INT. JASON’S APARTMENT CUBE – NIGHT
21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFcBYhnVLsX
[The tiny cube glows dimly in the soft blue light of a ceiling strip that flickers now and then. The power-charging pod hums gently in one corner, while a small fold-out table is crammed against the wall. The “kitchen” is just a heating coil and a rusting oil pan. But it’s warm—metaphorically, anyway.]
21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡONW1i7fnaZ
[Jason slaps down three cheap metal trays filled with a mix of canned machine oil, heat-cubes, some questionable gray strips labeled “digestive substrate,” and a single gear tendon skewer cut in thirds.]
21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡR5kVa0Vz5Z
JASON
“Alright, welcome to the finest low-budget cuisine this side of Central City. Try not to burn your tongues or internal regulators.”
21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfaj1gPYLwX
SD-A (picking up his tray, delighted)
“This is the first time I’ve had dinner that wasn’t from the side of a dead robot. I’m... kind of excited.”
21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMtx3s4QFua
SD-K (deadpan, picking up his own tray)
“That’s the most depressing thing I’ve heard in a week, and we fought a corpse-puppet yesterday.”
21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaF8gIRZax6
JASON (mouth full already)
“Don’t insult the cuisine. This stuff has at least four legally required minerals.”
21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnz7cfiQi7z
[The three sit. There’s a strange, pleasant quiet as they eat. SD-A hums a jingle he heard earlier. Jason just focuses on chewing without crunching down on anything still wriggling. The camera pans over the tray: something does twitch slightly. He ignores it.]
21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJ40QgfXtqL
21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZlcwpNsq6p
---
21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYfQWGU4pHy
LATER
21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmST2mkbw4g
[Dinner trays stacked in the bin. SD-A is cross-legged on the floor, watching a grainy cartoon on Jason’s old wall screen. It stars a malfunctioning delivery drone and its sidekick coffee mug. The mug doesn’t talk—it just vibrates ominously.]
21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3ahemCRM0h
[Jason is nearby, tinkering at a small workbench. Sparks flick out as he welds a spindly mechanical crab arm to a rubber duck.]
21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzisSaWRx96
JASON
“If this works, we might have a fully autonomous bath buddy. If it doesn’t, it becomes a hallway menace. Honestly, win-win.”
21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOokNcbO6PZ
[SD-K leans against the wall, arms crossed, eyes on both of them.]
21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmSQJsMJRc0
SD-K
“How are you two so... calm? We’re literally being stalked by something, there’s a parasitizing material infecting bots, and you're welding crab legs to a toy.”
21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6VHBOWq5fH
[Jason pauses, sets the torch down, and wipes his face.]
21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsMffCE8tsb
JASON
“Because if we panic now, we’ll just overheat and die tired.”
21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuJNZVwD1a5
[SD-A laughs softly.]
21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡimmGWPNiK4
SD-A
“He’s not wrong.”
21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkfVHqcBrOU
SD-K (muttering)
“I didn’t say he was.”
21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiQ8qEbxcx0
[Jason swivels his chair around.]
21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTnHylqEiYG
JASON
“You know what freaks me out more than all of this? Not knowing anything. That’s what I hate. So, while we’re on the topic—mind telling me how you guys actually live? You wander around all night drinking oil and avoiding death, sure, but… what else?”
21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxLwDvLujqN
[SD-A leans back thoughtfully.]
21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwZ3kGbqWMm
SD-A
“Well… We don’t really have homes. Purification bots don’t sleep the way others do—our CPUs go into cooldown mode only when we absolutely need to. And food isn’t consistent. You fight, you eat. You don’t fight, you starve.”
21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmAXOipBZzV
SD-K
“We avoid cities. Use ruins. Hide in broken things. Sometimes we find places that still have power and hibernate for a few hours. No ‘days off’ in our world.”
21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPDVzQUJZa1
[Jason slowly nods.]
21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9pD2SGbflN
JASON
“...That sucks.”
21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBc60nxKDdN
SD-A (trying to stay light-hearted)
“It builds character?”
21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkg6gaC1XCC
SD-K (dry)
“It builds trauma.”
21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8rOl78QXzG
JASON
“Well, you’ve got this dump for now. Not glamorous, but it doesn’t actively want to disassemble you. Usually.”
21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡE8DVX320uN
[They fall into silence. The cartoon plays on. The delivery drone explodes for comedic effect. The mug survives.]
21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJQaVpNAR0J
SD-A (watching the screen)
“I like the mug. It reminds me of K.”
21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcgo2VoG9ze
SD-K
“...Do you want to be kicked or just thrown out the window?”
21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡO6OfrlcXQ2
JASON (grinning, leaning back)
“This is the most dysfunctional sleepover I’ve ever had. And I used to work crowd control.”
ns13.58.73.22da2
