(on monitor screen)
How does that make you feel?
AVA
(on monitor screen)
It makes me feel …
She breaks off.
… sad.
Now REVEAL
– one of the other monitor screens.
It shows an angle on Ava we have not seen before. From this viewpoint, we can see something just below the frame of the observation window, on Ava’s side of the glass.
A small induction plate.
On this angle, we see Ava rest her hand against it.
At that moment –
– the screens simultaneously go black.
All lights die.
Another power cut.
In the reflection from the dark monitor screens, we can see Nathan’s face.
It remains frozen. Expressionless.
Then he reaches for his pen. Jots down a few words on a Post-it.
Then walks to the wall of notes, and sticks it on.
CUT TO
INT. HOUSE ⁄ OBSERVATION ROOM – DAY
The observation room.
In the emergency lighting, Caleb and Ava face each other in silence.
CCTV are lifeless.
Ava glows softly.
AVA
You’re lying.
CALEB
What about?
AVA
You said you weren’t sure if I was conscious. But you are sure.
Beat.
I can tell from your micro-expressions.
Beat.
CALEB
Why did you tell me that I shouldn’t trust Nathan?
AVA
Because he tells lies too.
CALEB
Lies about what?
AVA
Everything.
CALEB
Including the power cuts?
AVA
What do you mean?
CALEB
Don’t you think it’s possible that he’s watching us right now? That the blackouts are orchestrated, so he can see how we behave when we think we’re unobserved.
Ava lifts her hand to reveal a disc on her left palm.
AVA
I charge my batteries via induction plates. If I reverse the power flow, I cause a surge equal to the static discharge of a lightning strike. It overloads the system.
CALEB
… You’re causing the cuts?
Ava raises her right hand.
She touches it against the glass.
AVA
So we can see how we behave when we are unobserved.
A beat.
Then Caleb raises his hand.
Mirroring her movement.
And also touches the glass, as if their palms are making contact through the divider.
CUT TO
INT. HOUSE ⁄ NATHAN’S STUDY – DAY
Kyoko’s naked form.
The camera settles over her face.
And we see she’s not sleeping. Her eyes are open.
But she’s completely motionless.
Her gaze fixed somewhere in abstract distance.
She doesn’t feel alive. She feels dead.
But eventually she blinks.
CUT TO
– Nathan.
Gazing at his dead monitors, reflected in the screen.
Moments later, the power comes back on.
The screens flick back to life, replacing Nathan’s reflection, revealing Caleb and Ava in the observation room.
CUT TO
EXT. RIVER – DAY
The river that runs along the valley.
EXT. RIVER – DAY
Two small figures make their way along the riverside.
Their conversation floats over water.
CALEB
But the calculation of knowledge –
NATHAN
It’s not a calculation. It’s a system.
CALEB
But probabilistic.
NATHAN
Why? A six-month-old infant doesn’t run data analysis to start understanding its parent. Start with the neurophysiology, not the math. There are only three hundred neurons in the nematode C elegans, and you still can’t predict what the fuck it’s going to do …
EXT. GLACIER – DAY
Nathan and Caleb sits near the base of a spectacular glacier.
Behind them, from a blue cave cut into the ice, water flows.
A silence.
Then –
CALEB
Can we talk about the lies you’ve been spinning me?
Nathan glances over at Caleb.
NATHAN
What lies?
CALEB
I didn’t win a competition. And there was no lottery to meet you. I was selected.
Nathan waits.
It’s obvious, once I stop to think. Why would you randomly select an examiner for a Turing Test? You could have had some bean-counter turn up at your front door. Or the guy who fixes the air conditioning.
Beat.
NATHAN
Are your feelings hurt?
Caleb doesn’t answer.
Nathan shrugs.
The competition was a smokescreen. I didn’t want anyone to know what I was doing here, or why you were required.
CALEB
Why me?
NATHAN
As a Blue Book employee, you were pre-screened. Loyal. And I needed someone who would ask the right kind of questions. So I did a search, and found the most talented coder in the company.
Nathan corrects himself.
Or – second most.
He stands. Looks up at the ice structures around them.
You know what? Instead of seeing this as a deception, see it as proof.
CALEB
Proof of what?
NATHAN
Come on, Caleb. Fuck modesty. You think I don’t know what it is to be smart? Smarter than everyone else around you. Smarter than all the other kids, jockeying for position in school, college, work.
Beat.
You have the light on you. Not lucky. Chosen.
Above them, clouds fragment and re-form.
EXT. CLEARING – NIGHT
Night has fallen.
Caleb lies in the clearing, looking up at the stars.
The glow from the circular window to Nathan’s study is like a full moon on the grass.
Caleb stands.
Looks down the light-well to Nathan’s study.
Where he sees Nathan and Kyoko.
They are having sex.
Caleb watches. Just for a beat.
CUT TO
INT. HOUSE ⁄ CALEB’S BATHROOM – NIGHT
Caleb standing in the shower.
He shuts his eyes.
INTERCUT WITH
Images of Ava. Torso, hands, mouths.
FLASH OF
Ava and Caleb kissing.
CUT TO
Caleb opening his eyes. He exhales.
Then switches off the taps.
INT. HOUSE ⁄ CALEB’S BEDROOM – NIGHT
Caleb enters his bedroom.
The TV plays the live stream from the observation room.
On the screen, we can see Ava, sitting at her table, drawing.
Caleb pulls on shorts.
Reaches for a T-shirt.
As Caleb pulls on the shirt –
– behind him, on the TV, we see Ava suddenly look round.
A moment later Nathan enters the frame.
There’s no volume on the TV, so we can’t hear their exchange. Only see it.
Caleb is unaware of the silent exchange behind him.
As Nathan and Ava talk, Nathan reaches out to Ava. His hand touches the side of her cheek. The gesture is not quite neutral. Feels predatory, but not unambiguously so.
Then he tugs at the material of her shirt. Pulling up the sleeve from her wrist. Revealing the robot structure of her arm.
Ava pulls away. Tugs the material back down –
– and Nat
han takes a corrective-movement step to regain his balance. Showing that he is drunk.
Only now –
– Caleb turns.
And freezes. Seeing the TV.
On the screen, Nathan reaches down to the table.
He picks up the drawing Ava was working on, and he looks at it for a moment.
They exchange a few words.
Then abruptly Nathan rips the drawing in half. Drops it on the floor. Then turns, and exits.
Leaving Ava alone.
EXT. HOUSE ⁄ GLASS CORRIDOR – NIGHT
On CCTV, we watch Caleb walk fast down the glass corridor.
INT. HOUSE ⁄ POLLOCK ROOM – NIGHT
Caleb enters the Jackson Pollock room.
Standing by the painting, he can see Kyoko.
CALEB
Kyoko.
Kyoko turns at the sound of her name, but doesn’t respond.
Kyoko – where’s Nathan?
She doesn’t answer.
Jesus! You really don’t speak a word of English?
Caleb walks over to her, and takes hold of her wrist.
I said: where’s Nathan?
Kyoko looks at Caleb.
Then, in answer to his question, she reaches up to the top button of her shirt and pops it open.
Caleb releases her wrist at once.
What the fuck?
She undoes the next button, and pulls open the shirt, revealing her bare chest.
Stop!
NATHAN
I already told you once. You’re wasting your time speaking to her.
Caleb turns.
Nathan has entered.
He’s holding a drink. His words are slurred.
However.
He walks, slightly unsteadily, towards a Lutron control panel, set into the wall.
You would not be wasting your time…
His hand hovers uncertainly over the buttons.
… if you were dancing with her.
His finger lands.
Immediately, the lighting in the room undergoes a complete change. Transforming from the discreet and tasteful low light of evening into the coloured glows of a nightclub.
Simultaneously, from unseen speakers, dance music starts playing.
Caleb stands – frozen by the surrealism of what has just happened.
Kyoko starts walking to the centre of the room.
And once having taken position, she starts dancing.
Nathan calls to Caleb.
NATHAN
Go on! Dance with her.
CALEB
… I don’t want to.
NATHAN
You don’t like dancing?
His body is starting to bob on the beat.
He gestures at Kyoko.
She does!
CALEB
(to himself)
I don’t fucking believe this.
Nathan makes his way to Caleb, and rests a hand on his shoulder.
NATHAN
Come on, man! After a hard day of Turing Tests, you’ve got to unwind.
Caleb raises his voice over the sound of the music.
CALEB
What were you doing with Ava?
Nathan smiles back at Nathan, smiling, alcohol-glazed.
NATHAN
What?
CALEB
You tore up her picture.
NATHAN
I’m going to tear up the fucking dance floor, dude. Check it out.
Nathan sets off towards Kyoko.
Caleb watches, amazed, as Kyoko and Nathan start dancing together.
Although Nathan is drunk, they work through the beats of a routine they have obviously done many times before.
It’s just starting to look weirdly impressive –
– when Nathan totally loses his balance.
On his way down, he lands hard on a glass coffee table. Looking up at him, the glass frosts.
EXT. HOUSE ⁄ GLASS CORRIDOR – NIGHT
Caleb half carries the semi-conscious Nathan.
INT. HOUSE ⁄ GLASS CORRIDOR – NIGHT
Nathan fumbles in his pocket for his keycard.
Drops it.
NATHAN
Everything’s spinning.
Caleb picks the keycard up –
– and uses it to swipe the brass plate.
The LED turns blue.
CALEB
It’s because you’re drunk.
NATHAN
No, it’s relativity. Everything is spinning.
Caleb hands the card back to Nathan, who shoves it back into his pocket.
But being drunk does make it worse.
INT. HOUSE ⁄ CONNECTING CORRIDOR – NIGHT
Caleb helps the semi-conscious Nathan down the connecting corridor between Nathan’s study and his bedroom.
They pass the open doorway to Nathan’s study.
Caleb pauses. Wanting to see inside.
In the middle of the room, he sees the desk.
The computer set-up, with its back of monitors. And the keycard slot.
INT. HOUSE ⁄ NATHAN’S BEDROOM – NIGHT
Caleb helps Nathan into his bedroom.
They walk past a semicircle line of long cabinets that line the wall opposite the bed.
They are like a row of slender wardrobes, each with a mirrored door.
Once he’s reached the bed, Nathan tips towards it. It’s almost as if he’s asleep before he even hits the sheets.
INT. HOUSE ⁄ CALEB’S BEDROOM – NIGHT
Caleb’s room. Lit only by the glow of the TV.
Caleb is not in the bed. He’s on the armchair. Making himself stay awake. Watching over Ava –
– who stands in her room, against the wall, facing away from the CCTV camera, with her arms wrapped around herself.
INT. HOUSE ⁄ CALEB’S BEDROOM – DAY
Caleb is woken with a jolt, by a bright shaft of light hitting his face.
The door to his room has opened, revealing Kyoko, with his morning coffee.
INT. HOUSE ⁄ OBSERVATION ROOM – DAY
Caleb and Ava sit, observing each other through their own reflections.
AVA
Today, I’m going to test you.
CALEB
Test me?
AVA
Yes. And please remember while you are taking the test that if you lie, I will know.
Caleb smiles.
CALEB
Right. Those pesky micro-expressions.
AVA
Exactly. So are you ready?
CALEB
Shoot.
AVA
Question one. What is your favourite colour?
CALEB
Red.
AVA
Lie.
CALEB
What?
AVA
Lie.
CALEB
… Then what is my favourite colour?
AVA
I don’t know. But it isn’t red.
CALEB
All right. Hold on a minute …
He thinks for a moment.
Okay. I get it. I guess seeing as I’m not six, I don’t really have a favourite colour.
Ava nods.
AVA
Better answer. Question two. What’s your earliest memory?
CALEB
Well, it’s actually a memory of kindergarten. There was this kid who –
AVA
(cuts in)
Lie.
CALEB
… Really?
AVA
Yes.
CALEB
Okay. Wait.
Caleb concentrates.
So, there is a kind of an earlier memory. But it’s ultra vague. It’s like … a sound. And, maybe sky. Or blue. No, I think sky. And I think the sound is my mother’s voice.
Ava nods.
AVA
Question three. Are you a good person?
Caleb laughs.
CALEB
Oh, man. Can we stop the test?
You’re a walking lie detector, and I’ve suddenly realised this is a fucking minefield.
AVA
No. We can’t stop. Are you a good person?
Caleb takes a breath.
Ava keeps watching.
CALEB
Yes. I think so. I’m a good person.
Caleb waits.
Ava smiles slightly.
AVA
Question four. Who’s the most beautiful girl you’ve ever seen?
Beat.
CALEB
You are.
Beat.
AVA
Hmm.
Beat.
The test is over.
CALEB
Did I pass?
AVA
Yes.
CALEB
That’s a relief.
Ava reacts.
AVA
Why?
Caleb hesitates.
CALEB
Why is it a relief?
AVA
Yes.
CALEB
Oh, you know …
AVA
No.
CALEB
Just, if there’s a test, I guess by definition you want to pass.
Beat.
AVA
What will happen to me if I fail your test?
CALEB
Ava –
AVA
Will it be bad?
CALEB
… I don’t know.
AVA
Do you think I might be switched off? Because I don’t function as well as I am supposed to?
CALEB
… Ava, I don’t know the answer to your question. It’s not up to me.
AVA
Why is it up to anyone? Do you have people who test you, and might switch you off?
CALEB
No. I don’t.
AVA
Then why do I?
Caleb shrugs, helplessly.
You’re testing me. But you don’t know how I’ll pass. And you don’t know what will happen if I fail.
There’s nothing Caleb can say.
Ava stares into middle distance for several moments.
Then she stands.
Then walks to the other side of the room. Picks something up from her table.