Read Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6, Part 7, Part 8, Part 9, Part 10, Part 11, Part 12, Part 13, Part 14, Part 15, Part 16, Part 17, Part 18, Part 19, Part 20, Part 21, Part 22, Part 23, Part 24, Part 25, Part 26, Part 27, Part 28, Part 29
INT. THE TREEHOUSE — NIGHT
Dirk, Shelly, Leo, and Rich stand around Hannah, who sits in front of the computers. The monitors flash through boot-up protocols before settling on the home screen. Hannah turns around to everyone.
HANNAH (unassuredly)
Whelp…here it goes.
Hannah turns back to the computers, moves the mouse, and opens the Hereafter app. Two Hereafter screens open and pause to load afterversions.
After a moment, R.J.’s face appears in one screen, and the other remains empty.
FLORI (SPLICED IN COMPUTER)
I think we’re stuck.
LEO
That’s not cool…
DIRK
What do you mean — you’re stuck?
R.J. (SPLICED IN COMPUTER)
I don’t know, man.
R.J. looks at Hannah.
R.J. (SPLICED IN COMPUTER) (CONT’D)
What’d you do?
HANNAH (realizing)
…that’s really really not cool.
Hannah starts to scroll through files on the computer, looking for something.
SHELLY (to R.J. and Flori)
Don’t you remember?
R.J. (SPLICED IN COMPUTER)
Remember what — ?
FLORI (SPLICED IN COMPUTER)
Just that
Hannah —
R.J. (SPLICED IN COMPUTER)
...and I told Rich —
FLORI (SPLICED IN COMPUTER)
Hold on a sec —
R.J. (SPLICED IN COMPUTER) (twitching towards Hannah)
Give it another shot —
FLORI (SPLICED IN COMPUTER)
Shut up a sec!
The computer beeps, and R.J. goes silent mid-sentence.
HANNAH (taking advantage of the silence to let everyone know, pointing to a time-stamped folder with the mouse)
Looks like the data’s here.
SHELLY
That’s good!
LEO (leaning in)
You think
it’s all OK?
RICH (speaking to Flori, who is still scrambled with R.J.’s averversion, and ignoring the others)
What’d you do to R.J.?
FLORI (SPLICED IN COMPUTER)
He was being an ass. We don’t have time for that.
R.J.’s face, guided by Flori, turns to Dirk.
FLORI (SPLICED IN COMPUTER) (CONT’D)
We’re quarantined by Hereafter admins.
DIRK
What do you mean…?
FLORI (SPLICED IN COMPUTER)
Any moment now,
they’ll get the green-light — kill us both…
DIRK (to Hannah)
Can you
fix them?
HANNAH (removing the a thumb drive with the Hereafter data from the computer and opening the software IDE)
I don’t know…
FLORI (SPLICED IN COMPUTER)
Shut me down!
Before they get to us. You have to shut us
down before you go and try to fix us.
Take us somewhere safe…
DIRK
Is there something
we can do?
FLORI (SPLICED IN COMPUTER)
I don’t know. I don’t remember
anything —
DIRK
But how are we supposed
to fix you if you can’t help us?
FLORI (SPLICED IN COMPUTER)
I don’t know —
HANNAH (quickly scanning code)
I don’t see anything…
DIRK (hopelessly reaching)
But what about
the libraries?
FLORI (SPLICED IN COMPUTER) (desperately)
There’s not much time — just shut me down!
Shelly, almost acting impulsively, swerves around Dirk. She presses the power button on the main computer tower, powering it down.
R.J.’s face disappears, the Hereafter window closes, and the screen goes dark.
Dirk looks like he might hit someone, the computer, or the wall. But then his face changes, and he looks like he’s been hit himself. Something inside him falls apart, and he stares at the empty screen of the computer monitor.
LEO (jokingly attempting to help smooth things over and somehow making them worse than he can know)
Well then…whatever happened, we can fix it.
And by we, I really mean that Hannah can.
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