NEURAL ASHES, PAGE 9-11

PAGE 9-11 (UK VERSION)

Cutover to Liz’s room

Watching the screen in front of her, Liz’s eyes glow faintly from the lights in the basement lab. Her lips don’t move.

 

LIZ (Voice Over)

I’m in my room. I see you. I think something’s happening on the monitors.

 

Cutover to the basement lab

Hellen gets up and looks around.

 

LIZ (Voice Over)

The monitor left of you. Something started pulsating.

 

Hellen looks at the monitor. Then checks and adjusts neural sensors around Gareth’s temple. She checks another screen.

 

HELLEN (murmuring)

Electrical circuits steady. No cortical binding. But the amplitude has risen.

 

Gareth’s eyes snap open. Hellen jumps back. His mouth twitches as if trying to speak.

 

GARETH (halting, synthetic)

Where... am I?

 

HELLEN

You’re safe. I’m Hellen. You were damaged. I’m trying to fix you.

 

GARETH (halting, synthetic)

You’re... the engineer.

 

There is a flicker of something human. His voice shifts, deeper now, textured.

 

GARETH

Mark Alemano. I remember him.

 

HELLEN (swallows)

He’s dead.

 

GARETH

Not... I remember him. Not entirely.

 

Hellen turns away, a bit shaken. She begins typing commands on a keyboard.

 

GARETH (his voice now more steady and darker)

Dr. Whitlock. You ran from this. Left your work in blood-soaked hands. But here we are again.

 

HELLEN (turning back to Gareth)

Don’t lecture me. You're not him. You're a recording pretending to be real.

Short pause.

 

GARETH

Then why do you look at me like you owe me something?

 

Cutover to Liz’s room

A window on Liz’s screen begins to flicker rapidly.

 

Cutover to the basement lab

Hellen turns to the monitor in the basement lab where Liz’s face appears.

Hellen (typing)

What’s happening?

 

LIZ (via a text on the monitor)
He’s inside my head. He’s confused, it’s like he’s searching for help.

 

Hellen freezes. She looks back at Gareth, whose eyes are now filled with something disturbingly human.

 

GARETH

They made me a prison. You let me out.

 

INT. LIZ’S ROOM  ––  NIGHT

Hellen helps Liz sit up. With great effort she manages to lift her up and carry her to the hallway.

 

INT. BEDROOM  ––  NIGHT

They enter the bedroom, and Hellen carefully places Liz on the double bed. She covers her. Then she locks the bedroom door and lies down next to her.

 

LIZ (Voice Over)

Are we safe here?

 

HELLEN

It’s OK. I gave him a strong sedative. Even an android won’t wake up from that till next morning.

 

LIZ (Voice Over)

I’m scared. It’s like having a monster in the house. I feel his presence when he’s awake. He keeps trying to make contact.

 

HELLEN

Soon it will be over. When he’s recovered he’ll go back to those criminals. And then we move out of town to a quiet place where they will never find us again.

 

LIZ (Voice Over)

I really hope so mummy.

 

HELLEN

Let’s sleep now. You need to rest so you can do your exercises again tomorrow. Goodnight love.