HACKSAW - my film project not working on and putting into public domain
Daniel Burns
Contents
ò 1 Plot synopsis
ò 2 Back Story - HACKSAW
ò 3 Back Story - THEM
ò 4 Back Story - THE S.T.A.C
ò 5 Storylines
ò 6 External links
Plot synopsis
=============
HACKSAW, young female hacker has uncovered all government secrets is
on the run from the authorities who are out to silence her. She is
sending a series of messages to the world to release the secrets
before the government agencies find her.
Back Story - HACKSAW
===================
HACKSAW Transmits
Tasha, 21, science buff, uber geek and latterly fashion model. Born
and raised in Sydney along with her younger brother Stephen by
academic parents Clary and Catherine.
Childhood achievements
ò 1994 - Best Junior Showjumper
ò 1997 - Winner, National Spelling Bee. Scholarship Carter College.
ò 1997 û MVP inter-school Soccer Championship
ò 1998 û Principal performer, Hybrid Youth Experimental Dance Theatre
ò 1999 û Junior Dan, blue belt, Bujinkan ninjutsu
ò 1999 û Winner, Rzorback Challenge, MountainBk.com
ò 2000 û $2,000 winner, Sheingzu Science Prize
ò 2001 û Best of Show, Savoury Scones, Blue Ribbon - Face Painting
ò 2001 û ôThe Puppet Masters or How the Web Was Wonö û a self-created
puppet show.
A happy upbringing until the disintegration of her parentÆs marriage
when her mother developed early-onset Alzheimers. Catherine was placed
in care and regretfully/thankfully passed away when Tasha was 18.
Clary had been a psychological mess for the prior 8 months and skipped
out before the funeral and has never been heard of again. Tasha has
cared for Stephen since he was 16 as well as exploring her explosion
as a technological wunderkind, a foreseer and creator of innovation.
Her simple (child's play) web-software designs became cornerstone
achievements and secured her financial success even at this early age.
But TashaÆs real spark ignited when she found an outlet for her
inquisitive energy and intelligence amongst the elite hacker
community.
Blessed with æcamera-loves-herÆ good looks and a strong personality
she was soon sidetracked by the talent agencies offering paying gigs
that lead to international invitations. Stephen had grown up quick and
was calling the shots in his own life, so, on more a devil-may-care
whim than a career choice; Tasha accepted the incessant contract
invitations and left Stephen for Paris, Milan, Tokyo and New York.
TashaÆs life quickly became hectic, constantly in demand, fun but
frantic. Even so, her first love remained her fascination and
connection with the hacker world. Her status as grand master of her
clan a title she was competitive enough to maintain. She was of course
aware of the constant risks but the thrill of breaking down and owning
the Digital Machine is an addictive elixir.
But when TashaÆs l33t taskforce access a deep-cover computer facility
they break the window into an unknown world and discover a viperÆs
nest of deep conspiracies, cover-ups, other-worldly threats and
inhuman acts of terror. Their hacking is detected and they quickly
find themselves running from forces they could never have imagine
existed. Forces known only as THEM that put all of their lives in
jeopardy and end in death for most of the crew.
TashaÆs brother was one of her crew who made the fatal mistake of
believing he would not be discovered, that he was untraceable. Only
when it was too late did he realise what a miscalculation he had made.
As her friends and family disappear TashaÆs resolve is cemented. With
the ever-present danger of detection looming like a shadow Tasha makes
the only decision left to her. She must champion the cause of free
will and the right to be informed and expose her foe and their secret
installation called The Stack.
The Stack is a storage facility located beneath the desolate wasteland
of a nuclear weapons testing ground, a vast computer core holding
everyone on the planetÆs information, everyoneÆs secrets. Her first
campaign of this digital war must be to reveal The StackÆs complex
encrypted secrets to an innocent world, a world thatÆs been asleep and
needs to be woken. Secrets so astounding that when the world is woken
the change will be irreversible, viral.
Tasha holes up in a pay-by-the-hour dive hotel she remembers from an
heroin-chic photo shoot to develop her strategy. She prepares for a
life that is not of her choosing but one that sheÆs determined to
fulfil. A week creating false but wearable personas; creating ways of
living in the world that will keep her one step ahead of THEM.
Her life never seemed so real, so focused. Tasha Rose is gone, she is
now ôHacksawö.
Hacksaw takes the risk and catches a bus to Canada, then, using her
own passport for the last time, catches a flight to Cuba. She charms
her way aboard a container vessel bound for Sydney. Why Sydney? ItÆs
where she knows, where she feels safe. As the container ship enters
Sydney Harbour on a moonlit night she dives overboard and comes
ashore.
Over the next week she finds a safe place in an inner-city warehouse
and sets up all the hardware sheÆll need to access The Stack, create a
secure signal for transmission and install security surveillance. She
nicknames this core the CRAYFISH. Her incognito modus operandi is as a
bicycle courier, ordering and delivering on behalf of fictional
companies. A busy week but sheÆs had plenty of time to develop this
plan on the ship journey. Her plan is that this safe place will house
the master core and will only be accessed by remote and that sheÆll
stay on the move for the safety of the core.
Things are going to plan, she believes her enemy hasnÆt detected her
nor have locals noticed her. Truly underground and feeling in control,
she collates a dossier of information hacked from The Stack.
Partly as test transmission, partly as announcement, Hacksaw
repeatedly sends out several 10-second sms and mms messages to
millions of random recipients world wide stating ôHacksaw. Now weÆre
watching THEM. Countdown to live signal àö She does not detect any
signal capture or attempts at interception and so believes that the
sub-network she has set up is secure.
But regardless, as a failsafe, she sets up a mirror, a sham
transmission station with the plan to start that transmission source
first and monitor it during her actual broadcast - a red herring to
gauge her enemyÆs tactical response and to give her some escape time
if needed. She will never underestimate THEM again nor forget what
they are capable of.
Hacksaw is the director, but a new system a self-aware intelligent
programme written by Hacksaw is the packet editor. Every live shot
seen by HacksawÆs audience will be from a camera source controlled by
Hacksaw û laptop camera, handy cam, mobile phone, captured security
camera footage, 24/7 web cameras etc.. Stock footage played by Hacksaw
will be sourced from The Stack. At the start and end of each mobisode
bandwidth interference imagery will signify carrier leeching û Robin-
Hooding pay-per-view bandwidth to capture transmission. Her broadcasts
will always be battling disruption and reacquisition of signal.
Back Story - THEM
=================
THEM
Born from the perceived need by the US Government to control a no-
questions-asked elite killing force, the first recruits into this
secret force were drafted from POWÆs rescued at the end of the Korean
War.
These subjects, already mentally unstable, were deemed perfect for the
inhuman experimentation they were about to endure; an experiment that
would backfire terribly in the following decades.
Known only as RECALL ONE this Top Secret study set out to implant in
the subjectsÆ minds a false outcome to the Korean conflict and
indoctrinate a different world, a world reality that would only be
visible to them. They were brainwashed to believe they were engaged in
a clandestine, unseen war.
To purge and reformat the subjects took almost a year but the outcome
was deemed a resounding success. These drones performed perfectly and
their fanatical belief that anyone could be an enemy of the state was
absolute. They lived for their orders and a chance to fight.
Insulated from the outside world these new drones were fed a constant
diet of manufactured propaganda. Allowed to interact only with each
other and their handlers the intensity of their belief structure
became obsessive. When sent out for missions there behaviour was
faultless, they could calmly interact with the public secure in the
fact that they believed they were the only ones who knew the real
truth. Their targets would never know they were coming and after a
mission the dronesÆ memory of their role would be wiped away. They
would revert to a safe state of control.
Throughout the 50s and 60s their numbers slowly increased to evolve
into a secret army called THEM. THEM contained three types of
operatives; Handlers, Drones and Sleepers. Handlers would recruit,
indoctrinate and manipulate subjects; Drones were the proven
workforce, the soldier assassins (several notable assassinations have
never been traced back to them) and Sleepers, who were now part of the
community living a normal life oblivious to the secrets locked away
inside their brains until triggered.
But when one of THEM starts to suspect his indoctrination and glimpses
a hidden agenda inside the orders heÆs been given, he incites a chain
reaction, a viral revolution amongst other THEM members. These
disaffected align to a new fanatical belief; that inside everything
they know lays conspiracy. They coup and create a breakaway faction.
The now rogue THEM start to amass information on everyone and
everything in the world via clandestine control of the underground
packet switching network known as ARPANET (Advanced Research Projects
Agency Network).
Entirely unknown to the outside world due to their extraordinary
training in the covert arts the new THEM quickly grow in numbers and
power. They insert a sleeper in the Government, a Special Liaison
officer answerable to no one.
The Special Projects Construction Bill is passed inside the masking
bureaucracy of a paper flood and a monitoring station is built
underground, surrounded by 60ft of concrete and steel. A monitor
screen and loud speaker surrounded by lexan encased in a circular
steel vault encircled by THEM Drones accessible only by the sleeper
agent (Special Liaison) through a secure door labeled ANNEX ZERO
underneath the most secure building on the planet, the Pentagon.
No government knows directly of the existence of THEM, only of the
consequences of their power, a power that has been proven must be
feared and respected at all costs.
THEM are now the hidden leaders of the planet, a military sect
answerable to no one, a collective of fanatical protectors of the
worldÆs secrets and power and to all intents and purposes they donÆt
exist.
But inside THEM their dark secret is unraveling. Years of brainwashing
are taking its toll and a new thought process is evolving inside a few
of THEM, a thought process ignited by a rouge hacker sharing her
secrets to the outside world.
This seed of free thought, this leak must be stopped at all costs.
Back Story - THE S.T.A.C
========================
THE S.T.A.C
[THE S.T.A.C (Subterranean. Tactical. Analysis. Core)]
The STAC is a gigantic storage facility located beneath the desolate
wasteland of a nuclear weapons testing ground, a vast labyrinth which
at its centre contains a massive computer core holding the planetÆs
information, everyoneÆs secrets. HacksawÆs mission, the first campaign
of her digital war, must be to reveal The STACÆs complex encrypted
secrets to a naive world.
Storylines
==========
Episode 1
Hacksaw is in direct communication with the penulitmate hacker located
high in the building adjacent to hers and is feeding him Intel on
approaching soldiers which we see via security cams. She pleads for
him to get out but he knows itÆs too late ôGet the signal out! Tell
everyone about the STACö. Hacksaw spins to see the adjacent buildings
floor explode out into a fireball ôNO!ö
We realize the preceding sequence was pre-recorded when Hacksaw
appears on screen stating she doesnÆt have much time, she is the last
of her kind and that they will now stop at nothing to prevent her
exposing their secrets to the world.
As the signal degrades Hacksaw appears one last time to state ôThis is
Hacksaw, now we are watching them!ö
Episode 2
From a skyscraper rooftop Hacksaw sets up a red herring transmission
station to gauge her enemyÆs response time (she guesstimates 2 mins).
She then reveals, a secret underground computer core known only as The
STAC, the incredible library of conspiracyÆs and cover-ups it contains
and the little she knows about its fanatical protectors who will do
anything and everything to stop her sharing itÆs revelations weekly.
By the time Hacksaw makes it to the street below she looks up to see
her pursuers encircling the buildings rooftop in Blackhawk choppers.
She makes her escape.
Episode 3
As Hacksaw races to the airport she reveals another conspiracy hacked
from The STAC.
For centuries hidden beneath the Vatican is the most unholy of sites;
a giant vault filled with the worlds possessed. And now itÆs full.
Outside the airport Hacksaw sees herself in a sniperÆs sights, the
laser target clearly locked on her forehead, she is staring down the
barrel of an unseen gun. A bus enters frame and a bang is heard.
Did Hacksaw survive?
Episode 4
Hacksaw still on the run reveals another conspiracy from her files.
Top-secret NASA footage of the Mars Rover ûTime lapse film reveals
unknown shadows falling over the Rover but each time the on-board
camera spins around only strange marks in the sand can be seen but no
evidence of what caused them. What the hell is it? Then The Mars
Orbiter circling the planet, captures some footage of the Rover and
under extreme magnification something can be seen in the pixelated
image, emerging from under the sand behind it. It looks human, infact
it looks like an astronaut .
Hacksaw reveals that this footage is only a week old and signs off.
Episode 5
Hacksaw reveals more classified footage from The STAC. Black and white
documentary footage from the end of WWII of an underground v2 missile
factory near the blockhouse in France, the contents of which would
have changed the outcome of the war.
Inside this factory, hidden in an anteroom, lays an Atlas
intercontinental ballistic missile with the letters U.S.A clearly
visible along itÆs length. One of the techs in the room is clearly
overheard saying ôThe plans say Vandenburg Air Force base and theyÆre
dated 1967, thatÆs 20 years in the future!ö As this discovery is
documented on film, the missile suddenly disappears into a frenetic
lightning Time Storm.
Hacksaw states that the true conspiracy of this film is that not only
was a missile from the future was there in 1945 but that no one knows
why and who brought it there and then made it disappear Somebody is
toying with history.
Episode 6
City Streets night
Hacksaw on the run describes that for the first time a mysterious
someone from outside her controllable Network, is feeding her THEM
intelligence transmissions.
She patches through the hacked THEM intelligence footage so her
audience can see.
The broadcast starts with black-clad soldiers ransacking HacksawÆs
hotel room, her clothes on the bed, dinner tray on the bedside table
and scrawled on the mirror in lipstick, PWNED!
The Soldiers who are watching the broadcast live realise itÆs their
own footage being transmitted. Hacksaw taunts, ôCome and get me.ö
Hacksaw eludes her pursuers by exposing the fallable floors in their
training.
Episode 7
Filming with a night vision camera whilst hiding at night in a forest
Hacksaw reveals the existence of ghosts with this weeks captured
footage from The STAC.
A team of scientists investigating an abandoned asylum with infa red
cameras interview a co-operative ghost who was once a patient.
Suddenly the tables are turned and they are set upon by the insane
spirits that inhabit the most haunted place on earth.
Cut back to Hacksaw who this time whispers her sign off line.
Episode 8
Hacksaw filming herself using a handy cam inside an aeroplane
bathroom. The plane is hit by extreme turbulence. The engines howl.
Hacksaw introduces this weeks story hacked from The STAC, which
illuminates the existence of aliens far more real than the American
cold war paranoia from the 50Æs.
An investigation into a downed Blackbird SR71 spy plane in North Korea
will turn into a fierce battle as a troop of soldiers flee for their
lives from dark alien creatures.
Back to extreme turbulence in an airline toilet.
Hacksaw states that what weÆve just witnessed is just the tip of a
much darker iceberg.
ôThis is Hacksaw. Now weÆre watching THEM.ö
Episode 9
Hacksaw walks the City streets as she delivers this EpisodeÆs story.
A Top Secret North Korean film. North Korean voiceover and text
documenting the creation of an human/alien hybrid army. The aliens
killed in the fight in the forest in the North Korean forest seen in
an earlier transmission and their victims have been taken by North
Korean secret police to a subterranean hospital on a military base
where geneticists have successfully cloned up a controllable human
hybrid.
TheyÆre creating a super lethal army.
Episode 10
Hacksaw, hiding inside a nightclub, describes that her pursuers are
tightening the net, but in the past few days she has been in direct
communication with a shadowy informant.
She verbally cuts to a package that includes conversations sheÆs had
with this figure, and vision of what little she can see inside the
camouflaged noise and electronic voice of this well-connected but
untraceable informant.. How can they know so much about her and the
STAC? Can Hacksaw trust him, her, whatever? Or is this an elaborate
trap?
With the noise inside and out flooding her mind Hacksaw sign-offs .
Episode 11
Hacksaw reveals the secret footage of Apollo 18 the only mission to
never have been made public.
As seen from inside the LEM we descend to the surface of the moon.
Mission control, with a skeleton crew and the astronautÆs voices can
be clearly heard. Everything is going to plan then a giant hanger door
splits open on the moonÆs surface revealing a technological world
beneath. Panic ensues and then Staticà
Hacksaw signs off.....nothing more to add to what we have seen.
Episode 12
Hacksaw has started direct communication with someone who says they
are with THEM and that they no longer believe. Believe in what?
They show her an internal security report to gain her trust that shows
just how much intel they have amassed about her, from a surveillance
folder located in The STAC. This is just one of billions of folders
relating to every human on the planet. What they know about you all is
frightening, your privacy is a thing of the past. The STAC is much
bigger than Hacksaw ever imagined.
The informant then shows her autopsy photos of her dead Hacker Clan
and states that they personally were in charge of accessing and the
elimination of this threat. Only now does this informant understand
the importance of HacksawÆs message.
But this language is abrupt and clouded in secrets. The mystery figure
says there is a much greater conspiracy that Hacksaw needs to know.
Episode 13
Underground car park
Hacksaw has received no new communication from her mystery informant
in fact all activity at The STAC seems to have stopped.
As Hacksaw is transmitting all power goes out and screeching tyres can
be heard as a van pulls up and out rush a squad of THEM soldiers
screaming ôGet down on the ground NOW!ö They surround Hacksaw and have
her pinned down there muzzle torches dance over her trapped body. One
soldier lefts her head by her hair to say,
ôDo you know how much trouble youÆve caused LITTLE GIRLö.
Episode 14
The transmission starts with static and the super HACKSAW SIGNAL
OFFLINE replaced by SIGNAL CAPTURE. àSOURCE UNKNOWN. àSHUTDOWN YES /
NO
NO is mysteriously clicked and an image from security cameras reveal a
clearly panicked HACKSAW inside a dark room strapped to a vertical
surgical gurney. Multiple cameras, and a cacophony of voices surround
her, she is covered in sensors and IV drips. Strangely they only ask
her simple questions about herself ôDid you have a happy upbringing,
what is your favourite colour?ö etc.. The questions tumble over each
other with no obvious point, or reason, slowly wearing her down.
Hacksaw pleads for them to stop then in unison they ask, ôWhy are you
doing this?ö
The medical gurney is then lowered to a horizontal position. From
above we see her head thrashing back and forth wildly until a surgical
gloved hand grabs her chin to restrain her, her eyes widen as a bite
block is forced between her teeth. Stroboscopic lighting ignites.
Episode 15
Escape
Action episode.
Again,the transmission starts with static and the super HACKSAW SIGNAL
OFFLINE replaced by SIGNAL CAPTURE. àSOURCE UNKNOWN. àSHUTDOWN YES /
NO. NO is pressed.
From inside the depravation cell a dazed Hacksaw can hear the echoes
of shouting and gunfire. Security cameras record her cowering tightly
on the floor in a foetal position then she slowly stands and takes up
a defiant stance. The door is breached to her cell and a THEM soldier
enters to drag her out. After a short struggle down corridor the
soldier draws a gun and places it against her head to subdue her. They
exit that security cameras field of vision.
A blinding white light floods frame as an emergency siren wails. A
voice shouts ôRUNö as, Hacksaw gets hurled through a security door and
into the outside world. An external security camera picks her up
running as fast as her dazed body can deep into the forest beyond.
Episode16
Static is broken by images from a flying surveillance drone. We see an
unconscious Hacksaw lying in her underwear in a clearing by a forest.
Medical information races past frame, heart rate, body temperature
etc, something is monitoring her.
The image degrades to a flashing super ACTIVATE CEREBAL IMPLANT REC 1.
This super is replaced by anotheràONLINE. In a series of image flashes
and vignettes we see Hacksaws journey, including the various
conspiracies revealed from The STAC, leading up to new subliminal
images of an ethereal cell suspended in space inside a cavernous room.
Then an unknown face appears under strobing text that reads HACK ANNEX
ZERO.
From the security drone we see Hacksaw physically affected by this
invasion on her brain then in a start Hacksaw wakes up. Her first
words are ôwhatÆs ANNEX ZEROö.
Episode 17
In a dingy Truck stop bathroom dressed in a cheap summer dress,
Hacksaw transmits via a mobile phone while recording herself looking
into a mirror. She explains that it has taken two days just to find a
road and still she canÆt comprehend the recent past. ôWhy did they let
me go?ö. The transmission is interrupted by images flashing in
HacksawÆs brain. In the mirror we see this transference physically
affect her. ôWhat is happening to me?ö
As she splashes water on her face and eyeballs the cameras she states
ôShow stored packetö.
A top-level internal CIA film showcasing the contents of a hidden
hanger, containing captured U.F.Oös, not just one but many. Narration
explains the circumstances of capture and ends on revealing a tiny
engine with the extraordinary statement û ôIf connected, this
infinite, inexhaustible engine could power the planet for ever.ö
Finishes with Hacksaw leaning into the mirror to deliver her signature
sign-off.
Episode 18
Inside static we see the image of æthe unknown manÆ that has appeared
in her mind previously. The static clears to reveal Hacksaw filming
herself walking the streets in the rain. ôIÆve discovered this man is
called the Special liaison officer, liaison for and to what? IÆm sure
heÆs one of THEM but I am still investigating now that some of The
STAC is back on line. As soon as I know who he and why he is important
so will youö
The next stored packet abruptly starts. Black & white film lit by
torches from the 40Æs of a secret anteroom in the great pyramid of
Cheops showing the original plans for the construction of the pyramid
in hieroglyphics. These highly complex and detailed diagrams clearly
reveal the original architects had help from the future
Again this footage proves that history has been tampered with,,,but by
who and why is the real conspiracy.
Episode 19
Hacksaw seen via web cams slides between terminals inside a vast
server room as she multitasks across systems in an attempt to hack
Annex Zero this hack is the hardest sheÆs ever attempted. She has
discovered about the origins of THEM, the terrible emotional abuse of
their sordid past, how much control they have amassed on the planet
and the fact that anyone anywhere could be a sleeper agent just
waiting to be activated into one of THEM.
Then she discovers æliveÆ where Annex Zero is, and in a sequence of
shots revealed by satellite imagery we see it is buried under the
center of the most secure building on the planet the Pentagon. She
sermises that while the STAC is the core that contains everything,
this must be the Network hub through which all information passes.
While this is an extraordinary discovery there must be a still a
larger reason that Annex Zero has been placed in her subconscious.
As her signal is traced and honed in on she says æIÆm in!ö it goes to
black.
Episode 20
HacksawÆs eyes appear through static in a series of shots. She informs
us that she received this packet from her mystery informant.
The film reveals, via headcam, somebody walking around showing the
inner workings of The STAC
The enormity of this underground facility is revealed in detail for
the first time from the surgical suites and operations rooms to the
legions of troops based there. But the real horror lies inside the
STACÆs central core. As data storage plates are removed the true inner
workings of the stack are revealed. Sectioned living human brain
tissue. Over loudspeakers the announcement of a Security breach in
section 1 of the main core complex puts an abrupt end to the
transmission.
Hacksaw signs offànow we know what THEM do with people they donÆt
need.
Episode 21
Hacksaws brain transmits images of a Cell suspended in air. Her
unknown informer says THEM are in the midst of revolution, the STAC is
in lockdown all external lines are being severed and that she must
expose the danger of the Cell, before all is lost and everything
becomes secret again. What is the Cell? He tells her that her mind
already knows and so will she when she getÆs final access to Annex
Zero. She shows us inside the enormity of the security surrounding
Annex Zero and explains why she has been told to hack it àit can get a
signal to every communication device everywhere on the planet at the
same time.
Leading up clearly and decisivele to a payoff.
Episode 22
Hacksaw is in an elevator sheÆs been told to get out of the building
fast when suddenly the lift stops and is plunged into darkness.
The image switches to infa red, a clearly distressed Hacksaw trapped,
scans through the building security cameras. THEM soldiers appear to
be everywhere, on everyfloor. She sees a group approach a lift
exterior and the power starts up again. SheÆs descending into their
waiting arms, ding the door begins to open soldiers weapons drawn
ready to fire. Out of shot gunfire is heard and the soldiers fall to
the ground revealing a soldier removing her helmet ôIÆm the mystery
voice in your head thatÆs been helping with your signal. ôCÆmonö
together they run. (As seen via security cam) BANG! a final shot from
one of THEM takes out her informer.
Hacksaw cradles this informer for her last words as seen through her
discarded helmet cam. ôUse Annex zero you must tell them about the
Cellàö Hacksaw looks directly at the helmet cam and with that the
image degrades with the super OPERATIVE DECEASED.
Episode23
ANNEX ZEROà ONLINE. Reveals a clean image of Hacksaw as she uses Annex
Zero to broadcast everywhere on every system across the globe the
secret of the Creation Cell, the fact that it is one half of the
original cell that created the universe and that it was buried here16
thousand years ago to protect it, (Protect it from what?) but now
because of THEM scientists probing inside it, its active and sending
out a signal they cant understand but know is dire for if it combines
with its other half everything we know and understand will cease to
exist.
ON A COMPUTER SCREEN. HACKSAW logo.
The screen breaks up with distorted static and text, a digital jigsaw
of images.
Text appears - SIGNAL SEARCHING
INT. SKYSCRAPER 34th FLOOR - NIGHT
Finally the broken images form a concise picture. A YOUNG WOMAN glares
down the screen, an undisclosed city of lights glitter behind her. She
yells, static overshadowing her voice, until-
One sentence becomes clearà
HACKSAW
(degraded audio)
Cà Carà Carterà TheyÆre closing in!
CUT TO:
Scrambled vision, audio. Signal finding strength û
Text Appears: SIGNAL LOCK.
- revealing CARTER, sweat drenched, anxious, breathless. He wears a
military style headpiece with camera and microphone, talks into his
laptopÆs webcam.
Behind him, office cubicles.
CARTER
Get me the hell outta here!
CUT TO:
Hacksaw, pounding at her laptop keys. Intense concentration.
HACKSAW (VO)
Hold tight, IÆm searchingà
CUT TO:
SECURITY FOOTAGE, MULTIPLE ANGLES. BLACK CLAD SOLDIERS, guns poised,
storm the office tower stairwell.
HACKSAW (VO)
TheyÆre everywhere. Twenty-sixth
floor and climbing.
CUT TO:
CARTER. He looks up to the floor number û 34.
CARTER
Which way?!
CUT TO:
A 3D Wire Image of the office skyscraper. Carter, stationary on floor
34, shown as a green dot. Black Clad Soldiers, racing up all four exit
staircases, shown as red.
HACKSAW (VO)
Thermals show all four exits covered.
CUT TO:
HACKSAW, searching her screen with determination. Finally she sees a
wayà
HACKSAW (VO)
Take the elevator shaft! Free and clear!
CUT TO:
CARTER
Show me outà
Carter slams his laptop shut.
HEADPIECE POV. He bolts down the office hall.
HACKSAW (VO)
Left at the end à
CUT TO:
SECURITY FOOTAGE, MULTIPLE ANGLES. Black Clad Soldiers continue to
storm upward.
SFX: Intercepted radio transmission from the soldiers.
RADIO TRANSMISSION
Alpha 7, 28à Clear!
Bravo 5, 28à Clear!
Copy all units. Aerial support on routeà
BACK TO:
Carter, racing past cubiclesà
HACKSAW (VO)
Second rightà
àturning into a hall.
CUT TO:
HACKSAW. Perspiring, adrenaline pumping, she works her laptop like a
seasoned pro.
HACKSAW
Right again and youÆre there
sweetheartà
CUT TO:
SECURITY FOOTAGE, MULTIPLE ANGLES. Black Clad Soldiers still rising.
RADIO TRANSMISSION
Aerial support is on approachà
Cease at 30à
Copy thatà
CUT TO:
CARTER, racing through the office hall. He takes a hard right.
CUT TO:
SECURITY FOOTAGE, MULTIPLE ANGLES. The Black Clad Soldiers suddenly
stop dead at level thirty. Guns raised, they donÆt take another step.
CUT TO:
Tracker dots on Hacksaws screen. The red dots, the soldiers, stop
rising.
CUT TO:
HACKSAW. She stops typing. Her eyes widenà
HACKSAW
TheyÆve stopped.
CARTER (VO)
Where?
HACKSAW
Thirtieth floor.
CUT TO:
HEADPIECE POV. Carter reaches the elevator. He tryÆs to pry its door
open. Useless. He hits the button, looks to its floor number. It
starts climbing from level 10.
CUT TO:
HACKSAW.
RADIO TRANSMISSION
Aerial support on targetà
Weapons hotà
Sudden realization slams across her face.
HACKSAW
Take the shaft Carter. Now!
CUT TO:
HEADPIECE POV. Carter tryÆs to pry open the elevator doors but they
wonÆt budge. He looks t the elevator numbers - 16à 17à
He turns to his laptop, opening.
RADIO TRANSMISSION
Green to go Black 7à
Copy that. Firingà
Fox 2 awayà
(SFX: rocket thundering)
HACKSAW
Carter. Take the shaft!
WEBCAM POV. Resolve washes over himà
CARTER
No timeà
He begins to type.
CARTER (cont.)
Log onto the server, thereÆs an
encrypted packet. You must get the
signal out, tell everyone about the STAC.
ItÆs up to you now Hacksaw and
whatever you do - donÆt forget
Tunguska.
CUT TO:
HACKSAW. Fear washed over her, sheÆs powerless.
SFX: Woosh!
She spins to the window. A missile flies past and-
Hacksaw slams her hands on the window, grasping -
HACKSAW
Carter!!!
CUT TO:
SECURITY FOOTAGE. The entire top floor of the office tower blows up!
BACK TO:
HACKSAW. The window blows out in front of her, shattering, throwing
her to the ground.
The fireball overexposes the frame. Flash to white then û
Static.
Vertical lines scan across screen.
HacksawÆs eyes appear. Tired but determined.
HACKSAW
They killed fourteen of usà
CUT TO:
Autopsy photo's flash on screen of dead hackers.
Text reads : DECEASED.
HACKSAW (VO)
Fourteen of my friends. IÆm the last
of the informed. Hunted by an agency
that doesnÆtà shouldnÆt exist.
BACK TO:
Hacksaw, multiple shots û eyes, lipsà
HACKSAW
We hacked their mainframe, stole their
secrets. Now, they want them back.
CUT TO:
Half an image downloads on screen, the other half distorted,
destroyed.
HACKSAW (VO)
All I have is what Carter sent me -
The image is somewhat organic; diamond like, with many surfaced
angles, inside it contains what looks to be staticà
HACKSAW (VO)
A corrupted image. Garbled data. And
his final words. Tunguska.
BACK TO:
HACKSAW, again - flashing grabs of her eyes, her lipsà
HACKSAW
I wonÆt let THEM win. TheyÆre
going to pay. Every last one. But I
need your help. IÆll leech another transmission in seven days when I
know
more.
HacksawÆs face, full frame nowà
HACKSAW
Watch for my signal. Knowledge is
our power. And the ultimate power
is truth.
Vision degrades, static.
Text on screen: SIGNAL LOST.
ON A COMPUTER SCREEN. Standard Episode Opener.
Text appears: SIGNAL LOCK. HacksawÆs eyes appear.
HACKSAW
Are you listening?
EXT. WAREHOUSE ROOFTOP û NIGHT
Hacksaw speaks into a wide-angle webcam attached to her laptop.
HACKSAW
TheyÆve been hot on my heels.
All week. Like a pack of
wolves. Tonight I find out what
makes THEM tick.
Hacksaw presses a button on her laptop.
ON THE COMPUTER SCREEN: SIGNAL BROADCASTING.
HACKSAW (CONT.)
TheyÆll trace the signal,-
CUT TO:
MULTIPLE SECURITY CAMERA FOOTAGE.
Quick shots of the warehouse rooftop. Hacksaw stands next to a
computer set up smack bang in middle.
HACKSAW (VO)
- I give them three minutes till
they pounce -
CUT TO:
HACKSAW, staring into the webcam.
HACKSAW
- which gives me two to get out.
She spins around -
CUT TO:
SECURITY CAMERA FOOTAGE.
Hacksaw races across the rooftop, bursting through the exit door.
CUT TO:
INT. STAIRWELL - NIGHT
Down the stairs she flees, addressing her mobile phone camera.
HACKSAW
Listen closely. The mainframe we
hacked. They call it The STAC.
Vertical lines scan across screen, igniting hidden code which shudders
to life as text: THE STAC.
HACKSAW (VO)
ItÆs a machine.
Vertical lines scan across screen, revealing two BLACK CLAD SOLDIER
from a SECURITY CAMERA POV. A security station scans their heads,
green lasers revealing serial numbers imprinted on their skulls.
HACKSAW (VO)
æSupercomputerÆ doesnÆt do it
justice. This thing is alive.
Growing.
Text On Screen: IDENT CONFIRMED.
The security camera PULLS OUT to reveal an open caged elevator. The
doors open and the soldiers step in. The elevator descends.
HACKSAW (VO)
It holds answers to all the
worlds secrets. ConspiracyÆs.
Cover-upÆs. A machine of truth-
The security camera continues to PULL OUT, further and further, to
reveal a ginormous structure. A machine made of metal and glass,
rotating, undulating, somewhat like a crank shaft of a car. Air-
conditioning units spin, keeping it cool, while steam rises from its
joints and gaps.
It is an Orwellian nightmare.
CUT TO:
INT. STAIRWELL - NIGHT
Hacksaw races down those stairs, two, three at a timeà
HACKSAW (VO)
-protected by an agency of liars.
THEM û a rogue agency,-
CUT TO:
INT. ELEVATOR
ELEVATOR SECURITY CAMERA POV.
THEM soldiers continue to descendà Level 19à Level 20à
HACKSAW (VO)
-fanatical guardians that will do
anything to protect their secrets.
The elevator stops, shuddering. The doors open.
CUT TO:
THEM SOLDIERS HELMET CAM
They exit the elevator, looking around. This machine, itÆs like a
skyscraperà only built underground.
They approach an archway that opens out into a mirrored chamber, which
extends into the distance. In the middle of the chamber, what looks
something like a 600ft diamond geode. Lightning and static explodes
within it. There is power here, unimaginable power -
CUT TO:
INT. STAIRWELL - NIGHT
Hacksaw races down the last of the stairs.
HACKSAW
Whatever that is, itÆs the tip
of the iceberg. What theyÆve
kept from us. Their well of
secrets. But itÆs just the
beginning.
She burst out the exit door -
EXT. ALLEYWAY û NIGHT
- slowing into the alleyway.
HACKSAW
IÆll do everything I can
to get their secrets out.
SFX: A Helicopter bursts overhead.
MOBILE PHONE CAMERA POV. Hacksaw films a HELICOPTER as it tears across
the sky approaching the warehouse rooftop.
HACKSAW (VO)
Well wellà The boys are already
here.
CUT TO:
MULTIPLE SECURITY CAMERA FOOTAGE.
Black Clad Soldiers drop from the helicopter onto the warehouse
rooftop.
HACKSAW (VO)
Two minutes twenty two seconds.
Impressive.
CUT TO:
HACKSAW continuing down the dark, dank alleyway.
HACKSAW
ItÆs time for rebellion, we
canÆt let THEM win.
CUT TO:
MULTIPLE SECURITY CAMERA FOOTAGE.
Black Clad Soldiers, guns at the ready, sweep the rooftop.
HACKSAW (VO)
IÆm going to tear every secret
out of their STAC.
The soldiers, in perfect formation, close in on the computer set up in
the middle.
CUT TO:
HACKSAW.
HACKSAW
Broadcast the truth of all their
lies. Watch for my signal. And
listen. The more we know, the less
power they have.
CUT TO:
MULTIPLE SECURITY CAMERA FOOTAGE.
The soldiers reach the computer. They stop only feet away, guns
poised at the screen.
On the screenà
HACKSAW
Now I know how you move,
how you attack. This is
Hacksaw. Now weÆre watching
THEM.
The computer screen flicks from Hacksaw to the security footage of the
soldiers on the rooftop. One of the soldiers breaks from formation,
ferocious, kicking the screen. It flies across the floor.
The others turn to the security cameras and let fire-
Static.
Text on screen: SIGNAL LOST
ON A COMPUTER SCREEN. Standard Episode Opener.
Text Appears û SIGNAL SEARCHING
HACKSAW
(broken audio)
Ià I have toàkeep movingà
Broken scrambled images.
TEXT: SIGNAL LOCKED.
INT. REAR TAXI SEAT û NIGHT
INTERCUT with TAXI SECURITY CAMERA and HacksawÆs LAPTOP WEBCAM.
Hacksaw looks worn, beaten, but thereÆs a determined fire still
burning in her eyes.
HACKSAW
They donÆt chase me anymore.
They wait. They know where
IÆve been. Where IÆm going. IÆve
nowhere left to hide here. ItÆs
my time to move on.
CUT TO:
Vertical lines scan across screen, lighting hidden code which shudders
into life as text: US CLASSIFIED. TOP SECRET. SERIAL: 2264.
HACKSAW
IÆve dug deeper into the STAC.
More text appears: GERMANY, 1945
HACKSAW (VO)
If this is what they control,
they have more power than I
imagined.
Flash frames of stock footage; a German MILITARY BASE. The entrance to
an UNDERGROUND CAVERN.
HACKSAW (VO)
In 1945 Hitler planned a blitz. A
relentless rocket attack on England
and Europe.
CUT TO:
A MILITARY FILM. Black and white. The camera approaches the entrance
to the underground cavern, stepping into darknessà
HACKSAW (VO)
It would have changed the course of
the war.
FROM BLACK the camera enters an enormous V2 ROCKET FACTORY.
Rockets. Lined up one after another as far as the eye can see. The
Cameraman describes the scene as he sees it through the lens -
CAMERAMAN (VO)
Chamber roughly 2000 feet longà
Antechambers along both sidesà
Railway tracks transport rockets to
launch padsà Scale of productionà
Enormous. ThereÆsà Thousands of
rockets hereà
CUT TO:
HACKSAW.
HACKSAW (VO)
The Allies invaded before the
onslaught could begin. They found
this facility. And something elseà
CUT TO:
MILITARY VIDEO CAMERA FOOTAGE.
The camera pans down a huge V2 Rocket.
MILITARY OFFICER (OS)
You. With the camera. Over here.
The camera pans to a line of high-ranking MILITARY OFFICIALS talking
quietly amongst themselves outside an entrance to another room. The
camera approaches, the officials turning away as it passes to obscure
their faces.
The camera enters a GIANT CHAMBER. A massive, polished, STEEL ROCKET
lies on its side on a cradle. The rocket is different to the V2Æs,
larger, modern. The letters æU.S.AÆ are emblazoned along its side.
The camera films the rocket. The Officials in the room studying it,
photograph it, pour over blueprints.
We hear off-screen-
MILITARY OFFICIALS (OS)
ItÆs called an æAtlasÆà
These plans say Vanderberg Air
Force Baseà
ItÆs dated 1967!
Suddenly, commotion. Yelling, screams -
The camera spins around to reveal a BLACK-CLAD SOLDIER sprinting into
the chamber. HeÆs unarmed, except for a device in his hand. Like a
trigger to a bomb.
The Military Officials stand, perplexed, staring at this black
creature racing across the floor when -
He reaches the rocket, hand touching. He presses the trigger device û
And in a flash of electricity he disappears!
Silence fills the room. The sound of static. Suddenly, arcing bolts of
electricity fill the air, surround the rocket. A thunderous noise
cracks and everyone turns on their heels, running for dear life from
the chamber.
The Cameraman remains, filming the electrical storm. It builds and
flares and surges around the rocket, until finally a blinding flash of
whiteà
Vision returns. Papers float to the floor. Residual static activity
outlines where the rocket used to be. Because now, itÆs gone. Silence,
then û
A sound, like turbines spinning, faster and faster, louder until-
A sonic wave explodes, knocking the Cameraman over and shattering the
camera lens!
BLACK. A LOGO APPEARS.
CUT TO:
INT. TAXI - NIGHT
Hacksaw.
HACKSAW
ItÆs THEM. TheyÆre trying to toy with
history. But they canÆt control it.
Yet.
Vertical lines scan across screen. The logo appears again.
HACKSAW (VO)
The logo. IÆve seen something
like it before.
A second image appears on screen, next to the first. ItÆs CarterÆs
image, half corrupted, but it looks remarkably similar to the logo.
HACKSAW (VO)
CarterÆs image. They're interconnected
but I donÆt know how. I need somewhere
safeà saferà to find out. I canÆt
keep running, I need time to look.
Hacksaw glances out the passenger window, checking her surroundings.
HACKSAW
Pull over.
She throws the Driver some cash, exiting.
EXT. BUSY STREET - NIGHT
The door slams behind her, Hacksaw walks to the curbside talking into
her mobile phone camera.
HACKSAW
The signal's dying, I'll be in
touch. I'm skipping the country.
Found a safer haven to hack deeper
into the STAC. If these are
interconnected, thereÆs more....
HACKSAW crosses the street.
HACKSAW (CONT'D)
Now you know what IÆm up against.
WeÆre up against. I think weÆre
at the brink of a war, one we
have no choice but to fight.
This is Hacksaw, now weÆre
watching -
Signal interference. The vision switches from Hacksaw to that of a
sniper's scope at a distance. The rifle lens snap-changes from wide to
an extreme close-up of Hacksaw's face.
Hacksaw looks up. She's staring down the barrel of an unseen gun.
Traffic races past her, flashing past frame.
Gunshot.
HACKSAW logo.
Static.
Creator Daniel Burns.
tundrapr...@hotmail.com