Hackers Page #2

Dade presses a key on his keyboard. The Video Changer

diagram lights up in red. At the station, a robotic arm

selects a videotape from a huge rack of thousands of

tapes. The "America First" tape slides out of the VTR and

is replaced by an episode of "The Outer Limits" as Dade

watches, drinks Coke and smiles, full of himself.

TV:

You are about to experience the awe and

mystery, which reaches from the inner mind,

to... The Outer Limits.

DADE:

Yesssss!

Suddenly, the ARPS screen is replaced by an ominous

message:

U HAVE TREAD:

UPON MY DOMAIN &

MUST NOW SUFFER:

WHO R U?

DADE:

Hey! What?

He starts to type ZERO...

DADE:

No, wait.

Dade types:

CRASH OVERRIDE.

WHO WANTS TO KNOW?

Dade's screen dissolves into:

ACID BURN:

DADE:

Unbelievable. A hacker!

Then the screen changes again:

ACID BURN:

SEZ LEAVE B 4

U R EXPUNGED:

"The Outer Limits" suddenly flashes off.

DADE:

Yeah, okay "Acid Burn", that's enough.

Dade starts hacking. Apparently so does Acid Burn. The

tape changer machines at OTV are swamped, sometimes

fighting over the same tape. The program on TV keeps

changing.

The message comes up on Dade's computer screen:

I WILL:

SWAT U LIKE:

THE FLY U R:

More dueling tape changers, more half second video clips.

Another message.

I WILL:

SNAP YOUR BACK:

LIKE A TOOTHPICK

As the duel continues, Dade types back a taunt of his own:

MESS WITH THE BEST

DIE LIKE THE REST

One last from Acid Burn:

YOU ARE:

TERMINATED:

Then his own computer confirms for him that the connection

is terminated.

DADE:

Sh*t on me!

Next morning. Mrs. Murphy is unpacking. Dade emerges

from his room in a housecoat. He makes a beeline (dodging

moving boxes) for the fridge.

MRS. MURPHY

Good morning. You unpack your stuff yet?

DADE:

Mm-hmm.

MRS. MURPHY

Up all night again, huh?

DADE:

Can this wait until both my eyes are open,

please?

Dade's mom picks up the phone, mocking a call to the

building superintendent.

MRS. MURPHY

Can I cut the electricity to his room so he'll

sleep normal hours? He's been playing with

his computer all night for a solid week.

(pause)

Well yes, he could be playing with himself.

Mmm hmm. Yes I'll ask. Dade, you like girls,

don't you?

DADE:

Well, yeah, I just haven't found one as

charming as you yet.

MRS. MURPHY

You haven't been doing anything stupid, right,

Dade?

(louder)

Right, Dade?!

DADE:

Right, mom. And I'm still a virgin!

Dade slams the bathroom door. Mrs. Murphy quickly checks

his room. Dade is showering.

MRS. MURPHY

(angry, through the bathroom door)

You hooked it up to the phone, didn't you?

Dade! Turn the shower off! You screw up

again and you won't get into college!

She pauses and regains some of her cool.

MRS. MURPHY

I'm sorry we had to move in your senior year.

I didn't want to sell the house but I had to

take this new job, you know that. You're

going to love New York, it's the city that

never sleeps!

EXT. NEW YORK CITY.

We enjoy several views of New York, the morning sun

shining between skyscrapers, neon signs that stay lit day

and night. Dade emerges from the ground-floor apartment

on rollerblades and skates down the street to school.

INT. HIGH SCHOOL.

At school, hundreds of teenagers converse, move around,

head to class. Dade looks lost among them. He walks up

to a skinny latino kid in a faux leopard-skin muscle

shirt. The kid is on a pay-phone, speaking in Spanish.

DADE:

Excuse me.

KID:

Yo, chill man, I'm talking to Venezuela.

DADE:

Yeah, I'm sorry, I was just looking for the

principal's office.

KID:

Sorry, I can't help you, okay?

Now Dade really looks lost. He heads off in search of the

office.

INT. OFFICE.

Dade is filling out a form.

GIRL:

Do you have your transfer forms?

Dade stares at her, stunned. The girl has a decidedly

unconventional appearance, yet is a first-rate beauty.

GIRL:

It's a relatively straightforward question.

Dade notices her lips, and in his imagination launches

into a flurry of half-second video clips and art bites,

all involving lips and kissing.

GIRL:

Do you speak English?

DADE:

Sorry, you wanted...?

GIRL:

I wanted transfer forms.

He gives them to her.

GIRL:

Thank you.

She starts leaving. He doesn't.

GIRL:

Are you coming?

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