Circle of 5
FADE IN:
United States: 2038.
A futuristic city at dawn. Not dystopian. Not ruined.
Beautiful, actually.
Streets are clean.
Traffic lights anticipate traffic before it even arrives.
Delivery drones hum softly, almost politely.
A gentle, female A.I. voice murmurs from street speakers:
A.I. VOICE (Voice-Over):
Good morning.
Air quality is optimal.
Your cortisol levels are projected to remain low today.
People walk calmly.
No one looks up.
NARRATOR/LUNDY (V-O):
We finally did it.
We solved scarcity.
We solved logistics.
We solved work.
Machines didn’t take our jobs — they finished them.
QUICK CUTS – MONTAGE:
A man in sweatpants signs off a holographic dashboard:
“Weekly Contribution: 14.2 hours – VERIFIED.”A woman closes her laptop, 9:17 a.m., stretches, smiles.
A young couple lies in bed scrolling side-by-side, not touching.
A child asks an A.I. speaker a question. It answers perfectly.
NARRATOR/LUNDY (On-Screen):
The average work week now sits at 13.8 hours.
Not survival work. Not grind work.
Just… contribution.
Enough to keep the lights on. Enough to feel useful.
Not enough to exhaust anyone.
The economy hums. The markets stabilize.
Everyone has time.
Too much time, as it turns out.
CUT TO — A man alone on a park bench. He scrolls his pocket-PC.
Scroll.
Scroll.
Scroll.
Hours pass. The light changes.
He never looks up.
NARRATOR/LUNDY (Voice-Over):
Loneliness didn’t disappear.
It spiked.
Harder than before.
Harder than anyone predicted.
People stopped bumping into each other.
Stopped needing favors.
Stopped asking questions.
Why interrupt someone when an A.I. answers faster —
and a lot nicer?
CUT TO — A sleek congressional chamber. Calm. Almost bored.
Senator Edwin Martin speaks. No fire. No drama.
SENATOR MARTIN:
We are facing a national emergency.
Not hunger.
Not unemployment.
Isolation.
NARRATOR/LUNDY (V-O):
That’s when Congress panicked.
And when Congress panics… it legislates feelings.
[TITLE CARD: THE CIRCLE OF 5]
CUT TO — A government onboarding screen. Friendly icons. Pastel colors.
WELCOME.
Your Social Compliance Setup Begins Now.
A.I. INTERFACE (V-O):
To combat the loneliness epidemic, all citizens are required to register a
Circle of 5.
Five people. Exactly.
No substitutions without removal.
No temporary members.
Icons appear. Five empty silhouettes.
A.I. INTERFACE (V-O):
Five people. Exactly.
No substitutions without removal.
No temporary members.
At least three members must be contacted —
a minimum of three times per week.
Text, voice, video, or in-person.
Interaction logs will be tracked automatically.
A tiny checkbox appears:
☐ *I acknowledge this is for my well-being.*
It auto-checks itself.
NARRATOR/LUNDY (V-O):
Connection — finally guaranteed.
What could go wrong?
CUT TO — A woman in her kitchen, tense, whispering into her pocket-PC.
WOMAN:
Hey… Just checking in.
Because… you know.
She ends the call immediately.
No response needed.
CUT TO — Two close friends discussing the new legislation.
EXTROVERT MAN:
This is fine.
Actually… this is kind of amazing.
Five people? I can do five standing on my head.
INTROVERT WOMAN:
You realize that means you’re now required to keep talking to them.
EXTROVERT MAN:
Yeah. That’s… the point?
INTROVERT WOMAN:
No.
That’s the trap.
CUT TO — Two co-workers, standing six feet apart, both scrolling.
MAN:
You… uh…
You got a spot in your Circle?
OTHER MAN:
Maybe.
Depends.
Awkward pause.
NARRATOR/LUNDY (V-O):
Small talk changed overnight.
“What do you do?”
became…
GROUP VOICE (overlapping, casual, everywhere):
— You got a spot in your Circle?
— How full’s your Circle?
— You still got Sally in yours?
— I heard she got cut.
CUT TO — A digital profile update:
CIRCLE STATUS: REMOVED.
A notification pings.
NARRATOR/LUNDY (V-O):
Being cut isn’t just personal.
It is catastrophic.
CUT TO — A man frantically refreshing a job board.
MAN (muttering):
Just need twelve.
Twelve hours.
Twelve-point-zero.
NARRATOR/LUNDY (V-O):
There are exemptions.
Families with more than one minor children.
And anyone working 12.0 hours or more per week.
QUICK CUTS – DARKLY COMIC
People hoarding meaningless tasks
Fake consulting jobs
“Certified Contribution Hours” being traded like baseball cards
A man celebrating 12.1 hours like he just won the lottery.
NARRATOR/LUNDY (On-Screen):
Betrayal is no longer personal.
It is structural.
You don’t just drift apart anymore.
You are formally removed.
Every removal creates a ripple.
Scarcity is baked in.
Work became precious.
Not because people need money.
Because they need solitude.
CUT TO — A perfectly clean city street at night.
Everyone is indoors.
Everyone is … scrolling.
NARRATOR/LUNDY:
The streets gleams.
And the economy purrs.
A.I. sing lullabies to babies.
And everyone is miserable.
Not because they are lonely.
Because they are required not to be.
Extroverts call it generous.
Introverts call it a hostage situation.
Both were wrong.
[HOLD]
A single phone notification chimes somewhere.
[END ACT I]
[TO BE CONTINUED……]
