TP THREE
TP THREE
Leon meets with Variel, a biological adaption specialist, who informs him his upgrade extends his diving capabilities exponentially. He suggests seeking out Nort. Leon is surprised by Ms. Penumbra and informs Suunto, who is nearby. Ms. Penumbra and Leon talk of memory before Suunto arrives to reassert the boundaries of their arrangement discuss the job. Frustrated by a shortened timeline, Suunto tries to end their arrangement before Ms. Penumbra mentions a word that makes her pale. Leon interviews the mark and breaks into his apartment, trying to get a link to the mark’s memories, but struggles with the lack of time. Leon seeks out Nort at his Jade church and is unnerved by the iconography and the junkie’s awe of him. They talk of the Jade rhino and Leon’s close encounter on their last dive. Leon dives and struggles to maintain a link to The Real. He attempts to ground himself by focusing on his memory. His new connection reveals a possible sibling, which feeds his desire to dive deeper and Nor has to pull him back to The Real again. He is shaken by a sense he is being watched and is ripped from The Real to find himself bound by ImpCorp Security.
STEP ONE
Leon visits an associate, Variel, a biological adaption specialist, about his upgrades. Leon realises his capacity for diving deeper and the urge to abandon The Real will be greater. They talk of his new memory, The Abstract and The Jade Rhino and Variel informs him his old diving partners are dead, apart from Nort, who is part of a Jade Rhino cult. Leon must now seek out Nort to help him test the capacity of his upgrades and prevent him from abandoning The Real.
CDQ - Will Leon be able to resist the urge to abandon The Real with Nort’s assistance?
SEQ
STEP TWO
Ms. Penumbra surprises Leon by arriving at his consultation. He immediately informs Suunto, who is in the bar around the corner, waiting for him with Princess. Ms. Penumbra talks to Leon’s memory loss, and they ruminate on memory. Ms. Penumbra is surprised by Suunto’s arrival and Princess’s efficiency in dispatching her security. Suunto reasserts the protocols of their arrangement, but Leon senses she is not tamed. They discuss the intricacy of ImpCorp security and Leon is frustrated by not knowing what what they are stealing. Ms. Penumbra informs Leon he has a meeting with his ‘mark’ in an hour. Suunto pushes back against her interference. Then Ms. Penumbra reveals the timeframe has changed from a month to week. Leon knows it is impossible and Suunto asserts the job is off, until Ms. Penumbra mentions a word to her that turns her pale. Leon reaffirms their commitment to the job. He knows he must protect Suunto absorb the personality of their mark quickly and seek out Nort, his old diving partner. He knows it is not enough time, but must do what he can to be ready.
SEQ
Ms. P SEQ ONE
Ms. Penumbra reflects on her reaction to Princess’s arrival and her first thought of it being an Executive ordered transition team. She realises she is not handling the pressure. She chastises Variel for not letting her know Leon was there also and considers the unlikely possibility he has betrayed her. They talk of her dementia corrupting her mind. Every day, she loses viable brain matter to reprint her memories onto. She purges segments of her life to make room, but will not diminish her memories of Emmit, her dead lover. Variel offers a temporary biological addition that will enable her to enhance her capacity, but likely speed her decline. She agrees, knowing that she does not have much time. As he works, she asks about the upgrade he performed on Leon. He is satisfied, but suggests dampening the one strong memory Leon has, as it will make him too inquisitive and strengthen his addiction. She knows he is right, but she need to feed Leon’s desire for ImpCorp. When she has what she wants, it will not matter what happens to him. Her main concern is stalling the Executive and finding out who has her medical information.
SEQ
STEP THREE
Leon tries to talk to Suunto about what Ms. Penumbra has on her, but Suunto tells him it was all an act. Leon knows she is lying, but he gives her space. Leon arrives at the bar at the base of the mark’s apartment. He conducts a face-to-face interview, pretending to be an ImpCorp consultant. He takes note of the external aspects of his personality and leaves Princess to slowly go through the finer details of his imminent relocation. Jemmy assists Leon in gaining access to the apartment and bypassing the security on the mark’s Abstract port, but Leon does not want to risk accessing The Abstract without Nort, so he gets Jemmy to extract the information herself. Leon tries to get a better sense of his mark through his memory laden items in his apartment, but he is warned by Princess to get out. Leon realises he will have to work with what he has and hopes it is enough to fool the ImpCorp AI security. He must now find a way to fast-track his preparation by diving with Nort.
SEQ
STEP FOUR
Leon drifts to Nort, still unnerved by the meeting, feeling the pressure of the short timeframe. He needs to find out what his new upgrades can do, and if he can resist the pull of The Abstract. He meets Nort at a semi-legal diving den, at his ‘church’. Leon is unnerved by the Jade Rhino iconography and by the awe of of the junkies in the church who meet him. They dive and feel the pull of The Abstract and Leon struggles to remain tethered to Nort and The Real. Leon attempts to ground himself and they talk of Nort’s new faith he adopted after their close call with The Jade Rhino in their last diving venture. Leon hopes his break from The Abstract means she has lost their scent. Leon grounds himself by diving into his only memory. His enhanced connection with The Abstract fills the details of his mother’s face, and Leon catches a glimpse of a small hand in a doorway. A sibling perhaps? Again, he slips too far and Nort has to pull him back. He gets an unnerving sense he is being watched before being ripped back into The Real, to find himself handcuffed by ImpCorp security. The den has been raided.
CDQ Answer - Yes, Leon is able to resist, but only with Nort tethering him to The Real. Leon knows he must find a way to resist the pull before he has to do it alone. He may not get the chance though, as ImpCorp security have him bound.
CA - Leon moves from excited and nervous –- to –- in awe of the possibilities and dangers of his upgrades, and angry that he has been caught by security.
Moral Dilemma - Leon has to choose between protecting Suunto and taking on a high risk infiltration, with little preparation.
SEQ
Leon visits the underground ‘doctor’. They greet like old friends. They have a history together through Nort. His doctor is amazed and tells him some of what it looks like his implants do. He asks how he knows, and he says his ‘big sister’ is all over ImpCorp tech. His limits are no longer his limits. His capacity for diving is profound now. The implant - a mix of the aquatic - quite lovely in its construction - a genius must have mixed this together - it is designed to replicate and repair the connection in times of stress. When did he have it done? Surely not. It must have been at least a month. This is ready to go already. Amazing. Not tried it yet, huh? How comes he went to someone else for this? He would have found a way to get it for him? Does he have a new competitor in town? He thought he had the only trade in the city. This biological stuff is hard to get and highly illegal outside of ImpCorp. He recalls his situation and the doctor says he will need to be careful. Someone has given him a gift here. Gifts are rarely given for free. He will have to watch himself though. He has dampened as much of his additive tendencies as he can. It will become easy to get lost in The Abstract. He suggests not to dive alone. Given his tendencies, he will need a strong tether to keep him bound to The Real. Leon asks about his memory again, and they have the conversation about it again. He is wiped good and proper, although there seems to be a brightness there, surrounding some aspect of his memory. Leon says The Abstract returned it to him, and the doctor says that is maybe how The Abstract works - he sees the junkies here. They do more than worship that Jade Rhino of theirs. They ruminate on the nature of The Abstract. Nort, his old diving partner was here just a few days ago. He was part of a new cult it seems - worshiping The Abstract as some sort of being, symbiotically sustained by our consciousness and memory. Maybe he should talk to him about it. He was always a smart one, until The Abstract got him. Leon comments that he will seek him out. He need to test his implant out and there is no-one else he would trust to keep him tethered. He remembers a time when Nort was the only reason he did not drift off. The doctor tells him to be cautious. He will burn brightly in The Abstract. You don’t want that Jade Rhino coming to get you. He jokes. Leon does not. He knows how precarious his situation is. He will burn brighter in The Abstract now. He remembers a moment before he left for the wilderness, where a tinge of green infiltrated his dive. He had the feeling of being watched. He knew it was likely the Jade Rhino. It likely had his scent, but he had been away for so long, she would likely have found other prey by now. He hopes. There is the drama for his diving…
Overview possibilities
They talk of memories and the nature of remembering. Would he have been a different person if he was able to remember his past? The nature of forgetting. If you could not remember the things you have done, would that make you a better person? Are we tied to our past, and the things we have done, or should be just work to living in the future, and deciding who we want to be? She thinks he has it easy. He can be whoever he wants, and he can make it so. He is not weighed down by the past. She has to sit with the things she has done, although she knows there are a few regrets, it is not over the decisions she made. It was that she did not go hard or fast enough. If she had started earlier, she would not be so rushed for time - spend more time here to refine the theme
the mark is a few blocks away in the newer parts of the city. It was hard to get him that far from his apartment and had to be coerced. Suunto insist the man gets a nice surprise, instead of being hospitalised or go missing for a few days. Leon says he will let her know what he promises him when the meeting is finished. It will likely be something nice. They decide plane tickets to a lovely tropical island - not many left that do tourism now. Some places, but not many. Bali is still going. Send him there - to hang out with some fun people when he realises the job doesn’t actually exist. Maybe a tour guide arranged as an apology from the company. He just needs to be gone for a few days, then shifted to another building so the timelines don’t look out. Ms. P laughs and agrees. She will be nice for a change.
they push back against Ms. P, thinking they have the upper hand. They think she has just visited Leon’s doctor to check up on Leon, rather than seek her own treatments. Or maybe the get her as she is on her way to see him? They think she is tracking Leon, trying to find out what the doctor knows, but really, she is going to see him about her own needs. Maybe Suunto and the team are arriving to pick him up to meet Ms. Penumbra again, when Princess decides the security detail is light enough and their opportunity to reassert themselves is now. Keres says it is a good time. Suunto agrees. Ms. Penumbra seems surprised, and starts to say they were not due to meet for another hour. Princess knocks out two of her three security, before disabling a third with zip ties. Ms. Penumbra claps and says if she wants a job, she has one. Suunto approaches with Princess and Leon. Suunto suggests they have a chat in the vehicle, and Ms. Penumbra obliges. Suunto wishes to establish the boundaries of their working together, and Ms. Penumbra is non- committal, saying that she rarely has to ask permission of anyone. In her world, she has control. She promises not to operate on anyone else without their explicit consent, but also asks Leon if he has tried it out yet. Leon shakes his head. She asks Leon if he was visiting the man inside - she says she has heard he has an illegal workshop - is that right? Leon says he is harmless, but has a good body scanner. She says she was going to check that out for herself. What he has inside him is official ImpCorp technology - not seen outside the building. She was passing and was going to make sure that none of those scans made it out of his office. Leon says she should not do anything to him. He just does a few odd jobs to help the community out. She laughs. She does not care about him. She was just going to ask him nicely, with lots of cash, to hand over the scans. He should not be so dramatic.
They talk of the job, their requirements of silence from Ms. P, unless they have a question or she has essential information from them. Ms. P is non-committal, but will see how the meeting goes. They need a mark that physically matches Leon. He needs to modify his though patterns as well, by setting up a meeting in Leon’s mind pocket - a working thing - he will need recordings of his meetings, interactions in ImpCorp to assimilate the sayings, the gestures and such. She is impressed with the thorough nature of his work, and Suunto reveals that he does not use AI to infiltrate. It is all Leon. The AI only looks for irregularities externally. If he can look and act like him, the AI will ignore him. A few small body modifications as well, and the AI will think it is him. She is impressed. She matches his body characteristics with seventeen employees regionally. One is perfect, and local, but no bioscan. One is required to access the areas she needs him to go. Suunto calls Fix and asks him if he can find a way to put in a bioscan. He says it should not be a problem, as long as he has enough details and a key to the lock. A three second window is all he needs. Ms. Penumbra verifies it is possible. When the mark is integrated into Leon, they can do the bioscan, supplement it with the pre-upgrade one, and he will be that dude. Ms. P says she will arrange for the mark to disappear so they can do what they need do. Suunto says he should only disappear if he is going to someplace nice. Ms.P laughs and asks what she has in mind. She was thinking short hospitalisation, but if they have a better idea, then go for it. They suggest he is called on a last minute job somewhere tropical - only to discover it has been an administrative error and has to spend a few days, relaxing in paradise - but the company is so sorry, that they arrange a fun filled few days - snorkeling, plenty of drinks, a bit of romance… Ms. P laughs and says she will see what she can do. Sedatives is usually quicker and easier. Suunto says, ‘but not as fun, or kind.’
Security - friendly front desk that hides multiple scanners - If Leon is as good as he says, then he will get through. The AI will scan him as an employee. Once in Ms. P will guide him. No way, there are too many variables there, and they do not trust her with his life? This is the option available for him.
She wants to be part of the mission, and this is the only way she can see it working. He needs to access sensitive areas, and she can’t divulge any more to them. She can tell them the floor, the port, but where he needs to go, only a few people have access - this will help me figure out what is going on as I progress.
The mission needs to be sorted here - at least in some form. She can provide some things, but there are parts ImpCorp she has not seen in decades.
only to find out they are well and truly trapped by her. She has them in a noose, already, but she is not surprised or offended. The little fish always seem to think they are bigger than they are. She uses the opportunity to leverage a bit more from them and tell them they need to move on the job in weeks, not months. They say it is impossible, and she asks if it will take more manpower. It wont. It is the difficulty of the job. There is no other choice. Ms. P will arrange the information they need. They just need to do it, and do it well. Suunto and Leon realise they are caught tighter than they would have liked, and have no other option but to get it done. Leon tells her he will meet her at the bar - The Abstract one - to discuss it. They are going to need to use the time advantage provided by The Real to figure out how to make it work.
MsP -She reflects on Princess’s approach and her foolish thought that they were coming for her. She is getting jumpy and distracted. She curses herself for that. She visits the same techy guy as Leon - the real reason she was coming here. Let them think it was all about them. He is treating he dementia (slow reveal in the scene) and she asks him about Leon’s implants. All has gone to plan. He says he has found a new biological enhancement and can help out with a physical aspect as well. It is an illegal tech he is offering, and Ms. P says she does not have anything to lose at this stage. He injects her with it and tells her that she may have a few side effects - mild aggression perhaps, and she will sleep quite well tonight, maybe a bit groggy tomorrow morning. She thanks him and she leaves. Does she know him? Yes. Then they will talk of their relationship over the years. This is where we see the dementia in her and the controls she has gone to. He says she may have a couple of years, maybe more, but only if she lives a life of no stress. He says she should probably transition before she loses too much of her memory. She tells him of her implanting her memories each day and he comments that it will only work for so long. The materials fade with each copy, only slightly, and what she is copying onto - her brain - will not be able to manage soon. She asks him if the memories from her vault have degraded at all. He says they are in amazing condition. If she were to let them degrade a little, she could have another few years, yet. They are taking up much of her resources, to enhance a few years of her life. She says they are fine as they are. They define her, and she will not have them removed. She asks for an old favour and he automatically says he will not tell a soul. She laughs and knows he will not. He never has. He has enough secrets already to sink her. She asks for any dna modification technology - the type he most definitely does not deal in - that could help her. He does, but it will likely reduce that two year timeframe he spoke of. She is not fussed. She is getting old and he protests. She knows he wants her around to guarantee his business survives. She mentions that it may be time to try something else. She cannot guarantee her protection after she goes. She asks of Leon and he tells her that the upgrade went smoothly. He is curious as to what he can do now, and he guided him to Nort, as always. Ms. Penumbra says they will likely have to push him a bit more now. He says it may not be safe - he has addictive tendencies, that boy. He is brighter now. The Jade Rhino may find him. She says that it is unlikely. There are so many junkies in the system now, that I’m sure the Jade Rhino will be way too full.
Too soon to kill him and for her to find out who did it. He needs to come under some pressure, but she knows he has not said a thing. He is heavily monitored by her. She knows every move he makes. His former boss, the one she used to work for, implanted him with a recording device. She has seen everything, and can see everything he has been up to since that day. He knows his place and has been nothing but respectful. He has not even uttered her name. She knows the leak did not come from him.
SEQ THREE
Leon tries to talk to Suunto about what Ms. Penumbra has on her, but Suunto tells him it was all an act. Leon knows she is lying, but he gives her the space she needs. The mark has been summoned to meet in the bar of his apartment building. He sets up his AI protocols using his keyboard, triggering recording and data analysis for voice and mannerisms. The mark arrives and Leon steers him through an interview designed to draw out personality aspects and a range of emotional responses. Princess arrives to ‘distract’ the mark and go through details of the job Leon has set him up with to get him out of town, while Leon meets Jemmy at the mark’s apartment. He looks through the apartment, noting personal items that define him. He examines his porting chair, and Jemmy cracks the code, and she connects to the port to collect an impression of his Abstract history and memory. She is curious as to why Leon has declined the opportunity. He says he is busy with examining his apartment, but he is really hesitant about connecting to The Abstract alone. He practices the mark’s voice and mannerisms as he walks, sitting in chairs, examining his entertainment devices and kitchen cupboards, getting a better sense of him. Princess tells them that he is on his way, so they leave. She reckons he must be gay - she flirted her arse off, but he did not respond. Leon realises he is likely asexual, and some unusual elements of his decor become clearer. He visits the more ‘interesting’ fringe worlds. They do not have everything they need, but Leon has to work with what he has to create his mindset for the job. Time is too short to truly become him.
Leon finds Nort in an underground gathering. There are emaciated junkies in full view. Leon tells him that some have not been out for days. They are not sure if one of them is coming back. He is part of the church and is searching for The Jade Rhino. They do a dirty, nasty drug referenced moment of fluids and dirty tech. He ports in and we get a first glimpse of The Abstract, as filtered through Leon’s conscious - exiting in his new memory - tapped into ImpCorp, until they pierce through the illusion to what lies beyond. ImpCorp gateway is overly commercial - he can see the consciousness lining up to get access - a dome funnelling them in at incredible by varied speeed. They break from it by grabbing a memory - Leon’s burns brightly now and they peel that back too - to access what is beyond memory. The Abstract rushes through him and he experiences it in a new way. He is ripped from The Real, but Nort has him tethered. He tells him he needs to resist a little more and Leon strengthens his connection to his heartbeat again. Nort gradually reduces the tether and Leon stabilises himself. The Abstract is unbelievable and Nort can feel it too. Nort and Leon float in Leon’s vast expanse. It is so huge, they can’t sense the end of it. Leon’s worlds appear in amazing detail, and Nort is impressed, just like Leon. He imagines and creates creatures and worlds, flicking forward and backward through time, watching evolution unfold in a microcosm. Nort and Leon feel the rush of it - his new ability and power to manipulate The Abstract.
Leon wants his memories, but he cannot feel them, just like before. He pulls Nort deeper and they search through something. He let’s his subconscious lead him and they find themselves in his kitchen back at his only memory. Nort and Leon are confused. Why back at his memory? They are meant to be journeying through his subconscious, and yet they are back where they started. Leon plays the memory back as an observer, and Leon sees the face of his mother for the first time. She is like him, but not like him at the same time. He sees himself as well, as a child. There is another child in the background, as a movement in the gap of a door. It is new and he moves towards it. It plays through again, but it is just a finger and a hand. He cannot push it any more. He realises that he must have had sibilings as well. The small fingers are smaller than his. He burrows into them - he can sense what they have touched, a smell, and he goes deeper into them. He flows deeper. Nort pulling on him and he is tugged back to his memory.
Nort is distressed and Leon realises he has dimmed his connection to his heartbeat again. He strengthens it through Nort and tethers himself to it again. Leon wants to go again, but Nort tells him they should work on Leon tethering himself. Leon says his usual technique is not working. He tries to tether himself to his mother, but his subconscious keeps getting drawn back to the fingers and he finds himself pulled deeper again. Leon get’s frustrated and Nort calms him. He just needs to feel it, rather than fight it, just like old times. He talks of his new faith, the Jade Rhino and the endless expanse. Leon tells him that he was always the one not to mention the ‘green bitch’ in The Abstract, for fear of summoning her. He says he was wrong. He has found a better way. Life is meant to be fleeting, not eternal. If the Jade Rhino decides that it is his time, then he will go willingly. He has the faith. She wont devour his soul. She will take him to a new existence, where he is one with The Abstract. He will be part of the eternity that exists here. Leon says he likes his philosophy, but he can’t believe it. He prefers to avoid having his soul sucked into oblivion, or at least until after he has found his memories and has a better sense of himself. If he let the Jade Rhino take him now, Suunto would hunt her down and get him back. She doesn’t like it when one of her sheep is hurt. She is too mature and too protective. She never had kids - they were too much of a burden and she could not face the burden of not drinking for nine months - so her team are her substitute family and she is protective to a fault. Still, it has kept most of them alive.
Leon feels The Abstract once again, concentrating on his heart beat and the tethers that bind him to The Real. The vastness of The Abstract restricts a little and he can sense the borders he once knew to his subconscious. Nort says he can feel the pressure easing for him. He can stay a while longer now. Leon fights the urge to snap the tethers and fly, and Nort can sense it in him. They are connected by blood. They talk of his addiction and need to control it himself - reflection on junkies. Nort is not interested in becoming one - he has seen too many go that way, but he also feels the pull through Leon. Leon feels The Abstract pulling at the core of who he is. The deeper he goes, the more he senses he is part of the fabric of it all, much more than before. He has seen the face of his mother, and knows she worked for ImpCorp - there is maybe a sister or a brother there. He is part of something and he needs answers. His drive to dive grows deeper, and Nort tells him to be careful. He can feel it growing in him. The darkness gets a tinge of green to it, the response to a distant light. Leon notices it, before their connection is ripped apart and they find themselves back in The Real. They are in the middle of a raid.
He senses that he is being watched, but is it in his mind, or just a sense of Nort with him?
this scene needs to have The Abstract fleshed out as a process. The experience needs more definition. It should be a new world, created and imposed by Leon’s subconscious, entwined with Norts as well.
note - the heartbeat thuds throughout the scene. They dive between heartbeats, so the body is silenced and the subconscious is free. The beat will appear in moments mixing between the paragraphs. When Leon dives deeper, the beats spread out further to represent losing connection to The Real and time. When he is taken by the Jade Rhino, the beat stop