HARD MODE

Season 0, Episode 0: "The Ampule"

Starring: Taron Egerton as Cael

COLD OPEN

INT. MIAMI PENTHOUSE - NIGHT
A neon-lit skyline glows through floor-to-ceiling windows. A luxurious party pulses with energy. CAEL (30s, charismatic, confident, effortlessly magnetic) glides through the space, drawing admiration without effort. Women flirt openly, men offer handshakes that linger just a moment too long.

CAEL (V.O.)
Some people fight their way to the top. Me? I woke up here.

(Extended V.O.)
Sure, I had to fake a few signatures and charm a few snakes to get from where I started to where I am, but now that I'm here, the only times I sweat—

(Cut to Cael passionately with his stunning girlfriend)
(Cut to Cael relaxing alone in his private sauna)

—is when I choose to.

MONTAGE: Cael boxing aggressively at a private gym. Celebrating as his startup’s stock price skyrockets. Toasting champagne, whispering confidently into a woman's ear. His phone vibrates repeatedly, ignored each time.

The camera tightens on Cael’s face, catching an almost imperceptible flicker of unease.

TITLE SEQUENCE

Minimalistic, cryptic visuals interwoven with abstract shapes and hidden symbols. The central phrase emerges:

"Do not bend reality to serve you. Serve reality until it bends to serve all."

ACT 1

INT. LUXURY CAR - NIGHT
Cael checks his phone, sees a missed call from an UNKNOWN NUMBER. A text message reads simply: "You have not yet donated your gift." Cael scoffs, deleting it without hesitation.

INT. UPSCALE RESTAURANT - NIGHT
Cael smoothly negotiates a lucrative deal. The other executives shake hands respectfully. His phone vibrates again. Same UNKNOWN NUMBER. Irritated, he answers sarcastically.

CAEL
Let me guess—you're selling enlightenment?

VOICE (O.S.)
And what would your version of enlightenment be? More for you?

Cael pauses, unsettled. The line disconnects abruptly, leaving him speechless.

ACT 2

INT. TECH OFFICE - MORNING
Cael strides into his office confidently, noticing strange stares. His assistant appears anxious.

ASSISTANT
The funding—it's gone. The board reversed their decision last night.

Cael's confidence flickers, briefly shadowed by confusion.

INT. HIGH-END BAR - NIGHT
Cael, slightly shaken but covering it, approaches a stunning MODEL. She politely entertains his advances, then pauses thoughtfully.

MODEL
Do you ever feel... like you're just too lucky?

CAEL
Luck is just the universe recognizing greatness. (offers her his business card, extending off his fingers)

MODEL
Or maybe... instead of bending reality to your will, you could bend yourself, so reality can be strong enough to bend for someone else?

She walks away confidently. Cael is left stunned, still holding the card out like an idiot.

INT. CAEL'S PENTHOUSE - NIGHT
Alone, Cael stares into a cracked mirror. His phone buzzes again. He picks up hesitantly.

VOICE (O.S.)
The game was rigged in your favor. Until you stopped deserving it.

CAEL
Maybe I never really played the game. Maybe it was just mine all along.

VOICE (O.S.)
What would you do with your life if you knew you'd be successful?

CAEL
What I'm doing, you bastard. I'm already successful. You know how I know that? Because I don't have to call random numbers and harass them to make a living.

Hangs up. Says to himself, "Prick."

Cael checks his bank balance, all digits are only zeros and ones. The money is still there, but someone is fucking with him.

ACT 3

EXT. RAINY ROOFTOP - NIGHT
Drenched and desperate, Cael steps onto the roof, isolated and vulnerable. He stares down at his phone, finally speaking aloud to the emptiness.

CAEL
Okay. Whatever this is... I'm ready.

His phone buzzes.

MODEL
Drink?

CAEL
You never took my card How did you get this number?

MODEL
I have an identical memory. Table 7 at The Owl Night Club.

INT. DIM ROOM - NIGHT

MODEL
You’ll be dealing with me from here on out. Novelty sticks. Memory fights to keep the unusual. You'll need to forget this conversation ever happened. I can help you with that. I'll remain in your life as a contact in the entertainment industry. We'll be working on a project together.

CAEL what project?

MODEL Doesn't matter. It anti-matters.

Cael is confused. She places a dossier before him.

MODEL (CONT’D) Your aptitude is astronomical. Innate capabilities others spend decades acquiring—you squander. Your life could uplift millions. But you’ve used it to benefit one.

Cael scoffs, ego bruised.

CAEL And I suppose this founder you follow—he’s a saint?

MODEL (smiles) He would say he's an evil saint. But he's actually closer to a Guilty God.

CAEL What's he doing that's so noble?

MODEL You are only authorized to know one time what he's doing at this moment, noble or not. Do you want to use your one time now?

CAEL Yes.

MODEL I can tell you that right now he's in his bed crying over somebody who he thinks doesn't love him anymore, even though she wants nothing more than to go be with him.

CAEL He sounds pathetic.

MODEL You'll earn the right to judge him—after you've been judged. And just so we're clear, the only reason I'm here with you right now, instead of trying to comfort him myself, is because he wants it that way.

She slides an ampule across the table.

MODEL When you drink this, You'll pass out and wake up at your flat. Your existing girlfriend's beauty makes her a magnet for men like you. She has limited access to our operations. She has agreed to administer this chemical into your drinks whenever we want. We need to study your natural way of eliminating difficulties from your life, by elevating the difficulty artificially until your strategy becomes more pronounced. We have been monitoring you as close as we would a nuclear missile.

CAEL Wait, what? Why?

MODEL Because so far, you and other males like you, are the most dangerous force in the universe. Have you ever felt like things just happen for you the way you want them to? The Alpha Program is designed to prevent you from desiring evil, because you have demonstrated the ability to manifest your desired reality.

MODEL (CONT’D) When you wake up, you’ll think we just... partied. You’ll feel a hangover. A hole in your mind. Your girlfriend will scold you for partying with another girl, and will tell you to try to keep it professional between us. You'll be in a suggestible state for a bit, and by the time you're back on your feet, you'll think you signed a contract as a financial consultant for my entertainment contract, instead of a top secret alpha program. I'll be your handler. It isn't perfect -— echoes might linger. You may dream of truths you can’t place.

CAEL (grimly determined) Then let them echo. I'm going to prove to you that this founder isn't who you think he is.

Cael downs the ampule competitively.
MODEL (rolls her eyes) He set it up so that we can recieve alphas who want to donate, but he is the only one who ever has donated himself. The rest have to be coherced. He gave you more than a decade to do the right thing.

Cael downs the ampule, MODEL rolls her eyes.

Cael's eyes close slowly, heavily.

ACT 4

MONTAGE:
Cael’s financial assets freeze. A Fed starts bothering him. The Fed uses a different name every time.

Friends and business partners ghost him.

Every attempt to regain control only increases his isolation and discomfort.

INT. CAEL'S APARTMENT - NIGHT

A mysterious folder slips beneath Cael’s door. Inside are strange, coded texts, and notes referencing "cyberscripture"

CAEL "King without a crown." Charming.

Later: Alone, Cael reads another note seriously. Inspired, he anonymously assists a struggling neighbor. The act feels strangely powerful, deeply authentic.

FINAL IMAGE

TEXT: "You are not lost. You are founder."

END OF EPISODE 0