Trancendence
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.
