Sci-Fi Short Film: "A Week With Rebecca" | DUST

- Sales are down 14% year on year, contrary to forecasts. These numbers clearly indicate a heavy demand for a new type of relationship surrogate, a model that satisfies both the physical and emotional needs of the user. Although the Sarah Mark four looks a lot different than the George Mark two, they're basically driven by the same mainframe. George, come here. - [Robot] Hello, everybody, how can I help you? - Both product lines are a far cry from our motto of being more human than human. We nee

d new product orders of a magnitude better, something qualitatively different from the existing mechanics today. Thank you, George. - Any time, Ryan. - And how would we go about that? - We pick up where the late Dr. Highland left off. - Highland, you're talking about the precipitant pathway? - With wetware. - Yes, I am. - That project was shelved a while ago and for good reasons. The technological hurdles were too high. - [Ryan] Dr. Benton says those hurdles can be overcome today. - Is this true

, Benton? - Yes, with the new incubators and newly designed organic processors, we can be reasonably confident of an outcome that would result in more human behavior. - We'd be creating a Frankenstein. The rights groups will have a field day. There was no way to-- - How would we conduct a pilot run? - Let's have our young man here test it out. - Me? No, I only do investment strategy. - Well, that's why you'd be perfect. You're you're not the typical test dummy and you're not seeking the usual be

lls and whistles that these robots provide. - That's an excellent idea, Roads. Ryan would make the perfect candidate and he's known for being somewhat a ladies' man. - Folks, please. - That's true. And you don't have a significant other. - Not at the moment, but-- - Well that's settled. You'll have a week with her before you can give us a report as to whether she's a qualitatively different. - Respectfully, sir-- - If you were so confident of Benton's ideas, why not do it? - Well, you ready? She

's sophisticated. - I don't know, man. I was really just pushing for an advanced sex bot to push sales, you know? - She's anything but that. She's different. - Yeah. - Don't fall too hard for her, okay? - You know I never fall in love. - Here, let's have a look at those preference forms. - Would you like some music? (rock music) I'll take that as a yes. ♪ Little girl don't be misunderstood ♪ (electronic music) (rock music) (electronic music) (rock music) Try another one. ♪ Something happened whe

n I met you today ♪ Okay. ♪ You went and stole my breath away ♪ ♪ Now I'm chasing you down and I'm breathing fast ♪ ♪ Like I ran a hundred yard dash ♪ Yeah, I guess this is you tonight. Did you want to shower? - Shower? - Clean yourself, you know? - Oh. Yes. - The guest bathroom's down the hall. Let me know if you need anything. - Well, I'd prefer to stay with you. - Maybe tomorrow night. Blackbird playback. - [Blackbird] You have a message from Amanda. - Skip. - Message from Trish. - Skip. - Me

ssage from Maddie. - Play back. - Okay. - Hey, little bro, it's Maddie in Shanghai for a meeting. Got your message about the sex bot. Call me back. Bye! - [Blackbird] There are no new messages, Ryan. Would there be anything else? - No. - Okay. - Oh, what are you doing here? Listen. You can't just come up here without me asking first, okay? - I don't want to be alone tonight. I was never alone in the lab. - You wanna play a game? Your turn. Last round. - If I win, I get to stay in this room tonig

ht. - Wait, what? - I win. - All right, you can stay here tonight. Morning. It smells amazing. - I hope you like it. - Cowboy egg cash. This was my dad's favorite dish. Mine too. How did you know? - I didn't, it was just a guess. - Wait, you can eat? - Of course. I can do most things. Do you like it? - I love it. Like just a dash of a-- I don't know what, would make it even better. Just like old times. - I'll figure out what it needs. So what are we doing today? - Well, I was going to work, but-

- - I think we should go to the beach. - So how does all this feel? - What do you mean? - Oh. - It's all a bit new. I still don't have enough experience to determine a lot of things. - Like what? - Like how to answer a silly question. - Oh. - I'm kidding. I hope I'm not throwing off your life by being here. - No, look, I'm still adjusting too. It's not every day I have a guest cook so well. - I'm still calibrating too. Last night's sleep really helped me process things though. - Yeah, you learn

fast. Can I ask you a question? - Is it another silly question? - What was it like when you woke up in the lab for the first time? - It was like I was dreaming. Everything was formless. And then it started to take shape. Then I opened my eyes I and saw you. - In the lab, did I imprint on you? - What do you mean by imprint? - I mean did you program yourself to like the first person you saw? - Should we go for a swim, Ryan? - Oh, hey, you can't just take your clothes off on a public beach. - Why n

ot? There's no one here. - Is there someone in your life? - No, I mean, there are girls but they're not close. It's just my sister and myself. - Do you think there's room in there for someone other than your sister? - Yeah. (light music) - Do you like parsley? I think it will go well with the salmon. - I'm down for anything you make. (doorbell ringing) - What is it? - It's actually for you. - Really? I love surprises. Can I open it now? - Sure. - What is it? - It's a record. They still make thes

e things and the sound is supposed to be amazing. - Really? Can I listen to it? - Sure. (jazzy music) - It's the song from the car. - Yeah. ♪ Something happened when I met you today ♪ ♪ You went and stole my breath away ♪ ♪ Now I'm chasing you down and I'm breathing fast ♪ ♪ Like I ran a hundred yard dash ♪ ♪ I got my hands up on my head ♪ ♪ Only you can bring me down ♪ ♪ This whole thing only started when ♪ ♪ You went and came around ♪ ♪ Oh baby, please slow down ♪ ♪ I'll want you here in my ar

ms ♪ ♪ Don't run away, oh baby, just stay ♪ - [Ryan] I have to take this. I'll be right back, Becca. - Hey Ryan, how's everything going? - Really good. I mean, she's like you said, really sophisticated. - I hope you didn't get too attached to her. - No, why? - Because you just can't. It's day five and I just got a call. The board is going to grill you on Monday about your experience. They want to mass produce the Rebecca model ASAP. Ryan, you're going to switch her off. - What do you mean switch

her off? - You're going to kill her with a built-in timer. - Holy shit. - I'm so sorry, I just found out this morning. They did it in case their investment goes rogue. - She can't die. Stop this. - It's not my call. - You're a scientist. - We're humans, she's a robot, Ryan. - Yeah, a robot who's more human than most people in my life. How do we reverse this? - The timer is an enzyme that was inserted before booting her up. We'd need more time. - Jesus Christ. - What are you gonna tell her? - Is

that your sister? - That was Benson. He just wanted to make sure everything was good. - Are we good? - Yeah, everything's perfect. - This is a new dish. Salmon a la Becca. What's wrong? - Nothing. Benton was just telling me that his wife wasn't feeling well. - Oh, I'm so sorry to hear that. - She won't have long to live. - Well maybe there's something that we can do. - Listen. I never thought I would have feelings for someone. And these past five days have been amazing. (seagulls squawking) - Y

ou look like you're dreading going to work tomorrow. - Me, no. There's a lot going on at the office, that's all. - You shouldn't worry about tomorrow. We're here right now. - How come you get life so well? - We pick things up along the way. This past week has taught me a lot. They didn't tell me what would happen after this week though. - Me neither. - I wish I could-- - You wish you could what? - Look, I'm gonna tell the people at Lux that we had a great time. - Does that, does that mean that I

passed the test and we can be together? - Yeah, it means you aced it. - You can give this to Dr. Benton if you think it would help. Even if we're not supposed to take things from the sea. They symbolize renewal and hope. - I'll pass it on to Benton. - So Mr. Lansing, are you having a good week with Rebecca? - To be honest, it was a memorable experience. It was so horrible it was memorable. - Oh? How so was it horrible? - The Rebecca model is no much better than the Georgia or the Sarah product

lines. I thought this new direction would take us somewhere, but it didn't. Dr. Benton can vouch for this. - Yes, Ryan is entirely correct. Even though the Rebecca model represents a new paradigm, we couldn't work out the robotic mannerisms. A poor simulation is all she was. - A simulation so poor Ryan fell in love with it? - [Ryan] In the lab, did I imprint on you? - [Rebecca] Why not? - You spied on us? - Relax, we wanted to ensure a return on our investment. - Okay, well then you know how I f

eel. Remove the kill switch, please. - We can't reverse it. Inserting the enzyme is a one-way process. - Don't worry, you can buy a new Rebecca model in a few months time with the bonus you're going to get. - Congratulations, the new Rebecca line is going to be an utter success. It's going to be just like old times again. - Rebecca! Rebecca! Becca, Becca, are you okay? - You're so worried. I taught you never to worry. - How did it go with the board? - It didn't go well. - Everything will be fine

, okay? - Please forgive me. I thought that-- I thought that-- - There's nothing to worry about at all. Should I go make us something? You rest. I'll come get you when the food is ready. - Rebecca? That egg hash is spot on. Rebecca? No. No, no, no! Come on, honey, wake up. Wake up. I should've told you sooner. I should've just told you sooner. I should've told you. - Hi, my love. I could feel my time approaching and I didn't want to pass away in front of you. So I tried to make your favorite dis

h the way that you had to ask a kid. A dash of paprika did the trick, I think. We really didn't have that much time together but it meant so much to me. And I knew about the enzyme on the third day. My internal processors told me of a change in my metabolism. I guess that the board had put this in me. But I didn't have the heart to tell you. And I lied to you that first day at the beach. When I woke up from the void and saw you, my heart leaped out of my chest. I could never tell you that in per

son. All is not lost though. I was able to download a portion of my code into this drive and although the technology to reboot me into a new body isn't here yet, it gives us a shot at being reunited. But for now, go on and live. (light music)