Ex Machina by Alex Garland Page A

miles.
    He glances over at Caleb.
    So how does a programmer from Long Island get to be meeting the CEO?
    CALEB
    I won a competition. It was kind of like a lottery, for employees. The winner got to spend a week with him.
    JAY
    The President can’t get Mr Bateman on the phone, but you got the golden ticket.
    CALEB
    Yep.
    JAY
    Hell of an opportunity.
    CALEB
    Believe me. I know it.
    Caleb looks out of the window.
    Incredible here.
    JAY
    Alaska. Most beautiful place on Earth.
    Beat.
    CALEB
    How long until we get to his estate?
    Jay chuckles.
    JAY
    We’ve been flying over his estate for the past two hours.
    EXT. MOUNTAINS – DAY
    The helicopter flies over a vast white glacier.
    EXT. MOUNTAINS – DAY
    A CCTV camera is hidden in the rock and snow.
    As the helicopter glides past, the lens of the camera twitches.
    EXT. MOUNTAINS – DAY
    The helicopter flies over the lip of the glacier, revealing a valley.
    The valley floor is a bright green meadow. Sunlit, like a jewel in the icy mountains.
    A whitewater river runs alongside it, leading to a waterfall.
    INT. HELICOPTER – DAY
    Caleb looks down at the breathtaking view as the helicopter banks, turns and descends.
    EXT. MEADOW ⁄ LANDING SITE – DAY
    Meadow flowers whip in the rotor wash as the helicopter touches down in the vast meadow.
    By the landing site is a collection of huge metal crates. All have Chinese characters on the side.
    The rotor blades slow, but don’t stop.
    Jay exits.
    EXT. MEADOW ⁄ LANDING SITE – DAY
    Jay holds open the door as Caleb exits the helicopter cabin.
    Caleb looks around, his eyes adjusting to the bright sunshine outside.
    Jay goes to the side of the helicopter, pops open a hatch, and removes Caleb’s luggage. A large suitcase with wheels.
    Caleb looks around. Apart from the packing crates, there are no man-made structures to be seen.
    Caleb shouts over the engine noise.
    CALEB
    You’re leaving me here?
    JAY
    This is as close as I’m allowed to the building.
    CALEB
    … What building?
    The pilot gestures vaguely towards the whitewater.
    JAY
    Follow the river.
    Jay puts Caleb’s bag on the ground.
    Caleb reaches into his pocket.
    Produces a wallet, and pulls out some crumpled bank notes.
    JAY
    No tip required. Please get a safe distance from the blades.
    The pilot gets back inside the helicopter, and closes the door.
    Caleb hurriedly retreats with his bag.
    Moments later, in a roar of wind and noise, the helicopter is lifting off.
    Equally suddenly, the noise is fading, and the helicopter is soaring upwards, and banking back towards the glacier.
    Then it is gone. Birdsong and wind-rush replace engine noise.
    Caleb suddenly looks very isolated.
    EXT. RIVER – DAY
    Caleb walks along the banks of the fast-flowing river, awkwardly bumping his wheeled suitcase over the ground.
    The banks of the river start to climb, to an intimidating drop.
    It feels that this can’t be the right way.
    Caleb reaches into his pocket and pulls out his mobile phone.
    No signal at all.
    He puts his phone back in his pocket.
    EXT. RIVER ⁄ HOUSE VIEW – DAY
    Caleb rounds a bend in the river.
    Ahead, almost hidden in trees, there is a steel and glass structure.
    EXT. CLEARING – DAY
    Caleb walks towards the house through the trees.
    In the ground, in a grassy clearing, he finds a circular window, reflecting the sky.
    He walks up to the window, and looks inside.
    It reveals what is effectively a glass-covered well – about four metres deep, with smooth concrete sides.
    At the bottom of the well is a brightly lit room, which appears to be an office of some sort. There is a desk, with monitors, and a chair.
    But apparently no one inside.
    Beyond the clearing, in the tree line, Caleb sees – almost camouflaged by forest – the dark shapes and straight lines of a low, one-storey building complex.
    EXT. HOUSE – DAY
    Caleb approaches the building.
    As he nears the entrance –
    – he startles, as an automated voice speaks to him, from an unknown source.
    AUTOMATED