The young Dev-Ops engineer (we saw earlier) sits at her
desk, gazes at her tablet attentively, absorbed in scrolling
lines of code...
She suddenly winces, as if noticing something odd...
DEV-OPS ENGINEER
(to herself )
What the?!...
She stands up, grabs her tablet, and heads towards Dr
Sharma's desk...
The latter is on the phone; she waits for him to finish his
call...
DR. SHARMA
Yes, Sir... Yes, Sir... It's very
encouraging so far, we...
(a beat )
Um... Yea... Lemme check that out and
I'll get back to you in... like three
minutes, OK?... Yes, Sir... OK,
sure... OK, 'see you later...
He hangs up.
Standing next to his desk is a formally dressed man (some
kind of MIDDLE MANAGER, 30's, cocky looking).
MIDDLE MANAGER
So, Divit... When can we launch the
forty others?...
DR. SHARMA
Forty two...
MIDDLE MANAGER
Yea... Whatever, you know, the paying
customers... This trial case was
absolutely fascinating and all,
but... At one point, it's also good
to bring in some loot, right?...
Dr Sharma looks at his watch.
DR. SHARMA
We still have a little more than 24
hours before the official completion
of the beta test.
MIDDLE MANAGER
Yea well, it's looking all good to me
so far, really. Why waste anymore
time?... They're getting really
impatient up there, you know, to pop
up the champagne...
The Dev-Ops engineer steps in.
DEV-OPS ENGINEER
Dr Sharma?...
DR. SHARMA
Yes?...
MIDDLE MANAGER
What is it, doll?...
She points at her tablet.
DEV-OPS ENGINEER
I'm getting unexpected data in the
analysis flow, like some kind of
foreign code... I'm not sure where
that's coming from...
Dr Sharma takes the tablet, plunges into the code...
As he looks into it, he seems more and more perplexed,
worried even...
DR. SHARMA
When did this happen?...
DEV-OPS ENGINEER
Right now... Like two minutes ago...
DR. SHARMA
How?... How did?... Where's this
coming from?!...
DEV-OPS ENGINEER
I've no idea...
He looks back at his own screen...
DR. SHARMA
Look... I gotta call the Director
right now, but I'll get back to you
'soon as I'm done... Please keep an
eye on that meanwhile, OK?...
DEV-OPS ENGINEER
OK...
MIDDLE MANAGER
Hey, I'm sure you can sort that out
all by yourself, like a big girl...
Just get back there to your desk
and... Do your thing, you know...
Focus, all right?...
She gives him a defiant face, grabs her tablet, and goes on
her way...
Danny appears on Sonia's computer screen.
SONIA
So?... How was it?
DANNY
I dunno... I just had the weirdest
talk with our son!...
SONIA
Really?... What did he say?
DANNY
He's... He's... He's...
The video loops, like it's stuck. Then he goes silent.
SONIA
He's what?...
DANNY
It's none of your business, slut!
Sonia's baffled...
SONIA
Wh... What?!...
The image jumps, cuts, freezes and loops. Danny's face gets
distorted by weird mimics...
DANNY
'Want your ass slapped, you lil'
cunt?... Ugg... Ugg...
(speaks gibberish )
You cunt!... Cugg... Cugg...
SONIA
(Terrified )
Danny!... Danny!... What's going
on?!... Danny!
DANNY
Don't you understand what's going on,
you desperate halfwit?!... How dumb
can you be?!...
(Laughs hysterically )
Ooohhh... You're sad?... You wanna go
cry to your mommy?...
Sonia squirms in her seat, horrified, while Danny's image
keeps cutting, jumping. He makes a vicious smirk, sticks his
tongue out...
DANNY (cont'd)
Hey!... 'Wanna cyber-sex, doll?...
'Wanna cyber-sex?... Huh?....
All the engineers gaze at the video wall, with bewilderment
and disbelief...
Some stand up from their chairs, hold their necks from
stress and dismay...
The middle manager cannot believe his eyes...
MIDDLE MANAGER
What the fuck?!...
Dr Sharma goes in full panic mode...
DR. SHARMA
No!... No, no, no, no, no!... What
the Hell's happening?!...
Then he runs between the workstations, shouts his lungs
out...
DR. SHARMA (cont'd)
Cut the feed!!... Cut it right now!!
Cut it!!...
He reaches what seems to be the main command station, gets
down on the floor to reach the power sockets, and unplugs a
chord...
Danny disappears from the screen. Instead, there's an error
message:
"The feed is temporarily offline, we apologize for any
inconvenience."
Sonia, all despondent, with a shaking hand, slowly turns off
the computer...
With teary eyes, she gazes in mid-distance...
Mike wakes up, gazes at the ceiling for a moment, then gets
out of bed...
60 LATER60
He makes himself a cup of coffee in the kitchen...
61 LATER61
Mike reads something on his computer while sipping his cup
of coffee...
He smiles, then stands up, and goes on his way...
On the computer screen, the following title can be read:
"In a surprising statement, Persephone A.I. announces
postponing the launch of its revolutionary application, a
few days before its official launch date!"...
Sonia and Nell pay a visit to Danny's grave...
Sonia holds a bouquet of flowers, which she smells deeply,
then slowly places on the grave...
She steps back, hugs her daughter with one hand, as they
both contemplate pensively the tombstone...
Mike and Laura sit together, have a cup of coffee...
They talk, laugh and talk some more...
THE END.
— ⑪
INT. PERSEPHONE HQ, DEV-OPS OFFICE - DAY55
The young Dev-Ops engineer (we saw earlier) sits at her
desk, gazes at her tablet attentively, absorbed in scrolling
lines of code...
She suddenly winces, as if noticing something odd...
DEV-OPS ENGINEER
(to herself )
What the?!...
She stands up, grabs her tablet, and heads towards Dr
Sharma's desk...
The latter is on the phone; she waits for him to finish his
call...
DR. SHARMA
Yes, Sir... Yes, Sir... It's very
encouraging so far, we...
(a beat )
Um... Yea... Lemme check that out and
I'll get back to you in... like three
minutes, OK?... Yes, Sir... OK,
sure... OK, 'see you later...
He hangs up.
Standing next to his desk is a formally dressed man (some
kind of MIDDLE MANAGER, 30's, cocky looking).
MIDDLE MANAGER
So, Divit... When can we launch the
forty others?...
DR. SHARMA
Forty two...
MIDDLE MANAGER
Yea... Whatever, you know, the paying
customers... This trial case was
absolutely fascinating and all,
but... At one point, it's also good
to bring in some loot, right?...
Dr Sharma looks at his watch.
DR. SHARMA
We still have a little more than 24
hours before the official completion
of the beta test.
MIDDLE MANAGER
Yea well, it's looking all good to me
so far, really. Why waste anymore
time?... They're getting really
impatient up there, you know, to pop
up the champagne...
The Dev-Ops engineer steps in.
DEV-OPS ENGINEER
Dr Sharma?...
DR. SHARMA
Yes?...
MIDDLE MANAGER
What is it, doll?...
She points at her tablet.
DEV-OPS ENGINEER
I'm getting unexpected data in the
analysis flow, like some kind of
foreign code... I'm not sure where
that's coming from...
Dr Sharma takes the tablet, plunges into the code...
As he looks into it, he seems more and more perplexed,
worried even...
DR. SHARMA
When did this happen?...
DEV-OPS ENGINEER
Right now... Like two minutes ago...
DR. SHARMA
How?... How did?... Where's this
coming from?!...
DEV-OPS ENGINEER
I've no idea...
He looks back at his own screen...
DR. SHARMA
Look... I gotta call the Director
right now, but I'll get back to you
'soon as I'm done... Please keep an
eye on that meanwhile, OK?...
DEV-OPS ENGINEER
OK...
MIDDLE MANAGER
Hey, I'm sure you can sort that out
all by yourself, like a big girl...
Just get back there to your desk
and... Do your thing, you know...
Focus, all right?...
She gives him a defiant face, grabs her tablet, and goes on
her way...
INT. BROOKS'S RESIDENCE - DAY56
Danny appears on Sonia's computer screen.
SONIA
So?... How was it?
DANNY
I dunno... I just had the weirdest
talk with our son!...
SONIA
Really?... What did he say?
DANNY
He's... He's... He's...
The video loops, like it's stuck. Then he goes silent.
SONIA
He's what?...
DANNY
It's none of your business, slut!
Sonia's baffled...
SONIA
Wh... What?!...
The image jumps, cuts, freezes and loops. Danny's face gets
distorted by weird mimics...
DANNY
'Want your ass slapped, you lil'
cunt?... Ugg... Ugg...
(speaks gibberish )
You cunt!... Cugg... Cugg...
SONIA
(Terrified )
Danny!... Danny!... What's going
on?!... Danny!
DANNY
Don't you understand what's going on,
you desperate halfwit?!... How dumb
can you be?!...
(Laughs hysterically )
Ooohhh... You're sad?... You wanna go
cry to your mommy?...
Sonia squirms in her seat, horrified, while Danny's image
keeps cutting, jumping. He makes a vicious smirk, sticks his
tongue out...
DANNY (cont'd)
Hey!... 'Wanna cyber-sex, doll?...
'Wanna cyber-sex?... Huh?....
INT. PERSEPHONE HQ, DEV-OPS OFFICE - DAY57
All the engineers gaze at the video wall, with bewilderment
and disbelief...
Some stand up from their chairs, hold their necks from
stress and dismay...
The middle manager cannot believe his eyes...
MIDDLE MANAGER
What the fuck?!...
Dr Sharma goes in full panic mode...
DR. SHARMA
No!... No, no, no, no, no!... What
the Hell's happening?!...
Then he runs between the workstations, shouts his lungs
out...
DR. SHARMA (cont'd)
Cut the feed!!... Cut it right now!!
Cut it!!...
He reaches what seems to be the main command station, gets
down on the floor to reach the power sockets, and unplugs a
chord...
INT. BROOKS'S RESIDENCE - DAY58
Danny disappears from the screen. Instead, there's an error
message:
"The feed is temporarily offline, we apologize for any
inconvenience."
Sonia, all despondent, with a shaking hand, slowly turns off
the computer...
With teary eyes, she gazes in mid-distance...
INT. MIKE'S HOME - DAY59
Mike wakes up, gazes at the ceiling for a moment, then gets
out of bed...
60 LATER60
He makes himself a cup of coffee in the kitchen...
61 LATER61
Mike reads something on his computer while sipping his cup
of coffee...
He smiles, then stands up, and goes on his way...
On the computer screen, the following title can be read:
"In a surprising statement, Persephone A.I. announces
postponing the launch of its revolutionary application, a
few days before its official launch date!"...
EXT. CEMETERY - DAY62
Sonia and Nell pay a visit to Danny's grave...
Sonia holds a bouquet of flowers, which she smells deeply,
then slowly places on the grave...
She steps back, hugs her daughter with one hand, as they
both contemplate pensively the tombstone...
INT. COFFEE SHOP - DAY63
Mike and Laura sit together, have a cup of coffee...
They talk, laugh and talk some more...
THE END.