COMMERCIAL What is innovation?...

(A Morningstar commercial.)

COMMERCIAL What is innovation? It's a solution. An idea. It's the discovery of achieving great things. Innovation is ambition. A dream. A dream that says anything is possible. It's been said that no human undertaking was ever achieved without it's first basic element: that's belief. And if you are willing to believe, you've already gotten the hard part out of the way. All you have to do is take the first step. And make it happen. Morningstar isn't about today; it's about tomorrow. This is the journey to better.

(Cut to MS. PILL.)

MS. PILL Hi. I’m Tamara Pill, CEO of Morningstar Worldwide Technologies, where we address some of our planet’s most intractable problems: widespread famine, economic inequity, overpopulation, the destruction of Earth’s natural resources--with courage, creativity, community. Imagine my world: a world without war, without hunger. Morningstar is more than just a technology company; it’s a human company. Someone just like you, who wants a better world. Join me in this exciting new dawn.

(LEONARD, MS. PILL, and KAI--all at their workstations. In this scene, MS. PILL lacks some of the politeness she showed HELEN; with LEONARD, MS. PILL is coolly impatient.)

LEONARD I quit.

MS. PILL Leonard please.

LEONARD I’m serious this time.

MS. PILL We both know it is not possible for you to quit.

LEONARD Well it is not possible for me to do what you’re asking.

MS. PILL You mean in the ethical sense.

LEONARD No, the goals of our project are not feasible.

MS. PILL The goals of my project are not infeasible, Leonard; you just lack imagination.

LEONARD I thought we were ready, that all of the previous issues had been resolved.

MS. PILL What happened with the latest subject: subject number seven. Did he implode again?

LEONARD No, the opposite. Subject number seven-- He sort of fragmented.

MS. PILL (Sneering.) “Fragmented.”

LEONARD I can’t explain it yet, but I believe that when we increased the energy needed to replicate the consciousness of subject number seven, we increased the energy needed to contain it; the number of quantum tethers we hooked to him were insufficient. Some of them uncoupled, which pulled him apart.

MS. PILL Like a pane of shattered glass.

LEONARD It’s actually more like blowing on a dandelion. The mind, like dandelion spores, are holonomic--each part encodes the whole. With dandelion spores, the whole dandelion is actually contained in the spore.

MS. PILL So each fragment of Subject Seven contained the entirety of his consciousness.

LEONARD I believe so, yes.

MS. PILL And how many fragments are there.

LEONARD Well, there were hundreds, thousands. But after they fragmented, they disintegrated and were destroyed.

MS. PILL Good.

LEONARD Except, um, one fragment.

MS. PILL Except one.

LEONARD The fragment of subject number seven um--... Escaped.

MS. PILL (She understands but is enraged and wants him to explain himself.) I don’t understand.

LEONARD Well imagine a medieval dungeon.

MS. PILL Leonard.

LEONARD They had those windows with the bars on them, right?

MS. PILL (Daggers for eyes.) Yes.

LEONARD Why didn’t prisoners ever escape through those windows? The bars were too close together. Well imagine if the prisoner were able to shrink himself down; he’d be able to easily slide through.

MS. PILL Where is Subject Seven?

LEONARD He’s... We actually don’t know. Somewhere in the Internet. But I have people looking for him! But, you know, the Internet is...a pretty big place so...

MS. PILL Leonard I will construct a medieval prison cell and leave you in it until you rot and your bones are dust if Subject Seven is not found within twenty-four hours. Tell Copernicus to find him. Kai.

KAI (Typing.) On it. I’ll email the Copernicus staff now.

MS. PILL When Subject Seven is caught, ensure he is destroyed.

KAI (With a smile.) Gladly.

MS. PILL Also, Kai, have a medieval prison cell constructed.

LEONARD You’re serious.

MS. PILL Somewhere in Siberia.

KAI No problem.

MS. PILL (To KAI.) Make sure there are no windows. (To LEONARD.) Now, Leonard. Regarding the project: What is the remaining problem that must be solved.

LEONARD Were you-- You’re serious about the...Siberian prison cell thing?

MS. PILL Leonard I need you to focus.

LEONARD Ahem. The problem is the containment membrane of the digital brain itself. We had been using quantum tethers to give it shape and contain it, but as each iteration of a digital consciousness becomes more complex and lifelike, it becomes more energetic and difficult to contain. Maybe impossible to contain. Think of it like putting a live frog in a microwave.

MS. PILL Your metaphors are only serving to give me new ideas on how to punish you.

LEONARD (Gulp.) All I’m saying is that the only solution the would work, the only way to truly upload a complete and lifelike consciousness, one that is completely stable, with a stable and impermeable containment membrane, is to, well... (He can’t bring himself to say it.) Sorry.

MS. PILL Tell me.

LEONARD It’s very grotesque.

MS. PILL Kai, do we have a human-sized microwave?

KAI I think we can find something.

LEONARD The only way is to take an actual human brain, slice it with an electron laser so that each slice is only a few electrons thick; scan each slice, digitally combine them, and upload it.

MS. PILL Is this possible?

LEONARD (Grossed out.) You don’t understand; in order to do this we would need a-- There’s no other way to put it-- We need a fresh brain, one that would have been alive just moments before it’s, um, sliced up.

MS. PILL But it is possible.

LEONARD In theory.

MS. PILL Then what is the delay.

LEONARD (Confused and a little horrified.) You...would need to...take somebody’s life. Or they’d have to consent or something.

MS. PILL Leonard, I’m still waiting for you to get to the problem.

LEONARD Um, okay. Well, um, I mean, from the corporate angle, our Legal Department will surely not--

MS. PILL Oh forget about those unimaginative cows for a moment. Tell me, tell me: Would it work?

(Beat.)

LEONARD (With a sigh. He hates himself for saying it.) I don’t see why not.

MS. PILL You’re sure.

LEONARD (Pained.) Of course it’s purely theoretical at this point, but yes, yes I am almost 100% sure it would work.

MS. PILL Thank you, Leonard. Kai.

KAI (Typing.) On it.

LEONARD But technically Project Lighthouse was a success, it’s done: We uploaded a human consciousness; it was all over the news; we made history. Why are we actually seriously discussing slicing up someone’s brain??

MS. PILL Project Lighthouse was a waste of time.

LEONARD How can you say that?

MS. PILL It was a mere publicity stunt. But it isn’t nearly enough. We’ve moved on, Leonard. Project Lighthouse is over. We are now working on Project Homunculus.

LEONARD Project what?

MS. PILL Kai?

KAI The term homunculus comes from folklore and myth. It is a being created by humans that perfectly replicates a full-sized human, but on a smaller scale; the purpose of a homunculus was to be a miniature, magical servant.

LEONARD (Dubious.) And so then what is the purpose of Project Homonculus?

MS. PILL Use your imagination, Leonard; what little of it you have.

LEONARD (A realization.) You want to create an army of workers. You want to take people, slice up their brains, and make them your permanent employees. Did I get that right?

MS. PILL Yes.

LEONARD You’re insane.

MS. PILL It is the world that is insane. I will fix it. Think of it: a utopia for untold billions, living on earth; and immortality and glory to those living in the Cloud.

LEONARD “Immortality”? More like an eternal hell.

MS. PILL Besides, human workers require salaries, they have bad days, they leave you, betray you, sell your secrets to your competitors. A computer program, however, never rests; a computer program can run multiple applications simultaneously, exponentially increasing the production output of one person. The future of Morningstar is with our digital employees.

LEONARD So that’s really what you care about: the bottom line.

MS. PILL You lack aspiration.

LEONARD It will never work.

MS. PILL And why not.

LEONARD Because you forget that people have something computer programs do not: free will. People can choose, Tamara, whether or not to obey.

MS. PILL Free will is an illusion. I have ways around that too.

LEONARD This is terrible, disgusting. I-- I want no part of it. I quit. I’m sorry but I-- I quit. Now.

(KAI and MS. PILL laugh.)

KAI He doesn’t know.

MS. PILL Oh no. Haven’t you guessed yet.

LEONARD What.

KAI He can’t put two and two together.

MS. PILL You will be Morningstar’s very first digital employee.

LEONARD What?

MS. PILL It will be quite an honor.

LEONARD Never.

MS. PILL Leonard, one way other another you will spend the rest of your life in a cell: in Siberia, or in the Cloud. It will be one of destitution or of glory. Your choice.

(Beat.)

LEONARD I choose neither.

MS. PILL You have only the illusion of choice, Leonard.

LEONARD What?

(LEONARD suddenly logs off.)

KAI Leonard has been detained by Security, Ms. Pill.

MS. PILL Good. Kai, do you have Copernicus?

KAI He’s so far unable to find Subject Seven.

MS. PILL Tell him to keep looking, double his efforts. And tell him to engage the electron laser and brain scanner for our new subject.

KAI Right away.

MS. PILL We’ll test it on Leonard before Helen.

KAI He is one of the most brilliant computer scientists in the world.

MS. PILL And the most bullheaded. He lacks imagination, Kai.

(KAI gets a phone call; she can’t believe who’s calling.)

KAI Oh my-- Ms. Pill, that intern from earlier is calling.

MS. PILL (Warmly.) Helen. Right on time.

KAI How did she get my phone number?

MS. PILL Her talent defies expectations. For her, getting your phone number was child’s play.

KAI Should I answer?

MS. PILL Of course. And she has answered the call to glory. It is now time for Project Homunculus to truly begin.

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