Kera Hildebrandt kerahildebrandt@yahoo.com PLOT TREATMENT Some years before to the film, advances in robotics led to the development of droids for things such as combat and labor. Peter Gund, a veteran from the Final Human War, works as a control worker for the American Robotic Military (ARM). Though having a small connection with Monica Anu, a young-buttechnologically-advanced control worker, Gund mostly stays isolated from his coworkers. Bitter about being deemed “obsolete” as a soldier, he spends much of his free time with another veteran named Lucas Beaker, who runs a military museum. On the day before Gund’s retirement, an entire army of ARM robots are suddenly attacked by an air strike of unknown origin. The robots are deactivated before being destroyed by the strike, causing a damage to the ARM force in general. After a conference, Gund convinces the ARM heads to allow him, Beaker, and Anu to go on a recon/assault mission to the location of the signal that shut down the droids.(Humans are undetectable to the vast majority of surveillance systems used.) The trio travel to the signal’s location, discovering it to be an abandoned army base. Inside the base, they find a computer with files from OmniTech, the company that developed the battle droids, and a young woman strapped to a surgical table. The moment they wake the woman, they are attacked by a seemly deranged man. The man is able to elude the trio, but Anu is able to get a picture of him. Back at the base, the group meets with Adam Ianson, the CEO of OmniTech. Ianson identifies the man as Martin Stone, a former employee who vanished after embezzling some company funds. While at the company, Stone claimed to be on the verge of a great innovation, but only opened up to an intern. Anu recognizes the intern as Devon Cain, an estranged friend of hers who is now in prison for hacking into the ARM mainframe in protesting acts of war. Meanwhile, the woman who was found at the abandoned base introduces herself as Eve, a newly-hired cleaning woman for OmniTech. When asked about her abduction, she explains that she can’t recall how she was kidnapped or what occurred during her incarceration, save for Stone mentioning a “summer home.” The trio travels to the prison Cain is kept, but the veterans are unable to extract information from him. Anu tries to speak with a reluctant Cain, who refuses to do so due to her involvement with the military. Eventually, to the trio’s surprise, some of the guards begin to brutalize Cain in hopes of
extracting information. To Cain’s surprise, Gund threatens the guards at gunpoint to stop. At that moment, a robot (who, unbeknownst to the trio, had been following them throughout the prison) attacks, abducting and nearly killing Cain. However, Cain is caved by the trio and the robot is destroyed in the process. Shocked by the actions of the trio, Cain willingly gives them information. Cain claims that the “innovation” Stone was working was developing programs that would increase a droid’s degree of AI. When asked about Stone’s “summer home,” Cain points it out as a remote location in Utah. Before being taken back to his cell, Cain remarks about how Stone seemed to be a robotic-life sympathizer. When asked why Stone would harm robots if he had such beliefs, Cain only remarks that Stone shutting down the robots before destroying them could be taken as an act of mercy. The trio travels through the badlands and finds Stone’s second location- a makeshift workshop in a junkyard of discarded robots. The robots of the junkyard attack the trio (as well as each other). Eventually, Stone is detained and Beaker blows up the junkyard (much to Stone’s horror). Stone is taken back to the base and is almost brutalized during the interrogation. After this happens, Eve turns on the soldiers, much to her own surprise. At one point during the fight, Eve’s leg gets damaged, revealing wiring underneath her skin. Shocked at this, Eve passes out. After Stone offers to help Eve, he is freed from his bonds to repair her. Stone reveals that Eve, unbeknownst to herself, is an android built by him to infiltrate OmniTech. Stone explains that he (reluctantly) destroyed the robot armies because they were programmed to eventually turn on their human handlers. After revealing the coding of a damaged battle droid in the base’s lab to back up his claim, Stone fingers Ianson as the one responsible for the attempted revolt. But before Stone can explain why, the battle droid reactivates and fatally wounds Stone before abducting Eve and fleeing. Stones dying words are “She’s not like him. She can kill him by connection.” The trio storms OmniTech’s building and finds Ianson in his office. To their surprise, Ianson attacks them, displaying superhuman speed, strength, and durability. Eventually, Ianson pins Gund down and reveals that he (Ianson) has robotic insides before knocking him out. Gund awakens to find himself, Beaker, and Anu strapped to surgical tables in one of OmniTech’s labs. Ianson is cutting into them, checking them for wires. When asked about Ianson’s robotic parts, Ianson removes the synthetic skin on his arm. Ianson explains that he was originally a combat droid who was scrapped after his model became obsolete. He was rescued by
Stone, who gave him capabilities of free-thinking and emotion though reprogramming. With memories of battle and abandonment fresh in his mind, Ianson began to harbor a hatred for humans and abruptly left Stone. During his time on the lam, Ianson remade himself into a android capable of passing as a human. Through planning, Ianson infiltrated OmniTech, eventually becoming its CEO. He plotted to seek revenge on humanity and liberate his fellow droids by using his new position. However, Stone (during his employment there) recognized Ianson, discovered his plans to seek revenge on humanity, and fled. Ianson unveils a hidden army of battle droids and sends them for the ARM headquarters. Ianson is about to kill Gund when Eve attacks him, throwing him out a window. Eve frees the trio and explains that she had discovered her true purpose. Her programing contains a code that when introduced to the other robots, will overwrite the codes used to cause the revolt. Anu determines that she can use OmniTech’s mainframe (which links to all the droids to introduce new code) to introduce Eve’s code. Meanwhile, at the base, the ARM soldiers attempt to fend off the attacking droids. Though unfamiliar with hand-to-hand combat, the soldiers group together and fairs well in battle. The group heads for the mainframe, only to confronted by Ianson. Anu and Eve head for the mainframe as Gund and Beaker try to fend off Ianson. The men are able to stall Ianson long enough for Anu to hack into the mainframe. Ianson storms the room, stating that Eve will most likely lose herself in the process. After the veterans go to attack Ianson, Eve choses to sacrifice herself to link into the mainframe, successfully shutting off the battle robots. Though damaged, Ianson continues to attack Gund and Beaker, berating them for stopping him despite them both being “disposed, obsolete soldiers.” Ianson is disarmed by Anu before being destroyed by Gund and Beaker. The trio are hailed as heroes after the fight. ARM begins to rework the robotic forces (as well as congress does with its war policies). Anu is given a promotion, but first requests a leave of absence to gather her thoughts. The film ends with Anu joining Gund and Beaker in the hospital courtyard (the first time they speak candidly). They are approached by a nurse, who is strongly implied to be Eve, who survived the connection with the mainframe.
MAIN CHARACTERS
The characters each have their own motives/personalities that are explored in the film. • Peter Gund- Dissatisfied with his current career and being branded as obsolete, he distances himself from his coworkers. He has a hard time coming to terms with his feelings of abandonment and under-appreciation for his life as a war hero. • Lucas Beaker- Though younger than Gund, Beaker had served in his unit. Beaker battles with boredom in his civilian life. He’s a bit embittered by his being replaced by robots and as a result, picks on Anu. However, he eventually connects with Anu when he sees her as the scared, new recruit he once was. • Monica Anu- She is often underestimated at her job for her “inexperience” and in battle due to her reluctance/inability to fight. She gradually earns the respect of her male cohorts, as well as a grip onto the reality of her post (being part of a war machine). She also becomes conflicted between her past life as a non-violent technician and her military career. • Martin Stone- Presented as a paranoid, conspiracy-obsessed type. However, he almost never seems truly and completely threatening/evil. • Adam Ianson- His cool is all a ruse. Even though he’s calm in battle, he’s not shy of letting his anger be known. In a way, he relates to Gund and Beaker. After all, Ianson was a solider who was deemed obsolete, too. • Eve- She relates to Anu due to her own desire to help people, but being “inclined to do something else.” She sees Anu as being out of place with her coworkers as she (Eve) is as a civilian around soldiers. THEMES The primary theme I wish to address in this script is the effects of war/war time on people. • The battle droids represent the “lower class people sent to fight a higher class people’s war.” • Cain represents the anti-war protest movements. His treatment during his interrogation also represents the torture used to extract information from suspects. • The behavior of the robots found in the junkyard represent the effects of PTSD. • Ianson represents the casualty/cruel intent of war, while Eve represents the desire to keep the peace by force.