CAPRICA
by
Remi Aubuchon and Ronald D. Moore
FIFTH DRAFT: September 28, 2006
2ND NETWORK REVISION: October 6, 2006
ACT FOUR:
FADE IN:
INT. GRAYSTONE ESTATE - MORNING
Serge opens the door to see a nervous Lacy standing there.
SERGE
Welcome, Lacy Rand.
LACY
May I come in?
SERGE
Your security authorization is
still valid. Please enter.
LACY
Thanks.
She tentatively enters. Serge closes the door behind her.
LACY
I’m going up to Zoe’s bedroom...
SERGE
As you wish.
Lacy heads up the stairs.
INT. ZOE’S BEDROOM - DAY
Lacy enters the bedroom and starts looking through Zoe’s desk for the Computer Sheet which isn’t there.
DANIEL (O.S.)
Looking for this?
Lacy jumps out of her skin and turns around to see a bleary-eyed Daniel in the doorway, holding the Computer Sheet. He looks like hell and he knows it.
DANIEL
You’ll pardon the way I look. I’ve
been up all night trying to...
crack one of the better security
codes I’ve ever run up against.
(beat)
I’ve been to the V-Club.
LACY
I--I don’t know what you’re talking
about...
DANIEL
And I’ve seen her, Lacy.
Lacy’s eyes go wide.
DANIEL
I saw her having a drink at a
bar... then I saw her go into a
room with a symbol on the door --
He holds up the computer sheet, which displays the INFINITY SYMBOL.
DANIEL
This symbol. It’s the one
mathematicians use for infinity...
(beat)
Now, I don’t know what any of this
means, or how’s it possible there’s
a digital version of my daughter
running around a virtual nightclub -
- but I have a feeling you do.
LACY
I’m sorry, but I really don’t know
what you’re talking about, Doctor
Graystone.
She moves to leave, but he takes a small step and blocks the door -- not much of a physical threat, but it’s there. Lacy stops cold.
DANIEL
I want to see her, Lacy. Whoever --
whatever she is -- I need to see
her.
Daniel can see Lacy’s scared, conflicted. He struggles to hold on emotionally -- he’s a bit strung-out, all nerve-endings and jagged edges. He tries to take the threat out of his voice.
DANIEL
You know... when Zoe was little,
she was all ponies and dress-up
games and pink shoes with sparkly
toes. Funny thing is, I still
think about her like that. Guess I
never bothered to look past that as
she grew up.
(beat)
So I guess I kept seeing someone
who wasn’t there anymore. ‘Cause
you know what -- I’ve been going
through that closet and...
there are five pairs of black
stilettos in that closet Lacy, and
not one single pair of pink shoes.
(beat)
There’s also a whole lot of
religious books I don’t understand
and a lot of computer equipment I
do understand -- I didn’t know she
was interested in computers.
Thought she hated computers
because... well, because I liked
them.
Lacy hears the heartbreak in that last statement. She begins to soften and Daniel can see it in her eyes. His voice becomes softer yet, pleading with this girl to help him.
DANIEL
Who’s the woman in the V-Club,
Lacy? I know she’s not Zoe -- my
little girl’s dead. But she’s
connected to Zoe, isn’t she? She’s
a clue. A clue to something about
Zoe... something else I never knew.
Maybe it’s going to tell me
something I shouldn’t know. Maybe
it’s something... awful. But it’s
the truth. And I’d really like to
see the truth instead of looking
for... pink shoes.
Lacy and he lock eyes and she can’t help but be moved by the obvious feelings of a mourning father. After a beat, she nods...
INT. JOSEPH ADAMS’ APARTMENT - KITCHEN - MORNING
RUTH (60s), Joseph’s mother-in-law, packs lunch for William. Joseph comes in for coffee.
RUTH
William was up all night. Again.
JOSEPH
I know. I’m not sure what to do.
RUTH
Let him experience his roots. Take
him home to Tauron.
JOSEPH
William was born on Caprica. This
is his home.
William enters, looks at them both with expressionless eyes. Then, breaking the tension, Ruth hands William his lunch box.
RUTH
There’s an extra slice of the
cherry cake you liked so much.
She kisses William on the forehead.
WILLIAM
Thanks, Tsattie. Are you taking me
to school?
Before Ruth can answer...
JOSEPH
It&rsquos on my way to work, Willie.
WILLIAM
(disappointed)
Okay.
INT. INTERPLANETARY TRANSPORT SHIP - MORNING
Vergis is seated in the First Class section of this well-appointed transport ship. He makes a call on his phone.
INT. CAPRICA GENERAL HOSPITAL - AMANDA’S OFFICE - MORNING
Amanda, sitting in her office, her phone ringing. She can see via the display that it’s Vergis calling. She stares at the phone, but does not pick it up.
INT. INTERPLANETARY TRANSPORT SHIP - MORNING
Vergis, disappointed, closes his phone.
FLIGHT ATTENDANT (V.O.)
Ladies and Gentlemen, welcome to
Flight 1232, destination Mars City
on the planet of Tauron. Our
flight time is approximately thirtysix
hours and during that time...
Vergis lays back in his seat and closes his eyes.
INT. CAPRICA GENERAL HOSPITAL - AMANDA’S OFFICE - MORNING
Amanda sitting where we left her, her eyes also closed.
VOICE (O.S.)
Excuse me. Dr. Graystone?
AMANDA
Yes.
She opens her eyes to see AGENT DURAM in the doorway.
DURAM
(showing his ID)
Agent Duram, Global Defense
Department. I wonder if you have a
few minutes.
AMANDA
For what?
DURAM
As you probably know, I’m
investigating the attack on the
MLMT train.
AMANDA
Should I know that? I’ve been
avoiding the news lately.
DURAM
Completely understandable. I’m not
sure how I’d react if I lost
someone in such tragic
circumstances.
AMANDA
I doubt it’s something normal human
beings think much about... until it
happens to them.
DURAM
I suppose you’re right.
AMANDA
But you obviously didn’t come here
for an existential dialectic. What
is it you wanted to ask, Agent...?
DURAM
Duram. It’s about your daughter,
Zoe. Was there anything in her
behavior before the incident that
seemed... unusual?
AMANDA
She was angry, defiant,
unreasonable, vulgar and rude.
Just your... typical sixteen year
old girl.
DURAM
And how would you describe her
circle of friends? Was there an
anti-social aspect to--
AMANDA
Please do me the courtesy of
cutting to the chase, Agent Duram.
After a beat...
DURAM
We have evidence to positively link
your daughter to the bombers.
Amanda doesn’t know what she was expecting to hear, but it certainly wasn’t that.
AMANDA
I’m sorry. You think... you think
she knew one of the terrorists?
DURAM
Dr. Graystone... we think that Zoe
might have been one of the
terrorists.
Amanda stares for a beat, then smiles, almost laughs.
AMANDA
(almost laughing)
My daughter didn’t have a political
bone in her body. Her biggest
concerns in life were partying with
her friends and finding new and
creative ways to drive her parents
insane.
DURAM
I understand how upsetting this
must be.
Duram meets her eyes calmly for a beat and then pulls out a SHEET OF PAPER which he hands it over to her.
DURAM
We think it was sent from your
daughter’s computer sheet.
Amanda looks down at the message and sees:
Don’t live in regret, Mom. I forgive you.
All the blood drains from Amanda’s face.
DURAM
The message was transmitted just
before the explosion but never
uplinked to the server. It took a
fair amount of digital forensics to
reconstruct it.
Amanda just stares at the sheet, trying desperately to hold back a flood of emotion.
AMANDA
Get out.
DURAM
Sounds like a last message to me...
like someone who knows the end is
near and wants to make amends.
AMANDA
GET OUT!
DURAM
Thank you for your time, Doctor.
He leaves. A beat and then Amanda suddenly takes in a gasp of shock and fear -- is that even remotely possible? Then she puts a hand to her mouth and completely loses it.
EXT. CAPRICA CITY PARK - AFTERNOON
Joseph walks with THE GUATRAU though this pleasant park on the water’s edge.
GUATRAU
There is a delicate matter that I
need your help on, Yoseef.
JOSEPH
If I can, you know I will.
GUATRAU
There is a man -- an important man -
- who has conveniently forgotten
how he got to be so important.
Regrettably, he is embarking on an
enterprise that will cause great
distress, not only to my personal
interests, but to many of my
colleagues. This, I cannot
sanction... so action must be
taken.
JOSEPH
With all due respect, Gautrau,
passing along a bribe is one thing;
being involved in a murder, however
indirect, steps over a line I
cannot cross.
The Gautrau bursts out laughing.
GUATRAU
Oh, by the gods, it’s nothing like
that. No, no. We didn’t send you
to law school in order to waste
your talents on something so...
basic. What I would ask of you is
to meet with this individual and
outline for him his options: Give
up his folly and embrace us once
again as a friend. Or face the
consequences of being our enemy.
JOSEPH
You want me to threaten him.
GUATRAU
I’d like this matter to be resolved
in a civilized manner and there’s
no Tauron I can think of more
civilized than you, Tse’Yoseef.
Joseph is silent for a beat. Then...
JOSEPH
May I ask who it is I’m supposed to
“negotiate” with?
GUATRAU
Caprica’s Secretary of Defense.
Val Chambers.
Off Joseph...
INT. THE V-CLUB - NIGHT
Lacy AND Daniel walk though the V-Club.
DANIEL
What goes on here?
LACY
Pretty much anything. “No Limits” -
- that’s the motto.
(points)
Down there’s the KillZone. Get a
gun -- get five guns -- walk in and
start shooting. Shoot your
friends, shoot your classmates,
shoot the president, shoot
yourself, whatever.
(points)
Back that way are the group sex and
drug dens, keep going past that you
run into the really gross stuff.
They walk back the ENTRANCE to the Dance Floor, where the echoing chants and trance music can be heard pulsing from within. Daniel pushes OPEN the door and sees a massive crowd again watching Hecate rise up over the distant stage.
DANIEL
And this?
LACY
Human sacrifice.
DANIEL
What?
LACY
Virgins. They offer them to
Hecate, goddess of the underworld.
Daniel glimpses the women on the stage and the Masked Man wielding the knife and then CLOSES the door with a shudder.
DANIEL
My company created the HoloBand.
This isn’t exactly what we had in
mind.
She throws him a jaundiced look.
LACY
Yeah, right. The porn sites were
first ones to license the
technology -- everyone knows that.
Daniel looks at her in surprise -- in this virtual world, Lacy not only looks more adult, her language and attitude are more adult, more assertive as well.
DANIEL
That’s different -- that’s for
adults.
LACY
Zoe was right -- you can
rationalize anything.
DANIEL
(stung)
I don’t have to defend myself to
you. We didn’t design the
holobands for this.
LACY
Where there’s a will...
Lacy heads off again and Daniel follows her.
DANIEL
So what -- you and Zoe... came
here? For... for sex?
LACY
(casual)
At first. We used to go to the
group sex rooms like everyone else.
Daniel looks like he’s going to be sick.
LACY
But after Ben showed us the way...
showed us “The Way”... all that
changed. We saw this for what it
was -- a temple to sin.
DANIEL
“The Way?”
They arrive at the VIP Room with the Infinity Symbol. Lacy gives him a very direct, very confident look and speaks with the self-confidence of a true believer.
LACY
There is good and there is evil in
the world. There is a right and
there is a wrong. But only through
the one true and singular God can
you know the difference. Zoe knew.
Because Zoe knew God. And God
touched her heart and gave her the
ability to create... life itself.
Lacy reaches out and OPENS the door...
INT. VIP ROOM (CONTINUOUS)
As Daniel and Lacy ENTER, Zoe-A gets up from the couch and smiles... until she notices Daniel standing in the doorway, shock and disbelief written on his features. Zoe-A is upset at the sight of him.
ZOE-A
Oh, my God!
(to Lacy)
Why’d you bring him here?
LACY
He needs you, Zo.
Zoe-A finally turns back to Daniel, who, for his part, is rooted to the spot, unable or unwilling to step farther into the room as he stares at the ghost of his daughter.
ZOE-A
Hi, Daddy...
The words hit Daniel with almost physical force, he cannot
speak.
ZOE-A
I thought that was you in the club
yesterday... thought I got away
before you saw me...
(tries to joke)
... guess I wouldn’t make a very
good spy.
Daniel finally finds his voice, taking refuge in science.
DANIEL
You’re an Avatar. A virtual
representation of Zoe. Nothing
more.
ZOE-A
I’m a little more than that. A lot
more, actually.
(awkward)
I’m... sorta her. Crazy as that
sounds. I am... her. I’m Zoe
Graystone.
DANIEL
My daughter is dead.
ZOE-A
Yes, I know. And I’m sorry about
that -- more than you can know.
She was... like my twin sister.
Well -- that’s not right either.
She was more than that... we were
kinda, I don’t know... echoes of
one another. It’s... hard to
describe.
DANIEL
(to Lacy)
So what is this, really? Did Zoe
hack some kind of rudimentary
emulation software or something?
Lacy doesn’t answer, but Zoe-A is quick with an answer.
ZOE-A
She told me it was a combination of
hacks and some of her own codes.
DANIEL
(dismissive)
Okay, that’s enough.
(to Lacy)
What was the purpose of this thing?
ZOE-A
I’m not a thing.
DANIEL
I’m not going to argue with a
digital image.
He’s using his “parental” voice and it automatically gets Zoe- A’s hackles up. Her eyes flash and her jaw tightens.
ZOE-A
(ice)
The human brain contains roughly
300 megabytes of information. Not
much when you get right down to it.
The question isn’t how to store it,
it’s how to access it. You can’t
download a personality, there’s no
way to translate the data. But the
information being held in our heads
is available in other databases.
Although he’s refusing to look at her directly, Daniel finds that he’s starting to actually listen to her despite himself.
ZOE-A
People leave more than footprints
as they travel through life:
Medical scans. DNA profiles.
Psych evaluations. School records.
Email. Recordings. Video. Audio.
CAT scans. Genetic typing.
Synaptic records. Security
cameras. Test results. Shopping
records. Talent shows. Ball
games. Traffic tickets.
Restaurant bills. Phone records.
Music lists. Movie tickets. TV
habits.
(beat)
Even prescriptions for birth
control.
Daniel finally looks over and stares at Zoe-A -- is this really the Zoe he never knew?
EXT. CAPRICA CITY - STREET - AFTERNOON
Sam and Joseph walk down the street, post Guatrau meeting.
SAM
You don’t tell the Gautrau you need
time to think. About anything.
You say “Yes, sir. Thank you, sir.
May I have another?”
JOSEPH
You’ve sworn allegiance to him Sam,
not me.
SAM
You don’t have any problem taking
his cubits.
JOSEPH
I don’t care if he put me through
law school or not. I’m tired of
doing his dirty work for him. He
can just fire me if he doesn’t like
it.
SAM
You of all people should know the
Ha’la’tha doesn’t fire people,
Joseph. They bury them.
Yeah. Joseph knows that.
INT. THE V-CLUB - VIP ROOM
Daniel is marvelling at Zoe-A, transfixed by her.
ZOE-A
(grins at Daniel)
Yeah, I remember that -- you put me
up on your shoulders so I could see
the band as it marched by, but we
were standing under a lamp-post...
(laughs)
... and I smacked my head so hard I
saw stars.
DANIEL
Took you to the emergency room.
Just a precaution...
ZOE-A
Oh, God and I hated that -- the
lights and the doctors and the
smell.
(quiet)
And I remember you holding my hand
the whole time... you said you
wouldn’t let go...
Daniel is lost in the memory for a moment, then pulls out of
it.
DANIEL
She could’ve programmed the memory
into you... but it’s such a minor
event... so much detail...
(beat)
It’s possible she found a way to
translate synaptic records into
usable data...
ZOE-A
That’s what she told me.
DANIEL
But... a person... is more than a
bunch of... data. You might be a
good imitation -- might be a very
good imitation -- but you’re still
just... an imitation. A copy.
ZOE-A
I don’t feel like a copy. Daddy.
Daniel looks at her for moment... then makes a fateful decision...
DANIEL
Can I... May I... hold you?
(beat)
Zoe?
Now it’s Zoe-A’s turn to be drawn despite her own best intentions and her own better judgement. She steps forward, allows Daniel to put his arms around her...
SMASH CUT TO:
INT. ZOE’S BEDROOM - DAY (CONTINUOUS)
We see Daniel and Lacy seated on the bed with their HoloBands on, eyes closed. But what we focus on is Daniel’s HAND as it moves to a small DEVICE he’s attached to the computer. His fingers reach for a keypad on the device which he deftly touches and...
SMASH CUT TO:
INT. THE V-CLUB - VIP ROOM - NIGHT (CONTINUOUS)
WHAM!!! A RED glow forms around Zoe-A and Daniel in their embrace. Zoe-A struggles to detach itself from Daniel but cannot. Then suddenly she begins to deconstruct, as if the outer layer was being peeled off and then there’s only a WIREFRAME of her image.
LACY
What are you doing to her!?
But Daniel holds on.
LACY
Stop it. Dr. Graystone. Stop!
A beat more and then Daniel lets go. Zoe-A is immediately restored to its former shape.
LACY
(to Daniel)
What did you do to her?
But Daniel suddenly DISAPPEARS from the room. A beat and then Lacy DISAPPEARS too.
SMASH CUT TO:
INT. ZOE’S BEDROOM - DAY (CONTINUOUS)
Daniel is in the middle of pulling off Lacy’s HoloBand. She opens her eyes in surprise and horror.
LACY
What have you done, Dr. Graystone?
DANIEL
I captured the code Zoe used to
create the Avatar.
LACY
But why?
DANIEL
(steely-eyed)
It’s time for you to go, Lacy.
EXT. GRAYSTONE ESTATE - DAY
Daniel unceremoniously escorts Lacy outside the door and closes it shut.
INT. GRAYSTONE ESTATE - DAY (CONTINUOUS)
Daniel turns to Serge.
DANIEL
Serge, cancel Lacy Rand’s security
clearance.
