Opening sequence.
INT. BEDROOM -NIGHT
DIGITAL VIDEO. The small dark room looks smelly. A computer monitor lies on its side in a corner, clothes piled high around it.
A shadowy figure is sprawled across the unkempt single bed.
C.U. of BLAKE, a freckle-faced teenager. His eyes appear unfocused as if his attention is elsewhere.
C.U. of a MOTH fluttering over the surface of the computer screen.
MUM
(voice-over)
Blake, are you awake up there?
Blake?
CUT TO:
INT. CORRIDOR.. NIGHT
Legs run down the corridor. They belong to BLADE HARKENSEN, Blake's slick and cheeky avatar. He is MOVING fast down an ornate passageway, decorated with official looking portraits.
BLADE
(v-o)
So much
for the corridors of power... you'd think
they'd try something different this time.
Nah, nothing beats the real thing I guess.
He shoves his fist into one of the picture frames . It offers no resistance. It looks as though the smiling face is chewing on his arm.
He does a few handsprings, tumbling end over end down the corridor.
BLADE
(cont.)
Solid and reliable.
Keeps me coming back for more.
CUT TO:
INT. LOBBY. NIGHT.
Blade comes bounding into the room.
A KEN, generic State male avatar, looks up from behind the reception desk with a smile.
KEN
Your access pass sir?
Blade's face lights up.
CUT TO:
INT. QUAKEWORLD. DAY.
Blade shuffles through a dark and murky landscape, lugging an oversized gun that Arnie would be proud of.
BLADE
I guess I just got bored. I mean. There's only so many
things you can kill before it all gets a little much....
A HORRIBLE CREATURE leaps out of the shadows with a ROAR.
BLADE
Piss off CD. I'm recording.
The creature rolls over and plays dead.
CUT TO:
INT. CORE PATH. NIGHT.
MOVING shot of Blade flying fast down a narrow shaft, his body unnaturally curved up into an aerodynamic bubble.
Beams of light shoot from all sides of the shaft, narrowly missing him.
He passes over the head of a SENTRY BOT.
SENTRY BOT
This is unauthorised. Disconnect now!
Blade FARTS loudly and speeds ahead.
BLADE
(v-o)
So I guess I'm just turning to the next
best thing. Some things try harder than fiction.
CUT TO:
INT. STREET. DAY.
A crowd of generic avatars, mostly Kens and Barbies, are milling around, watching a parade of official vehicles pass by.
Blade is wandering amoungst them aimlessly.
A large vehicle, emblazoned with the Department logo on its side, goes past.
A BARBIE besides Blade starts jumping up and down with excitement.
BARBIE
Chief! We love you Chief!
Like clockwork, the Chief pops his head through the sun-roof of the leading car and waves to the crowd.
There is a ROAR of approval in response.
BLADE
Who's that?
BARBIE
Don't you know? That's the head of the Department
of Environmental and Network Resources. He's one of the good
guys.
BLADE
Really? Like how?
BARBIE
Well, for starters he's getting all those people in jail out in real jobs.
C.U. of the Chief. He has a long drawn face with piercing eyes.
BLADE
What, he's setting them free?
BARBIE
No silly, he's setting up this new network, special conditions and all.
BLADE
How kind.
C.U. of the Chief's vehicle. The wheel hub caps are now human faces with agonised expressions.
CUT TO:
EXT. ROOFTOP -DAY.
Blade is standing on a rooftop overlooking the plaza, a large open space amoungst endless buildings.
Around him, the sky is full of logo'ed objects.
He points down.
CUT TO:
EXT. PLAZA - DAY.
A crowd of avatars mill about clumsily.
CUT TO:
EXT. ROOFTOP. DAY.
Blade gingerly lowers himself over the edge of the building and hangs there on the tips of his fingers.
BLADE
Makes you want to log all the way out it does.
Always wanted to try the death thing...
not that you're allowed to. Stuffs up the
sense of community or something.
He lets go.
BLADE
Arrrrrghhhh!!!
He plummets towards the ground.
CUT TO:
INT. PLAZA . DAY
A colourful BARBIE makes her way through the crowd with a smile.
BLADE
(v-o)
Arrrgghh!
P.O.V. Barbie as Blade hurtles towards her.
She screams, the smile staying fixed to her face.
BARBIE
Eiiiii!!
CUT TO:
INT. PLAZA -DAY
Blade falls straight through Barbie, and through the ground itself, disappearing quickly from view.
She looks around self-consciously, and walks off.
CUT TO:
INT. HOME. DAY.
This is offical State home space, sparsely decorated, but clearly marked with official looking logo'ed objects. They are all scattered around the place in an untidy fashion, not unlike the messy bedroom.
CD, appearing as a rather crudely drawn stick man with a round smiley head, is sitting on the floor, legs hunched up over its knees.
CD
I'm bored... Ready yet?
+ B K C
CD
(cont.)
Thank ye. Let's get started...
- S
CD sighs.
The user’s hand reaches out , triggering a menu.
A rude looking blob appears to interrupt the view of the interface. It’s obviously not part of it.
BLOB
Allo.Looks like
you’ve got everything that the State
knows on Blade in here but you’re gonna need
more than that... If you wanna find him, I
wouldn't stay here.
The surroundings seem to glow for an instant.
The blob starts to vanish, a cross-hatched series of lines erasing it gradually from the screen.
CD
Sorry 'bout that. Stuff leaks in from the
Net all the time, not much you can do about it.
INT. HOME. MORNING
LOOKING DOWN on the RAW USER, a featureless metallic humanoid, who is frantically stabbing at slabs of text continuously popping up in front of it. As each slab is touched, its contents change form.
CD swoops down from above snatching the material away.
CD
(v-o)
But it doesn’t have to be manic activity. I’m your profile.
Sit back and enjoy the ride.
A wooden frame is being pulled across the space from an ancient and very CREAKY pulley system.
Within the frame, Blade poses unsuccessfully.
CD
(cont.)
You are using a state-of-the-art piece of State hardware.
Lastest and greatest, honey. This CD has been
been loaded with the personal soft of the
subject: Blade Arthur
Harkensen. You will be exploring the data
through this profile - which I only can describe as me.
All the main characters are exploring the space at the same time as the user.
INT. HOME. DAY.
A FRANC, a non-descript man dressed in greyscale clothes, wanders into the space. He peers intently around.
CD
(v-o)
Oooh, look! A FRANC!
+ F
-
The FRANC looks up, its face expressionless.
CD
(v-o)
Oh I'll have to tell you about these guys.
You don't see them very often.
+ F
- C K
The FRANC approaches.
FRANC
Do you mind if I ask you a few questions?
+ B S
- K C
CD
(v-o)
Oi! Back off digi-boy!
The FRANC recoils, holding up its palms.
+ B
- S
CD enters, carrying an over-sized ring binder folder, bursting with paper. It starts to flip through the pages..
- K C S
CD
Aaah yes, FRANC. Stands for
Federal Reactive Agent
Non-classified of course. This really is wicked software.
+ B
The FRANC rolls its eyes and continues looking around the space.
CD
Official
spec’s in here if you ever want it.
Excellent detective this is, follows all the
right hunches. My sources tell me
...get it? ...that it's on the verge of soul.
+ B
- C K5
INTERLINK is mental incarceration. Its appearance varies for each individual.
INT. INTERLINK HOLDING CELL -DAY.
Blade is hanging off a cell wall by a snake-like tendril tied around his torso.
He is unconscious.
He comes to, and looks around slowly.
CD
(v-o)
Less than a day in and already
in a mess.
- B
A Little Girl, dressed in a blue and white striped pinafore, skips into the cell.
LITTLE GIRL
Having fun yet?
BLADE
You’ve got to be joking.
- S B
Blade’s eyes roll back slightly.
DISSOLVE TO:
INT. INTERLINK CORE - DAY
The space is a multi-coloured network of capillaries and clumps of other organic material.
One of the lines begins to glow brightly.
CUT TO:
INT. DATA STREAM - DAY
Blade is waist-deep in a tunnel full of a fast-flowing liquid. He dips his hand beneath the surface.
C.U. of Blade's hand. A thick stream of textual and photographic material rushes past at a furious rate.
With every movement of his index finger, random items are plucked from the stream.
C.U of a particularily unflattering photo of an unshaven and balding man.
- C
DISSOLVE TO:
INT. HOLDING CELL - DAY
The little girl is merrily skipping around Blade.
BLADE
Bit old for that outfit aren’t you Jack?
The girl freezes in mid-motion before jerkily regaining her stride.
LITTLE GIRL
How did
you...
Don’t play with me boy.
BLADE
Just trying to get to know you better that’s all. We’re not a good match.
He smiles sweetly.
The little girl smiles sweetly and digs into a pocket of her dress. She withdraws a yo-yo and starts to play with it.
BLADE
So when do I get to go back, Jack?
LITTLE GIRL
Don't worry, you're gone.
She casts her yo-yo in Blade’s direction. The spinning wheel flies towards his head, growing in proportion.
It hits him with a LOUD CRACK, a sound like plugging a lead into the world’s most dodgy amplifier.
Blade screams.
Extreme close-up of the little girl’s face, distorted as she looks down at Blade.
LITTLE GIRL
Oooh I like you.
+ C K
- S7 B9
CUT TO:
INT. TREATMENT ROOM. DAY
The room is perfectly square and sterile, a white featureless cube. Blade shivers in a corner.
TRAFFIC noises pass around..
CUT TO:
INT. MEMORY LANE. DAY.
Blade is lying on a gravelly path in between two tall buildings. Garbage and vermin are everywhere.
P.O.V. Blade. A line of people are queued up in front of him, his MUM is first.
She leans down over him and coos softly.
MUM
You were always such a sweet little boy. Never were any trouble.
Her face distorts with rage.
MUM
And now you've gone and fucked it up for all of us, you little shit!
Blade blinks madly.
- S B
Next in line is his old TEACHER, dressed in a tweed jacket.
TEACHER
Exceptionally fine work young man. You've made a name for yourself .
No one of this side of the equator will touch you now. You're
history, the scum of last century. We don't need your kind any more.
P.O.V. Blade. The teacher extracts a claw-like hand from his jacket pocket and swipes at him.
- S B
LOOKING DOWN on Blade and his tormentors, the line appears to extends indefinitely.
LITTLE GIRL
(voice-over)
We got
two types of people here in here you see.
Public and private. You, you’re pri-vate.
No one wants to know anything about you
anymore. You don’t matter none no more. It’s all in the
head you see.
+ C5
- B S
She GIGGLES.
FADE TO BLACK
The discovery of Kerela takes place at the end of Act III, shortly before the user identity crisis is resolved.
INT. HOME.. DAY
The RAW USER is wading through the logo'ed garbage.. Slabs of text fly in all directions.
CD
(v-o)
Mmm... what have we got here?
A section of the floor is cleared to reveal a gaping hole.
The RAW USER peers into it. CD flies down and checks it out as well.
CD
Doesn't seem to be registered anywhere.
Two SENTIALS, large dogs with golden hides,, leap out of the hole.
They position themselves on either side of it, SNARLING fiercely.
CD
(v-o)
Well what’d ya know?
SENTIAL #1
(v-o)
You do not have permission to enter this area.
Unauthorised access will be dealt with harshly.
CD
My guess it’s a
smokescreen and a half. Let’s check it out.
+ B10 C5
-F S
CD
Well that settles it, let's go check this out.
INT. BAR - NIGHT
The crowded room full of inmate avatars. Most bear some resemblance to reality, some have just lost it.
C.U. A gorilla drinks alongside a giant mosquito.
C.U. A mace darts around its companion, a spade.
AXEL, a moustace'd circus strongman, leans on the bar with LISA and JULE, two scarecrows.
JULE
What’s it matter what this place costs? I just want to feed it back to them mixed with their teeth.
LISA
They’re not feeding you at all. Are they? Or are they at home with you too Jule?
C.U. of Axel’s expressionless face.
JULE
Hey...
LISA
No, you listen to Lisa , you’re not going
anywhere if you don’t know everything there
is to know about them ya see.
(getting fairly worked up)
This place is too fucking neat, they're too
damn clever. Think they give a shit about
our horrid little minds?
Voices RUMBLE in approval.
JULE
Steady.
She spins around to face Jule.
LISA
What is this? Don’t you
want a scene anymore?
Don’t want to go through with it you
little weasel. You set me up you little tramp I don’t
believe it.
She starts to sob.
LISA
(cont.)
I’m sure how I ever thought
I could trust you.
AXEL
Steady Lisa. You’re OK.
Lisa calms down.
Act I ends with the experience of Blade becoming arrested.
INT. TUNNEL - NIGHT.
It is pitch black.
Through bursts of STATIC, Blade is visible crawling through a narrow tunnel lined with glowing pipes.
BLADE
Hang on... Aaah... Got it!
The tunnel walls start to expand and take on new textures. It soon becomes recognisable as a corridor.
BLADE
Time to give these corporation
clowns a lesson
in detection. Check it out sidewinder.
CUT TO:
INT. DEPARTMENT CORE. NIGHT.
Blade tip-toes down a narrow shaft, the walls are covered with pulsating octagonal shapes stretching as far as the eye can make out.
BLADE
Ea-sy now
soldier. Don’t want to scare nobody just yet.
Least of all me.
INSERT A thin man screams in terror.
CUT TO:
INT. INNER SANCTUM - NIGHT.
The room is some kind of command centre for Interlink. The Chief and his four aids are monitoring the thin man on floating screens, showing readouts and perspectives.
CUT TO:
INT. FOREST CLEARING
Four giant mosquito-like creatures are circling the thin man. Images pulled from his mind hang in the air around them.
A house.
A passionate kiss.
Three small children..
He screams as they edge closer.
CUT TO:
INT. INNER SANCTUM - NIGHT
On one screen, the creatures are visible, now attached to their victim.
AID #2
They're learnt the system fast, sir.
CHIEF
Just make sure they stay in it.
I don't want any leakage from this.
Blade strides in through a wall directly behind the five.
AID #1
(mumuring)
Don’t look now but here comes the Messaih.
(aside)
How'd the hell did he get here. Call Admin.
Blade makes himself comfortable.
BLADE
Well here
we all are. Funny ain’t it?
You just can’t get security anywhere these
days, can you? How much do you pay these guys?
The CHIEF turns around slowly.
CHIEF
Mr.
Harkensen, I can understand your enthusiasm for gate crashing.
A talent not stretched on occaision must be a talent wasted.
Nevertheless you should know where the line is.
BLADE
Just checking up on you guys. Wouldn’t want to get
outta touch with the people.
(glancing
at the screens)
So what's all this then?
CHIEF
You really don’t have a clue do you?
Ignoring him, Blade drifts across the room to one of the screens.
+ S C K
CHIEF
(cont.)
Oh well, you're going to be around for a
while. You'll learn something.
BLADE
Say what?
CHIEF
Never mind. I’d hate to spoil the surprise
You’d want to kill me if I did.
BLADE
I walked in here
babe, I'm walking out.
Blade runs towards the wall.
The view shudders as his shoulder crashes against it..
BLADE
Waaa?! Oh Christ!
Ermm...
CUT TO:
INT. BOX - NIGHT
Blade is encased inside a tight-fitting black box.
He bangs madly on the walls.
CUT TO:
INNER SANCTUM - NIGHT
The view is breaking up with STATIC, exploding into both sound and vision.
Blade reacts each time as though he has been stung.
+ C6 K10
- S4
CHIEF
(to no one in particular)
The domain is now sealed. Mr. Henderson
here has just volunteered for the programme.
(to
Blade)
Fine Mr. Critic. I'm giving you
a free pass to the action. And perhaps a place
in history as well. I could not think of a better man for the
job.
P.O.V. Blade. A wooden frame appears listing scrolling code.
BLADE
(quickly)
Log this
CD. Seal EMBARGO.
The frame flies off.
CD
(v-o)
Done
The room starts to revolve, faster and faster. The view darkens to blackness. Blade’s BREATHING is audible and noticeably strained.
+ C
The Chief CHUCKLES in the background.
- B S
INT. INTERLINK HOLDING PEN - DAY.
Blade is immobile in the center of a harshly-lit white cell. Antiseptic MUZAK becomes louder.
BOT, a metallic dis-embodied head, appears and begins circling him, its eyes glowing with a pale luminence.
BOT
You are
in breach of State law, directive 632, article 4,
defining your access as illegal. Stand by for
physical proceedings.
CUT TO:
INT. BEDROOM - MORNING.
DIGITAL VIDEO of the dead computer screen, reflecting the image of Blake jumping off the bed. A SIREN wails.