Saturday, January 11, 2014

Time Enough At Last (2014 Adaptation)

If I were to write an adaptation of The Twilight Zone episode, “All the Time in the World,” I would imagine it to be set in a futuristic world around the year 2020 when humans have developed sophisticated scientific procedures and super-advanced technologies that have paved the way for them to attain a golden age of civilization.

In this world, information is gold, considered by many as a prime commodity, the gateway to success, and the key to power. It is for this reason, however, why societies are still in turmoil and in constant conflict causing them to wage war against each other whenever the opportunity arises. Nations try to steal intelligence from other nations to usurp control and dominate over the entire world and its economies, social institutions, governments, and cultures. Naturally, of course, all of this happens behind the scenes while pop culture and mainstream media distract the rest of the population from the political and technological imbroglio.

Amidst all the chaos, life continues to move on for most people. In this case, the story would revolve around a high school student, Ned Hinkle, who is a social recluse and has no other interest in the world than video games and movies. He often brings his laptop and other portable consoles to school without the knowledge of his parents who have forbidden him to do so. Ned often skips classes so that he can play his video games or watch his favorite movies in the library. Ned’s absences during class soon came to the attention of the principal and his parents are called to the office.

Ned tries to reason with the principal, pointing out that his parents never allow him to play his video games or watch any movies at home. To his dismay, the principal sides with his parents and tells him to clean up his act. When they arrive home, Ned quickly finds out that his parents have discovered where he hides most of his gadgets and consoles and that they have destroyed or thrown the gadgets away. Ned is completely devastated.

One day, while at school, Ned sneaks into a research room built under the building. He closes the door and secures the lock, making sure that no one else would be able to get in, and brings his laptop out to play his video games and watch his movies. After a while, he notices that the ground was shaking and he falls unconscious. When he wakes up, he finds out that the school and everything around has been destroyed by a nuclear weapon. The room he stayed in was equipped with SDI Defense which protected it from the attack.

After realizing the situation he was in, he contemplated on committing suicide until he remembered that his laptop also survived the attack. Ned opened his laptop with intense elation knowing that he would spend the rest of his life playing video games, only to find out that the battery is dead.

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