The Electric State

Stuck, aren't you?

No.

I'm done.

That professor said that test took Einstein three days. Three days!

Yeah, then he stole his brain.

You know, it's just embarrassing. You can't go to college before me.

No, Einstein took that test,

became Einstein, then they stole his brain.

Chris, it doesn't matter 'cause you just aced that test.

Doesn't mean I have to go here-- Uh.

Watch where you're goin', son.

You must think you're real funny.

A robot on your shirt?

No, it's a cartoon. Is that a crime now too?

Join humanity, son! War is coming!

Sorry.

I don't know how you're gonna survive college.

Yeah, by not going.

What are you talking about?

Well, Mom and Dad would've gone nuts if I didn't take the test,

so I took the test, and I... I kinda wanted to see how I'd do.

But... I don't know.

- You always know. - I'm not ready.

Hey.

Your brain is the single most annoying thing in my life.

It's also the most amazing. You can't just hide that in your room.

That professor said he's never seen scores like yours.

You could change the world.

Okay, I... I... I'd rather do it with you around.

Aw!

Okay, to buy me pizza and do my laundry.

It doesn't matter if you're down the hall or on the moon,

we're always connected.

That's actually theoretically possible.

Quantum physics says that particles can stay linked

way after they come into contact.

And if everything exists in a state of electricity,

then it's possible our consciousness could transcend physical boundaries.

Cool.

Then my particles will come visit your particles.

In your dorm.

"Always remember, Kid Cosmo's your pal."

- Don't do that here. -

["Mary Jane's Last Dance" by Tom Petty playing]

Hey, everybody. MTV News from May 15th.

Say it ain't so!

Kid Cosmo, your lovable robot friend from Saturday morning cartoon fame,

well, his show's been canceled.

There's trouble on the moon!

It seems Cosmo is the latest victim of the fierce anti-robot sentiment

sweeping the nation.

- Always remember, Kid Cosmo's your pal. -

Tonight, All Access with Madeline Vance

sits down with the visionary and rather handsome founder

of Sentre Technologies.

You can't understand the story of Ethan Skate

without first understanding the story of robot evolution.

You famously never owned robots, did you?

I never trusted them.

They're not us.

So how would they possibly understand our best interests?

Initially developed by Walt Disney

to promote the opening of his theme park in 1955,

robots were eventually put into mass production.

They quickly became the backbone of the global workforce,

doing all the jobs that humans didn't want to do.

For years, they never complained about working around the clock,

but the day eventually came

when they grew tired of the lives we assigned them

and demanded lives of their own.

Zut alors!

The robot rights movement gathered steam today

as thousands of robots descended on St. Louis

to listen to a fiery speech

made by former Planters promotional bot Mr. Peanut.

We were built to think, but now, they don't want us to.

We were built to work but never for ourselves.

Our destiny isn't theirs to decide.

It's ours to fight for.

My toaster breaks, I get a new toaster. What if I'm--

- But that's murder. Do you hear yourself? - No! Bots have an on-off switch.

Let me finish. We have-- We deserve the right to liberty.

Deserve freedom from servitude.

They deserve the right to work for me when I plug them in.

No!

And when they don't, it's off to the garbage dump.

The rogue advertising bot vandalized the Iwo Jima Memorial today

in defiance of the president's order that all robots return to work.

The Robot Equality Coalition has launched violent protests

in five American cities.

These acts demand a strong response.

As of today, we are at war with the robot population,

and any US citizen harboring a robot will be met with charges of treason.

- Go, go! - Jesus, he's got a barbecue!

Incoming! Fall back!

They don't eat. They don't sleep. They don't blink.

I blink.

For two years, humanity fought, and for two years, it lost.

- Until Ethan Skate stepped in. -

Mankind needed a leap forward. I just showed it where to jump.

He called his breakthrough the Neurocaster.

A device that linked the human mind to mechanized drone bodies.

Obviously, I have no issue with technology

as long as humanity retains control.

Humans were finally able to fight fire with mechanized fire.

And within weeks, the war was over.

Mr. Peanut signed the Treaty of Surrender

with President Clinton

and Sentre CEO Ethan Skate on the White House lawn today.

While in Detroit, Kid Rock threw a party

celebrating the defeat of the Robot Equality Coalition.

Drones have successfully imprisoned over 6,000 defeated robots

in Sentre's Exclusion Zone.

That's the vast desert facility spanning more than 100,000 square miles

of the American Southwest.

Live at the Sentre Store, where we're just minutes away

from the launch of Sentre's new consumer Neurocaster.

The technology that won the war is now changing the way we live our lives.

The Neurocaster network allows your mind to be in two places at once.

Work and play at the same time.

Escapism for the masses.

I would prefer to think of it as freedom.

So become a part of the Sentre network.

Now available in every corner of the world.

- -

Ticktock! Ticktock!

Good morning, sunshine.

- Don't you knock? - Not in my own house, I don't.

- What are you doing? - Going to class.

You need an after-school activity.

Child Services says they'll pay extra for "student enrichment."

- But I feel so enriched already, Ted. - This isn't optional, girl.

- Ted's casa, Ted's rules. - Ted's rules.

Ah, yeah. Mock me. Real smart!

If it's so important to Ted, why doesn't Ted tell me himself?

Because my frontal cortex is in Vegas with Cindy Crawford!

And I'm not missing that for you.

- You disgust me. - Track and field's 200 bucks.

How fast can you run?

Take this ankle monitor off, and we'll see.

- Ha ha ha. That's not happening. -

I've done it before.

I don't care how many other foster homes you broke out of.

You check into Fort Ted, you do not leave.

Do I make myself clear?

Uh, marching band. Do you play an instrument?

I don't know. Can you?

Argh! That's a '57 Les Paul! Do you know how hard that was to find?

You didn't find it. All this shit's looted from the Exclusion Zone.

- So? - You're stealing. It's black market.

The bots aren't using it.

Besides, you can't steal stuff nobody wants.

That's... that's, like, uh... law.

And you're, like, a moron.

Okay, Neurocasters on. I'll meet you in Module 3C.

Postwar Robot Internment Act.

Hey. She said put on your caster.

Oh. I'm sorry, I have a condition where I can only live in reality.

Sucks, but you go right ahead!

I see you're new here, Michelle,

but Neurocasters are mandatory in grades nine and above.

Tough day.

I wouldn't limit it to today.

Well, maybe I should have a talk with your mom?

Turn the page.

"Ward of the state."

"Two parents, one brother."

Oh.

A lot of kids here lost family in the war.

It wasn't from the bots, actually.

Our car hit a deer.

- In the road. - I'm sorry.

So was the deer.

You know, neurotherapy could take some of that weight,

give you a... a few hours to forget.

It's okay. It's all right. We'll fix it when we get back in the car.

Hey, look at me.

You're okay.

Do you feel the sand?

Do you feel the air on your face?

Yeah. Yeah.

Okay. Look at me.

You're okay.

- Yeah. - We're good.

- I know. - Yeah, we're good.

- We're good. - We're good.

- We're good. - Yeah.

Okay?

Okay, come 'ere.

Hey, Michelle.

Michelle.

Can I go now?