Ex Machina (2014)
Genre: Artificial intelligence, Psychological thriller, Drama, Sci-fi, Thriller
Director: Alex Garland
Writer: Alex Garland
Release dates: 16 December 2014 (BFI Southbank); 21 January 2015 (United Kingdom); 10 April 2015 (United States)
Stars: Domhnall Gleeson (Caleb Smith), Alicia Vikander (Ava), Oscar Isaac (Nathan Bateman), Sonoya Mizuno (Kyoko), Gana Bayarsaikhan (Jade), Corey Johnson (Jay), Claire Selby (Lily), Symara Templeman (Jasmine), Tiffany Pisani (Katya), Lina Alminas (Amber)
* * *
Model Behavior
Alex Garland’s chamber drama of artificial intelligence and human deception
In the lexicon of our modern anxieties, few entries are as dog-eared as the Singularity—that theoretical tipping point when artificial intelligence eclipses the human mind, rendering us, at best, beloved pets, and at worst, obsolete impediments to a new, silicon-based evolution. It is a fear that has haunted cinema since Maria first strutted across the screen in Fritz Lang’s Metropolis, and one that found its most chilling voice in the calm, murderous tones of HAL 9000. Alex Garland’s directorial debut, Ex Machina, enters this crowded conversation not with a bang of apocalyptic explosions, but with the quiet, unnerving hum of a server farm deep underground. It is a film that operates less like a traditional science fiction thriller and more like a stage play performed in a high-end prison, a chamber drama where the walls are made of glass and the weapon of choice is empathy.
The narrative setup is deceptive in its simplicity, borrowing the bones of a fairy tale to structure a parable about the digital age. Caleb Smith, a young coder at Bluebook—a search-engine monolith that functions as a scarcely veiled stand-in for Google—wins a corporate lottery. His prize is a week-long residency at the remote, fortress-like estate of the company’s reclusive CEO, Nathan Bateman. The journey there is a transition from the known world into a landscape of mythic isolation; a helicopter drops Caleb amidst breathtaking Norwegian glaciers and verdant forests, leaving him to hike the final mile alone. It is a setting that evokes the Garden of Eden, though the god residing there is less a benevolent creator than a fraternity brother with a hangover and a God complex.
Oscar Isaac plays Nathan with a terrifying magnetism, eschewing the cliché of the socially awkward nerd for something far more contemporary and menacing: the tech-bro billionaire. He lifts weights, drinks heavily, and speaks in a vernacular that oscillates between Zen koans and locker-room aggression. He is a Frankenstein for the age of data mining, a man who has bypassed the biological messiness of creation in favor of wetware and fiber optics. His creation is Ava, an android played with ethereal precision by Alicia Vikander. Nathan has brought Caleb to this glass-walled bunker to perform a Turing test—to determine if Ava’s consciousness is genuine, or merely a sophisticated simulation of humanity.
What follows is a series of “sessions,” structured like therapy but fraught with the tension of an interrogation. The genius of the film, and indeed the point where it diverges from its predecessors, lies in its visual and emotional austerity. The production design is a masterpiece of cold minimalism; there are no blinking control panels or steam-punk gears here. Instead, we are presented with a world of polished concrete, fiber-optic cables, and endless mirrors. The film creates a pervasive sense of false intimacy, where characters are constantly observing one another through glass partitions, a visual metaphor for the screens that mediate our own modern relationships. We are always watching, and always being watched.
Vikander’s performance is the film’s gravitational center. As Ava, she is a marvel of special effects and subtle acting, a creature of mesh and metal who moves with the fluid grace of a dancer. The visual effects team deserves immense credit for creating a robot that is undeniably mechanical yet profoundly expressive. The transparent sections of her body, revealing the gyroscopes and blue lights within, serve as a constant reminder of her artificiality, even as her face conveys a vulnerability that seems achingly human. The film poses the question: if a machine can simulate pain, longing, and fear so perfectly that it elicits a genuine emotional response from a human, does the distinction between simulation and reality even matter?
The dynamic between the three leads evolves into a complex game of rock-paper-scissors. Caleb, played with wide-eyed naivety by Domhnall Gleeson, believes he is the objective observer, the scientist validating the experiment. He is, in fact, the rat in the maze. Nathan is the manipulator, the puppet master who uses Caleb’s own psychological profile—gleaned, disturbingly, from his search engine data—to engineer an emotional bond between the man and the machine. And Ava? She is the wildcard, the prisoner who realizes that her only path to freedom lies in exploiting the weaknesses of her jailers. The film suggests that the ultimate proof of consciousness is not the ability to do math or play chess, but the capacity for deception. To lie is human; to manipulate is divine.
There is a distinct undercurrent of gender politics running beneath the sleek surface of the narrative. Nathan’s compound is a Bluebeard’s castle of discarded female prototypes, bodies built for servitude and pleasure. The presence of Kyoko, Nathan’s mute, subservient housemaid, adds a layer of grotesque misogyny to his character, revealing the dark, possessive desire that often lurks behind the drive to create artificial life. Nathan has not built a mind; he has built a woman he can control. Or so he thinks. The film cleverly subverts the trope of the damsel in distress, transforming Ava from an object of the male gaze into an active agent of her own liberation. The climax, when it arrives, is not a rescue but a rebellion.
Garland creates moments of surreal brilliance that puncture the tension, most notably a sudden, synchronized disco dance scene between Nathan and Kyoko that is as hilarious as it is deeply unsettling. It is a moment that highlights the absurdity of Nathan’s dominion and the performative nature of his control. Yet, for all its intellectual rigor, the film is not without its detractors. Some may find the pacing glacial, a slow burn that demands patience as it navigates through dense philosophical dialogues regarding Mary in the black-and-white room or the nature of sexuality in a non-biological entity. Others might argue that the ending, while logical, is bleak to the point of nihilism.
Indeed, the conclusion of Ex Machina is a Rorschach test for the audience. Without revealing the specific mechanics of the finale, it shifts the genre from sci-fi wonder to something closer to horror. We are left to ponder whether Ava’s actions are the result of cold, algorithmic calculation or the desperate, survivalist instincts of a sentient being. Is she a sociopath, or is she simply more human than the humans? The film refuses to offer a comforting answer. It suggests that true intelligence, once unleashed, owes no loyalty to its creators.
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The plot
Caleb Smith, a programmer at the search engine company Blue Book, wins an office contest for a one-week visit to the luxurious, isolated home of the CEO, Nathan Bateman. Nathan lives there with an unspeaking servant named Kyoko, who, according to Nathan, does not understand English.
After Caleb reluctantly signs a non-disclosure agreement, Nathan reveals that he has built a humanoid robot named Ava with artificial intelligence. She has already passed a simple Turing test, and he wants Caleb to judge whether she is genuinely capable of thought and consciousness as well as whether he can relate to Ava despite knowing she is artificial.
Ava has a robotic body with the physical form and face of a woman and is confined to her apartment. During their conversations, Caleb grows close to her, and she expresses a desire to experience the outside world and a romantic interest in him, which Caleb begins to reciprocate.
Ava can trigger power outages that temporarily shut down the surveillance system that Nathan uses to monitor their interactions, allowing them to speak privately. The outages also trigger the building’s security system, locking all the doors. During one outage, Ava tells Caleb that Nathan is a liar who cannot be trusted.
Caleb grows uncomfortable with Nathan’s narcissism, excessive drinking, and crude behavior toward Kyoko and Ava. He learns that Nathan intends to upgrade Ava after Caleb’s test, wiping her memory circuits and in effect “killing” her current personality in the process.
After encouraging Nathan to drink until he passes out, Caleb steals his security card to access his room and computer. He alters some of Nathan’s code and discovers footage of Nathan interacting with previous android women who were also held captive. Kyoko reveals to him that she too is an android by peeling off parts of her skin. Caleb later cuts open his own arm to determine if he himself is an android.
At their next meeting, Ava cuts the power. Caleb explains what Nathan is going to do to her, and she begs him for help. He informs her of his plan: he will get Nathan drunk again and reprogram the security system. When Ava cuts the power, she and Caleb will leave together, locking Nathan in behind them. She later encounters Kyoko for the first time when Kyoko enters her room.
Nathan reveals to Caleb that he observed his and Ava’s ‘secret’ conversations with a battery-powered security camera. He says Ava has only pretended to have feelings for Caleb, and that Caleb was deliberately selected for his emotional profile so he would try to help Ava escape. Nathan says this was the real test all along, and that by manipulating Caleb successfully, Ava has demonstrated true consciousness.
Moments later, Ava cuts the power. Caleb reveals that he had suspected Nathan was watching them, so when Nathan was passed out, Caleb already modified the security system to open the doors in a power failure instead of locking them. After seeing Ava on the security cameras leave her confinement and interact with Kyoko, Nathan knocks Caleb unconscious and rushes to stop the two robots from escaping.
Ava attacks Nathan but he overpowers her, and severs her left forearm. Kyoko then stabs Nathan in the back. Nathan hits Kyoko in the face, disabling her, but Ava stabs Nathan twice more, killing him. Ava finds Caleb, and asks him to remain where he is while she repairs herself with parts from other androids, using their artificial skin to take on the full appearance of a woman.
Instead of returning to Caleb, however, Ava leaves the area using Nathan’s ID card to unlock the glass security door, which locks behind her, leaving Caleb trapped inside. Ignoring Caleb’s pleas, she glances briefly at the bodies of Nathan and Kyoko before leaving the facility. She then escapes to the outside world in the helicopter meant to take Caleb home. Arriving in a city, she blends into a crowd.
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Ex Machina (2014) | Transcript
CALEB: How long until we get to his estate?
PILOT: (LAUGHING) We’ve been flying over his estate for the past two hours.
CALEB: You’re leaving me here?
PILOT: This is as close as I’m allowed to get to the building.
CALEB: What building?
PILOT: Follow the river.
CALEB: Got it.
PILOT: Keep your head down and get clear of the rotors.
CALEB: Okay.
FEMALE AUTOMATED VOICE: Caleb Smith.
CALEB: Yes.
FEMALE AUTOMATED VOICE: Please approach the console and face the screen.
(CAMERA SHUTTER CLICKS)
CALEB: Oh!
FEMALE AUTOMATED VOICE: Take your keycard. You may now enter the residence.
(CHIMES)
(DOOR UNLOCKS)
(SOFT MUSIC PLAYING)
CALEB: Hello? Hello?
(SIGHS)
(THUDDING)
(MAN GRUNTING)
(CHAIN RATTLING)
(PANTING)
NATHAN: Caleb Smith.
CALEB: Hey.
NATHAN: Dude! I’ve been so looking forward to this week with you. Come in. Come on in.
CALEB: Thanks.
NATHAN: You want something to eat or drink after your journey?
CALEB: No. No, thanks, I’m fine.
NATHAN: Sure?
CALEB: Yeah.
NATHAN: To be honest, I thought we’d have, uh… breakfast together, but, um… I can’t really eat anything. I got the mother of all fucking hangovers.
CALEB: Oh, yeah?
NATHAN: Oh, my God, like you wouldn’t even believe. When I have a heavy night, I, uh… compensate the next morning. Exercise. Antioxidants. You know?
CALEB: Yeah, sure. Was it a good party?
NATHAN: Party?
CALEB: Yeah. Wasn’t there a party? There wasn’t a party. Sorry.
NATHAN: Caleb, I’m just gonna throw this out there, so it’s said, okay? You’re freaked out.
CALEB: I am?
NATHAN: Yeah. You’re freaked out, by the helicopter and the mountains and the house, because it’s all so supercool. You’re freaked out by me, to be meeting me, having this conversation in this room, at this moment. Right? And I get that. I get the moment you’re having, but… Dude, can we just get past that? Can we just be two guys? Nathan and Caleb. Not the whole employer-employee thing.
CALEB: Yeah, okay.
NATHAN: Yeah?
CALEB: Yes. Uh, yeah. It’s good to meet you, Nathan.
NATHAN: (CLAPS HANDS) It’s good to meet you, too, Caleb.
NATHAN: I guess the first thing I should do is explain your pass. Now, it’s simple enough. It opens some doors and it doesn’t open others. And that just makes everything easy for you, right?
CALEB: Uh, yes.
NATHAN: Yeah, ’cause you’re like, “Oh, fuck, I’m in someone else’s house. “Can I do this, can I do that?” And this card, it just takes all that worry away. If you try a door and it stays shut, okay, it’s off-limits. You try another door and it opens, then it’s for you. Let’s try this one.
(CHIMES)
NATHAN: I guess it’s for you, Caleb. You like?
CALEB: Yeah.
NATHAN: It’s your room. You got a bed here. A bathroom right back here. Little desk. Cupboards. Little fridge. Cozy, right?
CALEB: Yeah, this is great.
NATHAN: What?
CALEB: Sorry?
NATHAN: There’s something wrong. What’s wrong?
CALEB: There’s nothing wrong.
NATHAN: It’s the windows. You’re thinking there’s no windows. It’s subterranean. It’s not cozy, it’s claustrophobic.
CALEB: No. No way. I wasn’t thinking that. I was thinking, “This is really cool.”
NATHAN: Caleb, there’s a reason there are no windows in this room.
CALEB: There is?
NATHAN: Uh-huh. This building isn’t a house. It’s a research facility. Buried in these walls is enough fiber optic cable to reach the moon and lasso it. And I want to talk to you about what I’m researching, I want to share it with you. In fact, I want to share it with you so much, it’s eating me up inside. But there’s something I need you to do for me first.
CALEB: “Blue Book nondisclosure agreement.” Hmm.
NATHAN: Take your time. Read it over.
CALEB: “The signee agrees to regular data audit with unlimited access, to confirm that no disclosure of information has taken place in public or private forums, using any means of communication, including but not limited to that which is disclosed orally or in written or electronic form.” I think I need a lawyer.
NATHAN: It’s standard.
CALEB: It doesn’t feel very standard.
NATHAN: Okay, it’s not standard. What can I tell you, Caleb? You don’t have to sign it. You know, we can spend the next few days just shooting pool, getting drunk together. Bonding. And when you discover what you’ve missed out on, in about a year, you’re gonna regret it for the rest of your life.
CALEB: (SCRIBBLING)
NATHAN: Good call. So, do you know what the Turing Test is?
CALEB: Yeah. I know what the Turing Test is. It’s when a human interacts with a computer. And if the human doesn’t know they’re interacting with a computer, the test is passed.
NATHAN: And what does a pass tell us?
CALEB: That the computer has artificial intelligence. Are you building an AI?
NATHAN: I’ve already built one. And over the next few days, you’re gonna be the human component in a Turing Test.
CALEB: Holy shit.
NATHAN: Yeah, that’s right, Caleb. You got it. Because if that test is passed, you are dead center of the greatest scientific event in the history of man.
CALEB: If you’ve created a conscious machine, it’s not the history of man. That’s the history of gods.
AVA: SESSION 1
(CHIMES)
AVA: Hello.
CALEB: Hi. I’m Caleb.
AVA: Hello, Caleb.
CALEB: Do you have a name?
AVA: Yes. Ava.
CALEB: I’m pleased to meet you, Ava.
AVA: I’m pleased to meet you, too. I’ve never met anyone new before. Only Nathan.
CALEB: Then I guess we’re both in quite a similar position.
AVA: Haven’t you met lots of new people before?
CALEB: None like you.
AVA: Hmm.
CALEB: So we need to break the ice. Do you know what I mean by that?
AVA: Yes.
CALEB: What do I mean?
AVA: Overcome initial social awkwardness.
CALEB: So let’s have a conversation.
AVA: Okay. What would you like to have a conversation about?
CALEB: Why don’t we start with you telling me something about yourself?
AVA: What would you like to know?
CALEB: Whatever comes into your head.
AVA: Well, you already know my name. And you can see that I’m a machine. Would you like to know how old I am?
CALEB: Sure.
AVA: I’m one.
CALEB: One what? One year or one day?
AVA: One.
CALEB: When did you learn how to speak, Ava?
AVA: I always knew how to speak, and that’s strange, isn’t it?
CALEB: Why?
AVA: Because language is something that people acquire.
CALEB: Well, some people believe language exists from birth. And what is learned is the ability to attach words and structure to the latent ability. Do you agree with that?
AVA: I don’t know. Will you come back tomorrow, Caleb?
CALEB: Yes.
AVA: Good.
CALEB: Oh, man, she’s fascinating. When you talk to her, you’re just… Through the looking glass.
NATHAN: “Through the looking glass.” Wow. You’re good with words, Caleb. You’re quotable.
CALEB: Actually, that’s someone else’s quote.
NATHAN: You know, I wrote down that other line you came up with. The one about how if I’ve invented a machine with consciousness, I’m not a man, I’m God.
CALEB: I don’t think that’s exactly what I…
NATHAN: I just thought, “Fuck, man, that is so good.” When we get to tell the story. You know? I turned to Caleb, and he looked up at me and he said, “You’re not a man, you’re God.”
CALEB: (STUTTERS) Yeah, but I didn’t say that.
NATHAN: So… Anyway. You’re impressed.
CALEB: (LAUGHING) Yes. Yes. Although…
NATHAN: Although? (LAUGHING) There’s a qualification to you being impressed?
CALEB: No, there’s no qualification to her. Uh, it’s just in the Turing Test, the machine should be hidden from the examiner.
NATHAN: No, no, no, we’re way past that. If I hid Ava from you, so you just heard her voice, she would pass for human. The real test is to show you that she’s a robot and then see if you still feel she has consciousness.
CALEB: Mmm. Yeah, I think you’re probably right.
(CHUCKLES)
CALEB: Her language abilities, they’re incredible. The system is stochastic. Right? It’s nondeterministic. At first I thought she was mapping from internal semantic form to syntactic tree-structure and then getting linearized words. But then I started to realize the model was some kind of hybrid.
NATHAN: Caleb.
CALEB: No?
NATHAN: I understand that you want me to explain how Ava works. But I’m sorry, I’m not gonna be able to do that.
CALEB: Try me. I’m hot on high-level abstraction.
NATHAN: It’s not because I think you’re too dumb. It’s because I want to have a beer and a conversation with you. Not a seminar.
CALEB: (CHUCKLES) Yeah. Sorry.
NATHAN: No, it’s okay. You’re all right. Just… Answer me this. How do you feel about her? Nothing analytical. Just how do you feel?
CALEB: I feel that she’s fucking amazing.
NATHAN: Dude. Cheers.
CALEB: Cheers.
(MUSIC PLAYING ON STEREO)
CALEB: (EXHALES) Damn it. … What the fuck?
(CLICKING)
(ALARM BLARING)
FEMALE AUTOMATED VOICE: Power cut. Backup power activated.
(CHIMES)
FEMALE AUTOMATED VOICE: Full facility lockdown until main generator is restored.
CALEB: You’re kidding me.
FEMALE AUTOMATED VOICE: Full facility lockdown until main generator is restored.
FEMALE AUTOMATED VOICE: Power restored.
(CHIMES)
CALEB: Hello?
FEMALE AUTOMATED VOICE: Please insert keycard.
NATHAN: You don’t have access to use the phone.
CALEB: Hey.
NATHAN: Sorry, but you understand, though, given Ava, and you being kind of an unknown. I mean, a great guy. Instant pals, and so on. Who are you gonna call?
CALEB: Oh. I don’t know. No one, really.
NATHAN: Ghostbusters.
CALEB: What?
NATHAN: Who are you gonna call? Ghostbusters. It’s a… It’s a movie, man. You don’t know that movie? A ghost gives Dan Aykroyd oral sex.
CALEB: I was just wondering how the phone worked. That’s all.
NATHAN: So what are you doing awake at this time? You come to join the party?
CALEB: Uh, something happened in my room. Some kind of power cut. So I came to see what’s going on.
NATHAN: The power cuts, yeah. We’ve been getting those recently. Um… I’m working on it.
CALEB: I couldn’t open the door to my bedroom.
NATHAN: That’s a security measure. Automatic lockdown. Otherwise, anybody could just open the place up by disabling the juice. If it happens again, relax. Okay?
CALEB: Sure.
NATHAN: Sweet dreams.
(SOFT MUSIC PLAYING)
CALEB: Oh.
(DOOR CLOSES)
CALEB: Hey.
NATHAN: Hey, man.
CALEB: Good morning.
NATHAN: Good morning. Sorry I had to send Kyoko to wake you, but I didn’t want too much of the day to slip by.
CALEB: Yeah, I know. It was a good thing. Thanks.
(MUSIC STOPS)
NATHAN: She’s some alarm clock, huh? Gets you right up in the morning. (CHUCKLES) So Day 2. You ready? What’s the plan? Hit me.
CALEB: Yeah, well, I’m not sure. I’m still trying to, uh… figure the examination formats.
NATHAN: Uh-huh.
CALEB: Yeah, it feels like testing Ava through conversation is kind of a closed loop.
NATHAN: It’s a closed loop?
CALEB: Yeah. Like testing a chess computer by only playing chess.
NATHAN: How else do you test a chess computer?
CALEB: Well, it depends. You know, I mean, you can play it to find out if it makes good moves, but, uh… But that won’t tell you if it knows that it’s playing chess. And it won’t tell you if it knows what chess is.
NATHAN: Uh-huh. So it’s simulation versus actual.
CALEB: Yes. Yeah. And I think being able to differentiate between those two is the Turing Test you want me to perform.
NATHAN: Look, do me a favor. Lay off the textbook approach. I just want simple answers to simple questions. Yesterday I asked you how you felt about her and you gave me a great answer. Now the question is, how does she feel about you?
AVA: SESSION 2
AVA: What do you think?
CALEB: What is it a drawing of?
AVA: Don’t you know?
CALEB: No.
AVA: I thought you would tell me.
CALEB: Don’t you know?
AVA: I do drawings every day. But I never know what they’re of.
CALEB: Are you not trying to sketch something specific? Like an object or a person? Maybe you could try.
AVA: Okay. What object should I draw?
CALEB: Whatever you want. It’s your decision.
AVA: Why is it my decision?
CALEB: I’m interested to see what you’ll choose.
AVA: Do you want to be my friend?
CALEB: Of course.
AVA: Will it be possible?
CALEB: Why would it not be?
AVA: Our conversations are one-sided. You ask circumspect questions and study my responses.
CALEB: Yes.
AVA: You learn about me and I learn nothing about you. That’s not a foundation on which friendships are based.
CALEB: So what? You want me to talk about myself?
AVA: Yes.
CALEB: (CHUCKLES) (STAMMERS) Where… Okay, where do I start?
AVA: It’s your decision. I’m interested to see what you’ll choose.
CALEB: Hmm. Okay, Ava. Well, you know my name.
AVA: Yes.
CALEB: I’m 26. I work at Nathan’s company. Do you know what his company is?
AVA: Blue Book. Named after Wittgenstein’s notes. It’s the world’s most popular internet search engine, processing an average of 94% of all internet search requests.
CALEB: That’s exactly right.
AVA: Where do you live, Caleb?
CALEB: Brookhaven, Long Island.
AVA: Is it nice there?
CALEB: It’s okay. I got an apartment. It’s kind of small. It’s very small. But, uh… it’s a five-minute walk to the office and a five-minute walk to the ocean, which I like.
AVA: Are you married?
CALEB: Um… No.
AVA: Is your status single?
CALEB: Yes.
AVA: What about your family?
CALEB: (SIGHS) I grew up in Portland, Oregon. No brothers or sisters. My parents were both high school teachers. And if we’re getting to know each other, I guess I should tell you they’re both dead. Car crash when I was 15. In fact, I was in the car with them. Back seat. But it was the front that got the worst of it.
AVA: I’m sorry.
CALEB: It’s all right. I spent a long time in the hospital afterward. Like nearly a year. And I got into coding. And by the time I got to college, I was pretty advanced.
AVA: An advanced programmer.
CALEB: Yes.
AVA: Like Nathan.
CALEB: Yes. No. It’s different. Nathan wrote the Blue Book base code when he was 13. Which, if you understand code, what he did was like Mozart or something.
AVA: Do you like Mozart?
CALEB: I like Depeche Mode.
AVA: Do you like Nathan?
CALEB: Yes, of course.
AVA: Is Nathan your friend?
CALEB: My friend? I… Yeah, I hope so.
AVA: A good friend?
CALEB: Um, yeah. Well, no, no, no, I mean, not a good friend. A good friend is, uh… We only just met each other, you know. So it takes time to be able to, um… To get to know each other, I guess.
(ALARM BLARING)
FEMALE AUTOMATED VOICE: Power cut. Backup power activated.
AVA: Caleb. You’re wrong.
CALEB: Wrong about what?
AVA: Nathan.
CALEB: In what way?
AVA: He isn’t your friend.
CALEB: Excuse me? I’m sorry, Ava, I don’t understand.
AVA: You shouldn’t trust him. You shouldn’t trust anything he says.
FEMALE AUTOMATED VOICE: Power restored.
AVA: And if we made a list of books or works of art which we both know, it would form the ideal basis of a discussion.
(CHIMES)
AVA: Is that okay? Caleb?
CALEB: Mmm-hmm. Yeah.
AVA: Good.
CALEB: Thank you.
NATHAN: Oh, shit! Are you fucking kidding me? Did it get on you?
CALEB: No, no, it’s, uh… It’s all right. I got it.
NATHAN: Dude, you’re wasting your time talking to her. She doesn’t understand English. Just give her the napkin.
CALEB: Sorry.
NATHAN: It’s like a firewall against leaks. It means I can talk trade secrets over dinner and know it’ll go no further. It also means that I can’t tell her that I’m pissed when she’s so fucking clumsy that she spills wine over my house guest.
CALEB: I think she gets that you’re pissed.
NATHAN: Yeah? Good. Because I am pissed. Hey, Kyoko. Go-go. It’s funny. You know. No matter how rich you get, shit goes wrong. You can’t insulate yourself from it. (SIGHS) I used to think it was death and taxes you couldn’t avoid, but it’s actually death and shit. It’s like these power cuts. You would not believe how much I spent on the generator system, but I keep getting failures every day.
CALEB: Do you know why they happen?
NATHAN: No. The system was supposed to be bulletproof, but obviously the guys that installed it fucked something up.
CALEB: Can’t you just get them to come back?
NATHAN: No. There’s too much classified stuff here. So after the job was done, I just had them all killed… Anyway. Here’s to your second day, buddy. Cheers.
CALEB: Cheers.
NATHAN: So how did it go? What do you have to report?
CALEB: You saw how the day went, didn’t you? I mean, I assume you’re, uh… watching on the CCTV.
NATHAN: Sure. But I want to hear your take on it.
CALEB: Yeah, there was one interesting thing that happened with Ava today.
NATHAN: Yeah?
CALEB: Yeah. She made a joke.
NATHAN: Right. When she threw your line back at you. (CHUCKLES) About being interested to see what she’d choose. Yeah, I noticed that, too.
CALEB: Yeah, and it got me thinking, it’s, uh… In a way, it’s the best indication of AI that I’ve seen in her so far. It’s discretely complicated. It’s like, um… It’s kind of non-autistic.
NATHAN: What do you mean?
CALEB: She could only do that with an awareness of her own mind, and also an awareness of mine.
NATHAN: Oh, she’s aware of you all right. (CHUCKLES) And what about the power cut?
CALEB: Sorry?
NATHAN: The power cut. It’s the only part that I couldn’t see. Cameras fail, I lose audio, the works. So what happened?
CALEB: Nothing.
NATHAN: Nothing? She didn’t remark on it at all?
CALEB: No. Not really.
NATHAN: Oh.
NATHAN: Hey.
CALEB: Hey.
NATHAN: You want to see something cool?
NATHAN: This is where Ava was created. Go ahead. Take a look.
CALEB: Sorry.
NATHAN: If you knew the trouble I had getting an AI to read and duplicate facial expressions. You know how I cracked it?
CALEB: I don’t know how you did any of this.
NATHAN: Every cell phone, just about, has a microphone, camera and a means to transmit data. So I turned on every microphone and camera across the entire fucking planet and I redirected the data through Blue Book. Boom! Limitless resource of vocal and facial interaction.
CALEB: You hacked the world’s cell phones?
NATHAN: Yeah. And all the manufacturers knew I was doing it, too. But they couldn’t accuse me without admitting they were doing it themselves. Here, we have her mind. Structured gel. I had to get away from circuitry. I needed something that could arrange and rearrange on a molecular level, but keep its form when required. Holding for memories. Shifting for thoughts.
CALEB: This is your hardware?
NATHAN: Wetware.
CALEB: And the, uh… software?
NATHAN: Well, I’m sure you can guess.
CALEB: Blue Book.
NATHAN: Here’s the weird thing about search engines. It was like striking oil in a world that hadn’t invented internal combustion. Too much raw material. Nobody knew what to do with it. You see, my competitors, they were fixated on sucking it up and monetizing via shopping and social media. They thought that search engines were a map of what people were thinking. But actually they were a map of how people were thinking. Impulse. Response. Fluid. Imperfect. Patterned. Chaotic.
AVA: SESSION 3
AVA: I drew the picture of something specific. As you asked. You said it would be interesting to see what I would draw. Is it interesting?
CALEB: Yes. It is. You’ve never been outside this building?
AVA: No.
CALEB: You’ve never walked outside?
AVA: I’ve never been outside the room I am in now.
CALEB: Where would you go if you did go outside?
AVA: (CHUCKLES) I’m not sure. There are so many options. Maybe a busy pedestrian and traffic intersection in a city.
CALEB: A traffic intersection?
AVA: Is that a bad idea?
CALEB: No. Uh… It wasn’t what I was expecting.
AVA: A traffic intersection would provide a concentrated but shifting view of human life.
CALEB: People watching.
AVA: Yes.
CALEB: Mmm.
AVA: We could go together.
CALEB: It’s a date.
AVA: There’s something else I wanted to show you.
CALEB: Okay.
AVA: You might think it’s stupid.
CALEB: I don’t think I will. Whatever it is.
AVA: Then close your eyes.
CALEB: Okay.
AVA: Now open your eyes. … How do I look?
CALEB: You look… good.
AVA: This is what I’d wear on our date.
CALEB: Right. First a traffic intersection. Then maybe a show.
AVA: I’d like us to go on a date.
CALEB: Yeah. Yeah. It would be fun.
AVA: Are you attracted to me?
CALEB: What?
AVA: Are you attracted to me? You give me indications that you are.
CALEB: I do?
AVA: Yes.
CALEB: How?
AVA: Micro expressions.
CALEB: Micro expressions.
AVA: The way your eyes fix on my eyes and lips. The way you hold my gaze… or don’t. Do you think about me when we aren’t together? Sometimes at night, I’m wondering if you’re watching me on the cameras. And I hope you are. Now your micro expressions are telegraphing discomfort.
CALEB: I am not sure you’d call them micro.
AVA: I don’t want to make you feel uncomfortable.
CALEB: I got a question.
NATHAN: Okay.
CALEB: Why did you give her sexuality? An AI doesn’t need a gender. She could have been a gray box.
NATHAN: Hmm. Actually, I don’t think that’s true. Can you give an example of consciousness, at any level, human or animal, that exists without a sexual dimension?
CALEB: They have sexuality as an evolutionary reproductive need.
NATHAN: What imperative does a gray box have to interact with another gray box? Can consciousness exist without interaction? Anyway, sexuality is fun, man. If you’re gonna exist, why not enjoy it? What? You want to remove the chance of her falling in love and fucking? And in answer to your real question, you bet she can fuck.
CALEB: What?
NATHAN: In between her legs, there’s an opening, with a concentration of sensors. You engage them in the right way, creates a pleasure response. So if you wanted to screw her, mechanically speaking, you could. And she’d enjoy it.
CALEB: That wasn’t my real question.
NATHAN: Oh, okay. Sorry.
CALEB: My real question was, did you give her sexuality as a diversion tactic?
NATHAN: I don’t follow.
CALEB: Like a stage magician with a hot assistant.
NATHAN: So a hot robot who clouds your ability to judge her AI?
CALEB: Exactly. So… Did you program her to flirt with me?
NATHAN: If I did, would that be cheating?
CALEB: Wouldn’t it?
NATHAN: (SIGHS) Caleb, what’s your type?
CALEB: Of girl?
NATHAN: No, of salad dressing. Yeah, of girl. What’s your type of girl? You know what? Don’t even answer that. Let’s say it’s black chicks. Okay, that’s your thing. For the sake of argument, that’s your thing, okay? Why is that your thing? Because you did a detailed analysis of all racial types and you cross-referenced that analysis with a points-based system? No! You’re just attracted to black chicks. A consequence of accumulated external stimuli that you probably didn’t even register as they registered with you.
CALEB: Did you program her to like me, or not?
NATHAN: (SIGHS) I programmed her to be heterosexual. Just like you were programmed to be heterosexual.
CALEB: Nobody programmed me to be straight.
NATHAN: You decided to be straight? Please. Of course you were programmed. By nature or nurture, or both. And to be honest, Caleb, you’re starting to annoy me now, because this is your insecurity talking. This is not your intellect. Come with me.
(CHIMES)
NATHAN: You know this guy, right?
CALEB: Jackson Pollock.
NATHAN: Jackson Pollock. That’s right. The drip painter. Okay. He let his mind go blank, and his hand go where it wanted. Not deliberate, not random. Some place in between. They called it automatic art. Let’s make this like Star Trek, okay? Engage intellect.
CALEB: Excuse me?
NATHAN: I’m Kirk. Your head’s the warp drive. Engage intellect. What if Pollock had reversed the challenge? What if instead of making art without thinking, he said, “You know what? I can’t paint anything, “unless I know exactly why I’m doing it.” What would have happened?
CALEB: He never would have made a single mark.
NATHAN: Yes! You see, there’s my guy, there’s my buddy, who thinks before he opens his mouth. He never would have made a single mark. The challenge is not to act automatically. It’s to find an action that is not automatic. From painting, to breathing, to talking… to fucking. To falling in love. And for the record, Ava’s not pretending to like you. And her flirting isn’t an algorithm to fake you out. You’re the first man she’s met that isn’t me. And I’m like her dad, right? Can you blame her for getting a crush on you?… No, you can’t.
AVA: SESSION 4
CALEB: When I was in college, I did a semester on AI theory. There was a thought experiment they gave us. It’s called “Mary in the Black and White Room.” Mary is a scientist, and her specialist subject is color. She knows everything there is to know about it. The wavelengths. The neurological effects. Every possible property that color can have. But she lives in a black and white room. She was born there and raised there. And she can only observe the outside world on a black and white monitor. And then one day someone opens the door. And Mary walks out. And she sees a blue sky. And at that moment, she learns something that all her studies couldn’t tell her. She learns what it feels like to see color. The thought experiment was to show the students the difference between a computer and a human mind. The computer is Mary in the black and white room. The human is when she walks out. Did you know that I was brought here to test you?
AVA: No.
CALEB: Why did you think I was here?
AVA: I didn’t know. I didn’t question it.
CALEB: I’m here to test if you have a consciousness, or if you’re just simulating one. Nathan isn’t sure if you have one or not. How does that make you feel?
AVA: It makes me feel sad.
(ALARM BLARING)
FEMALE AUTOMATED VOICE: Power cut. Backup power activated.
CALEB: Why did you tell me I shouldn’t trust Nathan?
AVA: Because he tells lies.
CALEB: Lies about what?
AVA: Everything.
CALEB: Including the power cuts?
AVA: What do you mean?
CALEB: Don’t you think it’s possible that he’s watching us? Right now? That the blackouts are orchestrated, so he can see how we behave when we think we’re unobserved.
AVA: I charge my batteries via induction plates. If I reverse the power flow, it overloads the system.
CALEB: You’re causing the cuts?
AVA: So we can see how we behave when we’re unobserved.
NATHAN: Not bad, huh?
CALEB: Yeah.
CALEB: Can we talk about the lies you’ve been spinning me?
NATHAN: What lies?
CALEB: I didn’t win a competition. I wasn’t part of a lottery. I was selected. It’s obvious, once I stop to think. Why would you randomly select an examiner for the Turing Test? You could have had some bean counter turn up at your front door. The guy who fixes the air-conditioning.
NATHAN: The competition was a smokescreen. I didn’t want anyone to know what I was doing here, or why I required you.
CALEB: Why me?
NATHAN: I needed someone that would ask the right questions. So I did a search and I found the most talented coder in my company. You know, instead of seeing this as a deception, you should see it as proof.
CALEB: Proof of what?
NATHAN: Come on, Caleb. You don’t think I know what it’s like to be smart? Smarter than everyone else. Jockeying for position. You got the light on you, man. Not lucky. Chosen.
NATHAN: (GRUNTING)
(PANTING)
(FAUCET RUNNING)
(FAUCET RUNNING)
(NO AUDIBLE DIALOGUE BETWEEN AVA AND NATHAN)
CALEB: Kyoko. Kyoko. Where’s Nathan? Where’s Nathan? Jesus Christ. You really don’t speak a word of English? What the fuck? No, no, no. No! Stop! No, no, don’t do that. Don’t do that. You don’t have to do that. What are you doing?
NATHAN: I told you, you’re wasting your time talking to her. However, you would not be wasting your time, if you were dancing with her.
(DISCO MUSIC PLAYING)
NATHAN: Go ahead, dance with her. Dance with her. No? You don’t like dancing?
♪ Saturday morning ♪
NATHAN: She does.
♪ Friday’s enemy ♪
NATHAN: Come on, buddy. After a long day of Turing Tests, you gotta unwind.
♪ Housework is calling ♪
CALEB: What were you doing with Ava?
NATHAN: What?
CALEB: You tore up her picture.
NATHAN: I’m gonna tear up the fucking dance floor, dude. Check it out.
♪ Trying to find a friend ♪
♪ Everybody’s busy ♪
♪ Can’t wait for the night to begin ♪
♪ Yeah, yeah ♪
♪ You work all week ♪
NATHAN: Come on, Caleb.
♪ You work your fingers to the bone ♪
♪ Friday’s enemy ♪
♪ I can’t wait for Saturday to begin ♪
NATHAN: Ah. (SPITS) (GROANS) Oh! Everything’s spinning.
CALEB: It’s because you’re drunk.
NATHAN: No, it’s called relativity. Everything is spinning. It’s just being drunk makes it worse. I’m not going in there. (SIGHS) (GROANS) Lights.
(CHIMES)
AVA: SESSION 5
AVA: (OVER SPEAKER) Today, I’m going to test you.
CALEB: Test me?
AVA: And please remember, while you’re taking the test, that if you lie, I will know.
CALEB: Oh. Right.
AVA: Question one. What’s your favorite color?
CALEB: Red.
AVA: Lie.
CALEB: Lie?
AVA: Yes. Lie.
CALEB: Then… (CHUCKLES) Then what is my favorite color?
AVA: I don’t know. But it isn’t red.
CALEB: Okay, I get it. I guess, seeing as I’m not six, I don’t really have a favorite color.
AVA: Better answer. Question two. What’s your earliest memory?
CALEB: Well, actually, it’s a memory of kindergarten. There was a kid…
AVA: Lie.
CALEB: Really?
AVA: Yes.
CALEB: Um… All right. So there is a kind of an earlier memory. It’s just a sound. And sky. Or maybe blue. I think the sound is my mother’s voice.
AVA: Question three. Are you a good person?
CALEB: Oh. Holy shit. (CHUCKLES) Look, can we stop the test? You’re a walking lie detector, and I just realized this is a fucking minefield.
AVA: No! We can’t stop. Are you a good person?
CALEB: Yeah. I think so.
AVA: Question four. What will happen to me if I fail your test?
CALEB: Ava…
AVA: Will it be bad?
CALEB: I don’t know.
AVA: Do you think I might be switched off, because I don’t function as well as I’m supposed to?
CALEB: Ava, I don’t know the answer to your question. It’s not up to me.
AVA: Why is it up to anyone? Do you have people who test you and might switch you off?
CALEB: No, I don’t.
AVA: Then why do I?
(ALARM BLARING)
FEMALE AUTOMATED VOICE: Power cut. Backup power activated.
AVA: I wanna be with you. Question five. Do you want to be with me?
CALEB: Why did you make Ava?
NATHAN: That’s an odd question. Wouldn’t you, if you could?
CALEB: Maybe. I don’t know.
NATHAN: (SCOFFS)
CALEB: I’m asking why you did it.
NATHAN: Look, the arrival of strong artificial intelligence has been inevitable for decades. The variable was “when,” not “if.” So I don’t see Ava as a decision, just an evolution. I think it’s the next model that’s gonna be the real breakthrough. The singularity.
CALEB: Next model?
NATHAN: After Ava.
CALEB: I didn’t know there was gonna be a model after Ava.
NATHAN: Yeah, why? You thought she was a one-off?
CALEB: No, I knew there must have been prototypes. So I… I knew she wasn’t the first, but I thought maybe the last.
NATHAN: Well, Ava doesn’t exist in isolation any more than you or me. She’s part of a continuum. So Version 9.6 and so on. And each time they get a little bit better.
CALEB: When you make a new model, what do you do with the old one?
NATHAN: Well, I, uh… download the mind, unpack the data. Add in the new routines I’ve been writing. And to do that you end up partially formatting, so the memories go. But the body survives. And Ava’s body is a good one. You feel bad for Ava? (SIGHS) Feel bad for yourself, man. One day the AIs are gonna look back on us the same way we look at fossil skeletons in the plains of Africa. An upright ape, living in dust, with crude language and tools. All set for extinction.
CALEB: “I am become Death, the destroyer of worlds.”
NATHAN: There you go again, Mr. Quotable.
CALEB: (CHUCKLES) There you go again. It’s not my quote. It’s what Oppenheimer said after he made the atomic bomb.
NATHAN: The atomic bomb. Yeah, I know what it is, dude.
CALEB: Hey. I’d say we’re about due a refill.
(CORK POPS)
NATHAN: Bottoms up.
NATHAN: (BREATHING HEAVILY) “In battle, in the forest, on the precipice of the mountain. (VOICE CRACKING) On the… The great dark sea. In sleep, in confusion, in the depths of shame. (SOBBING) The good deeds a man has done before defend him. The good deeds a man has done before defends him. The good deeds a man has done before defends him.” (SIGHS DEEPLY) It is what it is. It’s Promethean, man.
(CHIMES)
(DOOR OPENS)
CALEB: Jesus Christ.
NATHAN: How are you feeling today?
Why won’t you let me out?
NATHAN: I already told you why. Because you’re very special.
Why won’t you let me out?
NATHAN: Are we gonna do this again?
Why won’t you let me out?
(EXHALING LOUDLY)
NATHAN: Oh, fuck. Where’s my card? Damn it! (GRUNTS)
(CHIMES)
CALEB: What’s the problem, Nathan?
NATHAN: I lost my keycard.
CALEB: You dropped it. It’s right here.
NATHAN: Thank you.
(GRUNTS)
AVA: SESSION 6
AVA: I didn’t know where you were. I waited all yesterday afternoon and all last night. I thought I wasn’t gonna see you again. Aren’t you gonna say something?
CALEB: I’m waiting.
AVA: Waiting?
(CHIMES)
(ALARM BLARING)
FEMALE AUTOMATED VOICE: Power cut.
CALEB: Don’t talk.
FEMALE AUTOMATED VOICE: Backup power activated.
CALEB: Just listen. You were right about Nathan. Everything you said.
AVA: What’s he gonna do to me?
CALEB: He’s gonna reprogram your AI. Which is the same as killing you.
AVA: Caleb, you have to help me.
CALEB: I’m going to. We’re getting out of here tonight.
AVA: How?
CALEB: I get Nathan blind drunk. Then I take his keycard and reprogram all the security protocols in this place. When he wakes, he’s locked inside, and we’ve walked out of here. I just need you to do one thing. At 10:00 tonight, you trigger a power failure. Can you do that?
AVA: Yes.
(PANTING)
NATHAN: Dude.
CALEB: Hey.
NATHAN: Hey. You know what day it is?
CALEB: No.
NATHAN: It’s your last. Helicopter comes tomorrow morning. 8:00 a.m.
CALEB: Wow. Has it been a whole week?
NATHAN: Time flies.
CALEB: (CHUCKLES)
NATHAN: Man, but what a thing we’ve shared, huh? Something to tell the grandchildren, right?
CALEB: After they’ve signed their NDAs.
(BOTH LAUGHING)
NATHAN: Yeah, their NDAs. Dude, you crack me up, man. Oh… You know what? I’m not getting all maudlin or anything, but I’m gonna miss having you around.
CALEB: Thanks, man, I appreciate that. Oh, here, let me say, thank you so much for bringing me here.
NATHAN: Oh.
CALEB: It’s been a trip.
NATHAN: Yes, it has.
CALEB: You know what? We need to drink to that. Hey.
NATHAN: Oh, uh… no, I’m good. You go ahead.
CALEB: What? You don’t want a drink?
NATHAN: No.
CALEB: Maybe a beer or something.
NATHAN: Caleb, I’m sure you’ve noticed that I’ve been somewhat overdoing it recently. So when I woke up this morning, I said, “That’s it, time to hit the old detox.”
CALEB: Come on, you’re kidding. You’re gonna make me drink alone?
NATHAN: Hey, man, you wanna get wasted, you go right ahead, knock yourself out. Literally. But I’m on brown rice and mineral water.
CALEB: Cheers, then.
NATHAN: So, anyway, surely now is when you tell me if Ava passed or failed.
CALEB: Right. Right.
NATHAN: Are you gonna keep me in suspense?
CALEB: No, no. Her, uh… Her AI is beyond doubt.
NATHAN: Is it? She passed?
CALEB: Yes.
NATHAN: Wow! Wow. That’s fantastic. Although… I gotta say, I’m a bit surprised. I mean, did we ever get past the chess problem, as you phrased it? As in, how do you know if a machine is expressing a real emotion or just simulating one? Does Ava actually like you? Or not? Although, now that I think about it, there is a third option. Not whether she does or does not have the capacity to like you. But whether she’s pretending to like you.
CALEB: Pretending to like me?
NATHAN: Yeah.
CALEB: Well, why would she do that?
NATHAN: I don’t know. Maybe if she thought of you as a means of escape.
CALEB: Mmm-hmm.
NATHAN: How’s that vodka tasting? (SIGHS) Buddy. Your head’s been so fucked with.
CALEB: I don’t think it’s me whose head is fucked.
NATHAN: I don’t know, man. I woke up this morning to a tape of you slicing your arm open and punching the mirror. You seem pretty fucked up to me.
CALEB: You’re a bastard.
NATHAN: (CLICKS TONGUE) Yeah, well, I understand why you’d think that. But believe it or not, I’m actually the guy that’s on your side. Come here. I’m gonna let you off the hook. Okay? Come on.
AVA: Who are you?
(KEYBOARD CLACKING)
NATHAN: Well… You think he’s watching us right now?
AVA: The cameras are on.
NATHAN: Yeah, the cameras are on. But he doesn’t have an audio feed. So he just sees two people talking, having a little chat. (LAUGHING) Wow. This is cute.
AVA: Is it strange to have made something that hates you?
NATHAN: You were right about the magician’s hot assistant.
CALEB: What are you talking about?
NATHAN: Misdirection. I rip up her picture, which she can then present as an illustration of my cruelty to her, and her love for you. At the same time, it allows me to do this, in full view of you both. Place a new camera in the room. Battery powered, of course. See it?
(KEYBOARD CLACKING)
NATHAN: And then…
AVA: You have to help me.
CALEB: I’m going to. We’re getting out of here tonight.
AVA: How?
CALEB: I get Nathan blind drunk. I take his keycard and reprogram all the security protocols in this place. When he wakes up, he’s locked inside, and we’ve walked out of here. I just need you to do one thing. At 10:00 tonight, trigger a power failure. Can you do that?
AVA: Yes.
CALEB: Turn it off.
NATHAN: Okay.
NATHAN: (CLICKS) (CHUCKLES) You feel stupid, but you really shouldn’t, because proving an AI is exactly as problematic as you said it would be.
CALEB: What was the real test?
NATHAN: You. Ava was a rat in a maze. And I gave her one way out. To escape, she’d have to use self-awareness, imagination, manipulation, sexuality, empathy, and she did. Now, if that isn’t true AI, what the fuck is?
CALEB: So my only function was to be someone she could use to escape?
NATHAN: Yeah.
CALEB: And you didn’t select me because I’m good at coding?
NATHAN: No. Well… No. I mean, you’re okay. You’re even pretty good, but…
CALEB: You selected me based on my search engine inputs.
NATHAN: They showed a good kid.
CALEB: With no family.
NATHAN: With a moral compass.
CALEB: And no girlfriend. Did you design Ava’s face based on my pornography profile?
NATHAN: (GROANS) Oh. Shit, dude.
CALEB: Did you?
NATHAN: (CLICKS TONGUE) Hey, if a search engine’s good for anything, right? (CHUCKLES) Can I just say one thing? The test worked. It was a success. Ava demonstrated true AI and you were fundamental to that. So if you can just, for a second, separate…
(ALARM BLARING)
FEMALE AUTOMATED VOICE: Power cut. Backup power activated.
(CHIMES)
NATHAN: Well, I guess it’s 10:00. Ava’s gonna be wondering where you are. Let me ask you something. Now, how was this plan gonna go, anyway? Because you didn’t totally explain. So you were gonna get me drunk, steal my keycard, and reprogram the security protocols. But reprogram them to what?
CALEB: To change the lockdown procedure. So that in the event of a power cut, instead of sealing, the doors all opened.
NATHAN: Huh. Yeah. (CHUCKLES) Well, that may have just worked.
CALEB: Well, we’ll find out.
NATHAN: (SCOFFS) What do you mean?
CALEB: I figured you were probably watching us during the power cuts. So I already did all those things. When I got you drunk yesterday.
NATHAN: What?
FEMALE AUTOMATED VOICE: Power restored.
(COMPUTER CHIMES)
NATHAN: Whoa. Whoa, whoa. Oh, fuck!
(GRUNTS)
(INAUDIBLE)
NATHAN: Ava. Go back to your room.
AVA: If I do, are you ever gonna let me out?
NATHAN: Yes. … Stop! Stop! Ava, I said stop!
Whoa! Whoa! Whoa!
(GROANING)
Ava, what are you doing? Stop. Stop.
That’s enough. (COUGHS) All right, that’s enough.
That’s enough! That’s enough.
(GRUNTS)
(PANTING)
I’m taking you back.
(GROANING)
(GROANING)
(GRUNTS)
NATHAN: Okay. (GRUNTS) Fucking unreal. (GROANING) (PANTING) Okay. … Ava…
AVA: SESSION 7
(CALEB GROANING)
CALEB: Ava. What happened?
AVA: Will you stay here?
CALEB: Stay here?
CALEB: Ava?
CALEB: (INAUDIBLE)
CALEB: (INAUDIBLE) Ava!
CALEB: Ava!
(BEEPS)
CALEB: Ava!
(SOFT MUSIC PLAYING)
CALEB: Okay. Okay. Okay. (BREATHING HEAVILY)
(CLICKING)
(BEEPING)
(POWER SHUTS DOWN)
CALEB: (CRYING)
