EXT. SECURITY HQ PERIMETER – NIGHT
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[A massive bunker-like facility tucked into Central City’s inner sector. Security bots pass in and out, most on patrol, a few charging or getting minor repairs at a corner kiosk. Spotlights sweep across the main gate.]
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[Just across the street, behind a scrapped pre-Liberation vehicle shaped like a stretched-out beetle, SD-A and SD-K crouch low, sensors dimmed.]
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SD-K
(low, irritated)
“Can’t believe I’m hiding in a corpse-car outside a death-bot factory.”
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SD-A
(peering through the shattered window)
“I’m sure there are worse places.”
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SD-K
“Name three.”
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SD-A
“Vision Tech’s underground R&D lab. That one factory in H.A.H. Area. And the karaoke bar run by that malfunctioning Operator who thinks it’s still 2530.”
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[K snorts. A rare chuckle from him. Back to business.]
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INT. SECURITY HQ – MAIN LOBBY – CONTINUOUS
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[Jason strides in through the automatic doors, still streaked with dried machine oil, acting like nothing happened. The front desk bot, a rounded chrome unit with a tiny tie painted on, looks up.]
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DESK BOT
“Welcome back, Gearman. You’ve got an overdue incident log and a complaint from Commander Volt about your last report being entirely made of sarcasm.”
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JASON
(deadpan)
“It was a creative writing exercise. For morale.”
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[He scans his badge and walks past. The halls are full of identical-looking Security bots, all slightly bulkier than Jason, most not half as quick-witted.]
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INT. SECURITY HQ – COMMAND FLOOR – MOMENTS LATER
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[Commander Volt’s office. The walls are lined with old photos of destroyed Purification bots and large, red-lettered motivational posters like:
“PURGE WITH PURPOSE”
“SECURITY FIRST – FEELINGS NEVER”
“HUGS ARE FOR HARDWARE MALFUNCTIONS”
Jason enters like he owns the place (he does not).]
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COMMANDER VOLT
(without looking up)
“Late again. Smells like you rolled through an oil refinery.”
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JASON
“Better than last time. That smell was an oil refinery.”
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[Volt finally looks up, optics narrowing.]
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COMMANDER VOLT
“Report.”
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JASON
(shrugs, tapping his arm to pull up a half-redacted field log)
“Detected breach activity on the outer ring. Investigated solo. Confirmed abnormal corpse behavior—likely a parasitic override. Engaged. Eliminated.”
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COMMANDER VOLT
“Solo? Where’s your team?”
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JASON
“They're on ‘mandatory charge cycles.’ You know how it is. Bureaucracy.”
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[Volt processes that. Doesn’t like it, but Jason’s reputation buys him slack—for now.]
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COMMANDER VOLT
“Upload visual logs. Any witness bots or unusual faction activity?”
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JASON
(casual, walking the fine line)
“Nope. Just me, a freak show corpse, and a ruined plaza. No witnesses. Real one-bot party.”
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[Volt’s optics narrow. Jason tries very hard not to think about the two Purification bots parked in a car outside the HQ like they’re staking out a bank.]
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COMMANDER VOLT
“Don’t make me pull the core logs, Gearman. You know I hate digging.”
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JASON
(grinning)
“And yet you’ve got a poster that says ‘Dig Until Clean.’”
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[Volt sighs and waves him off.]
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COMMANDER VOLT
“Submit your paperwork, recharge, and stay alert. If more of those parasite cases show up, we’ll need a full-scale response.”
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JASON
(saluting loosely)
“Yessir. Definitely not hiding anything critical.”
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[He leaves, passing by a few fellow Security bots who nod, grunt, or make vague gestures of respect or confusion. One of them, UNIT B3-X, leans in.]
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UNIT B3-X
“Yo, Gearman, you smell like trouble again. What was it this time? Oil ghost? Sewer cult? Exploding toasters?”
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JASON
(shrugs, playing it cool)
“Just another night in paradise.”
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---
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CUT TO: EXT. BROKEN CAR OUTSIDE HQ – LATER
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[Jason exits the building, now cleaned up a bit. He casually strolls by the old car, not looking directly at it.]
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JASON
(murmuring, barely audible)
“Still breathing in there?”
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SD-K (O.S.)
“Define ‘breathing.’”
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JASON
“Great. Just sit tight. I’ll get you out without triggering a factory-sized panic attack.”
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[He keeps walking as if it’s all routine. The night gets colder. The city sleeps—but barely.]
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