Bits and Pieces (Get it? BITS?)

Okay, I admit I'm cheating this week, and on more than one level. "First of May" is actually an excerpt from my Script Frenzy screenplay, Sweet Valley Heist (137 pages of crappy first draft), and it's not really science fiction. But how else are you going to make computer hacking look interesting on screen, without resorting to totally fake GUIs that make actual hackers laugh out loud?

Having said that, Robert Longo's movie adaptation of William Gibson's Johnny Mnemonic actually includes a pretty cool depiction of how a futuristic "cyberspace" environment might operate. I especially like the puzzle-lock authentication used in lieu of a password string:


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l_CaxYF56jY

For my screenplay, I decided to go the TRON/Matrix route of using human avatars to represent computer programs, because it dovetails nicely with my protagonist's inclination to daydream about the people in his life, Walter Mitty-style.

Dave's brief encounter with Chelsea is a much longer conversation in the full script, but I think I mananged to capture the spirit of their interaction here. Does Dave want the money more than he wants the girl? And how much is he willing to risk, personally and professionally, for either one?