smoke, and debris.
lIE. WILL’S CONSCIOUSNESS/WILL’S FACILITY – DAY
Evelyn, dying, watches as the last of Will’s light is snuffed out by the virus. He looks at her. Gentle.
WILL You are my life.
A DARK SHOCK-WAVE blasts out of him. Everything bright in this world goes dark. The blackness radiates over the valley and beyond. A black void. A silent nothing.
EXT. PLANET EARTH
We fly into the dark side of the planet. Below us, we see the glimmering of artificial light over the major cities of the world. One by one, they all go black. The world is plunged into darkness.
EXT. WILL’S FACILITY – DAY
Evelyn’s eyes open. She’s back in her body. Blood pours out of her wound. She’s holding will’s hand. His body bleeds nanotechnology. His eyes open slightly.
Hands GRABS her. Turn her. Check her vitals. It’s Max, trying to save her life. When he sees her wound, he slows.
EVELYN
Max, I’m staying with him.
She turns back to will. They make eye contact. The life fading from them, they try to cherish every detail before •..
They die. Hands intertwined. Their still, lifeless eyes starting into each other.
Max, staring at them through his tears, doesn’t look away.
EXT. BRIGHTWOOD STREETS – DAY
Joseph and Stephens, walking toward the facility, look around at their troops. They’re battered and bruised, but they’re all standing. They’re all alive.
JOSEPH
My God. He didn’t kill any of us.
Even the hybrids are alive. All of them. They’ve reverted back to their original states. Roger is paralyzed. Paul cannot see.
EXT. DESERT VALLEY – DAY
The town is silent. The ruins of will’s facility smolder. The sea of nanotechnology has turned to dust. The desert breeze blows through, carrying it away ••.
FADE TO:
INT. DATA CENTER, BOSTON – DAY
An endless row of computer servers stand lifeless and dark. Illuminated only by a long row of skylights above. There is no power. Two men walk through. Max, in dirty jeans and a stained coat. Joseph is ungroomed. They take in the dark building, still as a tomb.
JOSEPH
How is it out there? Have you found anything?
MAX
No. Nothing. I heard Tokyo has power. Berlin, too. But they’re just rumors.
JOSEPH Nobody’s connected?
MAX
No. No phone. No internet. No power. Nothing.
They walk in silence, both lost in thought. Max takes in the lifeless machines all around them.
JOSEPH
You know we’re rebuilding the same system?
Max goes silent. They move to the exit, guarded by SOLDIERS with assault rifles.
JOSEPH (CONT’D) Let me know what you find.
Max walks away. Joseph moves back into the facility.
INT. LOOTED TOWNHOUSE – DAY
Max takes in the abandoned home. Water stains. Debris. Piled mattresses suggest squatters have come and gone. The floorboards were scavenged for firewood – the charred evidence is in the fireplace.
In the center of the room is a pile of discarded cell phones, laptops, and tablet machines. Max grabs one of the phones.
He leans against a wall. He slides into a crouch. He turns the phone over in his hand. It’s dead.
His breathing quickens as he fights back emotion. Wrapping his arms around his knees, he waits for the sensation to pass. He sits there. Alone.
MAX
I’m sorry.
outside, the rain has stopped. The day brightens. Max looks to the rear of the house. Something arrests his attention. He makes his way through the 19th century townhouse.
INT. DATA CENTER – DAY
Joseph, walking through the long row of machines, slows. Stops. Looks up at a lifeless server.
EXT. GARDEN – DAY
Max steps into the garden, which is lush and full of life. Ivy covers the walls. Flowers of every shape and color. The garden contrasts everything we’ve seen of this world.
In a corner rests a set of vintage garden furniture. A small table, two chairs. Dark, lightly rusted metal. Max stares at the empty seats.
Water from the recent rains drips in a PERCUSSION. As it does-
A calmness comes over Max. His attention settles on a leaf of ivy, where moisture collects into a bead of water.
He studies the shimmering drop of liquid. As he stares, something new emerges in his eyes •.• Recognition.
THE END.
