Terminator: The Connors Chronicles

"Induction" F05E05

Written by Lumir G Janku

This document is fan-produced fiction based on the television series, Terminator - The Sarah Connor Chronicles, and two seasons worth of fanfiction, F03 and F04, written by CJ Carter. This is done in spirit of fan fiction, to have fun and enrich the total fan experience beyond the limitation of the original story vehicle. In that spirit, and holding to the long tradition of free promotion and support that fanfic brings to the fictional verse, this story is being made available to the show fans for entertainment purposes.
Copyright 2011 Lumir G Janku

2. ACT ONE FADE IN: EXT. SIERRAS, CO ROUTE 107 -- LATE AFTERNOON It's a warm day and air is fresh, with mixed aroma of leaves, pine needles and fungal decay. FRED MIESSE is sitting in his buggy, dozing off. A SHRIEK of eagle jolts Miesse and he looks around as if trying to get his bearings. MIESSE No show last time and three hours now, bitch! She's lucky it's a warm day. Miesse decides to stretch his bones and gets off the buggy and walks along the curb to pick some huckleberries. He hears a remote sound that may be a motor and tries to locate the direction. MIESSE (CONT'D) Uh, just a wind. Miesse looks toward the dirt road Brandi used for their meetings. He sits himself back into his buggy seat and starts the motor. Instead of going toward north as usual, he turns on the dirt road. He goes on a low gear, slow and looks around. After a while the road ends at a ravine. MIESSE (CONT'D) Dead end. Let's back up a bit. Miesse goes back about two kilometers when he notices a small clearing on the north side. He stops and gets off his buggy to investigate. The bushes are parted with a 3 feet gap. He carefully scans the soil in the gap and to the right close to the bush's rooting he spots a pattern that may have been tire tracks a while ago. MIESSE (CONT'D) Yep. That's her bike. Miesse makes a few steps into the clearing, but then stops and turns around. He gets back to his buggy and reaches for a backpack on the passenger seat. He rummages through it and pulls out an electric lantern, a hiking rope and a small cloth bag. He stuffs the bag in his pocket, clips the rope to his belt and holding the lantern in his right hand, he turns back to the clearing. Miesse pays attention to any track on the ground. He stops every now and then to decide if the tracks are tire-made or something else. Then he notices something odd 10 meters away by the corner of his eye. He shakes his head.

3. MIESSE (CONT'D) Sloppy, Brandi Summerton, sloppy. Miesse changes his direction toward a stony slope, where some branches with dried up pines rest against a large calcite rock. He gets close and looks carefully a the branches. There are spider webs connection branches to the rock behind. He starts removing branches one by one and the cave opening becomes clearer. After removing enough branches allowing him to pass through, Miesse enters and turns on the lantern. Close to the entrance, the light rests on Brandi's bike. MIESSE (CONT'D) She's dead, Jim! (laughter) The phrase reminds Miesse of his pop that used to say it quite often. MIESSE (CONT'D) I wonder where that came from. Miesse goes in a few meters so he can see what is beyond the bent at the back end of the cave. It was just a small enclosure, with 4 gas canisters and some kind of metal box painted red, behind them. He walks toward the enclosure and takes the canisters one by one and transfers them closer to the entrance. He opens the lid of one canisters and takes a whiff of the content. MIESSE (CONT'D) Not good anymore. Miesse returns to the enclosure and grabs the box's side handles, and lifts. He nearly strains his back, but the box is resting in the exact spot MIESSE (CONT'D) Ugh! What the hell is in it? Lead? <beat> Maybe it's an alchemy box where Brandi transmutes lead into gold! (laughs) The box has two massive padlocks holding the lid in place. Miesse looks around, until he spots a stone about 8 inches in diameter and goes to grab it. He returns back to the box and hits one of the padlock as hard as he can. It takes about 20 strikes to get the padlock off. He does the same with the other padlock. He does not count, the padlock does not break. He stops for a few seconds, not noticing that two of his fingers have broken skin and start to bleed. He hits it again and finally the padlock gives.

4. Miesse lifts the lid and stares at the content with his mouth open, for 10 seconds. MIESSE (CONT'D) Sweet Jesus! I'm filthy rich! Miesse reaches for his lantern and shines light on the inside. The box is filled to the rim with gold bars, 5 oz to 35oz. He sits beside the box, and touches some of the bars, lifting one once a while and dropping it back in place. MIESSE (CONT'D) What now? Miesse gets up and goes toward the entrance and grabs the bike handles. He rolls it out into the open and tries to start it up. No success, so he leads it back to his buggy. He then takes his backpack and turns it upside down, spilling the content at the curb, without thinking about it twice. Then he reaches to the buggy's carrier platform and grabs the backpack that was intended for Brandi and does the same. He then goes back to the cave. EXT. SIERRAS, CO ROUTE 107 -- EVENING FRED MIESSE makes his 14th trip. The gold bars are piling up on his buggy's platform. He empties the second backpack. Then he looks at the pile and turns his head toward the spilled content as the curb and walks to it. He rummages through it until he pulls a folded black plastic covering. He spreads it out and then places it over the pile of bars. Then he ties strings to the corners of the cover and attaches them to the frame. MIESSE The bike... damn, I wanna take it too. Miesse lifts the bike and places it on the platform, tilting it inward and then using his hiking rope, he attaches it tightly to the frame, going back and forth. He tries to wiggle the bike, but it seems to be sitting firmly. MIESSE (CONT'D) All right, crossing fingers. Miesse starts the engine and shifts the gear. The buggy does have a hard time to move, but move it does, finally. MIESSE (CONT'D) Hope I've got enough gas. Miesse does not know that there is a pair of eyes watching his every move for the past few hours.

5. ZEIRA CENTER, CATHERINE'S OFFICE -- DAY CATERINE and ALEJANDRA CRUZ ("ALEX", 47) sit at the coffee table, and chat. Alex sips her coffee with an expression of being in heaven on earth. ALEX It's damn good. I am a convert. Have more? CATHERINE Special batch, will get you more... Talk to Moss, he's got his tentacle in Guatemala, have him put you on his list. Not a big production just yet, a few growers. They just started a year ago, it's on a first-come, first-serve basis. ALEX There was never love lost between me and Moss... But the coffee is making me warm inside. There's no contradiction! CATHERINE (laughs) Let me get your refill. Catherine takes Alex's cup and goes to the conference room that has the coffee machine, refills the cup and brings it back to the office. ALEX Thanks! <beat> Wait! You don't drink coffee! So how come-CATHERINE Converts. You wouldn't believe how it's smoothing out negotiations with third parties. ALEX I would! Alex lifts her cup. ALEX (CONT'D) Cheers! CATHERINE So, what's your estimate?

6. ALEX 250 kilos. Based on the pile. CATHERINE That's quite a pile! ALEX Yeah... So what we do? CATHERINE Miesse can't do much with it at the moment. Probably taking a few ounces now and then to cover his living expenses. We won't make any waves for time being. ALEX Right. He probably waits for an opportune moment to convert it to liquidity. CATHERINE The pile is not my interest--we have our gold needs covered, though it may be of government interest and that's where it should end up, in a central bank vault. What I'd like to know is what are his connections to former Skynet staff. ALEX Surveillance then. CATHERINE (NODS) Yes. Who, where, what and how. We can't leave it to chances. Though I don't expect something as major as the infection, we've no certainty about something as nasty not being out there. We need to have a clear idea what we may be dealing with. ALEX I can't do it alone. Miesse, no problem, but for the potential network, I'd need some reliable people. CATHERINE I've four K's just graduating from a security training. Zeira's fine for now, I can reassign them to you.

7. ALEX Sounds good. They don't sleep. CATHERINE They don't have to sleep. ALEX Right. What's the time frame? CATHERINE Give me a week. I'll do some initial training myself and then you can take over and refine it. ALEX Vacations! CATHERINE Deserved, you haven't had any for years. ALEX All of the sudden... Not sure what I'd do with my time. CATHERINE You've a lot of friends. ALEX A very good point! <beat> Moss... still in that little office here at A Wing? CATHERINE No, for a while he has a whole floor at the Annex G, A1. ALEX Whole floor, uh? How he's been? CATHERINE Invaluable. ALEX A convert. CATHERINE (laughs) Yes. ALEX Well then, I'll pay him a visit. END OF ACT ONE

8. ACT TWO INT. ZEIRA CENTER, CONNORS' APARTMENT -- DAY JOHN and LAUREN are standing beside Cameron's bed. It's a mobile high tech device that can be set into different positions. It has three segments that can be set on different levels. LAUREN It can go vertical, or upside down. The straps would keep Cameron fixed in position. The bottom segment can be set for different tension levels. JOHN With all the gadgets, what would I do? LAUREN You don't rely on gadgets, only when you sleep or not here. Nothing can replace an actual tension exercise done by someone. JOHN When is Cameron transferred? LAUREN Two days. We need to make sure that the implant is working properly and the pathways are building up. Meanwhile, you have a bit of reading to do. Lauren POINTS to the considerable pile of material still wrapped up in plastic, sitting on the bedside stand. JOHN How was the surgery? LAUREN All went well. Cameron's stable. She's not giving us anymore scares. JOHN Any ideas what went wrong? LAUREN (shaking her head NO) Wish I could tell you. We haven't found anything that may have been the cause.

9. LAUREN (CONT'D) Les says there's always a risk of a shock. It's similar to a birth, in more ways than a few. JOHN Physical interaction. A symbolic pat on the lower back. LAUREN I think that your intuition told you what to do. JOHN I hope I've got that is spades. LAUREN I'd like to think that of all of us. KNOCK on the door. JOHN Yes! Come in! MOSS enters. MOSS Hi John! Long no see. Hope I'm not interrupting. JOHN No. What brings you here? MOSS How're you doing? JOHN I'm good, you? MOSS Fine. Just that last... epidemic whacked me a bit. Getting over it. Just wanted to check if there is anything you'd want beyond the basics already here. JOHN I think I have all I need. Nothing comes to mind. MOSS You'll be here for... two years? It is a pretty long time, so we'd like to make it as enjoyable as possible.

10. JOHN Eighteen months, I think. MOSS (POINTING to the Cameron's bed) It's a beast, isn't it? JOHN You? MOSS Just the engineering part and manufacture. Lauren's and Mia's design. LAUREN Mia's, mostly. My input was rather minor. MOSS False modesty! LAUREN (laughing) Really, just tweaks from my side. MOSS And the concept. Be proud! LAUREN (smiling) Okay, the concept too. Moss' phone rings. Moss puts it to his ear and listens. MOSS No. You gotta be kidding! Sure. I'll be there. <beat> Gotta run. See you around, John! JOHN See you around. Moss leaves. LAUREN I better go, I've quite a workload. Pop by, or call me if you need something. JOHN On my way out too, need to bring in my stuff from Oasis and say bye to Tonya's pies!

11. INT. ZEIRA CENTER, CONNORS' APARTMENT -- NIGHT JOHN wakes up in his chair. The room is dimly lit by the outside lamps. There is a upside-down book resting on his lap. The wall clock shows 3:17 in large red LED letters. John puts the book aside on a small coffee table and gets up. He heads toward the high tech bed in the middle of the room and looks down. Despite in a room shadow, Cameron's face is clearly visible and seems very peaceful. John grabs a strand of hair and moves it aside, then bends down and kisses Cameron's forehead. JOHN I should be sleeping. John leaves the room, which he calls in his mind Cameron's Room and goes to his desk in the other room. He touches the roller ball on his mouse to activate the monitor. Then he scrolls to his file folder and pulls one called "Log (private)". He types down: "Why 3:17?" and then on the next line: "Ask Les about talking to myself". JOHN (CONT'D) Why 3:17? (sighs) I think I need some fresh air. John puts on a sweat shirt and slips into sneakers. He has the laces tied loosely under the tongues, in what he calls "ready-to-go mode". He goes back to his terminal and types in: "Get new sneakers, soles cracked". JOHN (CONT'D) Fortunately it's not raining tonight. John hangs his plastic mag key around neck and heads for the apartment door and he half turns towards Cameron. JOHN (CONT'D) I'll be back. INT. ZEIRA CENTER, CATHERINE'S OFFICE -- DAY CATHERINE sits behind her desk. JON SEDWIAK (47) stands at window and looking outside. He turns toward Catherine. JON She did call that night. CATHERINE Oh, good.

12. JON I told her that despite considering it evil, it is a necessary evil. If it's kept in check, there's a silver lining. Once a while. What I hate viscerally is the paper pushing aspect of it. CATHERINE The departments need to have some mode of communication with a trail. JON No, I did not mean that. It's okay with me, I do understand that. It's the busybodies that come up with... stuff. CATHERINE Example? JON Like this designation initials. Did not pass the vote yet. CATHERINE Haven't been keeping up, being busy here. JON K's are supposed to be in a cyborg category, the rest of us in human category. In an official or legal capacity the cyborgs names would be prepended with C and humans with H. So, I'll be H Jon Sedwiak. CATHERINE Interesting. I suppose that may be sometimes handy, say if there's a medical emergency or such. But the emphasis of the legal aspect--not sure what to make of it. JON Maybe there is a connection with the latest Congress' output. The areas under K's control are losing their ability to produce new members. Quid quo pro, they get the statehood for relinquishing the production to the federal government.

13. CATHERINE Heard of that. Zeira has no restriction, so I did not pay much attention. Maybe I should. JON A new entity has been legislated, CRI or Cyborg Reproduction Institute. Which is a fancy name for a manufacturing facility. CATHERINE Who heads it? JON It is still just on paper, but heard it would be Ellen Goodnow. Or should I say C Ellen Goodnow? CATHERINE Actually, that's a good choice. If it's coming, her at the helm may curb a bit the excess of legislators. I think Savannah must have recommended her. I wouldn't worry in this case. She can run circles around busybodies. JON Good to know. Whatever dilutes the concentration of federal power is good, in my view. CATHERINE What's Savannah's take? JON We differ on some minor stuff, but in general, she agrees with me. CATHERINE Jon, I have a meeting in a few minutes... we'll continue another time. Or I can schedule a family evening in the next few days. Have you two decided on the date yet? JON Seventeenth next month. I'm sure you'll hear the date from Savannah at least twice a day soon, it would be hard to forget. END OF ACT TWO

14. ACT THREE INT. ZEIRA CENTER, C WING, TOSHIRO'S LAB -- LATE AFTERNOON LAUREN sits on a swivel chair beside TOSHIRO. They both look at a monitor displaying results of a MAT (Magnetic Axial Tomography) scan. LAUREN It went beyond expectations. All the threads are connected. How's your projector? TOSHIRO A few hurdles, but near completion. Need to calibrate it, the feedback end is taking longer than I hoped. LAUREN How'd you calibrate it? TOSHIRO Allison's coming tonight, volunteering as a test subject. And she can give me a hand with the feedback filters. LAUREN But shouldn't the threads take a care of the information transfer? TOSHIRO Not on their own. We need to stimulate the pathways, so the visual cortex knows how to get and process information. LAUREN I thought it would bootstrap itself. TOSHIRO Yes, but that process would take a long time if left to chances and-LAUREN Right, it may get weaker if not used. TOSHIRO Les' working on something that may help to fixate the patterns.

15. LAUREN Yeah, he told me about the cascade triggers. It's a bit arcane stuff for me. I hope he knows what he's doing. TOSHIRO I looked into the concept and it seems to make a sense. It would be just a localized event. Not unlike the EM stimulation, except this is hormonal. It won't be done for a couple of weeks, so he's got plenty of time to fine tune it. Lauren does not respond, she sits quietly, staring at the monitor as if trying to read more from the display than it's there. TOSHIRO (CONT'D) Something is bugging you. LAUREN (sighs) The info blackout on the infection data. We have it all in and it's under a lock. TOSHIRO You know I'm not that much into secrecy, but I think in this case Catherine is right. Releasing the information to public would carry a social cost. LAUREN Maybe you're right. It may be misinterpreted and may have a demographic unintended effect. What I don't understand is that Catherine's keeping some of the data from John. TOSHIRO At first, I thought it odd too. But you know that Catherine never does anything without a good reason. I think she is trying to protect John. LAUREN From? TOSHIRO Information overload. Or emotional overload as a result.

16. LAUREN Maybe. It still rubs me wrong. TOSHIRO Her intent's obvious. But if you want a confirmation, go to Catherine and ask. LAUREN (laughs) You sound like Mia! TOSHIRO See, two people saying the same thing... maybe we're on to something. Lauren's cell phone RINGS, she pulls it out of her coat pocket. LAUREN Yes? <beat> Seven? <beat> Yeah, I know where. Lauren turns the phone off. LAUREN (CONT'D) Sorry. TOSHIRO I hope you're not! LAUREN What do you-TOSHIRO (laughs) I don't need a MAT scan to read you! Have fun! INT. ZEIRA CENTER, CONNORS' APARTMENT -- DAY C MARIA GALLO (apparent age 26), nurse, enters. JOHN is sitting at his desk, reading some microbiology material. He hears Maria and goes to the Cameron's room. JOHN Hi Maria! MARIA Hello, John. Time to get samples.

17. JOHN Yeah, go ahead. MARIA What happened? JOHN Why? Oh, the spill. For some reason the IV attachment slipped. So I fixed it. MARIA I need to put it in the report. Do you remember exactly when? JOHN Really? About half an hour ago. MARIA I did not make the rules, but anything out of the ordinary has to go into the report. JOHN Okay, will bear that in mind. MARIA Just a reminder, you need to take Cameron to Toshiro's lab at 3 PM. JOHN I know, I have alarm set on. Is Allison in today? MARIA No, they finished last night. But she is supposed to work on something else tonight or tomorrow. It's Jen's shift tomorrow, but I can leave her a note to let you know when Allison is in. JOHN No, thanks. Not necessary, I can call Allison or leave a message for her. INT. ZEIRA CENTER, C WING, TOSHIRO'S LAB -- AFTERNOON CAMERON is in her bed that is in the middle of the lab. TOSHIRO opens Cameron's eyelids and tapes them in position. Then he lowers his apparatus, reminiscent of an optician set to Cameron's head and fixes it in position. JOHN sits on a chair beside Cameron and watches.

18. JOHN How does that work, exactly? TOSHIRO Reinforcement. Trying to make synaptic connections from two sides. What we are sending visually is the replica of the files that are in her storage. JOHN So this would be a bit like synesthesia? TOSHIRO In a very limited scope, yes. The signals are synchronized. What's sent visually is at the same time send from the storage through the connecting bridges. JOHN What would she recall? The visual part or the stored data? TOSHIRO Depends on her state. At the moment, the storage's the primary signal, as it is available all the time. We have a clock inside that handles the propagation, it's like a pacemaker. Once she's awake, we'd train her to be able to access the storage just by recollection of the visual stimulus. JOHN Sounds easy, but it may be quite a work. TOSHIRO Right. Brain is a wonderful organ and can do amazing stuff on its own, but for the most part, what is really going on depends on the owner. This is just a small part of Cameron, a carrier frequency if you will. What you are doing is far more important part. JOHN I sometimes wonder if she can really hear me.

19. TOSHIRO She can hear you all right. Give me a sec-Toshiro moves towards his desk and starts selecting through menus on his monitor. TOSHIRO (CONT'D) The top signal is yours. The middle signal is what we pick up from Cameron in her audio processing areas. And the bottom represents the processes that are related, or what is the result. JOHN No privacy, uh? TOSHIRO Actually, no, we can't convert this to audible signal. That part is only accessible with a key and only you have one. JOHN Did not know I have one. TOSHIRO Check your application set when you get back to your system. You should see "Audio Key" in there. JOHN I remember seeing it, just was not sure what's that for. TOSHIRO There is a context sensitive help for most items and this one isn't an exception. JOHN But if the content is locked, how that helps you? TOSHIRO We're interested in signals, not the content. Monitoring functionality. The correlation of content and how it is perceived and processed by Cameron would be your job. JOHN What if I need help to analyze something?

20. TOSHIRO It would be up to you to decide what you want to share. JOHN You guys seem to have thought of everything. TOSHIRO Protocols and policies is mostly Mia's work. She's quite a synergist. Glad she's on the team. JOHN Haven't seen her for a while. And Les. TOSHIRO She's due soon, so she's working from home for time being. Les' with her, coming in only for trigger sessions. There's not much else to do until Catherine decides the direction of the genetic research. JOHN Beside the genome bank. TOSHIRO Beside the genome bank. Right. OK, we're done for today. Toshiro turns off the projector and disconnects the cable from Cameron's socket. A BEEP indicating a sweep of a mag key cuts in and the lab door opens. ALLISON enters the lab. ALLISON Hi! Seems I'm a bit early. TOSHIRO We're done, so just on time. JOHN Hi Allison, how're you? Can you pop by at my place when you've time? ALLISON Sure. Not for long, Michael is performing at a school play tonight, so I need to be there at seven-thirty PM. How's our patient? Allison approaches Cameron's bed and takes Cameron's hand into hers.

21. Cameron is suddenly starting to have minor spasms and Allison releases her hand quickly. ALLISON (CONT'D) What did I do? TOSHIRO I bet it's unrelated to you. John, take Cameron to Lauren's lab right away, I'll see if I can find anything odd in our procedure and send along. ALLISON I can help John. TOSHIRO No, stay here, Allison, I want you to go over the session data with me. INT. ZEIRA CENTER, B WING, LAUREN'S LAB -- LATER LAUREN is running a batch of tests and looking at her monitor. JOHN sits beside Cameron. LAUREN Nothing. Everything seems to be normal. No physical cause I can pinpoint. JOHN Ideas? LAUREN Growing pains? Les may need to check last few sequences. JOHN I've a hunch. LAUREN What is it? JOHN Will tell you when I'm sure. I'll test it later today. There's no danger, I believe. LAUREN Just make sure nurse is just feet away. END OF ACT THREE

22. ACT FOUR INT. ZEIRA CENTER, CONNORS' APARTMENT -- LATE AFTERNOON JOHN is sitting on a chair beside Cameron's bed. He unstraps Cameron's legs and starts pushing one up 5 times and then another. This is a 10 minutes tension sequence. In the middle of it, he hears KNOCKS on the door. JOHN Allison, come in! ALLISON Hey! How did you know it's me? JOHN The knocks, they are so... Allisony. ALLISON (laughs) If you say so. John is watching Cameron all the time while chatting. JOHN I think Cameron moved her head. Very slightly. ALLISON Any significance? JOHN Can you come over here and grab her hand? ALLISON (placing her hands behind her back) No, not again! JOHN (laughs) Don't worry, I just want to see if she reacts. ALLISON That's what I mean! JOHN Lauren did not find anything, so there is really no danger. ALLISON What if something happens?

23. JOHN I don't think we have to worry. ALLISON Okay, but don't blame me if there is a problem. Allison approaches Cameron's bed and then hesitantly takes Cameron's left hand and holds it. Cameron's fingers slightly curl following the shape of Allison's hand. JOHN Did you see that? ALLISON Yeah. But what does that mean? JOHN Not entirely sure... I think she recognizes you. ALLISON C'mon! That's not possible, This is my second time when I'm close to her. JOHN What I mean is that she recognized you the first time. ALLISON John, that does not make any sense. JOHN I know. But there are some things that make Cameron different. Beside the simple fact that she is a clone of you. ALLISON Different from me? I hope so! (laughs) JOHN Different from everybody. ALLISON The chip, or storage, how it interacts? JOHN Not really, there are people with implants and that does not make them any different. Let's see if I can make it somewhat coherent pet theory.

24. ALLISON Okay, shoot. JOHN First, she is your twin. I've read some studies about twins and there seems to be some form of connection that goes beyond just sensory signals. ALLISON Aware of it, but-JOHN It does not mean that the connection is not sensory. It may mean that the sense that is between twins is not mapped onto non-twin population. ALLISON Sixth sense? But that always referred to non-sensory links... not that I am buying it. JOHN How much do we know of what constitutes the physical world? Despite the libraries of material, data and theories, we know very little. The body of knowledge started really accumulate in the last two--three centuries. ALLISON A good point. JOHN You know about the particle entanglement, right? I am not trying to say that is what we have here, just that there are mechanisms that seem to be outside our experience. ALLISON No objection. But take Toshi's bugs. Never seen before bio-cyborg organisms, yet we can account for all their aspects based on standard physics. K's are another example. JOHN So may be Catherine.

25. JOHN (CONT'D) And yet, she is a mystery. Not even she knows how she works. ALLISON On some levels advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic. JOHN Right. And vice versa. I know that it sounds like just a play on words. My point is that what we may presume to be events or manifestations outside physical boundaries may be in fact within them. ALLISON Okay, let's back up a little. You mentioned the twin factor. Let's suppose there is a sixth sense, a way to communicate within confines of physics. It would require a proximity. JOHN I may argue that proximity's a very flexible concept. With Cameron, though, that seems to be the case. Seems she reacts to your voice and touch. ALLISON Hold on... Did she ever talk? JOHN Not in the normal sense. Les describes it as an emulation or signal that connects the motor function of mouth. But what if Cameron could hear it? Meaning what if she could interpret it as hearing. ALLISON Like a musician that can hear sharp C by just thinking about it. JOHN Right. So, if she has... if she knows what she sounds like and compares it with what you sound like, it may be rather close.

26. ALLISON You're onto something. But what about touch? JOHN Synesthesia. When Toshi was explaining the process of bridging between visual nerves and cortex and the storage, it sounded to me like synesthesia, a form of it. ALLISON Not exactly, it is more one way street-JOHN You don't know really. That's your assumption. Les thinks it's more complex multi-directional structure, Toshi thinks so too. ALLISON Okay, what do you think is going on, I mean here, between me and Cameron. JOHN Not sure, but it may be one sense transformed into another. Say she is able to smell you and that smell matches her own concept of what she smells like. When you touch her, this sensation may be transformed. She is perceiving herself, or concept of herself. It may be a more complex sensation. ALLISON Actually, that seems to be fully contained in my physics. JOHN (laughs) Yeah, your physics are intact. ALLISON Back to your pet theory. JOHN So, whatever the synesthesia wiring is, when you touched Cameron today, she couldn't parse you, she got confused. Later here, since she already experienced you, her reaction was mild. She knows you now as the other.

27. ALLISON I have to say it's all coherent. JOHN We can test it tomorrow after you finish at Toshi's. If I am right, Cameron reaction would be still milder. ALLISON Maybe. Maybe. JOHN Care to elaborate? ALLISON She's a woman. Or in that mold. JOHN (laughs) Oh, okay, a good point! ALLISON How does it affect you? Not the woman part, I mean that you're getting deep into how she works. JOHN I'm not sure what you getting at. ALLISON As in losing her mystery? JOHN Allison, are you sure you aren't projecting? I'm a man! No, it's just the opposite, the more I know, the deeper the connection, the better I can relate. ALLISON It's so unfair! JOHN What? ALLISON You men have it so easy! JOHN Not really sure I want to debate you on that. Tomorrow same time? ALLISON Yup. Gotta run, can't be late!

28. EXT. ROCKY MOUNTAINS, HELICOPTER CRASH SITE - DAY SUPERIMPOSE: 2005 CATHERINE WEAVER wakes up as droplets of drizzle land on her face. She tries to lift her head, but a sharp pain shoots through her spine. She tries again more slowly. She lifts hear head a few inches, enough to asses her condition. Her legs are lying on the ground in grotesque angles. She sees her left arm, there is nothing down from her elbow, just two bones protruding upward. Her right hand seems to be where it is supposed to be. She drops her head back on the cold ground. A minute, that seems like eternity, passes. Catherine tries to turn her head left. She can turn in enough to see helicopter wreckage. She then turns her head right. A few pieces of metal lie scattered in her field of vision. She tries to turn her head back to face upward, but she can't. Despite her effort, she feels so weak that she almost passes out. Catherine's vision blurs and the perception of colors is reduced to primaries. The grass becomes red and the sky yellow. She notices a metallic, blue object some distance from her. It is vertical, as if sticking from the ground. CATHERINE (whisper) A wing? Catherine tries to focus, the object changes shape and seems to be moving closer. CATHERINE (CONT'D) (whispers) Angel. CATHERINE (V.O.) Don't go yet! The object is starting to take a shape of a human form. At the distance of 3 meters, Catherine can't comprehend what she is seeing. She sees herself. Her vision improves a bit, the color palette is still reduced, but she can perceive more than primary hues. CATHERINE (very weak voice) Where am I? She sees herself kneeling down and taking her right hand. She does not know if she is so cold or her kneeling one is so cold.

29. CATHERINE (CONT'D) (whispering) How can I be in two places? OTHER CATHERINE You're not. I'm new you. CATHERINE (whispering) Lachlan? The other Catherine shakes her head no. Catherine feels her consciousness slipping from her. She tries to focus and it takes all the strength she can summon. CATHERINE (CONT'D) (barely audible) Take care of Savannah. OTHER CATHERINE I will. P.O.V.: MPA CATHERINE Catherine's body lies lifeless on the ground. MPA Catherine reaches toward the neck and checks the vitals with her fingers. She then lifts Catherine as if she was a feather and walks toward the forest edge. MPA CATHERINE Four hours till rescue arrival. 200 meters in the woods, MPA Catherine converts her arms into spades and starts digging. She carefully separates the grassy top and moss from the soil. INT. SAVANNAH WEAVER'S LIVING ROOM -- DAY SAVANNAH WEAVER sits quietly beside CATHERINE, on a sofa. Catherine breaks the silence. CATHERINE I can take you there one day. SAVANNAH But why you didn't tell me earlier? When I was a child? CATHERINE I didn't want to cause you pain. You are grown up, and enough time passed. I felt that I owe it to you and decided that the time is now.

30. SAVANNAH I knew you were my "another", "robot" mother, right from the beginning. CATHERINE Yes, I know. I know now, when I look back, the signs were there. I couldn't see them then. I had a lot to learn. SAVANNAH What happened next? CATHERINE I covered the grave with the grass and moss to make it look like before. Then I went back to the crash site and waited. SAVANNAH Weren't the rescuers surprised that you had no injuries? CATHERINE I did have some made up scratches and cuts. And a partial amnesia. Yes, they were surprised, but they were constantly repeating how lucky I am. SAVANNAH They did not take your vitals? CATHERINE Yes, they did. It was easy. I was afraid they'd take me to a hospital, so I told them to get me to L.A. and that I'll contact my family physician right away. Savannah is quiet again. Then she turns toward Catherine and gives her a hug. SAVANNAH You've been a good mother. CATHERINE For a robot? SAVANNAH At first, yes. I decided that you need time to learn how to be one.

31. SAVANNAH (CONT'D) It was not easy for me, sometimes I really missed my old mom terribly. But I could see you trying. Now you're a mother to a lot of people. CATHERINE When I jumped to 2027, it must have been hard for you. SAVANNAH It did hurt a little. But I knew somehow that you needed to do something very important. And Sarah and Alex were there for me. CATHERINE I still have to learn a lot from my children. SAVANNAH That's how it's supposed to be. CATHERINE And grandchildren. How soon? SAVANNAH You know? I didn't tell anyone yet! Seven months. CATHERINE (smiling) What kind of mother I'd be if I couldn't tell what's going on with my daughter!

END OF ACT FOUR

32. ACT FIVE INT. ZEIRA CENTER, CATHERINE'S OFFICE -- DAY CATHERINE and C ELLEN GOODNOW are sitting at a coffee table. GOODNOW There're nearly no endos left, except a few dozens in the north and those will be gone soon too. Repurposed for new K's. It's cheaper than working from a scratch. CATHERINE Last I've heard, there were two enclaves that wanted to be independent. GOODNOW Right, that's where the last endos are, too. But they are getting on the bandwagon. It's not that they see the government as something very positive. Economics, beside other factors. And education. They can't match the CRI curriculum. CATHERINE The government offers' too good a candy to pass? GOODNOW That's the best way to put it. CRI has a degree of autonomy, though, that was my condition before putting my ink on the dotted line. CATHERINE The production or the curriculum? GOODNOW Curriculum. The population figure is set by government to four hundred thousand. Given that the current K population is one hundred and twenty five thousand now, that seems to be generous. CATHERINE Why set that at all? The growth is a vector of resources availability and economics. This seems to be rather arbitrary.

33. GOODNOW Yes, I agree. But that is how governments operate. I checked the legislation and there is really no rationale behind it. Essentially just the figure. Voted on and passed. CATHERINE It may take a while to reach that figure. Years at the least, even with repurposing the endos for material. GOODNOW How does that influence Zeira's planned production? CATHERINE It doesn't. That is, at present. I'm not that much concerned with the cap. Rather, the capacity of government to come up with arbitrary rules is something to be aware of and watch. GOODNOW I get all the cyborg related legislature on my desk, so I'll send you briefs whenever something lands on it. CATHERINE Thank you. I could get it from Savannah, but this may work better, she's too busy to pay attention to a specific sector's details. Red LED is flashing on Catherine's desk. She gets up and walks toward her desk and hits a key on the keyboard. "SECURITY BREACH" is flashing on her monitor. CATHERINE (CONT'D) If you excuse me, there is something I need to attend to. GOODNOW I'll stay in touch. Catherine NODS and Goodnow leaves her office. Catherine selects "RENDER" from a menu and a wireframe of the building appears, with red dots indicating the breach. Catherine quickly leaves her office and heads to the C Wing first floor, physics lab unit.

34. INT. ZEIRA CENTER, C WING, PHYSICS LAB -- LATER NEAL HORT stands near his apparatus that looks like a few odd scraps put together. It does not look pretty. He looks up, toward the ceiling, and it is not clear whether he is surprised, or just thinking. A beep signals entry. CATHERINE enters, closes the door behind her. CATHERINE Mr. Hort, what you're up to? I just got a security alert notice. NEAL I did some testing of one of my ideas... Sorry about the hole. CATHERINE Hole? Neal points up toward ceiling and Catherine moves right underneath what appears to be a dollar coin sized hole in the ceiling. She focuses and can see the blue of the sky inside the hole. CATHERINE (CONT'D) That would be 3 holes. NEAL Well, it's essentially one hole with three intersections. CATHERINE Lovely. Aren't we lucky that there were no humans in the path! All right, I'll tell Moss to fix it. Do you have any explanation how it happened? NEAL Theoretically? Haven't a faintest. As for what I-CATHERINE I'd like you to keep the how to yourself, understood? No one needs to know. NEAL Understood. CATHERINE Now to what... Can you make it go horizontal?

35. NEAL (scratching his head) I don't see how. I use-CATHERINE Whatever you do use, remember our agreement. Can you try to get the same results in different directions? Not in the building, or course, I can provide a special environment. NEAL I'm not sure, but maybe I can. There's one problem. CATHERINE Which is? NEAL I've no idea where the hole ends. CATHERINE I'm not sure I understand what you just said. NEAL I know. I just tried to do some math in my head and it doesn't make any sense. CATHERINE Specifically? HORT I hope that I am wrong, there must be an error. I am getting ... the hole doesn't end. CATHERINE That's a bit disconcerting. <beat> Maybe if you do the horizontal test with a substantial mass as a target, it may be enough to find out if your math's valid or not. NEAL (NODS) Yeah, I think there may be an error. I need to write it down to see where's the problem.

36. CATHERINE Please, make sure that your notes are in your possession, at all times. NEAL I don't see how anyone would be able to make heads and tails of it, but better safe than sorry. CATHERINE I'll look for more appropriate venue for your experiments. Without security sensors. Two-three weeks. NEAL Hope it's not far away. CATHERINE You may need to take a week long trip. Please work out the math in the meanwhile. Do you need anything, material, equipment? NEAL Once I figure out what I need to make the horizontal happen, I'll scribble up a list, it would be short. INT. ZEIRA CENTER, C WING TOSHIRO'S LAB -- DAY TOSHIRO is setting up some parameters on the projector for Cameron's visual cortex stimulation. NEAL HORT enters and gets beside Toshi and opens a small plastic box. In it is a pair of contact lenses. TOSHIRO What's that? Neal POINTS to the projector. NEAL This. TOSHIRO Not sure... NEAL Instead of taping Cameron's eyes, just insert these. TOSHIRO How do I interface?

37. NEAL By this. Neal pulls out of his pocket a small port transmitter, a Skynet issue device, but the casing has signs of being split open. TOSHIRO What's the range? NEAL Enough to cover twenty meters. I selected an unused frequency, so there shouldn't be any interference. TOSHIRO Is it a cut from endo's eyes? Neal NODS. TOSHIRO (CONT'D) Ingenious! What's the res? NEAL Same as your projector. I did some adjustment on the pixel interpolation... it should be more sharp. TOSHIRO So would it work out of the box? NEAL Probably needs some tweaking... calibration. I did some tests with your program. Looked fine. Maybe the delta for clips needs higher frame rate, but it shouldn't be an order of magnitude, the lenses are getting very warm if you push too much. TOSHIRO One twenty? NEAL Yup. TOSHIRO That's what the projector sends. I don't think we need more. NEAL It can support double.

38. TOSHIRO The cyborgs have a quadruple rate, but for a human eye one twenty is more than just fine. Neal pulls a little bottle from his pocket. TOSHIRO (CONT'D) What's that? NEAL A saline solution. Thought you may want to test it. TOSHIRO Neal, you seem to think of everything. NEAL I wish! TOSHIRO Allison's coming later this afternoon, I'll try it on her. NEAL Right, the best approximation of the final recipient. Toshiro bursts into a laughter. Neal looks at him with an expression of incomprehension. NEAL (CONT'D) What? TOSHIRO No wonder Lauren likes you! NEAL You mean nerds'r us... I have another idea. I were thinking about goggles for John. The images or segments would be projected to both John goggles and Cameron's lenses. He could then narrate it. TOSHIRO And that's why I like you. END OF ACT FIVE

39. ACT SIX INT. LOS ANGELES, OWL CAFE NEAR PUBLIC LIBRARY -- DAY ALEJANDRA (ALEX) and TAWNY WILLIAMS (17) are sitting at a small table, sipping a dark tea. The coffee is still very expensive, while tea is coming from both Indian and Chinese growers in a steady supply. ALEX How do you like your library job? TAWNY It's nice. But a bit mind numbing. I learned the ins and outs quick, and then it became just a daily chore. Crushing dullness. ALEX Aiming higher? TAWNY Yeah, university, but I need to get ready for the tests. Were talking to Goodnow, she wants to establish one by splitting CRI. ALEX But that would be cyborg oriented, no? TAWNY She said it would be just like UUS, with the cyborg departments prominently represented. ALEX Did you try to get in the UUS yet? TAWNY (shaking head no) I wouldn't pass the tests. ALEX How'd you know if you did not try? TAWNY You can try here at the library terminal, the tests are available. ALEX How did it go? TAWNY Not that great.

40. ALEX But you do have at least an idea what you need to study. TAWNY Yeah. I just don't want to do it for the test's sake. ALEX (POINTING her head toward library) A librarian... what you do, exactly? TAWNY Categorization. Doing excerpts and summaries, entering them into a database. Allison helped me to rearrange the database, what was before was a torture. ALEX That seems not as boring as you say it is. TAWNY You've no idea! It was exciting for about half an year. ALEX Categorization... is that a relational structure? TAWNY Yep. ALEX I wonder on what level as an employee you are... midlevel? TAWNY Barely. The library made some good noises when I were working on the program with Allison, but since then, I'm indistinguishable from the lowlies. Am too young, in their view. ALEX Money? TAWNY Enough to get by, but I've to turn every penny.

41. ALEX I wonder why Catherine didn't... TAWNY She did. But I said I want to try on my own. Maybe after I get my degrees... I'd feel less intimidated. ALEX By what? TAWNY Zeira people are top notch. ALEX Catherine cares very little about degrees. She hires people with an ability to think. <beat> I have a job for you. TAWNY What? Sorting out your personal library? ALEX (looking down into her cup, smiling) Didn't know you ordered a snark tea! TAWNY (blushing) That's another thing... The library management says I've a sharp tongue. Sorry. ALEX No offence taken. The job is connected to Zeira ops. TAWNY You've got my attention. ALEX I maintain a network of people... a unit of private investigators. I need a coordinator. A very good pay, and an ample time to study if you focus on the job and get things done. TAWNY A spy network!

42. ALEX In a way, it is. One thing, the headquarters are located in Fresno. So not as exciting life like here in L.A. TAWNY That's a drawback. How do I love the big city distractions! ALEX Really? Boyfriend? TAWNY No. I'm trying to get a grip of my internal hamster. To kill it. ALEX Not sure about the hamster... TAWNY I'll explain later. When do I start? ALEX You just did. Go now to your boss and say "I quit". I'll wait here and then we get to sort out your apartment lease and get you moved. TAWNY Just like that! ALEX Just like that. TAWNY Give me half an hour. ALEX I'll get myself some snack, I'll pay the bill and be back here in thirty minutes. INT. LOS ANGELES, OWL CAFE NEAR PUBLIC LIBRARY -- LATER ALEJANDRA (ALEX) is looking at her watch. It's now 90 minutes since she parted with TAWNY. TAWNY I'm so sorry I'm late! ALEX No problem. I suppose that there were things to sort out.

43. TAWNY They didn't want to let me go. My boss started promising all sorts of things. Wads of cash, exotic sounding positions, the whole nine yards. ALEX Lucre... shoulda thought of that. TAWNY My boss became very emotional, 'twas a hard work. All right, I admit I enjoyed it, the levees going up and me replying after each offer's flood with "no". ALEX What's in the box? TAWNY My meagre possessions. ALEX Let's go then? TAWNY (NODS) Off to the new spymaster's life! INT. ZEIRA CENTER, C WING, TOSHIRO'S LAB -- DAY TOSHIRO sits in his console chair. NEAL, CATHERINE, LES and JOHN are standing about. Cameron's mobile bed is in the center. TOSHIRO John, take the sofa over there and get comfy. JOHN Allison said it's fine, then? TOSHIRO Yeah, it's Allison approved. Neal, get the lenses for John. NEAL John, use this dropper first, one drop into each eye would do. The lenses may feel a bit uncomfortable at first. You'll get used to it after a while.

44. JOHN Ready. What do I do now. NEAL Use the mouse roller ball to navigate the menus. It's quite sensitive... JOHN Working good, no problem. When the glove will be available? NEAL About a week. CATHERINE Who's working on it? NEAL Me and Allison. CATHERINE I could assign more people... NEAL (shaking his head no) Sometimes less people is better. We can manage, even with Allison's schedule. INT. ZEIRA CENTER, GATE B -- SAME TIME SECURITY GUARD looks out to check the arriving car. GUARD Ms Weaver, I did not know you were out today. They forgotten to make an entry at the main gate. CATHERINE Please make an exception and don't make the entry here, either. I need to bend the rules, once a while. GUARD Yes, ma'am. No entry. The guard waves Catherine off and her car is on the way to the compound. GUARD (CONT'D) (muttering under his breath) You're the boss.

45. INT. ZEIRA CENTER, C WING, TOSHIRO'S LAB -- LATER JOHN lies on the sofa with the lenses already set on his eyes. NEAL stands beside him. NEAL Go to Clip Library. Select one you'd like to run. JOHN Does Cameron see this too? NEAL (shaking head no) No. she just sees whatever you pull from the library. CATHERINE Toshi, I need a chair, I feel very odd. LES goes to an adjacent room and rolls in a wheeled chair, offering it to Catherine. CATHERINE (CONT'D) Thank you. Sorry for interruption. JOHN Catherine, you' ok? CATHERINE Not sure what came over me. Yeah, I'm okay. INT. ZEIRA CENTER, A WING -- SAME TIME Catherine enters the building and heads straight to her office. People that she meets on her way greet her. She NODS in response, despite being in a hurry. She enters the office and inserts her finger into a scanner device, molding it to fit the pattern. INT. ZEIRA CENTER, C WING, TOSHIRO'S LAB -- LATER NEAL stands beside JOHN and waits for his input. JOHN OK, when I select a clip, how do I ... stop? NEAL You can pause, you'll see controls overlaid, Cameron does not see it. JOHN Ready.

46. INT. ZEIRA CENTER, A WING, CATHERINE'S OFFICE -- SAME TIME The terminal screen refreshes and prompts for a password. CATHERINE types it in and then select Notes icon. She thinks for a few seconds and then types: "I swore I'll never use it, but I don't have any choice. STOP the HOLE project! It represents a big danger! Tell Neal to forget all about it. The equations are stored in the locked folder. They are incomplete, but there's enough to give him an idea where that would lead. Direct Neal towards MPA technology, instead! I have a present for you, look behind you. C". Catherine selects screen icon to blank the screen. She approaches the wall behind her. She then melts against the wall and forms a bronze looking relief. END OF ACT SIX