AI or reality? (Screenplay)

OPENING SCENE

TRACK AND FIELD AREA IN SCHOOL- DAY

Zoom in on Metta's green eyes, her pups dilate and de-dilate quickly while she fixates on the blue, cloudy sky above. The screen shifts to the first-hand perspective of Metta. A translucent blue filter covers her view of the sky, representing how the calming environment consumes her current emotions. The screen displays Metta laying with her back on the track as she sticks her hands in the air, focusing and unfocusing her vision on her hands reaching for the sky.

COACH

What do you think you're doing?

Metta doesn’t respond

COACH

Metta, you still have 5 laps to run like the rest of the class, get up!

METTA

My back is aching a lot, I can’t. I really can’t.

COACH

Get your ass up right now!

Metta feels a sharp zap in her ear as the calming blue screen of the sky evaporates into a red translucent vision. The perceptive shows the two characters, Metta and the coach. Metta shakes her head in discomfort as the redness in her eyes begins forming, and intense ringing blares in her eyes. Metta jolts up and tenses her hands as if she is going to punch the coach. Her heartbeat is audible to the audience, as it increases to express her anger.

Metta

JUST GO AWAY! Just leave, just leave, just leave.

The coach backs away in disbelief.

Metta realizes her outburst and runs off the field toward the bathrooms. The audible sounds of her heart pounding slow down. The ringing eases down and her heated head and tense fists begin to decompress. Close up on Metta’s eyes: her pupils are shown as small specks.

EXT. BATHROOMS

JEREMY, Metta’s boyfriend, walks toward the bathrooms

METTA stumbles back, surprised at his sudden appearance. He is a tall, black-haired hollow-cheeked teenager. He is dressed in simple cargo shorts and a baseball jersey and is laid back with his hands stuffed in his pockets.

JEREMY

Woah hey, are you feeling okay? You look really tense.

METTA

Oh, yeah… just one of those episodes again…

JEREMY

Again? Metta, you need to get your anger under control.

Metta purses her lips while slowly nodding

JEREMY

I have been meaning to talk to you though…

METTA

Hm

JEREMY

This relationship just… doesn’t feel like a relationship. You don’t show any feelings towards me, like, it's weird. You have always been quite emotionally unavailable. I can’t read you, seriously.

METTA

I just act the way I do… I can’t control i-

JEREMY

I think we should take a break…

Metta falls silent, looking downwards for a moment. Tear droplets fall on her shoes, as Jeremy places his hand on her shoulder. Metta's sniffles become louder, into what seems like snickering. Metta turns her upwards and bursts out with hysterical laughter. She tries to cover her cackles with her hand, but her other handshakes on her stomach which was aching from intense laughter. Her tears continue rolling down as she stares dead into his eyes.

JEREMY

What the heck is your problem?!

Jeremy hastily backs away

METTA

I’m sorry, HAHA- but- HA-I-HAHA can’t stop laughing- HAHA.

JEREMY

This isn’t normal. Get checked.

Jeremy slowly shakes his head and thuds down the hall.

INT. BATHROOMS- DAY

Metta pushes the door into the bathroom and looks at her reflection in the mirror. Her face was eyes and face was red with tear-stained cheeks.

Metta droops her head down, confused. She turns the faucet on and splashes cold water on her beat-red face. The screen shifts into the first-person perspective of Metta, as she gazes at herself in the mirror. Suddenly, she feels a sharp pain in her back which propels her forward, slamming her hands on the mirror to catch herself. Glass shards from the mirror clatter on the metal sink below. She groans in pain as she regains balance while gripping onto the sink.

METTA

What is happening… (inner thought)

Metta stumbles out of the bathroom towards the nurse's office, still pressing her aching back.

INT. NURSES OFFICE

NURSE

What can I do for you, honey?

METTA

My back hurts quite a bit.

NURSE

Oh dear, let's have a look.

The nurse, an old and sweet, Caucasian woman in a long white dress, presses on Metta's back and she winces.

NURSE

The pain is getting worse I see…

METTA

My back always feels like it has weights on it! I can’t take it anymore. Is there any medication I can take to numb the pain?

NURSE

Metta, this is not a case of medicine…

METTA

Please just make the discomfort go away. Please.

The Nurse looks at Meta’s palms which are stained with dried blood from the few scratches she got from breaking the mirror.

NURSE

Metta! Where did these come from?! Oh my… poor girl.

The Nurse rushes to get bandages and slowly wraps them around Metta’s palms.

METTA

I cut it on the mirror, sorry, I kind of damaged school property… But it felt like someone shoved something on my back and I fell forward. Sounds weird, I know.

The Nurse has a blank face. She stutters as if she is deciding whether to tell Metta something or not. The nurse quickly jolts Metta’s arms forward while finishing up the wrapping. She looks Metta dead in the eyes and whispers to her.

NURSE

Don’t make this harder for yourself, just act more normal.

METTA

I’m Sorr- what?

NURSE

Metta, it will only worse… just control your emotions more.

METTA

Emotions? My back problem is because of my anger issues?

NURSE

I’m trying to help you. Try to be more calm.

Metta pulls her arm away from the nurse and thanks her while backing towards the door

METTA

Thanks, Nurse Gilda, I’ll get going now. The coach must have told you about my little outburst haha… noted. I actually feel way better now. I don’t feel this pent-up rage anymore, my head feels clearer.

NURSE

You had an outburst with the coach?

METTA

Yes… that’s what are you talking about, right?

NURSE

Oh Metta, this is much larger than that… Don’t let him see these malfunctions happen.

METTA

Nurse Gilda, you are not making sense.

NURSE

It’s ok dear, it’s ok. You know what they say…

METTA

What…?

NURSE

It is a blessing to be able to feel emotions no matter what good or bad. Don’t let him take that from you.

METTA

him?

NURSE

him.

Metta nods with wide eyes, feeling as if she isn’t the only crazy person here. She rushes out of the office. Metta rushes back to track and field.

TRACK AND FIELD AREA - DAY

COACH

Look who decided to show up again.

METTA

Sorry about earlier, I don’t know what came over me

COACH

Just run your laps.

METTA

Sure thing.

Metta jogs slowly as she struggles to keep a straight posture, while placing her hand on her upper back. Her feet clash into each other as she stumbles to keep her balance.

COACH

Are you kidding me? Metta, pick up the pace!

METTA

I’m trying! My back hurts.

COACH

Are you serious? No more excuses, you lazy girl!

METTA

Coach, just let me rest a while.

Metta exhales slowly, awaiting whatever outburst would follow if the coach persisted.

COACH

You better get back on that track!

Metta could feel her classmates' eyes on her, whispering to each other about her strange behavior. Metta just stood on the track without saying a word.

COACH

GET MOVING!

HELLO?!

ARE YOU AWAKE?

Zapping noises start ringing in Metta’s ears.

COACH

Metta, don’t make me come over there.

Metta was waiting for the red filter to laminate her vision, but it never came. The screen shifts into the first person perspective of Metta. Suddenly a shade of black washed over her vision, her legs giving in as her knees hit the track floor. Tears well in her eyes in grief as she sobs uncontrollably.

The coach pauses in her tracks and runs her fingers through her hair.

COACH

What is going on now?!

METTA

I don’t know why- I just feel…

Metta curls into a fetal position on the track, drenching her shirt in tears, letting everything out of her system. She is paralyzed with grief.

COACH

Just take a break. I’ll be over there.

METTA

This is getting way out of hand… (Inner thought)

Suddenly Metta’s back pain intensifies to the point where she has to use all her effort to even stand. She shakily lifts herself off the ground. Metta’s eyes slowly readjust to the blue, calm sky above her. She instantly gets up, and all emotions are gone from her face. She drags her legs one foot in front of another to a nearby bench.

Jeremy appears from behind all of a sudden, and sits down next to her.

Jeremy

Seriously, are you okay? I am really worried about you so I came back.

Metta

I am feeling fine, but I feel like weights are crushing my back.

Jeremy

Oh that sucks, but tell me, how are you feeling now?

Metta

I feel… normal.

Jeremy

Good.

Metta

Listen, I see now that I have been quite emotionless towards you in the past… and whenever I did feel anything, it was completely the opposite of how I should feel.

Jeremy

Yeah.

Metta

But now, I actually feel love for you, which is the correct emotion. No anger, psycho laughter, or sadness… just the proper feeling.

Jeremy

You are showing amazing progress.

Metta

Um… Jeremy?

Jeremy

Yeah

Metta

Do you think there is ever a “correct” emotion to react to a situation?

Jeremy

Well, certain situations should trigger the appropriate responses. Like me breaking up with you wasn’t supposed to be funny.

Metta

Haha yeah I couldn’t control that, but now, I actually feel sad thinking of us breaking up.

Jeremy

Good progress, good progress.

Metta

Why do you keep saying progress? I just calmed down I guess.

Jeremy

Only if you knew how much work went into it…

Metta

What do you mean?

Jeremy

Nothing for you to worry about. Anyways, I’ll be back later, gotta quickly take care of something.

Metta

Oh ok, I’ll just rest here because my back is killing me.

Jeremy smirks and walks behind the track

INT. VIRTUAL REALITY LABORATORY

In a dark room with neon streaks of light running along the floors, covered with wiring. Jeremy untangles the VR headset latched onto his head. He unbuckles the heavy vest from his shoulders. He steps on the contraption of technology and hastily makes his way over to a large computer trying to avoid stepping on the floor wires. The computer has multiple screens branching from it showing scenes of the track, nurse's office, hallways, and other parts of the school. He picks up a notebook from his side and, under the heading: Metta writes down data points on the levels of emotional ratings and response timings.

In the back, there is a CLICK. Nurse Gilard detached the technology vest and headset on her. She slowly walks over staring at the ground.

Ms. Gilard (not the nurse from Virtual Reality simulation)

Metta can’t take much more of this…

Jeremy

We are so close to an AI breakthrough Gilard! She believes she is real, we just need to stabilize her emotional responses more to make her become more human.

Ms. Gilard

We can’t just keep strapping more and more technology parts to her vest, she can feel the pain in the simulation.

Jeremy

The more technology is strapped on her… the more code we can add to stabilize to edit the malfunctions in her emotions.

Ms. Gilard

I know… She has been in the simulation too long, she has forgotten her real life.

Jeremy

Isn’t it incredible? She thinks I am her boyfriend and she is expressing signs of love.

Ms. Gilard

She is not a lab rat.

Jeremy

She is our experiment. Plus she signed the contract to be a part of this.

Ms. Gilard

But, can robots ever feel human emotions, Jeremy?

Jeremy

Emotions are just responses set off by our biological code. There is not much difference between that code and AI code…

Ms. Gilard

Then what’s the point of being human at all?

Jeremy

To control, to experiment, to test the boundaries of existence.

Ms. Gilard

We dehumanize others for experiments… Metta isn’t even her name.

Jeremy

Metta Verse Simulation No.27 is too long of a name don’t you think hahah.

Ms. Gilard

You better get that headset back on, she's waiting for you.

Ms. Gilard forces a smile, and turns her head to face a corner of the room which is teeming with light and wiring. She slowly ambles towards the corner. Jeremy’s attention is focused on the multiple screens exhibiting the perspectives and video of Metta sitting on a bench in the simulation.

Ms. Gilard walks peers over the corner of the room, with a zoomed in close shot of her eyes as they widen in culpability. The lights from the wiring reflect in her eyes, giving the audience an idea of what she is looking at.

Metta (the real girl) is standing upright, with layers and layers of wires strapped on her back connecting to a virtual reality headset fastened tightly on her head. Millions of tiny codes are inscribed on the technology parts wrapped around her.

Ms. Gilard places her hand on her mouth at the extreme reality of Jeremy and her doing.

Jeremy

Gilard! I need you back here! Metta’s vitals are progressing terrifically.

A tear slowly slides down Ms. Gilard eye.