THE LONG RUN: A Tale of the Continuing Time by Daniel Keys Moran Copyright 1989, 1992, 1994 by Daniel Keys Moran. All rights reserved. Work is an adaptation of "The Long Run," published by Bantam Books in 1989, ISBN# 0-553-28144-5. STATEMENT OF RIGHTS: I, Daniel Keys Moran, the Author, hereby release this work to the public for reading purposes. It may be transmitted AS A TEXT FILE anywhere in this or any other universe or dimension, without reservation, so long as the work's text is not altered IN ANY WAY. No fee may be charged for such transmission, save handling fees comparable to those charged for shareware programs. This is the ONLY use of this work that is released to the public. THIS WORK MAY NOT BE PRINTED, PUBLISHED, COLLECTED, PRODUCED, PERFORMED, ADAPTED OR REPRODUCED VIA ANY MEDIUM NOW EXISTING OR WHICH MAY IN THE FUTURE COME INTO EXISTENCE WITHOUT WRITTEN PERMISSION FROM THE AUTHOR. THIS WORK IS LICENSED FOR READING General notes: This screenplay was begun in 1989, not long after the publication of the novel by Bantam Books. It was my first screenplay, and it shows; it was nearly 180 pages long in its first draft. It's not much shorter today; if shot as written it would run a good three hours. D.C. Fontana read it and made invaluable suggestions; so did Jonathan Zimmerman. Consensus seems to be that it's roughly a $100 million movie, using live actors. The odds are, of course, that it never will be shot. I have hopes; most particularly, I think it might make a thorougly excellent computer-animated feature. But that's pure speculation. If you're one of the thousand-odd people who's contacted me looking for old copies of and -- as of today, September 11, 1994, the rights to those novels are in the hands of Bantam Doubleday. They may or may not be reprinted any time soon. For what it's worth, I don't recommend this as an introduction to my writing; if you've never read anything of mine before, this is probably not the place to start. *************************************************************** THE LONG RUN A TALE OF THE CONTINUING TIME If you can keep your head while all those about you are losing theirs, then perhaps you have misunderstood the situation. --Graffiti on the side of the Flushing Street Temple of Eris in New York FADE IN: INT. LIMBO--A BLACK EMPTINESS--MEDIUM DISTANCE A man sits in the blackness, in half lotus, the only object in a black universe. He is clothed in white: cloak, gloves, boots, a hood; mist crawls where his face should be. On his chest is a pattern of nine circles enclosing a starburst. Touching the third circle out from the starburst are two small, solidly colored spheres, one blue, one white. STORYTELLER I am Chai'Ell November, the Name Storyteller. It is Spring of the year 2062. Forty-five years ago the Earth and most of Luna were conquered by the Unification and its Peace Keeping Force. America fought against the Unification, and was occupied. Today only the Asteroid Belt, the SpaceFarers Collective, and Free Luna continue to resist. The Storyteller gestures; abruptly the motionless image of CARL CASTANAVERAS appears. Carl is a black-haired, pale- skinned man of about 30, with brilliant green eyes. STORYTELLER Thirty years ago, the Unification designed the Castanaveras genies-- genetically engineered humans, telepaths of frightening skill. And today the Peace Keeping Force frightened. For thirty years the Castanaveras have been slaves to the Unification; today they have come of age, and are demanding the same freedom other humans are accorded-- and they are prepared to fight for it... DISSOLVE TO: EXT. LOWER MANHATTAN SKYLINE (MODEL SHOT)--DAY A skyline considerably different from today's. Since our day this area's been fought over, nuked, and reclaimed; now it's an expensive residential area. EXT.--EST. THE CHANDLER COMPLEX--DAY A mansion in lower Manhattan. Three kids sit under a tree on the Complex lawn. They are the 9-year old twins DAVID and DENICE CASTANAVERAS, and the 11-year old TRENT. David and Denice are pale, with glossy black hair and emerald eyes; Trent is a self-possessed boy with blue eyes and sandy blond hair. Trent and Denice sit over a handheld computer, Playing in the InfoNet, while David reads a book a few meters away. DENICE I don't know why you work so hard at it. TRENT I'm a Player. It's what I . DENICE (frustrated) I wish I could read your mind. TRENT In year or two you'll be able to. DENICE Trent, I want to understand . Plugged into the handheld is an infochip about the size of a credit card, labeled . A diode on its surface lights and a 1/6TH-SCALE HOLO APPEARS: Ralf, Trent's Image in the InfoNet. Ralf is an adult in dark, flowing robes, with features reminiscent of Trent's. His voice is deep: RALF Denice, life can be described-- surprisingly well--in terms of information content. DENICE (petulantly) What do know? You're just an Image. TRENT Ralf is right. DENICE You're just saying that 'cause you wrote him. Trent and Ralf look at one another, shrugging; could be. TRENT As a Player you...expand your sensory bandwidth by an order of magnitude; you can do the things an AI can do--control hardware with a thought, find answers to any question in instants.... Denice stares at him. Trent decides to simplify. TRENT It makes things faster, okay? DENICE So what's the ? So you can find data faster than anybody else in the world except an AI or another Player. Really, I just don't it. Trent turns his head slightly, finds the serious green eyes looking into his own. TRENT The Crystal Wind is the greatest source of data the world has ever seen. Data is not information and information is not truth; but in data you can truth. The girl studies him, grave-faced. Trent stares back. The corners of her mouth twitch, and she fights it, then abruptly loses it, laughing; it trails off into giggles and she leans back, resting her head on Trent's shoulder. DENICE (quiet, detached voice) You're the craziest thing I ever saw. TRENT Really? DENICE (quickly) It's okay. I like you anyway. BLACK SCREEN "Four Months Later: July 3, 2062" appears in glowing emerald; it DISSOLVES TO: EXT. THE CHANDLER COMPLEX--LIGHT RAIN--LATE AFTERNOON A WIDE-ANGLE SHOT of the entrance to the chain-link fenced Complex. The Complex's white monocrystal walls glow wet beneath arc lamps. A huge crowd in an ugly mood, its members gaudy with dramasuits and holosigns, surrounds the Complex. One holosign says: . A private force, SECURITY SERVICES, lines the fence, masers trained on the crowd. The CROWD'S CHANTING is barely audible above the SOUND OF THE WIND. CROWD Put the genies...! Put the genies...! NEW ANGLE--CAR APPROACHING FROM BEHIND THE CROWD The gates open. Stunners light up in banks, like ballpark lights. Rioters fall; two riot sleds with mounted stunners move out to clear a path, and escort the car into the Complex. INT. CAR--DAY--AS IT MOVES FORWARD THROUGH CROWD Inside are MALKO KALHARRI, SUZANNE MONTIGNET, and Trent. Suzanne is elderly, but fit; Malko is a big, broad- shouldered ex-soldier, about 70. Trent sits in the back seat, working with his handheld. MALKO I've never seen it so bad. SUZANNE And no Peaceforcers. MALKO Might be a few off-duty...in the crowd. WIDE ANGLE--INTERIOR COURTYARD A DOUBLE-S OFFICER watches as teens between the ages of 11 and 15 unload a crate of materiel. Masers get handed out to everyone, regardless of age. An interesting thing about the children: though they do not otherwise appear related (they are white, black, Asian and Latino) they all have brilliant green reflective eyes. HEATHER CASTANAVERAS, 15, lifts a jumpsuit from the crate. With Heather is WILLI, also 15. WILLI Laser-resistant? SECURITY OFFICER Heat and impact. HEATHER (to others) Get them on! INT. CAR--DAY--SLOWING TO A STOP NEARBY--ON MALKO, WATCHING MALKO Carl must be scared. TRENT Wouldn't you be? INT. CHANDLER COMPLEX--COMMAND CENTER--DAY A media room. Holos are everywhere; maps of Manhattan, images of the gates, of the Complex's approaches. A window looks down on the courtyard. Carl Castanaveras stands with his back TO THE CAMERA. He is the oldest of the genegineered telepaths, after whom the others were named; pale-skinned, with black hair and burning green eyes. He holds himself with smouldering rage, watching the rioters. With him are JANY, 25, (David and Denice's mother); ANDY, a 20 year old telepath, and Security Services Captain TODD DEAVERS. Malko, Suzanne and Trent enter. Carl does not look around. CARL I think you got here just in time. CAPTAIN DEAVERS Yes. Monitors 5 and 9; PKF troops. MONTAGE SHOTS--PEACEFORCERS TAKING UP STATIONS They move with professional competence; no goddamn Imperial Stormtroopers, these people. They what they shoot at. INT. CHANDLER COMPLEX--COMMAND CENTER--DAY--SCENE RESUMES CARL I wonder if they'd have let you through.... Somehow I don't think they're here to protect us. MALKO Hello, Carl. Carl turns to face them. He glances at Malko, then Suzanne; at his expression both look away. Only Trent meets his gaze. TRENT Hello, Carl. CARL Hello, Trent. You should not have come. And you should not stay. TRENT We heard about the twins. CARL Malko, go home. Take Trent and go. Don't come back until this is over. MALKO Carl, you're not doing me any favors keeping me out of this fight. CARL (losing it) . This is the use I have for you! MALKO (struggling and angry) . Carl holds his gaze a moment, then nods. CARL It's better this way, Malko. TRENT What about Denice and David? COMPUTER VOICE Unification Councilor Jerrill Carson on Line Three. A beat -- and a life-size holo of UNIFICATION COUNCILOR JERRILL CARSON appears. Carson is 60ish, gaunt and bony. Carl moves into range for the phone cameras; Trent turns to a systerm, grabs a traceset, licks the trodes and sticks them to his temple. His eyes close, his hands fly across the keyboard. Carl stares, enraged, at Carson's image. CARSON (shaking voice) I have your children. You've caused me problems, Carl. (voice gains strength) If you wish to see them alive you'll . Carl closes his eyes. Carson jerks, goes rigid. He and Carl hold the tableau for a moment, and then Carl's eyes open. Carson jerks like a puppet whose strings have been released. CARSON (harshly, panting) Fool. You think I've known you...this long...without learning anything? There are... of minds all around me, and millions more in the distance between us. . ON TRENT--CLOSING HIS EYES IN THE INFONET--THE SHINING WORLD OF THE CRYSTAL WIND BG SOUND of a tinkling wind. A gateway appears; Trent steps through, morphing into Ralf the Wise and Powerful. A dark window opens: text beneath the window says INTERFACE WINDOW: . In the window WE SEE the ready room; things in it happen very slowly. Ralf studies Carson's image; then taps the window's edge. The window flips around; its other side is labeled INTERFACE WINDOW: . A SINGLE COMM CIRCUIT GLOWS; Ralf touches a finger to that circuit and is SUCKED INTO the schematic at that spot. INSIDE THE LASERCABLE--A GLOWING WHITE TUNNEL Laser pulses--Carson's phone transmission--move slowly past Ralf. He follows the pulse down the tunnel to its source-- INT. COMMAND CENTER--DAY--SCENE RESUMES A map holo appears in the air next to Trent as Carson talks, holding a map of Manhattan. Trent whispers, eyes closed: TRENT Tracing. Keep him talking. CARSON --the Unification you telepaths. And if you're honest with yourselves, you know you need us to survive. You genies are not popular with the public. Jany Are we supposed to think you didn't have something to do with this crap outside our front door? CARSON (smiles) Of course we did. We paid some of the people out there...But we didn't pay most of them. CARL What do you want of me? CARSON You telepaths are too dangerous to be left uncontrolled; you need to be back under Peaceforcer control. Do you want your children back, Jany? JANY You know I do. CARSON (to Jany; gestures at Carl) Then this is what you have the madman do. He tells the newsdancers that the Peace Keeping Force recovered your children from the kidnappers; that as a token of your gratitude you've agreed to renew your service with the PKF. You see you've been selfish, and realize that your skills are needed in the service of the Unification. The map next to Trent zooms in on the eastern shore of Manhattan, where Roosevelt Island bisects the East River. CARL When do we get the twins back? CARSON Make the announcement, Jany. Carson vanishes; a spot BLINKS RED on the map. CARL Where is he? TRENT 210 East 76th street. The Eastgate Hotel is at that address. I didn't get the room, but there are Peaceforcers in the lobby. CARL (to Malko) You need to go now. I'll get you a PKF escort. MALKO What about you? CARL (eyeing PKF on monitors) I'll take the MetalSmith as soon as it's dark. EXT. STREET--DUSK--EST. SHOT OF MOHAMMED VANCE MOHAMMED VANCE is a Peaceforcer Elite, a cyborg. Like most PKF and all Elite, he is French. 35, Vance is tall and heavily muscled. The cyborg differentiation is subtle; his false eyes are black and glassy, with abnormally large pupils. His facial skin is stiff and expressionless. A laser is buried in his right fist. In all, he looks like a recruiting poster. On another day, in someone else's movie, he would be the hero. Today he stands motionless in the street, in the rain, squads of PKF behind him, watching the near-riot going on outside the Complex. An AIDE approaches. PKF #1 Elite Sergeant? VANCE (a hard, deep voice) Yes? PKF #1 M. Castanaveras would like an escort through the crowds--Kalharri, Montignet, a child named Trent. VANCE Trent? PKF #1 A genie, but not a telepath. Botched job, according to his file. He hasn't lived here for three months. VANCE Let them pass. EXT. FRONT GATES--DUSK--ON MALKO'S CAR Suzanne is driving. She, Malko and Trent are escorted to the gates by Double-S, and through the crowds by PKF. Their car halts at the PKF security perimeter. INT. CAR--DUSK--PULLING TO A STOP TRENT (abruptly realizing) We have to go back. MALKO What? TRENT I left my handheld. We were in such a hurry-- SUZANNE (exasperated) You can use mine. TRENT (almost panicked) You don't understand! I left ! My ! MALKO We'll come back for him. EXT. CAR--DUSK Vance approaches the passenger side; Malko dilates the window. Vance looks inside, eyes sweeping the interior, taking in Malko with the autoshot, Suzanne and Trent. Vance and Trent lock eyes for a long moment; two legends whose lives are going to be intertwined for the next 40 years, meeting for the first time: Trent the Uncatchable and the patriotic, brilliant, and relentless Mohammed Vance. Trent does not look away; Vance shakes himself, as though realizing he's trading stares with a child. He takes Malko's autoshot, stands back and waves the car on. VANCE Drive safely. They drive away. Vance taps his earphone, speaks aloud: VANCE Commander BreillŠune, the car has left the Complex. BREILLEUNE (radio V.O.) Very good. VANCE I do not like this, Commander. We promised passage. BREILLEUNE (radio V.O.) Be strong. All will be resolved, and shortly. Oh, and Mohammed--Weather Control received a request for a storm tonight--from us? VANCE I was ordered to control the crowds, to help protect the telepaths. Rain is a good tool for crowd control. BREILLEUNE (radio V.O.) Elite Sergeant--relax. . Vance nods grimly, suspicions confirmed. He is there to protect the telepaths from the crowds--or anyone else. EXT. A SURFACE STREET--NIGHT--ON MALKO'S CAR The car glides down the street; a spotlight strikes them. They halt. Two PKF AeroSmiths come down out of the sky-- ANGLE ON TRENT Hiding his traceset's trodes and throat mike in his shoes. ON FIRST AEROSMI Descending, somewhat closer than the second. WE SEE PKF with their weapons ready-- ANGLE ON MALKO MALKO Fuck . Malko pulls an autoshot from under the seat, and rolls from the car as the canopy swings up. The first AeroSmith lands; Malko thrusts the autoshot against the canopy and FIRES. The canopy shatters; the repeating shotgun blasts shred the PKF inside. An Elite bursts from the second AeroSmith; the laser in his fist pierces Malko's shoulder from behind. Malko turns from the ruins of the first AeroSmith, still firing, brings the autoshot around on the Elite. Blood sprays from the Elite's blurred form, but the wound is not mortal, and the cyborg does not slow. The laser in his fist sweeps across Malko's face. TWO SHOT--SUZANNE & TRENT--PKF APPROACHING She kills one with a maser she's concealed. The Peaceforcer behind the one she kills shoots her, fries her where she sits. In the cold air, steam rises from the cooked meat. Trent, in the back seat, raises his hands as three agitated PKF point weapons at him. INT. A PKF STATION--TRENT & TWO ELITE--NIGHT They escort Trent past an admittance desk, to an empty, harshly lit holding cell. They search him, coming up empty. ELITE COMMANDER BREILLEUNE, commander of all PKF on Earth, enters. BREILLEUNE Your guardians were killed, I'm told. Unfortunate. I've wanted to prosecute them for treason for a very long time...A lost opportunity. He exits, leaving Trent alone in the cell. INT. CONTROL CENTER--THE COMPLEX--NIGHT Carl is now wearing fatigues like the others, though he's got considerably more military hardware hung on him. INSERT--A MONITOR A blurry dot, moving closer, changing from a featureless blur to an aircraft. INT. CONTROL CENTER--NIGHT--RESUMES CAPTAIN DEAVERS We might have an aerial attack here. Carl steps forward to the monitor. CARL Let's warn the roof--no. (pause; realization) It's a kamikaze! INT. PKF AEROSMITH--NIGHT--ON MOHAMMED VANCE Watching the rising storm; a DRONING SOUND overrides the wind. Turning, Vance sees the approaching airplane. EXT. AEROSMITH--NIGHT--ON VANCE He cracks the canopy and moves forward with his troops. The craft strikes the Complex's front gate; the gate and fence go down in a shower of sparks. The crowd surges forward. From the Complex's windows and doors, scores of masers strike into the crowd. The carnage is terrific, people flaming up like candles as the masers touch them. INT. COMMAND CENTER--NIGHT--ON MAIN WINDOW Carl and the others smash the window, and stand with their rifles, firing down at the approaching wave of humanity. THE FRONT LAWN OF THE COMPLEX--NIGHT--WIDE ANGLE The children lie in a row, firing; their rifle stocks sizzle where the rain touches them. Rioters fall by the hundreds. The firing goes on and on--and then briefly stops. The crowd breaks and turns back; but a suicidal few continue, charge toward the armed children, and the children cut them down. Then it ends for real. Those few rioters still on their feet flee in a panic, trampling the fallen as they flee. The wounded scream briefly; then Double-S's men turn the gate stunners inward on the injured rioters. INT. COMMAND ROOM The barrels of their rifles, untouched by rain, glow cherry red. CARL ? CAPTAIN DEAVERS (scanning on monitor) Your people are OK; I lost officers at the gate. I need to go down there. Carl nods. Deavers exits. EXT. FRONT LAWN--NIGHT--WIDE ANGLE PKF in combat armor approach, moving relentlessly through the carnage; Vance leads them. Heather blocks their way, flanked by Willi and the other armed children. VANCE (loudly over wind) I must speak to M. Castanaveras! HEATHER No. You don't pass here. Vance makes a restraining motion to the PKF behind him. VANCE I've received instructions to evacuate the Complex. Vehicles will be arriving shortly to remove your people to a safer location. ! WILLI Not a chance. Street's way-- Willi gestures with his maser. The Peaceforcer behind Vance misreads the gesture, and lifts his autoshot and fires. SLOW MOTION Things happen all at once. Willi disintegrates in a shower of flesh and blood and bone. Scattershot touches Heather and, expressionlessly, she brings her maser up to slice in half the Peaceforcer who killed Willi. The battle computer at the base of Vance's skull takes over, sends him rolling across the lawn, laser in his fist flickering out to kill one after another of the telepath children. Heather dies first, in a wash of laser fire. The children stand motionless, masers up, firing at the PKF with a profound lack of any human hesitation. Vance is moving far too fast for them; none of them come close to putting a maser on him before he has reached his feet. NORMAL MOTION RESUMES Perhaps a full two seconds have passed. All of Vance's squad are dead, and all of the children. Telepaths are looking at him, out of the windows on the 1st and 2nd floors; Vance turns and runs at Elite speed, zig-zagging away from the Complex. INT. COMMAND CENTER--NIGHT--ON CARL AT WINDOW Rifle up, Carl tries to track the zig-zagging blur. ON THE OTHER COMMAND CENTER TELEPATHS They are trembling, shaking, dropping their weapons-- EXT. FRONT LAWN--NIGHT--ON THE DEAD CHILDREN INT. COMMAND CENTER--NIGHT--ON THE OTHER TELEPATHS Jany McConnell speaks in a deep, inhuman voice. JANY (THE VOICE) I have been . MONTAGE SHOTS--NIGHT Throughout the Complex, INTERCUT W/DEAD CHILDREN on the lawn; everyone speaks in the same inhuman voice. 1ST CHILD TELEPATH (THE VOICE) There is . 2ND CHILD TELEPATH (THE VOICE) I have been . ON CARL--LEADING VANCE'S ZIG-ZAG RUN He FIRES. The beam strikes directly in Vance's path -- RETURN TO MONTAGE 3RD CHILD TELEPATH (THE VOICE) Parts of Me have been . A SHOT OF THE COMPLEX --with a difference. Walls and furniture are hazy, ghostly; flesh is slightly more solid; human neural nets shine through flesh, bright blue, haloing at the skulls. Abruptly a solid bar of light leaps from one nerve system to another, and then to another, and then another, from telepath to telepath until every neural system shown is connected-- NORMAL ACTION RESUMES--ANGLE ON CARL --except Carl's He struggles to keep the rifle on Vance-- THE VOICE Join me. CARL My ! THE VOICE Join me! JOIN ME! Carl spasms as though a bolt of lightning has struck him,and crumples to the floor, still struggling with it. The voice speaks more gently: THE VOICE Join me. CARL I can't. THE VOICE Then rest. You will have need of rest. Carl shudders and lays still. ANGLE ON THE TELEPATHS Their eyes shine brilliant green, far brighter than before. JANY (THE VOICE) They have killed Me. The Me that was Heather, and Willi, Tomas, Allie, Mari, Mandi and Theodore. ANDY (THE VOICE) I will kill them back. EXT. THE COMPLEX--NIGHT --gleaming in the rain. Silence. A beat-- THE PKF TROOPS-- --withdrawing from the Complex. In silence. A beat-- A SHOT OF THE MANHATTAN 2062 SKYLINE Silence. A beat-- EXT. THE EASTGATE HOTEL--NIGHT INT. HOTEL ROOM--THE EASTGATE HOTEL--NIGHT Carson sits with autoshot in his lap, looking unwell. The twins kneel on the floor before him, hands snakechained behind their backs, mouths taped shut. A beat-- EXT. THE COMPLEX--NIGHT A SOUND RISES, dull and harsh, the scrape of steel on stone, a vicious, chilling scream of hatred and rage-- INT. THE COMPLEX--NIGHT ON THE telepaths. They stand rigid, in strikingly similar poses, heads tilted back, screaming up toward the sky. INT. AEROSMITH--NIGHT--THE PKF RETREAT--ON VANCE His jaw clamps tightly; PKF around him stumble and fall screaming, echoing the telepath scream. Only Vance, in a remarkable display of willpower, does not scream. INT. HOTEL ROOM, EASTGATE HOTEL As Councilor Carson screams. ON THE TWINS THE VOICE Be strong. Carl is coming. INT. THE JAIL CELL--NIGHT--ON TRENT Trent looks up as the SOUND OF DISTANT SCREAMING penetrates his cell. He clearly feels nothing. After a moment he kicks his shoes off, pulls free the trodes hidden in one shoe, and the throat mike in the other. Trent licks the trodes and sticks them to his temples, clips the throat mike to his collar. He closes his eyes and folds into full lotus. TRENT (whispers) On. Up. Frequency in use...frequency in use...frequency open. Out... Access 102808-CC12. THE GLOW OF THE INFONET A data packet makes its cautious way through the swirling storm of the Crystal Wind. INT. THE COMPLEX--NIGHT--COMMAND ROOM The station Trent worked at earlier. His handheld sits on the desktop, Ralf's credit-card shaped Image coprocessor plugged into it. Abruptly the coprocessor shimmers-- INT. THE JAIL CELL--NIGHT--TRENT LOOKS UP IN EXCITEMENT RALF (V.O. infovoice) You are held by the Peaceforcers. TRENT Yes. Free me. A brief pause. RALF (V.O. infovoice) I can disable power to the entire station. Will this suffice? TRENT Open the door to the cell first. RALF (V.O. infovoice) I cannot do that. The security computer runs Maxtor-Briggs software. It is sophisticated. TRENT Try the AL-405 decryption routine. RALF (V.O. infovoice) There are 3.5 x 10 to the 8th power combinations the lock to your door might accept. It will take some time to try them all. Please abide. TRENT . RALF (V.O. infovoice) I only have one speed, Boss. EXT. THE COMPLEX--NIGHT Utter desolation. The rain lashes down on the dead. The stunners have worn off, and nobody has reapplied them. WE HEAR the growing storm, and then, in a brief lull, the SCREAMS OF THE WOUNDED. In the distance, to the north, the city is burning, the skyline flickering with fire. EXT. STREET--FACING COMPLEX--NIGHT 20 Elite assemble, preparing an assault; they stand silently in the rain, staring at the Complex. Vance watches as they are distributed monstrously large repeating mortars. VANCE They've killed PKF. Kill them all. The Elite slip off into the windy night. INT. COMPLEX--NIGHT--ON THE TELEPATHS Watching. Their eyes glow brighter-- EXT. COMPLEX--NIGHT--ANGLE ON THE ADVANCING ELITE Suddenly they , as though a great hand has struck them down. Elite and mortars hit the wet ferrocrete, slide and tumble for meters before stopping. Vance watches the disaster unfold; the Elite lay in the wet streets, unmoving. Vance beckons; PKF #1 approaches. VANCE Dispatch the robots to retrieve our fallen. When this is done we will retreat a kilometer north...and then contact Space Force. PKF #1 (stares; then salutes) Yes, Elite Sergeant. EXT. GARDEN, CENTER OF COMPLEX--NIGHT The garden is open to the sky, but with buildings all around blocking it from view of the street. In the center of the garden is a Chandler MetalSmith Mark IV, the fastest flying car ever built. Carl and Jany are alone. JANY (THE VOICE) Your best chance of avoiding PKF patrols is over the East River. Carl nods. Cracking the MetalSmith's canopy, he settles in the driver's seat, dropping an autoshot and maser rifle beside him; brings the fans up to speed and fires the rear jets. CARL Stand back. The jets get hot. JANY (THE VOICE) I shall. The fans almost drown out her final words, in her own voice: JANY Be careful, baby. Carl stares at her, then yanks the canopy savagely closed and hits the fans. The car lifts straight up until it has cleared the building, and then, lights extinguished, Carl lights the rear jets. The car leaps forward into the storm. EXT. THE METALSMITH--NIGHT The car flies out over the East River, and then heads north. INT. THE METALSMITH--NIGHT A control BEEPS. PKF VOICE #1 You are violating PKF airspace-- Carl taps the control, cutting the voice off. He flies through the night sky in majestic silence broken only by the rain drumming on the car. The city looks horrible. Fires blaze everywhere; the streets are full of rioters and wrecked vehicles. Power is out over much of the city. A holo of Manhattan shows the MetalSmith's flight as a bright dot. When the dot comes parallel to E. 76th Street, Carl banks in a slow glide. EXT. THE METALSMITH--NIGHT Carl brings the car in from the river, high above traffic, bringing the MetalSmith to a dead halt, fans roaring with the effort to keep it hovering motionlessly in the powerful wind, high above the roof of the Eastgate Hotel. He hovers, watching the roof-- EXT. THE ROOF--NIGHT A shape detaches itself from the shadows, moves cautiously to the roof's edge and looks down. EXT. THE METALSMITH--NIGHT Carl cuts fans. The MetalSmith dives in deadly silence; the front fender hits the Peaceforcer in the back at 150 kph. The Peaceforcer falls from the roof in two different pieces. Carl brings the fans back up, banks the MetalSmith, and lands gently on the roof. He cracks the canopy, and carrying his weapons, descends into the hotel. INT. PKF AEROSMITH--NIGHT--ON MOHAMMED VANCE A holo of a Space Force Colonel floats in front of Vance. VANCE I want a tacnuke strike on the Complex. I take full responsibility; you may clear it with Elite Commander BreillŠune. COLONEL We're ready now. VANCE How long have you been in position? COLONEL (suddenly cautious) Since morning, Elite Sergeant. VANCE (slowly) It was never intended that these people should be allowed to live. INT. THE JAIL--NIGHT RALF (V.O. infovoice) I have found the access code. Trent comes to his feet, tense and excited; instants later, the walls of Trent's cell shake. TRENT What was that? RALF (V.O. infovoice) A diversion to aid in your escape. TRENT ? RALF (V.O. infovoice) I crashed a cab through a wall of the station. TRENT Did you--was anyone in the cab? RALF (V.O. infovoice) No...That would be inhuman. (Trent shows relief) Abide; I shall open the door shortly. INT. HOTEL MAGLEV ELEVATOR--NIGHT Carl lies belly down on the floor. He has punched every floor. 10th floor, 9th--when the doors open at the 8th floor, the Peaceforcer is simply standing there, autoshot leveled to cover the maglev at waist height. Carl kills him with a single maser burst. INT. THE HALLWAY--NIGHT--GUARDS' POV Two PKF guard Carson's hotel room. WE SEE Carl extend his left arm out through the maglev door, holding the autoshot. He fires twice down the hall, buckshot scoring the walls, but he's picked the wrong direction; the PKF at the hotel room door FIRE. Maser fire washes Carl's arm, cooks it instantly. Carl knows where they are now; he rolls forward into the hallway, grabbing the autoshot with his good right hand and firing as he rolls, killing the two PKF at the door. Carl stands slowly, staggering. He walks down the hall, blackened arm hanging at his side. He trips, gets up again. At the door he switches from the autoshot to the maser rifle; more accurate, and the twins are inside. He stands just to the side of the doorway, catching his breath and marshaling his strength. Finally he comes around to stand before the door--and at the door. The door EXPLODES INWARD. INT. THE JAIL--NIGHT--ON TRENT--TRACKING The door BEEPS and curls open. Trent stands in the doorway, listening. In the distance is a HYSTERICAL BABBLE OF VOICES, in both French and English. Trent takes a step into the hall. PKF mill about off to his left; to his right is the empty admittance desk. Trent walks calmly past the admittance desk, past an open door; inside a mad Peaceforcer in uniform, PKF #2, is being comforted by TWO CIVILIANS. PKF #2 ! Stop it! Trent walks by-- CIVILIAN Boy! Trent turns and faces the man, who has come after him. TRENT Yes? CIVILIAN What are you doing in here? TRENT I--I'm looking for the bathroom. CIVILIAN How the hell did you get in here? TRENT (mind racing) ...the door was open, sir? CIVILIAN (staring at Trent) God . Come on. (leads Trent, muttering) No wonder the city's burning, we can't even keep little boys out of Operations. They come to a large doorway; the man's palm is scanned. The door curls open, out into a bright, crowded lobby. CIVILIAN Over there, public restrooms. The waiting rooms are back the other way. You here with your parents? TRENT Yes, sir. CIVILIAN (gently) Don't get lost again. This is a bad night to be out wandering around. He goes back inside; Trent walks through the lobby, from the building, and into the night rain. He crosses the block without haste, turns a corner, and runs for his life. WE HOLD THAT IMAGE: A boy running, fading into the rain, as a bright mushroom cloud climbs into the sky above him. INT. MOHAMMED VANCE'S AEROSMITH--NIGHT--ON VANCE A glow behind him. He sits erect and does not look back. EXT. THE FORMER CHANDLER COMPLEX--NIGHT The brilliant fireball climbs toward the sky. INT. CARSON'S HOTEL ROOM--NIGHT The door explodes inward. At that moment, on a holofield to one side of the room, an image of the Complex is replaced by an awful glare, briefly lighting the room in unreal colors. Carl appears in the doorway, a grinning with emerald eyes--and hesitates at the sight of the twins being used as a shield for Carson. Carson's autoshot blast takes Carl in the chest, lifts and slams him out into the hall. Carl fires in midair, the beam slicing between Denice and her brother, reaching past them to cut Carson's skull in two. Carl hits the wall hard; slumps where he stands, sliding down to the floor, leaving a long trail of blood where he touches the wall. David is on the ground, bringing his bound hands from behind him, down under his feet and around to the front. He rips the tape from his mouth. DAVID Turn around. Denice does. David pushes Carson's dead hand up against the snakechain thumblock; the chain releases Denice. She works the tape from her mouth and then frees David the same way. Carl is motionless, dying. He touches their thoughts: CARL (telepathy) David, get the lasers. David picks up the maser one of the PKF guards used to fry Carl's arm; Carl releases his own bloody rifle. CARL (telepathy) Take it, Denice. Denice scoops the maser up off the floor. Carl's telepathic voice is faint, fading. CARL (telepathy) There are Peaceforcers downstairs. I can't kill them, so you have to. DAVID (nodding) We will, Father. CARL (telepathy) (eyes closing) They'll hesitate before they shoot children. Tears track down Denice's cheeks. DENICE We won't hesitate, Daddy. CARL (telepathy) Good. Remember that you're tougher than they are. (lips curl in pain) . The children jerk with the force of the thought, of Carl's pain and life-long rage imprinting itself upon them. DENICE We'll remember. David punches for the maglev. Denice hugs Carl fiercely; blood covers her when she lets go. The maglev comes-- DENICE Good-bye, Daddy. WE TRACK THE TWINS: Denice runs to the maglev. The doors uncurl to shut; Denice wipes Carl's blood off her rifle. CARL (telepathy V.O.) . DAVID We will. PINT. LIMBO--BLACKNESS--MEDIUM LONG SHOT--ON STORYTELLER STORYTELLER They did. In the seven years that followed that day, the PKF did not find the boy; did not find the twins....In later years it was estimated that a quarter of the population of New York state was rendered insane in the moments when the Castanaveras struck back with their full strength. In the city, the proportion was near one half. (long pause) Seven years is the blink of an eye. On the surface, a world cannot change much in so short a span. Inertia alone prevents it. But in detail... MONTAGE: EXT. MANHATTAN--DAY--THE WALLS GOING UP-- --wire mesh, electrified, with razor barb wire atop. SHOTS OF SLUMS far worse than any today, of PEOPLE BEING SHOT as they try to make their way into the safer Patrol Sectors. STORYTELLER (V.O., CONT.) The Patrol Sectors were designed as an interim measure to maintain order during the riots that followed the destruction of the Castanaveras telepaths. But the PKF found the Patrol Sectors useful, and instead of restoring patrol service to the entire city, concentrated on Capitol City in Manhattan, and left the rest of New York City to decay into the Fringe, patrolled by underfunded, under-equipped American police. INT. LIMBO--MEDIUM SHOT--THE STORYTELLER STORYTELLER (CONT.) Seven years...A story may begin many times, in many places. But there must somewhere be a true beginning. At the beginning of it all, there was an enigma...A boy named Trent who became a thief, and grew toward manhood-- CU THE NAME STORYTELLER STORYTELLER (CONT.) And did not forget. BLACK SCREEN "Monday, July 1, 2069," appears in emerald, then fades. INT. DOWN PLAZA MAGLEV ELEVATOR--DAY--ON TRENT As it descends into the Down Plaza, a subsurface mall in the Brooklyn Patrol Sectors, in relative quiet. Trent, now 18, stands toward the rear; a conservatively dressed young man in a gray jacket and black pants, and a long-sleeved white silk shirt. He wears immaculately clean white running shoes; a single flat ruby stud shines in the lobe of his left ear. His hair is sandy blond, cut short: he wears flat black sunglasses. A handheld--a good bit smaller than the handhelds of seven years prior--is clipped at his belt. People get on and off at every level. The maglev platform tower thrusts up through the center of the Plaza; shops are placed in a rectangle around the tower. Hanging walkways connect the tower to the each level; skywalks connect the levels to each other. INT. LEVEL EIGHT--DAY--TRACKING ON TRENT The platform stops last at Level Eight, bottom level; Trent gets off with the rest. Eight is a riot of color; glittering adholo, neon and neonlaser and glowpaint: picture the biggest, noisiest mall you've ever seen, and multiply by ten. Gang kids, wearing colors, mix among the crowd at the far end of the Plaza. A young blonde girl, JODI, talks with them. Four cops--NYPD Officers--sit at a Plaza coffee shop, watching the crowd through glassite walls. Trent moves through the crowd, stops next to an elderly black contortionist, BONES. Three teenage girls stand nearby, talking together. One stands with her BACK TO THE CAMERA; she wears a green leather dress, black ankle boots and pale green nylons. Her hair is black, straight and long. A glowing scarlet zipper begins just over her right thigh and spirals up around her buttocks, waist, and breasts. She carries a handbag by its top. BONES Peaceforcers, Trent. TRENT Where? When? BONES Three hours ago. Haven't seen `em since...This is not good, Trent. You should get you a job. TRENT I already have a job. BONES Boosting's no job, boy.... You're young enough to get out of here. WE HEAR, with Trent, a FILTERED INFOVOICE; the voice of JOHNNY, Trent's Image. Obviously only Trent hears Johnny. JOHNNY (V.O. INFOVOICE) Boss, somebody's messed with Plaza security. TRENT (faint smile; to Bones) I spent six years just getting out of the Fringe, Bones. I the Patrol Sectors...'Scuse me. Trent closes his eyes and goes Inside. THE INFONET--DOWN PLAZA ANALOG A computer generated simulation of the Plaza; Trent steps though a glowing gateway, morphing into the shape of his Image, JOHNNY. BG SOUND is of the Crystal Wind. Johnny appears as a pleasant young man dressed in jeans, cowboy boots and a t-shirt; he glances at a pair of security holocams overlooking Level Eight-- THE INFONET--INSIDE THE HOLOCAMS--JOHNNY'S POV We look down into Realtime, on Trent and Bones. Johnny turns away and melts into the lasercable leading away from the holocams, and abruptly we are-- THE INFONET--INSIDE THE LASERCABLE Flowing as a pulse of scarlet laser light to-- INT. REALTIME SECURITY CONTROL--DAY Six PKF are inside, watching Trent on the holocams. A holocam high on the wall, watching the Peaceforcers, comes alive for an instant, as Johnny looks over-- REALTIME SCENE RESUMES--INT. LEVEL EIGHT--DAY--ON TRENT Mere seconds have passed. JIMMY RAMIREZ, 20, appears out of the crowd, a tall, handsome fellow with muscles on his muscles, watching Trent with a cool, reserved look he saves for times when he is truly pissed. Jodi is on her way across the Plaza, striding angrily through the crowd; the cops at watch as she and Jimmy approach Trent. JIMMY You're late again. TRENT Sorry but I got this call-- JIMMY About? Jodi closes, radiating anger. JODI What the hell's going on? I've been stalling but-- TRENT It's a drop. Jodi's a pro; she turns and fades. Trent doesn't look at Jimmy. TRENT Walk. I just got warned not to boost CalleyTronics-- JIMMY You're kidding-- TRENT --and the Peaceforcers are watching us A cop at points out the scene to the others; the girl in the green dress is walking away with her friends. Trent follows. Two cops come onto the Plaza floor; Trent threads his way through the crowd, gaining on the girls; the girl in the green dress holds her purse by its clasped top. An adholo flares and Trent swerves to pass through it- - INSIDE THE ADHOLO Trent pulls an emblade (a knife with a 1 molecule wide edge) from behind his belt buckle and turns it on. The blade appears, Trent steps out of the adholo-- INT. DOWN PLAZA--SCENE RESUMES--TWO SHOT TRENT AND GIRL Trent walks by the girl, flicks the blade up to cut the purse open, reaches through the open flap and pulls the wallet free; turns the emblade off, drops the haft and kicks it and is turning away when a delicate hand closes around his forearm. GIRL I'd like my wallet returned. The crowd clears away from them. She is 16, with clean simple features framed by long, straight black hair, with bright green eyes. TRENT Sure. (hands wallet back) How did you know I took it? She studies him, puzzled; behind Trent a DEEP VOICE BOOMS: COP Ma'am, stand away! TRENT Really, I did that . COP ! TRENT If you're not going to answer, you better back off, or he'll stun you too. It's not pleasant, trust me. She nods slowly, steps backward, wallet in hand. Her eyes never leave Trent--her eyes. TRENT Oh. Bright green eyes, like Carl's, or Jany's...emerald eyes. TRENT Denice? Denice's eyes widen in shock. Then the cops shoot him. INT. NYPD PROCESSING AREA--ON TRENT--NIGHT TWO COPS are stripping Trent of his valuables. Trent does not resist as they take his belt, watch, earring, wallet and shoes. When they're done he stands in his socks as they run a GLOWING BAR OF LIGHT over him, front and back, rather like a modern metal detector. A HOLOGRAPH OF TRENT'S BODY appears as they do this, showing Trent's internal organs and outlines of his bones. INSERT--HOLOGRAPH--TIGHT ON TRENT'S SKULL The holo shows a thin, flat object INSIDE Trent's skull. COP #1 (V.O.) What the hell is that? TRENT (V.O.) An inskin InfoNet link. RETURN TO SCENE--INT. PROCESSING AREA--NIGHT--THREE SHOT COP #1 I don't see a socket. TRENT It's a radio inskin. There is no socket. COP #2 There's progress for you. C'mon. TRACKING SHOT--THROUGH THE POLICE STATION Grungy equipment everywhere, in need of cleaning and repair, mixed with grungy criminals and cops. The cops lead Trent through the waiting area; too many people in too small a space, speaking in voices that are too loud. Denice Castanaveras, still in the green dress, is in a glassite- walled soundproof cubicle; a red-faced lady cop is speaking to her. Denice does not glance aside as Trent is led by. In a chair just outside of Police Chief MAC DEVLIN's office sits EMILE GARON, a stiff-faced man in black and silver: PKF Elite. Cyborg. An inskin InfoNet link is socketed at his skull. Trent pauses under the weight of Garon's frozen glare-- COP Come on. He shoves Trent contemptuously forward. INT. MAXWELL DEVLIN'S OFFICE--NIGHT-- --a mix of gray leather and chrome. A painting hangs to Devlin's left: a glowing violet Easter egg in a scarlet desert sits on the divider line of a two-lane highway. The ceiling sunpaint is off; a small lamp at Devlin's right elbow provides the office's only illumination. Trent and Devlin hang suspended in dimness, two images at the edges of the light. A miniature antique cannon, on a small end- table to Devlin's left, points directly at Trent. Trent drinks a cup of coffee, right-handed, as they speak. DEVLIN What were your people doing tonight? TRENT We were going to boost CalleyTronics and then go dancing and drink coffee... actually, Jimmy was probably going to get drunk and fight somebody, but he would have had coffee with us. DEVLIN Why were you boosting Calley, Trent? TRENT (are you ?) Mac, I was getting . DEVLIN (hides smile) Excuse me. Stupid question. Look, this is my problem. With this-- (glances at holofield) --Denice Daimara's testimony, I can put you into Public Labor; we found the emblade you used, we have a solid weapons charge. Or I can hand you over to the PKF. TRENT Send me to Public Labor. Please? DEVLIN Why do I have a Peaceforcer Elite camped out in my office over a small time thief like you, Trent? TRENT You know what I do. DEVLIN You steal from thieves. Mostly. TRENT A month ago, a man hired me to boost 15 terabytes of RAM from CalleyTronics--said Calley had stolen it from , and he just wanted it back. He was convincing. I checked him out... Mac, I am possibly the best Player you'll ever meet. The man who hired me to boost Calley was who he said he was--or the PKF DataWatch constructed his background. His records were . DEVLIN Then? TRENT I told him we'd do it. Today--half an hour before we're supposed to do the deed--I got a message from this Player. I don't know this Player, never heard of him before, but he was . He might not even have been a Player; he could have been an Artificial Intelligence. This person says, don't do the job. DEVLIN An AI called you about a robbery? TRENT I know, why would an AI ? But this--person-- things, Mac. About the client, the target, all of it. It was too weird. I headed to the Plaza, found PKF watching me-- (shrugs) I called it off. DEVLIN (grins) So the PKF set you up, and you decided to let the police rescue you from them. Trent glances at his left wrist; WE SEE for the first time it has been snakechained to his chair. TRENT If you want to put it that way. DEVLIN You've got balls, Trent. TRENT I was desperate. There's a difference. DEVLIN Yes. I don't suppose you've eaten? TRENT ...I beg your pardon? DEVLIN You want dinner? I know a good place. TRENT Yes...thank you. DEVLIN , chain off. : Janice, tell Elite Sergeant Garon we're going to charge the boy ourselves. TRENT ? DEVLIN Heard of him? TRENT (shaken, he has; lies badly) No. Never. INT. RESTAURANT--PRIVATE BOOTH--NIGHT--TWO SHOT Trent and Devlin. The glowpaint is dim, aided by gentle white spotlights. As their dinners are being served, Devlin's EARPHONE BEEPS. Trent has fries, scallops and coffee; throughout this scene, whenever he's not talking, he's eating. DEVLIN Excuse me. (touches spot beneath ear) Yes...what is it? ? (suddenly stares at Trent) Exactly ... okay. Acknowledged. (removes finger; real anger) How did you do that? TRENT (swallowing) Do what? DEVLIN Five minutes after I tell the PKF we're charging you, our witness changes her mind. She's not going to testify against you. She didn't see you with the emblade, she's not sure you're the one who cut her purse. How did you get to her? TRENT Mac, I've been in --maybe Jimmy did, I don't know. DEVLIN (almost aggressively) Ever considered becoming a cop? TRENT (almost offended) That's not even a bit funny. DEVLIN I'm not joking. I think you'd be good. TRENT I'd be good at a lot of things I don't want to do. No offense, but jumping two meters every time the PKF sneezes is not my idea of . DEVLIN (nods) hate working with the PKF. TRENT Mac, I don't hate the Peaceforcers. I don't hate the Unification--even if I do hate what it's done to Occupied America. But we can't afford another war, Mac, so we need either the Unification or something like it. And we can't trust individual countries to keep the peace, so we need the Peace Keeping Force, or something very like it, to administer those things. DEVLIN We need the Unification, and we need the PKF. Okay. But they do not have to be the Unification or the PKF that we have today. TRENT (eating fries quickly) You're talking like a Reb. Do you think we can get rid of the "current" PKF without violence? DEVLIN The tree of Liberty must from time to time be refreshed with the blood of patriots. Jefferson said that. TRENT Mac? DEVLIN Yes? TRENT Killing is wrong. DEVLIN Yeah, tell it to the Peaceforcers. Devlin's eyes widen; WE SEE Denice being led to a table near them. Devlin's eyes follow her; the hostess seats Denice, and when the hostess leaves, Denice at Devlin. Devlin's eyes lose focus; his gaze wanders back to Trent. DEVLIN Uh...what were we talking about? Trent eats his last scallops, drinks the last of his coffee. Devlin's barely touched his own food. TRENT I was saying I had to leave. My people are going to be wondering what's happened to me, Mac. DEVLIN This has been a very odd day. TRENT (rising) You don't even know. EXT. A CITY STREET IN THE RAIN--NIGHT Trent and Denice walk close together through the quiet drumming of the rain. TRENT Is David alive? DENICE I don't know. We were separated in the riots. I ended up in Public Labor. Nobody's ever really guessed what I am. You know there's rumors some telepaths survived? TRENT Yes. Some of the documentaries show Carl taking the MetalSmith up out of the Complex before it was nuked. DENICE There's recordings of that? I've never seen them. TRENT I have them on file at home. I'll play them for you if you like. DENICE I would...Trent? TRENT Yeah. DENICE I don't know where to start. It's been seven years. I don't even know if you're the same person any more. TRENT Neither do I. I spent six years in the Fringe. DENICE (visibly shaken) I'm sorry, Trent. I'm really sorry. TRENT (blinking) Well, it wasn't bad. At least not after I met Jimmy Ramirez it wasn't. The Fringe brutal, violent place. It turned me into a pacifist--about the tenth time I got beaten half to death. A believer in non-violence. DENICE I bet. TRENT But I'm basically still the same person. I still tell bad jokes. Good ones, too. Sometimes. About lawyers mostly, and Peaceforcers, `cause they're easy targets. These two lawyers are watching a girl in a park, and one of them says-- DENICE (quietly) You're trying too hard. TRENT Oh? All right. (pause) Can we still hold hands when we walk? DENICE I don't know. (shakes head slowly) I don't think so. TRENT (holds hand out) Try. Denice freezes, stands still in the rain, and then silently, swiftly shakes her head . TRENT Please? DENICE (trace of panic) Trent...I...I can't. I'm sorry, I can't. Trent reaches up and lays his hand flat against her cheek. Denice makes no move to stop him. Her breath came in quick, short gasps; her eyes close-- TRENT Does it hurt? Does it hurt when I touch you? A long pause. Denice shivers, and her hand creeps up to cover Trent's. DENICE (barest whisper) It's really you. Oh, God, it's really you. TRENT Yes. DENICE I guess you can hold my hand if you want. (opens her eyes) Oh, Trent. Of course I still love you. EXT. FLUSHING STREET, BROOKLYN PATROL SECTORS--NIGHT Kandel Microlectrics Sales and Repair is a tiny shop on a corner; the buildings are old and shabby. A PKF AeroSmith patrols overhead, shining a spotlight down on the street as Trent and Denice walk by the building next door to Kandel Microlectrics--the Flushing Street TEMPLE OF ERIS. It's well past closing; but the door to Kandel Microlectrics is open. Trent and Denice enter. INT. KANDEL MICROLECTRICS SALES AND REPAIR--NIGHT The only light comes from the neon-laser sign flashing the shop's name, and the display holographs showing off pieces of stock. They are waiting for Trent inside, sitting in a circle drinking beer and wine. OLD JACK KANDEL sits behind the parts counter, keeping an eye on everyone. Jimmy, Jodi, and BIRD, a 14-year old boy, are sitting together. Bird is the first to notice them: BIRD (nudging Jimmy) Now a pair of nice high big ones. Suddenly everybody is talking at once; what happened to you, etc; we need not hear the dialogue clearly. Only Jimmy is quiet, and only for a moment. JIMMY ! Instant silence, Denice looks at Bird-- DENICE Nice high big ones? BIRD (flushing red) Oh I didn't, I mean, I mean, that's not what I . Your . DENICE (laughs) Biosculpture. JIMMY Bro? TRENT Yes, Jimmy? JIMMY Last time I saw this chick you were boosting her wallet. Who is she? TRENT Someone I used to know. JIMMY (looking slapped) From before the Troubles? TRENT We were raised together. In a way that makes her my sister. JIMMY (standing slowly) I'm going home, bro. See you in the morning. TRENT Tomorrow morning at the Temple coffee shop. 8 o'clock. I'll tell you what I know. OLD JACK Going to bed myself. Had a couple of pieces of hardware I couldn't get running today. If you could take a look at them, I'd appreciate it. TRENT Sure, Jack. I'll handle it. JIMMY Someday I'll figure you out, my man. TRENT Not tonight, Jimmy. JIMMY (coming forward) What's your name, girl? DENICE Denice. JIMMY What do you do? DENICE I'm a dancer. JIMMY You're his sister? DENICE Close enough. JIMMY ...nice to meet you. Any sister of Trent's is okay by me. DENICE Okay? Just okay? (cool smile) Jimmy Ramirez, I'm the . INT. HALLWAY--2ND FLOOR--NIGHT Stairs visible in the BG. Trent opens the door to a room. DENICE You here? TRENT Sort of. Her reaction is understandable; the shabby room holds a twin bed and a small desk with cheap, amateur computer equipment. A bazooka is half visible in the bathroom's shower cubicle. DENICE What is that? TRENT A bazooka. DENICE It's ? TRENT It was here when I moved in. , lights off. A pressure pad the size of a hand glows in the darkness, high up on the wall. TRENT Be careful; if you touch that spot while the lights are on, a fadeaway bomb goes off. DENICE What's a fadeaway bomb? TRENT Liquid Peaceforcer drug, developed for crowd control. Knocks you out. DENICE Why not sonics? TRENT Sonics won't stop a PKF Elite. Put your hand on the pressure pad..., authorize Denice. JOHNNY Denice is authorized. Sudden brightness: an entire section of the wall slides backward nearly a meter, showing an ascending stairway. A squirt gun is clipped to the stairwell wall. TRENT (on Denice's reaction) Fadeaway again. You can't use needlers on Elite; the slivers won't break the skin. But the skin is permeable to liquid; a squirt gun gets enough on one to put him down. Denice looks at Trent without expression. Trent sighs. TRENT Let's go upstairs. INT. TRENT'S APARTMENT--SIMULATED DAY Denice stands in the brilliant sunshine, watching the waves crash on the beach. Trent's voice comes from below her. TRENT You're blocking the stairwell. She steps up, further into the immensity. A bright blue tropical ocean covers the far wall--a holo of astonishing fidelity. A kilometer or so out dolphins leap across the waves. Denice looks up at the image of the sun. DENICE It's . TRENT It's practically real; it'll even give you a tan. WE SEE the room from Denice's POV; a huge bed in one corner, with a late model waitbot nearby. Real paper books sit on a shelf; a desk piled with esoteric computer equipment sits next to the books. In the center of the room is a clear still pool of water; four meters across, a meter deep--a bathing pond. An entire wall of the apartment is one-way glassite, overlooking the Fringe. Denice wanders around, silently, looking, as Trent strips off his wet clothing. He has interesting scars. He gives the wet clothes to the waitbot, dries himself with a towel and dons a white terry-cloth robe. Denice turns back to Trent. DENICE (gesturing at apartment) How did you do this? TRENT I stole most of it. DENICE You stole it? TRENT I'm a thief. It's what I do. Steal things. Mostly from other thieves. I bought the rest with Credit I made from things I stole. DENICE This must have cost--an amazing-- TRENT 200,000 Credits, about. Want a robe to wear? DENICE You spent 200,000 Credits on a TRENT I'm a really thief. DENICE I'll take the robe...Thank you. TRENT Johnny, get Denice a robe. The waitbot at the side of the bed rolls away. JOHNNY Coming up, Boss. DENICE That voice, that's your Image? TRENT Yes. DENICE That's not Ralf's voice. TRENT Ralf the Wise and Powerful was at the Complex when it got nuked. If he'd found new hardware, I'd have heard from him--he's dead. (shrugs) It's hard to be a Player without an Image. Impossible. So I wrote Johnny. Johnny...grew on me. I was grieving for Ralf when I started coding Johnny; all I wanted was an Image that would filter the InfoNet, keep my face hidden. But we got to be friends. He's more alive in some ways than Ralf ever was. JOHNNY Gee, thanks, Boss. TRENT We've done some really great boosts together. DENICE (taking robe from `bot) You things. TRENT I don't steal from my friends, Denice. I just take things that other people have too much of. DENICE And you decide what's too much? TRENT Comes with the job. Look, it's not even theft so much as DENICE Oh? TRENT Words are not real. I can something to you, Denice, but cause the effect, based on how you interpret what I say. But when I something that belongs to a Player whose behavior I find inappropriate, or a businessman who's harming the people he deals with, or when I steal from an ecstasy peddler, I've that person. They ignore what I'm saying to them. DENICE So you things--so people will listen to you? TRENT No, no. Don't be silly. Nobody ever listens anyhow. Mostly I steal because I get paid for it. (grins) But isn't that a explanation? DENICE Oh, Trent. I never did know when to believe you. TRENT Believe everything I say. Or nothing. The results are the same. DENICE What results? TRENT Chaos usually. But only because the people I hang out with have no sense of humor. Last week I wanted to dress up as Clowns from Mars and go to mass at the Temple next door, but nobody would. They're all afraid of Reverend Andy. Just because he once killed a mugger with one mighty blow. DENICE But you're not afraid of him? TRENT Well, I wouldn't have worn the big clown feet or anything. Nothing that would slow me down if I had to run away. DENICE (laughs) You always were such a liar. Trent looks away, looks back, manner growing serious. TRENT Denice...I care about Jimmy. And Bird, and Jodi. I came out of the Fringe with them and I care about them a lot. But-- DENICE I know. TRENT --in my entire life you're the only person I ever loved. I don't know if I still love you. You're not the person I loved when I was eleven and I'm not the person who loved that girl. But I would have done to keep her from being hurt. DENICE Trent...It wasn't your fault. TRENT Of course it wasn't. I'm not crazy. (looks slightly away) Denice? DENICE (coming closer) I know. TRENT I took my friends, Jimmy and Jodi and Bird, who were successes as the Fringe judges success, and we left the Fringe in the back of an Erisian temple bus--because I wanted to come look in the Patrol Sectors. For you. DENICE For seven years I've thought you were dead. TRENT I'm not. DENICE (nods; a long pause as she decides; then) Prove it. She moves forward into his embrace. INT. TRENT'S BEDROOM--LATER The wallholo shows a TROPICAL SUNSET, scarlet and orange through the shadows of the palm trees. Trent lies on his back, Denice cuddles up to him. DENICE Now we can look for David. FADE OUT: INT. TEMPLES OF ERIS COFFEE SHOP--EARLY EVENING The shop is closed. Trent sits with REVEREND ANDY. Reverend Andy is a huge black man, an ex-professional football player. TRENT It worries me, Reverend Andy. REVEREND ANDY Why? TRENT The Peaceforcers went to a lot of trouble to take me into the Down Plaza--and then it blew up on them-- and since then, . REVEREND ANDY Were they regular PKF, or DataWatch? TRENT That's the weird thing. If it was DataWatch I'd understand--but it's The fellow who set that operation up is named Emile Garon; the guy's normally assigned to rebs and terrorists. Threats to the Unification-- Players. REVEREND ANDY All that preparation--and then no follow up. Peaceforcers don't usually give up that easily. TRENT It's been two weeks. EXT. THE ROOF--KANDEL MICROLECTRICS--NEAR SUNSET A hanging ladder leads from Trent's 3rd floor apartment to the roof. The building is three stories tall, open on three sides to the street; on the fourth side the next-door Temple of Eris rises up another several stories. Spacecraft track across the sky above them, toward Unification Spaceport. A warm evening. Trent and Denice sit drinking wine. Trent is holopainting: an image of the HOFFMAN SPACESCRAPER. Jimmy stands watching, drunk and openly hostile. THE UNCOMPLETED HOFFMAN SPACESCRAPER--LONG SHOT (MATTE) Eight blocks north, dominating the skyline. The upper third of the building lacks exterior walls; WE SEE through the interior, a twisted spiderweb of structural girders, with PINK-AND-BABY-BLUE SKY VISIBLE on the far side. The bottom two-thirds of the spacescraper is faced in black marble. The setting sun's reflection GLOWS SCARLET against the black marble. ON THE ROOF--THREE SHOT, FAVORING TRENT WORKING TRENT I sort of hope they don't actually finish it. I love painting this image. JIMMY He's done three others. DENICE I wish I could paint. TRENT Probably could. Holopainting's not hard, not like oil or electrolytes. No penalty for mistakes; just erase and start over. FAVORING DENICE The sun drops swiftly; the red glow on her cheeks, the scarlet tinge on her white cotton shirt and shorts fade as we watch her. After a beat the roof lights come on. DENICE Art is nice. But I think sometimes it's not very important. TRENT (quietly) I've seen you dance. DENICE It's not a calling, not something I do because there's nothing else. JIMMY So why do it? Aside from it's . DENICE I don't entirely know. I was in Public Labor for four years after the Troubles; the Gleygavass Dance Troupe got me out when I was thirteen. It's not as bad as being in the Fringe--Public Labor, I mean- -but dancing beats hell out of a Labor Battalion work gang. And I good at it. TRENT I'd be sorry to see you stop. DENICE It's not , you know. It's just entertainment. (intensely) I want to do something real. When I'm finally dead, people are going to know I was here. me. Dancing is--just dancing. JIMMY What will you do if you don't dance? DENICE Change the world. It's why God put us here. To make things better, so the people after us have a better life than the people who came before us. JIMMY Girl, you're Or crazy, I don't know. TRENT No. She's right. JIMMY (laughs derisively) So two street kids, a crazy dancer and a thief, gon' to change the world. Thank you for sharing with me. (gets in Denice's face) ? Denice's features darken; for an instant her resemblance to her mad father is striking. TRENT Denice, don't. Empty bottles of wine and beer litter the roof; they EXPLODE violently. Denice sits trembling, hands clasped together, pinheads of blood coalescing on her skin where the glassite struck. Jimmy backs away in a startled blur of motion. TRENT I can't stop you. Nobody can. JIMMY She's--she's-- TRENT Shut up, Jimmy. THE TABLEAU HOLDS; and then Denice meets Jimmy's stare. DENICE So. Now you know. INT. TRENT'S BEDROOM--DAY The bathing pool has become a jacuzzi; water bubbles white around Trent and Jimmy Ramirez. Jimmy is drinking a beer, laying back in the water, staring up at the ceiling. Trent sits upright, a cup of coffee in one hand. The hanging ladder that leads to the roof is visible in the BG. JIMMY All this time we been friends I never did figure it out. She's a Castanaveras telepath. TRENT Yeah. JIMMY Are you? TRENT No. JIMMY You're a genie, though. TRENT Yes. JIMMY How come you never me? TRENT (slowly) At first I didn't trust you, man. I was eleven and I was afraid of everything. Including you. Later I found out you lost your mother in the Troubles, and there was another reason not to tell you. Eventually I trust you, and by then we'd been together a year or two, it didn't seem so important what happened before we met. (Cont.) TRENT (CONT.) (shrugs) We had something that , Jimmy. I didn't want to mess it up. I know you're prejudiced against genies; don't try to tell me you're not. JIMMY I know, I know all the things I said. It's just--all those years. You were always at You hit harder than I do, you're smarter than I am, and my man, I never in my entire life saw could move as fast as you do. I work out two hours a day, you work out two a and you're-- TRENT Perfect. I a genie. Suzanne Montignet, the best genegineer the world ever saw, designed me. They botched the implementation. I was to be a Castanaveras. I was raised with them. But the gene complex that controls telepathy, I don't have it. But --I am genetically perfect. (Jimmy looks away) And it's . Nobody asked me how I wanted to be born. Nobody asked Denice either, or parents, or anyone I grew up with. JIMMY My mother because of you people. TRENT The Gift is only active in adults; Denice wasn't a telepath when it happened, and I'm not....I lie to you and it means I don't trust you. I tell you the truth and I'm one of the people you hate so bad you can taste it. Come on, Jimmy, you tell me. ? JIMMY (flat challenge) Tell me. Tell me everything, always. . Trent hauls himself up out of the pool of water, stands dripping with his coffee held loosely in one hand. He waves to the waitbot for a towel-- TRENT (smiles crookedly at Jimmy) Okay. Good thing I bought beer today. This will take a while. INT. TRENT'S BEDROOM--LATER--NIGHT They're both dressed and dry. TRENT This clip has been censored so thoroughly most people aren't even aware it exists. In the wall holofield, WE SEE a shot of Carl's MetalSmith, taken from a great distance, rising away from the Complex. TRENT Denice says that was Carl. The Troubles had begun at this point; the telepaths were fighting back. JIMMY Carl died? TRENT Denice says so. About forty-five minutes later-- The HOLOFIELD DARKENS, returns showing the Complex. It holds steady: abruptly the HOLOFIELD BLAZES, a brilliant glare that makes Jimmy cry out and turn his eyes away. Trent stares unblinking into the awful brightness, watching as it fades into a mushroom cloud, climbing into the darkened sky. Trent speaks in a dreamy voice: TRENT The Boards said at first that an Elite named Mohammed Vance ordered this. Later they said he had not. I'd give a lot to know. JIMMY You've mentioned him. TRENT Yeah. The PKF knows I'm alive; they know David and Denice escaped. It's been seven years and we're still free. We don't know what's happened to David. JIMMY So when we got set up at Calley's-- TRENT (explodes) I don't ! The PKF are so scared of the Castanaveras--they really know who I am, or they'd have come for me with tanks, not six guys in a sting. If they thought I was a Player--which I - -DataWatch would be handling it, not this idiot Garon... JIMMY So what if they do come after you? TRENT I've handled some of it. I got into Bureau of Biotech records almost two years ago, altered the gene maps on record for all the Castanaveras. They'd have a hard time proving in court that Denice or I are genies. JIMMY The PKF doesn't worry much about the courts. TRENT If it comes to that-- (shrugs) There is no problem so large it cannot be run away from. INT. KANDEL MICROLECTRICS WORKSHOP--MORNING Trent walks downstairs, thermos of coffee in one hand. Old Jack sits at a workbench, diagnosing a failed systerm. OLD JACK Morning, Trent. TRENT Good morning, Jack. OLD JACK Left a dead traceset on your bench. Trent glances out front, at the utterly empty street. TRENT Okay. Anything else? OLD JACK Not really. Denice didn't come home last night? TRENT (looking at empty street; answers absently) No. She spent the night with a friend over in the village. She has early practice today...Jack? OLD JACK Yes? TRENT (steps backward) You think you can handle things yourself this morning? OLD JACK Why? TRENT Uh, I'm going to take the day off. ANGLE ON FRONT DOOR The Peaceforcer hovercar drops silently out of the sky, comes to a stop hovering, facing the storefront. The vehicle's autoshots fire; the front door EXPLODES. OLD JACK What? TRENT Peaceforcers. Here they come. Peaceforcers in riot armor pour through the shattered entrance, firing needlers-- ANGLE ON TRENT AND OLD JACK-- --as anaesthetic slivers riddle them. They slump and fall. INT. PKF HOLDING CELL--CAPITOL CITY (MANHATTAN)--DAY Trent sits in full lotus on the floor, hands upon his knees, eyes closed. The door curls open, and Garon enters, wearing an immaculately tailored black and silver full dress PKF Elite uniform. Two men in detention center uniforms follow him in. TRENT You're Emile Garon. GARON I've been looking forward to talking to you. TRENT You could have called. I'm in the Directory...How long have I been in here? I've lost track of time. GARON Three days. TRENT I want my lawyer. GARON To be sure. As soon as you are charged with a crime, you will be given access to a lawyer. TRENT (like that, is it?) What do you want? GARON You are Trent Castanaveras, a genegineered human born May 9, 2051 at the Unification Advanced Biotechnology Research Facility. You were raised with 250 telepathic children, and may be a telepath yourself. You were the Player who went by the name of Ralf the Wise and Powerful between mid-2060 and 2062, during which time, in the person of Ralf the Wise and Powerful, you engaged in various unlawful acts. TRENT (realization dawns) You used to be DataWatch. Before you became an Elite. GARON I've--what is the Americanism--gone out on a limb. My superiors do not believe you are who I . Therefore, M. Trent, I have submitted a request to the court for permission to braindrain you. Have you ever seen someone to whom this has been done? TRENT I've audited descriptions. GARON It is not a pleasant procedure; it leaves little behind of the original personality. There is sufficient evidence you are the Player who called himself Ralf the Wise and Powerful that I think a judge will grant the braindrain...Of course, if you cooperate we can avoid that. TRENT What have I been charged with? GAR0N The charges theft, data cracking, illegal use of Information Network resources and conspiracy to incite others to attempt the same. If it is proved you are a Castanaveras, the Prosecutor General will add the charges of crimes against humanity. TRENT You're completely bugfuck. GARON You deny it? TRENT Of course. If I was a telepath--or even a Player--what the would I be doing working six days a week in a computer repair shop? (shrugs) But, if it comes to braindrain, I'll confess to anything you want. GARON That may not be necessary. Have you heard of a man named Mohammed Vance? TRENT Nope. GARON He is a Commissionaire of the PKF, and knows your people well. I've sent for him--and he will be here Wednesday. INT. DETENTION CELL--NIGHT The door opens. A black American Peaceforcer, PKF #3, carrying an unholstered needler, throws a snakechain to Trent. PKF #3 Get it on. Your attorney's here. TRENT It's late. PKF #3 No shit. Trent fastens the snake on his wrists, steps out into a short hall. The glowpaint is dim; things are quiet. PKF #3 follows Trent. They pass through a check station separating the visitor areas and the detention cells, come to a door of a conference room; the door curls open. ANGLE ON DOORWAY Denice sits at the conference table, in a black suit, hair swept up in a bun. She fixes glittering eyes on PKF #3. DENICE Please come in here. The muscles around PKF #3's eyes relax; he steps into the conference room. With Trent's squirt gun, Jimmy appears and squirts him with fadeaway, then drags him forward through the closing door. Trent stands blankly on the other side. The door opens again a second later. JIMMY Why are you just standing there? We're here to rescue you! Trent steps inside the conference room, looking around. TRENT What? DENICE We're here to-- JIMMY They're gonna braindrain you-- TRENT What are you doing? DENICE (brief silence) We told them Jimmy was your lawyer and we came to rescue you. TRENT (utter horror) You're ? JIMMY Rescuing you? TRENT (incipient hysteria) I don't to be rescued. That's why I an attorney! JIMMY Tonight your attorney. And we're getting you out. TRENT (looking back and forth) Oh, Lord, Lord, please no. You can't be doing this. Do you know what you're doing? (shouts at them) I was two to one to walk on this. Until you broke in here they had nothing on me. ! JIMMY Are...you sure? DENICE We talked to the lawyer; she said they wanted to brain-drain you. She said Mohammed Vance was coming. TRENT Drain requires a court order, and that can be appealed. The appeal process can take up to nine months. The last time Vance saw me I was . He's going to identify me ? Oh my God I'm . DENICE Wait, wait--we can just . Wait until this guy wakes up, I tell him we were never here, have him walk you back to your cell, and Jimmy and I just . TRENT We are three floors down in a PKF Detention Center in the middle of Capitol City. You've been holographed eight or nine times getting here. Every checkpoint you through choked on your ID! DENICE I told them to let us by. They did. TRENT Tomorrow the PKF goes through reports, and there's going to be a chain of stations where Daimara and Ramirez fail admittance. How does it happen that somebody failing admittance at the first checkpoint even it to the second? They drag in the watch officers and interrogate them and suddenly it becomes clear that none of them remember things the way they You left them a , Denice! Denice and Jimmy both look utterly grim. TRENT (fighting for control) I appreciate what you've tried to do. But you've just shot everything to hell...And it looks like you get to rescue me as soon as I'm done rescuing you. Jimmy, help me get this guy's thumbprint on the snake. INT. OPERATIONS ROOM--DETENTION CENTER--NIGHT A glassite-walled room where prisoners are checked through. Trent, in his prisoner's jumpsuit, stands well away from the glassite door while Denice knocks. There are two civilians inside; call them TED and CAROL. Ted, a young man, opens the door as an Carol, an older woman, objects. A sensible objection. Denice barely seems to touch Ted, a hand to his wishbone and a toe to his ankle; he crashes backward. Carol touches a stud, and the alarms go off. Trent moves inside, takes over one of the systerms while Jimmy covers Carol. Ted is unconscious. Denice moves out in the hall, eyes closed, doing with her telepathic gift. Trent's hands fly across the keyboard. In the field WE SEE messages moving by at great speed-- INTERFACE ESTABLISHED; OUTSIDE RESOURCES; 1150005-TRNT; INTERFACE ESTABLISHED; WAITING; CONNECTED; PASSWORD? Trent types, . Denice ducks back inside, followed by BUZZING SONICS, the FLASH of laser light. DENICE Jimmy! Company! Jimmy fires the anaesthetic needler into Carol's neck, and throws the needler to Denice. Denice plucks it from the air, sticks her hand outside the door frame and fans the hall. The weapons fire CEASES ABRUPTLY; Denice and Jimmy move out into the hallway. INT. THE HALLWAY OUTSIDE--NIGHT Denice and Jimmy harvest weapons from the fallen PKF. The SIRENS SHRILL. INT. THE OPERATIONS ROOM--NIGHT Johnny's image appears in front of Trent. JOHNNY Boss! Jimmy appears in the doorway, autoshot cradled in his arms. JIMMY It's going up, man! We gotta move. TRENT Hang in there, I won't be long. JOHNNY I've been scared, Boss. TRENT They blocked my inskin, Johnny, I couldn't call. You know where I am? JOHNNY (checking; impressed) Capitol City, Boss. PKF Boards. JIMMY ! TRENT (yells back) ! Johnny, can you find any pictures of Denice, or Jimmy, any mention of them in the PKF Boards, and erase them? JOHNNY I think so, Boss. TRENT How badly can you damage the Boards here? JOHNNY (holo glances around) From this location? With the security clearances this location has? You must be kidding. They won't know what hit them. Want me to take it all down, Boss? JIMMY As your attorney, I advise you to ! TRENT Johnny, I'm coming to get you. If I don't make it there, melt the Image coprocessor and go replicant. There is another round of firing, which ceases abruptly. DENICE (V.O. TELEPATHY) They're coming from the level above us, at least fifteen Peaceforcers and they're all armed. Lasers, Trent, and I stop all of them. We have three floors to go before we make it to the surface; we have to go. . CLOSE SHOT--ON TRENT In the ABRUPT SILENCE Trent looks around the nearly empty room, at the unconscious civilians, staring about himself with an expression of wonder. From the novel: "It seemed to him that he stood at a juncture, a myriad of paths falling away from that moment, from him; that he had reached a place that was both departure and homecoming all in one. He was distantly aware of Jimmy Ramirez, felt the hot touch of Denice's thoughts hovering at the edge of his mind, and he felt suddenly, in that instant, very calm and fine, as though he had, at long last, reached the destination and the purpose for which he had always been meant." Trent looks at Johnny. TRENT Trash the place. He turns and runs. INT. DETENTION CENTER--A MAZE OF CORRIDORS & STAIRS NIGHT--A SERIES OF SHOTS They run down long corridors, trading fire with PKF. Johnny's holo appears at various points, guiding their choice of direction. At the 2nd floor the stairwell doors are locked; Jimmy blows them open with an autoshot. Trent enters, a needler in one hand; Jimmy follows, and Denice, carrying a laser, brings up the rear. Two PKF intercept them in the stairwell; Trent shoots the first, but the second is wearing armor and the anesthetic needles bounce off him. The Peaceforcer carries a hand laser; he fires down on them, catching Jimmy's right arm just below the elbow, shearing it cleanly off. At this point Trent does what all stupid criminals do; he throws his gun. . It hits the Peaceforcer in the face like a brick, staggering him backward. Denice flows up the stairs, breaks the man's kneecap and sends him over the rail to the floor below. Jimmy sits staring at his cauterized stump. Trent hauls him to his feet, pulls Jimmy's left arm around his shoulder, and they proceed. INT. MAIN LOBBY--DETENTION CENTER 1ST FLOOR--NIGHT Sirens howl, emergency lights flash on and off. An Elite stands in the lobby, waiting. The door at the far end of the lobby bursts open, and Denice comes through, now carrying her laser and Jimmy's autoshot; she is followed by Trent, helping Jimmy. They slow at the sight of the Elite; unlike the Elite, who takes the opportunity to shoot at them with the laser in his fist. Denice drops the autoshot and hits the floor, firing with the laser; it has no effect aside from leaving glowing tracks on the Elite's uniform. Trent throws Jimmy to one side as the Elite's laser sweeps through the space where they stand; Trent dives under the beam, rolls, coming up with the autoshot. He flicks it to full auto and walks forward firing, hammering the Elite with round after round. The first impact knocks the Elite off balance; his laser slashes a wild line across the walls. Trent advances, firing, and the Elite is hammered to his knees. Behind Trent, Denice has Jimmy in a fireman's carry. The Elite gets his hand up again, and Trent shifts aim; the next autoshot blasts mangles the Elite's hand, and the laser inside it. Trent closes, flicks the autoshot off full auto, firing only to keep the Elite off his feet. Trent fires the last two times like Rambo, holding the autoshot with one hand, reaching behind his back with the other--and comes out with the squirt gun filled with fadeaway. The Elite looks up at Trent, clearly expecting a shotgun blast to the face-- TRENT Sleep tight. He squirts the man; the Elite's eyes close, and he falls. EXT. THE DETENTION CENTER--NIGHT A pair of double doors explode open--they're supposed to . Trent and Denice run through, carrying Jimmy between them, and across the wide swath of dew-dampened grass that separates the Detention Center from the street. ANGLE ON STREET Five cabs, two PKF AeroSmiths, and a black Chandler sedan are parked on the street. Trent and Denice run toward the sedan. The front left seat is reclined; Bird sits up, rubs his eyes. BIRD What took you so long? EXT. CHANDLER SEDAN--MANHATTAN 2069--EARLY MORNING Moving through morning traffic. The windows are darkened. INT. CHANDLER SEDAN--DARKENED WINDOWS The holocams transmit images of the streets outside. Trent sits in the front seat with Bird, working on the car's onboard InfoNet terminal. He cycles through InfoNet channels; finally he switches it off, turns to Denice in the back seat. TRENT A lot of stuff on PKF Boards, but none of them seem to know where we are. I called my Image, but he's not answering the phone; he either shut down, or DataWatch got him. (looks at Jimmy) How's Jimmy? DENICE Sedated. He needs medical help. TRENT We'll take him to the Red Line Hotel. Trent stares at the holo of the outside world; at the maze of spacescrapers, elevated streets and skywalks, the pre- dawn pedestrians, cars and cabs and buses. Trent SAYS SOMETHING: DENICE What? TRENT I need my Image. EXT. THE HOTEL--EARLY MORNING--ESTABLISHING INT. HOTEL--A TWO ROOM SUITE--EARLY MORNING Jodi and DOCTOR JANE are waiting inside as Trent and Denice carry Jimmy in. Doctor Jane takes one look at Jimmy-- DOCTOR JANE Double for this, triple if the Peaceforcers did it. On the bed! The doctor slices Jimmy's shirt off and goes to work; Trent watches briefly, goes into the next room. Jodi follows him. INT. SECOND ROOM--EARLY MORNING JODI How bad is it? Trent undresses, wads up the blue prison jumpsuit and tosses it to Jodi. TRENT Burn this. (heads into bathroom, into shower; CAMERA FOLLOWS) If you mean Jimmy, he'll be okay. He needs a new hand cloned. Can you get me clothes? JODI (V.O.) What do you need? TRENT A suit. Conservative cut, it needs to hang loose. Shoes I can run in. (runs water) And an emblade. JODI (V.O.) Maybe. I'll check. TRENT How about an Image coprocessor? ON JODI She's punching orders into a systerm--WE SEE images of clothing, shoes, computer equipment, knives. JODI At 6 A.M? Not a chance. TRENT (V.O.) Bird should be OK; he was in the car the whole time. Jimmy and Denice--it depends on wether my Image wiped the Peaceforcer records from yesterday. JODI When will we know if he got them? TRENT (V.O.) If they don't come looking for Jimmy and Denice by evening, he di