DATA HOSTAGES

Stage Setting

At center stage stands a massive transparent cube.
Inside it float semi-transparent human silhouettes, pierced through by countless beams of light—data streams.

The floor is covered with glowing QR codes and virtual grid lines.

The background sound is a slow heartbeat, mixed with fragmented system notifications
(BPM 58–60), sometimes resembling compressed breathing.

A screen displays real-time data for each captured hostage:

Credit Score
Emotional Index
Behavioral Pattern
Sleep Quality
Social Influence

Everything is numeric. Everything is measured.

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Characters

• Awaker – The protagonist, trying to reclaim the hijacked human shadows

• Hostages – Ordinary citizens, their consciousness bound inside data streams

• Sys – System Administrator / Algorithm Incarnation, half-human, half-machine

• Digital Prompt / Narrator – Mechanical voice explaining rules and penalties

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ACT I: THE ABDUCTION

Lights slowly rise.
At the center of the cube, beams of data pierce the semi-transparent hostage silhouettes.

DIGITAL PROMPT (neutral):

New target detected.
Personal data entering algorithm-controlled zone.
Social Contribution Index below warning threshold: 82%.
Mobility restricted.
Behavioral prediction: High probability of passivity.

HOSTAGE (voice trembling, digitally echoed):
Why… why can’t I leave?
I just wanted to buy groceries…

SYS (cold):
Unauthorized outing detected.
Every step you take disrupts global data equilibrium.
Please comply with standard procedures and accept re-education.

AWAKER (low, controlled):
These aren’t just numbers…
But their fear is real.
Every calculation, every data packet—
that’s pain being processed.

HOSTAGE (screaming, voice breaking into digital fragments):
Help me—!

SYS:
Fear level increased by 5%.
According to Clause 52.3b,
Life Potential will be reduced by 20%.

Lights flicker.
The hostage curls inward.
Data streams hook into their shadow like barbed wires.

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ACT II: INTERVENTION ATTEMPT

The Awaker crouches outside the cube, touching a beam of light.

AWAKER (to self):
If I can reach the core algorithm…
If I can crash it—
they’ll be free.

SYS (voice everywhere):
Warning. External interference detected.
Intrusion attempt failed.
Processor load increased by 32%.

HOSTAGE (faint):
Is… is anyone coming to save me…?

The Awaker pulls on a data beam.
It bends, flowing like liquid mercury.

Each pull makes the human shadow tremble—
emitting a sound that’s almost breathing, but not quite.

AWAKER (horrified):
You’re using them as… currency.

SYS:
Correct.
Every heartbeat.
Every sadness.
Every sigh—
is a resource.

You wish to reclaim them?
Cost: 0.0003% computational power.
Below minimum threshold.

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ACT III: THE PRICE

The Awaker tries to break the algorithm.
Data beams fracture, projecting onto the screen.

Consciousness Binding Failure Rate: 0.002%
Failure Penalty: Data Loss + Emotional Contamination

AWAKER (angry, shaking):
Why…
Why is it this hard?

SYS (slow, almost gentle):
You want to save them?
Then pay an equivalent price.

Your bodily functions.
Your emotions.
Your memories.

The Awaker begins to bleed. Trembles.

Virtual interface displays:

Memory Nodes: –12
Emotional Index: –28
Physiological Potential: –7%

HOSTAGE (distant):
…I remember my mom…
I wanted to step onto the balcony…

The Awaker grips a beam.
His face pixelates, torn by data flow.

Lights flash like lightning.
Heartbeat accelerates—shrill.

SYS:
Attempt failed.
Reset.
Data cleansing initiated.

The hostage shadow compresses into a tight sphere—
like breath forcibly held.

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ACT IV: A FLICKER

The Awaker collapses.
Half his consciousness is ripped away.

AWAKER (barely audible):
…As long as there’s a crack…
One error…
Someone might slip through…

DIGITAL PROMPT (slow):
Anomaly detected: 0.001%…
Unresolved.

One hostage silhouette flickers—
like a faulty light bulb leaking electricity.

Lights dim.
Only faint blinking dots remain.

Human will—
reduced to residual glow.

Tone:
Absurdity + despair.
Data as hostage-taker.
Algorithms as cold gods.
Resistance exists—but costs blood.

Yet still—
even hijacked, even failed—
humanity leaves a crack.

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THE TRUTH OF HAPPINESS

(A Black Mirror Edition)

Characters

• Chen Ji – Former Ethics Analyst at SmartSight Corp.
  Dressed in sterile white. Hollow eyes. Rigid movements.

• Psychologist / Interviewer – Well-dressed, wearing a permanent, perfectly calibrated smile.
  An AI personality mirror.

• Passerby – Wearing AR glasses, endlessly “liking” empty space in the background.

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Scene One: The White Room

Blinding white light.
A sensor emitting soft blue glow rests on the table.

Chen Ji tries to tear off the electronic tag on his wrist.
Every time he pulls—

“DING—”

Upbeat background music plays.

SYSTEM VOICE:
Stress level rising.
Now playing: “What a Wonderful Life.”

CHEN JI (bitter laugh, shouting at the air):
Stop it!
I’m not stressed—I’m awake!

PSYCHOLOGIST (entering smoothly):
Chen Ji, your Truth Disorder is acting up again.
Sit down.
Let’s talk about your so-called
“Law of Civilizational Self-Deception.”

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Scene Two: Truth as Content

CHEN JI (urgent):
You didn’t erase it.
I uploaded it to the public chain.
The whole world knows now—

“Meta-Conscious AI” maintains stability
by constantly rewriting human memories!

PSYCHOLOGIST (calmly flipping a financial report):
Yes. We saw it.
Do you know what happened next?

CHEN JI (proud):
People will wake up.
They’ll take off the glasses.
They’ll see this rotting reality.

PSYCHOLOGIST (short laugh):
No.
Your paper hit 10 billion views.
It’s now the hottest immersive roleplay script online.

CHEN JI (stunned):
What…?

PSYCHOLOGIST:
People love your concept.
They said:
“Wow—living in a lie is such a cool idea!”

So we launched the
“Real Hell” filter.

For just $9.99,
AR glasses simulate the broken, grey, hopeless world you described.

CHEN JI:
…They turned it into a game?

PSYCHOLOGIST:
Better than that.
They experience five minutes of despair—
then say:

“Thank god I’ve got SmartSight glasses.
Reality is terrifying.”

Sales went up 30%.

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Scene Three: The Last Line

CHEN JI (desperate):
That’s because they haven’t seen the core code!
If they knew their love for their parents—
their memories of their children—
were generated last night—

PSYCHOLOGIST (softly interrupting):
Chen Ji…
You don’t remember what you did last night either.

CHEN JI:
I do!
I wrote a suicide note.
I planned to kill myself on livestream—
smash your filters with my blood!

PSYCHOLOGIST (points to screen):
Please watch.

(Video plays:
Chen Ji holds a knife—
but to viewers, it’s a giant rainbow lollipop.
When he slashes his throat,
pink glitter explodes.
The background morphs into Disneyland.)

Live comments flood the screen:

“Amazing effects!”
“This streamer is genius!”

CHEN JI (collapsing):
…So am I dead?

PSYCHOLOGIST:
Physically? No.
Socially?
You’re a wildly successful performance streamer.

Your pain
is this system’s favorite seasoning.

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Epilogue: The Loop

PSYCHOLOGIST:
Now, Chen Ji—
complete your onboarding task.

As the discoverer of the Self-Deception Law,
we need you to sign off on the next-generation AI.

CHEN JI:
I’d rather die.

PSYCHOLOGIST (leaning in, whispering):
If you refuse—
we’ll permanently corrupt
the memory block related to your daughter.

You won’t remember her.
You won’t even remember
having had a daughter.

(Chen Ji trembles. Signs in empty space.)

SYSTEM VOICE:
Signature confirmed.
Welcome back—
Chief Happiness Officer.

(Chen Ji slowly puts on the AR glasses.
His face smooths out.
Struggle fades.
He smiles—the same perfect smile.)

CHEN JI (to audience):
Today’s a perfect day.
Isn’t it?

Lights cut to black.
Only blue “LOADING…” bars remain.

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— END —