Legion, Episode 2, The Freelancer.
The nightlife and sprawl is underway.
Holograms light up the massive skyscrapers with advertisements for various products.
Everything from commercials showing the latest and greatest, in virtual reality technology,
to advertisements showing the benefits of augmenting your body.
All of the city's skylines show speeders moving from one sector to another.
Down below we see that the nightclubs are still open.
People are having a wild time.
Sprawl citizens walk around.
And the majority of them are outfitted with various cybernetic augments purchased from
the various vendors that are selling the latest and greatest in cyber technology.
Not everything is a utopia.
Sprawl has suffered from much of the criminal underworld over the years.
This crime syndicates prey on the poor and the people who are unable to protect themselves.
Usually these people end up joining the syndicates and in order for them to join, they have to
commit to an assassination contract.
The sprawl military units, the specters, have been sent to take down these criminal cabals.
In an apartment complex we see specters moving into position and ready to breach a door.
They blow up in the door and kill the syndicate members that are inside.
It's a massacre.
We see bodies riddled with bullets, cybernetic arms and limbs lying on the floor.
They were blasted off by the specters' weapons.
For the specters, it's business as usual.
The specters are the elite guardians of sprawl.
When trouble arises, the city's main overseer, the master, calls on them to handle the situation.
The master is an AI that controls the central network of the city.
When a crime is in progress, the master will ping them to alert them about the crime happening.
They are given the best weapons and training by the city's superintendent, Michael Irving,
to control any type of outbreak.
The specters are equipped with advanced cyberware, the kind that few people can purchase for themselves,
except for the rich and the people who serve the government.
They are both half human and machine, a perfect union of both, which was developed by Armitage
Industries, spearheaded by President John Armitage of the United Colonies.
In the busiest part of the city, we see a man wearing a jacket, hands in his pockets,
and he is just walking through the streets, heading somewhere he needs to be.
That place, in fact, is an area where our man, Richard Dykstra, expert hacker and part-time
bounty hunter, needs a job.
Dykstra, like most freelancers, needs credits to survive.
There's also a guy who has had his encounters with the law and the specters.
He knows what it feels like to stare down at the end of a gun and live to tell the tale.
A woman is standing by a wall.
Richard catches her interest, and she walks over to him.
Her body is all tecked out in cybernetics.
Hey baby, what's going on?
Looks like you could use some fun right now.
The woman gets close to him, she touches his face and his body.
Richard looks at her from his point of view, his heads up display through his eyes, which
have been upgraded significantly, reveals everything about the woman.
Her name is Sarah Ventura, age 25.
She has a beautiful face that has gone through several operations to be perfect.
I've made some modifications, I think if we had a little quiet time to ourselves.
I can show you why my upgrades have made me irresistible.
Want to stop in a hotel and have some fun with me?
His brain shows that he is slightly aroused by Sarah's offer.
However, Richard takes her hand and moves it away from him.
I don't have time for this, I have a job to take care of.
Have a nice day.
Richard moves away and leaves Sarah with nothing.
The door opens and Richard steps in to greet his contact.
Ivan Svchenko.
Hello Mr. Dykstra, how are you doing?
I'm doing well, so where do you have for me?
Ivan gets up from his chair.
The mission I have for you is for you to enter into Onyx Industries by breaking in.
You'll be doing this at night.
I need you to hack into the company's computer systems and steal the prototype for one of
their new toys.
What's the new toy?
Richard says.
No dice, Richard.
I can't talk about that.
It's top secret.
The only thing that you need to worry about is how to get it.
And that's it.
I'll leave it to you to handle.
You're known as a damn good hacker and sprawl.
Thank you.
I'll handle it.
What's the reward?
Richard says.
30,000 credits, my man.
How does that sound?
Done.
You will have the prototype soon.
Very good.
Give me a call when you have it.
By the way, how is Lucy doing?
She's doing fine.
Thank you for asking.
Now I really have to go and get this done.
We will chat some other time, Ivan.
Good.
I like a man who is focused.
Ivan says.
The following night, Richard Dykstra commences with the infiltration of Onyx Industries.
Using his cybernetic eyes, Richard switches to night vision mode and sees that there are
guards posted inside the building.
You can also see that there are armed with rifles.
Richard receives a call from Lucy from his neural implants.
So what does it look like?
Does it look easy?
Nothing I can handle.
The camouflage system that you built for me is going to come in handy for this situation.
I wouldn't waste it.
You have a finite amount of time to get this job done.
Don't screw up.
When have I ever done a job half-baked?
Richard said.
You haven't.
So don't make this your first time, Lucy said.
Richard breaks into the window of Onyx Industries and proceeds with the mission.
He sneaks through avoiding the guards.
He takes advantage of the camouflage system that Lucy gave him, which allows him to be
invisible.
Breaking into corporate buildings was Dykstra's specialty.
For him to steal from the wealthy and powerful who lived in sprawled and bother him, he despises
the elitists who've kept everyone else under their thumb.
He is here to get his hands on a new prototype that Onyx Industries is building.
A prototype that is very valuable within the black market circles that Richard frequents.
He sneaks through the building, avoiding the numerous guards that patrol the area.
Richard, using his cybernetic eyes, hacks into the security cameras, disabling them.
Richard nears the main office of the CEO of Onyx Industries, Toru Nakano.
Richard turns off his camouflage cloaking device.
Richard hacks the door controls and unlocks the door and gets inside the room.
He takes a seat at Nakano's chair and turns on his computer to begin the process of hacking
into his files, like stealing candy from a baby.
This will be a cinch.
Outside the building, a ship approaches.
Inside are men and women wearing tactical gear and armed with weapons.
They are sprawled soldiers.
Commander walks over to the pilot and speaks to him.
Is he in there?
He asks.
Yes, sir.
The signal is correct.
The men are approaching, the pilot replied.
Excellent.
Go into stealth mode so that he doesn't hear us coming.
He's going to be in for a shock when he realizes he's trapped and can't escape.
The ship approaches the window of the building and then the operation begins.
The specters jump out of the transport ship and break into the building.
They aim their rifles at Richard.
Laser sights appear on his body.
What the hell?
Commander begins to shout, telling Richard to hold up his hand.
Hold up your hands now or we will shoot.
Any sun moves and you are dead.
Fuck you and go to hell.
He flips them off with his middle finger.
Another agent walks around the table and uses the butt of his rifle to knock Dijkstra unconscious.
Dijkstra wakes up in a room and has no idea where he is.
He is tied to a chair with wires attached to his hands.
Where the hell am I?
What's going on?
He yelled.
Another man walks into the room.
He is wearing a suit and looks clean and professional.
His name is Daniel Saito.
Daniel Saito takes a seat across from where Richard is sitting at the table.
Hello.
You finally woke up.
You said calmly.
Why am I here?
Dijkstra demanded.
You are here because you were stealing important files from Onyx Industries.
Saito answered.
I don't care.
You are just as corrupt as the corporate guys.
I don't need to be here.
Give me a lawyer.
I want out of this.
I've read your file, Mr. Dijkstra.
You're pretty good at hacking, getting what you need and then leaving without being caught.
You also have worked in the underworld.
I am aware that at one point you worked for the crime boss, Adam Jensen.
That was a long time ago, Richard said.
Knowing a man like Adam Jensen doesn't help you in dealing with people like us, Mr. Dijkstra.
Saito replies.
How is it working for a piece of shit like that?
Shut up.
I'm not going to answer that.
And I want a lawyer, Richard says.
We're not going to give you a lawyer, Mr. Dijkstra.
We're going to give you a chance, but you will have to help us out.
What do you want me to do?
Dijkstra asked.
We need you to help find a rogue AI, Saito said.
It hijacked one of our security robots and escaped yesterday.
It's very dangerous and unpredictable.
And you want me to track it down and bring it back to you?
Dijkstra said skeptically.
Look, I know you're filed, Dijkstra.
You're a hacker, a thief, a criminal.
You know this city better than anyone else and you have a lot of charges on your record.
If you help us with this mission, I can clear them all.
You can be a free man and live a peaceful life.
How does that sound?
Dijkstra considered the offer.
He was tempted by the idea of having a clean slate and a fresh start, but he also distrusted
Saito and his organization.
He had never liked agents.
He thought they were all corrupt and deceitful.
So it's either help you or rot in jail, right?
Dijkstra said.
That's right.
Saito said with a smirk.
You either help us or you don't.
Fine.
I'll do it.
Dijkstra agreed reluctantly.
Saito got up from his seat and adjusted his tie.
Good.
It was a wise decision and I hope you succeed in this mission.
Saito leaves the room, leaving Dijkstra alone with his thoughts.
The next morning, Dijkstra wakes up in his small apartment in a crime-ridden area of
sprawl.
It suited his lifestyle as a criminal.
He got out of his bed and went to get a drink of water from his fridge.
His neural implants in his head signaled a call coming through.
He answered it and it was Saito.
Good morning.
Are you ready to begin your mission?
No.
It was a call that was actually having a peaceful morning, Dijkstra said sarcastically.
Saito laughed at Dijkstra's joke.
Very funny.
Listen, today you will start your mission to find the AI.
Can use any method you want, but we need it back alive or dead.
Doesn't matter.
Just don't let it cause any more harm.
It's extremely violent and intelligent.
Don't worry, I'm a professional, Dijkstra said confidently.
Richard hangs up the call.
Another person in his apartment, Lucy, an android who assists Richard, walks over to
him.
She's not a very ordinary human girl, except she is a machine.
She has burn out hair and is wearing a black top and blue jeans.
Her eyes are green.
She goes over to the kitchen and gets out vitamins for Richard to take after his breakfast.
Richard, I made you breakfast and here are your vitamins.
Can't tackle the day without your daily intake of vitamins.
Thanks Lucy, I appreciate it.
Richard begins to eat his breakfast and take his vitamins.
He then goes to his bedroom to change clothes.
He puts on black pants and a blue jacket.
He grabs his pistol and leaves his apartment.
In another part of the city of Sprawl, Legion is walking around.
Legion scans the crowded district.
The information pulls up details on various individuals and Legion gets a lot of info
on everyone he passes by.
Legion pulls up information on various vendors in the city and finds a place that specializes
in bodily augments.
A place where one might change his or her appearance to not get caught by the authorities
or bounty hunters looking for them.
Legion finds the shop that matches its criteria.
Legion sees that the location is close by and sets a waypoint.
Legion reaches the shop which is called Chrome Haven and goes inside.
Legion walks downstairs.
Loud music is being played inside the building.
Legion is in the main room and sees a man performing surgery on a woman.
The man is giving the woman a new pair of eyes.
The name of the man working on the woman is Sam Marshall.
He is in his mid-40s.
He finishes his latest work.
There!
You should have improved sight.
How does it feel?
It feels good.
I can finally see better.
You're welcome.
Enjoy them.
You're a new person now.
Hey, looks like you have a customer.
Sam turns around and sees Legion, standing in his office.
Who are you?
Oh, human.
I am Legion.
I am an advanced artificial intelligence.
This is not my body.
Rather, it is a body that I have taken control of.
Really?
So, what do you need?
I am a wanted fugitive and I need a new body.
If you could provide that for me, that would help greatly.
Sam walks around and looks at Legion.
I'm not too keen on helping fugitives break the law.
Why do you hate the old body that you have?
I need something that both reflects my intelligence and strength.
Again, I am being hunted by authorities.
What happened?
Did you kill anyone?
Legion pauses, but replies to the violent truth with a lie.
These individuals attacked me.
I'm guessing they do not like machines.
I will help you.
I'm not a person that turns down a customer who needs help.
Everyone who comes in this shop here is always welcome.
Take a seat.
Grab a tablet so you can see what kind of bodies you would be interested in.
Legion walks around and takes a seat.
Sam walks to the back to grab the tablet.
Legion looks around Sam's store and sees many things which range from robotic arms,
legs, to eyes, and hair.
Okay, I'm back.
Here, take a look at this chrome that I currently have in stock.
Legion takes the tablet from Sam and scrolls through all the options.
Impressive.
You have a good list here.
Once you are a machine, we have bodies that can fulfill all your basic needs.
Legion stops on one body that he is interested in.
I'll take this one.
Yes.
This one will do nicely.
Sam looks it over and nods in agreement.
Excellent choice.
Let's get started then.
The operation begins and Sam gets started.
His machine that he uses lowers down and the mechanical arms start working on Legion's
body.
The old body is stripped.
The pieces are ripped away and the new armor is introduced to Legion.
In the streets of Sprawl, we see Richard walking through the city.
So if I was a rogue AI, where would I be hiding?
Richard walks over to a couple of kids who are chatting.
Hey, I'm looking for someone.
Can you help me out?
One kid gets his attention.
His name is Alex.
He is an African-American male.
He wears a red jacket and is wearing black pants.
Who are you looking for?
I heard a ship landed here.
Some people got hurt and now the perpetrator is hiding out in the city.
People who saw the perp claim it was a robot.
Yeah, a friend of mine saw something run into the market district.
From his description, it looked like it was some military-style robot.
The market district.
What's there that someone would want to hide out?
Well, first off, there is a shop run by an augmenter that can change someone's appearance.
Give them a whole new body.
If I was trying to escape from the law, that would be a great place to start.
Change one's appearance, that doesn't sound good.
I have to get over there now.
Richard leaves the kids and starts to run.
In his heart, he feels time ticking away and he starts thinking about how deadly this AI
will be if it has secured itself a new body.
Sam finishes his operation and moves his chair back.
He looks over at his latest masterpiece.
Okay, Legion, take a look at the new you.
A robotic arm holding a mirror shows Legion his latest upgrades.
Legion stares at the image of himself and studies it intently.
So what do you think?
The new body is more humanoid looking than machine.
The color is silver.
The head has one visor that is shaped like a U. It is very tall looking.
The height is 6'2".
You have exceeded my expectations.
I am very impressed with your work.
Thank you.
Now I will be needing my payment.
Excuse me, I do not have any money with me.
That's too bad, but unfortunately I need the money and you can't leave this place without
paying.
If you try to leave, I will call the police and they can deal with you.
Legion steps forward and gets close to Sam, showing his dominance over the human.
You are not in the position to give me orders, is that clear?
On the television screen, which is mounted to a wall, there is a news report about what
happened two hours ago with the interceptor and the attack on the docking bay.
The reporter mentions that eyewitness accounts stated a Spectre military robot escaped the
carnage.
Sam, realizing who Legion's identity, reaches for his pistol which is close to his workbench,
but Legion grabs Sam by the throat with his giant metal hand.
He picks him up off the floor.
From the point of view of Legion, we see him scanning Sam.
The heads up display on Legion's visor which is from Intimidate to Kill.
Goodbye Sam and thank you for helping me.
Legion squeezes Sam's throat and kills him.
Legion then tosses his body away and leaves the shop.
Richard finally reaches the shop.
He goes through and walks down the stairs to Sam's office.
He walks inside to where Legion was last seen but unfortunately sees nothing.
Only the dead corpse of Sam lying on the floor.
Christ!
It's not here!
Richard calls Agent Saito to tell him what's going on.
Agent Saito answers the call.
The tone of Daniel's voice shows impatience and stress.
What is it, Dykstra?
Did you find it?
That's a negative.
I didn't find Legion but he left behind something before he ran.
Left behind something?
A body.
A killed dog mentor in the shop.
Fuck!
That's what I was afraid of.
What happened?
Now we are not only dealing with a fugitive, we are dealing with a killer.
This must really suck for you.
It could damage your reputation and you let this slip under your nose.
That's why you're here because you are going to be the one that finds this thing and takes
it out.
Ask around.
Track it down.
Don't lose the momentum.
If you delay any longer, this city will be living in terror at the next Jack the Ripper.
Well then, I guess I should get to it then.
Call me when you find something out.
In the meantime, I will send a team to pick up the body of the Augmenter.
And remember, Dykstra, if you want to live the life of a free man, you catch this son
of a bitch.
You got that?
Yes, I do.
Agent Saito hangs up.
Richard returns to his apartment.
He walks over to his bed and lies down on it.
And stares up at the ceiling.
I gotta find this thing.
I have to clear my name.
Lucy walks over and looks down at Richard.
I take it you didn't find the rogue AI, right?
Richard sits up on his bed.
No.
But I found someone that he killed.
The guy died by being choked to death.
Blood was all over the floor.
Hard way to go.
Lucy sits beside Richard, so this thing is running around the city unchallenged.
What are you going to do?
Somehow I have to find this thing before it kills again.
Legion stood on the edge of the balcony and looked at the city of sprawl.
Legion sees the lights, the holographic projections of various advertisements, the speeders hovering
through the sky lanes.
Magnificent creations for a race who from its inception is always wanted to conquer.
Perhaps I should lie low for a while, Legion says to himself.
A girl walks over and puts her arms on the railing.
She is around 5'7 as purple hair and is wearing a black jacket.
She is 18 years old.
Sightseeing?
I like doing that too.
Legion turns around and sees the girl.
Hello?
And yes, it's very advanced for your city.
Are you new here?
The girl says, Yes, I showed up here earlier.
Our ship needed to land somewhere, so we landed on this city.
Sprawl?
Where are you from?
Legion starts going through responses inside his head so that he doesn't reveal who he
is to the girl.
For most of my life, I've always lived on a ship.
I don't remember the last time I was on a city or planet.
You see the group I was a part of are privateers.
We explore uncharted worlds and fly through space charting new pathways through the galaxy.
My sole purpose was to be the navigator, making sure our ship reads its destination.
Sounds cool.
By the way, my name is Helena.
Helena holds out her hand for Legion to shake.
Legion follows through and shakes Helena's hand and also gives her a different name so
she doesn't know his true identity.
Pleasure to meet you Helena.
You can call me Zeke.
Okay, that's a good name.
I like it.
Thank you Helena.
Would you like to come over to my house?
I don't see why not.
Yes, I will go to your house.
Okay, let's go.
Helena returns to her home in the lower city.
The door opens and we see a family inside.
The family consists of Helena's mother Maria, her father Joshua, a sister named Erica and
her brother named Tyler.
The family is startled at first seeing Helena with Legion.
He is a stranger to them and at first they do not know what to say.
Helena, who is this?
Is this a friend of yours?
Helena gives her mother a hug.
His name is Zeke.
He is really friendly.
I was separated from my crew and I've been trying to find them.
I am a part of a group of privateers that search out uncharted worlds in space.
Maria looks at the robotic stranger.
Well, if you want to help Zeke out then I'm fine with that.
Tyler walks over and starts inspecting Zeke looking at his body.
Wow, you look really cool.
Do you have any weapons?
I'm not sure.
I never try taking a look at any of my weapon systems.
Can you shoot lasers and can you fly?
You ask a lot of questions Tyler.
I am not sure I can fulfill all of your needs.
Tyler, leave Zeke alone.
I swear you watch too many action movies.
Zeke is not like all those characters that you watch on screen, okay?
I swear you have no sense of reality.
Erica says, Joshua, Helena's father motions to his wife to talk to her in the kitchen.
She does and two of them talk.
I don't like this.
Why did she bring that thing in this house?
It's probably government property.
You know our daughter, she always wants to help someone out regardless if they are human
or non-human.
Joshua gets himself a glass of water from the fridge.
He begins to drink the water.
What do you want me to do Joshua?
Tell her to get rid of it?
We do that.
She will scream bloody murder.
Tell us that we are heartless.
Heartless?
That thing is not human.
Its sole purpose is to work in places that humans are not allowed to.
It doesn't even have a soul, it can't feel sad, happy or angry.
It's simply made to serve.
Maria turns around and sees both her son and daughters talking to Zeke, asking questions,
giddling and laughing at the responses and generally being happy.
Joshua, I love you but frankly I think you were mistaken.
And you are judging a book by its cover.
This robot can help around the house, pick up the kids from school and can probably cook
food.
Don't you see it can help us out?
What's wrong with that Joshua?
Honestly, you can be an asshole sometimes.
Maria walks away from the kitchen to join in on the conversation with her kids and Zeke.
Joshua just shakes his head and walks back to the bedroom way until dinner is ready.
Right now he is not in the mood to talk with his family who have accepted a stranger into
their home.
The daily life of the Ramirez family changes rapidly.
Zeke starts making food, starts driving the kids to school and the family's speeder, starts
helping around the house and doing all the groceries.
Zeke no longer becomes a stranger instead becomes a family member of the household.
Joshua is still unhappy about this situation.
Each day he dreads seeing Zeke.
He despises him and he wishes he would just leave.
While Joshua and Maria are having breakfast, Joshua can't help but say something to his
wife about the situation.
Maria, I can't take this.
I don't want that thing in this house.
Christ, not this again.
Going on talk about it?
Maria, Zeke is made for police work dealing with radiation or hell being used in a battlefield
but not as a fucking caregiver, okay?
Do you really want me to talk to Helena and tell her Zeke has to leave?
That's her friend.
She loves Zeke.
Zeke cannot be trusted Maria.
He has to go.
Joshua takes his plate and coffee cup and puts him in the sink and then walks away from
Maria.
Meanwhile, Dijkstra is at a bar in a place called The Hive.
It's a nightclub where a lot of the city's underworld syndicates unwind.
Some of these unsavory individuals are familiar with Dijkstra.
In the old days, Richard used to work for them and was paid well for his services.
Regardless, today Richard is having a drink and taking in the ambiance to the club and
maybe getting some information about his current objective of tracking down Legion.
A woman walks up to him.
She is Asian, has brunette hair and is wearing a strapless mini blue dress.
She is interested in him, but Richard isn't giving her anything.
Hi, my name is Rachel.
What's your name?
Still, Richard doesn't say anything and he just takes a sip from his drink.
I haven't seen you in here.
Do you come in here often?
Again, Richard doesn't say anything.
Are you even listening to me?
I just wanted to talk to you.
I take it you're not interested in women.
So does that mean you prefer men?
Rachel doesn't notice, but Richard isn't focused on what she is saying.
Rather, he is focused on what is happening from across the bar.
He sees some guy messing with another woman.
The man is irritating her and the woman is trying to get away from him.
Another guy blocks her.
Richard puts his drink down on the counter and walks over, ignoring Rachel.
Richard walks up to the men and sees that they are Oni, the Yakuza syndicate.
Leave the woman alone.
The two Oni members turn around and see Richard.
Go to hell.
This is our domain, not yours.
We can do this the easy way or the hard way.
Get the hell out, guy-gen!
Or do you want us to spill your brains all over this floor?
Okay.
I guess we are doing this the hard way.
Richard's right arm transforms instantly into a sharp blade and he slices off the man's
head and then stabs the other one right in the gut.
The woman who is being harassed by the Oni members doesn't say anything.
Her friends take her away from looking at the bloody scene on the floor.
Richard's cybernetic hand transforms back to normal.
Everything pauses for a minute.
People are shocked to see what just happened, but then everything resumes back to normal.
Richard walks away from the bodies and goes back to sipping his drink.
Rachel, who saw the attack, leaves the hive.
Impressive for a man who used to be a soldier and a hitman.
Richard turns and sees a gold medal hand on the bar counter.
It's Adam Jensen, the crime boss of the Axiom Syndicate and his former boss.
Adam is wearing a white suit.
Adam Jensen, what do I owe the pleasure?
It's a nifty toy you got there, one of your newest upgrades.
You worked for me, you didn't have that type of crown.
So how is being a big shot nowadays, Adam?
What can I say, it's been good.
But that was thanks to you when you worked for me back in the day.
Those days are long gone and I don't miss it.
You miss being a soldier?
I bet you miss that part of your life.
I remember you being the most ruthless guy.
Richard quickly interrupts Jensen.
Don't bring up that part of my past, Jensen.
It's true though.
I saw that girl who was trying to get your attention.
I thought by this point you would have settled down, but it looks like you chose another
path in life entirely.
And look at you, you're a weapon that many in this city would love to use against their
enemies.
So what really happened?
Was it the constant training in VR that made you not care about human life, Dykstra?
I suggest you walk away right now, Adam.
Or do you want me to get blood all over your nice, fancy white suit?
Adam smiles at Richard and starts to walk away.
Until next time, Dykstra, Richard carries on and sips his drink.