Metropolis Page #7

ENGINEER:

Guy's got one hell of a relay going.

He motions to the multiple grids popping-up on the screen.

Each grid showing a different location from around the

world.

ENGINEER:

We're going to have to search

through each possible grid to find

him. It's going to take a while.

Tanner studying the screen as if it were a chess board.

Long beat, before --

TANNER:

Grid fourteen.

ENGINEER:

How do you know?

TANNER:

It's the most recursive. Take the

longest to search.

(beat)

If he's smart, that's where he is.

Engineer shrugs, might as well try. Eliminates the rest

of the grids.

ENGINEER:

Let's hope he's smart.

CUT TO:

INT. NIGHT CITY - NEXUS CENTER

Christoph turns back to the program panel and punches in

commands. He moves with the confident sense of someone

who has total control.

CUT TO:

INT. VSI CORPORATE HEADQUARTERS - CONTROL ROOM

Halden stands over Emma, watching as she inspects the

smoking remains of the console.

HALDEN:

How long 'till we can eject?

EMMA:

We're going to have to reconfigure.

HALDEN:

How long?

EMMA:

At least a day.

Not what Halden wanted to hear. For the first time, a

look of real panic in his eyes.

The engineer snaps his eyes up to Tanner, impressed.

ENGINEER:

You called it. Dead center in the

grid.

TANNER:

How far away?

The tracing matrix flashing a single-point coordinate.

ENGINEER:

Two hundred and sixty-one

kilometers.

Tanner and Halden exchange a look. Smallest flicker of

hope.

TANNER:

We can be there in fifteen minutes

and rip him off the system.

HALDEN:

Go!

EXT. VSI CORPORATE HEADQUARTERS - ROOF - MOMENTS LATER

Tanner and the assault team rush to the waiting jet-

copters.

CUT TO:

INT. NIGHT CITY - NEXUS CENTER

Christoph has resumed humming the Lord's Hymn. His

fingers racing over the keyboard, causing --

CUT TO:

INT. VSI CORPORATE HEADQUARTERS - CONTROL ROOM

All hell to break lose. Alarms POUNDING the room.

Monitors going blank, engineers punching keys in futile

frustration.

ENGINEER:

He's locked-it up!

EMMA:

Completely sealed-off. No one gets

in and no one gets out.

ENGINEER:

System's running on pure auxiliary.

HALDEN:

How long?

Emma's eyes spin down to a monitor.

EMMA:

Just over two million people

plugged-in.

(runs the

calculations)

System can run seven hours before it

crashes.

Slowly looks up at Halden.

EMMA:

Then everyone dies.

CUT TO:

INT. JET-COPTER - CONTINUOUS

The copter clawing its way through the savage storm.

CUT TO:

INT. NIGHT CITY - NEXUS CENTER

Christoph strips off his mask and grabs a tele-com from a

fallen cop. He calmly turns to the monitor.

CHRISTOPH (INTO TELE-COM)

Put on Halden.

CUT TO:

INT. VSI CORPORATE HEADQUARTERS - CONTROL ROOM

Emma tries to hand her tele-com to Halden, but he's frozen

in place, eyes locked on the monitor.

Christoph, on the monitor, smiles at Halden.

Halden looks like he's staring at a ghost. Finally takes

Emma's tele-com.

HALDEN (INTO TELE-COM)

This is Halden.

CHRISTOPH (ON MONITOR)

Halden, how nice to hear your voice.

HALDEN (INTO TELE-COM)

What do you want?

CHRISTOPH (ON MONITOR)

I have found in life that what one

wants isn't nearly as important as

what one needs.

HALDEN (INTO TELE-COM)

(evenly)

What do you need?

CHRISTOPH (ON MONITOR)

I need to take back what's mine.

Halden stares at him, trying to keep his voice calm.

HALDEN (INTO TELE-COM)

There are two million people in

there with you.

CHRISTOPH (ON MONITOR)

Yes.

HALDEN (INTO TELE-COM)

They have nothing to do with this --

CHRISTOPH (ON MONITOR)

-- Two million people lost in the

digital night. What do they seek?

Christoph waits for an answer. None is offered.

CHRISTOPH (ON MONITOR)

Do they seek escape? The comfort of

eternal night? Or perhaps it's

more.

(beat)

Unanswered sins. The taste of

death.

He turns to the keyboard, programming --

CUT TO:

INT. NIGHT CITY - SKY - CONTINUOUS

A small burst of fire falls from the corner of the sky.

EXT. NIGHT CLUB - ROOF

The flames drift down, searing straight through the

roof --

INT. NIGHT CLUB - CONTINUOUS

The place is packed full of people. The fire swirling

down, looking like part of the light show.

INT. NEXUS CENTER

Christoph's watching the night club on his monitor. A

flicker of private torment in his eyes at what he knows is

coming.

INT. NIGHT CLUB - CONTINUOUS

The flames drift down onto a YOUNG WOMAN --

Dropping her to the dance floor, writhing in tortured

anguish.

She yells for help through the slowest of death as the

flames burn through her body.

CUT TO:

EXT. SAN FRANCISCO - TELEGRAPH HILL - CONTINUOUS

The San Francisco VSI public interface center sits perched

under the shadows of Coit Tower.

INT. SAN FRANCISCO INTERFACE CENTER - CONTINUOUS

Thousands of customers lie motionless in interface seats.

The soft glow of bio-monitors checking vital signs.

One of the monitors begins to buzz.

Several MEDICAL TECHNICIANS rush over, whipping a curtain

around the interface seat.

It's the young woman from the night club.

Her eyes thrust back in her head, body contorting in

searing pain. Then finally, mercifully, it's over.

Her body limp, bio-monitors showing her brain activity

flatlined.

CUT TO:

INT. NIGHT CITY - NIGHT CLUB - CONTINUOUS

More fire cascades down through the roof.

The dancers screaming in panic, pushing and shoving to get

out of there but the doors lock, trapping them inside.

CUT TO:

INT. VSI CORPORATE BUILDING - CONTROL ROOM

Halden's watching on the monitor as the flames rain down.

HALDEN (INTO TELE-COM)

(yells)

God-Damn you!

CHRISTOPH (FROM MONITOR)

Yes, I believe he has --

HALDEN (INTO TELE-COM)

-- You've made your point! You've

got control of the system.

INT. NIGHT CITY - NEXUS CENTER

Christoph nods, punching in commands for --

INT. NIGHT CITY - NIGHT CLUB

The fire flickers, then disappears. No one else has to

die.

INT. VSI CORPORATE HEADQUARTERS - CONTROL ROOM

Christoph turns back from the keyboard, looking out at

Halden.

CHRISTOPH (ON MONITOR)

But instincts are so hard to over-

ride.

(matter-of-fact)

Yours will be to try and send

someone in to stop me.

Halden says nothing.

CHRISTOPH (ON MONITOR)

The system's locked-up, so the only

way in is through the maze.

(stares at him)

Which is why I've changed it. Your

access program will no longer work.

He scoops up the laser cannon, aiming for a program panel.

Halden's mind spinning, trying one last tact.

HALDEN (INTO TELE-COM)

System's running on auxiliary. Only

seven hours before it crashes.

CHRISTOPH (ON MONITOR)

True.

HALDEN (INTO TELE-COM)

You're in there. Everybody dies,

you go with them --

CHRISTOPH (ON MONITOR)

-- But don't you remember?

(pointed)

I'm already dead.

He spins, laser cannon HISSING.

Destroys the program panel, causing the rest of the

control room's monitors to plunge into darkness.

Sudden, eerie silence as the corporation is now completely

cut off from Night City.

CUT TO:

INT. JET-COPTER - CONTINUOUS

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