Writing is my imagination taking me for a walk.
ALGO
Speculative / SciFi Novel
It is the year 2083. Humanity has conceded to AI algorithms. Social institutions like nations, political systems, capitalism, and religions no longer exist, and data is the only meaningful currency. We are now only just another species. We are Sapiens, a unique species under the surveillance of one unified super-intelligence artificial intelligence, ALGO.
Theo, a young and exceptionally bright man in his mid-twenties, lives in such a world. At the novel’s onset, he is assigned to find a young woman lost in the feral district of Los Angeles. Being a rebel, Theo is excited about traveling, where ALGO has little influence. His poor decisions and rebellious tendencies against the ALGO agenda have landed him a mediocre assignment of installing ALGO surveillance cameras throughout the city. Nonetheless, this occupation is merely a farce, as his hacking devices, against the same systems he is assigned to install, are gaining a reputation in the underworld.
The equanimity Theo has managed to balance between the integrated ALGO world and his illegal affairs in the underworld is disrupted. As a marginalized misfit, he might be just a small piece of a dynamic puzzle that ALGO plays with all Sapiens for the sake of data. He does have the choice to reject the ALGO assignment. Still, the temptation to escape from the banal ALGO world cannot be ignored. Theo will need to make a difficult choice, but a difficult Sapien choice makes for great DATA!
The Last Artist
a Feature Script
Bomboni, a former rock musician and war survivor from Sarajevo, leaves behind his band to return to a mundane construction job. Triggered by sounds and memories, he begins experiencing vivid flashbacks to the Bosnian War, which fuel his urge to make music again. Against his wife’s wishes, he forms a new band with fellow survivor Miroslav and others, but as he dives into songwriting, his personal and professional life unravels.
Haunted by trauma, he loses focus on his business, fights with colleagues and family, and isolates himself the deeper he dives into his art. Art, much like life itself, never follows a predictable path, and Bomboni is forced to choose between his art and the stability his family requires of him.
The Artifact
a Feature Script
The ARTIFACT explores the interplay of the three characters, each with their distinctive motives. Steve is a brilliant coder who lacks purpose or connection to the world he is living in. Martin recruits him to build virtual technology that finds its way on the black market. When he sees the lead on the hacker he is intrigued and wants to learn her cause, maybe even join her. Martin, on the other hand, is an opportunist who sees Steve only as a means to get ahead in the world. The hacker (the ARTIFACT) is only interested in developing her technology for consciousness transfer. Her technology is far superior to anything developed by coders such as Steve. She feels she has no equal, and consequently is a loner whose identity no one knows. She finds something intriguing about Steve’s code. There is something in his code that will allow her to complete her technology. Perhaps she is not alone in the world after all. Perhaps his code is complementary to her code, and maybe there is finally someone that she can relate to, understands her, and understands the choices and sacrifices that need to be made.....even if the cost is life itself.
SHORT FILMS SCRIPTS
Two men use digital technology to record virtual experiences. They discover that their recordings are potentially hacked and are then hunted by a woman-like artifact. Soon lines of reality and recorded experiences are blurred and in the end only one character lives.
The Artifact (short)
In The Driver’s Seat
with Rick Munzo
A biker and a driver get into an accident on a cold winter morning. They begin to argue about fault, but come to no conclusion. They decide to go to a nearby coffee shop to discuss the matter further. However, once at the cafe, the argument takes a turn. A deeper conflict between the characters is revealed. Showing little respect for the biker, the driver challenges his adversary. The subsequent conversation evolves into a play of control and manipulation.
A young thief (Nate) meets with an experienced criminal (Dimitry). Initially, Nate thinks the meeting is a simple exchange of stolen goods for cash. However, Nate quickly learns that Dimitry wants something far more than the stolen merchandise. The main scene becomes a psychological 'cat and mouse' game between Nate and Dimitry. As the characters struggle to gain leverage on the situation, their motives are exposed.