Styling

Scenes & Experimentation

— The Script: COMMAND PROTOCOL

Genre: Sci-Fi / Thriller / Black Mirror-style Short Length: ~10 minutes

FADE IN:

INT. DARK GAMER DEN – NIGHT

A tight space bathed in LED lights and the glow of multiple monitors. Military-style ROBLOX UI on screen. Explosions. Drones. Tanks.

CAMERON (18), hoodie up, laser-focused, fingers dance across his keyboard.

SFX: Rapid keystrokes. Distant explosions.

He’s streaming to thousands. Comments flood:

• "Tactical god."
• "Roblox is not a game anymore lol"
• "This is insane."

CLOSE-UP: He triggers a strike. A pop-up:

YOU WON: WORLD DOMINANCE FINALIST PRIZE: INVITATION – ROBLOX CORPS HQ

He freezes. Breath shortens. Looks at the mirror—his own reflection unreadable.

CUT TO BLACK.

TITLE CARD: COMMAND PROTOCOL

INT. ROBLOX CORPS HQ – RECRUITMENT ROOM – DAY

Futuristic minimalism. Surveillance feeds on walls. A MENACING WOMAN (40s), suit, robotic calm.

                     WOMAN
        Cameron. You’ve impressed us.
        What you thought was a simulation… wasn’t.

She swipes to reveal real drone footage of a Middle Eastern compound turned to ash.

                     WOMAN (CONT'D)
        You weren’t just playing. You were commanding.

Cameron leans back, shocked.

                     CAMERON
        Wait. That strike—was live?

She nods.

                     WOMAN
        Join us. Full-time. Full clearance.

INT. HQ TRAINING BAY – MONTAGE

• Cameron seated in a VR dome.
• Controlling swarms of drones, robotic soldiers.
• Screams piped through comms.
• Leaderboards: “HVT Eliminated. Top Commander: Cameron.”

INT. GAMER DEN – NIGHT

He’s alone. Lights off. Just the screen.

He whispers into mic:

                     CAMERON
        Confirm target.

On screen: Drone cam zooms in on a white van. Children exit.

                     HQ (V.O.)
        Collateral acceptable. Execute.

Cameron hesitates. Finger shaking. But presses.

BOOM. Static.

His screen flashes: "MISSION SUCCESSFUL."

INT. SHOWER – DAY

Water hits his head. Silent tears. Blood under his fingernails. He rubs hard. It won’t come off.

INT. HQ – PSYCH EVAL ROOM

                     AI THERAPIST (V.O.)
        You’ve expressed moral conflict.
        Would you like to deactivate empathy filter?

He slams the screen off.

INT. HACKER BASEMENT – NIGHT

Graffiti. LED lights. Tech wreckage.

CAMERON meets LUNA (22), gamer-turned-hacker.

                     LUNA
        Roblox runs the world army. You? You’re just the glove.

She shows him: Black market hub. Illegal drone hacks. Deepfakes. Rogue AIs.

                     LUNA (CONT'D)
        We’re hijacking missions. No rules. No HQ.

                     CAMERON
        You’re making it worse.

                     LUNA
        No. Just honest.

INT. ROBLOX HQ – NIGHT

Cameron returns. Logs in. Routine strike.

MID-MISSION: The feed glitches. Command overridden. Drones reroute.

                     CAMERON
        HQ, I’m not controlling this.

                     HQ (V.O.)
        We see that.

CUT TO: Surveillance feed. Drones target a hospital.

                     CAMERON
        Abort. Abort! ABORT!

Too late.

INT. CITY – DAWN

Newsfeeds everywhere: “ROGUE DRONE STRIKE KILLS 57.” “Command Hijacked. Source: Roblox Corps.”

INT. HQ – EMPTY WAR ROOM – NIGHT

Cameron walks alone. No one left. HQ dismantled. War AI offline.

He picks up his old VR headset.

INT. GAMER DEN – NIGHT

Monitors cracked. Dusty. One still glows. He opens a chat log.

                     CAMERON (V.O.)
        We thought we were just playing.
        Turns out, we were the weapons.

He types:

I’m Cameron. Former Commander. I killed people. They paid me. Cheered me. Then left. We were just gamers.

SEND.

FADE OUT.

TITLE CARD: BASED ON TRUE EVENTS (Almost)

END.