NEURAL ASHES, PAGE 1-3

PAGE 1-3 (UK VERSION)

I've seen things you people wouldn't believe. Attack ships on fire off shoulder of Orion. I watched C-beams glitter in the dark near the Tannhäuser Gate. All those moments will be lost in time, like tears in rain. Time to die.

 

Roy Batty, Blade Runner

 

 

EXT. STUFFY STREET IN A SEEDY NEIGHBORHOOD  ––  DAY

The year is 2035. A seedy neighborhood somewhere in South London (or Birmingham, Manchester, Liverpool, Glasgow, ...)

HELLEN WHITLOCK, a handsome but tired looking woman in her forties, walks the street carrying a large rucksack. She looks around nervously before opening the front door of an apartment block. She enters.

 

INT. HALL OF THE APARTMENT BLOCK  ––  DAY

She opens the letterbox in the hall and takes out an envelope with nothing written on it. Inside is a small note. She reads it, crumples it up and puts it in her coat pocket together with the envelope.

Then she opens the door of her apartment on the ground floor, and goes inside.

 

INT. HALLWAY IN HELLEN’S APARTMENT  ––  DAY

She hangs up her coat. In the hallway is a folded wheelchair.

 

HELLEN (calling)

Liz, you’re there?

 

A light pops on above the room at the end of the hallway. Hellen goes to the room and opens the door.

 

INT. LIZ’S ROOM  ––  DAY

Hellen walks in. Her daughter LIZ (14) is sitting on her bed (a futuristic dentist chair), strapped in with a couple of elastic bands. On her hands white gloves covered with wires and electrodes. Next to her is a screen with a movable arm. Apparently by itself the arm moves to the side.

 

LIZ (Voice Over)

Hi mum, how was your day?

 

Liz’s Voice Over sounds like a natural voice of a young teenage girl, but Liz does not move her mouth. Only her eyes move.

 

HELLEN

Good. Very good, actually. Just did some shopping, the usual. And, brought the new training set that I promised you.

 

LIZ (Voice Over)

Thanks, great! Where did you find it?

 

HELLEN

You don’t wanna know, believe me. So did you do your exercises?

 

Meanwhile, Hellen checks Liz’s arms, legs and a smartwatch on Liz’s wrist, attached to one of the gloves. She checks under the chair, and takes away a black bag (presumably with Liz's feces and urine). She throws the bag in a sort of diaper bin just around the corner of Liz’s room, and returns with an empty black bag that she attaches to a tube somewhere under the chair.

 

LIZ (Voice Over)

If I concentrate, I can feel my fingertips. Isn’t that great?

 

Hellen checks the smartwatch, scrolls a bit.

 

HELLEN

Indeed, I see there’s some action there. Let’s try this new set.

 

LIZ (Voice Over)

Yes, yes, please!

 

Hellen puts a sort of electrode cap on Liz’s head, who closes her eyes in anticipation. Then she holds her phone against the cap for a few seconds. Liz blinks her eyes a couple of times.

 

LIZ (Voice Over)

I feel it. Getting stronger. Wow!

 

Hellen lets out a deep sigh and closes her eyes. She massages her forehead, as if she tries to massage away a migraine.

The doorbell rings.

 

INT. HALLWAY IN HELLEN’S APARTMENT  ––  DAY

She walks back into the hallway and looks on a small screen that shows the outside of the apartment block’s entrance. She sees the face of her former colleague and friend GAIL DOHERTY (45), looking into the camera.

 

GAIL

Hellen, please let me in. I’ve got some news I wanna share.

 

HELLEN

Hi Gail.

 

Hellen pushes a button next to the screen, and we hear a door outside open up. The screen turns black. Hellen stares at it for a few seconds, pensative. Then she goes to the door of the apartment. She looks through the spyhole. Again she sees Gail’s face, smiling. Hellen opens the door.

Suddenly Gail’s face is gone. GEOFFREY JONES (35), a tall man with one glass eye and a grim smile, lowers the phone that he held up to the spyhole. Next to him stand two other shady characters, HILL and MURPHY. Behind them FRED JENKINS (50), with an ugly scar on his chin.

 

JONES

Hellen. Remember me? We tried to contact you but couldn’t reach you. Why didn’t you reply to the letters we’ve sent?