Terminator: The Connors Chronicles

"The Ghost And The Machine" F05E04

Written by Lumir G Janku

This document is fan-produced fiction based on the television series, Terminator - The Sarah Connor Chronicles, and two seasons worth of fanfiction, F03 and F04, written by CJ Carter. This is done in spirit of fan fiction, to have fun and enrich the total fan experience beyond the limitation of the original story vehicle. In that spirit, and holding to the long tradition of free promotion and support that fanfic brings to the fictional verse, this story is being made available to the show fans for entertainment purposes.
Copyright 2011 Lumir G Janku

2. ACT ONE FADE IN: INT. ZEIRA CENTER, CATHERINE'S OFFICE -- DAY CATHERINE, LAUREN and TOSHIRO sit at a conference table. Toshiro and Lauren have open folders in front them. TOSHIRO We're running out of options. The fracture erased what would be the mortar of disconnected bricks. CATHERINE So what do we get, specifically? TOSHIRO It's like snippets of films. Recordings, sets of images. Not even some form of a structured organization. A pile of bricks. CATHERINE What if we tried to import these fragment into a new chip, provided that we get a green for a new body mold from Allison? TOSHIRO We would get something... someone. But it won't be Cameron. A very remote facsimile at best. CATHERINE How may that work in time? Any chances that with some kind of training, we may get closer? TOSHIRO Can't really tell. It is not possible to predict. It would be still an approximation. CATHERINE Toshi, we get you. Maybe I need to rephrase my questions in a more direct way. What do you think may work? Imagine that you have to your disposal anything you wish, to make it work. TOSHIRO I... the trouble is we don't have what it may take.

3. TOSHIRO I have to work with what we do have and base my assessment on that factor. CATHERINE I understand. Let's leave it at that for now. Perhaps it's better to give it some time and let intuition work its way through the constricture of factors. Lauren. LAUREN We have ninety five percent in. I don't expect any change in the results, they're pretty much straightforward. We may have some populations that survived in remote regions, but since we don't know about them, they do not enter the picture. CATHERINE We need to cover these as well. As we find them, the full range of tests needs to be done. LAUREN I agree. I have to say that the chances that we discover any population that hasn't been infected are infinitely small. Whoever designed it... they knew what they were doing. CATHERINE If John has immunity and Allison at least partially, there must be-LAUREN That is rather unlikely. We mapped all the possible genomes. I looked at genomes that are available from pre-JD era. I found some lines that carried the immunity, but they are extinct. They were closely related to John's and Allison's genomes. CATHERINE What would explain that this trait is so rare? I saw your data on bubonic plague, Lauren, and the fact is that the gene combination that assured survival was present in one third of the populations.

4. LAUREN It seems to be a fall-back trait. I found something similar in our samples of Bushmen. It is not the same gene, but there is enough codons that match. Not that it helps them to stave off the infection, it has been devastating for them more than any other sample. CATHERINE How devastating? LAUREN One eight survived, but they are all infected. About ninety five individuals left. The Skynet camp in South Africa went through them like a Grim Reaper. CATHERINE What this Bushmen gene represents? LAUREN I call it a "start-up" gene. It is a base for a human genetic diversity. It was. The Skynet infusion renders it ineffective. CATHERINE So, John's gene-LAUREN Is a mutation. It doesn't have the same function. Rather the opposite. CATHERINE In what sense? LAUREN It blocks... not diversity per se, but significant overrides of the genome. CATHERINE I see. The mechanism... do you know how it works? LAUREN No. Not so far. It just works. But if we ever crack its "how"-CATHERINE We'd have a cure.

5. LAUREN Yes. Maybe. It would require a fairly drastic genetic policy. CATHERINE As long as there's a chance that the infusion can be reversed at some point-LAUREN Catherine-CATHERINE Yes? LAUREN You said yesterday that John's immunity explains everything. What did you mean? CATHERINE I've a hunch. Before we... before I'll explain, we need to have all the available data. LAUREN We don't? CATHERINE We're getting closer. It is complicated. There are some pieces missing. Once I get the whole picture... I've got a lot of explaining to do. TOSHIRO She'd need to be human. Catherine and Lauren look at Toshiro with an expression of incomprehension. CATHERINE What? TOSHIRO The only way I can imagine bringing Cameron back is if she was human. The only thing that may work. A hunch. CATHERINE That seems to be illogical. The Ks--

6. TOSHIRO The Ks can be tailor-made with a success. But you can't infuse the personality. That is something that has to happen during their development stage. Unless you have that on a chip in some rudimentary form. Which we don't. CATHERINE But there may be a chance that if we use the fragments, we may get close, no? TOSHIRO No. As I said earlier, we can't assure any transfer. What the new K would take from the fragments is anyone's guess and the result may be something not desired. CATHERINE But what makes you believe that human... substrate would be ideal? Humans are even more unpredictable than Ks. TOSHIRO Human mind works in genetically preset patterns. It is designed to work that way. While Ks have to develop their pattern structures based on core patterns recognition, humans come with it. There are some concepts that Ks can glimpse and mimic to a degree, but these are natural to humans. CATHERINE Interesting. What would you do to assure, if you'd have a subject, to make sure we end up with Cameron? TOSHIRO That is an academic debate. We don't have that subject. CATHERINE Indulge me, please. TOSHIRO I haven't thought about it in detail.

7. CATHERINE I understand, just an outline, if you will. TOSHIRO I'd use an implant that would connect to the visual cortex. That'd would make the imagery available to the mind that'd provide the glue. CATHERINE But that won't make it Cameron, would it? TOSHIRO No. But it would be the first step on that trajectory. The subject would have to go through the normal development process, with behavioral modification therapy. And other things I haven't thought of yet. CATHERINE How long it would take? TOSHIRO Why? Twenty years at the least. CATHERINE That won't do. TOSHIRO Told you this be an academic exercise. CATHERINE (smiles) I hoped that you'd come up with the idea. TOSHIRO (confused) You did? CATHERINE Time to start with my explanations. Catherine gets her cell phone out and dials. CATHERINE (CONT'D) Mr. Tuck, please activate LT access. END OF ACT ONE

8. ACT TWO INT. ZEIRA CENTER, ANNEX G, CONTROL ROOM -- LATER CATHERINE, TOSHIRO, LAUREN and LES with MIA are in the control room. MIA Hi Lauren, hi Toshi! LAUREN I wondered where you are! You were here in dungeons the whole time! MIA (laughs) It's not that dark in here. CATHERINE Les, meet Toshiro and Lauren. LES Hi. Heard a lot about you two. CATHERINE Les was a Skynet's researcher of genetic cloning program. He did not know about Skynet true nature. We found the facility and transferred it here. LAUREN Cloning of? MIA Humans. Lauren and Toshiro look at each other. TOSHIRO Why would Skynet clone humans? CATHERINE We don't know the entire story, yet. Some missing pieces, but we're closer to unraveling of the mystery. TOSHIRO Infiltrators? CATHERINE Not in the way you may conceptualize.

9. TOSHIRO Not sure I get the picture. CATHERINE It would be apparent to you soon, patience, Toshi. TOSHIRO (uncertain NODDING) I hope so. I'm confused as hell. CATHERINE Les, can you please explain the basics of the program? LES Sure. Can we go to visual? It would be easier to-CATHERINE (NODS) Just turn on the light in the lab. We can get to the closer inspection later. LES Where to... Skynet started the cloning program 9 years ago. I was pulled from another program involving genetics to manage the new program. The original researcher died, I think, and I was considered to have a good grasp of triggering. LAUREN Gene triggers? LES (NODS) Yeah. TOSHIRO So you were working for the enemy-MIA Les did not know. CATHERINE Skynet told him a lullaby and Les bought it, not having any other input and always working on projects that did not give him the opportunity to realize the real story.

10. TOSHIRO Sorry, man. LES No problem. Catherine knocked the wind out of me when she told me about Skynet, what it really was. TOSHIRO Must have sucked. LES Well, the program itself didn't have any... malignant aspects, which didn't raise suspicion in my mind and I've never did anything to harm anyone. CATHERINE Can we get back on track, please? LES Sure. Where was I... the lights. Les presses a key on his keyboard and the dark glass, forming a wall in the control room, lits up. Ten meters from the glass, there are two tanks with pink fluid. The tanks are oriented towards the window with their foot side. The two human forms floated in the tanks. TOSHIRO (whistling) Wait a sec... they seem to look much older than eight years old. LES The lab age and the apparent biological age differs. The female is now about nineteen bio, but eight lab age. The male is younger, fifteen bio and six lab. LAUREN That's amazing! TOSHIRO How on earth can you do that? LAUREN Gene triggers. LES Correct. I can accelerate, stop or decelerate by triggering. Once you have the proper map available it is not that difficult.

11. LAUREN But how do you assure that you won't trigger a runaway? LES My predecessor, whoever he was, figured it all out. I am not sure what was involved. All I got was a map, a cook book. Do this and this will happen, do that and it stops. I am more of an engineer, improving here and there on the original design, standing on shoulders of a giant. LAUREN So they are just shells. LES No. Not in the way you may think. They are not individuals, yet. But they go through the development stages as a normal human would, without the specifics that form the individual character. LAUREN I am not sure I can grasp... it seems impossible. LES The subjects are in a state that is reminiscent of a sleep state. Not really the same, they have all the rhythms as normal humans have. The state is close to a REM state within dream, when they have active periods. LAUREN Oh! Dreamtime! LES Not sure I've heard that term. LAUREN Australian Aborigines had that concept. The Dreamtime was a bit of mistranslation. They meant a primal state. Similar to "Id" concept of psychology. LES Right. That is quite an apt label.

12. LAUREN How it works... I mean how you do interface? LES They have an implant that allows transmission of programs, which can be considered a form of mental development patterns or education. LAUREN That's Toshi's department. TOSHIRO Yep. I want to hear more about it. CATHERINE In due time. LES The second way to interface is through sound. The subjects have earphones and we can talk to them. LAUREN But wouldn't that form some kernels of personality? LES Not really. In the state they're in, they accept all the information without discrimination. One has to have some form of a value system to form conclusions about a piece of information. LAUREN All right, but what if you wake them up? LES You can't. They would go into a shock and likely die within a very short period. LAUREN So how? LES There is a process that is supposed to work, according to my predecessor notes. I really can't vouch for it, never had the opportunity to try.

13. LAUREN What'd you do then? LES First, I'd introduce, slowly, a normal wake state and start imparting information. They'd be forced to deal with it in the capacity that would be similar to a three years old child. Due to the development they already went through in the Id state, they would quickly start incorporating that information on logical and emotional levels. LAUREN How quickly? LES Fourteen to eighteen months. Then you'd have an individual that would be ready to be brought out of the sleep and function. LAUREN That's fast, but long in other ways. I can imagine that it would take a team of people to get that work. LES It depends on what you want as a result. If you want an individual that would be capable of learning and forming a random individuality on their own accord, it is not that complicated. The programs that we have, and some input from real life people may do the job. LAUREN And what if you need someone that is a very close match? LES I have some notes from my predecessor about it. It's very theoretical, so I'd have to flesh it out. Sure, there would be more involved. TOSHIRO You said the female is nineteen biological and eight lab time.

14. LES Yes. TOSHIRO That's better than nineteen years. Is it possible to shorten growth time even more, say four years? LES I am not sure, but in my opinion, you may end up with a monster. I inherited quite specific time tables, and these work. I'd rather not try, because the triggering has its own time frame format that is exact. You can cheat, but not beyond these parameters. LAUREN What I don't get is how you work with muscles and other organs that connect to motoric functions. LES The implant is a multifunction device. It sends signals to keep the muscles toned. A series of on and off signals sent constantly. LAUREN And speech? LES Pretty much the same process, more finely granulated. And the audio supplements it. If I could find a way to monitor visually their faces and amplify, you would see them talking. TOSHIRO But you can monitor. LES Right. Les goes through menu on his monitor and lands on the speech panel. There are two lines that represent the speech signals. Les selects an area and selects amplify. The line now looks like a typical audio wave pattern of human speech. TOSHIRO If someone told me about this yesterday and I didn't see it on my own eyes, I'd think it's a fast one.

15. LAUREN (laughing) Welcome to the club! CATHERINE I think it's time to meet our subjects. Please follow me. Les keys on a keyboard and the side door slides into its frame. Catherine goes ahead and Lauren and Toshiro follow. Les and Mia stay in the control room. All three get near to the tanks. LAUREN is in focus. LAUREN OH MY GOD! Oh my god! LAUREN walks quickly around the tanks, agitated. TOSHIRO is standing and his mouth is half open. He does not say a word. LAUREN (CONT'D) Oh my god! CATHERINE Seen enough? Lauren NODS. CATHERINE (CONT'D) Toshi! TOSHIRO Yes. Sorry. I didn't expect-LAUREN I think I need a drink. All three leave the lab and they can be seen through control room window. The tanks come back to view. LAUREN (O.S.) Skynet knew! CATHERINE (O.S.) There can be no doubt. The top of the tanks are coming closer. There are wires and tubes leading from a wall panel to both tanks. The view slowly turn downward and the facial features of the clones are becoming recognizable. They are those of JOHN and ALLISON. END OF ACT TWO

16. ACT THREE INT. LOS ANGELES, DOWNTOWN, CAFEHAUS -- EVENING MIA and LAUREN are sitting on the sidewalk enclosure of CAFEHAUS cafe at a small round table. Lauren has a liquor glass in front of her and each of them has a cup of coffee, as well. MIA Yes, I was plugged into the project almost from the moment it was discovered. But Catherine did not tell me what it was about until I needed to know. LAUREN That's my pet peeve, I guess, that Catherine leaves people out until she has a reason. It's like she doesn't trust our judgment, or competency. MIA I don't see it that way. Let's disregard the fact that she de facto adopted me. It has no influence on me as my assessment of her goes. LAUREN She did? I had no idea! MIA I thought everyone knew. I guess... not the case. LAUREN And she still kept you in the dark? MIA It's not that. She had a good reason, and she even told me what that reason was. LAUREN What was it? MIA Not important. It was a very good reason. I trust her completely. LAUREN I do trust her, don't think I don't.

17. LAUREN (CONT'D) I just have to let some of my steam get out every time she's keeping things to herself. I don't know... This is the only thing that bugs me about her. MIA And you told her. LAUREN No! That would... I don't know. Impolite. We depend on good working relationships. All of us. I don't want to rock the boat because of my discomfort over something. MIA I think you are making a mistake. Catherine is very receptive to people she considers her family. That includes you. LAUREN Come on! That is a bit of a stretch! We are on the same boat as work goes. MIA Lauren, you've been always a bit oblivious to interpersonal things. You know it, don't deny it. LAUREN I admit I am sometimes a bit dense. But it's not really that serious. Is it? MIA What you think of Les? LAUREN He seems to be quite a bright fellow. MIA Noticed anything about him? Something other that doesn't relate to work? LAUREN What? He is a bit on the handsome side. A good core.

18. MIA (laughing) Lauren, you are hopeless! LAUREN (smiling) I am not sure if I should be offended! MIA Can you do me a favor? LAUREN Name it and it's done. MIA Ask Toshi tomorrow the same question I asked you. You've always considered Toshi to be on the geek side, but I think you take the cream! LAUREN I'm not sure what he would notice that I didn't. But yeah, you're on. MIA OK, let's up it up a bit. If Toshi tells you something that surprises you, will you talk to Catherine about your... discomfort? LAUREN This is a dangerous territory. Maybe you're right. I have enough adventure in my work life that maybe I lost a sense of it in my personal life. MIA The problem, dear, is that there is no boundary between the two. I see you burning candle in your office all the time. This is a first time in... ages when you are out amongst mortals. LAUREN That's unfair! You know how busy... crazy it has been in the last few weeks. MIA I am not talking about the last few weeks.

19. LAUREN Someone has to do the job. MIA I know, you're a work horse. But if you don't let go here and there, you burn yourself out quick. You escape into work. In the long run, it will kick your butt at some point. LAUREN Okay, okay, you're right. MIA I've gotta go, I've plans for tonight. Please, promise that you'll talk to Toshi in the morning. LAUREN Promise. INT. SAVANNAH WEAVER RESIDENCE -- EVENING SAVANNAH is sitting behind her desk in a study. There is a stack of papers in front of her. She has a plate with sandwiches on the site and from time to time, she takes a bite in between reading and flipping sheets of paper. A doorbell RINGS. SAVANNAH Who... Jon? She leaves her room and descends the stair into a hallway and opens the door. Her mouth is half open as if she has a ready speech. SAVANNAH (CONT'D) Mom! What brings you here? CATHERINE Sorry, it has been so busy for the last few weeks. I missed you. Catherine offers a hug and Savannah reciprocates. SAVANNAH Yes, the sickness kept us all busy. Glad it is over. I mean the worst of it. Not the result. I were just reading your brief. CATHERINE That's not why I am here.

20. SAVANNAH Sorry, I sometimes don't know when to quit working. CATHERINE Where's Jon? Catherine looks around as if trying to find him. SAVANNAH He's not here. We've been lately... on rocks. CATHERINE What's the matter? SAVANNAH (sighs) He thinks my work is pulling us apart. CATHERINE Maybe he's right. SAVANNAH Maybe. But I have to do my job. CATHERINE I think he knows that. What may be the problem is that you're not listening to what he tells you. SAVANNAH I'm not sure what you getting at. CATHERINE I know you did not want this job. But it now seems that you got so entangled in it that you're shutting off everyone around you. SAVANNAH Mom, that's not true! The last few weeks-CATHERINE We all've been busy. But that's not in question. You were building a fortress around you before that. SAVANNAH I... I'm not aware of that. Was I? CATHERINE Yes.

21. SAVANNAH What you suggest I do? CATHERINE Involve Jon. He's a smart man. He can help. Delegate. SAVANNAH Mom, Jon hates government stuff. CATHERINE He loves you, doesn't he? Jon does dislike government affairs. I know that, we were discussing that a few times. But-SAVANNAH Mom-CATHERINE But did you ever try to get him involved in the problems you deal with? SAVANNAH Why? No, he dislikes that stuff, with passion. CATHERINE (smiles) What we have here is an exemplary showcase of a catch 22. SAVANNAH What do I do, then? CATHERINE Call him. Tell him you miss him. You do miss him? SAVANNAH Yes. CATHERINE Let's go upstairs, to your study. They climb stairs and Catherine looks around the room. CATHERINE (CONT'D) (POINTING at stack of papers) This has to go. Either that, or you need to get Jon in on it. Else, it is a wall between you two. Bring less of it home.

22. SAVANNAH Easier said than done. CATHERINE What about your staff? SAVANNAH They have their work hours. The rules-CATHERINE They don't apply to you? If you have to bring your work home, and that's a big if, then ask for help. Jon would help you if it's not an everyday affair. SAVANNAH You think that may work? CATHERINE You haven't tried, did you? Savannah is QUIET for a few moments. SAVANNAH No. CATHERINE I'll be on my way. Call him right after I go. Tell him you miss him. Get those papers into your briefcase. Off the desk. SAVANNAH Mom, sometimes I think you know a lot about humans. CATHERINE I've been around. INT. ZEIRA CENTER, WING C, TOSHIRO"S LAB -- MORNING LAUREN sits on a chair beside TOSHIRO. LAUREN Toshi... an odd question. TOSHIRO Shoot. LAUREN What you think of Les? TOSHIRO You don't want to steal him, right?

23. LAUREN Steal him? What in heavens... steal him from whom? TOSHIRO Now hold on a sec. You did not notice how Les and Mia look at each other? I mean they radiate it so much that it would lit up a city block if someone could tap it! LAUREN I... Mia told me last night that I'm oblivious. TOSHIRO An understatement of the century. LAUREN Really so bad. TOSHIRO Afraid so. What do you think of Neal? LAUREN Neal... Your chip division? Neal Hort? TOSHIRO Yup. That one. LAUREN Why do you ask? He seems to be a decent guy. Quite a catch, I'd say. Toshiro is smiling, not saying a word. LAUREN (CONT'D) What? You don't mean-TOSHIRO He's been hitting on you. LAUREN You're pulling my leg... you're not... Oh my god! Lauren hides her face in her palms. TOSHIRO Talk to him. He won't bite your head off if you express an interest. END OF ACT THREE

24. ACT FOUR INT. ZEIRA CENTER, CATHERINE'S OFFICE -- MORNING CATEHRINE, LAUREN, TOSHIRO, LES and MIA are sitting at a conference table. CATHERINE Toshi. TOSHIRO First thing first... Allison will be here in 30 minutes. She needs to give her consent, it's her clone after all. Catherine, John? CATHERINE Two in the afternoon. I want to talk to him first, but I'll need you all here to provide support. As I know John, this may be a hard sell. LAUREN What choice's there. CATHERINE Indeed. Still, it may take a bit of persuasion. Now to the plan. Les? LES I need about two weeks to get her ready. Once we pull her out of the tank, Lauren and her medical team will take over. Toshi should have the implant replacement ready by then. CATHERINE Do we need to replace it? Can't it be used as it is? LES Toshi, you want to explain? TOSHIRO The current implant is rather specific in its design. It provides all that is needed for the tank life, but we need a bit more. It is a communication channel, while what we need is a form of storage.

25. CATHERINE Do we have anything suitable? TOSHIRO Yes. It is a bit ironic. CATHERINE How so? TOSHIRO The ideal device is the carbon nanotubes mesh that has been provided courtesy Brandi Summerton. CATHERINE Ironic indeed. Is that all we need? TOSHIRO We need to extend it. It's a surface device, essentially working like a wall plug storage device. CATHERINE What's the capacity? TOSHIRO About five hundred terabytes. LES That's quite a lot. TOSHIRO We'd utilize about two terabytes. There was some form of connection, but due to decay, the socket is all that was left when Lauren did the autopsy. I would need something that is organic that would be accepted by the organism, but it must be able to transmit small electric charges. CATHERINE That seems a tad intrusive. TOSHIRO We don't need to go deep into the cortex. All we need are surface nodes. The neurons would do the rest. The visual center needs to be connected for the most part, but it may be helpful if other areas are connected for a redundancy.

26. CATHERINE Ideas? MIA Silk. LES Silk? Too much resistance-TOSHIRO Hold on a sec. <beat> <beat> Absolutely brilliant! That would work! The resistance is just in the right tolerance to induce neurons to use it as scaffolding. Instead of a foreign substance, we'd use neurons as wires. CATHERINE How long do you think it would take for the neurons to connect? TOSHIRO I'm nor sure. We need to test it, but if you want an estimate... four-five inches to bridge... probably ten days. Neurons can be pretty quick if we supply the right magnetic field stimulus. LAUREN I can help, I've got brain tissue cultures. CATHERINE All right, we are getting somewhere. We need to work out a detailed plan. Let's just cross our fingers that we get a consent from both Allison and John. Allison should be here shortly. I need you all here fifteen minutes before John arrives. INT. ZEIRA CENTER, CATHERINE'S OFFICE -- LATER CATHERINE is sitting at her desk. A KNOCK on the door is heard at the time when she expects it. CATHERINE Come on in! ALLISON Hi, Catherine. It sounded urgent.

27. CATHERINE It is. In a away. How are you? ALLISON Good. So, what's the emergency? CATHERINE (laughing) I always liked your direct style! ALLISON (smiling) Yeah, direct is my middle name. Or should be. CATHERINE It's about Cameron. ALLISON You want to make a mold. Sure thing. CATHERINE No. We can't go that route. ALLISON Why not? CATHERINE The chip is too damaged to be useful for a K based body. We could rescue only fragments. Disconnected bits an pieces. ALLISON Darn. John knows? CATHERINE Not yet. We have another option. ALLISON Let's hear it. CATHERINE Showing may be a better way. let's take a walk. INT. ZEIRA CENTER, ANNEX G, CLONE LAB -- LATER CATHERINE and ALLISON stand in front of the tanks. ALLISON It feels weird. I wonder how they got my cells. Seven years you said?

28. CATHERINE Les says eight. Probably at the same time they made the mold. ALLISON Yeah, figures. John... looks like we had spies in our midst. CATHERINE It could've been a simple rummage through discarded medical waste. ALLISON (NODS) I'd never guess that Skynet would make clones. Pod people. CATHERINE Pod people? ALLISON It's a book I read a couple of months ago. Invasion of Body Snatchers, I think was the title. Ultimate replacements. CATHERINE I'm not convinced that was the goal. But it is one of the several possible conclusions. ALLISON You're sure this would work. CATHERINE Not absolutely, but there's a pretty good chance it will. ALLISON I'm not sure that John would go for it. CATHERINE I know that... it probably won't be easy. But it's the only option that we have. Allison is QUIET for a few moments. ALLISON Catherine, there's something you're not telling me. CATHERINE I hope that Cameron will inherit your intuition.

29. ALLISON You're not deflecting? CATHERINE (smiling) No, just thought a compliment was in order. You're right. You know about the chances of your descendants. ALLISON Right. CATHERINE John is clean. ALLISON (whistles) You mean the chances of propagation-CATHERINE Nil. ALLISON Isn't that something! <beat> ALLISON (CONT'D) What doesn't make a sense is that Skynet would make sure that trait survives. CATHERINE Maybe you're not considering that Skynet wasn't supposed to lose. ALLISON Then again, considering the infection and the genome rewrite, I'm not that sure it ever did. CATHERINE It's not complete, not functional. ALLISON I'm still worried. CATHERINE Lauren thinks we can get a rid of it, sometimes in the future. ALLISON OK, let's do it. We need to assure that we have a future if we can't get a rid of that Skynet mess.

30. CATHERINE My thinking too. ALLISON Good luck with John. You may need it. CATHERINE I wish you are wrong, this time. INT. ZEIRA CENTER, CATHERINE'S CONFERENCE AREA -- AFTERNOON LAUREN, TOSHIRO, LES and MIA are sitting in the conference room. Catherine with John are in the inner office room. The connecting door is closed. Only occasionally an indistinct sound can be heard. Catherine Enters the conference room, closes the door behind her. CATHERINE John wants some coffee. We should be here soon. Avoid the reproductive aspect. Catherine grabs a cup from a cupboard, fills it with coffee from a coffee machine and enters her inner office again and closes the door behind her. TOSHIRO Forty five minutes. LAUREN You didn't think it would go without a fight, right? TOSHIRO No, but if I were a car salesman, I'll start despairing. MIA Catherine looked hopeful. I saw a dotted line in her eyes. TOSHIRO Hope you're right. The interconnection door opens again, and Catherine and John enter the conference room. CATHERINE John, please meet Les and Mia, They are our genetics team, responsible for a well-being of the bodies.

31. JOHN Nice to meet you. John approaches Les and shakes hands with him. LES Likewise. John turns to Mia and offers hand, then looks like thinking about something. JOHN I remember you. Give me a second... a refugee from Fresno. You look almost the same as then. MIA (blushes almost imperceptibly) I thought you were looking for Savannah Weaver! JOHN (smiling) I was. But it was hard not to notice you. The crowd was... weary. Your face was like a sprinkle of color within that gray mass. MIA You have an excellent memory. JOHN Goes with the job description. CATHERINE John will ask you questions about the project. Please respond according to your share of involvement in the project. John and Catherine seat themselves opposite to the four participants. END OF ACT FOUR

32. ACT FIVE INT. ZEIRA CENTER, CATHERINE'S CONFERENCE AREA -- AFTERNOON JOHN, CATHERINE, TOSHIRO, LAUREN, LES and MIA are sitting at the conference room table. John and Catherine face the other four. JOHN Toshi, was it you who came up with the idea? TOSHIRO Yeah. JOHN Why do you think it's not possible to Make Cameron based on a K body? TOSHIRO What we'd have is essentially a machine. We are missing the ghost. You've told me about the episode when Cameron was thinking she's Allison. It was probably one of the most important elements of her personality. JOHN It was a result of a damage. TOSHIRO That's beside the point. It was at the core of her experience and an integral part of who she was. I don't see any way to recreate it in a cyborg mind. JOHN But you think you can model it in a human mind. TOSHIRO Yes. Well, we can't be sure, but I think that is the only was we can get ever close. JOHN What would... How we get there? LES If I may... my department. There are some technical prerequisites, interfacing that Toshi has to develop. But I think you have a mechanism in mind.

33. JOHN Yes. LES Cameron will be asleep somewhere between fourteen to eighteen months. This is not the same state she's in now, which is more receptive but isn't related to forming a personality. Probably the closest thing would be if someone's in a coma. JOHN That doesn't sound very good. LES Similar, not the same. It leaves the communication channels open. At that stage, that's where you come in. We'd have a detailed script for you, but in general, your task would be to remember and tell her what you remember. JOHN She'd listen? LES Not all the time. We'll train you to recognize the periods when she is open to communication. JOHN How often-LES A full time job. More than a full time. The more time you can put into it, the faster be the progress. It would be intense, no vacations. Not much time left to yourself. JOHN I... Not worried about the schedule. The integration of the ... images, clips or what to call it... that happens prior to removal from the tank? TOSHIRO No. Actually, that happens after the removal. We need to do a surgical procedure. The integration is only in part.

34. JOHN How'd that would work? TOSHIRO The initial integration's the physical part. It would be later available for... refreshing the channels on a regular schedule. About an hour every third day. When Cameron wakes up, the third phase kicks in. She'd have to train herself to access the storage on her own volition. JOHN She'd be able to recall the archives? TOSHIRO Yes, I believe so. But that'd be dependent on her. It will be integrated on a subconscious level, of course. JOHN What about the... physical stuff? LAUREN We'd have two nurses assigned, working in shifts. They'd take a care of the messy human stuff. JOHN K's? LAUREN Yes. The demands would be taxing. As for motoric functions or muscle toning, it would be up to you to what degree you want to be plugged in. JOHN As long as I have some sort of a manual or instructions available so I know what I am supposed to do, it's fine with me. Seems I'd be involved extensively in any case, so I do as much as I can. MIA It would be very busy sixteen or so months.

35. JOHN It does not bother me. If we can bring Cameron back... (voice breaks with emotional stress) It would be worth every minute. CATHERINE John, any other questions? JOHN I think that I've a good picture of what is involved. Maybe... what are the chances that this would work, that we'd have Cameron back. TOSHIRO I think we can pull it off. You have to understand that there will be a difference between Cameron you knew and Cameron that comes out of this. JOHN In what sense? TOSHIRO Beside being more human, which is a given, you can envision it as new Cameron would subsume old Cameron. JOHN Toshi, you haven't seen her of late. She was ever getting closer, more than you'd think is possible. TOSHIRO That's good. The transition for you then may be easier. JOHN What about accommodation and related stuff? LAUREN Al is working on it already. JOHN Al? LAUREN A.K.A. Moss.

36. JOHN Oh! Right. Heard about his conversion! LAUREN It's one bedroom... in fact an apartment of sorts, in the B wing's hospital ward. Bedroom, living room, bathroom and a kitchenette if you ever feel the urge to whip something for yourself. Else you'd have the hospital meals available. JOHN That sounds exciting. LAUREN I knew that you'd say that... I can guarantee it's pretty yummy. Victoria's the chief chef, which almost guarantees that you would not want to skip a meal. We've been having this problem with people getting sick beyond expected statistical margins. Then we realized we're the best restaurant in town! JOHN (laughs) How did you resolve it? LAUREN We've picked one restaurant in the neighborhood and produce a bit extra. That offloads our wards and provides some extra income for our budget. JOHN Hold on a sec, you mean the Victoria's? LAUREN Yep, that's the one. JOHN I'd never connect the dots. CATHERINE I have to rein in. We've our schedules to maintain. JOHN Right.

37. CATHERINE John has one condition on which our project hinges. We have to disconnect his clone. TOSHIRO John, you think it's wi-JOHN Toshi, I am sorry, but that is my condition. I don't want to go into explaining my position. LAUREN John, can you reconsider? It seems a bit odd that you accept one clone and not another. JOHN It is what it is. My personal reasons. CATHERINE John's position is logical. We do need to bring Cameron back. We do have John here and now. LAUREN What if something happens to you? JOHN We'd deal with it. I know, you may think it's a rush decision... I don't want to repeat myself. CATHERINE Let's vote. Raise your hand if in an agreement. One by one, the four of them raise their hand. Catherine follows. CATHERINE (CONT'D) It is settled then. The project starts tomorrow. John, Lauren will show you to your apartment. If you need to see Cameron, I'll activate the access for you so you can visit the Annex G. JOHN We got two weeks before pull out... from the tank? LES Yes.

38. JOHN I might come down to see her before that. LES Any time. JOHN See you all soon. INT. ZEIRA CENTER, CATHERINE'S OFFICE -- LATER CATHERINE dials on her cell phone. CATHERINE Mr. Tuck, how close are we? TUCK (O.S.) Almost there, a few more hours. CATHERINE I want it all done before John's visit. TUCK (O.S.) If you think he won't go today, then consider it done. MIA knocks on the door. Catherine signals her to come in. MIA Catherine, would you really disconnect John's clone? CATHERINE Yes, that was my promise. MIA A shame, really, I think. CATHERINE I promised I'd disconnect the clone. Have you ever been on Annex G's B3 level? MIA No. Why? <beat> Oh! You promised a disconnection! Who-CATHERINE The same team as before. END OF ACT FIVE

39. ACT SIX INT. ZEIRA CENTER, B WING MED. RESEARCH, JOHN'S APT. -MORNING JOHN sits in front do a modular shelf unit that he's putting together. The room has already some furnishing, a desk at the window with a chair. There is a terminal on the desk, connected to the Zeira server farm and on the screen there is a Zeira logo--three pointed glyph with a square dot at the end of each. It looks like three iotas positioned at 120 degrees angle to each other. John lifts the shelf and positions it against the wall. Then he pulls a few books from his shoulder strap bag and places them on the shelf. He goes to the bedroom, and looks it over, as if taking an inventory. The room is empty, except a couple of chairs. He hears a knock on the main door. JOHN Yes? MOSS' SERVICEMAN I have your bed and bedding. JOHN Come in. MOSS' SERVICEMAN Where you want to put it? JOHN (POINTING into a corner) No, wait! Changed my mind. Let's put it in the other room. The serviceman, pulls the bed frame in and places it where John POINTS to, then takes another trip to bring in mattress and then the bedding wrapped in a compact bag. MOSS' SERVICEMAN I'll be back with some drawer sets and some small stuff. JOHN I'll go out, but will leave the door open. What about the other bed? MOSS' SERVICEMAN That won't be ready until a week from now. It's a custom piece, so it takes a while to make it.

40. JOHN Kitchen stuff-The serviceman checks his clipboard and then turns the paper sheet over. MOSS' SERVICEMAN Here it is! Yeah, I'll bring that too. I'll leave the check sheet here on your desk when I'm done. Please check if all's ok. If not or something's missing, call the boss. JOHN Moss? MOSS' SERVICEMAN Yeah, Moss' the boss. JOHN Thanks. The serviceman nods and leaves the apartment. John scans the room somewhat absent-minded, then he grabs his bag, and takes his Zeira card and hangs it around his neck and exits, heading for cafeteria on the lower level. INT. ZEIRA CENTER, CAFETERIA -- LATER JOHN checks the shelves for some food that he'd like. A man, Halley (50), with a tray approaches, standing beside John, looking at shelves too. He casually looks at John and then his expressions changes as he recognizes John. HALLEY You're Connor, right? I remember you from old Zeira. JOHN Yes. HALLEY (POINTING at Johns orange stripped ZEIRA ID card) Sick? JOHN No, my wife-HALLEY You married?

41. JOHN (NODS) Yes. HALLEY Ah, hope it's not something serious. I myself, I am falling apart. No one could nail it down. Except Zeira Medical. <beat> Wait, your wife, that would be... Cameron? JOHN Yes, Cameron. HALLEY But isn't she a cy-JOHN (interrupting somewhat abruptly) We never knew how truly human she is. HALLEY (puzzled expression) Uh, I hope she'll get better. JOHN Me too, believe me. HALLEY Good luck and see you around. JOHN Thanks. Good luck to you, too. John picks up a random sandwich and moves toward the counter, scans his card and then seats himself at a corner table with one chair. He pulls his cell phone and dials 1. CATHERINE (O.S.) John! What can I do for you? JOHN Morning, Catherine. I'd like to see Cameron. CATHERINE (O.S.) All set. You exit the central hall opposite to main entrance and go along the sidewalk until you get to the Annex G.

42. CATHERINE (O.S.) (CONT'D) Take the elevator to B2 and you'll se an iris scanner at the main door. Inside, you can either enter the control room, or go a bit further to get to the lab door. Do you want me to tag along? JOHN No thanks, I'll manage. CATHERINE (O.S.) How's you accommodation coming along? JOHN Getting settled. CATHERINE (O.S.) Good. Call me any time if you need something. JOHN Will do. Thanks. John hangs up the call and after finishing his meal, he's heading for the Annex G. INT. ZEIRA CENTER, ANNEX G, CONTROL ROOM -- LATER LES and JOHN are standing in front of the control room window, looking into the lab. LES Yes, you can talk to her. Do you want me to turn the channel on? JOHN Would she register that the voice changed? LES No. At this stage, it's just a voice. An audio signal. Once we pull Cameron out of the tank, that would change, she'll go into a different state. Then we'd prefer she'd hear you only, except for brief instructions when in specific therapy. JOHN Not today, I just wanted to see her. It may be better to start talking to her when she's out of here.

43. LES Doesn't make much difference, but a good point--it may be more comfortable for you to talk to Cameron in privacy. JOHN I've a hard time keeping my impatience in check. LES Understandable. Thirteen more days. We'll have the outline for the communication procedures for you by tomorrow. It should keep you busy for a while to study it, and then you get quite a detailed manual, in about five days. JOHN Thanks Les, I'll go now to the lab for a while. LES Take as long as you need, any time. We do everything remotely so far, no one would be interrupting you. INT. ZEIRA CENTER, ANNEX G, CLONE LAB -- TWO WEEKS LATER CATHERINE, JOHN, TOSHIRO, LES and MIA are standing in the control room, all looking through the window into the tank lab. Right above the tank is a crane arm and three sling belts reach down under Cameron's body, at knees, at the waist and chest, a few inches below armpits. The indoor electric crane operator, one of Moss people is sitting in a swivel seat on the crane platform, waiting for his queue. LAUREN and two K nurses are waiting at a gurney that is at the tank's closer side. There is a defibrilator unit next to the wall and ECG unit beside it, both plugged in. Lauren gives a signal and the crane operator turns on the belts' motors. Cameron's body is slowly turning until she faces down. LAUREN Disconnect! One of the nurses goes to a panel beside the tank and starts turning off switches. An IV tube disengages from a needle socket and a small cloud of darker liquid--blood-disperses in the pink fluid. Then other cables are coming off one by one, except the cable connecting the socket in Cameron's crown.

44. LAUREN (CONT'D) LIFT! The crane operator pulls on the lift lever and Cameron is being lifted until she was nearly out of the fluid. LAUREN (CONT'D) UP! The operator pulls on another control. It is almost a jerk, when the body is suddenly and quickly lifted several inches, above the rim of the tank. LAUREN (CONT'D) LEFT! The liquid is dripping from Cameron's body and the crane arm is moving out of the tank space and at the same time turning the body back to face upward. LAUREN (CONT'D) STOP! Now lower! The body descends towards the gurney and Lauren adjusts its angle to match the angle of lowered body and let the body fully descend. One of the nurses checks the sling belts one by one, finds the seams and separates the ends, letting them drop on both sides of the gurney. The other nurse quickly attaches connectors to ECG and a regular slow heartbeat spike and count figures appear on the monitor. Then she comes back, reaches under the gurney's top and pulls a blanket and covers Cameron's body up to neck. The body suddenly jerks in a minor convulsion. CUT TO: VIEW FROM THE CEILING The heartbeat stops and the steady high pitch sound announces the dreaded eventuality. LAUREN (CONT'D) FLATLINE! Charge the contacts! One of the nurses, closer to the defibrilator, turns it on. The other nurse applies a gel to exposed chest and hands the contacts to Lauren. Lauren then zaps Cameron. No change. Lauren waits for the charge buildup and zaps again. No change. ZOOM TO: LAUREN'S HAIR A silvery metallic pin with 3 red-enameled ladybug elements is in focus. PAN TO: THE CONTROL ROOM All the people in the control room are clustered together.

45. LAUREN (O.S.) Again! PAN: SLIGHT MOVEMENT BACK TOWARDS THE GURNEY, THEN BACK. John suddenly splits and heads to the door separating control room from the lab. LAUREN (O.S.) (CONT'D) Again! It is quiet, just the high pitch steady sound provides a background noise. Lauren sweeps her forehead with a back of her wrist. LAUREN (O.S.) (CONT'D) I am sorry, John. PAN: SLOW, BACK TOWARD THE GURNEY. Lauren is disconnecting the ECG connectors and removing the main cable. John grabs Cameron's limp hand. ZOOM: CAMERON'S FACE FAST, INTO A BLUR, THEN DARK. It's dark and time seems to be standing still. A faint sound, as if coming from a great distance, disturbs the peace of the eternal moment. JOHN (V.O.) She BREATHES!

END OF ACT SIX