364. My Dream Girl - Leslie

• FADE IN:


• INT. AIKO AND STEVEN'S ROOM - MORNING


• STEVEN sits in the bed, pulled up to his chest as he watches AIKO wake up.


• She turns over, then opens one eye, looking up at him, and smiles.


• STEVEN
• Hey you, how're you feeling?


• AIKO
• Not too bad, still have that headache though.


• STEVEN
• Well, its Tuesday, so Mike'll be here soon. Hey, I'll go get you some breakfast, you just relax there.


• AIKO
• Thanks babe.


• INT. KITCHEN/DINING ROOM ROOM - MOMENTS LATER


• Steven pads down the hall into the kitchen in his slippers, whistling softly.


• He grabs a tray from the cupboard and starts fixing breakfast, putting a skillet on the stove and tossing tater tots in the oven.


• The doorbell rings and he slides over to the front door, spatula in hand.


• Opening the door, he waves MIKE, who stands on the porch in jeans and a fleece jacket, inside.


• Mike carries an old-fashioned doctor's bag with him.


• They walk down the hall.


• MIKE
• How's she doing?


• STEVEN
• Still's got the headaches.


• MIKE
• Well, let's see if we can finally take care of that today. I got some new meds in that I think will be perfect for her.


• STEVEN
• Mike...


• MIKE
• She's going to be just fine. We'll get her through this ok? And she'll be better than new.


• Steven pulls open the bedroom door and sticks his head in.


• STEVEN
• Hun? Mike's here, says he has some new drugs for you.


• AIKO (OS)
• Hey Mike, is it time for me to get high?


• MIKE
• Be good, Ai.


• She laughs.


• STEVEN
• I'm going to finish breakfast, see you two in a sec.


• Mike slips in, closing the door behind him, leaving it open just a crack.


• Steven walks the few steps back to the kitchen and checks the skillet's heat.


• He turns it down a bit and grabs eggs from the refrigerator.


• As he closes the fridge door, he notices that the sink is dirty


• He lets out a half-exasperated, half-amused sigh.


• STEVEN
• Woman, will you ever learn?


• He reaches for a dishrag, his hand landing on cold metal.


• He looks around, then under the sink, finding nothing.


• He heads back up the hallway and pulls open a closet door opposite to the bedroom.


• Inside, towels and dish clothes sit, neatly stacked.


• AIKO (OS)
• Will this be the last upgrade, do you think? I'm pretty tired of the headaches.


• MIKE (OS)
• I'm hoping.


• Steven grabs a dish towel and pauses.


• There is a pneumatic hiss and Aiko sighs.


• Steven tiptoes to the door and peeks through the crack.


• Aiko rests against the bed's backboard, her left arm lying above the sheets, a section of her skin pulled away to reveal small ports into which Mike has plugged several small devices.


• Steven stares in horror and backs away, tripping and pushing the door open.


• INT. AIKO AND STEVEN'S ROOM - MORNING


• Mike and Aiko stare as he tumbles in.


• STEVEN
• How could you bring that thing in here?


• AIKO
• Babe, it' me. I'm still Aiko, I haven't changed.


• Steven gets up, staring straight at Mike, unable to acknowledge Aiko.


• STEVEN
• I told you I wanted nothing to do with your love bots.


• MIKE (OS)
• She's not just a love bot, Steve, she's designed just for you - she not some brainless plastiwhore, I mean, she's as real as they get - more real than most women out there.


• STEVEN
• Out. Get it out of my room.


• AIKO
• Baby, please!


• The look of horror is locked onto Steven's face.


• He stumbles to the bathroom and sounds of him throwing up travel out into the bedroom.


• Smoke begins to enter the room from the burning potatoes.


• The fire alarm goes off.


• INT. LIVING ROOM - DAY


• Steven sits on the couch, his fingers tapping angrily on the glass of the coffee table in front of him.


• Mike sits next him.


• The front door is open and through it, they can see TECHS carefully boxing Aiko.


• She is still awake.


• AIKO
• Steve, please, Steve, I love you. Please, please don't let them take me away. Steve!


• STEVEN
• How could you have gone specifically against what I wanted Mike? If I wanted some computer programmed to love me, I would have said so.


• MIKE
• You know she was the only way.


• STEVEN
• Only way to do what?


• MIKE
• You know that she was the only way to get what you were looking for.


• STEVEN
• Everything was perfect, the way we met, her just being so amazingly spontaneous. And it's all fiction. All 1's and 0's.


• MIKE
• It wasn't made up, you both experienced it - she just happened to be a little more predisposed for it.


• STEVEN
• Screw you.


• A TECH walks in.


• TECH
• Excuse me sir, I need you to sign the deactivation and memory wipe papers. You'll see that reactivation is available for up to three months after the memory wipe.


• STEVEN
• Ok.


• TECH
• Sign here...and here.


• Steven places the papers against the glass and signs them.


• The Tech takes them back and nods to his coworkers outside.


• AIKO
• Please Steve, please.


• Her voice trails off, then stops, her eyes closing as the techs fiddle with buttons on a small remote.


• MIKE
• You can still stop them. C'mon! You two were perfect for each other - no one else will ever come that close to making you happy. And you made her happy.


• STEVEN
• Made her happy? Come on.


• He almost chokes on his disgust.


• The techs finish sealing the crate and move away, revealing a large logo stamped across the front, reading "My Dream Girl."


• Steven crosses his arms and stares away from the open door while Mike watches sadly as the techs roll the crate onto their van and drive away.


• FADE TO BLACK.