Hardwired Page #3

of bringing the corporation down.

But they found out

who wrote the program.

And put a bullet in his head.

It damaged the part of his brain

that controls speech.

Hope Industries did this to him?

Mm-hm.

Why didn't you call the police?

[SCOFFS]

The police?

His mother tried to do that.

We found her body a couple

of days later in a river.

Um, the fish had eaten away

most of her face.

You see, Mr. Gibson,

the first time this government's

treasury went bankrupt,

Randolph Hope and his

corporation

single-handedly bankrolled

the next two wars

this country was involved in.

Now, with that kind of clout,

what chance

do you think we would have

if we went public?

- They'd kill us.

- [HAL]:
We have to hurry.

It's a matter of time

before the Hope techies

find a way around

the hold that Keyboard has

on that device

that's in your head.

You see, he's hacked right into

the chip they put up there.

If it wasn't for him,

they would've

detonated your head days ago.

You see, have a look.

Your headaches? That was Hope

trying to pull your plug, man.

And we stopped them.

Why?

Uh, we need your help.

In exchange,

we'd like to try and give you

your memory back.

You interested?

Come with me.

You heard the man.

[HAL]:

This way, please.

[]

Here.

Have a seat.

You'll be more comfortable

in a chair.

Eyes forward.

What are you gonna do to me?

We're gonna try and remind you

of who you are.

[HIGH-PITCHED FEEDBACK DRONING]

It's all right. Don't worry.

That's just Keyboard uploading

to that chip in your head.

You'll see.

"Project 660".

What's he looking at?

Let's let Mr. Gibson

concentrate.

"January 7th".

Yes.

The day they targeted you.

Your car accident

was no accident.

The Hope Corporation

canceled your medical insurance

and set the whole thing up.

[PHONE RINGS]

[MAN ON SCREEN]:
Target en route.

Blue sedan. Ten seconds.

Oh!

Yes. Your wife, Veronica.

She was in the car with you.

Collateral damage.

I don't remember her.

We're gonna try and fix that.

Let's give Mr. Gibson

some privacy.

[INDISTINCT CHATTERING]

Now, I can't see what

you see again.

I'm sure it's overwhelming

at first. Just relax into it.

Keyboard will take care of you.

What we're doing

is we're taking you on a trip,

a cyber trip, so to speak,

down memory lane.

[WOMAN]:

Wake up, wake up.

[SEVERAL PEOPLE SPEAKING

INDISTINCTLY]

You see,

the way we live today,

we leave bits and pieces of

ourselves behind in cyberspace.

Traces of our lives

in e-mails, blogs,

MPEG files.

Look, we can't really

get you back your memory.

But what we can do,

to the best of our ability,

is reconstruct

a big chunk of it

out of the digital footprints

you've left behind.

Huh?

You wanna

have a look at it?

Yeah.

Now, I'm not going to lie

to you. This is gonna hurt.

On more than one level.

[VOICES CHATTERING

INDISTINCTLY]

[LUKE]:

Damn, looking good.

Turn it off.

Come here, you bad boy.

[LUKE]:

Okay. Here I come.

Hi, Luke. Um, I just got back

from the doctor.

So can you call me?

[LUKE]:

Ronnie, will you marry me?

I love you, Luke.

And I'm gonna remember this

as the happiest day ever.

And you'd better too.

[RED]:

He doesn't remember her.

Maybe he's better off that way.

With the odds he's facing,

he's gonna need all the rage

he can muster.

- [HEART BEATING]

- [EKG BEEPING]

[VERONICA]:

That's right, Luke.

You're gonna be a daddy.

[GASPING]

- We don't have to go.

- Oh, we're going.

I love you.

I know.

[AMBULANCE SIRENS WAILING]

Now zoom in.

Hello, Miss?

Are you all right?

[MUFFLED SCREAMING]

Not her, no.

No! No! No!

No! No!

We had no right.

We had no choice.

Who murdered my wife?

And my child?

Can your computers tell me that?

He was a freelancer

working for Hope Industries.

That's all we've got

to go on right now.

I want a name.

He's angry.

Yes, and that's good.

It doesn't feel so good.

[]

[CLASSICAL MUSIC PLAYING]

[WOMAN OVER INTERCOM]:

Downstairs door. Lewis Bodine.

Answer.

[LEWIS]:
Virgil Kirkhill just had

one of his brainstorms

and called a meeting.

What does he want?

Just let me in

and I'll tell you.

Open the damn door.

[WOMAN]:

Downstairs door, opening.

[MUSIC CONTINUES PLAYING]

We'll help you find

who did this to you and why.

In return, we get to see what

you see, hear what you hear,

hopefully gather enough data

to tear down Hope Industries

or at least

take a big chunk out of them.

What makes you think

I can do this?

Because you got the skills.

I do?

Show him.

Seven years, Special Forces.

Two continents. Three wars.

Not only are you a decorated

war hero,

but eight years ago,

you busted an arms-smuggling

operation in your own unit.

We'll be listening.

If you need anything,

all you have to do is ask.

Keyboard can show it to you

anywhere, anytime.

If it's ever been online

or in a computer,

the boy can access it.

Kind of like a superhero.

A cyber-hero. Hm.

Jeez, just thinking the news

doesn't all have to be bad.

Okay. Here's your first lead.

[ANNOUNCER]:
Previously on

Triage Hospital:

I'm sorry, Barbara.

I have bad news.

Oh, just tell me, doctor,

am I gonna die?

You have little time left.

But I have a confession

to make.

I have feelings for you.

He sells watches

in those ads I keep seeing.

He's a B-movie actor.

We think we know

where they shoot those ads.

Better yet,

we got you a pass.

Where do I find him?

[MAN]:

The human brain

is the most sophisticated

computer

the world has ever known.

But like every computer,

it can be upgraded.

The Psi-Com Implant, the latest

invention from Hope Industries,

can change the way

you live your life.

That's great, John. I think

he's really gonna love it.

I hate it. I hate everything

about it.

Get me whatever moron

is running marketing this week.

Mr. Drake, the termination

of Subject 373 was a disaster.

Costs were 156 percent higher

than the original estimate and,

uh, hm,

oh, yes, he got away.

He had help.

Yes. We have detected anomalies

in the implant.

Even though we can upload

images,

our access is severely limited.

Someone is hacking into our

chip and giving Mr. Gibson

ideas.

No doubt the same individual

who's now blocking fail-safe

to keep him alive.

Who could do that?

Somebody we thought was dead.

Traxler Vukovich, known

by the hacker name Keyboard.

He used to work for us.

There's something else.

Something that always bothered

me about Subject 373.

He has a family.

An unsuitable test subject

chosen by you.

Did you really think

I'd never find the connection?

We recruited you from prison.

Gave you a chance

to leave your past behind.

Sir, I...

I don't want excuses.

I want Gibson

back in our custody

so we can find out how our

hardware was compromised.

Deal with it.

Yes, sir.

[]

Hal found us in college,

me and my brother.

They call me Punk Red.

Let me guess,

your brother's Punk Blue?

Yep.

We were at this

anti-corporate rally

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