ACT ONE INT. JANICE MELBOURNE'S OFFICE Old wood meets high tech inside this impressive office. Janice, a tight bunned, tough woman, smiles behind her large desk. JANICE Impressive. Very impressive. Explain to me how someone with your background got involved in the "industry." Liz is sitting across from Janice in a sharp business suit. She's attractive and smart. Her brown hair is held up loosely. Liz is polite, almost meek. LIZ A man. JANICE (unamused) A man? LIZ I was dating this guy who had shot a short and he was editing it on his computer and, basically out of boredom, I started helping him. Next thing I was editing reels for actor friends and it wasn't long, although it seemed it, until the studios started noticing my work. Kind of had a knack for it. JANICE Interesting. LIZ Is that bad? I did eventually take classes and studied. But, I guess like any art you first have to JANICE Have talent? LIZ Yes. Is that cocky? Oh well. JANICE What about it attracts you? Just curious? LIZ I guess, I like creating a life for other people. JANICE So was it this editing, this creating lives, which pulled you away from medicine? LIZ I had already stopped. (changes subject) SO what is this project. I'm curious. This is my 3rd interview and I still don't know the picture. JANICE It's not exactly a picture. LIZ I thought it some web documentary. JANICE It's a "picture" for our patients. LIZ Some sort of therapy? I don't follow. JANICE Perhaps it's better if I show you. They exit her office and walk down a corridor. They stop at a metal sliding door. JANICE (continuing) Janice. The door responds by opening. Liz smiles. LIZ Cool. They continue down a hall which looks like a very clean hospital corridor. JANICE Our work here is with people who have stimuli imbalances. Their perception of the world is fragmented. LIZ Like a schizophrenics? JANICE Yes. We try here to balance their stimuli by a constant input of stimuli. LIZ Like the reverse of deprivation therapy? JANICE Exactly. The continue through another door. JANICE (continuing) Excuse me. Janice. The door opens. LIZ Pretty tight security. Are the patients dangerous? JANICE No. We are in total control. The next hallway is not hospital looking at all. In fact it looks more like a warehouse. They ascend a metal scaffold staircase. LIZ Where are we? JANICE HUB. She stops on a landing. JANICE (continuing) I must again remind you that all of this is LIZ ...strictly confidential. I remember. JANICE Our work is subject to much skepticism. I show this to you as an artist and as a psychiatrist. LIZ Psychologist. I haven't let out a plot twist yet. Janice ascends the final stair case. Followed slowly by Liz whose confidence is waning by confusion. The HUB looks like a warehouse taken over by underground computer hackers. A large platform houses 6 sort of terminals with 4 or 5 monitors on each of them. It is awesome. Sitting at 3 of the terminals are 3 men. 2 of whom are staring intensely at their screens. The other, Jack, sees Janice and throws a magazine into his desk-like table and starts working. Below this platform is a huge white room separated by glass. Looking down one realizes that it is actually 6 white rooms. In each white room is a naked person covered in strips of white cloth and cables. They look like machines or people becoming machines. JANICE Gentleman this is Liz. She may be joining us. LIZ Gentlemen. They guys kind of half wave as Jack jumps up from his terminal. He lecherously stares at Liz's breasts. JACK Jack. Hi nice to meet you. LIZ Nice to meet you too. JANICE These are our patients. This is where we feed them stimuli. JACK We feed em a lot of stimuli. It's pretty intense. JANICE Why don't you tell Liz about your patient Jack. JACK Fred? Fred's a great guy. I'm sending him to Hawaii! LIZ You're what? JACK Hawaii. He deserves it. Got him on the plane already. He brings Liz over to his terminal. Each monitor contains an image of an airplane interior. LIZ He thinks he's flying? JACK Yeah. This is what he sees and this is what he's about to see. Then the computer interpolates the rest. See? He just looked at his wrist, so I know LIZ He's trying to find out what time it is... JANICE Exactly. JACK So here in this screen is this babe, another reward for old Fred, And she'll tell him the time. Liz walks over to the holding tanks and sees Fred wrapped in his white cloth and covered in cables sitting on a white box. Jack joins her, leaving his station. The screen flashes "INTERPOLATE?" but he has left it unguarded. LIZ (to Janice) This is a bit more than sensory balance.. This is.. CHUCK A whole 'nother world. LIZ Why hasn't he asked her yet. CHUCK It'll take him a couple of minutes. JANICE In order to edit and produce efficient stimuli input the patients are slowed down. JACK Otherwise we'd never be able to keep up with them. INT AIRPLANE Fred's POV we see him turn toward the babe and ask in a very slowed down voice. FRED What time is it. A voice which should be coming from the woman says 2:00 but the babe's mouth doesn't move. BEEPING IS HEARD. INT HUB JACK Shit. JANICE What happened? CHUCK His heart just jumped. Man his sensors are up and up. Climbing. JACK I, shit! JANICE You didn't interpolate? Chuck! JACK Come on HUB catch up! CHUCK I can't leave Sebastian. JANICE Tommy get over here! Tommy stands as he clicks a few letters on his own keyboard. TOMMY Hit kill. JACK I am, don't you think I'm hitting it. CHUCK Hurry up, he'll aware. JANICE Goddamn it. Catch up. Catch UP! Fred stands in his white room and sort of stumbles. LIZ He's moving. INT. AIRPLANE Fred's POV he moves down the aisle. We see a very shaky blurry vision of an airplane that is both out of perspective and fading in and out. INT HUB JACK Shit shit shit. Slow down Fred slow the fuck down. Come on don't you fucking crash you piece of shit! The beeping get louder. Tommy grabs the keyboard, pushing Jack aside, and starts slamming buttons. JACK (continuing) Get off of Fred. INT. AIRPLANE Fred's POV. He moves faster down the aisle less and less of the airplane is visible to him. INT. HUB JANICE Why isn't the kill working. JACK He's obviously not responding to it. TOMMY Where is he going? The bathroom. JANICE Of course. Jump cut him to the bathroom. Scan it in. JACK Are you crazy? Tommy feeds a paper with an airplane bathroom in it through a fast scanner. TOMMY At least he'll see something. JACK Oh shit. TOMMY We're there. JANICE Jump him. INT. AIRPLANE Fred's pov. He is still in the aisle and then is suddenly at the bathroom door. INT. HUB The Beeping is faster and very loud. JACK I told you he couldn't take it. JANICE You're going to lose him. Amidst the chaos, Liz runs over to the desk and pulls out the magazine Jack was looking out. As she felt it is a Playboy with the "babe" in it. She turns the page to another hot chick in lingerie and rips out the page. She scans it through. JACK What are you doing? LIZ (to Tommy) Click and drag? TOMMY Yeah. The chick in lingerie appears on the monitor she pastes it behind the bathroom door. LIZ Open it. JACK He's not reaching for the handle. JANICE OPEN IT! Tommy clicks a few buttons. INT. AIRPLANE Fred's POV. The door to the bathroom opens and there is this hot chick in lingerie. He stares at her. INT HUB Jack looks at the Monitor labeled Fred's view of the world and his mouth drops. LIZ Where are the audio files? TOMMY Gotta go live. He hands her the small mic on the terminal. Liz looks at him like "are you crazy." TOMMY (continuing) I'm not a girl. Hurry while he's looking at her.. You know. She grabs the mic. LIZ () (in a sexy voice) I couldn't get the clasp undone, could you help me? Fred view pans up. The beeping slows down and quiets. JANICE Hit the kill. JACK But... JANICE Kill. Jack hits a button. INT. AIRPLANE Fred's POV he looks at the model and all goes black. INT. HUB Liz looks on as Fred's body faints in the white room. LIZ Is he? TOMMY We just fainted him. Beat. LIZ Oh my God. CHUCK It's ok Janice. Fred's fine. JACK Yeah he's fine. JANICE (to Liz) Thank you. INT. JANICE MELBOURNE'S OFFICE Liz is pacing a little shaken up.