Trust No One

 
Written by: Mark Leiren-Young
Story by: Gavin Blair
Phil Mitchell
Susan Turner		 Mark Leiren-Young
Ian Pearson

  Transcribed by: Kim McFarland

 

 

[The camera swoops around Mainframe, plunges down through Baudway, and ends up at behind Al's Wait and Eat. Sirens are heard in the background. Al's Waiter steps out the back door, dragging a garbage sack behind himself. He heaves it into the dumpster.]
Al's Waiter:
Garbage in, garbage out. Isn't that right, Al?
Al:
[VO] What?
Ewww![The dumpster bangs closed. Seen from up above, Al's Waiter starts back to the Diner. The viewpoint comes down, closer. Al's waiter steps in something squishy-sounding. He picks up a strip of what looks like snakeskin, and stares at it.]
Al's Waiter:
Ewwww. What've you been cooking?
Al:
[VO] What?
[Al's Waiter tosses it away and starts walking toward the back door. Then he hears animal sounds, and looks around.]
Al's Waiter:
Huh?
Trust no one![After a few nanos he shrugs and continues. Then the viewpoint swoops down on him. Over his cry, the words "TRUST NO ONE" appear onscreen. Then Al is dragged away by something unseen. Writer credits are superimposed.]
Al:
[VO] What?

 

[Baudway. Mouse walks into Dot's Diner.]
Bob:
Hey, Mouse! Join me for an energy shake?
Mouse:
Love to, sugah.
Bob:
Cecil, two energy shakes please.
Cecil:
[shouting] What do you think I am, a waiter? I will have you know that in Madame's absence, I am in charge of zis establishment. [He starts to leave, then turns back.] And for your information, it is Cecil.
[Bob looks at Mouse and shrugs.]
Mouse:
Is he always like that?
Bob:
[winking] Always. So, what're you still doing in Mainframe?
Mouse:
Ah... I'm tying up some loose ends, honey. You know, this and that.
Bob:
"This and that" seems to keep you pretty busy.
Where's the coffee?![A CPU binome runs into the diner and speaks urgently to the CPU Chief, who is eating doughnuts.]
CPU 1:
Chief, it happened again. Another abduction on Level 31. This time it's Al's Waiter.
[Chief, looking shocked, turns around on his stool to face the CPU.]
Chief:
What?!
CPU 1:
If we're quick we can get there before the reporters.
Bob:
Whoa, guys. What's this about abductions?
Chief:
Bob, we could use your help.
[Enzo bursts into the diner.]
Enzo:
Bob!
Bob:
Enzo, I'm talking-
Enzo:
Bob! Dot's gone missing! We've tried everything! There's no sign of her!
Bob:
What?
Tartan[Miss Brodie, a pink binome wearing a tartan skirt and a funny hat, walks into the Diner.]
Miss Brodie:
Oh, that's right, Guardian.
Bob:
Miss Brodie? What're you doing here?
Miss Brodie:
Oh, when Miss Matrix failed to pick up young AndrAIa and Enzo from school, I thought it would be prudent to escort them home, what with the abductions and all.
Bob:
Would someone tell me, WHAT ABDUCTIONS?
Chief:
We've had reports of Sprites vanishing from Level 31.
CPU 1:
Yes, the latest being Al's Waiter.
Cecil:
Excusez-moi, but Madame was going to a meeting with Monsieur Al!
Bob:
Mouse, you take Enzo and AndrAIa to the Principle Office. I'm going to Level 31.
Enzo:
But-
Bob:
No buts, Enzo. This is serious.
[Bob walks out of the diner.]
Mouse:
Uh, Miss Brodie, could you look after the little darlings? I've got some... unfinished business to attend to. I'm sure these fine gentlemen will escort you.
[CPU 1 and the Chief hide the doughnuts they were eating and smile, embarrassed.]

 

[A determined-looking Bob walks into Al's Wait and Eat. It is a seedy place, full of scum and villainy, not to mention tinny music. A binome waiter wearing purple tights and bearing a tray with some drinks dashes out on inline skates. Bob tries to get his attention.]
Bob:
Excuse me!
Skater:
Be with you in a nano! Like, I am rushed off my inlines!
Bob:
I-I don't need a table. I just want to ask you a few questions.
Gag me with a spoon.[With a look of eye-rolling dismay the skater waiter turns in a tight curve and comes back to Bob.]
Skater:
Okay, shoot.
Bob:
A friend of mine, Dot Matrix, was supposed to meet Al here. Have you seen her?
Skater:
Well, [takes an exaggerated breath] Al was supposed to have a meeting with her, but she didn't show, okay, so like [shouts back to the kitchen] that's right, isn't it, Al?
Al:
[VO] What?
Skater:
Sorry. [laughs] That's all I can get out of him.
[Fax Modem and Data Nully look at Bob from their booth.]
Bob:
Well, can you tell me anything about these disappearances?
[The skater shrugs and shakes his eyeblock.]
Less makeup, more beauty sleepModem:
You ask a lotta questions, Guardian.
Bob:
Who are you?
Modem:
[showing his identification] CGI special agent Fax Modem.
Nully:
[showing her identification] CGI special agent Data Nully. We couldn't help overhearing you. You're looking for a missing person?
Bob:
Yeah. Dot Matrix has disappeared. Do you know anything about it?
Modem:
There's been a rash of disappearances in Mainframe.
Nully:
Phong sent us to investigate the most recent case, Al's Waiter.
Bob:
You work for Phong? We should talk.

 

[The camera viewpoint swoops down on Mike the TV and a small crew, who are filming in Level 31. We see Mike through the B&W viewpoint of the camera - Nomecam v3.0.]
Mike:
Until recently a normal rundown wrong-side-of-the-tracks part of Mainframe. Now sprites are calling them STREETS OF FEAR!
[Mike leads his now terrified crew further into the aforementioned Street Of Fear. Mouse watches from behind a building]
Mouse:
[speaking in a hushed voice into her wrist bracer] Turbo, come in. I'm back on Level 31. [She looks around quickly.] Wait!
[Mouse leans back, hiding. Numeral 5 walks by.]
Mouse:
Gotta go. Looks like I've found me another victim.

 

[In Al's Wait and Eat, Bob is in a booth talking with Modem and Nully.]
Bob:
I can't accept that. Mouse is an old friend.
Say what?Nully:
Bob, you've got to be reasonable about this. All evidence points to Mouse. We have eyewitnesses who will testify to her being on or near the scene of each abduction.
Bob:
Coincidence.
Nully:
Tell him your theory, Modem.
Modem:
Her fangs.
Bob:
Yeah, so? She's got fangs.
Modem:
I suspect she's a Webcreature.
Bob:
Wha-? Oh, now this is ridiculous. These aren't theories. These are- delusions!
Modem:
Listen. When I was just a little node I saw my sister taken by a strange creature. It had fangs just like Mouse.
Bob:
[to Nully] Excuse me, but is your partner completely random?
Nully:
Not completely.
Bob:
[to Modem] Okay, why didn't it take you too then?
Modem:
I don't know. I was reading comic bytes in bed and when I peeked out from under the covers I saw something hoverin' over my sister. Then I pointed my flashlight at it, and a moment later it - and my sister - were gone. I'll never forget the noise it made.
Bob:
I don't want to seem insensitive, but next you'll be telling me that you've seen the User!
Modem:
There is no User. That's just induced mass psychosis engineered by the Guardians.
Bob:
What?! But what about the games?
Modem:
Sent by the Guardians to promote the User myth.
Nully:
Another conspiracy theory, Modem?
Modem:
One of many.
Bob:
So, lemme get this straight. There's a Webcreature, posing as Mouse, loose in Mainframe, abducting sprites. For what purpose?
Modem:
I haven't worked that out yet.
Bob:
Okay. And Guardians are control freaks willing to sacrifice the very people they are sworn to protect by dropping games on them?
Modem:
That's correct.
Bob:
Tell me, did Phong interview you personally for this job? Didn't think so.
Nully:
Look, this isn't getting us anywhere. What we need is a plan, not theories.
Bob:
[to Nully] You remind me of somebody.
[A VidWindow pwings open. "A MAINFRAME SPECIAL REPORT"]
Skater:
Hey you guys! There's been another attack!
[Mike the TV appears in the screen.]
Naturally curlyMike:
First on the scene, your reporter, [viewpoint shifts to Nomecam view] Mike the TV. We're here at the site of the latest in a series of terrible abductions. This time an innocent numeral, Number Five. [Mike holds up a milk carton bearing the image of the missing numeral. The he pulls a Shirley Temple-esque binome into frame.] Tell the viewers in your own words what you saw.
Shirley:
[edging away from Mike] Um, but I didn't see anything! [flees from the camera]
Mike:
So there you have it! An invisible assailant, or did I just interview the wrong person? You, the viewers, decide! [The camera goes off.] Okay, we're clear. That's a wrap.
[Mike starts to walk away. The crew don't follow him. He turns back, looking worried.]
Mike:
Guys? Hello?
[The viewpoint shifts to Nomecam view - now above Mike.]
Mike:
This isn't funny, guys, now c'mon! Guys?
[Mike looks up, frightened. A binome arm falls limply into frame. Mike begins running away, looking back every few steps.]
Mike:
But - we haven't even been introduced!
[The shadow of something big and nasty flash after mike. Mike screams. Then a flashing white light comes on, and the big nasty thing screams and flees.]

 

[Back to Bob, Fax, and Data in Al's Wait and Eat. Fax is holding his head, eyes closed, as if in pain. The creature's cry is audible in the background]
Nully:
Are you all right, Modem?
Modem:
Heh, that's it. That's the noise the creature made.
Bob:
Quick, outside, now!

 

Nothing good on[Mike is lying on the ground, unconscious, his monitor displaying static. Mouse kneels over him. Then she looks back]
Nully:
Hold it!
[Nully and Modem draw their guns on Mouse]
Nully:
CGI!
[Mouse raises her hands and hisses dangerously as them, baring her fangs.]

[PLACE COMMERCIAL HERE]
Biscuits, anyone?[Fax Modem and Data Nully are holding Mouse at gunpoint. Modem is fidgeting back and forth, and Mouse is hissing and holding up her hands threateningly.]
Bob:
Mouse! What're you doing?
Mouse:
It's not what you think, Bob. You've gotta let me go.
Bob:
You know I can't let you do that.
[Mouse gets up slowly. Modem and Nully nervously hold their guns on her. Then Mouse looks to the side as if catching sight of something alarming. Modem and Nully look as well. Mouse whips out a katana and slices the barrels off Modem and Nully's guns. Modem and Nully look at each other.]
Bob:
[raising his Glitch bracer as he speaks] Don't make me do this, Mouse.
Mouse:
Trust me.
How to turn a man's brain to tapioca[Mouse smiles. Bob does too. Then Mouse gives Bob a big ol' kiss, leaving him stunned while she turns and runs. Bob shakes his head, restoring his senses.]
Bob:
[whispering] Glitch! Tracer.
[A glowing ball zips out of Glitch and flies after Mouse. It fastens itself as a red dot to the heel of one boot. Bob looks at Glitch, which is now displaying the location of the tracer.]
Bob:
[to Modem and Nully] You two look after Mike. I'll take care of Mouse.
How do you change the channel?[Bob zip-boards down the alley that Mouse took. Modem and Nully watch him go. Then Nully taps on Mike's staticky screen. The static disappears, revealing Mike's face.]
Nully:
Are you okay?
[Mike jumps to his feet.]
Mike:
[hysterically] AUUUGH, it bit me! [Mike gibbers.]
Modem:
Calm down.
Mike:
It was the light. The light, I tell you! The light saved me!
[Modem and Nully speak as Mike continues gibbering frantically.]
Nully:
Just like your sister, Modem.
Modem:
Mmm. Wait here. I've gotta get something from the CPU.
[As Modem walks away Mike finally calms down enough to speak coherently.]
Mike:
Give it to me straight. I can take it. Tell me the truth, tell me! Tell me the camera was rolling!
[Nully shakes her eyeblock.]

 

[Bob is on his zip board, following Mouse's signal. He clicks a button, and Glitch reverts to its normal configuration. Bob stops outside of some torn metal doors.]
Bob:
[whispering] Glitch, get me Phong.
Phong:
[seen in Glitch's wheel] Bob, what is it? Ah, have you found Dot?
Ewww.Bob:
Listen, Phong. We're in trouble. Big trouble. We *are* dealing with a Webcreature.
Phong:
So Modem was right!
[As Bob speaks, he flies through the metal doors. Strips of nasty-looking stuff are hanging down.]
Bob:
Only partly. It's not Mouse, and I can prove it. [touching one of the strips] It's shedding its skin. It's growing, Phong. And I think I know what it's using for food.

 

[Mouse is walking through more Dark and Scary Corridors, pushing aside more strips of Webcreature skin. She speaks into her bracer.]
Mouse:
Turbo, I've found the larder. I'm gonna free the Mainframers.
Turbo:
Mouse! Forget the Mainframers. We need confirmation on the Webcreatures.
Mouse:
No way. I'll report back when I've got something.
Turbo:
Mouse!

 

[Bob is zip boarding down more corridors, looking around.]

 

A long way down[Mouse stalks up to an open, empty elevator shaft which is also festooned with Webcreature skin. She looks up, then down the shaft. It's a long way down, and no elevator is visible. Looking worried, she jumps onto one of the two cables running down the shaft. After sliding a bit she stops, then opens her eyes. She begins sliding downward, the metallic scraping sounds echoing in the long shaft.]

 

[Bob is still zip boarding through corridors littered with strips of Webcreature skin.]

 

[Mouse lets herself drop the last few feet to the bottom of the shaft.]

 

[Modem and Nully are zip boarding through the corridors, looking around.]

 

Slurpee[Mouse stalks down a corridor. A null bursts out from behind a pair of trash cans, startling Mouse. It races through a doorway - inside of which large podlike sacs are hanging from the ceiling. Mouse draws her katana and creeps in. Various binomes and digits can be seen in the sacs, among then numerals Five and Nine, Al's Waiter, and finally Dot. Mouse draws back and slices the last sac open, revealing Dot hanging, supported by tubes which run in and out of her body, fluid running through them. Dot's body and eyelids twitch spastically.]
Mouse:
Dot, hang on, honey. I'll get you out of there.
[She slices the tubes holding Dot, cutting her down. A scream is heard in the distance as the tubes thrash. Mouse looks up, alarmed.]

 

[Bob hears the scream, and speeds up.]

 

It's been a rough day[Dot is lying on the ground, supported by Mouse, looking sick and weak.]
Dot:
Mouse? It's horrible. It feeds off our energy to keep stable in this system.
Mouse:
Wait here. I'll get the others out.
Dot:
No. I'm okay. I'll help.

 

[Modem and Nully zip determinedly down a corridor.]

 

[Bob zips determinedly down a corridor.]

 

[Al's waiter trembles. At the sound of the Webcreature's cry, he looks up in fear. Other binomes are also trembling below their former prison pods, including the aforementioned binomes and digits, Oo-er, a clown, Shirley, and others.]
Dot:
Run! Now!
[All of the other victims start rhubarbing and fleeing.]
Mouse:
[pointing] That way!
[They all reverse direction. Dot, hearing a growl, turns and looks at a vent.]
Dot:
Let's go!
Mouse:
No! You get outta here with them. I've got to stay.
Dot:
What?
Mouse:
I've got to get proof that this thing exists.
Dot:
Trust me, it exists!
[The vent bursts open, and the Webcreature pokes its ugly face through and roars. Mouse, gaping, draws her katana. The Webcreature flies through the chamber. It stops above Dot and Mouse. One tentacle drops down, seizes Dot, and pulls the struggling Sprite upward as the Webcreature roars.]

[PLACE COMMERCIAL HERE]
[Bob, still zipping around the corridors, hears the Webcreature roar.]
Bob:
Dot!

 

[Dot is still struggling in the Webcreature's grasp.
Nully:
Now, Modem!
Do not feed it after midnight...[Modem and Nully shine flashlights at the Webcreature. It screams, tentacles flailing about madly, then seems to lapse into catatonia, still snarling and growling. It drops Dot into Bob's arms.]
Nully:
You were right. It can't stand strong light.
Modem:
I'm sure there's a very scientific reason for it.
Nully:
But we don't know what it is!
Bob:
Mouse, get Dot out of here. There's a security team on its way.
Mouse:
I think you'll need a little bit more help than that, Guardian! [speaking into her bracer] Turbo, I've got visual confirmation. Send help now!

 

How many Guardians does it take to change a light bulb?[A darkened room, with a number of Sprites - presumably Guardians - sitting around a table.]
Female Guardian:
There's the proof we need, Turbo. You've got to act now. It's a class M. It has portal forming abilities. It can invade the whole net!

 

[Back in The Larder]
Bob:
Who were you talking to?
Mouse:
The cavalry, sugah!
Bob:
You were talking to Turbo?
Mouse:
I've been working for Turbo!
Bob:
You don't understand what you've just done!
Mouse:
What d'you mean? He's sendin' help!
Bob:
Do you know what the Guardian protocol is for finding a Webcreature in a system like Mainframe?
Mouse:
They have no intention of savin' us?
Bob:
They have every intention of destroying us! They've probably already planted a device. The only question is, where?

 

[The Guardian's room]
Turbo:
We're all agreed then. Releasing codes - now.
[Turbo lays his hand on what looks like a trackball. The other Guardians do likewise. Lighted shapes flash on the table to a central device, above which a stylized hourglass appears. The discs of time disappear from the top and appear at the bottom.]
Turbo:
I'd like to be alone for this. Bob and I go back a long way.
I'll get you, my pretty![Turbo doubleclicks his trackball, turning the hourglass over.]
Turbo:
That's the best I can do. Good luck, Bob. And I'm so sorry, Mouse.

 

[The Larder]
Nully:
Hurry. Bob! We're running low, we don't have much time.
Bob:
What did the Guardians give you?
Mouse:
[holding up her bracer] Only this communicator.
[Bob takes a small device off the bracer.]
Bob:
Glitch! Probe!
Oops[Glitch turns into a small telescope-like device. In the monitor a rotating wireferame of the communicator appears, with a small cylinder shown in orange. "Explosive" and "Warning" appear on the display.]
Nully:
Guardian, we can't hold it for much longer.
[Bob drops the communicator into Glitch. Glitch returns to normal configuration.]
Bob:
In a coupla nanoseconds it won't make any difference. I've gotta get this outta Mainframe!
Mouse:
Bob!
[Bob zips out. Three pairs of CPUs zip in, two per Zip board, each pair holding a light like a small cannon between them. The three beams of light pin the Webcreature, which screams and then goes back into catatonia.]

  Up, Up, and Away!

[Bob zips at top speed back through the corridors, then up the elevator shaft, through more corridors. finally he rises high above Mainframe.
Bob:
Glitch, safe distance.
[Glitch changes configuration.]
Bob:
Oh boy.

 

[Right by a window, the mother binome rocks the baby binome.]

 

Look Into The Light[On a street in Mainframe, many binomes (including Oo-er) and one evil penguin walk about.]

 

[Mouse, Data, and Nully rise above Mainframe on zip boards. They join Dot, who is watching Bob. Dot puts her hands up to her mouth.]

 

[Bob looks away from Glitch and rises higher.]

 

[The last bit of time flashed from the stylized hourglass, which flashes. Turbo, one hand over his face, shakes his head.]

 

BOOM! [An explosion fills the sky above Mainframe.]

 

[Phong and Enzo, in the Principle Office, gape.]
Enzo:
Bob!

 

[The explosion forms first into a whirling black hole. Many tears appear within it, then one gigantic tear encompasses them all. Light floods down on Mouse, on Al's Wait and Eat, down into the Streets Of Fear and the elevator shaft, finally illuminating the clamber where the CPUs are holding the Webcreature at bay. The Webcreature opens its eyes]

 

[Enzo, AndrAIa, and Phong look at a VidWindow displaying the tear. They hear only static.]
Phong:
Bob! Come in!
[No response. Enzo looks ready to cry.]
[The Webcreature begins growing in geometric spurts. The CPUs struggle to keep it under control, using their lights like leashes. Then it bursts through the ceiling. Rubble rains down on the CPUs.]

 

[Enzo and AndrAIa, still watching the tear, lower their heads. Then Bob's voice comes through the static, barely discernable. Enzo and AndrAIa look up.]
Bob:
Phong! Phong!
Enzo:
Bob!
Phong:
Bob, come in!
[Bob's image appears in the static.]
Bob:
Sorry, Phong. The explosion caused interference.
Phong:
The Webcreature has escaped!
Bob:
No! It's a class M! It can use the tear energy to form a portal to the Web!

 

[The streets of Baudway shake. Mouse, Dot, Modem, and Nully struggle to keep their balance. The Webcreature explodes out of the ground and shoots up to the tear. When it reaches it, the tear contracts, then expands into an even bigger sphere, filled with whirling, chaotic spiral patterns.]
Bob:
No!

 

[Phong looks down mournfully.]

 

[Bob zips down to Mouse, Dot, Modem, and Nully.]
Modem:
It just broke free.
Nully:
We couldn't stop it.
[The portal spirals hypnotically above them.]
Modem:
You see, Nully, the Web is out there.
Nully:
No, Modem. It's here. Cliffhanger
[The portal, seen from the side, is low above Mainframe, dangerously close to the Principle Office. Then the camera closes in dramatically on Bob.]

 

Bob:
This is it, Phong. Prepare for war.

 

 
Directed by Steve Ball
Executive Creative Consultants Ian Pearson Brendan McCarthy
Story Editor Martin Borycki
Starring the Voices of Michael Benayer
Matthew Sinclair
Shirley Millner
Gary Chalk
Andrea Libman		 Kathleen Barr
Tony Jay
Michael Donovan
Scott MacNeil
Louise Vallance
And special guest appearance by Gillian Anderson
Voice Director Michael Donovan
Associate Producer Jeanie Lamb
Casting by   BLT Productions Inc.
Executive Production Design Consultant Brendan McCarthy
Production Design Jeff Cappleman
Production Design Consultant Ian Gibson
Storyboard Supervisor James Boshier William Lau
Supervising Animators Gavin Blair Phil Mitchell
Computer Animators Russell Ang
Corey Barnard
Colin Cameron
Mabel Chan
Barb Dawson
Mike Ferraro
Mark Lemon
Peter Nash
Colin Raesler
Mark Schiemann
Ken Steel
Chris Welman		 Scott Baltjes
Frank Belina
Jeff Cappleman
Stephen Cooper
Andrew Doucette
Walter Hsieh
Jonathan Moyes
Ezekiel Norton
Morgan Ratsoy
Mike Skorey
Rak Tafarodi
Kent Yu
Post Production Supervisor Glenn Griffiths
On-Line Editor Dermot Shane
Assistant On-Line Editor Anne Hoerber
Off-Line Editor James Boshier
Assistant Off-Line Editor William Lau
Technical Assistant Alden Williams
Director of Technical Operations Kelly Daniels
Chief Engineer Greg Story
Director of Software Development Chris Welman
Software Development Phil Peterson Albert Ho
Script Supervisor Susan Turner
Comptroller Giuliana Bertuzzi, CMA
Production Accountant Ellie Khabbaz
Assistant to the Producers Sharon Bond
Production Secretary Jennifer Scherer
Production Assistants Barbara Dawson Elizabeth Embling
Production Runners Craig Barnard
Lori Hutton
Dave Small		 Sylvain Blais
Andrew Ogawa
Publicist Carol Taverner
Stills Artist Colin Raesler
Music composed by Robert Buckley
Audio Post Facility Pinewood Sound
Sound Effects Editor Marcel Duperreault
Re-Recording Mixers Randy Kiss Geoff Turner
Dialogue recorded at Pinewood Sound Buzzy's Recording
Video Post Production SFX MAINFRAME Ltd.
Recorded in Stereo Surround
Production Executives Adam Whittaker Josanne B. Lovick
Executive in charge of Production Mark Ralston

Co-Produced in association with YTV

With the Support of The Maclean Hunter Television Fund

All Rights Reserved Worldwide © (1993)
No. 17 Limited Partnership

Co-Produced by
BLT Productions Ltd.

Vancouver, British Columbia

and
Allaince

MAINFRAME ENTERTAINMENT, INC.

www.mainframe.ca

 

  The ReBoot episode "Trust No One" and all associated images is copyright © Mainframe Entertainment, Inc. Screen grabs snapped by Wendy Lee. This transcript document is copyright © Kim McFarland. Please do not re-archive without permission.

 

 Back to the Transcripts in Slack & Hash's Domain