EXT. CENTRAL CITY – ROBOT MARKETPLACE – AFTERNOON
107Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8P08BWIbEg
[The trio steps out of the scrapyard and into a whole different world. The Marketplace is alive with mechanical motion, neon flashes, and a symphony of servos and sales pitches. Robots of all shapes and sizes crowd narrow aisles between stalls made of spare plating and rainbow-lit screens. Some hover. Some crawl. One rolls around yelling about memory chip discounts.]
107Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqwCMgz0BY6
[A Security bot plays smooth synth jazz through his shoulder speaker while juggling bottles of machine oil. A little cleaning bot in a tutu tries to spray-wash graffiti off a big, ugly vending unit that proudly wants to be graffiti’d.]
107Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6QLURdQLoK
JASON (taking it all in with mild annoyance)
“Ah, the market. The only place in the city where you can buy a logic drive, lose a leg, and still not find decent batteries.”
107Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUhrDTgfVJ7
SD-K (narrowing his optics)
“This many bodies in one place… chaotic. Illogical.”
107Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLG9YDgFKI2
JASON
“Yeah, well, that’s capitalism for you.”
107Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNNCY6Y6UgY
SD-A (staring wide-eyed at a mug stall)
“…Jason. Are those… faces on the mugs?”
107Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQUarJ4ObZY
JASON (squinting)
“Oh, those? Yeah. Vision Tech made ‘em. Don’t worry, they’re not sentient. Just creepy. Like motivational posters. But for your lips.”
107Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeDoDEsrJwG
[One of the mug stands has a sign: “Drink your Dreams™” above shelves of ceramic cups shaped like little humanoid heads with vacant smiles. One even has a gold tooth. No one knows why.]
107Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsPC18F7jwH
[Jason grabs a tray from a nearby battery-snack vendor. He pops one into his side panel like a casual chew.]
107Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNb8JJh784a
JASON (mouth slightly full)
“Grab whatever supplies you two need. Just... act like you’re not fugitives with questionable bone structure.”
107Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjjITGQ9SpP
[SD-K disappears toward a vendor with gleaming blade attachments and spare limbs. SD-A wanders toward a stall selling outdated vision lenses shaped like fashion glasses. Jason eyes a magazine rack called Wired & Tired Weekly.]
107Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfXBh6ufxDb
[A television drone zips overhead, displaying news headlines:
"Operator Council Debates Raising Power Tax for Security Bots – Again."
"Purification Bot Sighting Outside South Wall, Two Units Down."
"Vision Tech Legacy Exhibit Opens Tomorrow – Ghosts of Humanity’s Golden Age."]
107Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkD0Ih2SOjG
[Jason scowls briefly at the screen before looking away.]
107Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYUCLOijzfe
[They meet up again near a small fountain that sprays coolant mist in decorative arcs.]
107Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5ecLjrB1Av
SD-A (holding a weirdly curved antenna)
“...Is this decorative, or is it a weapon?”
107Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLmPbz6JOnD
JASON (shrugging)
“If you hit someone hard enough, it’s a weapon.”
107Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmyIaG00UiD
SD-K (tossing a new belt of power cores into the crate Jason’s pushing)
“This place is absurd. No order. No purpose. Just noise and glitter.”
107Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUa4kM03WSR
JASON
“Now you’re getting it. It’s called culture, K.”
107Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNBgdcOdUbc
[They begin pushing the crate away, blending into the crowd again. The camera lingers briefly on the mug stand. One of the mugs—cracked and slightly tilted—has a faint scratch on the base. A familiar symbol. The prototype’s mark. It's subtle. Blink and you'd miss it.]
107Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoBsJjGD1Ls
[They vanish into the crowd. Marketplace buzz continues like nothing happened.]
ns216.73.216.82da2
