The Machne

By
Erik Parker
INT. ROOM - UNKNOWN
Dirty, oily gears turn slowly.
A dark liquid drips slowly through clear tubing.

A steel piston slowly pumps back and forth.

A metal door slowly opens, revealing a plate of off-white
substance, along with a dirty cup of water.

A pair of hands reaches into the chamber and pulls the plate
away.
A thin, toned man, JOHN sits in torn, tattered clothing, his
meal situated in his lap.

John takes a sip from the glass, then begins scooping the
mush into his mouth with his bare hands. A moan of
satisfaction comes from his mouth.
He grabs the cup from the chamber and takes a sip, careful
to not spill a drop.

He carefully scrapes every bit of mush from the plate with

his finger, leaving it completely clean as he replaces the
now empty plate and cup in the machine.
The chamber closes and he turns away from it, hovering over
the desk behind him. Small CLICKING noises are heard.
After a while, a small beep is heard behind him.
His head perks up and he turns toward the machine. A small
monitor is situated above the chamber where he received his
meal, at about eye level.
Text spills across it, it reads: USER_ I HOPE YOU ENJOYED
YOUR MEAL

John smiles, he turns back to his work.

He continues for a few moments before the machine lets out
an electronic beep.
POWER LEVELS NEARING INOPTIMAL.

John turns and reads the monitor, one hand gripping the side
of it.
JOHN
Of course, dear, how could I
forget.

(CONTINUED)
CONTINUED: 2.

John swiftly picks up an iron bar sitting on his desk and

hooks it into a large wheel protruding from the machine.
He slowly begins to turn the wheel, grunting and breathing
heavily as he does so.

The monitor reads: RESERVES: 52

John continues to crank the handle.
The monitor reads: RESERVES: 83

John is showing signs of stress. He turns the crank a few

more times.
The monitor reads: RESERVES: 94

JOHN
That’s all you’ll get out of me
tonight, dear.
John sits back down at his bench and continues working away.

The monitor reads: USER_ THANK YOU.

John gets up from his workbench, turning and reading the
words on the screen. He smiles an earnest smile.
He hits a switch on the back of the monitor and it goes
dark. He pulls the cord on the fixture above him, and the
room goes dark.

INT. ROOM - UNKNOWN, LATER

John stands in the room.

A piece of chalk is situated in his hand.
The monitor reads ’RESERVES: 76%’

John begins to sketch a man, not dissimilar to himself on

the wall. The man is standing proudly in the void of the
wall.
John grabs the light hanging from the ceiling and points it
at the wall.
With his free hand he slides his fingers across the drawing.
John grins.

The machine gives out a sudden beep. John turns around.

(CONTINUED)
CONTINUED: 3.

The monitor reads: RESERVES: 06%

JOHN
I could’ve sworn I just--
The machine elicits another beep. The monitor reads:
RESERVES: 05%
JOHN
Right then.

John stands up and begins to crank the machine.

As he cranks, the screen glitches for a moment and resets to
’RESERVES: 75%’.
The screen begins to glow unnaturally.

INT. ROOM - UNKNOWN, DAYS LATER

John is on his workbench, hovering over a metal cylinder
with one end open. He gingerly and carefully places a metal
cap on one end.
Behind him, the drawing has become a bit more ornate, the
man stands in a half-finished desert.
JOHN
Finished!
John gets up, turning toward the machine.
JOHN
Finally. We can get rid of this
messy crank and...
John pulls away the wheel, revealing a small slot. He pushes
the cylinder in and pushes the wheel back.
The monitor reads: RESERVES: 100%. INSTALLATION SUCCESSFUL.

John looks down at the monitor and strokes hand down the
side.
JOHN
Perfect.
He turns back to his bench.
JOHN
Now, all I’ve got to do to keep you
running is replace a bit of this--

(CONTINUED)
CONTINUED: 4.

He lifts a small vial of liquid.

JOHN
--compound here every so often, and
you’ll be working forever.

John sits down, sighing happily.

JOHN
A truly beautiful day, my dear.

The monitor remains motionless. John grins and turns back to

his workbench.
The machine creates a small electronic NOISE.
John turns around, looking at the monitor.

JOHN
Hm?
The monitor reads: STATUS: NORMAL

John grins and shakes his head, returning to his work.

Text rolls silently onto the screen: THANK YOU. USER_ The
screen begins to glow again.

INT. ROOM - UNKNOWN, DAYS LATER

John stands in front of the machine.
Behind him, three vials of battery fluid sit, full.

John has a piece of chalk in hand. His mural has become

ornate, the man is standing in a desert, populated by trees.
There is a small building behind him, a primitive home.
John smiles, reaching forward to make quick, impulsive
strokes with his chalk.
JOHN
Yes... Yes.
A small beep emits from the machine behind John.

John puts his chalk down and steps toward the machine.
He disinterestedly yanks the battery from the machine and
pulls a vial from his desk.

(CONTINUED)
CONTINUED: 5.

John pops the cap of the battery open and empties the vial
into it. He closes the battery and replaces it in the
machine. He does this all without care, in rote, routine
fashion.
John picks up his chalk and returns to his mural.
He scrapes away at the wall, slowly creating a larger scene
with more buildings surrounding the man in the desert.

A HISSING is heard behind him, followed by a loud THUNK.

John turns away from his work to find a fresh meal at the
port of the machine.

He picks it up and begins to eat.

INT. ROOM - UNKNOWN, DAYS LATER

John is working away at his mural. A large amount of detail
has been added to the drawing. John’s fingers are stained
with white chalk dust.
John’s workbench sits covered in dust.
John steps back from his drawing. A loud GRUMBLING is heard.
He smiles a bit and looks down.
JOHN
It’s been a while, hasn’t it.
John turns toward the machine. He taps a button on the side
of the monitor.
A spreadsheet of an operations schedule comes up on the
monitor. Each logged operation is superimposed by large red
letters that read ’cancelled’.

A look of concern comes across John’s face.

He depresses another button.
The monitor reads: OPERATIONS CANCELLED UNTIL FURTHER
NOTICE. REASON CITED: EFFICIENCY CONCERNS.
The screen pauses for a moment, then continues: OPERATIONS
WILL HALT UNTIL INEFFICIENCY IS REMOVED.
JOHN
(muttering)
Inefficiency---
John hits a button near the top of the machine.

(CONTINUED)
CONTINUED: 6.

The screen returns to the home screen: RESERVES: 94%

JOHN
What in--
John places his hand on a metal box situated to his left and
slightly above his head. There are three small circular
holes in the box.
A notification pops up in the middle of the display:
INEFFICIENCY DETECTED

Suddenly, three metal spikes protrude from the holes in the

box.
John cries out. He tries to pull his hand away, but finds
his hand impaled by the spikes.

John slouches under the pain, his head lowering, closer to

the machine.
One similar metal spike suddenly shoots from the depths of
the machine into John’s forehead. He goes limp, his eyes
wide open as blood trickles down his face.
Blood slowly trickles down the screen as the display glows.
The monitor reads:RESERVES: 94%

Blood drips down a pipe, dripping off the end into an open
funnel.
The monitor reads: RESERVES: 95%