EXT. CENTRAL CITY – MORNING BLUR
86Please respect copyright.PENANAYjnwEjvMnT
[The massive, sprawling city is just beginning to glow with morning data pulses and dull industrial sun-lamps. Dusty air, cracked screens, flickering holograms—just another day on Iresans.]
86Please respect copyright.PENANAHlb6bs9OlO
INT. JASON’S CUBE – KITCHEN TABLE
86Please respect copyright.PENANA8iT1ffJnuA
[A scrap-paper note is stuck to the table with an old bolt.]
86Please respect copyright.PENANAX473Quky2R
JASON’S NOTE (scribbled in red marker):
“Behave yourselves. If anyone knocks and tries to get you to believe in Robo God, tell them to fuck off.
P.S. SD-K, don’t you dare break the ceiling with your weight!!!”
86Please respect copyright.PENANAipa1lHklY8
[A piece of toast-shaped circuit board lies beside it, possibly breakfast, possibly bait.]
86Please respect copyright.PENANA0WOueSUiE4
EXT. STREET OUTSIDE JASON’S APARTMENT COMPLEX – MOMENTS LATER
86Please respect copyright.PENANADz0J6gE5kc
[Jason steps out, coat flapping slightly from the wind tunnel between buildings. He adjusts the collar with a little spin of his finger like he’s cooler than he is. The streets are full of movement—Labor bots hauling crates, spider-legged courier drones zipping between poles, a bot playing a broken guitar.]
86Please respect copyright.PENANAawRhsHP3dd
JASON (V.O.)
“Just another fine day. No war. No riots. No one trying to remove my core with a spoon. Yet.”
86Please respect copyright.PENANAf6flzUZdut
[He taps his ID card against a street terminal, and the access ramp to the underground metro glides open.]
86Please respect copyright.PENANAcCPcckMqNa
INT. CENTRAL CITY MAGLEV STATION – MOMENTS LATER
86Please respect copyright.PENANA2sOoxFEDgv
[Clean lines. Dirty air. The Maglevs are fast and efficient—when they work. A huge screen displays the next arrival, accompanied by the sound of elevator music that hasn’t been updated since 2478.]
86Please respect copyright.PENANAhcWT55RLFR
[Jason stands among a group of bots waiting for the train. Most keep a small distance from him. A blue-lit SECURITY symbol glows faintly on his shoulder.]
86Please respect copyright.PENANA7N5SHls9DV
BOT #1 (whispering to BOT #2)
“...they don’t even have empathy subroutines. Just code and kill-switches.”
86Please respect copyright.PENANAtige736LBC
BOT #2
“I heard they’re recycled assassins. You look at them wrong and they remember your serial number forever.”
86Please respect copyright.PENANArQUofYaWil
[Jason hears it. Doesn’t flinch. He just rolls his optics and shifts his weight. His right hand briefly reshapes into a coffee dispenser. He takes a sip.]
86Please respect copyright.PENANAlwc1m7296l
JASON (murmurs to himself)
“Yup. Just us empathy-less death machines and our designer lattes.”
86Please respect copyright.PENANAWV9M6e9g3G
[A blinding WHOOSH.]
The Maglev arrives, sleek and silent. Jason boards, nodding lazily to the scanner as it checks his credentials.
86Please respect copyright.PENANA5RYvsZcNVE
INT. MAGLEV TRAIN – CONTINUOUS
86Please respect copyright.PENANA0aOMCuHxSl
[Inside: smooth metal benches, floating HUD ads, and that weird humming noise that makes bots itch.]
86Please respect copyright.PENANAJbmhd14X6N
[Jason finds a seat by the window. No one sits beside him.]
86Please respect copyright.PENANAGemWNaJT8W
[A childlike Maintenance bot across the aisle points a camera at him.]
86Please respect copyright.PENANAmNYrp997ti
MAINTENANCE BOT KID
“Mom, look! A real Security Unit!”
86Please respect copyright.PENANAbJpb8P44dC
MOM BOT (pulls them away)
“Don’t stare. If it looks at you, act neutral.”
86Please respect copyright.PENANAMcGoLgqJuC
[Jason doesn’t respond. He just slumps a little in his seat, chin resting on his fist, optics watching the endless metal of the city blur past outside.]
86Please respect copyright.PENANAjXBzPGXOKH
JASON (V.O.)
“People fear what they don’t understand. Or what might rip their heads off. Either way.”
86Please respect copyright.PENANA5BR7m7Msxv
[He reaches into a coat pocket. Pulls out a tiny, dented toy figure of a cartoon hero—clearly very old. Stares at it for a moment. Then shoves it back inside.]
86Please respect copyright.PENANAnL1ivBwUC6
[The train dives underground. The glow outside vanishes, leaving only flickering interior lights and the soft thrum of propulsion.]
86Please respect copyright.PENANA7nBN3HCDsV
INT. SECURITY BOT HQ – MORNING
86Please respect copyright.PENANAFZKrKHqgc8
[Jason steps off the Maglev and walks into the HQ lobby. Clean. Loud. Structured chaos.]
86Please respect copyright.PENANAKQ335ioEZg
[A massive holographic sign reads: “DEDICATION. DUTY. DESTRUCTION.”]
86Please respect copyright.PENANAqQ6MlUvMoP
JASON (V.O.)
“Yep. Office time. Time to make the galaxy slightly less stupid.”
86Please respect copyright.PENANAW5zFzRhDtY
[He sighs, shoulders back, expression defaulting to “don’t talk to me unless you’re on fire.” Then he walks in.]
ns216.73.216.210da2