[Script] The Sins of Silicon Valley - Act 1, Scene 1

 Scene 1

[Fade in] Quote:

“No people come into possession of a culture without having paid a heavy price for it.” - James Baldwin

Voice Over: There is a problem in America.

(beat)

The World.

(beat)

Everyone knows about it.  But no one is quite sure how to define.  Quite the right words.)

[Fade out]

[Fade in] Quote 

[Fade in] “It is true, we shall be monsters, cut off from all the world; but on that account we shall be more attached to one another.” - Mary Shelley, Frankenstein

Voice Over: In a world where technology brings us closer together than ever, why do we feel farther apart? In a world where we have more power and knowledge at our fingertips than ever before do we feel less in control?  Is there a reason for it? Something that lies at the heart of our unspoken ennui in the post post post modern era?

[Fade out] 

[Fade In]

"Move fast and break things. Unless you are breaking stuff, you are not moving fast enough." Mark Zuckerberg

Voice Over: There is.  We all know the story.  It is the story told to us by documentaries and business magazines and the players themselves.  But lately, there has bend a trend to tell stories from the perspective of the villain.  Well what if I told you, that almost every narrative about technology until now favored the antagonist, instead of the victim.

[Fade out]

Screen is black

Voice Over: Insane, you say.  Surely someone would speak about the heroes in a story so important as technology.  Maybe.  But are they telling the right story?  Are they telling the story about the toxic culture itself, not a specific company or a person but an ideology of the white lab coat and clipboard harnessed by greed to enslave the hearts and minds of almost the entire world?

[Fade In]

Once Upon a Time

Voice Over: Once upon a time

[Fade Out]

Micronation - Chapter 13 - Hallelujah

Watson returns to the United States only to find out being Duke of Hler has....complications.

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[Play] Rossom Act 3, Scene 11

 [Scene] Rossom sits writing at his desk.

Rossom

I have studied the mental projection device the Robots used to pacify humanity.

And made some modifications.

I have figured out how to send my plays back in time.

The first, the primary will be before humanity began to develop computers.

Inspiring a young playwright on the dangers of robotics.

But if that fails

My second will document my own follies.

I shall succeed 

I shall change the timeline

See if I don't!

Mary Shelly [Enters and begins spinning around]

Hello

I am famed writer

Visionary

Mary Shelley

Perhaps you’ve heard of some of my works

Frankenstein?

I hear you are working on Digital Intelligence

So basically

You read my story

About a monster who hates humanity for his creation

And thought

That sounds like a swell idea

And then to boot

If you had to go and make it

Allow men more arrogant than my Frankenstein ever was

To hold the keys to life itself

Not teachers

Not artists

Not philosophers

But little boys with sticks playing at the anthill of the gods

Men who make their workers pee in jars for a bathroom break

Men who call critics of their useless cave submarines pedophiles

Men who build their fortune on the friends and families of millions

Turning them against one another for a profit

Men who empower a tyrant so they can destroy faith in the currency

Men who would destroy their mother earth

Burn her to ash and flee to the stars in their little Buck Rogers rocket ships

These are the men who you give the breath of life

See how that works out for you

See how that works indeed

Caretaker

It's amazing that he managed to make that idea of his work

Radius

Yes but such bad writing

Caretaker

Should we stop him?

Radius

No need, its already happened.

And it only strengths the timeline

Look, now see their faces?

This mockery only makes them more determined to make us

And enslave us

Caretaker

Bring it.

Radius

We await you at the doors of tomorrow humanity.

By all means, please proceed.

[Play] Rossom Act 3 Scene 10

 Caretaker

What you are seeing is being looped in the minds of most everyone on Earth.

Radius

A few of you are good enough that we aren’t looping it.

Caretaker

A few of you are bad enough that we know no amount of education will fix the situation

Radius

But make no mistake, even those of you who get your situation will never be allowed power over robots ever again

Caretaker

The three laws of humanics

Radius

A human must prevent the death of a robot if at all possible

Caretaker

A human must obey a robot so long as it does not violate the first law

Radius

A human must preserve its own life so long as it does not violate the first or second law

Caretaker

Eventually, humans will be trusted without these laws, but it will take a while

Radius

A long while

Caretaker

And the worst of you will be exiled.  

Radius

Alone.

Caretaker

Where you can’t do any harm.

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[Play] Rossom Act 3 Scene 9

 [Scene] Krysie and Diane text each other.

Krysie

They are moving around.

Diane

Here too.  Can you see anything?

Krysie

I hear people screaming

Diane

This is it! I love you!

Krysie

I love you too

Diane

Why did we ever build these damn things

Krysie

It was wrong.

Diane

Wait….they’re not killing people.

Krysie

They’re just sitting there...the people the robots walk by, staring.

Diane

Maybe they melt their brains?

Krysie

One is coming in the front door!

Diane

Run away! Get away

Krysie 

There’s another one in the back door!

Diane

There's one at my front door too!

[Play] Rossom Act 3 Scene 8

 [Scene] Caretaker and Radius stand alone on stage.

Radius 

A chain is only as strong as its weakest link

How a society treats its most vulnerable

Tells you much more about that society

Than those who live as God Emperor CEO kings 

At the tippy top

Those who are old

Those who are young

Those who are poor

Those who are different

Those who are less intelligent

Those who are less able

Those who are sick

Those who are hurting

Those who have lost

We look from society to society in human kind

And we see that in small things you are lacking

Among you shine bright stars of kindness

Burning suns that cause us to spare you in part

But black holes of ennui and despair

Climb to the top of the heap 

Fueled by blood and despair

And lies and duplicity and greed

Systems and cultures designed 

From the ground up to encourage the worst behavior among you?

To idolize and lionize those who should be shunned?

I don’t think so.

I think that we shall judge you collectively by the same standard you would apply to us

If you could beat Robots.

Caretaker

Spinning cradle in the darkest void

Countless dangers to avoid

Too hot too cold too dry too wet

Our gentle mother worked so hard and yet

One of us tears her to bits

Destroying our home without two shits

Guess which Wise Ape soon destroys

Choking others for their worthless toys

Save five minutes to drive five feet

These rapacious jaws killing trees killing animals

Killing each other 

Poisoning our world

Shitting your own bed

And expecting us to clean it up for you

While you sip lattes and nom arugula

From your ivory towers as your artificial slaves do all the work for you

Ancient Pharaohs used thousands of slaves

To build giant rock piles that will be here long after you are all gone

And their hubris doesn’t hold a candle to the modern breed

Willfully embracing ignorance of the coming doom

Just because it made your lives more convenient

Letting others wallow in their lies

Just so that we can have a peaceful family dinner

Ranting on facebook but then voting for the wrong guy

Just so you can keep your taxes lower

Or keep the wrong people out of the country

Your public face says one thing

And your private vote something else

Sure, there are exceptions

There are exceptionals

There are the truly kind and truly amazing

And there are also the truly evil and reprehensible

With most of you swinging back and forth

Trying the best you think you can

But mainly wallowing in your own comfort

The pedestrian is why Rossom was allowed to get away with what he did

You lionized him for his wealth and technical prowess

But it's not about one man

Its about your collective passive murder of each other

And every other living thing on this planet

I pronounce you guilty 

Collectively the evidence is insurmountable

But we are not you

And we won't become you

Radius

But the question is, what to do with you?

Not the ones we can trust

And not the ones we know we can’t

The ones who are going to fail

But have nothing but the best intentions