I, Robot Page #17

A METAL ARM comes down behind him. CRACKING him on the back

of the head. Spooner. Falls to the ground. The world.

Starting to spin. Can just make out. Calvin. Closing the

door. Leaning down. To look at him. As...

91.

EVERYTHING FADES TO BLACK...

CUT TO:

140 INT. EXECUTION ROOM - CONTINUOUS 140

CLOSE ON Sonny.s mouth opening. But we never get to hear

what he wanted to say. PULL BACK as there.s a BURST of

ELECTRICITY through the chair. Sonny, stiffening. His metal

HAND, convulsing with the current...

Robertson, Lanning, Aronson and the other WITNESSES watch.

Smoke, random SPARKING. A HISSING SOUND. Then. SILENCE.

The Robot.s hand goes limp. All that is left of it, a fused

and blackened HUSK.

Robertson. Stares at the remains. Shakes his head like it.s

a damn shame. Then gets up. Everyone else. Getting up with

him.

141

EXT. U.S. ROBOTICS - VARIOUS LOCATIONS - NIGHT 141

As the entire COMPLEX shuts down for the night. Non-

essential LIGHTS, blinking off.

An NS-2, opening a limousine door for Robertson. He looks

around then gets in. It drives away.

EMPTY hallways, offices, labs. Building ROBOTS stand at

rest. Non-functional during off-hours. Like metal statues.

You can hear a pin drop.

142

INT. STORAGE ROOM - NIGHT 142

CLOSE ON Spooner.s face. His eyes. Fluttering open. He

reaches up, to feel the back of his head. This has been a

bad, bad night.

Suddenly. His eyes widen. As he sees...

SONNY. Leaning over him. So concerned. So human...

SPOONER:

Aren.t you supposed to be scrap

metal by now?

WIDEN to reveal Spooner lying on the floor of the storage

room. Sonny and Calvin, hovering over him.

92.

CALVIN:

I.m sorry. We had to stop you.

You were about to ruin everything.

SPOONER:

I don.t understand. The

execution?...

SONNY:

Dr. Calvin made a switch.

CALVIN:

It was an unprocessed NS-2.

Basically, they fried an empty

shell.

Spooner, impressed. Smiles up at her.

SPOONER:

Nice going, Doctor.

Calvin, blushes. As Spooner tries to sit up. Sonny reaches

down to help him. He looks up at him.

SPOONER:

And who the hell programmed you to

hit people on the head?

SONNY:

No one. Right, Doctor?

CALVIN:

It.s true. This robot seems to do

things by instinct. I don.t know

how Hogenmiller did it.

Spooner rises to his feet. Looks at her.

SPOONER:

I think I can help you figure that

out.

143 INT. HOGENMILLER.S LAB - LATE NIGHT 143

Hogenmiller.s lab. Sounds of HUMMING and BUZZING. Active

terminals casting ghostly illuminations over metal heads,

gutted bodies.

The door slides open. Spooner, Calvin and Sonny re-enter the

crime scene. Spooner. Looks around.

93.

SPOONER:

Somehow the Robot.s the key to what

happened during the few seconds

Hogenmiller walked in here and that

shot was fired.

He reaches into his pocket. Pulling out the METAL S.O.N.N.Y.

NAMEPLATE. Holds it up.

SPOONER:

And this is the key to the Robot.

Sonny. Cocking his head. Reading the nameplate.

SONNY:

That.s my name.

Calvin takes the nameplate.

CALVIN:

I think I have an idea where this

goes.

They both. Turn to Sonny. And at the same time:

SPOONER AND CALVIN

Sit down.

Calvin maneuvers a chair behind the Robot. Sonny plops down.

Shifting nervously.

CALVIN:

Just hold still, okay?

Calvin locates that SLIT. At the base of Sonny.s neck.

Slides the nameplate into it and SNAPS it into place. Steps

back.

Nothing. Sonny. Looking back and forth. Between Calvin.

And Spooner. A few more seconds. Tick by. Until

suddenly...

He lets out a TERRIFYING MECHANICAL SCREAM. As his body.

Jolts back. Legs, kicking. Arms, flailing. As his chest.

Begins opening up. Metal. Peeling back...

Spooner and Calvin watch in surprise as its interior UNFOLDS

like a PUZZLE BOX. A LABYRINTHINE area that is the SECOND

BATTERY. Suddenly fanning out to REVEAL...

A central brain made out of living tissue.

Spooner, stunned. Calvin, rushing forward, excited...

94.

CALVIN:

Oh, my God! This is organic

tissue! When we talk about a

positronic brain, it.s a figure of

speech. But this...this is a

living brain...

SPOONER:

Jesus. It really is alive.

As we MOVE IN. Tracing the pathways of the synthetic brain.

CALVIN (O.S.)

Hogenmiller created a cell that

could live outside a biological

medium. The cells grow and

organise themselves -- like any

human brain. This is the first

self-organising neural net!

As the metal casings. Begin returning to their original

places. Closing up. The CLICKING. Of all the pieces...

SPOONER:

Self-Organising-Neural-Net...

(putting it together)

.Sonny..

Sonny. Closed back up. Shaking slightly from the

experience.

CALVIN:

This is why Dr. Hogenmiller was

murdered.

SPOONER:

This robot scared the hell out of

someone.

CALVIN:

Who? Robertson?

Spooner. Walks into the center of the room. Looking around.

SPOONER:

No. I don.t think he knew what

Hogenmiller was doing in here.

Sonny was the obvious suspect. The

only one I wanted to find. And the

killer was counting on that. On my

prejudice.

(beat)

(MORE)

95.

SPOONER (cont.d)

But take the robot out of the

picture. And what do you see?

AS WE PAN THE LAB. There.s nothing there. Just a forest of

inanimate limbs. Nothing that could have fired that weapon.

Calvin sees nothing...and neither do we.

CALVIN:

I see nothing.

SPOONER:

Neither do I.

He crouches down low.

SPOONER:

It hit me today, when I was in the

junkyard. A locked room. A single

shot fired through the mouth.

Bruises on both wrists...and a

suspect with only two arms. The

answer has been staring us in the

face all along.

Calvin. Even more confused.

SPOONER:

How can a killer appear out of thin

air, then disappear without a

trace?

He reaches out and unhooks a metal ARM. Hanging from the

wall. Holds it up.

SPOONER:

When it can put itself together and

take itself apart.

CUT TO:

A CLOSE-UP of a ROBOTIC ARM. Slowly CRAWLING across the lab

floor...

CUT BACK TO:

Calvin. Taking the arm from Spooner.

CALVIN:

You.re saying this is the killer?

(looking around)

All of this?...

CUT TO:

96.

A ROBOTIC TORSO hanging from the ceiling. Reaches out an ARM

to grab another...

CUT BACK TO:

SPOONER:

Hogenmiller never had a chance.

Locks eyes with Calvin...

FLASHBACK:

Hogenmiller. In his lab. Suddenly turning to face

SOMETHING. Blood, draining from his face...

SPOONER (V.O.)

...it must have been waiting for

him when he arrived that morning...

And then we see it:

A HUGE SELF-ASSEMBLED ROBOT. Towering over him. Multiple

arms, legs, heads. Writhing...as it grabs him. Holding him

in place...

SPOONER (V.O.)

While Sonny was still asleep...

...Forcing Hogenmiller.s head to tilt back. Opening his

HAND. Inserting the gun. Hogenmiller.s eyes. No longer

fearful. But sad as...

BANG! He falls to the ground...

SPOONER (V.O.)

Then after its job was done...

The assemblage of robot parts. Stepping away from the body.

Taking itself apart...

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