When tragedy strikes, a reluctant Managing Editor becomes heir to a bootleg cloaking device and an aging hacker waging war against the repressive surveillance state in which they live.

SYNOPSIS:

Title: Scarab

By David Welsh

Genre: Sci–Fi, Thriller

Time: Near future

Logline: When tragedy strikes, a reluctant Managing Editor becomes heir to a bootleg cloaking device and an aging hacker waging war against the repressive surveillance state in which they live.

Actors:

(In order of appearance)

Tudor Rheon, (20s), IT Manager, Ground Observation & Detection Center.

Tracker, Surveillance Specialist, GOD Center

Andrew Hampton, (78), “father” of Circular Solutions AI surveillance system.

Felicia Brewer, (20’s), LVN, Hillside Assisted Living Center.

Bree Harlow, (30’s), Managing Editor, Verbatim Press.

Jeffrey Harlow, (20’s), (Number One), revolutionary separatist.

Elwyn Roach, (30’s), Editor, City Desk, Verbatim Press.

Molly McAfree, (20’s), Editor, Editorial Page, Verbatim Press.

Randall Artimus, (30’s), Director of Surveillance, GOD Center.

Synopsis:

OVER BLACK – “Unless we learn how to prepare for, and avoid the potential risks, AI could be the worst event in the history of our civilization. It brings dangers, like powerful autonomous weapons, or new ways for the few to oppress the many.” Stephen Hawking November 6, 2017.

OPEN – The Circular Solutions promotion plays promoting their robust, artificially intelligent, mass monitoring surveillance network assuring civil obedience and social order. The camera pulls back to reveal Rheon Tudor (20’s), IT Manager and one of dozens of his Trackers reviewing the piece on a floor-to-ceiling screen in the Ground Observation and Detection (God) Center.

A tracker notices that Andrew Hampton, now 78, the “father” of AI and the developer of the core kernel running the GOD Center’s operating system suite, is not mentioned in the promo. Neither is the possible existence of Scarab. An undetectable and malicious doomsday virus capable of blacking out the entire grid that Hampton may have left somewhere on the network. Tudor reminds the tracker that Scarab is a myth, but that what Hampton did was real – hacking into the defense department and dumping three million classified pages into the online spew, was caught and convicted only to attempt suicide and fail. Now, he lays in a vegetative state at the Hillside Assisted Living Center.

HILLSIDE – At that moment, Felicia Brewer, LVN, (20’s), is at Hampton’s bedside clipping his nails when he suddenly awakes. Brewer creates a social media firestorm when she carelessly, posts a selfie of her and a smiling Hampton online before reporting the incident to her superiors.

FLASHBACK – Bree Harlow, (30’s), and her younger brother Jeffrey, (20’s), grew up working–class watching the increasingly oppressive surveillance state build up around them. First came the ubiquitous CCTV cameras, then curfews and limits to all social gatherings, and finally the antenna-laden masts menacing and marring the cityscape. Jeffrey, wounded in a demonstration against the state, goes underground. Harlow, a writer for the college newspaper, becomes the Managing Editor of Verbatim Press. A state-affiliated online news publication.

VERBATIM PRESS – Harlow and two editors Elwyn Roach, (30’s), City Desk, and Molly McAfree, (20’s), Editorial Page discuss covering Hampton’s awakening.

Roach wants to mention Scarab, but McAfree argues that Scarab is an urban legend like Roache’s resume or free speech. Harlow approves the story of Hampton’s sudden arousal but jettisons any mention of Scarab. She reminds McAfree that sedition leads to questioning and that the Scarab myth is probably just that.

FLASHBACK – Randall Artimus, (30’s), grew up entitled. Persuaded that pervasive surveillance meant safety, he becomes a Lieutenant in the State Tactical Force and was a hands-on participant in the instillation of the mass monitoring apparatus. He is now the GOD Center’s Director of Surveillance.

GOD CENTER – Brewer’s posting has forced Artimus to order a network-wide sanitizing of the name Hampton, the term Scarab, and any synonymic variable of the word awake from awakening to vigilant from all blogs, comments, and posts. Artimus’ wristband summons him to the command portal.

FURNACE – Brewer’s naked body drops onto a form-fitting wire basket joining a long row of body-filled baskets moving along a conveyor into the mouth of a burning furnace.

COMMAND PORTAL – Artimus stands before a full-length thermal biometric imager monitoring his vital sign parameters. A LEAN, ANEMIC, EXPRESSIONLESS AVATAR APPEARS ON THE SCREEN.

Pressing for containment, the Avatar reminds Artimus that his job is to prevent unauthorized information from seeping into the media stream. Artimus explains that the network is being scrubbed of any online traffic regarding Andrew Hampton, including any linking or sharing of the word scarab. The Avatar submits that Hampton may be far too fragile to survive being aroused. Artimus warns that the handling of Hampton will either answer questions or create alarm. And that any social unrest will only make his job more difficult.

BAILEY STATION – Jeffrey, sequestered deep within the long ago decommissioned underground rapid rail station, is alerted that Hampton is in jeopardy.

VERBATIM PRESS – Harlow informs Roach that the Hampton story has been quashed. McAfree laments that printing the truth is nearly impossible. However, there is an upside. At least she still has her fingers.

HILLSIDE – A diversion created by stolen jello and a nifty remote cloaking device allows Jeffrey (Number One), to rescue Hampton. Though no one sees anything, Hampton is quickly missed.

GOD CENTER – As alarms sound, Artimus orders the threat level raised to three and roadblocks at every intersection around Hillside for a radius of five miles. As Tudor activates a deep bug sweep of the entire facility, drones swoop in, and Tactical Response (TR) Officers poor from vehicles flanking the building. Artimus calls for all footage of Hampton for the last seventy-two hours to be racked and ready for his review. Again, Artimus’ wristband demands his presence before the command portal.

ROADBLOCK – Number One and Hampton sit pensively in a robotaxi waiting at a roadblock for clearance to pass when approaching TR Officers suddenly drag a passenger from the vehicle in front of them. The man is similar in appearance to Hampton. He is beaten to the ground before being tossed into the rear of a patrol wagon parked along the shoulder of the road. Jeffrey assures Hampton that the officers will soon discover that it is a case of mistaken identity and that the man will soon be released. Hampton remains shaken. Later, the robotaxi is found abandoned in front of a drop-off bin positioned below a signpost reading “Deposit donated items here.”

COMMAND – The Avatar declares that Hampton’s disappearance was a penetration of the first order casting doubt on Artimus’ ability to contain the morally corrupt and those with a voracious appetite for anarchy. They insist that a “ghost” has infiltrated the system.

Artimus pushes back, assuring Command that he is conducting a system-wide, granular analysis of compliance routines while simultaneously running cloaking detection sub-routines to level five, that all observers in his chain of responsibility are being aggressively interrogated. The Avatar informs Artimus that Command remains convinced that identifying the ghost will lead to Hampton’s capture and that they are running out of patience and that Artimus is running out of time.

BAILEY STATION – Hampton is greeted by Number One. Hampton asks if Number One is a member of the People’s Revolutionary Council or the Anti-Fascist Front. Number One explains that those groups were defeated long ago and that the last rebel encampment is now the Peoples Park. Hampton wonders if he will be “sweated” for information about Scarab. He confesses that those memories were lost during his long sleep and that he is now old and useless. Number One assures Hampton that there are no plans to harm the former hacker and that, for the foreseeable future, he is safe.

Number One explains the cloaking device to Hampton. It’s a small amulet worn around the neck. By pressing down on its center, one becomes undetectable to GPS, helmet cams and visors, and the surveillance network. Hampton admits that he has a lot to learn. With that, Number One retrieves a virtual reality headset, and while Hampton watches the Circular Solutions presentation Number One slips away – locking the door behind him.

GOD CENTER – Artimus scans the Hampton footage. As the video plays he watches Hampton sitting in his hoverchair simply disappear. The tape toggles back – Hampton appears. The tape toggles forward – Hampton disappears. Someone whispers, “Ghosting”. Artimus explodes demanding that every instruction location, every line of code, and every byte of memory be scanned and that he wants racks and hybrid clouds smoking!

HARLOW’S KITCHEN – Harlow is washing dishes when she hears her front door lock engage. Retrieving a small caliber pistol from a cookie jar, she waits. Jeffrey suddenly appears. Harlow is angry but relieved that, after all these years, Jeffrey still has his key. She wonders why Jeffrey has turned up, now. He speaks of the old house. The day they hung the cameras and what it did to his dad. Harlow reminds Jeffrey that alcohol did more to their father than those cameras ever could. Jeffrey disagrees, telling Harlow that those cameras destroyed their family and that she gave in to the system choosing not to join him in the fight against surveillance. Harlow says that she choose to live. As Jeffrey leaves, Harlow returns to her dishes.

GOD CENTER ANTI ROOM – Artimus struggles to make himself comfortable on a too-small sofa.

RESIDENTIAL STREET – Jeffrey walks along a quiet street, turning onto the short walkway leading to the front porch of a small unoccupied tan and white house. A “Condemned. Slated For Demolition” notice is pasted across the front door. He jimmies the front door, enters, and makes his way to the basement. Instantly, the unmistakable hissing of escaping gas begins as Jeffrey disappears up the stairs.

GOD CENTER – A soft beeping begins as a small flashing red dot appears on the screen at the location of the abandoned tan and white house. An Observer suspects a gas leak when the house suddenly explodes, filling the room with a flash of light as glowing debris rains down onto the lot.

Car alarms cycle, civil emergency sirens blare, and porch lights flicker on. Asleep in an anteroom, Artimus is jarred awake by the blast.

He scrambles to the Control Room. Silhouetted against the screen ablaze with flame, in agonizing commands, he orders lock-down procedures throughout the city. Guard rails lower on highway checkpoints. TR vehicles roll up to airport arrival and departure terminal doors. Officers wave pedestrians off of streets as choppers fly low over the city. Harlow listens as the choirs of alarms fill the night.

RESIDENTIAL STREET – A robotic Waste Management Vehicle (WMV) moves up the street emptying bins. There is a slight wind. Leaves gather and rustle across the quiet street. As Jeffrey walks slowly down the sidewalk as two TR Officers in full combat dress with visors turn the corner in front of him. The wind picks up a piece of paper. It clings to Jeffrey’s unseen leg. The WMV moves up the street emptying bins. The Officers see the piece of paper moving along the sidewalk. One Officer becomes suspicious and shouts a warning to stop. The WMV turns right into an alley. Jeffrey follows.

The TR Officer runs to the entrance of the alley. Jeffrey stumbles into a bin. The Officer sees it crash along the pavement. The WMV moves slowly up the alley emptying bins. Jeffrey runs. The sound amplifies off of the ally walls. The TR Officer shouts a warning to stop then fires spraying bullets across the alley expanse. Jeffrey grunts and stumbles forward into a cluster of empty bins. The WMV moves up the alley emptying bins. The two Officers move up the alley casting their beams in all directions. Jeffrey’s bloody hand print grips a robotic arm on the WMV. A footprint appears on the running board.

GOD CENTER – The image of the officers moving up the alley casting their beams in all directions fills the screen. There’s no one there. Tudor asks if the Officer wants to report an unintentional discharge of his weapon (UD). The Officer insists someone was there. Tudor disagrees. The Officer relents. We hear that faint tone. Artimus looks at his wristband. Facing Command is becoming routine.

HARLOW’S APARTMENT – Harlow discovers Jeffrey mortally wounded at her door. Jeffrey dies. Number Two arrives to remove Jeffrey’s body and to explain the amulet to Harlow. He explains that Jeffrey chose her as his successor and to wait for instructions. Number Two leaves and Harlow collapses to the floor, weeping.

COMMAND – The Avatar insists that Artimus is dealing with someone “ghosting”. Artimus suggests that it may be some thing as he has ID’d all sign-on signatures, error patterns, all penetration vulnerabilities, encryption anomalies, and all tunneling attempts. Every circuit has been mapped. Every data file, disc cluster, and media nanostructure has been QA’d and approved or replaced. And load failures, machine-level code changes, misconfigured firewalls, and open comports have been inspected for unintended access. He insists there is only one place left to look.

The Avatar denies access to the AI core, but Artimus is sure it is learning. The Avatar declares that autonomous sentience has not been achieved, that there is no evidence of malice originating from the core, and that all protocols concerning access to the core must be strictly enforced. But Artimus reminds Command that the core has not been accessed since Hampton put it online. Perhaps, he warns, scarab doesn’t leave a trail.

BAILEY STATION – Harlow meets Hampton. He tells her he considered Jeffrey a fighter. Harlow says the same about Hampton. Hampton disagrees saying that he considers himself a coward who failed at striking a blow against tyranny and then took the easy way out.

Harlow mentions Scarab, but Hampton is resolute – Scarab is lost and the only one who might have had a clue of its existence – “Gizmo” – is long dead having died in prison for breaking into Hampton’s lab after Hampton was arrested. Hampton admits that his only desire now is to “dream about lions. Like Hemingway’s” Santiago”. Lions and lost youth”.

GOD CENTER – Artimus and Tudor, passing the retinal scan, enter the IA Core chamber. The space is expansive and lit only hundreds of LED sparkle from switches, routers, load balancers, storage arrays, backup devices, and servers giving the room an almost enchanted appearance.

A robotic blade extractor sits in front of a server rack. Its opposing arms rest high on the rack. The access console keyboard is on the lower back of the extractor. Tudor logs-in. The extractor whirs and its arms suddenly drop, contract, and grip Tudor’s head. He cries out. The Avatar commands Tudor to disable the ghost. Tudor submits and begins typing frantically. The extractor whirs. Gizmo’s face puckers, his eyes bulge, and his screams intensify as the monitor displays “Auto Cloaking has been disabled”. The extractor begins to rise and Tudor is dangled above the ground. Tudor’s screams are beyond agonizing. The extractor’s arms tighten their grip around Gizmo’s head as it explodes.

VERBATIM PRESS – McAfree updates Harlow on a recent assignment. McAfree hands a brittle, yellowing newspaper clipping to Harlow. It depicts two young men leaving a courthouse surrounded by police. Harlow reads the caption. “Andrew Hampton and Timothy Allard, alias Gizmo, leave the courthouse.” Producing a microfiche copy of Allard’s obituary, McAfree confirms that Allard died years ago. Angling for the story, McAfree is disappointed to find that her hard work is headed to the burn bag because, as Harlow puts it, “You can’t interview a dead man”.

Suddenly, Harlow’s wristband draws her attention. “Connection lost. Cloaking disabled.” Harlow snaps the amulet from around her neck and drops it into her coffee cup. Looking at the two microfiche screen prints lying on her desk she hesitates for only a moment, she takes the two documents and leaves her office.

FURNACE – Gizmo’s naked and disfigured body drops onto a form-fitting wire basket joining a long row of body-filled baskets moving along a conveyor into the mouth of a burning furnace.

RITA ALLARD – Harlow reaches out to Gizmo’s sister Rita, (80’s). She confirms that her brother was a scrounger and that he held “shit for everybody.” Harlow forages wildly through bags, boxes, and cartons for what she has no idea. Finding nothing, she retreats to Rita’s kitchen for a restorative scotch. Rita remembers her brother as sneaky and leads Harlow to his old room. Harlow searches the room, discovering a small space below the floorboards. Reaching inside, she retrieves an old, dusty laptop.

GOD CENTER – The room is packed with raucous and motivated Observers – all staring at Artimus. The screen displays a 3D wireframe polygon depiction of the complete surveillance grid being scanned. Suddenly, “Results Pending” is superimposed over the polygon image as the room grows quiet. Finally, “No Threats Detected” is displayed. As the room erupts with cheers, high fives, and wolf calls, the Avatar appears on the screen commanding that they, “may now resume normal operations”. Artimus holds up his arm in a victorious celebration.

BAILEY STATION – Hampton sits in his hoverchair tapping keys on a tablet. He jerks and sways as he navigates a video game. Harlow arrives, surprising Hampton with Gizmo’s laptop. Hampton is astonished. Harlow raises the lid and powers up the laptop. Hampton stares intently, at the screen, and begins to type. He hesitates. He seems unsteady.

Hampton’s typing becomes hesitant and unsure. A strained expression begins to wash over his face. His typing becomes frantic. Hampton pounds his fist on the laptop. T virus isn’t there, he tosses the lap top aside.

Hampton admits that getting into Command was a long shot Number Two disagrees.

We must convince Command that the bug is on the network, but untraceable. Harlow is resigned that Scarab is gone. Hampton reminds Harlow that Sinon – the Greek soldier convinced the Trojans to accept a giant horse as a gift. That night, the Greeks, hiding inside the great offering, crept out and slaughtered the sleeping Trojans. “You get me inside Command” Hampton insists, and, if its there, “I’ll wake Scarab.” Harlow muses out loud, “And if its not?’ Hampton reminds her that, “We’re dead anyway.”

VERBATIM PRESS LOBBY – Harlow informs Artimus that she is acting as an intermediary and that Hampton wants to surrender. Artimus assumes he would, now that ghosting has been eliminated, and now that Command knows that Scarab was just what was suspected – a myth. Harlow warns Artimus not to bet his life on it. Besides, if Scarab is real everybody wins. Hampton dies in peace. She gets a story, and Artimus sleeps at night knowing he saved the world. And if Scarab is truly a myth – She and Hampton both die. It’s a win for Artimus, win or a lose.

GOD CENTER – A 3D wireframe polygon glows teal on the screen. A TR Officer escorts Harlow and Hampton in a hoverchair into the room. An ATTENDANT enters carrying a netted skull cap. She approaches Hampton. Harlow objects. Artimus insists that he must know if Hampton is being truthful. Hampton does not object and Harlow takes the cap and gently slips it onto Hampton’s head.

The Avatar questions Hampton. Hampton challenges the Avatar with a riddle. “What is a six-letter word for a computer program that destroys its host?” “I know” exclaims Hampton. “S-C-A-R-A-B Scarab!” Suddenly, the screen flashes, and the image of a giant scarab appears. Hampton commands, “Execute the Scarab subroutine. Now!” Suddenly the screen comes to life. The 3D wireframe polygon begins to melt away revealing a tangerine-tinted n-dimensional manifold. Its iridescent surface undulates and quivers as the 3D wireframe polygon begins to reappear. Each image attempts to dominate the screen.

Hampton’s skull cap begins to buzz as alarms begin to cycle. Despite Artimus’ repeated orders to stop, the 3D wireframe polygon and the n-dimensional manifold begin to blend, interlace, and commingle. The TR Officer reaches for his sidearm when Harlow turns and brings an elbow up under his nose while simultaneously reaching for the gun. The TR Officer’s nose explodes and he crumbles to the ground.

The alarms are deafening. As his face contorts, Hampton’s skull cap begins to sizzle as the 3D wireframe polygon and the n-dimensional manifold begin to glow and pulsate. Artimus continues his commands to stop. The screen begins to rumble and vibrate. Individual monitors begin exploding. Hampton is in agony as blood begins streaming down his face and his scalp begins to scorch and smoke. Then, Artimus rushes Hampton. Harlow fires twice.

Artimus jerks with each impact, looks surprised, then drops. Hampton’s eyes are now just burning sockets. The screen becomes white-hot as it begins to crumble and collapse. Harlow races toward the door as the screen explodes behind her turning the air a bright sun-like gold.

THE PEOPLE’S PARK – A sunny day in the park. Birds sing. Children laugh. A group plays touch football. In the distance, cranes dismantle several antennae-laden masts. Harlow, Roach, and McAfree navigate to the top of a small rise where a bronze statue of Jeffrey and Hampton stands. Hampton sits in his hoverchair while Jeffrey pushes, leaning in as if in mid-conversation. The inscription reads “Jeffrey Randall Holmes and Andrew Hampton – Soldiers”. Harlow thinks she will change Verbatim’s masthead. “Something with the word free in it.” Roach thinks she means free. “You mean like free?” McAfree pushes back, “She means free like the free press. You remember a free press. Don’t you?” Roach objects, “I’m not that old.” McAfree, “sure you are.” The three amble down the slope.

SCARAB