I, Robot

FADE IN:

1

On a DEEP...DEEP...DARKNESS. 1

A FLICKER. Of LIGHT. Off to the side. Just barely.

Noticeable. ORANGE...YELLOW...as we realise...It.s FIRE...

A SOUND. Something SHATTERING...

Then. A DISEMBODIED VOICE. Muted. We can.t quite make out

What it.s saying. As it gets LOUDER. And LOUDER. When we

finally. Understand...

DISEMBODIED VOICE

You are in danger...

CUT TO:

2

INT. SPOONER.S APARTMENT - CLOSE ON 2

DEL SPOONER.S FACE. His eyes, snapping open. His face,

covered in sweat.

PULL BACK to REVEAL him lying in bed. Sheets, tangled around

his legs. Alarm clock, playing something relentlessly

cheerful.

Spooner slaps it off. Sits up. Wincing. Bends his RIGHT

ARM. Stiff. He reaches for a BOTTLE OF PILLS. Shakes out a

couple and swallows them. Trying to forget. That dream.

You are in danger...

He rubs his hands over his face. Gets out of bed. His

apartment, basic. Unremarkable. Bearing the signs of

someone who lives alone. Shades drawn. A little messy.

3

INT. SHOWER - MORNING 3

Spooner turns his face into the jet of water.

4

INT. BATHROOM - MORNING 4

Shaves with a razor. Using his left hand. Knicks the cleft

of his chin. Sh*t.

5

INT. KITCHEN - MORNING 5

Stares down at the single egg in a saucepan. Waiting for it

to boil.

2.

6 INT. HALLWAY - MORNING 6

Heads down the hallway. Looping a knotted tie around his

neck. Kicks some neglected mail from the door and reaches

for the handle. Takes a deep breath and...

7 EXT. SUBURBAN STREET - MORNING 7

...steps outside. Into the flow of COMMUTERS heading for the

elevated trains. Elbow to elbow. A river of humanity.

Spooner moves along, like everyone else. Suddenly. His

shoulders tense. That feeling at the back of his neck. He

turns and sees...

A ROBOT. Just behind him. Humanoid in design, but still

obviously a machine. Metal and synthetic casings covering

hydraulic muscles. The thing senses his stare. Looks up

with a muted WHIR...

ROBOT:

(metallic voice)

Good day, sir...

Spooner. Speeds up his pace. Weaving through the crowd to

lose the robot.

We now realise this is THE FUTURE. Towering apartment

buildings block the sun. The street packed with traffic.

PEDESTRIANS wearing their computers like form-fitting

portable offices. Spooner throws a look at his surroundings:

Up high an INDUSTRIAL ROBOT rolls down the side of a building

cleaning windows.

A WORK CREW of oddly-shaped RUBE GOLDBERG ROBOTS efficiently

repairs the street. No human supervision.

A ROBOTIC CLEAN-UP CREW. Lumbering along the sidewalk.

Scrubbing, sweeping. Emptying trash...

Humanoid ROBOTS dotting the crowd. Following their owners.

Walking slowly, deliberately. Carrying boxes. Groceries.

Briefcases.

Stamped on all the ROBOTS. SIDES, a LOGO: III LAWS SAFE.

Spooner stops to wait at a light with other PEDESTRIANS.

Directly in front of him, a LITTLE GIRL clutches her father.s

neck. She smiles big at Spooner. Front teeth missing.

LITTLE GIRL:

Hi.

3.

SPOONER:

Hi.

But it.s not her father. It.s her ROBOT CARETAKER. The

robot turns. Looks at the girl.

ROBOT:

You are not allowed to talk to

strangers.

Spooner, disgusted. Has had enough. He steps off the curb

Just as...

THE TRAFFIC SIGNAL swivels around. Training its large

digital EYE on him:

TRAFFIC LIGHT:

Please return to the sidewalk.

Spooner dodges several cars on his way across the street.

TRAFFIC LIGHT:

Please return to the sidewalk...

The traffic signal, tracking him.

TRAFFIC LIGHT:

You are in violation of city

ordinance 14-B726...

Spooner throws up his hand. Flipping it the bird just as

SNAP! It takes his picture.

CUT TO:

8 EXT./INT. MONORAIL - MORNING 8

Spooner stepping onto a sleek, densely packed TRAIN. Looks

down at his feet. A trampled flyer on the ground. From the

Anti-Robot League: METAL MONSTERS SECRET FACTORY REVEALED!

A Robot gets up. To offer him his seat. Spooner. Turns his

back on him as we PULL BACK from the window to REVEAL...

9 EXT. CITY SCAPE/MONORAIL - CONTINUOUS 9

The TRAIN hurtling toward DOWNTOWN. Soaring, gravity-defying

OFFICE BUILDINGS dominate the skyline. Older buildings

wedged among the new. All protected by huge glass and steel

shields.

As we get closer congested roads and freeways begin to

disappear below ground into a series of subterranean tunnels.

The .old. streets have become huge, spacious plazas.

4.

10 EXT. POLICE H.Q. - PLAZA - MORNING 10

Spooner moves with the CROWD towards the doors of the aging

Police Headquarters. Modern additions have been made to the

original facade -- creating an ungainly architectural mess.

11 INT. POLICE H.Q. - HOMICIDE UNIT - MORNING 11

A vast open plan situation room lined on one side by a series

of glass-enclosed rooms. On the other side a GIANT SCREEN

with real time video of various streets and buildings.

Spooner arrives at his desk. Unlike the others, it.s a mess.

A slender computer screen curving along the front of it.

Several electronic messages say the same thing:

SEE ME!

LT. BERGIN (O.S.)

Ever heard the phrase .lead by

example?.

Spooner looks up. LIEUTENANT JOHN BERGIN stands in front of

his desk, holding up a CITATION with a photo of Spooner

giving that traffic signal the finger.

SPOONER:

Doesn.t ring a bell.

LT. BERGIN

(pointing to Spooner.s

badge)

It.s on your badge.

Spooner takes the citation. Drops it into a drawer filled

with about fifty others.

LT. BERGIN

The traffic division filed an

official complaint this morning.

SPOONER:

The traffic division is a machine.

LT. BERGIN

Look, I know there.s going to be an

adjustment period, Del...

SPOONER:

(interrupting)

I.ll send them a letter of apology.

Maybe some flowers. A box of

chocolates...

5.

JUST THEN Spooner.s phone RINGS. He throws Bergin a look.

Then snatches up the receiver.

SPOONER:

Spooner, homicide.

CUT TO:

12 EXT. U.S. ROBOTICS - ESTABLISHING - DAY 12

A sprawling glass and metal complex covering many city

blocks. The entrance is a large plaza filled with PEOPLE and

ROBOTS.

13 INT. U.S. ROBOTICS - METAL CORRIDOR - DAY 13

An elevator opens with a whoosh. Spooner steps out into a

featureless corridor. His footsteps, echoing. He stops at a

set of OPPOSING DOORS. Looks over at one, when the other

suddenly OPENS.

14 INT. U.S. ROBOTICS - PLUSH CONFERENCE ROOM - CONTINUOUS 14

A warm, mahogany-paneled room. In sharp contrast to the cold

metal space outside. Spooner steps inside. At the end of a

long conference table sits an OLD MAN. Sparkling blue eyes.

Old-fashioned suit.

OLD MAN:

Hello, there. Please come in.

Spooner hesitates.

OLD MAN:

It.s alright. You can sit. Sit.

Spooner doesn.t. Looks around the room. The Old Man lifts

up a coffee pot. Pours some coffee into a single cup.

OLD MAN:

Coffee?

SPOONER:

(interested)

You.re offering me a cup of coffee?

OLD MAN:

Yes. But you are to say, .No,

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