Metropolis Page #15

TANNER:

Yes.

KATIE:

(shakes her head)

But I don't know anything about

programming.

TANNER:

Once they digitized you, they added

it.

She stares at him.

KATIE:

Why?

TANNER:

It was a test.

KATIE:

For what?

Tanner's face darkens. Working hard to stay emotionless.

TANNER:

To see how long it would take for me

to realize.

KATIE:

Realize?

TANNER:

(quiet)

You weren't real.

She's still staring at him.

KATIE:

And how long did it take you?

His voice is suddenly very small.

TANNER:

They had to tell me.

He's suddenly no longer looking at her. But her eyes

remain frozen on him. Starting to get it.

KATIE:

It was more than work, wasn't it?

A long beat before he finally forces himself to meet her

stare.

KATIE:

And it meant something.

TANNER:

(barely audible)

Yes.

She nods, her eyes aching.

KATIE:

I don't know what that's like.

He's looking at her. Like he's done so many times. Then

he kisses her.

She pulls away. Shaking, trying to say something, but it

won't come out, so she kisses him back.

A terrified connection.

CUT TO:

INT. TANNER'S WAREHOUSE LOFT - A LITTLE LATER

Muted light sifts through the windows.

The door slides open. Tanner and Katie silently enter.

Her mouth on his as she tugs at his jacket. It falls to

the floor.

KATIE:

Candles. Get candles.

She waits as he heads into --

INT. KITCHEN - CONTINUOUS

Tears apart the cupboards. Finds several mismatched

candles. Grabs matches, returning to --

INT. HALLWAY - CONTINUOUS

It's empty. His coat has been picked up and neatly hung

on the hook. He moves into --

INT. BEDROOM - CONTINUOUS

Katie's sitting on the bed, staring at him with trembling

eyes.

KATIE:

Pretend I'm her. We're inside.

(quietly)

Show me what it was like.

Sound of rain slamming into the window. He lights the

candles, throwing wicked shadows across the room.

He turns to the bed looking down at her.

Flicker of emotion. So much held back.

Falls down on top of her. Both fully clothed. His mouth

tracing the lines of her neck. Her breaths coming faster.

His hands roaming her body. Raw passion.

She flips him over, climbing on top. Kissing him.

Hungry. But suddenly stopping.

Staring at him in troubled silence.

TANNER:

What?

KATIE:

Way you kiss me.

SOUND of the rain drilling the metal walls.

KATIE:

Like you've done it so many times.

He stares up at her, not sure how to answer.

Her voice wrapped in darkness.

KATIE:

I wasn't with you.

TANNER:

I know.

KATIE:

But you were with me.

TANNER:

Not you. A copy.

KATIE:

What's the difference?

The rain drumming against the windows.

A jet-copter screams by overhead.

He's like a statue, watching her.

Something burns deep in her eyes.

Moves her mouth down to his.

He's not breathing. Just staring at her.

She kisses him. He erupts --

Throws her off of him --

Blurring into --

INT. KITCHEN

Claws through the drawer for a knife.

INT. BEDROOM

He returns to the bed. She sees the knife in his hands.

KATIE:

What the hell's going on --

He grabs her arm. Her eyes now locked on his.

KATIE:

You sure you want to do this?

He raises the knife.

KATIE:

Because this time can be different.

(pleads)

This time we can stay together --

The blade flashes down, piercing her flesh.

No blood. Not one single drop. She suddenly won't look

at him.

INT. HALLWAY

He rushes to his jacket, unzips the pocket, reaches

inside. It's empty. No disk.

Whirls around. Katie staring at him from the bedroom.

KATIE:

I'm sorry.

TANNER:

Sorry?!

KATIE:

There was no other choice.

He comes at her. Eyes wild. Deadly.

TANNER:

None of this was real!

Her voice now trembling.

KATIE:

I do love you.

She flickers. Tears staining her eyes.

KATIE:

(soft)

More than I should.

Then she's no longer there.

Tanner is standing alone in the middle of the room.

Eyes pounding with rage.

He spins, punching through the window!

Hand bloodied, keeps punching, harder and harder, until

there's no more glass left.

But the rain doesn't come into the room. Stopped by some

invisible barrier.

A primal scream ripping from his throat.

Taste of the beast.

He attacks the walls, clawing them down into darkness.

CHRISTOPH'S VOICE (O.S.)

I couldn't let you eject the system.

Tanner whirls. Christoph stands across the room.

CHRISTOPH:

Because I've seen the world you

would have returned them to.

He steps toward Tanner, voice ripped with anguish.

CHRISTOPH:

And I have too much compassion for

that.

Tanner slams his stare into him.

TANNER:

But this world doesn't last!

Christoph calmly meets Tanner's stare.

CHRISTOPH:

What if it could?

The question hangs there as the walls dissolve into

nothingness, plunging them into --

EXT. PITCH BLACKNESS

Jazz music pierces the darkness.

Then a flicker of light, expanding out to --

EXT. THE TERRACE - ROOF - CONTINUOUS

The party is gone. Tanner and Christoph stand alone on

the roof, the lights of Night City spread out before them.

CHRISTOPH:

What if we take it out onto the net?

The question hangs there. Tanner shakes his head,

couldn't have heard it right.

CHRISTOPH:

Unlimited energy out there. Enough

to run this world for all

eternity --

TANNER:

-- But you'll never be able to get

it through the maze.

CHRISTOPH:

Me? Of course not.

(smiles)

That's why you're here.

He locks eyes with Tanner.

CHRISTOPH:

Your maze. You designed it. You

can lead us through it.

Terrified understanding beginning to flash through

Tanner's eyes.

CHRISTOPH:

He comes to deliver them from a land

of affliction and bring them to a

good land, a land flowing with milk

and honey.

There is a sense of almost relief in Christoph's eyes.

The secret finally told.

CHRISTOPH:

With the energy from the net, we can

program this world anyway we want.

(beams)

Redwood forests. Oceans.

Mountains --

TANNER:

-- Two million people plugged-in

here.

CHRISTOPH:

Yes.

Tanner is horrified at putting it together.

TANNER:

You can't let them go.

Christoph says nothing. Tanner's eyes bore into him.

TANNER:

Until you're on the net where the

corporation can't touch you, you

can't open the system. They'll

eject it if you do.

CHRISTOPH:

One would assume so.

The fireworks show starts up over the carnival down below.

Tanner doesn't seem to notice, his eyes frozen on

Christoph.

TANNER:

But once the system touches the net,

all links are severed.

(beat)

Everybody dies.

CHRISTOPH:

Only up there in the dream they

called life.

TANNER:

And down here --

Christoph holds up the access card.

CHRISTOPH:

-- Thanks to you, we can reconfigure

the system to free up enough power

to digitize everybody who is

plugged-in. Every last soul...

(intense)

And bring them to a better world.

Tanner's eyes glow with fury.

TANNER:

And if I refuse?

Christoph calmly meets Tanner's stare.

CHRISTOPH:

Then the system crashes.

(matter-of-fact)

And you have let two million people

die.

He fades away. Leaving Tanner standing alone on the roof.

EXT. NIGHT CITY - STREET - CONTINUOUS

The streets are crowded with people heading in and out of

bars.

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