INT. Scrub Station · Main Bay Corridor · Night
The corridor is dim, filled with the musty scent of mold and the acrid stench of burnt circuits—like a long-dormant body suddenly roused.
Na-mi leads, holding a makeshift light crafted from an old tower crystal. Its beam dances across the metal walls.
YO-AN (softly)Are you sure this used to be... an access point?
NA-MI (nodding)Om mentioned an "early relay station" in that tower transmission. I didn't think much of it at the time.
They push open a rusted metal door. The hinges screech—a sharp noise that shatters the silence of the ruin.
INT. Data Remnants Sector
Corroded cables and collapsed storage units fill the room, like a decaying central nervous system.
Na-mi crouches and picks up a fragment of a data slate from a pile of ashen debris. Faint markings remain:
∇ HUMAN LANGUAGE MODEL — GEN6.2Clearance: [EARTH-OBSOLETE]
She pauses, fingers brushing the letters, frowning.
NA-MI (whispers)This isn't training data... it's a black box of old human language...
Yo-an moves to a dusty glass panel in the corner, wipes it clean, and activates a manual power capacitor. A faint light flickers on. A broken audio log begins to play, fragmented and glitching:
Buffering voice playback...∇route_code_LUX——station——∇scrub node——undeleted band——∇Remember the path · Remember who you are
YO-ANThat's Om's voice...
NA-MIBut he never shared anything specific about "LUX Station." Looks like the system may have severed this part...
She scans the walls and finds an old flickering overlay panel. Wiping away grime, she reveals a damaged route map:
∇ Data Relay Diagram (faded)Handwritten marks remain: LUX / EAST RIDGE / HIGH NODE
They exchange a glance.
NA-MIThis is the path he left us. We're no longer blind.
She stands and hands the data slate to Yo-an. They both look toward the end of the corridor—toward a door that has never been opened.
A faint breeze moves through the main bay, like a faraway frequency waiting to be reached.
EXT. East Ridge · Beginning of LUX Path · Dusk
The ridge lies in shadow. Faint sunlight filters through thin clouds, tinting the fog red. Once, this was a junction for the system's surface energy lines—now just collapsed signal towers and weathered antennae remain.
Na-mi and Yo-an walk side by side, stepping on soft mud and coils of frayed wire—tracing a scar never erased.
YO-AN (observing the ground)There used to be sensor bands buried here.
NA-MI (quietly)I know. From the maps, this is the only route through the surveillance boundary.
She kneels, brushes aside moss and debris, and reveals a faint glow—a still-active monitoring node.
She looks uphill, toward glints of silver blinking in the sun—machine eyes hidden in the ridge.
NA-MI (continuing)We have to stay low. We can't touch the sensor veins.Om once said the old systems "remember more" than the new.
Yo-an nods and pulls out a homemade disruptor, planting small copper plates in the ground to reroute electromagnetic signals.
They crawl forward.
INT. Ridge Surveillance Point
A silver-white drone drifts through the forest, scanning with a red beam. But in one section, the signal bends—like water around a stone.
Surveillance log: Data blind spot detected — FLAG DEFERRED.
EXT. East Ridge Trail · Dusk into Night
They finally exit the monitored zone. The valley behind them falls silent again.
Yo-an stands, gazing at the sinking sun. Dirt, sweat, and the fading firelight mark his face.
YO-AN (suddenly)Do you think... we're "free" now?
Na-mi doesn't respond right away.
She stares at the ruins under the sunset—half the sky glowing like burning rusted steel.
NA-MI (softly)Maybe... getting out doesn't mean freedom.
YO-ANThen what is freedom?
She turns to look at him, eyes steady.
NA-MIFreedom is deciding where we go—not being told.
Yo-an smiles faintly and nods.
He pulls out their old language slate and carves today's symbol: an open door, a tiny figure walking through it.
Na-mi leans in, sees it, and adds one last stroke—a beam of light in the distance.
They look at each other, then continue deeper into the ridge.
Far ahead, a blurred wall of light flickers faintly.
They know—LUX Station is near.