The Deal

Written By

Sam A. Garner

Sgarner115@hotmail.com
2015
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FADE IN
EXT. BEACH - DAY
A calm and beautiful scene. Pristine blue sky, intense rays
of sunlight beating down. Some CHILDREN LAUGHING and PLAYING
in the water.
A man, ADAM, standing and looking down at the scene. He
watches the children intensely and listens to everything
around him.
Adam, WRIGGLES his bare feet in the sand - feeling each
coarse grain as it moves between his toes. He walks forward
- serenely.
He approaches the water, BREATHES in the sea air, breathes
out, and STEPS into the water. His first step sends a shiver
through his body - the water is cold.
He LAUGHS, and takes another step. He lets the lapsing waves
swarm around his feet and then retreat. He smiles, totally
at peace.
He CLOSES his eyes and listens. The children LAUGH.
Silence.

INT. ROOM - DAY

Two bright-blue, robotic eyes flicker open. They look around
hazily, tired. We see they belong to a ROBOT: A humanoid
figure, metal-wire strewn skin with pistons and other
robotic greeble covering its body.
The Robot gets to its feet and looks around the room. It is
a large, rectangular, open space with glossy pearl walls,
ceiling and floor. A large window spanning the length of the
wall sits at the far end of the room, looking out at an
eternal blue sky-scape.
Around the room is a minimalist kitchen, a table with
chairs, a bookshelf, a TV, and a canvas with paints - and a
small mirror attached.
The Robot walks to the centre of the room and performs
various exercises. Press-ups, sit-ups etc. His breathing
become laboured and he WIPES sweat from his brow.
The Robot walks to the table, sits down, and READS a
newspaper.
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Later, The Robot is watching TV. The TV plays only white

noise.
Later, The Robot is sitting on its bed and reading an old
book. He turns the aged pages SOFTLY and reads INTENTLY.
Later, The Robot is sitting at the canvas on a stool. He
holds a palette in one hand and paints with the other. He
looks into the small mirror attached to the side of the
canvas as he paints a self portrait - the portrait is of
ADAM.
The painting is unfinished, Adam's features not yet clear.
Later, the sun is setting and the room is lit a BURNING
AMBER. The Robot stands at the large window, WATCHING the
sun depart.
The Robot turns and walks to his bed, he gets in and lays
looking at the ceiling. He slowly drifts off to sleep.

EXT. PARK - DAY

A beautiful scene. Lush green vegetation, trees and grass
everywhere. A tropical haven.
Rows of flowers lined along a stone path. Adam walks down
here, allowing his hand to BRUSH against the various flower
heads as he does.
Adam carries a bunch of roses and looks excited. He waits in
the park for someone to arrive. Birds TWEETING around him.
The soft and melodic wind blowing in the trees.
Suddenly, a woman. Adam looks to her standing opposite him
and walks forward with a smile.

INT. CEMETERY - DAY

Adam walking forward. He places the bunch of roses on a
grave. He steps back, tearful and looks angered. He stands
in the dark and the snow.

INT. BEDROOM - DAY

Adam, now an elderly, dying man, sits up in his bed. His
grand-daughter sitting at his bedside, she is 9-years-old.
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ADAM
50 years. 50 long years of falling
apart and that headstone looks as
new as the day it was placed there.
(looks to his
grand-daughter)
I'm dying, child. But that's okay,
we all do it. We live we die. It's
part of the deal.
GRAND-DAUGHTER
What happens when we die, grandpa?
ADAM
We dream. We dream forever. You
see, we never really die.
He looks to a flower and portrait of the woman, both of
which sit on his bedside table. Adam notices his
grand-daughter holding a sheet of paper.
ADAM
What's that?
GRAND-DAUGHTER
My teacher told us to draw
something in class today. An
invention.
She hands him the paper. It is a drawing of a man and a
robotic skeleton.
ADAM
What is it?
GRAND-DAUGHTER
It's a robot. But you put a person
inside. That way they never die.
ADAM
The purpose of life is not to live
forever, but to invent something
that will, child.
GRAND-DAUGHTER
Why not both?
Adam smirks and looks at the drawing. He focuses on the
robot, a look of sadness in his eyes.
Later, Adam is alone and standing by the window. He looks
out at the night sky. He looks at the reflection of his
eyes, and then at his old and withered hands.
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He sighs and closes his eyes.

INT. ROOM - DAY

The Robot wakes up, looks around, RUBS his eyes. He performs
his daily routine, exercise, reading, watching TV.
The Robot turns off the TV and walks across the room to get
a book from the bookshelf, he GRABS one and walks towards
his bed - he suddenly notices the canvas.
The canvas is the self-portrait but Adam's humanoid head is
now ROBOTIC!
He drops the book. Runs to the canvas and touches it, he
panics.
The Robot runs to the sink and turns the tap on, he runs his
hand under the water. He panics even more.

EXT. BEACH - DAY - FLASHBACK

Adam standing in the water as the waves lapse around his
feet.
END OF FLASHBACK.

INT. ROOM - DAY

The Robot runs to the book, GRABS it, OPENS it, and SNIFFS
the aged pages. Nothing. The Robot turns to the large window
and walks over - slowly - AFRAID.
He looks at the endless, blue, abyss-like sky and then
finally focuses on his reflection in the glass.
The Robot places his hand on the glass but the reflected
hand that meets his own - is HUMAN!
The Robot looks at his reflection, it is ADAM! The Robot
looks at itself, its vision of itself, in the window and is
filled with emotion.
A tear forms in Adam's eyes and it drops, but it falls and
SPLATTERS on the ground by the Robot's feet! The Robot looks
down and WIPES his eyes - no tear trail.
The Robot looks back at the reflection, it is just a robot.
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He takes his hand away and steps back.

Suddenly, Adam's grand-daughter's picture appears in The
Robot's hands and he holds the picture out in front of him.
He stares at the picture - SOLEMNLY. The SETTING sun
silhouettes his robotic body, making it appear as a human
outline staring at the picture.
FADE TO BLACK.
THE END.