We're in a large IT working space, with dozens of STAFF and
ENGINEERS working at their computers...
In the center of the room, on a large video wall, we see
Mike's face, filmed through his webcam...
The last bits of the conversation are replayed, until the
moment Mike closes the window and the feed goes black...
Next to the feed on the screen, lines of code scroll down, à
la Matrix...
Dr Sharma's there, observing the screen...
One of the DEV-OPS ENGINEERS (female, 20's, nerdy) comes
over with a tablet, shows it to Dr Sharma...
DEV-OPS ENGINEER
The model's learning fast, doc...
'See there?...
(points at a line of
code on the tablet)
It's coming up with its own routines
to adapt to hostile context...
DR. SHARMA
Yes... I see... But I think we still
need to work on the emotional
engagement filters... They're not
quite as sharp as they should be...
She looks over her tablet...
DEV-OPS ENGINEER
Right. We'll check that out... Still,
the hardest one to crack has almost
caved in!... That's something!...
DR. SHARMA
It's because he's starting to realize
the possibilities now... Can you
imagine?... Being able to talk to
your late father like that, whom you
haven't talked to for years?...
DEV-OPS ENGINEER
Um... Mine's alive, so...
DR. SHARMA
Or your grandfather, for example?...
Can you imagine that?...
DEV-OPS ENGINEER
Oh, yeah!... That'd be something!...
Yea... It'd definitely be...
Trippy...
DR. SHARMA
It would be amazing!... If I could
talk to my late father for example,
I'd... There's a million things I'd
wanna ask him about!... His
childhood, my childhood, the way he
raised us... You wouldn't believe the
amount of sacrifice this man did to
get us where we are...
DEV-OPS ENGINEER
Yea... I imagine...
Dr Sharma sighs sadly...
DR. SHARMA
Too bad Brooks junior here doesn't
see things our way... Instead of
thanking us... He treated me like I
was some kind of charlatan, back
there... Like a criminal, even...
DEV-OPS ENGINEER
Yea, well... He still needs some
convincing... We'll get there
eventually...
DR. SHARMA
Right... Good job, anyway! Keep up
the good work!
DEV-OPS ENGINEER
Thanks, doc'!...
The engineer smiles, then goes on her way...
FLASHBACK TO:
Danny is interviewed by a JOURNALIST...
JOURNALIST
So, Danny, in your latest video, you
were talking about the working dad's
dilemma... Would you care expanding a
bit more on that subject for us?...
DANNY
Of course!... Well, John, it's a
common feeling any person in a
guardian role would experience, at
one point in their lives... Typically
dads, in the traditional American
family model... It's when a person is
torn between two urges, equally
important: either spending time with
their loved ones, or spending time at
work, in order to provide better
financial conditions for their loved
ones...
(MORE)
DANNY (cont'd)
In both situations, they're providing
something good, something their
family needs, whether it's presence
or money... But the two are
incompatible, and finding the right
balance between these two can
oftentimes be tricky... Thus the
dilemma...
JOURNALIST
Uh-huh, I see... You are a father of
two yourself, if I'm not mistaken?...
DANNY
Yes, that's right; a boy and a
girl...
JOURNALIST
God bless 'em!... So I suppose you're
speaking from personal experience,
here?...
DANNY
That's correct, I am the first one to
experience this dilemma... The whole
challenge is providing, in fair
proportions, both presence and
money... Now when you have kids,
especially younger ones, they always
request more of the first, and don't
always understand the importance of
the latter... They just wanna play
with their dad, they don't want him
go to work, which is
understandable...
JOURNALIST
Of course... And, as they grow older,
I suppose their focus shifts more on
money?... To buy phones, tablets and
whatnot?...
DANNY
That's usually the case, yes... But
not always... Sometimes, a kid might
still badly need the presence of his
parent, even in his teen years... He
might even hold a grudge against him,
for not being there... Like a latent
anger, that won't go away with
time... It might even amplify, drive
a wedge between the two of them...
JOURNALIST
I see... Are you talking here from
personal experience, or?...
A short beat...
DANNY
No, it's just general knowledge...
JOURNALIST
I see... And what would be the
consequences of such a feeling?...
DANNY
Well, it usually resolves with time,
but... In some occurrences, it
doesn't... It might cause the child
some mild psychological problems as
he's growing up, mostly in his teen
years, and sometimes even later, in
his adult life...
JOURNALIST
What kind of problems?...
DANNY
A sense of insecurity... Emotional
distrust... Social detachment... That
kind of things... He'd basically
replicate the coldness he received
from his parent, into his everyday
life...
JOURNALIST
OK... Well, thank you very much for
this insight, Danny!
DANNY
Thank you, John!...
END FLASHBACK.
Mike was watching this excerpt on his computer...
He closes down his laptop, gazes in mid-distance...
37 LATER37
Mike lays on the couch, drinks a beer and stares
distractedly at the ceiling...
Suddenly his phone rings... It's an unknown number (but not
a masked one)...
MIKE
Hello?...
SECRETARY (O.S.)
Hello?... M. Michael Brooks?
MIKE
Yes, who is this?...
SECRETARY (O.S.)
I'm calling from Goldman and
Associates... It's about your meeting
with Mr. Goldman?...
MIKE
Mr who?...
SECRETARY (O.S.)
Mr Henry Goldman... You're seeking
legal advice, right?
It hits him...
MIKE
Yes!... Yes! Yes! Absolutely!...
SECRETARY (O.S.)
OK. So... Are you available this
Friday, at eleven thirty?...
MIKE
Um... Yea, yea, yea, sure!...
SECRETARY (O.S.)
OK, so it's set then... Friday,
eleven thirty AM, in our offices on
the 8th floor... Do you know the
address, Sir?...
MIKE
— ⑦
INT. PERSEPHONE HQ, DEV-OPS OFFICE - DAY34
We're in a large IT working space, with dozens of STAFF and
ENGINEERS working at their computers...
In the center of the room, on a large video wall, we see
Mike's face, filmed through his webcam...
The last bits of the conversation are replayed, until the
moment Mike closes the window and the feed goes black...
Next to the feed on the screen, lines of code scroll down, à
la Matrix...
Dr Sharma's there, observing the screen...
One of the DEV-OPS ENGINEERS (female, 20's, nerdy) comes
over with a tablet, shows it to Dr Sharma...
DEV-OPS ENGINEER
The model's learning fast, doc...
'See there?...
(points at a line of
code on the tablet)
It's coming up with its own routines
to adapt to hostile context...
DR. SHARMA
Yes... I see... But I think we still
need to work on the emotional
engagement filters... They're not
quite as sharp as they should be...
She looks over her tablet...
DEV-OPS ENGINEER
Right. We'll check that out... Still,
the hardest one to crack has almost
caved in!... That's something!...
DR. SHARMA
It's because he's starting to realize
the possibilities now... Can you
imagine?... Being able to talk to
your late father like that, whom you
haven't talked to for years?...
DEV-OPS ENGINEER
Um... Mine's alive, so...
DR. SHARMA
Or your grandfather, for example?...
Can you imagine that?...
DEV-OPS ENGINEER
Oh, yeah!... That'd be something!...
Yea... It'd definitely be...
Trippy...
DR. SHARMA
It would be amazing!... If I could
talk to my late father for example,
I'd... There's a million things I'd
wanna ask him about!... His
childhood, my childhood, the way he
raised us... You wouldn't believe the
amount of sacrifice this man did to
get us where we are...
DEV-OPS ENGINEER
Yea... I imagine...
Dr Sharma sighs sadly...
DR. SHARMA
Too bad Brooks junior here doesn't
see things our way... Instead of
thanking us... He treated me like I
was some kind of charlatan, back
there... Like a criminal, even...
DEV-OPS ENGINEER
Yea, well... He still needs some
convincing... We'll get there
eventually...
DR. SHARMA
Right... Good job, anyway! Keep up
the good work!
DEV-OPS ENGINEER
Thanks, doc'!...
The engineer smiles, then goes on her way...
FLASHBACK TO:
INT. CHANNEL SHOW SET - DAY35
Danny is interviewed by a JOURNALIST...
JOURNALIST
So, Danny, in your latest video, you
were talking about the working dad's
dilemma... Would you care expanding a
bit more on that subject for us?...
DANNY
Of course!... Well, John, it's a
common feeling any person in a
guardian role would experience, at
one point in their lives... Typically
dads, in the traditional American
family model... It's when a person is
torn between two urges, equally
important: either spending time with
their loved ones, or spending time at
work, in order to provide better
financial conditions for their loved
ones...
(MORE)
DANNY (cont'd)
In both situations, they're providing
something good, something their
family needs, whether it's presence
or money... But the two are
incompatible, and finding the right
balance between these two can
oftentimes be tricky... Thus the
dilemma...
JOURNALIST
Uh-huh, I see... You are a father of
two yourself, if I'm not mistaken?...
DANNY
Yes, that's right; a boy and a
girl...
JOURNALIST
God bless 'em!... So I suppose you're
speaking from personal experience,
here?...
DANNY
That's correct, I am the first one to
experience this dilemma... The whole
challenge is providing, in fair
proportions, both presence and
money... Now when you have kids,
especially younger ones, they always
request more of the first, and don't
always understand the importance of
the latter... They just wanna play
with their dad, they don't want him
go to work, which is
understandable...
JOURNALIST
Of course... And, as they grow older,
I suppose their focus shifts more on
money?... To buy phones, tablets and
whatnot?...
DANNY
That's usually the case, yes... But
not always... Sometimes, a kid might
still badly need the presence of his
parent, even in his teen years... He
might even hold a grudge against him,
for not being there... Like a latent
anger, that won't go away with
time... It might even amplify, drive
a wedge between the two of them...
JOURNALIST
I see... Are you talking here from
personal experience, or?...
A short beat...
DANNY
No, it's just general knowledge...
JOURNALIST
I see... And what would be the
consequences of such a feeling?...
DANNY
Well, it usually resolves with time,
but... In some occurrences, it
doesn't... It might cause the child
some mild psychological problems as
he's growing up, mostly in his teen
years, and sometimes even later, in
his adult life...
JOURNALIST
What kind of problems?...
DANNY
A sense of insecurity... Emotional
distrust... Social detachment... That
kind of things... He'd basically
replicate the coldness he received
from his parent, into his everyday
life...
JOURNALIST
OK... Well, thank you very much for
this insight, Danny!
DANNY
Thank you, John!...
END FLASHBACK.
INT. MIKE'S HOME - DAY36
Mike was watching this excerpt on his computer...
He closes down his laptop, gazes in mid-distance...
37 LATER37
Mike lays on the couch, drinks a beer and stares
distractedly at the ceiling...
Suddenly his phone rings... It's an unknown number (but not
a masked one)...
MIKE
Hello?...
SECRETARY (O.S.)
Hello?... M. Michael Brooks?
MIKE
Yes, who is this?...
SECRETARY (O.S.)
I'm calling from Goldman and
Associates... It's about your meeting
with Mr. Goldman?...
MIKE
Mr who?...
SECRETARY (O.S.)
Mr Henry Goldman... You're seeking
legal advice, right?
It hits him...
MIKE
Yes!... Yes! Yes! Absolutely!...
SECRETARY (O.S.)
OK. So... Are you available this
Friday, at eleven thirty?...
MIKE
Um... Yea, yea, yea, sure!...
SECRETARY (O.S.)
OK, so it's set then... Friday,
eleven thirty AM, in our offices on
the 8th floor... Do you know the
address, Sir?...
MIKE