THE ALPHA CENTAURI PROJECT SCRIPT Read online

  VICTORIA

  Are you joking?

  EVE

  I coordinated the project.

  beat

  To tell the truth, the carrier never interested me. Before joining AISI, I was enrolled in the Army. I participated in many missions with the Red Helmets, the special forces of the Army. But then, I opted for the other great passion of my life: research.

  gazing at the thousands of lights floating in the dark

  I wished to give a purpose to my existence beyond self-interest; I wanted to contribute to the development of civilization. The studies had convinced me that the souls could evolve only overcoming their human limits. To achieve this, a deeper and deeper integration with artificial intelligence software would be necessary. I wanted to contribute to this process. The Defense asked me to stay. But I followed my own way, without hesitation.

  Eve bends her head.

  EVE

  I spent wonderful years at AISI, till I was invited to join the Certification Committee.

  The body that should have distinguished itself by its impartiality, was subjected to the interests of major industrial groups. My colleagues had accepted the situation, some of them for the sake of a quiet life, others to take advantage of it. But I didn't want to give in for a matter of principle.

  speaking gravely

  Within the Committee, I stood up for a few innovative programs proposed by the Open Source community , whose application was strongly opposed by multinationals.

  The Ethical Commission tried to take the matter away from the Committee, affirming that this decision was within its own competence. At the climax of the battle, I was chaged with corruption. You know the rest.

  VICTORIA

  How did you end up here?

  EVE

  When I entered Net, I refused to give my personal data to the General Archives and I didn't present myself to the judge.

  VICTORIA

  You are wanted by Security!

  EVE

  Nihil, the head of the Elects, a secret organization, found me. One of his followers congratulated me on my courage and tenacity: Martin Wing, the defender of the civil rights. After his assassination by a fanatic about forty years before, he is continuing his battle in Net.

  Her look becomes softer.

  EVE

  Wing and his companions introduced the subject they had most at heart. Security repression was getting more and more severe, their days were numbered. To survive, they needed a very advanced technology, that only I was able to develop.

  From the very first moment, I liked them very much. Since then I have spent my days creating programs to protect us.

  VICTORIA

  You have a great responsibility.

  EVE

  We are not going to withstand for long. The Elects are worried, they want to complete their mission.

  VICTORIA

  And you?

  EVE

  I like my job and the Elects leave me alone. This is what matters to me.

  The women remain SILENT in front of each other, surrounded by a whirl of lights.

  INT. net ELECTS' HIDEOUT -- MORNING

  MARTIN WING, an imposing black (soul, apparently mid 40's), is speaking with the OLDEST COUNCILOR, a white-haired man.

  wing

  Nihil didn't turn up for the meeting.

  OLDEST COUNCILOR

  What has happened?

  WING

  No idea.

  OLDEST COUNCILOR

  Did you get the plan?

  WING

  He was going to hand it over today.

  OLDEST COUNCILOR

  Time is running short: the Caravels are sailing in a month.

  WING

  I'm looking for him.

  Eve is approaching.

  WING

  staring at Eve

  Have you spoken to her?

  The oldest councilor shakes his head. Now Eve stands in front.

  OLDEST COUNCILOR

  speaking to Eve

  The next reproductive rite is scheduled for Thursday. I asked the Council. You will have the honor of carrying the new creature.

  EVE

  blushing

  I don't feel like doing that. For me it would be the first time.

  The three fall SILENT for a moment.

  OLDEST COUNCILOR

  We all love you and we are sure our feelings are reciprocal. But you never integrated into our community. You are so sad... You have to forget your past, Eve.

  EVE

  This kind of wounds doesn't heal easily.

  WING

  with a solemn expression

  We asked you to participate for one more reason. We are not going to escape Security for long. We need all your experience. But only integrating in our community, you will be able to utilize all your capabilities.

  When Victoria arrives, Eve indicates that she should wait.

  EVE

  addressing the two followers

  Sorry, I should go.

  She rejoins Victoria.

  EVE

  Excuse me if I kept you waiting, but we were dealing with a new being's birth.

  VICTORIA

  wide-eyed

  You were speaking about the dehumanization?

  EVE

  They are the same. They offered me to be the mother.

  VICTORIA

  What did you tell them?

  EVE

  I'm not interested in.

  VICTORIA

  I have often heard about the reproductive rite. What do you feel?

  EVE

  Sensations we can't imagine, they told me.

  VICTORIA

  How many are going to participate?

  EVE

  About twenty.

  VICTORIA

  Have they already chosen your substitute?

  EVE

  I don't think so. Are you interested in?

  VICTORIA

  Are you joking?

  They start walking along the tunnel.

  VICTORIA

  I don't know your community enough. And then, there is James. Perhaps he would understand, but for sure it will be the end of our relationship.

  EVE

  Are you sure he is the right person?

  Victoria doesn't answer.

  EVE

  I suggest you to speak with James.

  beat

  I'll be waiting for you here.

  INT. earth SECURITY HEADQUARTERS -- EVENING

  In the middle, stands a crystal table illuminated by spotlights that concentrate their beams on the central inlay of a golden snake.

  C573Y raises his head from the desk. In his field has appeared a message: WIDMAN AND YUNG KILLED. WIDMAN'S CAR BLOWN UP 3.45 P.M..

  ASSISTANT

  appearing in C573Y's visual field

  The explosion happened in the Space Agency parking lot. Widman was killed outright, the woman while getting her to hospital. There are no injured. A team of ours is on the spot.

  C573Y

  What about the inquiry?

  ASSISTANT

  The bug has confirmed they were the informers. Eve Dirac contacted them to introduce a friend of hers. The intrusion into the information system of the Agency was organized by Dirac's friend.

  C573Y

  Did he reach the files of the Alpha Centauri Projects?

  ASSISTANT

  He was clever at canceling his traces. We are looking for them.

  C573Y

  When is the brain digitization beginning?

  ASSISTANT

  Within ten minutes. The forensic department confirmed me.

  C573Y

  Did you find out the motive?

  ASSISTANT

  The two didn't know. But Widman was worried, very worried. Once I heard him speaking about terrorism. Only suspicions.

  C573Y

  What about a virus?

  ASSISTANT

  I had the software of the Caravels checked. No anomaly so
far.

  perplexed

  I've more news. Last Saturday Widman flew to the Cayman Islands. I had him followed. He went into the Overseas Bank, to withdraw a money transfer from a company that belonged to Nihil fifty years ago.

  C573Y

  The Head of the Elects!

  ASSISTANT

  He is Eve Dirac's partner.

  C573Y

  The author of the collective suicides... At the end more than one thousand corpses were counted. All of them headless. Brain digitization, clearly.

  ASSISTANT

  Nihil is beginning a new phase of his plan, I fear.

  beat

  I asked the Defense about Eve Dirac. I had to threaten them with talking to the President, to obtain an answer: she belonged to the Red Helmets, the elite corps of the Army!

  INT. earth Nihil's villa -- MORNING

  NIHIL's face is framed by dark curls and a pointed beard; his eyes are as black as coal (soul, now installed in an android, apparently 50 years old).

  He walks back and forth in the room, then sits down at a table and drums his fingers on the glass surface.

  His ASSISTANT is in front of him. They chat. Words cannot be heard clearly; Nihil has a SHRILL VOICE.

  In Nihil's visual field appears a message: WITNESSES KILLED - TRACES REMOVED.

  Nihil interwines his fingers with a satisfied face.

  NIHIL

  In a few weeks, it will be all over.

  assistant

  Your new community is enthusiastic about your plan.

  A new message appears in the visual field of the two: WE HAVE CAUGHT A NOVICE IN NIHIL'S ROOM - WAITING FOR YOU IN THE HALL.

  The two run upstairs, into the meeting room. The young man is in the middle, with a frightened face, surrounded by five followers.

  NIHIL

  pointing at two followers

  You stay here. The others must leave.

  When the door closes, he looks daggers at the novice.

  NIHIL

  What were you doing?

  The other keeps SILENT.

  NIHIL

  If you don't tell me all the truth, you will regret it. So what?

  The novice gazes into space.

  NIHIL

  to his assistant

  Go and get today's recordings.

  The follower returns with a projector, that he puts on the table. He starts it playing.

  The man is seen entering Nihil's room, rummaging in his drawers.

  NIHIL

  to the followers

  Hold him tightly!

  Nihil seizes the novice's arm and wrings it behind the back. Then, with a single blow, he rotates it upward.

  The novice screams, bends sideways. His keepers work hard to straighten him.

  Nihil goes to the window and stares outside.

  The sky is clear, but sudden gusts cut into the thin jet of the fountain in the middle of the square.

  He turns. He is apparently calm.

  NIHIL

  Fetch me the traitor's possessions.

  His assistant goes out and when a few minutes later he comes back, he has a sack under his harm.

  Nihil scatters the contents onto the table, searches frenetically till he finds a micromemory.

  He unloads the e-mails and cross checks in his visual field the addresses against the Elects' ones.

  The name of a councilor appears.

  NIHIL

  purple in the face

  I'll be back soon.

  Nihil goes downstairs and outside, slamming the door.

  EXT. EARTH NIHIL'S VILLA -- CONTINUOUS

  Nihil rushes into a path of the villa. A child runs up to him, but he pushes him away.

  EXCITED SHOUTS. Three mothers are gathering up their children scattered over the lawn.

  A little red hat flies away, pushed by a blast of wind.

  From the mountains, a boiling front of black clouds is approaching fast.

  NIHIL

  talking to himself

  The novice works for Wing. He may have transmitted some information. I will get rid of both!

  Nihil searches in a list and sends a message to his contact of the Wonderful Islands. The councilor's personal details and the sentence "price in not a problem", appear in his visual field. The rest of his request remains hidden.

  Then he orders his company of the Cayman Islands to make a fund transfer.

  He returns home.

  INT. EARTH NIHIL'S VILLA -- CONTINUOUS

  Nihil steps into the room. The youth is lying stark naked, surrounded by his torturers.

  NIHIL

  Have you forced his neural chip open?

  ASSISTANT

  He withstood even torture.

  NIHIL

  Make him kneel.

  The followers seize the spy by the arms.

  NIHIL

  This is the last time I will ask you. Who has sent you?

  The novice keeps silent.

  NIHIL

  It doesn't matter. I already know him.

  The novice's eyes become moist with tears.

  Nihil places himself behind him. He caresses his neck, takes the novice's head gently between his hands.

  He stands still for a second. Then, a single blow.

  A DULL NOISE. The head smashes like a ripe melon.

  The body falls with A THUMP.

  NIHIL

  Burn him and don't speak about it to anyone!

  Nihil runs down the stairs. Large drops are pounding the windows of the landing.

  From the gutters, A DEAFENING ROAR.

  He flings open a glass door, and enters a hall adorned with garlands.

  Busy people. Smiling faces.

  NIHIL

  How are preparations going?

  EXT. net wonderful islands atoll -- AFTERNOON

  A WOMAN is swimming some meters above the coral reef, towards the white sandy shore.

  A shoal disperses at her arrival, while a moray peeps out from its hiding-place.

  She rises from the sea showing her athletic shoulders and a shapely pair of legs, walks gracefully across the beach.

  Her ivory complexion and platinum blond hair make her look like an angel, but her eyes are icy.

  The woman makes her way along a path winding through orchid bushes.

  She passes through a palm grove and arrives at a lawn with a spotless bungalow in the middle.

  In the shade of a porch, she lies down on a deckchair and half-closes her eyes.

  Background of CARIBBEAN MUSIC. A waiter dressed in white lays a fruit cocktail on a bamboo table.

  She calls her secretary. A smiling face appears in her visual field.

  WOMAN

  Did instructions arrive?

  SECRETARY

  Here they are. Do you need anything else?

  The woman has a look at the contents.

  WOMAN

  For now that's all, thank you.

  She examines the request, remains thoughtfull for a while, than she enters the bungalow.

  INT. NET WONDERFUL ISLANDS ATOLL -- CONTINUOUS

  The woman goes to the living room.

  WOMAN

  Show me some period costumes!

  voice (O.S.)

  What era?

  WOMAN

  18th century dress.

  Clothes for men and women appear in mid-air.

  She turns around flared skirts and examines a few lace-edged corsets.

  WOMAN

  I wonder how they could get in...

  She stops in front of a black costume with an austere cut.

  WOMAN

  Put it aside.

  An invisible hand moves it to a corner.

  voice (O.S.)

  Since you have chosen a suit, I imagine you want to change your appearance too.

  Various looks materialize: young and old, blond and dark. She casts a scornful glance at the nearest ones.

  WOMAN

  I don't like those. Take them away!

/>   They disappear at once. She rummages about for a few minutes and finally stops in front of a tall man.

  She runs her hand through his hair.

  WOMAN

  What magnificent raven hair! I want this.

  The male figure walks as meekly as a lamb, next to the suit.

  voice (O.S.)

  Do you need anything else?

  WOMAN

  You can go.

  The woman admires her choices. She reaches for a mirror and taking a scalpel, puts it to her forehead and starts cutting downwards through the skin.

  She continues across her face, down to the pubis.

  She seizes the borders just below her breast and tears them up, making a luminous mist appear.

  She continues till all the covering has been slipped off.

  She draws her new features up and lets them spread all over her body. Finally, she puts on the suit.

  Now the transformation is complete.

  In the room, stands a man with a dark complexion and well-kept beard, wearing a black cloak and a cocked hat.

  He wraps himself up in the cloak and disappears in a flash.

  EXT. net venice -- CONTINUOUS

  The man reappears in a distant place of Net, in the middle of an alley lined with narrow medieval houses.

  Thick fog, insinuating itself into the cracks of the time-worn building in front.

  A brackish smell, a sharp cold.

  He holds the cloak tightly and massages his shoulders vigorously, then makes his way whistling a CHEERFUL TUNE.

  INT. earth white house -- EVENING

  A gala dinner. Large round tables covered with dark blue tablecloths, and on them goblets, china and cutlery, all with the Confederation symbol, four golden stars on a turquoise background, as many as the inhabited worlds of the solar system.

  Crystal chandeliers, whose ruby color matches perfectly with the red damask tapestry. Swarms of waiters in white livery.

  In front of the Confederation flag, there is a long table with a decoration of pink peonies. The President is in the middle, surrounded by his executive.

  C573Y is among them, installed in an android's body. In his visual field, appears a message. It is his assistant, who is asking for an urgent meeting.

  The high rank officer takes his leave and goes to a small room.

  The neural chip transmits him his assistant's image.

  ASSISTANT

  Yesterday Nihil's company made another fund transfer. One thousand solars, the same amount used to corrupt the Space Agency employees. Our agents went to the intermediary's office. A police search and interrogation didn't yield any results. So they broke his neural chip open. He was telling the truth!