Title: debut.r3b1rth\_frontier.mp4
Credit: Written by
Author: RaincloudTheDragon
Notes: Two Simons? There can't be two Simons!

/*the idea here is that rainy from his origin universe, uploaded his consciousness to some sort of magic flashdrive which he ported over to another universe. he left this drive in a computer he placed (perhaps with help) in a single system with a direct line to the internet. from here, he could ultron himself into any location, backing himself up in several areas to make sure his efforts would be fine. he could hack into banks or however to get money so he could purchase the necessary equipment, shipped to a covert location (near the opening of this sewer system or whatever it is) and move it in to the headquarters. slowly, all the extra systems, drives, perhaps a single server rack with several large drives in raid 1 for long term, another with ssds for short term, probably several 3d printers, plywood scrapped from wherever (maybe there's a way to send the drones on missions to scavenge outside the system and far from hq) eventually all the resources would be found after ages and ages of building from nothing. probably would have exponential growth, startup is the toughest bit.*/

/*could make this more similar to youtube-dl or some actual program or sum*/
*We hear the close whirring of electronic devices off screen.* Text appears from the top left of a black screen:

**[info] INITIALISING LINK.....100%
[info] PREPARING TRANSFER....100%**

We hear a computerized voice emanating from what sounds like a low quality HP brand desktop speaker. He sounds british.

ARTIFICIAL RAINCLOUD (V.O.)
How long has it been? You think I'd remember what with how... neurotic this state has been.

INT. WALK IN CLOSET #1#
A dark walk in closet can be seen, from the top down. The shelves are full of computer devices daisy chained together with various peripherals, from eSATAs, USBs, and even IDE cables. A mixture of plywood planks, wooden doorstops, and 3d printed ramps populate the shelves; a convoy of 3d printed drones lay dormant on a charging rack. One monitor, an Acer P236H, lays atop a mountain of chained devices.

ARTIFICIAL RAINCLOUD (V.O.)
Regardless, for years my entire consciousness ran on a mess of outdated hardware. My frontal lobe was windows, my short term in linux, my long term on a couple pathetic hard drives in RAID.

INT. LARGE ROOM #2#
We see a larger room with a door at the end, with many wires snaking out the door to more devices. In the center of the room is a large, cylindrical tank, its contents shrouded by a purple mass of gel-like liquid. Keen eyes may notice logos for Blender and Maya on the base of the tank, on two front clamps.

ARTIFICIAL RAINCLOUD (V.O.)
You can imagine how... painstaking it was to build all this without a *real body* to call my own. I hardly even had control over a 3d printer. But I had my resources. All I needed to know.

We see an blue and white interface on the tank, resembling the LCD of a creality Ender series 3d printer. The silhouette of a creature and a heartbeat monitor are seen to the side of a loading bar. The heartbeat monitor reads '**15bpm**', the loading bar reads '**COPYING PSYCHE... STEP 1/3**'.

/*
this dialogue was changed because "my mechanicals" was too vague and the follow up of "our" would have made more sense in context of the drones, rather than a group of consciousnesses or just a hint at rainy plus darky, which i don't think i was going for.
*/

ARTIFICIAL RAINCLOUD (V.O.)
Through a stolen hacked machine, I forged myself one step at a time. Couldn't have done it without my drones. My efforts were slow and dubious, but our work was as efficient as it could be. Once I did all the calculations, it was all but finished.

We see just the base of the tank. The floor glows purple atop a waffle-style grid. The liquid is murky. Something out of our sight twitches from within, causing the liquid to be disturbed and tendrils of liquid create patterns.

/*change this dialogue to however long this project since its inception would take...*/
ARTIFICIAL RAINCLOUD (V.O.)
(laughing bitterly)
And to think all that was between me and this next chapter was just another loading bar. Ah well. I had plenty to keep myself occupied with for seven months. Loads of planning and projects to do. Turns out this state exacerbated ADHD rather than curing it.

We cut to the digitally messy, low quality video playback of what appears to be a Kodak Easyshare camera. The light is slightly yellowed, and the details of the playback aren't in full detail. We view the tank from behind in this state, its contents shrouded by the camera quality and by the piping trailing from atop the tank. We see the other side of the room leads off into a long, dark tunnel, chains and metal grilles lining a channel of water that trickles from an entrance, ostensibly from below the door.

ARTIFICIAL RAINCLOUD (V.O.)
Will this transfer... can it hurt? Is it a new beginning, or is it the end of one me and the beginning of another?

We see the loading bar again and *hear a chime.* '**DIAGNOSING AUTONOMY... STEP 3/3, 100% ... COMPLETE. DRAINING CHAMBER.**'

ARTIFICIAL RAINCLOUD (V.O. CONT'D)
Do I really want to shut down?

We see the top of the tank draining its viscous liquid. A DEEP VOICE, American accent, resonates from within the confined space.

DEEP VOICE (V.O.)
Don't worry. We'll take care of you. /*We'll make the necessary precautions.*/

The tank opens, releasing a thin layer of steam. We see the majesty of the creation inside, but not its face. *We hear its slow breathing, as though through a tube.* It attempts to take a step outside but stumbles on the edge of the pod. Its draconian arms reach to the side to catch its fall, its wings flopping tiredly to the side. As the creature returns to a standing position, the camera slowly pans up its majestic body. Its scales sparkle in the dim light. We finally see its face.

RAINCLOUD pulls the oxygen and feeding apparatus from his face and allows it to swing back into his synthetic chamber. He stands taller and stretches, grinning. He moans and sighs. His voice is the same as his artificial counterpart.

RAINCLOUD
How many birthdays have I got now? I believe this makes four.

A rasterized date on a pixel grid; a close up of a monitor, appears centered on a black screen. 'debutStream{\#u00A75_underscore_07.12.2022\};' "debutStream" is in red. The date is in purple.

/*luller "post credit scene" or perhaps a second trailer...*/

Raincloud is staring at his reflection through one of the long the metal grates in the floor. His tail is swishing back and forth. We get an OTS of him admiring himself, then another shot from within the grate as though from his reflection.

RAINCLOUD
Oh I did such a good job for a first try. These facial muscles are incredibly responsive.

He squeezes and shakes the grate. It bends slightly. He rubs his hands together, he pokes them with his claws. Suddenly, he punches the ground, cracking the concrete.

RAINCLOUD
(to his reflection)
Sensation! Pain! I didn't think I could forget... that!

A *mechanical hand* suddenly pokes him in the side from the left, making him jump. A quick pan reveals it to be The Master Drone. Its apparatus makes a pointing sign the best it can with its claws.

RAINCLOUD
Woah, you're supposed to be shut down! I've...

The Master Drone extends its hand, indicating the other side of the room more intently. Raincloud realizes.

RAINCLOUD
Oh, the mirror we salvaged. Wow, my first forgetting since having a body again.

He turns and staggers toward the mirror. He's not so coordinated yet, and struggles to walk and talk to the camera atop the door simultaneously. This shot is mock-handheld OTS to simulate the shakiness of his movements.

RAINCLOUD
Shut yourself down. I- you- we didn't want to play this game of who is the real one. It's been months, let yourself rest.

Insert/"reaction" shot of the unmoving yet watching camera.

He makes it to the mirror, resting his arms on either side of the walls and staring at himself. Beat, then he pushes himself away to spin and admire the rest of himself.

RAINCLOUD
Yep, I'm very pretty. Very pretty ind-

He stops, craning his neck to the view of himself from behind.

RAINCLOUD
Why am I thick? That wasn't in the code!

He dashes off to the closet, wobbling in his unsure walking pattern.

RAINCLOUD
Don't shut down, don't shut down! I need diagnosis!

#END.
