3-Character Trio Cast 6 - 9 Minutes Sci-Fi/High-Concept
Signal Lost
Full Shooting Script in Industry Courier Monospace Format
FADE IN:
INT. UNDERGROUND CONTROL ROOM - NIGHT
Cold fluorescent light. Blinking MONITORS. Metal shelves full of old radios, cable bundles, circuit boards. A single RED EMERGENCY LAMP pulses like a heartbeat.
DR. SANA (33), utility jacket, tablet in hand, wire cutters clipped to her belt, crouches near an open panel.
ZOYA (26), headset on, sleek ponytail, checks readouts on a monitor with nervous energy.
MIRA (58), cardigan, calm and eccentric, sits with a RADIO RECEIVER pressed close, listening to silence.
ZOYA
(to Sana)
Citywide blackout. Main grid dead.
Backup bhi weirdly... breathing jaise kar raha hai.
SANA
Grid breathe nahi karta, Zoya.
Tumhara anxiety karta hai.
ZOYA
Funny. Main toh bas data dekh rahi hoon.
Mira tilts her head, listening to the room.
MIRA
Shh.
SANA
Kya hua?
MIRA
Kuch nahi.
Isi liye sun rahi hoon.
Zoya rolls her eyes, then freezes.
ZOYA
Wait.
Yeh readout... impossible hai.
She points at the tablet screen.
ZOYA (CONT'D)
Signal gaps are repeating.
Jaise kisi ne outage ko... edit kiya ho.
SANA
Koi edit nahi karta power failure ko.
Koi fuse udta hai, ya cable jalti hai.
MIRA
Ya message aata hai.
Sana looks up.
SANA
Kaunsa message?
Mira slowly lifts the radio receiver.
A crackle.
Then a DISTORTED VOICE, faint but clear enough.
VOICE (V.O.)
Red lamp ko mat chhuna.
Cable bundle ko left port mein mat daalna.
Aur Sana... third file mat kholna.
Beat.
ZOYA
...Kya tha yeh?
SANA
Interference.
MIRA
Nahi.
Transmission.
Sana snatches the tablet open.
SANA
Third file?
She taps. A file opens.
ON SCREEN: CITY RELAY CASCADE MODEL. Timestamp: 17 MINUTES AHEAD.
ZOYA
Future timestamp?
SANA
Fake metadata.
ZOYA
Sana, I’m data analyst. Fake aur impossible mein difference hota hai.
Another crackle from the radio.
VOICE (V.O.)
Mira, unhe abhi tak nahi bataya?
Mira closes her eyes.
MIRA
Ab batana padega.
SANA
Batana kya?
Mira stands. Calm, but heavy.
MIRA
Outage maine start kiya tha.
Silence.
ZOYA
Excuse me?
SANA
Tumne poori city ka signal cut kiya?
MIRA
Signal nahi.
Grid ko lock kiya.
SANA
Why would you do that?
MIRA
Kyunki agar aaj full power restore hota,
relay core overload hota.
Basement ke neeche pressure line phat-ti.
Hospital wing, metro tunnel, north block...
sab jhatke mein jaate.
ZOYA
That’s... not in any current report.
MIRA
Current report likhne wale log zinda the.
Main thi.
Tab bhi maine bola tha.
Kisi ne nahi suna.
Sana looks at the tablet, then the monitors.
SANA
Future transmission... real hai?
MIRA
Main radio technician hoon thi.
Silence bhi kabhi-kabhi line pakad leti hai.
The radio crackles again.
VOICE (V.O.)
Sana, manual bypass karo.
Zoya, 12-second window.
Mira, knob at 3.
Zoya stares at the radio.
ZOYA
Okay, no, this is officially insane.
SANA
Yet accurate.
She scrolls through the file. Her face changes.
SANA (CONT'D)
Oh no.
ZOYA
Kya?
SANA
If we restore automatically, relay explodes.
File says... manual bypass only.
ZOYA
Then do it.
SANA
If I do, system logs blame someone.
MIRA
Mujhe.
ZOYA
Why would it blame you?
Mira gives a tiny, tired smile.
MIRA
Kyunki future ko ek villain chahiye hota hai.
Sana looks at her, suddenly understanding more than she wants to.
SANA
You engineered the outage to prevent the disaster.
MIRA
Haan.
Aur kyunki aaj tak kisi ne old woman ko seriously nahi liya.
ZOYA
Honestly? Fair point.
Despite herself, Sana almost smiles.
SANA
Focus.
Zoya, timing.
Mira, radio.
Zoya moves to the monitor bank, fingers flying.
ZOYA
Manual bypass route open kar rahi hoon.
But if I miss by even one second...
SANA
Then don’t miss.
Mira holds the radio, listening.
MIRA
Silence bol rahi hai... ab.
The RED EMERGENCY LAMP flashes faster.
VOICE (V.O.)
Ab.
Sana yanks the cable bundle, reroutes it to the correct port.
SANA
Left port nahi. Right port.
Of course.
She cuts an insulation strip with the wire cutters.
ZOYA
Twelve... eleven... ten...
Mira turns an old relay knob with surgical precision.
MIRA
Teen.
ZOYA
Two...
MIRA
Ab.
Sana hits the circuit board latch.
A beat of total darkness.
Then MONITORS flicker green.
A city grid map comes alive.
ZOYA
It’s back.
A warning flashes on one screen:
DISASTER AVERTED.
SOURCE OF OUTAGE: MANUAL INTERVENTION.
ZOYA
Wait... source logged as S.K.
Sana stiffens.
SANA
They’ll blame me.
Mira leans in, serene.
MIRA
Nahi.
Tumne choice ki.
Bas itna hi kaafi hai.
The radio crackles one last time.
VOICE (V.O.)
Mira, thank you.
Sana, you chose right.
Zoya, next time headset pe mute mat rakhna.
Zoya bursts out laughing, half-shocked.
ZOYA
Oh my God.
Sana exhales, finally letting go.
SANA
Future version of us has jokes.
MIRA
Future version of us has scars.
She closes her eyes and listens to the room again.
The RED EMERGENCY LAMP keeps pulsing.
But now, it feels less like a warning.
FADE OUT.
THE END.
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