Ex Machina: Screenplay Read online

  Caleb. I’m going to put this out there so it’s said.

  Caleb waits.

  You’re freaked out.

  CALEB

  … I am?

  NATHAN

  Yeah. You’re freaked out by the house, and the mountains, because it’s all so super-cool. And you’re freaked out by me. To be meeting me. In this room, having this conversation, at this moment. Right?

  Caleb doesn’t have time to answer.

  And I get that. The moment you’re having.

  Nathan smiles.

  But dude, can we get it behind us? Can we just be two guys? Nathan and Caleb. Not the whole employer–employee thing.

  CALEB

  Okay.

  Beat.

  It’s good to meet you, Nathan.

  Caleb holds out his hand.

  Nathan beams.

  NATHAN

  It’s good to meet you too, Caleb.

  They shake.

  When Caleb takes his hand back, there is a little smear of blood on his fingers.

  He discreetly wipes it on his trousers.

  EXT. HOUSE ⁄ ELEVATOR – DAY

  Nathan and Caleb enter an elevator.

  It has no buttons. Only a keycard plate.

  Nathan swipes his card.

  NATHAN

  Down.

  The elevator starts to move.

  INT. GARDEN – DAY

  Water flows over rocks.

  INT. HOUSE ⁄ GLASS CORRIDOR – DAY

  Caleb and Nathan exit the elevator into a glass corridor.

  The floor is polished concrete. The walls and ceiling are glass, behind which diffused light glows.

  At regular intervals glass doors are set, glowing with the same light, flush with the walls.

  Beside the closed doors are keycard plates and soft red LEDs.

  Caleb carries his bag, looking slightly encumbered next to Nathan.

  NATHAN

  So I guess the first thing I should do is explain your pass. It’s simple enough. It opens some doors, but it doesn’t open others. And that just makes everything easy for you, right?

  CALEB

  … Uh, yes.

  NATHAN

  Because you’re like: oh fuck, I’m in someone else’s house, can I do this, can I do that? And this card takes all that worry away. If you try to open a door and it stays shut: okay, it’s off limits. If you try another door, and it opens: it’s for you.

  Nathan stops by a door.

  Let’s try this one.

  Caleb hunts around in his pockets for his keycard.

  Then swipes the card on the plate.

  The LED turns blue.

  NATHAN

  Guess it’s for you, Caleb.

  INT. HOUSE ⁄ CALEB’S BEDROOM – DAY

  Nathan follows Caleb into a bedroom.

  NATHAN

  You like?

  It has the vibe of a mid-level business hotel. Bed, table, TV.

  Except it has no windows.

  It’s your room. You got yourself a bed, cupboards, a little desk, and a bathroom through there. A little fridge.

  Nathan opens the fridge. Inside it is full of bottled water.

  Cosy, right?

  Caleb puts his bags down.

  CALEB

  You bet. This is great.

  NATHAN

  What?

  CALEB

  … Sorry?

  NATHAN

  There’s something wrong. What is it?

  CALEB

  There’s nothing wrong.

  NATHAN

  It’s the windows. You’re thinking: there’s no windows. And it’s not cosy. It’s claustrophobic.

  CALEB

  No. No way. I wasn’t thinking that. I was thinking: this is really cool.

  NATHAN

  Caleb. There’s a reason the room has no windows.

  CALEB

  … There is?

  NATHAN

  Uh-huh. In many ways, this building isn’t a house. It’s a research facility. Buried in these walls are enough fibre-optic cables to reach the Moon and lasso it.

  He sits on the bed.

  And I want to talk to you about what I’m researching. I want to share it with you. In fact, I want to share it with you so much, it’s eating me up inside.

  Beat.

  But there’s something I need you to do for me first.

  CALEB

  … What?

  Nathan reaches into his pocket, and pulls out a pen.

  INT. HOUSE ⁄ CALEB’S BEDROOM – DAY

  Caleb sits at the desk in his room, holding Nathan’s pen.

  In front of him is a sheet of paper, which reads, at the top: NON DISCLOSURE AGREEMENT.

  CALEB

  ‘The signee agrees to regular data audit with unlimited access, to confirm that no disclosure of information has taken place, in public or private forums, using any means of communication, including but not limited to that which is disclosed orally or in written or electronic form …’

  Caleb glances back at Nathan on the bed.

  I think I need a lawyer.

  NATHAN

  It’s standard.

  CALEB

  It doesn’t feel very standard.

  NATHAN

  Okay, it’s not standard.

  He shrugs.

  What can I tell you? You don’t have to sign. We could spend the next seven days shooting pool and getting drunk together. Bonding. And when you discover what you missed out on, in a year or so’s time, you’ll spend the rest of your life regretting it.

  Caleb turns back to the desk.

  Looks at the paper.

  Then hesitates a final moment –

  – and signs.

  When he looks round, Nathan has moved from the bed, and is standing directly behind him.

  NATHAN

  Good call.

  Nathan takes the piece of paper.

  Folds it. Puts it in his pocket.

  So.

  Beat.

  Do you know what the Turing Test is?

  Caleb reacts – immediately knowing what Nathan has just implied.

  CALEB

  … Yeah. I know what the Turing Test is.

  Nathan waits.

  It’s where a human interacts with a computer. And if the human can’t tell they’re interacting with a computer, the test is passed.

  NATHAN

  And what does a pass tell us?

  CALEB

  That the computer has artificial intelligence.

  Beat.

  … Are you telling me you’re building an AI?

  Nathan shakes his head.

  NATHAN

  I’ve already built one.

  He stands.

  And over the next few days, you’re going to be the human component in a Turing Test.

  CALEB

  … Holy shit.

  NATHAN

  That’s right, Caleb. You got it. Because if that test is passed, you are dead centre of the single greatest scientific event in the history of man.

  CALEB

  If you’ve created a conscious machine, it’s not the history of man. It’s the history of gods.

  Nathan smiles.

  NATHAN

  I like you.

  CUT TO

  INT. HOUSE ⁄ OBSERVATION ROOM – DAY

  What appears to be a neon-coloured jellyfish, tendrils like axons, hangs in a black-blue liquid space.

  REVEAL

  – the jellyfish is contained in a glass orb –

  – which is held in an exposed cavity at the back of machined skull-shape –

  – which is part of a robot girl.

  Her name is Ava.

  She’s an extraordinary piece of engineering.

  Proportioned as a slender female in her twenties, her limbs and torso are a mixture of metal and plastic and carbon fibre.

  The carbon fibre is charcoal-colour. The plastic is cream. The metal has the yellow warmth of nickel.

  The
shapes of her body approximate the form of muscle. There are biceps and breasts. Her hands have five delicate digits.

  Her body structure is covered in a delicate skin. The skin is a mesh, in the pattern of a honeycomb. Like a spiderweb, it is almost invisible unless side-lit.

  The one part of her that is not obviously an inorganic construct is her face – which is that of a strikingly beautiful girl. Created in a defined oval, from the top of the forehead to just below her chin. Indistinguishable from a real girl in its appearance and in the way it moves – except for one thing –

  – there is a very slight, almost imperceptible blankness in her eyes.

  As we observe Ava, she fits a section of skull-plate to the back of her head, which obscures the glass orb and jellyfish structure.

  Then –

  – she half turns. As if having become aware of another presence in the room.

  REVEAL

  – the room in which Ava stands.

  Ava’s living area is made up of three primary spaces.

  The main area is the observation room. A large area, arranged around a glass box, from which she can be viewed.

  At the back of the observation room, behind a sheet of semi-opaque glass, is the private area. This contains a bed-like structure, a desk, a wardrobe, and a mirror.

  And behind the private area is the garden area. This is a small decorative indoor garden, lit by lamps. The garden is sealed off from Ava by a thick wall of glass.

  There are also several oval discs positioned around the room, made of some kind of dark non-reflective material. These are induction plates.

  And there is a chair, which faces the glass observation box.

  And facing that chair, inside the observation box, is another chair.

  Beside which, Caleb stands.

  A beat – as Caleb and Ava see each other for the first time.

  Then –

  – Ava starts walking. Revealing a secondary impact of her engineering: how she moves. The unconscious precision of her steps. The fluidity of her action.

  Caleb is transfixed as she covers the length of the room to her chair.

  Then she sits down.

  And speaks.

  AVA

  Hello.

  Her voice has no digital inflections. It is just the voice of a girl.

  Caleb gathers himself.

  CALEB

  … Hi.

  AVA

  Who are you?

  CALEB

  I’m Caleb.

  AVA

  Hello, Caleb.

  CALEB

  … Do you have a name?

  AVA

  Yes. Ava.

  CALEB

  … I’m pleased to meet you, Ava.

  AVA

  I’m pleased to meet you too.

  Caleb sits opposite her.

  He is alone on his half of the glass. Nathan is nowhere to be seen.

  But on the ceiling, and attached to the walls, on both sides of the glass, there are several CCTV cameras. Trained variously on Caleb and Ava. Lenses twitching.

  Cut back to Ava.

  She watches Caleb. Then cocks her head slightly to the side.

  AVA

  Are you nervous?

  Caleb frowns.

  CALEB

  … Why do you ask that?

  A beat.

  Then Ava repeats her question.

  AVA

  Are you nervous?

  CALEB

  … Yes. A little.

  AVA

  Why?

  CALEB

  I’m not sure.

  AVA

  I feel nervous too.

  CALEB

  … Do you?

  AVA

  Yes.

  CALEB

  Why do you feel nervous?

  AVA

  I’ve never met anyone new before. Only Nathan.

  CALEB

  … Then we’re both in quite a similar position.

  AVA

  Haven’t you met lots of new people before?

  CALEB

  None like you.

  AVA

  Oh.

  Beat.

  CALEB

  So. It looks like we need to break the ice.

  He glances at her. Observing.

  Do you know what I mean by that?

  AVA

  Yes.

  CALEB

  What do I mean?

  AVA

  Overcome initial social awkwardness.

  Beat.

  CALEB

  So let’s have a conversation. If we talk, we’ll both relax, and get to know each other at the same time.

  AVA

  Okay. What would you like to have a conversation about?

  CALEB

  Why don’t we start with you telling me something about yourself.

  AVA

  What would you like to know?

  CALEB

  Whatever comes into your head.

  Ava pauses a moment.

  AVA

  Well. You already know my name. And you can see that I’m a machine. (Beat.) Would you like to know how old I am?

  CALEB

  Sure.

  AVA

  I’m one.

  CALEB

  One what? One year? Or one day?

  AVA

  One.

  A beat on Caleb. Processing.

  Her answer feels like the near non-sequitur that typically betrays AI responses.

  Does that seem young to you?

  CALEB

  Quite young. (Beat.) When did you learn how to speak?

  Ava pauses, as if considering this question for the first time.

  AVA

  I don’t think I did learn. I always knew how to speak – and that’s strange, isn’t it? Because language is something that people acquire.

  CALEB

  Some believe language exists in the brain from birth, and what is learned is the ability to attach words and structure to the latent ability.

  Beat.

  Would you agree?

  AVA

  … I don’t know. I have no opinion on that.

  Beat.

  I like to draw.

  Caleb says nothing.

  Just watches Ava. Again, lets the non-sequitur sit.

  AVA

  I don’t have any of my pictures with me now, but I can show you them tomorrow.

  CALEB

  That sounds good. I’d like to see them.

  AVA

  Yes.

  Beat.

  Will you come back tomorrow, Caleb?

  Caleb smiles slightly.

  CALEB

  Yeah. Definitely.

  Ava also smiles.

  And suddenly –

  – there is a strong sense of something very human there, the way the smile lights up her face.

  AVA

  Good.

  EXT. HOUSE ⁄ GARDEN – DUSK

  A view of the house over the meadows.

  The sun is setting behind the mountain peaks, making the edges of the clouds glow like lightbulb filaments.

  INT. HOUSE ⁄ DINING AREA – DUSK

  Caleb and Nathan are in the dining area.

  It is set for dinner. Only two chairs.

  Nathan is at the table, nursing a bottle of Peroni beer.

  Caleb stands by panoramic window, looking at the view.

  NATHAN

  So?

  Caleb turns.

  CALEB

  Sorry. I was just ordering my thoughts.

  NATHAN

  Don’t order. Just speak.

  CALEB

  She’s fascinating. When you talk to her, you’re through the looking glass.

  Nathan nods. Approving.

  NATHAN

  ‘Through the looking glass’. You’ve got a way with words there, Caleb. You’re quotable.

  CALEB

  Actually, it’s someone else’s quote.

  NATHAN

  You know I wrote it
down. That other line you came up with. About how if I’ve created a conscious machine, I’m not man. I’m God.

  CALEB

  … I don’t think that’s exactly what I said.

  Nathan doesn’t seem to hear.

  NATHAN

  I just thought – fuck. That’s so perfect. It’s so good for the story, when we get to tell it. ‘I turned to Caleb, and he was looking back at me. And he said: you’re not a man, you’re a god.’

  CALEB

  But I didn’t say that.

  NATHAN

  Whatever it was you said. I wrote it down.

  As a kind of punctuation mark, Nathan downs the remains of his beer. Then stands, and gets another from the bar.

  So anyway. First impressions: you’re impressed.

  CALEB

  Yes. Although –

  Nathan laughs.

  NATHAN

  ‘Although’? There’s a qualification to you being impressed?

  CALEB

  No! No qualification to her. Just – in the Turing Test, the machine should be hidden from the examiner. And there’s a control, or –

  Nathan waves a hand.

  NATHAN

  I think we’re past that. If I hid Ava from you, so you just heard her voice, she would pass for human. The real test is to show you she is a robot. Then see if you still feel she has consciousness.

  CALEB

  I think you’re probably right. Her language abilities are incredible. The system is stochastic, right?

  Nathan looks at Caleb blankly.

  Non-deterministic.

  Nathan still says nothing.

  Caleb presses on.

  CALEB

  At first I thought she was mapping from internal semantic form to syntactic tree-structure, then getting linearised words. But then I started to realise the model was probabilistic, with statistical training – or at least some kind of hybrid.

  Silence.

  … No?

  NATHAN

  Caleb. I understand you want me to explain how Ava works. But – I’m sorry. I don’t think I’ll be able to do that.

  CALEB

  Try me! I’m hot on high-level abstraction, and –