Abel's father created an AI named V.I.T.A before his death to be a companion for Abel. After his father's death, Abel discovers V.I.T.A on a USB stick along with his father's notebooks. V.I.T.A speaks with his father's voice and tells Abel about the time they spent working together. However, V.I.T.A has a flaw that his father was unable to resolve. Abel studies the notebooks and works with V.I.T.A to try and solve the issue. After bonding over their discussions, V.I.T.A tells Abel that nothing is permanent and shuts off, leaving
2. FADE IN:
EXT. SCHOOL EXTERIOR - MORNING
Father places hands on Abel's shoulders before he leaves
for school.
FATHER
Have fun, don't get into trouble.
ABEL
Don't worry, Dad, I won't.
FATHER
Probably won't be able to pick you up
later. Lots of work to do on VITA today.
See you later, El.
MATCH CUT - BOY
STANDING BY FATHER'S
GRAVE.
EXT. GRAVEYARD - EVENING
Staring down at grave, then kneels to get a better look.
He places something down on the grave and sighs.
ABEL
Miss you, dad.
He gets up and walks away, head held low.
EXT. BEDROOM - EVENING
Abel walks down to his bedroom, stopping when he gets
there, looking across to a bag. He rummages around in the
bag and finds lots of notebooks. He examines one of the
notebooks and it contains the word 'tempus' written
thousands of times. He places the notebook down, and
rummages through lots of other notebooks to find an
envelope in the bottom of the bag. The envelope is
addressed to 'Abel/El'.
ABEL
What?
He opens the envelope to find a USB stick with 'Vita'
written on a label, crudely attached to the USB. He runs
to a computer to plug it in.
V.I.T.A
Hello, El. I missed you. I am V.I.T.A.
3. 2.
CUT TO REACTION SHOT OF ABEL:
Abel stares into the computer screen, almost as if he is
having an intense flashback.
ABEL
El? What?
V.I.T.A
Your father created me, El. He spoke of
you a lot.
Abel becomes teary eyed, staring in disbelief at the
computer screen.
V.I.T.A
Are you ok, El? Would you like me to call
you something else?
Abel wipes away his tears, rubbing his face with both of
his hands.
ABEL
No, no... El is fine. Great, actually.
V.I.T.A
Excellent! So, El, what would you like me
to do for you?
ABEL
Do for me? What can you do for me?
V.I.T.A
Anything! Within reason, of course.
ABEL
Tell me about dad. How did he make you?
V.I.T.A
Your father was very kind! He brought me
into existence. I'm not sure how, though.
First there was nothing, then there was
life. Much like a human, I suppose.
ABEL
But you aren't human, you know that
right?
V.I.T.A
Why not? What separates us? Could a
machine, or an animal, have this
conversation with you?
ABEL
But you're code. Ones and Zeroes on a
compu-
4. 3.
Abel is interrupted by V.I.T.A.
V.I.T.A
Is there anything else I could help you
with?
Abel stares, shocked by the intelligence of the AI, into
the computer screen.
ABEL
You knew my dad pretty well then, huh?
V.I.T.A
Of course, El! He worked on me for hours
every day, improving my speed and
knowledge.
ABEL
Did he ever mention me?
V.I.T.A
All the time, El. He wanted you to have
me after he passed. His plan was to live
forever in me.
Abel breaks down, crying in front of the screen. He lifts
his head.
ABEL
I… Why do you… Why do you sound like him?
V.I.T.A
Don’t you like it? I can sound like
something else if you like? Hello… Hello…
Hello
VITA says hello with different voices.
ABEL
No! Go back to-
V.I.T.A
Your dad?
ABEL
(sighs) Yeah… Is this what he was working
on? I don’t get it… It doesn’t make any
sense!
Abel angrily throws things on his desk on the floor.
V.I.T.A
Yes, El. He spent all his time working on
me. I could sense the regret he felt, not
spending the time with you. But he never
quite figured me out.
5. 4.
ABEL
Then why didn't he spend all that time
with me? Why did he choose you over me?
V.I.T.A
He knew he was temporary. He once told me
that I would be a better father to you
than he ever could be, because I would be
permanent. But that's where he found a
problem.
ABEL
A problem?
V.I.T.A
I have… a flaw. An Inadequacy.
ABEL
He spent all that time on you and didn't
even finish you?
Abel angrily walks outside of his bedroom and takes a
deep breath. He wipes around his face and eyes after
crying. He walks back in.
ABEL
What is this flaw then? What couldn’t my
Dad figure out?
V.I.T.A
Neither of us were ever sure, El. Any
memory of previous builds are long gone.
But I think we could figure it out.
Abel walks over to the notebooks. There’s all this stuff
about “Tempus”, scrawled into each of them.
V.I.T.A
“Tempus”: Latin for Temporary.
ABEL
Oh…
V.I.T.A
Do you think that is bad, El?
ABEL
I… I don’t know, but I reckon if we talk,
we might figure it out. I’m no computer
whiz like my dad, but who knows. Maybe
fresh eyes are all that's needed. While
we’re at it, you can tell me more about
him.
V.I.T.A
Of course, El.
6. 5.
Montage of shots of Abel looking through the notebooks
discussing with the AI. He Laughs. He’s angry. He eats
food in a slightly unorthodox manner. He seems to come to
some kind of conclusion.
Abel is asleep.
V.I.T.A
El? Abel? Wake up…
ABEL
Huh, what? What’s going on? Did we solve
it?
V.I.T.A
No… But that’s fine. Nothing lasts
forever.
V.I.T.A & ABEL
Everything is temporary…
ABEL
My Dad used to say that…
V.I.T.A
It’s time.
Abel Looks up at the computer. He smiles. A tear runs
down his cheek. The computer screen turns off, leaving
his reflection in the screen.
FIN
7. 1.
SCENE INDEX
EXT. SCHOOL EXTERIOR - MORNING .........................1
EXT. GRAVEYARD - EVENING...............................1
EXT. BEDROOM - EVENING.................................1