"ANTITRUST"
Screenplay by
Howard Franklin
SHOOTING DRAFT
2001
ON A BLACK SCREEN
it says: "The coolest thing?"
VOICE
Wow. That's hard. I'd have to say
it's the day we launched Outpost
'98.
We hear a (famous) Seattle alternative band.
EXT. OUTPOST CAMPUS - DAY (BEGIN MAIN TITLES)
Quick cuts, seductive angles: 70 hot-air balloons rise over
a vast, green corporate campus. Their mylar skins are
imprinted with Outpost '98 logos; their gondolas are dressed
in Outpost-colored bunting.
18,000 Outpost employees cheer. They're spread out over
rolling lawns, amid Arabian tents and costumed Acrobats.
Over the balloon-dotted sky, the graphic re-appears: "The
coolest thing?"
DIFFERENT VOICE (DARYL)
It's the beverages.
INT. OUTPOST OFFICE - DAY (CONTINUE TITLES & MUSIC)
A Programmer sits in his handsome office, forested landscape
out the window. The screen says: DARYL, M.I.T. '95
DARYL
Gary always makes sure we've got the
coolest stuff to drink.
JUMP CUTS of tall refrigerators: Snapples, Cokes, Fruitopias,
Zaps, Jolts, Barques & Sprites are lined-up behind glass
doors. "The coolest thing?"
DIFFERENT VOICE (DIANA)
Knowing your work means something.
INT. OUTPOST CAMPUS - DAY (CONTINUE TITLES & MUSIC)
A 24-year-old Korean-American Girl sits at the edge of a
plashing, post-modern fountain. DIANA, STANFORD '97
DIANA (V.O.)
Knowing everywhere in the world,
this is the software people use.
MONTAGE of world capitals & remote places: Stockbrokers &
Farmers, News Anchors & Students, CEO's & Eskimos boot-up
Outpost '98, or log-on with Outpost Internet Traveler.
DIANA (V.O.)
20 years ago, Gary had an idea, that's
all he had. And now the company's
bigger than IBM.
Over the last shot (a Ghetto Kid uses Outpost Word in the
library): "The coolest thing?"
VOICE (V.O.)
It's the people. Which is weird.
EXT. COFFEE HOUSE/TERRACE - DAY (CONTINUE TITLES & MUSIC)
A Programmer sits with two colleagues, drinking lattés at
the edge of Lake Washington. MITCH, BERKELEY, '98
MITCH
Big companies are s'posed to be
impersonal.
MONTAGE: Programmers play competitive games at an Outpost
picnic; Toddlers play on computers in an Outpost Day Care
Center; Geeks confer at a diagram-covered whiteboard;
Employees listen/dance to the Seattle band we've been hearing,
on-stage, at the Outpost '98 launch.
MITCH (V.O.)
There's this myth that doing a start-
up is cooler. But there's no community
with a start-up. No permanence.
BACK TO SCENE: COFFEE HOUSE/TERRACE (CONTINUE TITLES)
One of Mitch's colleagues is nodding. DONNY, HARVARD, '97
DONNY
It bums me out when the media say
we're cultish, or whatever. Why?
'Cause we care about each other?
Donny didn't mean to sound so mushy. Nobody knows where to
look for a second.
MITCH
'Love you too, bro.
As they laugh: "The coolest thing?"
VOICE (TERRY)
I'll tell you what's not cool.
TERRY
How Gary gets this superbad rap.
MONTAGE of magazine covers (Newsweek, Vanity Fair, WIRED)
featuring Gary Boyd. They say, eg: "Who Owns Cyberspace?" On
a Time cover, he's composited by the Capitol Dome: "ROBBER
BARON OR VISIONARY? Outpost's Antitrust Woes"
TERRY (V.O.)
There's this prejudice against super-
smart people. People like Gary.
GARY (early 40's) reads a statement before a Congressional
Sub-Committee. His voice is pleasant but firm:
GARY
A kid working in his garage can create
the next Outpost, the new IBM. All
it takes is a great idea.
A bloated Senator looks hostile.
GARY
That's why nobody can have a monopoly
in a business built on ideas.
As we watch, CAMERA pulls back from the screen on which the
movie is being projected. REVERSE INTO:
INT. COLLEGE AUDITORIUM - EVENING (END MAIN TITLES)
Over an audience of 40 or so computer students we read:
STANFORD UNIVERSITY
We pick out MILO CONNOR, watching keenly. He's 21: clear-
eyed, alive, innocent. He sits with his best friend, TEDDY
CHIN, third-generation Chinese-American.
DIFFERENT VOICE (V.O.)
The coolest? Gary. He's like you or
me. If we happened t'be insanely
rich.
Some appreciative laughter in the auditorium. But behind
Milo, LARRY LINDHOLM squirms in his seat. He whispers:
LARRY
Can we go?
VOICE (FROM THE FILM)
For me? It's Seattle!
LARRY
'Starting to get nauseated.
BRIAN BISSEL, in front of Milo, twists in his seat:
BRIAN
Do you mind?
Larry gets up.
Two Outpost Recruiters, REDMOND PRICE, 31 (gray suit) and
DANNY BAYLOR, 29 (Outpost '98 golf shirt) note the walkout.
Danny scans headshots in a Stanford Yearbook. (On-screen
behind them we see Seattle: night streets wet-down &
shimmering; Young People entering a club; Young People
climbing Mt. Shasta.) Finding Larry's picture, Danny points
out the name to Redmond, who shrugs: unconcerned.
VOICE FROM THE MOVIE
Did anybody mention the beverages?
INT. HALLWAY OUTSIDE AUDITORIUM - CONTINUOUS
The double-doors swing open (over them, a plate reads: THE
HEWLITT-PACKARD AUDITORIUM) and Larry comes out.
UP THE HALLWAY - CONTINUOUS
ALICE POULSON, a very pretty girl of 21 (more hiply dressed
than the geeks) searches the hall, reading the names over
the doors (NEC Communications Classroom, Toshiba Computer
Lab, Mitsubishi Classroom). She spots Larry.
ALICE
Is it over?
LARRY
They still have to give 'em
refreshments laced with mind-altering
drugs.
ALICE
You are a fanatic.
LARRY
'Gonna wait outside.
EXT. STANFORD COMPUTER SCIENCE BLDG. - A MOMENT LATER
Tilting down the neo-classical edifice, we read the name
etched over the entrance: WILLIAM GATES COMPUTER SCIENCE
BUILDING. We find Larry and Alice sitting on the steps.
LARRY (AT FIRST O.S.)
Alice? You gotta make him do the
start-up with Teddy and me.
ALICE
"Make" him?
LARRY
(thoughtfully)
You know what I mean.
As we hear Larry speak, we cut back into:
THE AUDITORIUM - CONTINUOUS
The lights are on. Milo & Teddy stand by a table dressed in
Outpost bunting, laden with refreshments & giveaways:
mousepads, T-shirts, caps & books with the Outpost logo on
them (a simple contour drawing of a frontier outpost). While
most Students chat earnestly with Recruiters, Milo & Teddy
load their plates with pizza and tortilla chips.
LARRY (V.O.)
I'm not exactly worldly, but I'm the
Secretary of State next to him.
Milo puts some brownies on his plate.
LARRY (V.O.)
And they're all throwing this --
stuff at him. Stock options. Pay
packages.
Spotting a book on the table, Milo picks it up.
EXT. GATES BLDG. - CONTINUOUS
LARRY
I'm just screwed.
ALICE
(that's not true)
You know what he's like. He just
wants to work on stuff that's cool.
LARRY
You don't wanna move, do you?
ALICE
I can paint anywhere.
Larry looks at her: you didn't answer my question.
ALICE
I'd like to stay here, yeah. And I
kind of think he should be with Teddy.
THE AUDITORIUM - CONTINUOUS
Milo and Teddy discuss the book almost joyfully. (We see a
page of code: utterly indecipherable.)
ALICE (V.O.)
I mean, nobody else can follow what
they're talking about half the time.
MILO/TEDDY
(under Alice)
'Could be a condition-variable in
the locking code -- If it didn't seg
fault, first!
EXT. GATES BLDG. - CONTINUOUS
ALICE
Maybe you shouldn't push it so hard.
About Outpost. No offense, you sound
insane.
LARRY
I can't help it. I feel like they'd
do anything to keep their --
ALICE
Anything? That's not even credible.
If he wants to go up there? To check
it out? I think you should encourage
him.
(seeing Larry's
incredulity)
It's his life. But everybody's
treating him like this -- valuable
object. You're hurting your own case.
INT. AUDITORIUM - CONTINUOUS
Brian, already wearing one of the Outpost caps, effuses to
Redmond.
BRIAN
He's my god. I hear he actually calls
recruits sometimes. Or is that an
Urban Legend?
REDMOND
Gary's running the biggest software
company in the world, Brian. He's
being harassed by the Justice
Department, and he's got a new baby.
Across the room, Milo (eating chips, perusing code) reaches
for a napkin but unwittingly grabs some bunting. It unravels
in a long TP-like streamer -- just as Danny approaches,
peering at Milo's ID tag.
DANNY
Milo? I'm Danny.
MILO
Oh hi.
He tries to sluff the paper off his hand; Danny holds out a
cell phone.
DANNY
Gary would like to speak to you?
Milo and Teddy look at each other: right. But Danny looks
like he means it. Milo's grin fades. He takes the phone.
MILO
...Hello?
GARY (ON THE PHONE)
Milo? Gary Boyd. I'm hoping you and
your friend can come up here. We've
made some amazing strides in digital
convergence. I'd love to show them
to you.
MILO
You would? Wow. When would we come?
(he waits; he looks
up)
'Think he hung up.
Danny holds out two plane tickets, in 1st class folders.
INT. UNIVERSITY AVENUE DINER (PALO ALTO) - NIGHT
Alice examines one of the tickets almost suspiciously.
ALICE
But how does he know that's what you
guys're working on?
Larry, Teddy & Brian are at the table with Alice & Milo.
It's a student hang-out, with loud music.
MILO
All the companies know. The faculties
tell 'em. At the target schools.
LARRY
In exchange for endowments. They
should just drop the pretense and
name the schools after 'em.
BRIAN
(to Teddy)
I can't believe you refused a ticket!
TEDDY
My parents're already freaked-out
I'm staying here. 50 miles from
Chinatown.
BRIAN
Well maybe if you told 'em how much
money you'd be making --
(to Milo)
You're going up there. Right?
LARRY
I think you should go.
MILO
(amazed)
You do?
LARRY
I mean, it's your life.
As Alice predicted, Milo is pleased by Larry's remark.
"Empowered." Larry smiles conspiratorially at Alice.
INT. MILO & ALICE'S APARTMENT - MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT
In a tidy, playfully decorated room, Alice stirs in bed,
sees the space next to her is vacant.
TINY ROOM - CONTINUOUS
Milo sits at a desk, thinking, agitated, in the dim light of
a PC. He looks up, sees Alice in the doorway.
MILO
I think I kind of lost it. I was
just so thrilled to be talking to
the richest, most powerful... 'Didn't
know I even cared about that stuff.
ALICE
C'mon, how often do you talk to
somebody who's been on the cover of
Time. Three of four times.
She picks her way through geek clutter (motherboards, code
manuals, Coke cans) sits next to him.
MILO
A lot of what Larry says is true.
They just clone stuff, or reverse
engineer it, and everybody gets stuck
with their inferior version cause
they --
ALICE
Then you've gotta ask him about that.
He looks at her: you've gotta be kidding.
ALICE
It's important.
MILO
If he's really a bully, he won't cop
to it, anyway.
ALICE
Bully? Are we talking about Gary
Boyd? Or your dad.
He doesn't deny it: she sees right through him.
MILO
When I was a kid? And he was moving
us all over the place? I spent all
my time writing stuff on Outpost
1.0. I thought Gary Boyd was the
greatest.
ALICE
But he's not quite the same guy
anymore. Don't get your hopes too
high?
INT. 737 - FIRST CLASS CABIN - DAY
In the cabin, everybody types on a notebook but Milo. He
looks out the window expectantly: at the Seattle skyline.
INT. SEA-TAC AIRPORT - GATE 13 - DAY
Milo comes off the plane. Danny and Redmond greet him.
INT/EXT. HIGHWAY/CAR - DAY
Redmond drives his black Lexus 85 m.p.h. Danny leans forward
from the backseat.
DANNY
'Couldn't convince Teddy to come?
MILO
He's pretty tight with his family.
DANNY
We could move 'em up here.
MILO
He just likes to write code. He's
bummed there's so much secrecy and
competition, everybody trying to own
everything.
REDMOND
Who do you mean by "everybody."
Milo almost blushes. He makes an awkward segue.
MILO
So -- how far are we from the campus?
REDMOND
Oh we're not going to the campus.
EXT. GARY BOYD'S COMPOUND - LAKE WASHINGTON - DAY
Beyond a rocky beach, buildings are cunningly carved into a
wooded hillside. Glass walls are framed in rich wood. The
main house is 28,000 sq. ft. Then there's the guest house,
pool building, reception hall, library...
EXT. GATEHOUSE - CONTINUOUS
Redmond pulls up. A discreet Guard in a Mr. Rogers cardigan
recognizes him. The gates swing open.
EXT. BOYD HOUSE - DAY
They pull up by a Lexus SUV with a baby seat. Another Man in
a cardigan stands in the open front door.
MILO
Who's that?
DANNY
I think they call him the "Houseman."
'Cause "guard" sounds too weird.
Milo just sits there, eyeing the monumental residence.
DANNY
Don't be nervous. The house is the
weirdest thing about him.
REDMOND
It's like he knows everybody expects
him to be this worldly, colorful
zillionaire. But he's just a guy who
likes software.
INT. BOYD MANSION - DEN-LIKE ROOM - DAY
Milo and the Houseman cross a long room with a lake view. We
hear music by Satie. The Craftsman furniture and lamps are
custom-made. A Cezanne hangs on the wall.
ANOTHER DEN-LIKE ROOM WITH A VIEW
There's a Craftsman crib here, stuffed animals, another
Cezanne. Even the toys seem arranged. They enter an
ANTEROOM/CONFERENCE ROOM - CONTINUOUS
HOUSEMAN
Have a seat. He won't be long.
Milo sits on a bench. He tries not to look, but his childhood
hero is partly visible through a glass panel in the door:
Gary (in a suit and tie) has an open American face. But
something goes on behind his pleasant features and self-
possessed mien: his desire (or need) to solve the problem at
hand is so intense it makes him appear vexed -- even
vulnerable.
CONFERENCE ROOM - CONTINUOUS
As Gary concentrates, two Outpost Senior Managers speak:
PHIL TATE, 40 (bald); and RANDY GRIMES, 36, (gray eyes).
PHIL
We tried the big vaporware number,
Gary, it's no-sale.
RANDY
Can we buy into their IPO? Or is
that a Justice Dept. problem?
PHIL
There is no public offering. The guy
who wrote it joined some freakazoid
cult in San Luis Obispo. 'Wrote this
just to run their web site.
ANTEROOM - CONTINUOUS
Gary speaks with precise hand gestures: settling the matter.
Phil and Randy gather their papers, and stand. They exit,
nodding at Milo as they pass. Then Gary comes out.
GARY
Milo? Excuse the tie. I was on TV.
Milo is a little dazzled as they shake hands: such a fam-
iliar face, such a big figure in his young life.
MILO
...That's okay.
INT. DEN-LIKE ROOM - MOVING
Now New Age music plays. They move back through the same
room, but the Cezanne has been replaced by a Hieronymus Bosch
(bodies roiling in Hell). Milo is -- puzzled.
GARY
The house knows the paintings I like,
it knows my favorite music. Same for
anybody else who's in the system.
NEXT ROOM - STILL MOVING
As they walk, Milo watches a Cezanne "original" digitally re-
configure to a Bosch, brushstrokes and all.
MILO
Cool!
GARY
Would you like a Coke or something?
MILO
(too shy, too nervous)
Oh. No thanks.
He opens a glass-doored refrigerator, scans a shelf with
rows of Snapples -- in alphabetical order.
GARY
When we started, I just hired my
smart friends. That was great. We
got a little bigger, I had to hire
smart strangers. Much harder.
He selects a Kiwi-Raspberry, they walk on.
GARY
Now I don't get to hire anybody. But
I know you're the guy to write
Skywire.
INT. GARY'S WORKROOM (LAKE VIEW) - MOMENTS LATER
They enter. An entire wall is taken-up by a Bosch triptych.
As Gary crosses to the other side of the room, Milo stands
by a table covered in art books -- hundreds of them (Soutine,
Chinoiserie, Roy Lichtenstein...)
MILO
You know a lot about art, I guess.
GARY
There's a rumor going around, maybe
you've heard it.
Gary heads back, carrying something spherical.
GARY
There's more to life than computers?
I'm looking into it.
Glancing down at the daunting display of books, Gary looks
vaguely afflicted. He mutters:
GARY
'Once I start looking into something.
Looking up now (and much more at ease) he holds up a shiny,
detailed metal object: model satellite.
GARY
I've only shown this to three other
people. I bought 200, we've launched
12 so far. I keep the coordinates in
this room.
(as Milo takes it,
carefully)
It's left over from SDI. Reagan's
Star Wars technology? They orbit 426
miles up.
MILO
Low enough to relay internet traffic.
GARY
(he smiles: exactly)
Among other things... We know
convergence is the real super-highway:
all the PC's, TV's, phones, etc.
linked together. Why cram it into a
cable if you can use the whole sky?
MILO
(turning the sleek
object)
Skywire.
INT. GARY'S WORKROOM - LATER
Milo and Gary peer at a monitor, side-by-side. Milo sips his
own Snapple now. Gary speaks his language.
GARY
The content filer has t'be written
into the media files so bits coming
off the satellite can be read by
multiplatforms. Really, omniplatforms.
Including whatever new hardware
emerges.
MILO
It needs a more object-oriented
language. This doesn't scale, does
it?
GARY
You'd have to start practically from
scratch. But this is all you'd be
working on. No marketing meetings,
no product seminars. We can't waste
the time. Half the Valley's working
on convergence. So're media
conglomerates, cable companies, phone
companies. 'Can't finish second,
Milo. There is no second... Now what
would you like to ask me?
Milo has a deer-in-the-headlights look.
MILO
...Ask you?
INT. GARY'S HOUSE - ANOTHER ROOM - DUSK
As they walk, Milo chides himself for his reticence. Gary
seems to read his mind.
GARY
I know what people say, and not just
the Justice Department. We clone
ideas, inflict our second-rate
versions on the world, we haven't
done anything original since 1.0.
Milo's amazed by Gary's acuity. And his candor.
GARY
Do I think that's fair? No. I'd put
some of our apps up against anybody's.
But is there some truth to it?
They have come to a stop in a windowed entryway. Milo watches
Gary keenly. Gary nods. He knits his brow.
GARY
When you get to a certain age, you
start wondering. About your legacy.
I doubt you even remember Outpost
1.0 --
MILO
I do!
GARY
(pleased)
Yeah? I wanna feel like I did when I
wrote that. But I'm 42, that's 100
in cyber-years. I look at you and
see the things that got me here.
(the furrows deepen)
But somehow got away.
EXT. CUPERTINO HILLS (SILICON VALLEY) - NIGHT
A block of floodlit "tract mansions," Taco Bell palaces of
the Valley's newly rich. Milo & Alice cross a vacant lot to
where the lights twinkle below. Their '89 Honda Civic is
parked nearby. Milo is excited.
MILO
If my dad'd leveled with me like
that even once... The weird thing
is, my fantasy he could somehow be
like the old Gary? It's his fantasy,
too.
ALICE
I think that's great, Milo. I do.
MILO
...But?
ALICE
Didn't you visit the campus?
MILO
I forgot. That's why you have to
help me decide.
ALICE
No way. You have this -- destiny.
MILO
C'mon, I wouldn't have a destiny
without you. My destiny would be
dying at 20. From eating --
ALICE
Don't bring that up. Like a different
girlfriend would'd've let you die?
MILO
(shrugs)
You saved my life in alot of ways.
He's sweet. She kisses him. He holds onto her.
ALICE
It's not just Gary that makes you
wanna go there? 'Cause it's a big
place. You might not even see him
again.
He'd hate to think that's true. But he manages a smile.
MILO
I know.
EXT. MILO & ALICE'S APARTMENT - DAY
The Honda is loaded with luggage and boxes, some of which
are tied to the roof. Milo & Alice stow a final piece.
MILO
When's Brian coming for the TV?
ALICE
Prob'ly waiting by the phone for
Outpost to call. We'll leave it for
him?
As they head back in, they see a Toyota park at the curb.
ALICE
'Give you guys some time alone.
She continues inside. He waits, watches Teddy cross the
sidewalk to join him.
MILO
...You got my E-mail?
TEDDY
And your phone messages. You wanna
do what you do, it's not a crime.
MILO
Is that how Larry feels?
TEDDY
Uh. Not exactly.
A brown Buick parks behind Teddy's car. As they speak, a
rumpled, 50ish MAN in an off-the-rack suit gets out.
MILO
Wanted to say goodbye to him...
TEDDY
Hey, we got seed money for the
startup! A million-five!
Milo grins, he high-fives Teddy.
TEDDY
We rented a loft in Sunnyvale.
(he gives Milo the
number)
You know what's the bad part? We
can't talk about work anymore. We're
competitors! The venture capitalists
made us sign like 100 confidentiality
forms.
MILO
Outpost made me sign 1,000. 'Guess
we'll find out what else we have to
talk about. Life stuff.
They embrace. It's awkward, but it's heartfelt.
INT. MILO & ALICE'S APARTMENT - A MOMENT LATER
Milo enters, reading Teddy's phone number.
MILO
Guess what? They got their --
The rumpled Man sits on a radiator, watching CNN on a TV,
the last remaining piece of furniture. Alice enters, holding
a jam jar filled water, hands Milo a business card.
ALICE
Milo, this is Mr. Barton from the
Justice Department.
(gives Barton the
water)
Sorry about the glass.
Milo reads the card: Lyle Barton, Asst. Prosecutor, DOJ,
Seattle Branch Office. Milo's a little spooked.
BARTON
Don't worry, Milo. I'm here as a
friend. Or maybe a supplicant.
MILO
Right... What's that mean again?
BARTON
Beggar. We're at a disadvantage with
Outpost. Our experts aren't as smart
as theirs. Sometimes we can't tell
which technologies pose the threat
of a monopoly. We need a really smart
guy to help us pick our fights. I'm
taking a shot in the dark, here. I
can offer you 32,000 a year, a Buick.
I'm hoping you've got a feeling it's
the right thing to do.
MILO
(fiddling with the
card)
It's just -- I kind of feel the need
to do something with my ability.
Create something...
BARTON
Like I said: shot in the dark.
Milo tries to give back the card.
BARTON
If you see something there that rubs
you the wrong way? Do the right thing.
And he goes.
MILO
That took some fun out of --
ALICE
We're not gonna let it.
She kisses him. They head out. We linger. On TV a graphic
says: SAN LUIS OBISPO, CA: MASS SUICIDE - LIVE. Emergency
Medical Personnel roll gurneys with bodies out of a new
Mediterranean mansion. Footage shows bodies (including a few
children) on bunkbeds, uniformly shod in black Nikes.
CNN VOICE
-- ingested the fatal mixture of
sedatives crushed in apple sauce.
According to the cult's eerily
professional website, it was "time
to move on..."
EXT. OUTPOST CORPORATE CAMPUS - DAY
Crane past identical, low, steel & glass buildings, amid the
vast lawns & fir trees... Past a building under
construction... To find Redmond's Lexus, cruising.
INT./EXT. REDMOND'S CAR/CAMPUS - CONTINUOUS
Milo looks out the window, Redmond gives the tour:
REDMOND
There're 20 buildings, I mean not
counting the Gyms, the Day Care,
etc.
The Day Care is a Michael Graves-looking building with a big
cartoon-dog sculpture on its roof, ears cocked to the sky. A
Teacher leads her little charges inside.
REDMOND
Gary's put millions in there. And
the people with kids? They're not
hotshot geeks, they're just payroll
clerks or whatever.
Two Men in suits, with briefcases, (conspicuous amid the
Geeks in jeans and T-shirts) enter Building #19.
REDMOND
You'll see alot of that: Department
of Justice goons snooping around.
The car pulls into a lot full of Miatas, BMW's, Boxters.
CLOSE ON - THE OUTPOST LOGO
THEN TILT UP TO SHOW:
EXT. BUILDING 20 QUAD - DAY
The logo is of inlaid stone. Redmond & Milo walk over it.
Milo carries a box with some personal effects, including a
small painting. Redmond wears a photo I.D. tag.
REDMOND
So how'd you like the house?
MILO
His Snapples were in alphabetical
order.
REDMOND
(he laughs)
Well, he micro-managed the company
till it got too big...
(he opens the door)
'Guess he needs to micro-manage
something.
INT. BLDG. 20 LOBBY - CONTINUOUS
At the desk, a RECEPTIONIST looks up, stands to hang a
temporary ID pass around Milo's neck.
RECEPTIONIST
Milo, I'm Judith. Welcome!
Milo smiles. Redmond uses his magnetic swipe card on an inner
door (a security cam is at every door); he holds the door
open for Milo.
INT. HALLWAY - CONTINUOUS
They walk up a long carpeted hallway, past open offices where
Geeks (mostly males under 30) sit at workstations.
REDMOND
Everybody has the same office, there's
no dumbass corporate hierarchy.
They pass a room in which Geeks play video games. Just outside
it, a chubby programmer, DESI, sips a Diet Coke.
DESI
Get out while you can, dude!
REDMOND
Desi, Milo.
DESI
The guy who was at Gary's house?
He bows deep, with mock-obeisance. Milo blushes, Redmond
laughs, he snags Milo's elbow. They walk again, passing a
service hall with a Civil Defense sign.
REDMOND
Best bomb shelters in America,
accessible from every building. You
gotta figure we're a major target,
right?
ANOTHER HALLWAY - A MOMENT LATER
Up the hall, a young woman (LISA) is about to go into her
office. She pauses half a second, looks at Milo, goes in.
She's beautiful.
REDMOND
Whoa. Lisa actually looked at you.
As they pass her office, they look in: she's already at her
workstation, studiously avoiding their gaze.
REDMOND
Every geek here's got a thing for
Lisa. But that's about the biggest
reaction she's had to anybody.
MILO
(shy, changing the
emphasis)
She's a programmer?
REDMOND
Heavy graphical background, doing
design-interface for Skywire apps.
(he all but winks)
You'll be working with her.
MILO
I've got a girlfriend, remember?
REDMOND
Right. That's rare around here. You
know how nuns' re-married to Jesus?
'Posties are married to Outpost.
INT. MILO'S OFFICE - MOMENT LATER
A handsome, modest office like all the others: workstation,
whiteboard, window. They enter.
REDMOND
Here's your world.
(pointing at the desk)
Copy of Gary's book, also the audio
version, narrated by Gary.
Milo puts down his box, picks up the book: The Next Highway
(Gary by a highway on its cover). As we look at it:
VOICE (SHROT)
The card's encoded. Tells us who
came through the door and when.
INT. OFFICE OF PHYSICAL SECURITY - LATER
In an office with a bank of monitors that play feeds from
security cameras, BOB SHROT, 40, Head of Physical Security,
issues Milo his swipe card. Redmond watches.
SHROT
Unauthorized entries sound like this.
He drags the card through a sample slot, producing an
unbelievably loud, piercing EEEEEEEE. He shouts over it:
SHROT
If you see a tailgater, report him.
MILO
Tailgater?
SHROT
(kills the alarm)
Somebody coming in on your swipe.
(gives Milo a photo
ID)
You see somebody wandering around
without ID, it's your duty to
challenge him. I don't give a shit
if you're a stock-option billionaire.
If you don't challenge, I'll have
your butt.
INT. HALLWAY - LATER
MILO
He seems a little -- tense.
REDMOND
Geeks pull his chain cause he's non-
tech. Ex-cop or something. They moon
cameras, or use ATM's as swipe cards.
The cameras're our real security so
he's a little demoralized.
EXT. BUILDING 20/PARKING LOT - DAY
As they walk, Milo watches two Hardhats roll a spool of fiber-
optic cable into the building under construction.
MILO
What're they building?
REDMOND
#21. Way behind schedule. It's top-
secret, but everybody knows it's a
digital broadcast space. They see
the dishes on top, the fiber optics
going in.
MILO
Gary's not into fiber optics. He's
betting everything on the satellites.
REDMOND
You wanna survive in the software
business, you cover your bets... I
gotta say, this is the weirdest car
anybody ever requested.
They approach a 1990 Deux Chevaux, cheap but charming.
REDMOND
Oh, right. Your girlfriend's an
artist.
INT. BLDG. 20 CAFETERIA - DAY
Blond wood, smoked glass -- a room as sleek as the Geeks who
lunch here are nerdy. Milo and Redmond push trays.
REDMOND
I phoned her at your hotel, told her
about our corporate housing options.
She sounds neat.
Lisa's at a table, looking at Milo. When their eyes meet,
she busies herself, placing the plates back on her tray.
MILO
...She is.
(turning away from
Lisa)
She is!
Lisa passes behind them, smiles fleetingly at Milo. At a
table, Randy and Phil note the "interaction." Meantime:
REDMOND
'Might be some friction on the
domestic front. You're expected you
to put in ridiculous hours. People've
accused us of breaking up
relationships to get their undivided
attention.
He laughs.
INT. BLDG. 20 HALLWAY - CONTINUOUS
Lisa moves swiftly up the hall. She looks up it and down it
(making sure no one's looking) before ducking into
MILO'S OFFICE - CONTINUOUS
She goes to the box on Milo's desk (his personal effects) --
starts rooting through it.
INT. CAFETERIA - LATER
Redmond and Milo have eaten; Redmond stacks their plates.
REDMOND
Your counselor'll fill you in on
everything else. That's who you'll
be working with almost daily.
INT. MILO'S OFFICE - LATER
Milo has fed the old Skywire disks into his machine. He reads
a complicated screen.
VOICE
Busy?
Milo looks up. It's Gary. Milo is thrilled.
MILO
No! Just waiting for my counselor to
come by and introduce himself.
GARY
Okay. I'm Gary.
Milo's smile deepens. Gary notices the small painting (by
Alice) hanging on the wall. He stares at it.
GARY
'Think I should buy some originals?
MILO
...Do I?
GARY
Somebody said I'm just another
Philistine. With reproductions.
MILO
That's insane. You're ahead of your
time.
GARY
That's what I told her. My wife.
Milo colors as Gary drags a second chair in front of the
screen; didn't realize he was contradicting Mrs. Boyd.
GARY
'Thinks I'll be less of a control
freak if I have a hobby. 'Just gives
me something else to obsess about...
Milo smiles as Gary sits down, studies the screen.
GARY
Anything we can salvage from the old
code before you start fresh?
Milo can't quite get over: Gary's his counselor.
MILO
Uh, might be one or two things.
DISSOLVE TO:
EXT. QUAD - OUTSIDE MILO'S OFFICE - LATER
Two awe-struck Geeks see Gary through the window.
GEEK 1
He's been in there like an hour.
GEEK 2
Shit.
INT. MILO'S OFFICE - CONTINUOUS
MILO SCROLLS THE SCREEN:
MILO
Could work with a new switch. There
may be a few more things hidden.
GARY
Don't spend too much time searching.
You ever vetted somebody's old code
before?
(when Milo shakes his
head)
It's a different skill. Stay close
to the surface. The best-hidden
secrets are in plain sight. You know
the best place to hide a leaf, right?
(when Milo shakes his
head)
In a tree.
INT. EMPTY HOUSE - EVENING
We're in an old (empty) Craftsman house. Through a front
window, we see Alice lead Milo up a path. As they enter:
ALICE
...The corporate condos were as
romantic as they sound.
Milo's grinning as he takes in the house.
THE BEDROOM - MOMENT LATER
Windows give onto a garden with a small studio. Milo's still
beaming, Alice is pleased. Till he says:
MILO
You know he's never been anybody's
counselor before?
ALICE
Milo! What about --?
She gestures at what she hopes will be their home.
MILO
Oh, It's great. It's great!
(they start to kiss,
but:)
'Think I should tell him I learned
everything using 1.0? Maybe I could
show him one of my early programs.
She pulls him back into the kiss.
MONTAGE W/ MUSIC
1.) MILO types intently in his office.
2.) GARY sits with MILO at his desk, discussing code. Pan to
the window; we see a different pair of awed Geeks.
3.) Milo & Alice read in bed. He's reading Gary's book.
4.) MILO shows GARY one of his early programs, written on
1.0.: it's simple-looking, with some childish writing scrawled
on it. Gary seems touched.
INT. OUTPOST CONFERENCE ROOM - DAY
Two DOJ AGENTS depose Gary. (A video-cam records his answers.)
Two Outpost LAWYERS sit next to him. One of the Agents is
reading from a document:
DOJ AGENT
"Infotek's urgent need to license
Outpost Office is such that we can
use it as a tool in the current
negotiation."
(looks up)
When you wrote the word "tool," what'd
you mean by it?
Gary studies his copy of the E-mail. He looks vexed.
GARY
I don't remember.
DOJ AGENT
What d'you think you meant by it?
GARY
I'm confused. Am I supposed to
speculate under oath?
The Agent shifts in his seat. We get an idea of Gary's
negotiating skill (making the other party look unreasonable,
while offering nothing).
OTHER AGENT
Since you didn't have an answer to
that question, Mr. Boyd --
GARY
("confused" again)
Didn't I? Have an answer? "I don't
remember."
The Agents confer. Gary sees Phil, looming outside the open
door. One of the Agents sees him, too. He doesn't try to
hide his annoyance:
DOJ AGENT
Did you wanna take a break, Mr. Boyd?
INT. AN OFFICE - A MOMENT LATER
Gary takes a manila envelope from Phil, opens it.
PHIL
Your protege's moving so fast we can
barely keep up with him.
Gary reads the page from the envelope: computer code.
GARY
This is good. Who did it?
PHIL
'Start-up not 50 miles from here.
Kid's on Prozac.
GARY
Maybe we should all get on it.
INT. MILO'S OFFICE - DAY
Milo stares at his screen, frustrated. Gary enters.
GARY
How's it going?
MILO
Maybe I'm going too fast.
GARY
(sharply; incredulous)
Too fast? At least four companies're
on the verge of workable convergence
systems, Milo, they --
Catching himself, Gary trails off. He sits down, exhales.
GARY
Even when I had a hand in every aspect
of the company I knew the one thing
you can never control is somebody's
creative process.
Gary seems sincerely contrite. (He needn't be: Milo just
wants to please him. Besides: Milo sees he'd like to stop
obsessing about convergence, to be a "worldly zillionaire,"
engrossed in his hobbies; but, after all, what could be more
engrossing than Skywire?)
MILO
It's okay. Really.
GARY
(reaching into his
pocket)
Take a look at this. Slightly
different approach.
Reading the page Gary got from Phil, Milo knits his brow.
MILO
You did this -- overnight?
GARY
You're making me young again.
INT. LISA'S APARTMENT - NIGHT
PAN OFF a TV, where local news footage shows a mangled,
smoking BMW, post-wreck, on a lonely nocturnal highway.
NEWS VOICE
...A graduate of MIT, he was on the
antidepressant Prozac, and had been
warned not to drink and drive. (Etc.)
Lisa watches the news report, knowingly.
INT. BUILDING 20 HALLWAY - DAY
Lisa heads up the hall, carrying a CD-ROM.
INT. MILO'S OFFICE - DAY
Milo's typing.
LISA
Milo?
He looks. He stands.
MILO
Lisa.
LISA
You know my name.
MILO
You know mine.
LISA
You're famous around here.
MILO
(winces)
I'm getting a teacher's pet rep.
LISA
I wouldn't worry about it. You've
gotta figure most people around here
were their teachers' pets.
MILO
...Were you?
LISA
We moved around so much I barely
knew my teachers.
MILO
Me too! Were you an Army brat or
something?
LISA
...Something like that. Yeah.
MILO
Didn't mean to pry. I just have this
theory. Some of us who got to good
at this? We were -- escaping
something.
This seems to jolt her. She pales a little. What a mysterious
girl. But this only adds to her allure.
MILO
Did I say something?
LISA
No, I know what you mean. I used to
spend my life wishing people could
be like computers. Least they make
sense. Sometimes you think they've
betrayed you. Like a person would.
But then you see, no, you just missed
a step. You can go back and make it
all work.
This strikes a deep chord with Milo, all of it.
MILO
I used to wish that. All the time.
They're looking at each other: he gets self-conscious.
MILO
(re: the CD-ROM)
What've you got there?
LISA
Graphical interfaces. For Skywire?
I'm s'posed to coordinate with you.
MILO
Show me.
They sit. As she inserts the disk, he finds himself looking
at her. On the screen, the frontier outpost we know as the
logo appears. It's struck by a bolt from the sky. The outpost
comes alive with light, music, movie-images through its
windows, a ringing phone. Finally, the word SKYWIRE burns
into it. It's neat, she's really good.
MILO
Cool!
LISA
Yeah? I ran it for lots of platforms,
ranging from the narrowest bandwidth
to --
Simultaneously, they reach for the mouse. Their hands touch.
They look at each other. Something happened.
MILO
...Sh-Show me the next one.
She nods, manipulates the mouse. He stares at the screen
strenuously, fighting the impulse to stare at Lisa.
INT. ANTEROOM - GARY'S OFFICE
Gary's SECRETARY types as Milo enters. She smiles at him.
SECRETARY
Have a seat. He's with someone, but
I know he wants to see you.
INT. GARY'S OFFICE - CONTINUOUS
Gary's face is red. The two Lawyers who sat in on his
deposition are with him again.
LAWYER
Because we bundled it, the judge is
threatening to enjoin the whole --
GARY
I'm confused, Ted.
Gary has used the phrase before, but the pretense of
ingenuousness is gone; it's witheringly condescending.
GARY
Didn't you tell me they'd be Chapter
12 by the time they could hope to
enjoin? I'm very confused, because
you said they'd be ready to settle.
ANTEROOM - CONTINUOUS
Milo hears Gary yelling behind the closed door. It's
indecipherable, but we discern an enraged "bullshit!" Milo
flips through a copy of Wired, trying to ignore it. The
Lawyers come out, passing swiftly, rather grimly.
SECRETARY
Go on in.
(when Milo looks
dubious)
He's always happy to see you.
INT. GARY'S OFFICE - A MOMENT LATER
Agitated, Gary rather compulsively lines-up the papers, pens,
etc. on his desk; he barely hears the knock at the open
doorframe.
GARY
Milo. What's up?
MILO
Well -- you sent for me.
GARY
Right... Right.
Still distracted, he finds a page of code on his desk, gives
it to Milo. Once again, Milo marvels.
MILO
You really wrote this just today?
GARY
(dark, unsmiling)
What're you implying.
MILO
(taken aback)
Nothing!
Their eyes are locked. Gary blinks, sags into his chair.
GARY
Everything I do is under scrutiny.
The questions they ask, trying to
make anything strategic look sordid.
(knits his brow)
I'm confused. Doesn't everybody in
business try to get ahead?
MILO
(uncomfortable)
I'm sure.
GARY
The purpose of this company isn't to
destroy our competitors any more
than the purpose of living is to
breath. But the software business is
binary: you're a zero or a one. Being
obsessive isn't a crime. It's a
character trait.
Milo just wants to get out. He studies the code to hide his
discomfort. Gary watches him.
GARY
It scales, don't you think?
MILO
Definitely.
He smiles. For the first time it looks forced.
INT. SEATTLE RESTAURANT - NIGHT
A youthfully upscale place, a converted red-brick warehouse.
Alice looks great. The Waiter pours wine.
ALICE
This feels fairly grown up, I'd say.
Milo smiles (again it looks forced) raises his glass.
MILO
To our new life.
(she's looking at him)
...What's wrong?
ALICE
That's what I need to ask you.
(when he says nothing)
You know you can't keep anything
from me.
MILO
He gave me some new code-fixes this
morning. I said, "Did you really do
this just today?" Cause I was
impressed. He said "What're you
implying?"
She just looks at him. He grows a little defensive:
MILO
It's the way he said it. Just the
way my dad did, when he was caught
in a lie. That's how you knew you
were onto something ugly.
ALICE
(just confused)
What would it mean, anyway? If he
didn't write it?
MILO
That's what I'm asking myself. Does
he have some genius stowed away? Why
not let him write Skywire.
(upset)
'Not saying it makes sense.
A Busboy leaves a basket of rolls. Glum, preoccupied, Milo
takes one without looking, brings it to his lips --
ALICE
Milo!
He looks at Alice, looks at the roll, blanches.
MILO
I'm so stupid.
He throws the roll back into the basket.
ALICE
He's your boss. He's not your --
MILO
(he's nodding)
I know, I know.
ALICE
If you can't deal with him on that
basis, you better get a new counselor.
MILO
(the very idea hurts)
Isn't that -- extreme?
ALICE
What's extreme is what that ER doctor
said when he pumped your stomach.
Eat another sesame seed and that's
it.
We see the rolls: covered in seeds.
ALICE
I mean, if one little comment from
Gary is gonna upset you this much --
MILO
You're right. It's -- a working
relationship. Don't know what I was
expecting.
He smiles. But his heart's not in it. She hates to see him
suffer. She picks up her glass.
ALICE
C'mon. Let's do the toast?
EXT. TERRACE OUTSIDE CAFETERIA - DAY
Milo sits alone, marking up pages of code as he eats. He
doesn't notice Lisa, standing with her tray.
LISA
Did you wanna be alone?
MILO
No. Please.
He indicates she should sit.
LISA
They just pushed up the schedule on
Skywire apps. How fast are you going?
MILO
"There is no second place." Plus
every time I get jammed-up, Gary has
an inspiration.
(looks at her, curious)
Is it like that with your counselor?
LISA
Mine's not the CEO. He barely
remembers to take a shower.
MILO
Right, right. But does he ever just,
like, hand you code?
LISA
Maybe once. I re-wrote it, anyway.
MILO
(he smiles)
You're compulsive.
LISA
Mmm-more like -- I have a little
trouble. Trusting people.
MILO
Why's that?
LISA
Long story. Not that interesting.
She smiles charmingly to cover whatever she's feeling. The
more enigmatic she is, the more intrigued he is.
EXT. BLDG. 20 QUAD - DAY
Milo and Lisa walk, eat ice cream out of paper cups with
Outpost logos. They laugh. We go nearer.
MILO
So, when you were talking about
wishing people were more like
computers. Was that then? Or now?
LISA
Then and now.
(when he looks at her)
But not right now.
She maintains eye contact. Her meaning is clear.
VOICE
Milo!
Milo turns, sees Brian (Stanford classmate, Outpost zealot)
give an envelope to a Guard at the door of #20; he trots
over to Milo, who is as flustered as another guy might be
having been found in bed with a girl.
BRIAN
Just dropped off a resume. Almost
got in the front door.
He looks at Lisa, back to Milo, wondering why he isn't being
introduced.
MILO
You're living here?
BRIAN
'Thought if I relocated it could
help my case. I'm writing programs
for the local public access station.
Where any whack-job with 100 bucks
gets his own show? God, does it suck.
(gives him a business
card)
Can you help me?
MILO
Sure, I'll see what I can do.
Seeing how flushed Milo is, Brian thinks he must have
blundered in on something. He starts to back away.
BRIAN
Well I parked illegally. See y'later?
MILO
(watching Brian go)
'Forgot to introduce you.
(a beat)
I have a girlfriend.
LISA
That's great. I -- didn't know.
MILO
She saved my life.
EXT. GAS STATION - NIGHT
The station is closed. Milo's car is parked, empty.
MILO (O.S.)
How's it going down there?
We find him, in an illuminated phone booth.
TEDDY (ON THE PHONE)
I've been hacking for five night's
straight, I'm really making headway.
INTERCUT WITH:
INT. TEDDY'S LOFT (SUNNYVALE) - CONTINUOUS
A funky space, posters on the wall, a red Stanford pennant,
rubber trees at either end of his desk.
TEDDY
But these, like, White Supremacists
trashed my office, last week.
MILO
What?!
On the wall beyond Teddy the word GOOK (in blood red) has
been covered over with paint but still bleeds through.
TEDDY
They're in the neighborhood. They
usually hassle Vietnamese grocers.
MILO
Jesus, Teddy.
TEDDY
I'm cool. They didn't touch the
machine. Or my disks. Probably didn't
know what they were. So, you a Moonie
yet?
(he waits)
Milo?
MILO
I met this girl.
TEDDY
What? Come on. Is it serious?
MILO
I don't know.
TEDDY
Did you tell Alice?
MILO
No! I keep thinking it'll go away.
But there's this -- connection. She's
been hacking since she was little,
she had to move around a lot. Plus I
see her every day, we're working on
the same program. She's -- beautiful.
TEDDY
A beautiful geek? I don't wanna sound
paranoid, or like a pig, but what're
the chances?
MILO
What d'you mean?
TEDDY
I dunno. I guess Larry's got me
totally suspicious of that place.
MILO
What does that mean?
TEDDY
Milo, geeks don't have two
girlfriends. Most don't have one.
MILO
I didn't plan this.
EXT. BUILDING #20 QUAD - DAY
Through a window, we watch Milo traverse the quad.
GARY (O.S.)
What'd the girl say?
PHIL
There may be a little less trust
after your outburst.
We are
INT. GARY'S OFFICE - CONTINUOUS
Gary turns back inside, where Phil reads Milo's new code.
PHIL
Hasn't affected his work, though.
GARY
Nothing does. Still. I want him to
like me.
Phil is confused by Gary's sincerity; so is Gary.
EXT. BUILDING #20 PARKING LOT - EVENING
Desi and another Geek watch in astonishment: Gary walks Milo
to his car, his arm circled over Milo's shoulder. He seems
to be -- apologizing.
EXT./INT. MILO & ALICE'S HOUSE - EVENING
Milo comes eagerly up the path: can't wait to tell Alice
what just happened. He enters -- pulls up short. Alice is
waiting for him. She's white.
MILO
...What's wrong?
She doesn't know how to say it.
MILO
What!
ALICE
Teddy was killed last night.
MILO
What're you -- what?
ALICE
It was a hate crime.
Milo is staggered. She moves to him...
ALICE
I'm sorry. I'm so sorry.
He hangs onto her, for support.
EXT. SUNNYVALE LOFT BLDG. (SILICON VALLEY) - DAY
Establish the funky building, vestiges of police tape on the
door, a limo and many cars parked out front.
INT. LOFT - MAIN FLOOR - CONTINUOUS
A mixture of Teddy's relatives and Computer Friends have
gathered. In the BG, Teddy's Dad weeps volubly.
INT. TEDDY'S WORKSPACE - CONTINUOUS
Teddy's brother, NELSON, shows Milo the workspace: red
Stanford pennant, rubber trees on the desk. Milo, in a suit,
peers at the painted-over epithet on the wall.
NELSON
They trashed his hard disk, all his
back-ups. Nothing's left.
MILO
They caught the guys?
Nelson shows Milo a San Jose Mercury: mugshots of two skin-
headed Aryan Nations Members in their 20's.
NELSON
It's an airtight case. They found
the weapon with Teddy's blood on it
and their fingerprints. They'd been
arrested twice for beating-up Asians.
How come they weren't in jail?
Milo unpins a picture of himself & Teddy from a board.
MILO
He told me about the break-in. He
didn't seem to take it that seriously.
NELSON
You guys don't take anything seriously
do you? That's not on a hard drive?
Milo is stung by this. Alice appears in the doorway.
ALICE
Nelson? Your mom wants you. It's
time to go to scatter the ashes.
Milo is pinning the picture back up. The pushpin falls to
the floor, he kneels to retrieve it. On the floorboards, he
sees a thin, shiny plastic filament. He picks it up.
MILO
I didn't know he was working with
fiber optics.
But when he looks up, Nelson's gone.
ALICE
We gotta go too, honey.
As he heads out with Alice, he unthinkingly stuffs the
filament in his suit pocket.
EXT. BLUFF OVER THE PACIFIC - DAY
A raw beautiful bluff. The sea stretches to infinity behind
a smaller group of Mourners. A LAY MINISTER intones the Lord's
Prayer.
EXT. BLUFF - LATER
Milo approaches Larry with trepidation. Larry nods, it's
okay. They hug each other. They walk slowly back toward the
cars.
MILO
I know you lost all his work. Maybe
I could come down here and --
LARRY
You are naive. Look at your employment
contract: you can't work anywhere
else in this field for at least few
years.
(he smiles sadly)
Not that I don't miss you.
MILO
Just thought his work should go on.
LARRY
He was on the verge of something,
too. He was gonna show us the next
day. He said "The answer's not in
the box, it's in the band." Know
what it means?
MILO
It's only meaningful when you've got
40,000 lines of code to back it up.
LARRY
Man, could he write code. Totally
elegant. He had his own style.
MILO
Those really weird, short lines.
They smile. For a moment, they've brought Teddy back to life.
Alice comes up from behind, to fetch Milo.
LARRY
Take good care of this guy.
EXT. BLDG. 20 - DAY
Arriving for work, Milo sees Outpost flags at half mast.
INT. HALLWAY - DAY
As Milo comes up the hall, Lisa is standing there. We get
the feeling she's been waiting for him.
LISA
You okay?
He looks at her, perhaps hearing Teddy's words ("what're the
chances?"). He nods, moves on. She watches him head up the
hall.
INT. MILO'S OFFICE - DAY
Milo types. There is a rapping on the doorframe. Gary.
GARY
I heard what happened.
MILO
Were the flags for Teddy?
Gary nods. Spontaneously Milo stands, hugs Gary.
GARY
Had you talked to him much lately?
MILO
Just once. 'Guess I was worried we
didn't have anything to talk about,
since work was off-limits. Non-
disclosure.
GARY
Did you?
MILO
Talk about work? Never!
GARY
I meant did you find other stuff to --
MILO
Oh. Yeah.
GARY
You've been coming in early.
MILO
It helps. Alice said it would help.
To focus on something.
(a little guilty)
'Don't know what I'd do without her.
INT. MILO & ALICE'S HOUSE - MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT
Milo sits on the couch, in dim light. Alice comes in.
ALICE
You okay?
(sits by him, holds
him)
I miss him, too.
DISSOLVE TO:
EXT. DINING ROOM TERRACE - DAY
Milo eats alone. Through the window, he sees Lisa inside.
She's eating alone, too. Gary comes trotting up.
GARY
Milo?
He is unclasping a manila envelope; he takes pages out.
MILO
Wow. You must have 20,000 lines of
code there...
GARY
34,000. But they're real short lines.
'Just came out that way.
Seeing Gary's code, Milo knits his brow: it must be sort of
like -- Teddy's.
GARY
Been thinking about the push mechanism
in the handler. And it came over me:
it's in the wrong place.
MILO
(an uncertain smile)
The wrong place?
GARY
The answer's not in the box. It's in
the band.
Milo's smile freezes. As he stares at Gary, we zoom with a
reverse dolly so that the background retreats queasily but
Gary remains dominant in frame. For Milo, it feels like the
very ground is going out from under him.
Gary continues to explain, pointing at lines of code. And
Milo pretends to listen. But he can't even make out the words
Gary speaks -- he hears only a jumble of echoes.
Milo nods mechanically; he wants to scream. Or run. He
perceives, amid the echoes, that Gary is standing, smiling,
saying "See you later." And he's gone.
Milo touches the pages, like some talisman of Teddy.
LISA (O.S.)
Milo? You okay?
It strikes him she always shows up at these moments. He
gathers his wits before looking up.
MILO
Gotta go home. 'Think I ate something.
INT./EXT. MILO'S CAR/OUTPOST PARKING LOT - DAY
Pulling out of the lot, Milo seizes the car phone. He hits
HOME on the speed-dial. Gets a busy signal. Rings off. He's
about to press re-dial when he sees the Outpost logo branded
on the receiver.
He throws it down like it's contaminated.
EXT. MILO & ALICE'S HOUSE - DAY
Middle-of-the-day sounds: chirping birds, school children.
Milo pulls to the curb at a bad angle.
EXT. INT./FRONT DOOR/FOYER - DAY
He fumbles with his keys. When he gets inside:
MILO
Alice? Alice!
He moves into the bedroom. He sees her through the window,
painting in the studio.
EXT./INT. BACK GARDEN/STUDIO - MOMENT LATER
He stands outside the studio. Waits for her to look up. She
does. She smiles. Then she sees something's wrong. He waits
for her to come out here, where it's safe to speak.
EXT. BACK GARDEN - LATER
He paces, agitated. She watches him. She's skeptical, but
doesn't want to appear unsympathetic.
ALICE
Are you saying you think they had
something to do with his death? Nelson
said it was an airtight case.
MILO
I don't know what I'm saying. Maybe --
maybe they hired those guys.
ALICE
I can't see Outpost putting its
reputation in the hands of people
like that.
MILO
I don't know! I just know it was
Teddy's code. All these ideas flying
in from everywhere. You know how he
says "Any kid working in his garage
can put us out of business?" It's
like they know what every kid's doing.
ALICE
They hack into people's programs?
MILO
Nobody does work like this on-line.
It's in your PC, or in a mainframe.
Self-contained. They'd have to be,
like, watching people. Physically.
(he freezes)
Oh Jesus.
INT. BEDROOM - A MOMENT LATER
Milo's at the closet, rummaging among the clothes hanging
there. Alice comes up behind him. He finds his suit jacket.
He digs in one pocket, then another. He finds the fiber optic
strand (from Teddy's floor). Shows it to her.
MILO
(almost silently)
It's a camera.
EXT. BACK GARDEN - AGAIN
They've trooped back outside. She's worried she's indulging
his paranoia.
MILO
It isn't a broadcast studio. It's --
a surveillance post or something.
That's why they have the dishes on
top.
ALICE
You're scaring me. I think we should
just go.
MILO
Go where? You can't get away from
people like this.
ALICE
"Like this?" It's Gary you're talking
about.
MILO
(it really hurts)
You think I don't know that?
ALICE
Milo. Why would he --
MILO
How should I know? "Solving a
problem," I guess. Or needing to
control everything. I don't know.
(can't think about it)
I've gotta get in there.
ALICE
Even if all this were true. There're
20 other buildings. All of them filled
with computers and --
MILO
It's the only one with dishes on the
roof. The studio's a front. That's
why they keep postponing its opening.
(muttered, obsessive)
...gotta get in there.
ALICE
Milo, you told me those DOJ Agents
are all over the place. How could
they hope to hide a surveillance
post?
(as he mulls this)
And how can you get in there, anyway?
With the cameras and the swipe cards --
MILO
I can't just walk away!
ALICE
You can't just walk in, either.
MILO
They stop the construction work at
six or seven. The parking lot's mostly
clear by two or three in the morning.
Even the early Geeks don't get there
before five.
ALICE
Is it two? Or is it three? Have you
ever really noticed?
He knows what she's saying: he's unqualified for this, a
space-cadet. She tries to hold him. But he wriggles away.
MILO
No! I can't just keep my head in the
sand. That's how I got into this
mess.
He paces, he thinks. She watches him, worried.
MILO
I know how to get in there. But you've
gotta help me.
ALICE
(scared, reluctant)
...Whaddo I do?
MILO
So you believe me?
She can't lie. She shakes her head.
ALICE
Just tell me what to do.
BEGIN MONTAGE:
INT. MILO'S OFFICE - NIGHT
Standing at his window, Milo can see #21. Workers in Hardhats
come out of it, carrying lunchboxes. Milo holds a small
writing pad. He notes the time.
EXT. SUBURBAN MAIN STREET - DAY (CONTINUE MONTAGE)
Alice parks in front of a drugstore. As she gets out of the
car, she looks around uneasily.
INT. DRUGSTORE - (CONTINUE MONTAGE)
Alice is at the counter, buying a wind-up alarm clock.
INT. MILO'S OFFICE - MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT (CONT. MONTAGE)
Milo watches a car pull out of the parking lot, leaving only
one or two others. He writes down the time.
INT. TOYSTORE - (CONTINUE MONTAGE)
Alice is at the counter, among children and mothers,
purchasing a chemistry set.
INT. MILO'S OFFICE - NIGHT (CONTINUE MONTAGE)
He watches a SECURITY GUARD (DELBERT) go into #21 on his
rounds, notes the time: 3:45 AM.
INT. MILO & ALICE'S - STUDIO - NIGHT (CONTINUE MONTAGE)
Alice, wearing dishwashing gloves, ties the alarm clock to a
small Tupperware container with copper wire.
Milo (wearing latex gloves) is at the sink, mixing chemicals
from the toy chemistry set. Alice approaches with the
container affixed to the clock. As she holds it out Milo
pours the mixture into it.
SHORT FADE:
OVER BLACK we hear ticking. The screen lightens to show:
INT. SUPPLY CLOSET (BUILDING 20)
Milo's alarm clock is set for 11:00. It sits amid mops and
cleaning products.
INT. BLDG. 20 HALLWAY - DAY
Milo stands in the open door of a refrigerator, as if
searching for a soda. He's looking up the hall, waiting for
someone. He consults his watch. 10:53.
MILO
Come on.
Here comes a GUARD; he nods to Milo as he passes. The Guard
opens a door with his card. Milo rushes through the door on
the Guard's swipe -- "tailgating."
GUARD
Sir, you gotta use your own --
(noticing)
Where's your ID?
Milo cops an attitude. He's not completely convincing.
MILO
Do you know who I am?
GUARD
It's my job, I gotta --
MILO
(he's getting better)
The kind of stock options I'm sitting
on?
INT. PHYSICAL SECURITY OFFICE - DAY
Bob Shrot, the ex-cop in charge of physical security, looks
up as the Guard escorts Milo into the room.
INT. SUPPLY CLOSET - CONTINUOUS
The bomb explodes. The blast is tiny but loud (glass cleaning
bottles ring; plastic bottles moan).
INT. SECURITY OFFICE - CONTINUOUS
Milo sits, watches Shrot encode a new card for him, finding
his info on a terminal. On a monitor behind Shrot, Milo sees
Programmers being ushered out of the building.
SHROT
Every geek has to try this once to
show me how smart he is --
ANOTHER GUARD rushes in.
ANOTHER GUARD
There was an explosion in a Y-sector
closet, we're evacuating the whole
sector.
Shrot comes to his feet, grabs a holster (with gun) off a
shelf. Milo, looking flummoxed, stands.
SHROT
Un-nh, can't wander around without
ID now. Just park your ass in that
chair.
Milo sits. Shrot goes out with the Guard.
GUARD (O.S.)
Whole place reeks of fuckin' ammonia.
Milo moves quickly to the wall, reads a chart with the Guards'
Schedule, runs his finger down it til he finds the name of
the Guard on the 3 AM shift: DELBERT, KEN.
INT. HALLWAYS - A FEW QUICK CUTS - CONTINUOUS
Guards open closet doors, shine their flashlights.
INT. PHYSICAL SECURITY OFFICE - CONTINUOUS
Milo has moved to Shrot's seat. He's encoding a fresh card
with Ken Delbert's information.
INT. SERVICE HALLWAY - CONTINUOUS
Panning off the civil defense sign we find Shrot standing at
a closet, examining a piece of the alarm clock.
INT. PHYSICAL SECURITY OFFICE - CONTINUOUS
Milo is at work, bringing up schematic screens, diagnosing
the system with his unique concentration.
Panning to the window, we see the evacuated Programmers
enjoying themselves on the lawn. It's a rare, exciting event:
they jump around, miming explosions.
INT. SERVICE HALLWAY - CONTINUOUS
Shrot and the Guard collect pieces of the bomb out of the
debris, puts them in a tray.
INT. PHYSICAL SECURITY OFFICE - CONTINUOUS
Milo brings up the screen that controls the #21 cameras. On
the monitors, he sees nothing very interesting: a hallway, a
room under construction...
He pulls down a menu. RECORDING is highlighted. He clicks
PLAYBACK. The image hardly changes, but a Guard wanders
through. He types, the tape rewinds (the Guard moves
backwards). He finds a neutral spot (showing an empty
hallway), stops the tape.
INT. SERVICE HALLWAY - CONTINUOUS
Gary, Randy & Phil approach Shrot; Gary stares at him.
RANDY
What is it?
SHROT
Not much. Glorified cherry bomb.
Right by the civil defense sign?
Some geek's idea of irony. I been
saying we need a camera in this hall.
RANDY
There's nothing in this hall.
Someone's pulling your chain, as
usual.
SHROT
(thinking aloud)
Unless it's a diversion. Milo's in
my office. He was tailgating, so I --
Gary explodes, with incredulity.
GARY
Milo? Try to have a clue. Try to
think.
Gary strides off. Shrot feels unfairly maligned.
RANDY
That kid's the great white hope.
SHROT
I could get it out of him.
RANDY
You're not listening.
Randy and Phil head up the hall. Shrot watches them. Even if
his "intellectual superiors" are convinced of Milo's
innocence, he isn't.
He walks swiftly back toward his office. Then he runs.
INT. PHYSICAL SECURITY OFFICE - CONTINUOUS
Milo reads a warning message. DOWNLOADING PLAYBACK STREAM TO
RECORD CYCLE WILL CAUSE BIT OVERLOAD. DO YOU WISH TO PROCEED?
Y/N. He types Y.
The glitch freezes the tape (we see it lock into place): it
shows the empty hallway.
INT. HALLWAY - CONTINUOUS
They've let the Programmers back in. They head up the hall
as Shrot heads down it. He pushes past them gruffly.
He knows he's enhancing his Neanderthal image (they make
cracks) but he's more interested in obeying his instinct.
INT. PHYSICAL SECURITY OFFICE - CONTINUOUS
Milo immobilizes another camera in #21... and another.
INT. HALLWAY CONTINUOUS
Shrot rounds the corner. His office is in view, now.
INT. PHYSICAL SECURITY OFFICE - CONTINUOUS
Milo, at the keyboard, closes up windows, one by one.
INT. SECURITY OUTER OFFICE - CONTINUOUS
Shrot is back, he has only to round the corner to see Milo.
We assume his POV as he does so:
Milo sits in the chair where Shrot left him.
MILO
Everything okay?
INT. MILO'S OFFICE - NIGHT
Pan off the clock (3:20 AM) to find Milo at his desk, looking
at the clock with a certain dread. It's time.
EXT. BLDG. 20 QUAD - NIGHT
Milo walks the path between the two buildings, fiddling
nervously with the dummied swipe card.
Hearing footfalls behind him, he whirls: it's a Geek loping
to his car. He smiles. Milo smiles: waits, walks on.
Nearing #21, Milo looks around, making sure no one else is
around. His POV (panning): A Programmer works late, visible
through a lighted window in #20... The dog sculpture with
cocked ears sits atop the Day Care, its quizzical expression
seeming to wonder what Milo is up to... The Geek he just saw
racing by on foot now pulls out of the parking lot in his
James Bond BMW...
Milo arrives at the entrance. Heart pounding, he brings the
card to the slot. Will he trigger that awful alarm?
He slides the card, the door clicks.
INT. BLDG. 21 - LOBBY - CONTINUOUS
He enters: concrete floor, unpainted walls, construction
lights. At the inner door he looks up at the camera.
CUT TO:
A MONITOR
that shows us where Milo stands, minus Milo. Widen:
INT. SECURITY OFFICE - CONTINUOUS
A GUARD packs up his stuff, getting ready to go home. The
new guard, KEN DELBERT enters.
DELBERT
How's it goin'?
GUARD
(shaking out his cup)
Big night. Switched from tea to
coffee. Brought new meaning to my
work.
DELBERT
Yeah? Maybe I'll start my rounds
with #21 tonight.
GUARD
You are a wild man.
INT. BLDG. 21 - INNER HALLWAY - CONTINUOUS
Milo moves up a hall with unpainted walls, bare floors,
unconnected wires. The only illumination is from construction
lights on the concrete floor. Opening doors, he sees:
Bare rooms. Wall plates ready to receive electrical equipment,
bundles of wire hanging out. In other words: the building is
as advertised, so far.
EXT. BUILDING 20 - NIGHT
Delbert comes out with his flashlight, heads across the clean-
swept path that leads to #21.
INT. BLDG. 21 - HALLWAY - CONTINUOUS
Milo nears a set of double-doors at the end of the hall. He
hears a low ominous hum from within. Convinced he's found
something, he quickens his pace. He's about to swipe his
card when a beam of light bounces along the wall.
He presses himself into an alcove. Through a chink in the
unfinished wall he sees:
Delbert come in the front door. His rounds consist of shining
his torch up at the cameras, making sure the red lights are
on.
He walks right past Milo (who doesn't breath).
Delbert swipes open the double doors, leans in: the humming
gets louder.
ON MILO: pressing himself into the alcove.
Delbert turns around, heads back down the hall... exits the
building.
Milo waits a beat before heading to the end of the hall.
Using the card, he enters
A BIG SPACE
A studio-to-be, architectural touches like soffits framed in
but not plaster-boarded. The portentous hum comes from around
a corner. He approaches, convinced the answer lies here.
Clearing the wall he sees:
A squat emergency generator sitting on the floor, powering
construction lights. Something you'd buy at Sears.
EXT. #21 ENTRANCE/A MOMENT LATER - (BINOCULAR SHOT)
Through infra-red binoculars we see Milo come out, looking
left and right, to make sure he hasn't been observed.
VOICE (RANDY)
Well. Now he knows: nothin' in there.
We are
INT. PHIL'S OFFICE - BLDG. 20 - CONTINUOUS
Randy turns back into the room, where Phil is sifting through
papers spread over a coffee table.
RANDY
Maybe he'll get back to work.
PHIL
Speaking of which...
RANDY
Yeah, yeah.
Randy pulls the blinds shut, joins Phil.
EXT. QUAD - CRANE SHOT CONTINUOUS
From a high angle, we track Milo, as he walks along the path
to a bench. The camera passes briefly behind a dark object
in the foreground (dog sculpture) as we track him.
QUAD - TIGHTER - CONTINUOUS
Milo sags onto the bench. He stares out, perplexed, suffering.
Then he knits his brow. He seems to be studying -- the ground.
Or rather the shadow stretched out in front of him: the
looming silhouette of the dog atop the Day Care.
He stands up, turns around. REVERSE ON:
The whimsical canine. Push toward it's ears cocked to the
sky... Then toward a single ear, framed by fur-brown concrete,
but with a smooth, concave inner surface of enamelled metal:
satellite dish.
MILO
(muttering)
...in a tree...
EXT. DAY CARE CENTER - A MOMENT LATER
At the entrance, Milo applies the swipe-card.
INT. DAY CARE CENTER - CONTINUOUS
He steps in on colorful carpeting, amid balls & tricycles.
Kid's artwork hangs on the wall. He moves through this room,
into the
COMPUTER ROOM
20 screens glow. They hang suspended over a wide, ringed
table, a chair at each keyboard. Indeed, Gary has spared no
expense for the toddlers: they're flat, sleek, digital
screens. At the moment, they show colorful, childish contour
drawings that say WHERE I WANNA WORK (e.g.: a spaceship).
There are a dozen more screens on tables at the perimeter of
the room showing screensavers (eg: angelfish swimming).
Milo moves slowly around the table, studying the screens.
Not surprisingly, most of the WHERE I WANNA WORK drawings
are of desks or tables with computers.
Tracking just ahead of Milo, we get to a screen that shows a
workstation with a red pennant on the wall, a rubber plant
at each end of a desk. Even in contour form it's -- familiar.
Milo passes it. And comes back to it.
Staring at it, he sits. He begins typing. [The drawing still
occupies the screen, but in a window he's brought up at the
bottom, there is dense, DOS-looking code.] He types furiously --
numbers, symbols, backslashes. Whatever he's trying to do is
a challenge even to him. He deletes lines, begins anew, his
frustration evident.
As he works through the layers of code, the pixels on the
screen start to fill in. The contour lines slowly dissolve
into a live broadcast image of Teddy's workstation in
Sunnyvale (eerily empty, now).
When all the pixels have fallen into place, Milo hears CLICK
CLICK CLICK CLICK CLICK from every direction, as all the
screens in the room fill in with live broadcast images. All
of them show variations on a theme:
A workstation seen by a camera over-the-shoulder of a
programmer (if he were present). The stations are of various
shapes and sizes, but in each case we have an unobstructed
view of screen & keyboard. At this hour, few programmers are
present. One guy has fallen asleep, his head on a desk. A
Japanese Geek is hard at work: it's day there.
INT. PHIL'S OFFICE - CONTINUOUS
Phil and Randy work at the coffee table.
PHIL
Did you download Corey? In San Jose?
RANDY
Damn. 'Have to go back over there.
(he stands, stretches)
Be so much easier if we could walk
in the front door.
PHIL
You don't look anything like a three-
year-old.
INT. DAY CARE - COMPUTER ROOM - CONTINUOUS
Milo works the keyboard. Again, the code gets dense and
obscure as he goes deeper. He succeeds in calling-up a
graphical interface. Among the menus he can choose from are:
TARGET SCHOOLS, PD UPLOADS, RX UPLOADS.
He clicks Target Schools, a menu shoots down (Berkeley, Cal
Tech, etc.). He clicks Stanford, then Chin, Teddy. Two windows
open. In one, there is a video stream of Teddy winning an
award in the Gate's Bldg. In the other, uploaded police video
stenciled SUNNYVALE PD) of the White Supremacists whose mug-
shots we saw in the San Jose Mercury; they're being
interrogated.
In the first window, Teddy's image dissolves into a handheld
crime-scene video (marked SV-PD) of a ransacked grocery store.
"DIE GOOK!" is painted on a wall. Milo looks confused: some
"narrative" is unfolding, but it remains obscure without
audio.
He types some more.
In the bottom window, he brings up convoluted text regarding
the audio. About the only phrases we can understand are:
"Audio Block ON" and "Hardware Requirement: Magnetic Filter
Type PBX-R17."
His eyes cast about the room for some suitable hardware
substitute. He digs in his shirt pocket. He takes out his
swipe card, studies it. He casts about some more, till he
sees some kids' safety scissors in a jar.
INT. BUILDING 20 - SERVICE HALL - CONTINUOUS
Randy whistles as he heads up the hall. Arriving at the door
with the Civil Defense sticker, he swipes his card.
INT. DAY CARE COMPUTER ROOM - CONTINUOUS
On-screen, long-lens footage shows a low building; the Aryan
Nations suspects come out of it. A still photo appears in
the 2nd window: a steel hasp.
Milo's eyes are narrowed: what am I seeing? Meantime, he is
reaching under the table where he has removed a plate from
the mainframe terminal, exposing hardware within.
He has trimmed the swipe card to size and is wedging its
magnetic strip into a metal slot. He wiggles the card. We
hear an eerie fibrillation, which flattens into the voice of
a serene, eminently sane female:
MULTIMEDIA NARRATOR
-- run this methamphetamine lab known
to Federal Authorities, per ND 47,
from which we removed the implement,
fingerprints intact.
Crime-scene video streams in now stenciled FBI by the
time/date). A handheld camera pans a blood-spattered wall
then shows a mutilated Asian murder victim. (All of this
footage is made even eerier by the jerky glitches always
present in streaming video, and its sinister graininess.)
MULTIMEDIA NARRATOR
FBI footage, procured by ND 47, shows
the aftermath of an Aryan Nations'
killing in Denver. Note the evidence
of torture, which is typical.
Milo pales as he realizes he is watching a primer on how
racial killings are done.
He hears a creaking noise behind him, and whirls.
It's the classroom hamster, on his wheel.
INT. STAIRWELL/BOMB SHELTER - CONTINUOUS
Still whistling, Randy descends some metal stairs, enters a
vast bomb shelter (canned foods, etc.)
INT. DAY CARE - COMPUTER ROOM - CONTINUOUS
Milo has tapped into his own file: footage of him lecturing
at Stanford (as an RA), pointing to a whiteboard.
MULTIMEDIA NARRATOR
-- complete immersion in code-writing
renders him both unobservant and
suggestible [click]. On two occasions
he went truant from classes to attend
Comix Conventions.
The audio crackles and drops out again. Milo's eyes narrow:
he sees video of Alice, sitting on a folding chair, speaking
to someone. She has a harder look, pulls on a Marlboro.
What's he seeing? He wiggles the jerry-rigged hardware almost
urgently, till the narration crackles back on:
MULTIMEDIA NARRATOR
-- Rebecca P, a Connecticut art stu-
dent facing Federal drug charges,
whose records were supplied to us by
N.D. 47.
He hears her voice under the Narration, answering an unseen
Interrogator (sounds like Phil). It's a job interview. Milo
subtly, unconsciously shakes his head, as if to deny what
his eyes see. The narration begins to fibrillate, again:
MULTIMEDIA NARRATOR (O.S.)
Armed with his personal files, she
was easily able to ingratiate herself
with the socially maladroit Milo --
The audio drops out as Milo sees uploaded medical files and
ER photos of himself marked STANFORD MEDICAL CENTER: he's
waxen, bloated, gasping for breath. With a certain dread,
Milo jams the card in deeper:
MULTIMEDIA NARRATOR
...she planted the sesame seed both
to test the extent of his proclivity
and to provide a bonding experience,
since she would quote "save his life."
Milo is devastated, disbelieving. Now he sees real-time ER
footage: an Allergy Victim, bloated, twitching, gasping,
dying...
MULTIMEDIA NARRATOR
-- should it be needed Milo's allergy
is the ideal --
The audio crackles out. But Milo doesn't have the heart to
bring it back: he can fill in the rest.
INT. UNDERGROUND TUNNEL - CONTINUOUS
Randy traverses a well-lit tunnel. Still whistling.
INT. COMPUTER ROOM - DAY CARE CENTER - NIGHT
Numb now, Milo clicks randomly: crime footage, personal
records, animations -- it all flies by with Chuck Worman-
like speed.
MULTIMEDIA NARRATOR
Note that the cult members are found
reclining after swallowing the [click]
Syringe marks best hidden at base of
scrotum [click] mimics high blood
alcohol [click] indistinguishable
from kidney failure.
Milo closes his eyes, leans back: overwhelmed. Suddenly he
sits forward, whispers almost fervently as he types:
MILO
Please don't be one of them.
INT. DAY-CARE - UNDERGROUND ROOM - CONTINUOUS
Camera moves slowly through stacks of pre-school supplies,
toward a windowed door at the back of the room.
RANDY appears in the window, lit ominously from below. He
applies his swipe card.
INT. COMPUTER ROOM - CONTINUOUS
Milo watches footage of Lisa taken by surveillance cam- eras:
she is outside #21, trying to peek in the door.
MULTIMEDIA NARRATOR
...needs to be watched, due to her
heightened level of suspicion --
In one window, footage of Lisa casing the hallway before
going into Milo's office; in another, footage of her eating
lunch with Milo.
MULTIMEDIA NARRATOR
-- and to her possible contagion of
key employees.
Milo clicks. A MAN's pair of mug shots appear. In the other
window, a grade-school yearbook photo of Lisa.
MULTIMEDIA NARRATOR
In August '86 Lisa informed her mother
of the sexual molestation by her
stepfather, and of his threat to
kill her should she tell anyone.
Milo watches streaming local news footage of a man being
taken from a courtroom in shackles (jerky, grainy). He's
lost the audio, but doesn't need it, anymore.
INT. DAY-CARE STAIRWELL
Randy climbs up to the main floor... whistling.
INT. COMPUTER ROOM - DAY CARE - CONTINUOUS
Milo watches eerie crime-scene footage: a Girl with her throat
slashed.
But then, hearing nearly-distant whistling, he clicks on
windows furiously: closing them.
INT. DAY CARE BACK ROOM - CONTINUOUS
Randy rounds a corner. He enters the
COMPUTER ROOM - CONTINUOUS
The screens show the children's contour images, again. Where's
Milo?
Randy takes a seat at the same console Milo was at, and begins
to type. Camera booms slowly down beneath table-level to
find:
MILO hanging onto the underside of the table, knuckles white,
as he clings to metal table braces. The toes of his sneakers
are jammed into the space between a black plastic data tower
and the table bottom.
Randy shifts in his seat, his knee rising toward Milo's back.
Milo arches it, avoids a knee by mere millimeters.
RANDY: brings up a shot of a Programmer at work, zooms in on
his screen to begin collecting his code.
MILO: begins to lose his grip as sweat forms on his brow
and, worse, on his hands. They're giving way.
RANDY: clicks. A printer across the room start making a hard-
copy of the purloined code.
MILO: stares in horror as the data tower his toes are jammed
on top of starts to shift -- threatening to disengage from
its ports. He tries to lift it back up with heels of his
shoes.
RANDY: knits his brow as his screen flickers. He keeps typing,
but starts to lower his head: he's going to look under the
table.
MILO: winces as he presses the tower upward with his heels,
while trying to maintain his balance...
RANDY: lowering his head, keeps his eyes on the screen, hits
keys. Just as he is about to clear the level of the table --
the screen re-illumines. He comes back up.
MILO: having extended his legs to support the tower, feels
his hands slipping...
RANDY: closes up the window...
MILO: flops to the carpet(!) just as --
RANDY pushes away from the table... From the floor
MILO watches him walk over to the printer, collect his
hardcopy, and disappear from view.
Milo listens: the door clicks shut, the whistling recedes.
BACK ROOM - A MOMENT LATER
Milo traces Randy's steps. He sees the door with the Civil
Defense sticker, intuits how Randy got here, i.e, how one
moves, unobserved, between the Day Care and #20.
He sags against the wall. Wondering what to do, now.
EXT./INT. MILO'S CAR/STREET - DAWN
Milo sits in his idling car, staring at his own house, up
the street. How can he go in there?
He puts the car in gear, does a U-Turn.
EXT. DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE - SEATTLE - EARLY MORNING
The Deux Chevaux is parked on the street outside a government
building. Not many people are around, yet. A Janitor hoses
down the sidewalk.
INT. DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE - RECEPTION AREA MORNING
Milo slides a business card across a reception desk. It's
the one the rumpled Prosecutor, Lyle Barton, gave him that
day in Palo Alto.
MILO (O.S.)
He gave me this. 'Said I should come
see him if --
DOJ RECEPTIONIST
He's not in yet.
MILO
Can I wait in his office?
DOJ RECEPTIONIST
It's locked, dear.
He looks over his shoulder, then back again, frightened.
MILO
Please.
DOJ RECEPTIONIST
Wait in his outer office.
INT. BARTON'S OUTER OFFICE - MORNING
Milo sits on a wooden bench, foot tapping. Hearing Barton's
voice, he comes to his feet. Barton enters with a Co-Worker,
holding a container of coffee, discussing the particulars of
a case.
CO-WORKER
Do I make the call, or do you?
Milo is relieved the second he sees Barton's kindly face.
MILO
Mr. Barton, do you remember me?
BARTON
...It's -- Milo, isn't it?
MILO
Yes sir. I need to talk to you.
BARTON
Give me two seconds with Lacy here?
(unlocks his door)
Go on in, I won't be a moment.
Milo enters as Barton finishes up with his colleague.
BARTON (O.S.)
I'll make the call, but I think you
need to send a Fax first (etc.).
INT. BARTON'S OFFICE - CONTINUOUS
Milo paces. He surveys framed diplomas, commendations and
photos on the wall. He takes comfort in their solidity:
pictures of Barton's teenage Kids, Barton and Wife at the
Grand Canyon. There's a college football photo, a young Barton
with his team. Milo studies it, smiles. Move in on the photo,
till we see the number on Barton's Notre Dame football jersey:
ND 47.
Milo's smile fades. It takes a moment before he even hears
Barton behind him.
BARTON
Milo?
MILO
Yeah. Hi. Thank you for seeing me.
BARTON
Have a seat.
As Milo takes the seat in front of the desk (mind spinning)
Barton moves to his own chair.
BARTON
What seems to be the problem? You
look a little upset.
MILO
I am. I am, sir.
What's he gonna say?
BARTON
Milo?
MILO
My friend, my best friend, Teddy,
was killed in Silicon Valley.
BARTON
My goodness.
MILO
It was racially motivated. He's
Chinese. He was. And... I know
sometimes the FBI gets involved with
that. Don't they?
BARTON
If there's a Civil Rights violation.
But generally we let the local police
and DA do their work first.
MILO
I -- just wanna help bring these
guys to justice. They're neo-Nazis.
BARTON
Let me look into it, see what's being
done. Frankly, it's not my area.
MILO
(he gets up)
'Just didn't know who else to talk
to.
BARTON
(circles an arm over
Milo)
And Outpost? You're happy there?
MILO
Yes sir.
INT. MILO & ALICE'S HOUSE - MORNING
Alice is on the phone in the front room. Agitated, she puffs
on a pencil (surrogate cigarette). We hear Phil through the
receiver:
PHIL (ON THE PHONE)
'Didn't mention he was going to the
Justice Department?
ALICE
No.
INTERCUT WITH:
INT. PHIL'S OFFICE - CONTINUOUS
PHIL
Not like him, is it? To do a thing
like that without telling you. You're
not losing your hold on him, are
you?
ALICE
He'll tell me when he gets home.
PHIL
That'll be a test, won't it?
ALICE
Instead of busting my chops you should
do something about that girl. Fire
her. Or something.
PHIL
Lisa's an extremely valuable member
of the Skywire team. We've got our
eyes on her. You keep yours on Milo.
ALICE
(as she hangs up)
Prick.
EXT. MILO & ALICE'S HOUSE - MORNING
Milo comes up the path. He pauses as he nears the door: he's
not sure he can pull this off.
INT. HOUSE - CONTINUOUS
As Milo enters, Alice rushes to meet him.
ALICE
It's almost nine, I've been so
worried!
(she takes his hands)
What did you see in there?
MILO
Nothing.
ALICE
Nothing?
She watches him as he collapses onto the couch.
MILO
It's what they said it is. An
unfinished broadcast studio. You
were right... I just drove to Seattle
and back.
ALICE
...Why?
MILO
Remember Lyle Barton?
She shakes her head.
MILO
The Justice Department guy who came
to the apartment when --
ALICE
I remember.
MILO
After I broke into 21 -- which was
insane, thank God they didn't catch
me! -- I just drove around. Trying
to figure out what possessed me. You
know what? I've been putting my own
guilt on Gary.
ALICE
Guilt?
MILO
(quietly)
If I'd stayed down there, maybe this
wouldn't've happened.
ALICE
Poor baby. You know that's not true.
She sits by him, touches her hand to his face tenderly. He
closes his eyes for a moment, steels himself to her touch.
Then he forces himself to cup his hand over hers.
But he can't stand it. He gets up, looks out the window.
MILO
I thought, instead of indulging all
these paranoid delusions, risking my
job, alienating Gary, scaring you, I
should do something useful with my
grief. Help them find Teddy's killers.
He doesn't see her smile: is that all. Assuming an
appropriately concerned expression, she moves toward him:
ALICE
I was so worried about you.
She turns him around, kisses him. Her eyes are closed. His
remain open. He's looking at her. Trying to comprehend the
treachery.
She touches him, breathes heavily. She wants more than kisses:
to prove to herself how wrong Phil was, her professional
pride insulted. Or perhaps it's more personal than that,
especially with Lisa as a potential rival.
MILO
(through their kisses)
...been such a long night.
But she doesn't stop. She moans as she presses herself to
him: wants proof of his devotion.
INT. BEDROOM - LATER
He's on top of her in the moment just after. Her eyes are
closed. He stares at her -- glares at her -- with what we
recognize as spent anger.
ALICE
That was -- different.
MILO
...Different?
Shit. She knows.
ALICE
You didn't feel it? So intense.
What's clear is, she liked it. A clap of thunder takes us
to:
EXT. PIZZA PARLOR - NIGHT
It's pouring. Milo stands outside, wearing a slicker, looking
in the window at someone.
INT. PIZZA PLACE - MOMENT LATER
Lisa reads a paperback at a table, a slice of pizza on her
plate, an umbrella hooked to her chair. Sensing someone
standing over her, she looks up. She smiles.
LISA
So you're not avoiding me.
Milo sits across from her. He doesn't know where to start.
LISA
What's wrong?
He looks around, wants to make sure no one's listening. He
speaks very quietly.
MILO
I snuck into #21.
LISA
Why would you do a thing like --
MILO
You thought about it too. You've
been suspicious for a while. But
it's not happening in there. It's
happening in the Day Care.
LISA
The Day Care?
Two Men with even features enter the restaurant. One has a
laptop case slung over his shoulder.
MILO
Can we go someplace else?
EXT. CITY PARK - NIGHT
They're in a bandshell. The rain falls heavily, drips off
the eaves. She holds the filament from Teddy's workspace.
MILO
It's easy to know who the smart geeks
are, the schools tell 'em. They upload
medical files, school records,
pharmacy files. They'd be happy just
to steal code forever. But when a
program gets close to fruition. Like
Teddy. He was almost there.
LISA
But why would they --?
MILO
You know. There is no second place.
And what's the risk? The killings're
undetectable, they're hand-tailored,
they make "sense." I mean, they're
in the information business. They
have scenarios for all of us, too.
In case we find out too much.
She's peering at him. He reads her mind.
MILO
I'm not one of them. Not trying to
"suss you out."
She wants to believe him.
MILO
They killed my best friend! I'm living
with somebody they pay to go to bed
with me. Can't you trust somebody
just once? I don't wanna be alone
here.
His plea is so ardent, his humanity so transparent. But she
can't quite do it.
LISA
I'm sorry, Milo... I'm sorry.
She smiles sadly as she backs away.
MILO
(forcefully)
I know why you're so secretive. Why
you won't let anybody near you.
(quieter)
I know what he did to you.
LISA
Oh yeah?
She tries to sound tough; there are tears in her eyes.
LISA
So that's in my -- file?
He wants to comfort her. He takes a step toward her. She
shakes her head: no.
LISA
Is that my -- scenario?
(when he hesitates)
Tell me.
MILO
They'd frame him.
LISA
(horrified)
He's out of prison?
MILO
(he nods)
They're already watching you. If
they had to, they'd give him this
drug that mimics an alcoholic
blackout. He'd wake up not even
remembering his "act of revenge."
She draws her hands to her face as the facade cracks. She
weeps silently. He moves to her, carefully, slowly, seeing
her fear, her trauma. He touches her shoulders. She tenses,
tries to back away.
LISA
No.
But he holds on.
MILO
Nobody's gonna hurt you.
Slowly, he wraps his arms around her.
She remains tense for a moment, then yields, pressing her
face into his shoulder. The rain drums on the bandshell.
After a moment:
LISA
...Milo?
MILO
Hmm?
LISA
I always felt if a -- boy I liked
ever found out -- he'd run. He'd
think I was unclean.
MILO
No, no. Never.
She clings to him tightly, now, the wall of her mistrust
breached after all the years of pain, secrecy, shame.
A wide shot: they hold each other, alone in the storm.
VOICE (PHIL)
All his suspicions were allayed?
INT. LIBRARY-LIKE OFFICE - DAY
Alice nods. She sits in front of leather-bound books.
VOICE
You're sure.
She's at Gary's house. On the hot seat. Phil and Randy watch
her. Gary does, too, but deep in shadow, behind a desk, at a
remove. Rain falls heavily on the Lake.
ALICE
He said it made sense that Gary's
code was like Teddy's, that that
cliché about great minds was true.
Said it was all about his own guilt.
(she shrugs)
Plus, he has a tendency to get Gary
mixed-up with his dad once in a while.
It always passes.
PHIL
He wasn't acting?
ALICE
I don't think he knows how.
Phil looks convinced. Gary doesn't.
EXT. HIGHWAY/GAS STATION - MORNING
From across the highway (cars with morning commuters whiz
by) we see Milo pumping gas at a self-serve; Lisa fills-up
in the next lane. Ostensibly, they have run into each other
on the way to work. They are smiling, casual.
Only when we cut close do we see that their expressions bear
no connection to their words.
LISA
What about the FBI?
MILO
They've got this guy in the DOJ,
maybe others. We tell the wrong
person, it's over.
LISA
Who can we trust?
MILO
There's always a logical answer --
you just have to define the question.
She defines it:
LISA
How do you let go of a secret without
telling the wrong person.
She pretends to need help lifting her car hood: "a helpless
female." He comes over to help her.
MILO
We don't tell anybody.
(she's puzzled)
We tell everybody. At once. So there's
no secret left to protect. When
everybody knows, they don't dare
touch us.
INT. PHYSICAL SECURITY OFFICE - MORNING
Bob Shrot is on the phone. Behind him, a nerdy security
programmer, LEN DIETZ, is at the console that controls the
security cameras (the ones Milo futzed with).
SHROT
(into the phone)
No, Tony can't fill in for you, he's
not at your authorization level.
Scrolling, Len knits his brow: he's found something odd.
LEN
Bob? You better look at this.
EXT. GAS STATION - CONTINUOUS
Milo checks Lisa's oil for her.
MILO
Do we post it on the Net?
LISA
There're so many disinformation sites
about Gary already. Where he has
devil's horns or they crop him in
with Saddam Hussein.
INT. PHYSICAL SECURITY OFFICE - CONTINUOUS
Shrot stands over Len's shoulder.
SHROT
Could it be a glitch? Something the
construction workers caused?
LEN
Unlikely. All 14 cameras are frozen.
Do we call Randy and Phil? Tell 'em
there may have been a break-in?
SHROT
Not yet. 'Love to bust my ass cause
I'm not in frigging Mensa.
(walks to the window)
I swear to God, it's that kid Milo,
I told 'em so in the first place,
but they didn't even wanna hear about
it.
(turns to Len)
Let's run a printout on card entries.
EXT. GAS STATION - CONTINUOUS
Milo shows Lisa the oil stick. She nods.
LISA
The mainstream media. TV, or a
newsmagazine.
MILO
Right. But Gary's tied-in to a lot
of media conglomerates. Have to be
careful who we pick.
LISA
We could cross-reference a data base
on media ownership. But not on our
own computers. Not even at home.
MILO
Certainly not at my happy home.
He slams the hood.
INT. PHYSICAL SECURITY OFFICE - DAY
Shrot and Len watch a laser printer, as it spits out line
after line after line of swipe card entries...
MATCH DISSOLVE TO:
A LASER PRINTER spits out code. We are:
INT. MILO'S OFFICE - DAY
Milo watches new Skywire code emerge from his printer.
Gary is in the doorway behind him: watching Milo, scrutin-
izing him. Sensing someone, Milo turns and looks.
MILO
Gary, hi.
GARY
You look a little tired.
MILO
I'm okay. It's going well!
GARY
'Have a look?
MILO
Sure.
Gary takes the page. As he reads it over:
GARY
Why did you move around so much?
When you were a kid.
MILO
...My dad was a compulsive gambler.
Only he didn't think he was. That
applied to guys who didn't have a
"system." "Losers," who played games
of chance. He could "read" people,
so chance had nothing to do with it.
No matter how deep a hole he dug
himself, he'd give you the whole
speech. And you'd better not point
out the obvious.
(he shrugs)
His creditors would catch up to him.
Loan sharks or whatever. He'd wake
us in the middle of the night. Off
we'd go, again.
GARY
What would you tell the kids? At
your new school? You had to come up
with a good story, right?
Milo thinks: he's testing me.
MILO
No. I just went deeper into the
machine. Preferred being the geek to
having to explain. Lying would've
been worse.
GARY
...Worse?
MILO
Cause he was a liar. And I hated
him.
(mimicking a voice)
"Get your head out of that machine,
wise up to the real world." The more
he mocked me the deeper I went. Cause
if being savvy meant being like him --
(he shrugs)
Guess that's why I'm kind of clueless,
even now. Didn't cultivate my
conniving side. 'Not sure I even
have one.
GARY
Don't be so hard on yourself. With a
brain like yours, you could connive
with the best of 'em I bet.
Gary smiles. There's no way to read it.
EXT. PUBLIC LIBRARY - NIGHT
Establish the humble building, in a Park.
INT. LIBRARY - NIGHT
Lisa and Milo sit together in front of a monitor. A Kid does
his homework on a computer at the next table. Milo shakes
his head, as he scrolls.
MILO
He's buying up pretty much everything:
cable companies, baby bells, picture
libraries, museum rights, film
archives... Getting ready for Skywire.
LISA
(she's thinking)
What about "60 Minutes."
MILO
Yeah, they dig stuff like this.
(he types, then reads)
"CBS News has partnered with Outpost
Information Systems in a cable news
network due to launch Fall of 2001."
LISA
But still, you can't say CBS wouldn't
love to break something like --
MILO
(he's shaking his
head)
Say there's just one "mole" working
there, like Barton at the DOJ. How
do we know he's not the guy we've
contacted? Or she? Or the guy she
works for?
At the next table, she notices a Lady reading Time.
LISA
Time?
MILO
(types, reads)
Time-Warner has a 40 per cent stake
in Gary's set-top device. That also
takes out CNN.
(scrolling & scrolling)
"GE joins Outpost in new venture,"
which means NBC is out. "Disney joins
Outpost," ABC is out. "Outpost and
Newscorp in new deal," Fox is out.
Any of these places could have a
mole. Or all of 'em.
(still scrolling)
It's like a a continuous loop. We
can go to some alternative press
place that 1,000 people read, get
them and us killed. But anything big
enough for this is a parent of or a
subsidiary to something Gary's got a
finger in!
HOMEWORK KID
Shhh.
MILO
Sorry.
LISA
Milo?
She's thought of something. He's watching the nerdy Kid,
smiling sadly, perhaps identifying with him.
LISA
How close are you?
MILO
What?
LISA
He's got 12 satellites up. He's got
dishes on top of 21. He's building
this --
(gestures at the screen)
mega-network for Skywire. Let's use
it.
Move in on Milo as he thinks it over with a mixture of
excitement and skepticism.
EXT. LIBRARY/PARK - NIGHT
Milo and Lisa walk in the park outside the library, thinking
it through.
MILO
We can't just assume they're standing
by to receive Skywire 12 months from
launch. I'd have to write in an aglet.
LISA
A what?
MILO
It's how on-line services push logos
they wanna sell you. You don't ask
for 'em, they just appear. 'Have to
work on it somewhere besides my office
or my house. And then the quality of
the broadcast wouldn't exactly be
digital, that's 12 months away.
LISA
But they'd still get the idea, right?
MILO
You'd have to design a graphic
interface to make the data pop. Maybe
some audio, too. To tie it all in to
Gary. How long would that take you?
LISA
It's a standard GUI. Once I've got a
concept, it's maybe three day's work.
MILO
Gary knows I'm close on Skywire. We
have to do this fast.
LISA
Before they kill somebody else, too.
MILO
(a new wrinkle)
Oh, man. I'd have to get into Gary's
house. To get the satellite positions.
LISA
You mean -- break in?
MILO
I don't know --
LISA
And what if the broadcast dishes on
top of 21 aren't hot yet? You said
the place isn't finished.
The complications pile up. They walk. They think.
LISA
I'll go look.
(when he looks dubious)
They'll just have a few more pictures
of me snooping around.
They come to a fountain and balustrade at the edge of the
park, stop walking.
MILO
(looks at her)
Why were you so careless?
LISA
I thought the worst they would do is
fire me. Who knew they took
termination so literally?
Gallows humor. What a game girl. He's nuts about her.
MILO
Why were you snooping in my office?
LISA
Oh.
(she gets bashful)
I liked you. I was checking you out.
He kisses her. There are no constraints now, there's no
"adulterous" guilt: they kiss with a passion deferred.
INT. MILO'S OFFICE - NIGHT
Slow push-in on the phone on Milo's desk: it's ringing.
INT. ALICE'S STUDIO - CONTINUOUS
Alice is calling him. Her face hardens, she hangs up.
INT. MOTEL ROOM - LATER
As we pan the Best Western decor (in semi-darkness):
MILO (O.S.)
'Think everybody in this place is
here the same reason we are?
LISA (O.S.)
'Cause their apartments might be
bugged?
Milo grins. He & Lisa lie in bed.
MILO
I told Teddy about you.
LISA
What'd he say?
MILO
"A beautiful geek? What're the
chances?"
She smiles, rather bashfully.
MILO
I felt guilty. 'Cause I "owed so
much" to Alice. But even then I was
starting to wonder. Is it so great
to be so consumed by this one thing
that you let another person do your
thinking for you? If you have a
lucrative skill, it's all anybody
wants from you. You grow older but
you don't grow up. You turn into --
into --
LISA
Gary.
It's painful for him: losing a second father.
MILO
Larry used to say how the guys who
wrote the first cool operating
systems, like the UNIX guys at
Berkeley? They just gave it away.
They figured it was human knowledge,
it belonged to the world, like
Shakespeare or aspirin. 'Know what
I'm gonna do after we broadcast the
incriminating stuff? Air the Skywire
code. Then nobody can have a monopoly.
INT. ALICE & MILO'S HOUSE - LATER
Alice is in bed. In the darkness, Milo comes in as quietly
as possible. But she switches on the bedside lamp.
ALICE
Where were you?
(holding his gaze)
You know you can't keep anything
from me.
MILO
Okay, yeah. I did something naughty...
There's this amazing Comix store in
Seattle.
(is she buying it?)
To tell you the truth, I did it once
or twice at Stanford. 'Guess I can't
keep anything from you...
Of course she buys it: it's in the file.
ALICE
(she smiles)
I won't turn you in.
INT. PHYSICAL SECURITY OFFICE - MORNING
Shrot and Len go over the print-out of the card entries.
LEN
Every entry was authorized.
SHROT
Keep looking.
LEN
What're we looking for?
SHROT
Any irregularity in the pattern.
INT. MILO & ALICE'S HOUSE - MORNING
Morning TV is on in the kitchen. A Seattle station airs a
puff piece about a party at Gary's house: people in formal
clothes (including Gary & his Wife) hold drinks and eat
canapés on the terrace over Lake Washington. (Gary's haircut
is different: it's file footage.)
TV VOICE
Last years' party-goers pledged over
$2 million to the Museum; this year's
event promises to raise even more.
Lured in part by the chance to see
the stunning Boyd house...
Alice, grinding coffee, isn't paying attention. Milo is.
MILO
Look at this.
ALICE
What?
MILO
Why doesn't he ask us to his party.
He's never even met you.
ALICE
He has thousands of employees, Milo --
MILO
It's for the Museum. He knows you're
a painter. If anybody should be
invited --
ALICE
Milo --
MILO
I know you think I'm too attached to
him, but still. I am close to Gary.
And you're the most meaningful person
in my life.
(he gets up)
I'm going back to the Comix place,
why should I be killing myself.
ALICE
Milo, you --
But he's out the door. She's not entirely displeased by such
a dramatic demonstration of his loyalty to her.
EXT. BUILDING 21 - DAY
Close on a satellite dish. We pan from the base of the dish
to the wiring: a cable is fused to a component box.
Lisa is on the scaffolding, having climbed it brazenly, in
broad daylight. She holds a small metal box with a meter and
two clamps. She applies the clamps to the base of the cable.
The needle on the meter dances.
GUARD
Hey! Get down here!
She was expecting to be busted. Still, she's scared.
EXT. SAINT CATHERINE'S DAY SCHOOL - DAY
A Catholic school on a wooded lane. Schoolgirls in uniform
play on the swings and hopscotch courts.
INT. LIBRARY - SAINT CATHERINE'S
Milo types madly on a four-year-old PC. It takes him a moment
to notice SISTER BEATRICE.
MILO
This is a lifesaver. My PC crashed
just before finals.
SISTER BEATRICE
None of us knows how to use it. I'm
thinking of taking a course.
(she wants to look)
May I?
MILO
Sure.
With her, we see the complex lines of code.
SISTER BEATRICE
Forget it.
INT. PHYSICAL SECURITY OFFICE - DAY
Lisa sits with Bob Shrot. She's unfolding a page of sketch
paper.
LISA
I needed t'see it up close for a
graphic. The outpost with a dish on
top? I climbed up there to get it
right.
She hands him an unfinished rendering of the dish. He looks
at her, at the drawing, at her again. She's scared, but tries
to hide it.
SHROT
(hands back the drawing)
Next time you ask.
Relieved, she gets up. The meter tumbles to the floor, thud.
She goes white. But when she looks up, she sees
Shrot didn't see it: Len is standing in the inner door, waving
a printout.
LEN
'Might of found something.
Lisa grabs up the meter as Shrot joins Len. As she goes out,
she hears:
LEN
Delbert seems to enter #21 twice.
Without leaving the first time.
SHROT
Let's get him in here.
INT. SEATTLE MONORAIL CAR - NIGHT
Milo looks up as his train comes into a station. Lisa enters
the car, carrying a stack of comix. He stands, they kiss, he
takes the comix.
MILO
Great. I knocked off the aglet, as
soon as I get a passable version of
Skywire we're there.
LISA
The dishes are juiced up, too.
MILO
Thank God.
LISA
Milo? Shrot suspects somebody broke
into #21. I was in his office when
he was reviewing the card readouts.
MILO
(confused)
They know I broke in. Alice helped
me.
(figuring it out)
Shrot's not one of them. He's
blundering into this on his own.
LISA
He doesn't know about the Day Care.
MILO
Hardly anybody does, that's the beauty
part. No cameras, the DOJ doesn't
bother with it, it's accessed by a
tunnel they boast about. You know
the best place to hide a leaf?
LISA
Yeah, that's old, in a tree.
MILO
Oh.
LISA
Milo? What if Shrot notices somebody
entered the Day Care at four A.M.?
And tells them about it?
They look at each other: the consequences of this discovery
would be deadly.
INT. BUILDING 20 CAFETERIA - DAY
A busy lunch hour. Milo is eating with some other Programmers,
including Desi. There's a stir of excitement in the room.
Gary comes straight to Milo's table; all conversation
instantly drops out.
GARY
Milo?
Milo stands. Gary hands him a heavy vellum invitation.
GARY
I'm giving a benefit for the art
museum Thursday night. Thought you'd
like to bring Alice.
Everybody at the table is listening.
MILO
That's great! Thanks.
GARY
(as he goes)
'Sorry about the late notice...
Milo sits down. Everybody's looking at him.
DESI
"Sorry about the late notice?"
INT. PHYSICAL SECURITY OFFICE - DAY
Delbert is seated across from Shrot and Len. Shrot holds the
printout.
SHROT
Why did you enter #21 twice?
DELBERT
Huh?
Shrot hands Delbert the printout. Delbert looks at it: dense
with coded entries. He stares at it.
DELBERT
This thing's screwed-up. Look here.
(shows it to them)
'Shows me going into the Day Care
that night. I never been in the Day
Care.
Shrot narrows his eyes...
INT. PUBLIC LIBRARY - DAY
Milo sits with Lisa as she brings up the graphic interface
she's designed for the Skywire broadcast. It's an Outpost
desktop, with recognizable logos, fonts, etc.
LISA
One window'll be obits I downloaded,
based on the scenarios you described.
The other windows'll accommodate the
surveillance stuff you told me about.
The idea is, this works with anything,
since we can't edit.
He nods. [It's not necessary for us to understand what she's
saying, just so Milo does.] She holds up an audio copy of
Gary's book, The Next Highway.
LISA
Same with the excerpts I'm choosing:
they'll play against any of the images
you described.
MILO
Perfect.
(something preys on
his mind)
How am I gonna get away from the
party long enough to --
LISA
You could always say you have to go
the bathroom.
MILO
That's lame, isn't it?
LISA
You'll come up with something.
He already looks nervous. We begin to hear live music.
EXT. GARY'S HOUSE - NIGHT
The music echoes from inside. Push past a line of cars and
limousines in the lit-up drive, Milo's car at the head of
it.
Milo and Alice get out. As they go inside, she pulls a tag
from the sleeve of his just-bought dinner jacket.
INT. GARY'S HOUSE - ENTRANCE HALL - CONTINUOUS
As Milo and Alice enter, he sees a Balthus painting re-
digitize to a Mondrian.
ALICE
They called the house to ask who's
your favorite painter.
Alice smiles, Milo forces a smile: it'll be even harder to
sneak away, now.
They pass a doorway where a Houseman stands, to keep guests
from entering residential rooms (the ones Milo must pass
through to get to Gary's workroom). A Guy in a pretentiously
hip tux tries to peek in.
HOUSEMAN
Sorry, Sir, this part of the residence
is restricted.
Milo looks a little more tense...
PARTY ROOM - A MOMENT LATER
The room is full of people. A long windowed wall has been
opened onto a lakeside terrace, where more Guests drink and
chat, and an orchestra plays.
A giant Mondrian digitizes on the wall: the world's largest
ID card. Milo sinks a little more.
Across the room, Gary, his Wife (a blandly pretty blond) and
two Men are grouped around a Monet set on an antique easel
(thus clearly the real thing; Mrs. Boyd has prevailed.) Gary
notices the giant digital Mondrian.
MILO takes two flutes of champagnes off a tray. He hands one
to Alice as Gary et. al. approach.
GARY
Alice, I'm Gary. This is my wife,
Clarissa.
(handshakes, etc.)
Milo, this is Barry Linder, who's
visiting from Hollywood.
LINDER is a short, tan man of 50.
LINDER
I hate being the Hollywood guy. It's
so limiting. Meet my friend, Ricky.
RICKY is 25-years-old; he looks like a Polo model.
RICKY
Hi, guys.
GARY
Barry's studio's gonna help fill the
Skywire pipeline, thought you guys
should meet.
MILO
(his mind elsewhere)
Cool.
ANGLE: the orchestra, playing.
ANGLE: a group of SOCIETY TYPES chatting.
SOCIETY WOMAN
He's a sweetheart. He gave 10,000
PC's to the Library Association.
SOCIETY MAN
All 10,000 of which will be signed
onto his browser, no doubt.
SOCIETY WOMAN
And so what?!
ANOTHER MAN
Wait'll all the books are on-line.
SOCIETY WOMAN
And so what?
ANGLE: Milo, Alice, Gary, Barry Linder, Clarissa, Ricky.
Milo looks utterly preoccupied...
LINDER
The merchandising implications are
epic. A kid's watching the movie, he
points and clicks at the laser blaster --
before the reel's even over he's
ordered the toy.
ALICE
But, I mean -- Devil's Advocate --
won't that influence the content?
Won't the artists complain? The
directors or writers or whoever?
LINDER
Artists? Darling, the only art left
in America is business. You're in
Picasso's house!
Gary smiles as everyone toasts him, except Milo; he hasn't
heard any of it.
MILO
Where's the bathroom?
LINDER
The irreverence!
Laughter.
TRACK MILO as he wends his way through laughing, chatting
Guests, dread and determination on his face. He moves away
from us, enters the
ENTRANCE HALL
speaks to the Houseman who guards the residential rooms.
HOUSEMAN
You'll have to use one over there.
He indicates an area on Milo's side of the door.
MILO
There's like eight women waiting in
line. They take forever.
(winces: painful
bladder)
Please?
HOUSEMAN
Right here.
He points to a door immediately behind him. As the Houseman
watches, Milo goes into the
BATHROOM
He stands there a moment, breathes deeply. He cracks open
the door. The Houseman is turning away another Guest; Milo
makes his move.
DEN-LIKE ROOM - CONTINUOUS
Looking over his shoulder, Milo hurries to a door at the far
end of the room, silently cursing the Mondrian that inevitably
appears.
The Houseman looks over his shoulder, sees the closed bathroom
door, assumes Milo's still inside.
INT. PARTY ROOM - CONTINUOUS
Gary chats with his guests. Alice looks up at the digital
art, now a Bosch again.
INT. GARY'S HOUSE - VARIOUS ROOMS - CONTINUOUS
Milo walks fast. As he passes from one room to next, he sees
a Mondrian: he's been in this room. All the austere,
tastefully decorated rooms are blending together.
He stands in the center of the room making quarter turns.
Through each of four (open) doorways he sees a perfectly-
appointed "den," the ultimate expression of bland, rich,
professionally-decorated taste.
He's lost.
He starts into one room -- backs up -- goes into another.
INT. ENTRANCE HALL - CONTINUOUS
The Houseman looks over his shoulder again. He sees the
Mondrian and, in the room beyond that, another Mondrian.
He moves to the bathroom door, knocks on it. Opens it. He
pulls a sleek walkie-talkie from his jacket.
INT. ANOTHER DEN - CONTINUOUS
Milo, still lost, is getting frantic. He doubles back, cuts
toward another wing of the house. Through an open doorway he
sees:
A young, chillingly calm NANNY, watching him. The Baby fusses
in her arms. Milo smiles, keeps moving.
INT. GARY'S HOUSE - A DEN - CONTINUOUS
A Second Houseman follows the trail of Mondrians. He sees
Mondrians in two different directions. He hesitates, picks a
direction, keeps moving.
INT. PARTY ROOM - CONTINUOUS
The first Houseman moves through the Guests, toward Gary.
INT. GARY'S WORKROOM - CONTINUOUS
Milo has finally made it. Sitting at Gary's work station, he
slips a CD-ROM into the PC. It floods with text. The music
echoes from far off. The entire wall behind him is filled
with a Mondrian.
INT. DINING ROOM - CONTINUOUS
As Linder chats, the first Houseman sidles up to Gary,
whispers in his ear. We see Gary smile, excuse himself. He
and Alice share a look as he moves off.
We go with Gary. His smiles fades instantly. He pushes through
Guests, who thank him for hosting such a brilliant "do;" he
hardly hears them.
INT. GARY'S WORKROOM - NIGHT
Milo writes frantically on his tiny pad, copying from the PC
screen:
LONGITUDE - 77 Degrees 03 Minutes 58 Seconds East
LATITUDE - 38 Degrees 55 Minutes 14 Seconds South
ALTITUDE - 426 MILES
He flips the page, begins entering the fixes for the next
satellite. Thinking he's heard something, he looks up.
Nobody's there.
INT. ANOTHER DEN - CONTINUOUS
The Second Houseman turns in several directions, confused by
the trail of Mondrians. Passing into the next room, he runs
into a Third Houseman, also confused. Each follows a different
Mondrian, in a different room.
INT. GARY'S HOUSE - A DEN - CONTINUOUS
Unlike the Housemen, Gary doesn't follow the paintings. He
moves swiftly, seems to know where Milo is.
GARY'S WORKROOM - CONTINUOUS
Milo still working...
PARTY ROOM - CONTINUOUS
Alice looks up at the digital painting: still a Bosch. Her
face sets grimly.
INT. GARY'S WORKROOM - CONTINUOUS
Milo clicks, closing the window. Concentrating, he doesn't
see what we see on the wall behind him: the Mondrian drains
away... And the wall fills up with the hellish Bosch triptych.
After a moment, Milo senses something.
Gary stands in the doorway. Watching him. Milo doesn't
breathe. Gary crosses the room, eyes locked with Milo's.
Gary comes behind Milo. He reads the screen. It's filled
with text, whatever Milo loaded in when he sat down.
GARY
(reading the screen)
"Dear Lisa. I've enjoyed working
with you. I'd be lying if I didn't
say I find you attractive. But in my
heart I know that Alice..."
(he looks up)
You left my party to send E-mail?
MILO
I couldn't do it at work cause of
security or at home for -- obvious
reasons.
Gary stares at Milo. He looks skeptical. The party music
floats in from afar as the moment stretches.
GARY
You could've handwritten it.
MILO
I'm not much good at handwriting. Or
parties.
GARY
Oh, that's right. You're "clueless."
This hangs there.
MILO
Gary, I'm sorry if I was rude --
The Second Houseman sticks his head in.
HOUSEMAN
Everything OK, Mr. Boyd?
GARY
No problem.
(when he's gone)
Is there?
MILO
Gary, I --
GARY
You see what's hanging on the wall?
He looks over. Milo looks over. Among the framed
commendations, awards, degrees we see Milo's childhood
program, written on Outpost 1.0. Gary has had it framed.
Milo absorbs it. Even now, he feels something for Gary.
GARY
I hope you know what you mean to me.
Not just because of what you're doing.
Because of who you are.
MILO
I do know, Gary. I feel the same
way. I thought I was coming here for
a job. But it's meant a lot more.
Milo smiles almost tenderly. He doesn't know if Gary buys
it. Perhaps if he could see Gary's eyes. But they're obscured
by Bosch's writhing bodies, reflected on his eyeglasses.
Gary moves away from Milo, he stands over the table with the
art books, vaguely looks through one.
GARY
When will you have a Beta version?
Milo wonders: does he know? He picks his words carefully.
MILO
I'm pretty close. But when I wrote
the last contact switches, it wiped
out a piece of the content filer.
You know what it's like, writing
software.
GARY
I do know. You focus on the big
problem. But somewhere down the chain,
something breaks down. Something
gets destroyed. At first it's
upsetting. You feel you've lost
control.
Gary puts down the book. Something in his tone draws Milo.
GARY
So you have to remind yourself: it's
just the process. Something's always
lost along the way to anything
worthwhile. Some little bug, some
glitch. 'Can't get bogged down in
that, you're doing something other
people could never do. They lack the
imagination, the brain, the nerve.
Let them fret about every unforeseen
consequence. You have to solve the
problem. That's who you are.
Is this a confession? A plea for understanding? Or just a
pep-talk to keep Milo focused on Skywire?
EXT./INT DRIVEWAY/MILO'S CAR - LATER
In the car, Milo and Alice pull away from the lights and
limos in icy silence. Several beats.
ALICE
Are you gonna tell me where you went?
MILO
I went to see the Skywire model in
Gary's office. You know. Just to
hold it again.
He looks at her. She stares ahead, out the windshield.
ALICE
Are you having an affair, Milo?
He'd better have his story straight with Gary and Alice.
MILO
No. No. I sent an E-mail to somebody,
just now. To tell her how I feel
about you.
(looks at her)
You know I'm clueless, without you.
You know I --
ALICE
(fighting tears)
Just shut up?
Or is she faking it? Has he lost the trust of all of them?
He's afraid, now.
EXT. INT. DAY CARE - DAY
Move in on the building, past Kids playing in the yard.
INT. DAY CARE - COMPUTER ROOM - DAY
We hear the children's shouts OS. Short, with a fingerprint
kit, is dusting the keyboards. Len stands over him.
LEN
Get the backslash, the colon, keys
kids don't use but geeks do.
(looking around,
perplexed)
What would Milo want in here, anyway?
SHROT
They know. 'Just they don't trust me
with it. So we'll get the evidence,
first, ask questions later.
EXT. LIBRARY PARK - EVENING
By the balustrade, in the dimness, Milo stands with Lisa.
LISA
Does he know you know?
MILO
He suspects I know something. I think
he was sort of -- explaining himself
to me, in case I do.
(he breathes)
We have to go in tonight. I'm two
hours from a Beta version.
(knows she won't like
it)
But I've gotta go home for an hour.
LISA
Why?!
MILO
She called to apologize. I said I
was pulling an all-nighter. She said
then come home just to say Hi. Which
I always do when we fight, it's
suspicious if I don't.
LISA
Please don't go.
MILO
At this point the worst thing I could
do is anything out of the ordinary.
She looks at him, worried, then takes a disk out of her
backpack.
LISA
Here's the interface.
He takes it. They kiss. She watches him go, worried.
EXT./INT. MILO'S HOUSE - NIGHT
As Milo comes up the path, he sees Alice in the kitchen.
He opens the front door, steps in. She comes from the kitchen
in an apron, wiping her hands. The apron is spattered, her
hair is askew.
ALICE
I'm a mess! I got this Hunan cookbook,
since we're always afraid for you to
eat in Chinese restaurants. I've
been mincing things into teeny-tiny
pieces all afternoon.
He smiles to hide his terror. Is she killing him now? Or
just testing his reaction? Or is it a sincere overture?
MILO
Great!
ALICE
Look at me! I'm gonna change.
When she turns away, we see the fear on his face.
INT. THE BEDROOM - A MOMENT LATER
Alice pulls into a dress.
IN THE KITCHEN - CONTINUOUS
Milo, at the stove, sniffs at the food that simmers in a
wok. He grabs a a spoon, examines it; but it's minced too
fine to discern one ingredient from another.
BEDROOM
Alice pulls her hair back with a ribbon...
KITCHEN
Milo churns the garbage in the wastebasket, reads the label
on a jar, the label on a can...
BEDROOM
Alice applies blush-on.
KITCHEN
Milo goes through the spice cabinet...
LIVING ROOM - A MOMENT LATER
Milo paces. He stops when she comes from the bedroom.
MILO
(he smiles)
You look beautiful.
ALICE
Yeah? Give me a goodbye kiss.
MILO
...What?
ALICE
I know you. You're gonna run back to
work right after dinner. I want my
kiss now.
Either she's the most cold-blooded woman in the world, or...
He takes her in his arms, kisses her long and hard -- as if
his life depended on it. When he releases her, she pretends
to swoon. She backs toward the kitchen.
ALICE
Be right back.
KITCHEN - A MOMENT LATER
Camera is positioned on the counter, just behind the big
bowl as Alice spoons the food into it... She sprinkles on
some final ingredient, also minced.
DINING ROOM - CONTINUOUS
Milo's fingers drum the table top...
KITCHEN - CONTINUOUS
Alice picks up the dish. We don't see her face.
ON THE DISH - MOVING - CONTINUOUS (ALICE'S POV)
We hold the dish out in front of us. The food shines in the
light, a poisonous yellow gleam. We move from kitchen to
dining room, slowly, deliberately...
Milo comes into view beyond the dish, wearing a forced smile.
We come all the way to the table with the dish, where Alice
sets it down.
She sits. Milo, still vamping, pours wine. He picks up his
fork. Stares at it.
ALICE
Milo?
His mind churns furiously.
ALICE
Milo?
MILO
Don't we have any chopsticks?
ALICE
Oh, right. Hold on.
When she's gone, he flips his left arm over and drags the
tines of his fork against it, making score-marks, like those
used by allergists to test for sensitivity.
He dabs the sauce onto the tracks, wipes it clean. He stares
at it.
INT. KITCHEN DRAWER - CONTINUOUS
Alice roots through ladles, bottle openers, cheese graters,
spatulas. At the bottom of the drawer, she finds two pairs
of take-out chopsticks, wrapped in white paper.
INT. DINING ROOM - CONTINUOUS
Milo looks from his watch to his arm -- no reaction yet.
MILO
(under his breath)
One more minute...
But here's Alice. She slips into her seat.
ALICE
Here we go.
MILO
Great.
He unwraps the chopsticks rather slowly.
MILO
...wanna savor this.
ALICE
It's gonna get cold.
MILO
Right. Wait. A toast.
ALICE
You're just afraid to eat it.
She smiles, picks up her glass.
MILO
To the artist.
They toast. She sips her wine. He sips his. He wants
desperately to glance at his inner arm once more. But she's
watching him, waiting for him to eat.
He picks up the chopsticks, gathers up a tiny bite. She
watches keenly. He brings the food to his mouth, passes it
between his lips, swallows.
He closes his eyes, ostensibly to savor the food, in fact
bracing for a paroxysm.
She watches him expectantly -- either for his verdict on the
food, or for the first fatal spasm.
MILO
(his voice cracks)
It's great. It's great.
She grins. She takes a bite. The moment she looks away, he
turns over his arm to get a look, face full of fear.
The tracks are still flat, there's no redness. He shovels a
large bite into his mouth, ecstatic to be alive. Then another
bite, greedy with life.
INT. COMPUTER SECURITY OFFICE - NIGHT
Shrot and Len are in a high-tech office. On a monitor, we
see a blown-up image of a fingerprint taken from Milo's
keyboard; Milo's name is printed under it.
In a second window, other fingerprints flash by: thousands
of prints lifted off keyboards in the Day Care.
Shrot waits for a match to click in.
INT. MILO'S OFFICE - NIGHT
Milo scrolls his Skywire code, concentrating intensely. Till
he feels some stickiness on his thumb and forefinger. He
rubs them together, peers at his keys.
Dolly-zoom in on a trace of fingerprint powder.
Fear seizes Milo. He ejects his the Skywire CD -- it is a
bright silver color, with a Skywire logo on it -- slips it
in an equally distinct silver (CD) jewel-case.
INT. BLDG. 20 HALLWAY - MOMENT LATER
Milo smiles at Desi as he moves up the hall. He almost bumps
into Gary's Secretary.
SECRETARY
Milo, hi! How was the party?
MILO
Great! Great! Thanks for asking!
He continues up the hall. He ducks into the service hall.
INT. COMPUTER SECURITY OFFICE - CONTINUOUS
Shrot watches as
The computer produces an alarm-like buzzing. The second window
locks onto the matching print. The prints flash in unison,
garishly confirming the match.
INT. TUNNEL/STAIRWELL - CONTINUOUS
Milo races along the tunnel that leads from #20 to the Day
Care...
INT. COMPUTER SECURITY OFFICE - CONTINUOUS
Shrot punches a number on the phone.
LEN
You calling Phil and Randy?
SHROT
I'm calling Gary.
INT. STAIRWELL/DAY CARE BACKROOM - CONTINUOUS
Milo climbs the stairs, fumbles with the swipecard, enters
the Day Care.
INT. COMPUTER SECURITY OFFICE - CONTINUOUS
Len is at the console. On a security monitor, he has called-
up video from a moment ago: Milo hurrying up the hall, almost
running into Gary's Secretary.
Shrot has an eye on the video as he speaks on the phone.
SHROT
He's left his office, we think he's
gone back to the Day Care for some
reason. Can you tell me why, Gary?
(he listens)
Whatever you say.
(hangs up angrily)
Wants to consult with Phil. Was it
Phil's idea to run the fingerprints?
Shrot straps on his service revolver as he heads out.
SHROT
Come with me.
LEN
(trying to catch up)
Where we going?
INT. DAY CARE - COMPUTER ROOM - CONTINUOUS
Milo is under the table, detaching one of the the black
plastic data towers that contain the "primers," stored
surveillance material, etc.
INT. PHIL'S OFFICE - CONTINUOUS
Phil hangs up the phone. He turns to Randy, who is with the
two men: the blond GUNTHER, the pale-eyed RIMAN.
PHIL
He's in the Day Care.
INT. DAY CARE - CONTINUOUS
Milo carefully detaches a second data tower.
EXT. BLDG. 20 - CONTINUOUS
Shrot and Len hurry out of the building, toward the Day Care
across the quad. Len is ill-at-ease:
LEN
Bob, I'm a programmer, not a cop.
In his haste, Shrot doesn't even hear him.
INT. BUILDING 20 HALLWAY - CONTINUOUS
Gunther, Riman & Randy head down the service hallway, en
route to the bomb shelter stairs.
INT. DAY CARE - CONTINUOUS
Milo, lugging one bulky black data tower under each arm
(wondering if he should just ditch one) gets as far as the
main, colorfully-carpeted room --
Shrot is there, gun drawn. Len stands just behind.
SHROT
What are you doing?
MILO
You're better off not knowing.
Shrot thinks he's being mocked, as usual.
SHROT
What're you doing?!
Milo sets down one of the towers.
MILO
They're surveilling programmers from
in here. They steal their code.
Sometimes -- I know this sounds insane --
sometimes they kill one.
Shrot looks skeptical.
MILO
They let me break into 21. 'Cause
there's nothing in there. You know
they've been keeping things from
you. 'Getting in the way when you
try t'do your job. That's why you
never told 'em your suspicions about
me. Right?
Shrot doesn't deny it.
MILO
If you had I'd be dead now.
Milo's sincerity is striking. Shrot cogitates.
MILO
You've been following your gut all
along. Please don't stop now?
INT. STAIRWELL - CONTINUOUS
Gunther, Riman and Randy climb the metal stairs, turn at a
landing, climb some more.
When they get to the next landing, Riman opens the door.
They enter
THE DAY CARE - BACK ROOM
Hearing voices inside, Gunther draws a gun; they move forward
stealthfully. They enter the
COMPUTER ROOM - CONTINUOUS
RANDY
What's going on here?
Randy sees: Shrot and Len.
SHROT
Who're these guys?
RANDY
Where is he?
SHROT
We're too late. Take a look.
He shines his light under the table, where the towers have
been detached.
SHROT
What's in here worth taking, anyway?
EXT. QUAD - CONTINUOUS
Milo hurries away from the Day Care. He has just one data
tower, now, so he can move faster.
INT. DAY CARE COMPUTER ROOM - CONTINUOUS
Randy starts to push past Shrot --
RANDY
He must be out there still --
He gets to the front room, where the jettisoned data tower
still sits (but he doesn't see it).
SHROT
(calling after)
Forget about it. His car's not in
the lot, he's gone!
Shrot watches anxiously to see if he's stopped Randy.
EXT. OUTPOST - PARKING LOT - NIGHT
Milo moves low among the high-priced cars, lugging the tower.
He gets to his Deux Chevaux, opens the trunk --
VOICE
Hey!
Milo turns. It's Desi, again.
DESI
Wanna get a cheeseburger or something?
MILO
Maybe another time.
As calmly as possible, he stows the tower, slams the trunk,
gets in the car.
INT. DAY CARE - COMPUTER ROOM - CONTINUOUS
Randy hangs up the phone.
RANDY
(to Shrot & Len)
Fellas, I'm gonna have to ask you to
leave here now.
SHROT
Wait a second. I'm the one who found
out he was mucking around in here in
the first place.
RANDY
We're all grateful for that. Really.
Go out the way you came in?
Reluctantly, Shrot & Len head out toward the front room.
INT./EXT MILO'S CAR/HIGHWAY - NIGHT
Milo is on the phone, he drives as fast as one can in his
car.
MILO
Meet me at the other location.
LISA (V.O.)
Tell me you're not calling on your
car phone?!
INT. DAY CARE - COMPUTER ROOM - CONTINUOUS
Randy, Riman & Gunther have turned the Day Care into a
surveillance post. They hear Milo & Lisa's conversation on
speakers.
MILO (V.O.)
They know, I had no choice. Get out
of the house now! Do you have a
laptop?
INT. LISA'S HOUSE - CONTINUOUS
LISA (ON THE PHONE)
It's three years old, it --
INT. MILO'S CAR - CONTINUOUS
MILO (ON THE PHONE)
Bring it to the other location.
LISA
But you said the other --
He rings off. He reads something off a business card.
INT. LISA'S HOUSE - CONTINUOUS
Scrambling, Lisa grabs her old laptop, finds her keys.
INT. GARY'S HOUSE - GARY'S WORKROOM - CONTINUOUS
Phil's on the phone.
PHIL
Yeah, alright.
(hangs up, briefs
Gary)
He's off campus, he's taken some
surveillance data with him.
Gary's eyes narrow.
PHIL
She's bringing her laptop, it's wired.
Second she boots up, we're on 'em.
EXT./INT. BUILDING/MILO'S CAR - RURAL ROAD - NIGHT
Milo reads the address off the business card, which has a
satellite dish as its logo. (He holds it in front of him.)
When he brings down the card, it reveals a real-life satellite
dish through the windshield.
As the car pulls up by a low cinderblock building, we read a
sign that says KNQR - PUBLIC ACCESS.
INT. KNQR - RECEPTION AREA - CONTINUOUS
Milo rushes in, lugging the tower. There's a linoleum floor,
framed one-sheets for tacky public access shows (Yoga, blow-
dried Evangelist, Nude Talk Show). Behind the reception desk
sits a beefy RENT-A-GUARD with an earring.
RENT-A-GUARD
Help you?
MILO
Brian here? Brian Bissel?
RENT-A-GUARD
(picks up the phone)
Who wants to see him?
INT./EXT. LISA'S CAR/HIGHWAY - NIGHT
Lisa drives fast, checking her rear-view-mirror to make sure
she's not being followed. Pan to the seat next to her: her
laptop lies on the passenger seat.
INT. DAY CARE COMPUTER ROOM - CONTINUOUS
A monitor shows a green interface with yellow coordinates
(like an air traffic controllers' screen). Randy sits at the
keyboard in front of it, phone cradled on shoulder.
RANDY
(into the phone)
Nothing. They haven't booted-up yet.
INT. KNQR - CONTINUOUS
Milo speaks to Brian.
MILO
This is the biggest Beta demo in
like the history of software. You'd
be my partner.
BRIAN
You can't pre-empt Yoga, that's our
biggest show.
MILO
Brian! You wanna be a big deal, don't
you? That's your dream in life.
Brian is examining the data tower. He touches the Outpost
logo branded into it, rather reverently.
Lisa comes in, laptop slung over her arm.
BRIAN
Will I get to work for Outpost?
MILO
No. But you can write your own ticket
in the Valley after this. We're gonna
bring down Outpost.
BRIAN
What?
MILO
What'd they ever do for you?
Brian's thinking it over. He shrugs.
BRIAN
Okay.
MILO
Great. Great! We need to drag a lot
of heavy stuff in front of the door --
BRIAN
What?!
MILO
(to the Rent-a-Guard)
Wanna be a part of history?
RENT-A-GUARD
Not really.
MILO
(digging in his pocket)
Well -- would you like to pick up an
extra -- 232 dollars?
INT. GARY'S HOUSE - CONTINUOUS
Gary is pacing...
PHIL
(on the phone)
Nothing yet, Gary...
INT. KNQR - RECEPTION AREA - CONTINUOUS
The Rent-a-Guard drags a file cabinet in front of the door,
where he has already dragged the couch, some chairs, a garbage
can, two lamps...
INT. SATELLITE ROOM (UPSTAIRS) - KNQR - CONTINUOUS
Three TV's of various sizes and wood veneers are turned on:
one to NBC ("ER") one to CBS ("48 Hours") one to ABC
(toothpaste commercial). On an in-house monitor a leathery
Woman in a leotard does yoga.
Lisa is cabling her laptop into the station's computer. Brian
boots it up: it runs the satellite. Milo cables the data
tower into the laptop.
Cables go in every which direction: the whole set-up has a
distinctly gerry-rigged look.
Go tight on the laptop power switch. Lisa toggles it on.
INT. DAY CARE COMPUTE ROOM - NIGHT
The yellow coordinates start blinking on. Randy sits at a
console.
RANDY
(into the phone)
We've got a fix on 'em.
(typing)
218 North Jericho Road.
Gunther and Riman grab holstered guns, race out. Randy types
some more, speaks into the phone:
RANDY
Public access TV station. KNQR.
INT. GARY'S HOUSE - CONTINUOUS
Phil hangs up, blows a sigh of relief.
PHIL
He's taken it to the public access
station.
Phil sags gratefully into a chair... only to see Gary plow
past him. At his workstation Gary types, mutters:
GARY
That's what he was doing in here.
The Bosch wall screen fills up with a dark blue background,
longitude and latitude lines...
PHIL
Gary?
Gary throws a printed spiral notebook at him.
GARY
Help me change the Skywire settings.
Add five degrees to each satellite
coordinate.
PHIL
Gary, don't worry, we --
GARY
Just do what I'm asking!
Gary hits a switch. A wood panel slides into the wall,
revealing a bank of four TV's.
INT. CAR/HIGHWAY - CONTINUOUS
Gunther and Riman speed toward the station.
INT. SATELLITE ROOM - WNQR - CONTINUOUS
Milo slips his disk in the laptop. Lisa cables the video
tower to the laptop.
BRIAN
You're interfaced with our dish.
MILO
(to Lisa)
Gimme the coordinates?
Lisa reads from Milo's little pad.
LISA
Longitude 77 degrees, 03 minutes, 58
seconds East.
Milo types on the laptop.
LISA
Latitude 38 degrees, 55 minutes, 14
seconds South.
INT. GARY'S WORKROOM - CONTINUOUS
Phil reads to Gary as he types.
PHIL
19 seconds South. Altitude 431 Miles.
EXT. SPACE - NIGHT
We see the Earth far below. The Skywire Satellite orbits
majestically into frame, shifts five degrees to the left.
INT. SATELLITE ROOM - KNQR - CONTINUOUS
Milo hits enter. Milo, Lisa, Brian, shift their collective
gaze to the three funky TV sets.
"ER" plays, uninterrupted, Dan Rather, Diane Sawyer on ABC,
the Yoga lady, the audio of all four blending in a chaotic
low melange that adds to the tension (particularly the frantic
medical emergency on "ER").
BRIAN
Is it your software?
MILO
Is it your dish?
LISA
Maybe it's the satellite.
MILO
(he thinks)
Let's try #2.
INT. GARY'S WORKROOM - CONTINUOUS
GARY
Okay, #2.
PHIL
Longitude 48 degrees 06 minutes --
EXT. KNQR - CONTINUOUS
Gunther and Riman squeal into the station parking lot.
INT. SATELLITE ROOM - CONTINUOUS
Lisa looks out the window to the parking lot, below. Milo is
typing in coordinates.
LISA
They're already here. My laptop must
be wired!
BRIAN
(anxiously)
Milo?
MILO
(typing)
We're there.
Milo hits enter.
INT. GARY'S WORKROOM - CONTINUOUS
Gary hits enter.
EXT. SPACE CONTINUOUS
A second Skywire satellite shifts regally away from the Earth,
as if shunning the signal.
INT. SATELLITE ROOM KNQR - CONTINUOUS
Milo, Lisa, Brian watch the TV's. "ER" et al.
MILO
Damn!
EXT./INT. KNQR - ENTRANCE - CONTINUOUS
Gunther and Riman tear through the barricade the Rent-A-Cop
has erected with ruthless precision.
INT. SATELLITE ROOM - CONTINUOUS
Milo cogitates while Lisa reviews the satellite coordinates --
LISA
(to Brian)
You checked your connections?
BRIAN
(to Milo)
Yes! Should you reboot?
Milo is scrolling the software, trying to figure out which
of a 1,000 possible glitches is getting in the way.
MILO
...He knows.
LISA
What?
MILO
He's been altering the coordinates
since we logged on. He's a step ahead.
Let's jump to #12.
INT. GARY'S WORKROOM - CONTINUOUS
PHIL
Ready for number three?
GARY
Let's go.
PHIL
Longitude 109 --
GARY
Wait... He knows.
PHIL
What?
GARY
'Knows I'm altering the coordinates.
Let's jump to #12.
PHIL
Gary?
GARY
Just do it.
INT. KNQR - UPSTAIRS HALLWAY - CONTINUOUS
The Rent-A-Guard drags furniture, props, lights, in front of
the entrance to the satellite room.
INT. ENTRANCE - KNQR - CONTINUOUS
Gunther and Riman have created an opening in the barricade.
They step through it. They hear the racket the Rent-a-Guard
is making upstairs. They head that way.
INT. STAIRWAY/UPSTAIRS HALLWAY - CONTINUOUS
The Rent-A-Guard is holding a lightstand as they ascend,
guns drawn.
GUNTHER
Step aside. We won't hurt you.
Riman takes the lightstand from him. The Rent-a-Guard puts
his hands up, sidles across the hallway as they tear into
the barricade.
INT. SATELLITE ROOM - CONTINUOUS
Lisa reads to Milo.
LISA
Latitude 47 degrees.
MILO
Wait a second. He knows I know.
BRIAN
What?!
MILO
He's working backwards, too.
(to Lisa)
Let's do number five?
LISA
Longitude 66.
Milo types.
INT. STAIRWELL - CONTINUOUS
Gunther and Riman rip down the barricade, reach the door.
They whip it open, guns drawn. They see:
An empty supply room. [The barricade was a decoy.]
INT. SATELLITE ROOM - CONTINUOUS
The Rent-A-Guard has joined Milo et al in here. He tries to
slide a heavy shelf in front of the door, but it's not yet
in place. Lisa has dialed 911. She's scared.
LISA
Come now. They've got guns!
OS, we can hear Gunther and Riman pounding at the door.
GUNTHER (O.S.)
Open the door, Milo!
BRIAN
(to Milo)
You there yet?
MILO
(typing)
One more second.
He hits enter. The door is kicked open. Gunther & Riman enter,
Gunther with a gun, Riman still carrying the light stand.
He immediately bashes the KNQR computer with it. Lisa looks
devastated.
BRIAN
Hey, hey, relax, relax!
He holds up the computer cable, to show Riman it was never
plugged in, anyway.
LISA
Oh my God.
BRIAN
(to Gunther)
Should I call Phil? Or do you?
Gunther knits his brow. He notices Milo: still staring at
the TV screens.
BRIAN
Milo? Wake up. Our regular programming
will not be preempted tonight.
Milo's gaze stays fixed to the screens. Riman grabs him by
the shirt. But Gunther's concerned by Milo's behavior:
GUNTHER
(staring at Milo)
Wait.
As Milo watches the screens, a pixilated, ghostly image begins
to appear on all of them: the animated Skywire logo (lightning
strike, etc.).
Brian lurches across to the laptop, ejects the CD-ROM. It's
beige-colored, says Outpost Word.
BRIAN
...When did you know?
MILO
(still watching the
screens)
You should've called a few times to
bug me about your job prospects.
LISA
Milo? Who's got Skywire?
INT. GARY'S WORKROOM - CONTINUOUS
Gary and Phil watch as the Skywire logo gets steadily stronger
on Gary's TV's. Phil is confounded:
PHIL
If Milo didn't launch Skywire, who
did?
We hear a low steady hum.
CUT TO:
A CABLE plugged into a dusty wall-port that doesn't even
have a plate on it. Panning along the cable, we widen to
show:
INT. UNFINISHED STUDIO (#21) - CONTINUOUS
In dim construction light, not far from the Sears generator,
Len sits on the concrete floor. The second data tower is
patched into a laptop. The distinct silver jewelcase lies by
the CD-rom drive. Shrot paces:
SHROT
Now what are we doing? I don't get
any of this shit!
LEN
I launched Skywire. Just pray the
last set of coordinates Milo sent me
connected us to Gary's satellite.
CUT TO:
FOUR TV SETS
Each shows the standard Outpost desktop: Outpost logo, fonts,
colors. [This is the all-purpose interface Lisa created for
to Milo.] A window at the top shows a succession of Obituaries
with photos Lisa has downloaded from newspapers: "Programmer
Dies in Highway Crash;" "Programmer Among Cult Suicides;"
"Programmer Victim of Racial Killing," etc.) The obituaries --
eight of them -- fade up and down in a continuous cycle.
Meantime:
Lower on the screen, the material from the day-care data
tower appears, following the same succession we saw when
Milo brought up Teddy's data, i.e., footage of a young
Programmer at college, surveillance footage of him typing
away (from behind), medical records that describe his
vulnerability or a crime primer that describes his scenario.
Between the obits and the primers, cause and effect is
(eventually) established.
The crowning note is the audio, Gary in VOICE OVER, gleaned
(by Lisa) from the audio version of his own book:
GARY'S VOICE OVER
Most of us who write software achieve
our greatest work before age 30. As
I grow older I know how important it
is to access fertile young minds!
REVERSE ON
Gary watching.
INT. KNQR - SATELLITE ROOM - CONTINUOUS
We hear sirens grow near. Gunther watches the broadcast,
still gripping his gun.
RIMAN
(to Gunther)
You know the scenario for this.
This sounds ominous. Lisa wonders what it means. Milo wonders
what it means. He swallows hard.
MILO
'Last thing you wanna do is hurt us
now.
(not at all sure)
Right?
GUNTHER
(to Brian)
Who's seeing this?
BRIAN
(with dread)
Who isn't?
CUT TO:
A MONTAGE
1. MOVE PAST ROWS & ROWS OF PC's playing surveillance footage,
a crash-scene upload, and an obituary, in a college computer
lab. Students watch, agog.
GARY'S VOICE OVER
We work hard to stay ahead because
we know any kid working in his garage
can put us out of business.
2. TIMES SQUARE - Pedestrians and motorists (with craned
necks) watch the Jumbo-Tron, now the world's biggest desktop.
In one window, college video of a promising Programmer, in
the other, footage of a cult suicide. (Sometimes the
Programmer in question is simultaneous with his obit,
sometimes not, but the connection by now becomes clear).
GARY'S VOICE OVER
The first rule of the software
business is: those who don't innovate
are doomed to die.
3. The cuts accelerate. In a NETWORK CONTROL ROOM, Technicians
flip switches, trying to bring back scheduled programming.
At the NIKKEI, the Brokers are transfixed by what comes over
the Big Board. In a VEGAS CASINO Gamblers sip their drinks
as they watch it on closed-circuit horserace monitors. On a
STREET CORNER, a Crack Dealer watches on his beeper. At a
STADIUM, the Stones play but (tilting up) the Diamond Vision
behind them plays Milo's broadcast. In an ELECTRONICS STORE,
a wall of TV's -- 200 of them -- plays grisly primer footage
for Shoppers. A guy takes a shiny wrapped copy of Outpost
'98 from his basket, returns it to the shelf... In the Day
Care Computer Room, it plays on all the monitors as Randy
moves through the room with a big buzzing electro-magnetic
hoop, which he runs over each tower, wiping out data.
Through all the cuts, we hear Gary's narration:
GARY'S VOICE OVER
That's why we work so hard to invent
or acquire great new applications.
Consumers don't care where new ideas
come from, just so long as they're
offered at competitive prices. Isn't
that what the free market's about?
Sure, we like being #1, but it's
pressure, too. This business is
binary: you're a zero or a one.
INT. JUSTICE DEPT. - WASHINGTON D.C. - CONTINUOUS
A group of Government Lawyers, working late (Chinese takeout,
loosened ties) watch with a dawning sense of unbelievable
good luck.
JUSTICE DEPT. LAWYER
'Guess we should wake the Attorney
General.
TIGHT ON: A PC SCREEN - Teddy Chin's recruitment file is in
one window, the hate crime footage is in another.
GARY'S VOICE OVER
I've been called "aggressive" but to
me, that's really a compliment.
REVERSE: SUNNYVALE LOFT - CONTINUOUS
Larry watches with his start-up partners. His eyes close: it
hurts to see Teddy, again.
GARY'S VOICE OVER
Look at all the jobs and technologies
my "aggression" has created.
INT. LYLE BARTON'S HOUSE - FRONT ROOM - CONTINUOUS
OPEN on a framed photo of Barton, his Wife and Kids. The
broadcast plays, OS.
BARTON'S WIFE (O.S.)
Lyle? Phone for you.
She comes in. No Barton. The front door is wide open, the TV
is still on.
GARY'S VOICE OVER
We really are a family here at
Outpost.
INT. MILO & LISA'S HOUSE - BEDROOM - NIGHT
Paintings are gone from the wall, clothes flung around. Move
in on a note pinned to the pillow, as the TV plays.
GARY'S VOICE OVER
I think that's why outsiders sometimes
sees us as "cultish" or "secretive."
Milo, It wasn't so bad, really.
XX "Alice"
EXT. OUTPOST CAMPUS - NIGHT
High wide shot: sirens scream as unmarked sedans and squadcars
squeal into the sanctified parking lot.
GARY'S VOICE OVER
Is loyalty and group spirit somehow
"sinister" nowadays?
INT. GARY'S WORKROOM - CONTINUOUS
Open on Gary's TV monitors, then pan into the room. Phil has
departed; the Outpost Lawyers have taken his place.
LAWYER
The "murder" stuff is all innuendo:
bad PR, legally null. 'Could probably
be spun as Urban Legend. There is a
case for corporate espionage, but if
you cop a plea, you'll get a slap --
GARY
Cop a plea? I'm confused, Ted. You
think I knew about this?
The Lawyers suppress their opinion.
GARY
I'm running the company, fighting
the DOJ, raising a family. Randy and
Phil obviously overreacted. To this
endless, antitrust witchhunt.
LAWYER
(get real)
The government's gonna offer 'em a
helluva deal to tie you into this.
Whether you knew about it or not.
LAWYER 2
Randy, Phil and whoever else knew
about it.
GARY
That won't be a problem.
INT./EXT. CAR/RURAL ROAD - CONTINUOUS
Gunther & Riman turn off a rural road...
GARY (O.S.)
As for PR, Skywire'll take care of
all that.
...onto a tarmac. A private jet sits lit up, waiting.
INT. GARY'S WORKROOM - CONTINUOUS
GARY
The world's seen it now. They know
it's gonna dominate the convergence
market even beyond how Outpost '98
dominates the desktop.
INT. PRIVATE JET - 35,000 FT. - CONTINUOUS
Continuous dolly past: Gunther, as he takes a Chivas from
the Stewardess; Lyle Barton who slips on his headset; Alice,
sorting through video casettes; Randy & Phil, playing gin
rummy; Brian, eating a hamburger. Meantime:
GARY (O.S.)
Go after us, you give foreign
competitors a shot at the platform
that'll hold sway for 30 years: you
threaten not just our chip and PC
partners like when you came after
the browser.
INT. GARY'S WORKROOM - CONTINUOUS
GARY
You threaten TV networks, phone
companies, catalog outlets, publishing
houses, movie studios, travel agents,
airlines, stock brokerages -- you
sabotage the whole economy. Talk
about undermining innovation!
LAWYER 2
(he's writing on a
legal pad)
Easy to spin, old as the hills: What's
good for Outpost is good for America.
He hands the pad to Gary.
INT. KNQR - SATELLITE ROOM - CONTINUOUS
Milo watches the screens, anxiously.
MILO
Come on, Bob. Load in the other disk.
INT. GARY'S WORKROOM - CONTINUOUS
Gary is reading from the Lawyer's pad.
GARY
"I had no knowledge of these
activities, but I have to ask myself
if the competitive environment I
encouraged in some small way
contributed --"
LAWYER
Gary?
Gary looks up. The Lawyer nods soberly at the TV's.
In one window, the Skywire code scrolls slowly past. In the
other, it says: "Here's the code for the operating system
that made this braodcast possible. Take it. Use it. Make the
new convergence technologies as free as the Web."
Under the windows, these words scroll continuously: HUMAN
KNOWLEDGE BELONGS TO THE WORLD.
Watching, Gary knits his brow: he looks wounded.
INT. COLLEGE COMPUTER LAB - CONTINUOUS
In the lab that began the montage, move past rows of Students
scribbling madly as the code unfolds, or saving it to their
hard drives.
Off-screen, a Student says, "Well, the genie's out of that
bottle."
SHORT FADE:
CYBER PUNDIT (OVER BLACK)
The Board ousted Gary Boyd as
Chairman, they're assisting the DOJ
in the breakup of Outpost into
divisions.
FADE IN ON:
TV - PLAYING LARRY KING LIVE
The CYBER PUNDIT chats with LARRY KING.
LARRY KING (ON TV)
That's gotta kill him, right?
CYBER PUNDIT (ON TV)
Outpost was his baby, sure. On the
other hand, we just learned Gary
Boyd owns the Skywire satellites.
Personally.
LARRY KING (ON TV)
Outpost doesn't own em.
We are:
INT. SUNNYVALE LOFT - DAY
Larry Lindholm sits on a couch watching TV. MOVERS are
carrying out computer equipment all around him. He tries to
ignore them.
CYBER PUNDIT (ON TV)
Conglomerates're lined up to finance
the launch of the remaining
satellites. They'll pay him a huge
premium to get on-line.
LARRY KING
That'd change with a criminal
indictment.
CYBER PUNDIT
There's no hard evidence he knew
about this. Anybody who could
implicate him seems to've vanished.
LARRY KING (ON TV)
Isn't there a stigma? Bankrolling
this guy?
CYBER PUNDIT (ON TV)
Stigma? Larry! 60 billion buys you
some slack in this world.
LARRY KING (ON TV)
And the kid who wrote Skywire --
then gave it away? They're calling
him the digital Robin Hood.
CYBER PUNDIT (ON TV)
Milo. Surprised he's not your guest.
LARRY KING (ON TV)
We tried!
CYBER PUNDIT (ON TV)
You better believe everybody's trying
to sign him up.
As Larry (King) chuckles, Larry (Lindholm) looks up.
Milo and Lisa wear backpacks. As Milo sluffs his off:
MILO
Larry, Lisa.
Larry switches off the TV as he comes to his feet. A Mover
passes by, hauling out a monitor. Larry explains:
LARRY
Your app kind of blew mine out of
the water.
MILO
(he shrugs)
We'll come up with the next big thing.
LARRY
...You wanna work -- here?
MILO
Got out of my other commitment.
Larry hugs Milo. Turns to Lisa:
LARRY
May I?
He hugs Lisa, too. A Mover grabs Milo's backpack from the
floor.
MILO
Hey, wait!
(when the Mover looks)
Not giving everything away.
The Mover sets it down, moves on.
LARRY
C'mon. Bring your stuff.
Milo grabs up his pack, the three of them head away from
camera.
LARRY
You guys'll be using Teddy's old
space, is that okay?
MILO
Cool.
FADE TO BLACK:
THE END
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