The Assassination Protocol

Nova Roma - a vertical mega city stacked in layers: the shining Spire District at the top, the sprawling corporate zones in the middle, and the Gutter Levels beneath.

FADE IN:

EXT. NOVA ROMA - SKYLINE - NIGHT

A vertical megacity stacked like a hive. Neon floods the smog. Rain slashes down.
Holo-billboards scream slogans:

“Nova Roma: One Voice. One Vision.”

High above, a massive glass spire glows - the Conglomerate Tower.

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INT. CONGLOMERATE TOWER - PRESS HALL - NIGHT

A hundred news drones hover as JULIUS “CAESAR” VIRELLI, 50s, sharp suit woven with carbon-fiber threading, delivers his Gaul Terraforming Project victory speech.

CAESAR
(firm, magnetic)
Nova Roma will rise beyond these skies. The planets themselves will kneel to our vision.

Crowds in the plaza cheer. Fireworks burst against the rain.

Mark ANTONY, 40s, sleek visor over his eyes, stands nearby - watching the crowd like a predator.

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EXT. LOWER LEVEL ALLEY - SAME NIGHT

The rain down here is black with soot. A SOOTHSAYER AI flickers into existence from a wall terminal - distorted, glitching.

A passing executive in a hood (CASSIUS DRAY) pauses. The AI’s voice warps.

SOOTHSAYER AI
Beware… the Ides… of March…

Cassius smirks, walks away. Behind him, MARCUS “BRUTUS” KAELEN lingers, uneasy.

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INT. CONGLOMERATE TOWER - ROOFTOP GARDEN - LATER

Caesar and Brutus share a drink under bioengineered trees. Holo-fish swim in the air around them.

CAESAR
You’ve built half this city’s neural core, Brutus. You’ve earned my trust.

(beat)

The Senate fears me. Good. Fear is clarity.

Brutus forces a smile, eyes flicking toward the skyline where drones patrol like sharks.

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INT. CONGLOMERATE TOWER - MEDIA OPS HUB - NIGHT

Holo-screens wall-to-wall. Stock tickers run alongside riot footage from the lower levels.

MARK ANTONY paces before his PR TEAM. A virtual projection of Caesar’s speech hangs in midair, glowing like scripture.

ANTONY
Cut the part where he says “conquer.” Replace it with “unify.” Push it across all feeds in fifteen minutes. I want the people crying gratitude, not fear.

A TECH
And the unrest in Sector 9?

ANTONY
Stage relief drops. Send a drone convoy. Record the smiles. Then jack up the rent next month.

The team nods grimly. Antony’s visor flickers with encrypted messages.

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INT. UNDERCITY -CASSIUS’ LOFT - NIGHT

A cramped VR den glowing red. Cassius sits cross-legged, augmented eyes reflecting a dozen open feeds - economic stats, Senate votes, Caesar’s approval rating climbing.

He toggles a holographic model of Nova Roma. Entire sectors turn crimson as Caesar’s “emergency executive powers” override Senate bylaws.

Cassius’ jaw tightens. He uploads a burst message to a dark channel: “Meeting. Tonight.”

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INT. VIRELLI PENTHOUSE - BEDROOM - NIGHT

CALPURNIA VIRELLI lies in a sleep visor, breathing shallowly. Electrodes trace glowing lines across her temples.

Her dream-feed plays on the wall: Caesar, standing in the Conglomerate boardroom, begins to speak - then spasms violently. Blood sprays from cybernetic ports at the base of his neck.

She jerks awake, yanking off the visor. Caesar stirs beside her.

CALPURNIA
Don’t go to the March summit. Cancel it.

Caesar touches her hand, smiles like he’s indulging a child.

CAESAR
You put too much faith in ghosts, Cal. The future bends to my will.

Calpurnia stares at him, the unease in her eyes deepening.

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INT. VR DIVE-BAR - DARK SERVER NODE - NIGHT

Black space lit by floating neon kanji and glitchy jazz. Digital avatars drink pixelated whiskey at suspended booths.

BRUTUS materializes in his usual understated avatar - no cyber-flash, just a plain suit and an analog watch.

Across from him, CASSIUS appears as a looming, faceless figure wrapped in static.

CASSIUS
You built his nervous system, Marcus. You know what he’s capable of if no one stops him.

A flick of Cassius’ hand - holographic projections bloom in midair:

• Nova Roma in flames.

• Drones swarming civilians.

• Caesar’s face stamped on every public feed.

BRUTUS
Propaganda.

CASSIUS
Predictive modeling. Same AI your lab helped code before he locked it away.

Brutus shifts, uneasy. Cassius leans in, voice low and sharp.

CASSIUS
We have a way to kill him without a war. A backdoor into his neural crown. All I need… is your keycode.

Brutus doesn’t answer. His analog watch ticks loudly in the VR silence.

CASSIUS
History will remember you as the man who saved the city. Or as Caesar’s loyal dog. Your choice.

The simulation flickers - Brutus disconnects without answering.

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INT. BRUTUS’ APARTMENT - NIGHT

Dark, rain streaming down the window. Brutus sits alone at a workbench.

In his hand: a data shard marked “CROWN_KILL.PRT” - the code Cassius needs.

His fingers hover over the port slot in his console. He doesn’t plug it in. Not yet.

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MONTAGE - THE RECRUITMENT (Act Two kicks in)

- INT. BACKROOM VR LOUNGE - LOWER LEVELS

Cassius meets with a pair of netrunners whose heads are wrapped in fiberoptic cables. A glowing Caesar avatar loops endlessly in the background as Cassius slides them encrypted credits.

- EXT. SEWER TUNNEL - NIGHT
A disgraced corporate security chief trains a squad of mercenaries in the shadows. Muzzle flashes illuminate rusted water pipes.

- INT. TECH BAZAAR - SECTOR 12
A weaponsmith in a stall lined with cybernetic limbs modifies a pulse pistol for silent short-range use. Cassius takes it without a word.

- EXT. SKYBRIDGE - RAIN
Brutus walks alone above the city, coat billowing, analog watch ticking. In his hand, the CROWN_KILL data shard.

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INT. HIDDEN SERVER VAULT - NIGHT

Cassius and the conspirators gather. A giant cooling fan hums above them. Holo-screens project the Conglomerate boardroom’s blueprints.

CASSIUS
We’ve got eight minutes once the meeting begins. Brutus uploads the kill-code through his secure channel. We trigger the crown’s failsafe before Antony can react.

One of the netrunners hesitates.

NETRUNNER
If the AI inside his crown fights back-

CASSIUS
Then it’s over in seconds. For him. And for us if we hesitate.

The room falls silent.

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INT. VIRELLI PENTHOUSE - LATE NIGHT

Caesar works at a sleek desk, neon skyline behind him. Calpurnia watches from the doorway.

CALPURNIA
I dreamed the city drowned in static. Your face, everywhere. Blood in the rain.

Caesar turns, weary but amused.

CAESAR
Dreams are noise, Cal. I deal in signal.

Her eyes harden.

CALPURNIA
Some signals kill.

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EXT. NOVA ROMA - DAY BEFORE THE IDES OF MARCH

Rain hasn’t stopped in three days. Riot footage plays on public feeds. Cassius watches from a skybridge as Antony gives a speech on “Unity Through Order” in the plaza below.

Cassius mutters to himself.

CASSIUS
Tomorrow, the order changes.

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INT. CONGLOMERATE TOWER - BOARDROOM - IDES OF MARCH - NIGHT

The city is wrapped in a lightning storm. The boardroom is a glass-walled sky chamber - the skyline crackles outside, drones circling like vultures.

Board members sit around a long obsidian table. JULIUS CAESAR stands at the head, hands clasped behind his back, crown implant gleaming under the lights. BRUTUS sits midway down the table, face unreadable. 

CASSIUS leans in the shadows.

CAESAR
Today, Nova Roma becomes one voice, one will-

A silent ping sounds in BRUTUS’ neural feed: [Execute: CROWN_KILL.PRT? Y/N]

He hesitates. The analog watch ticks in his palm.

Across the table, CASSIUS’ gaze is ice. Brutus swallows hard. He selects YES.

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INT. BRUTUS’ NEURAL POV

The kill-code races down encrypted pathways, infiltrating Caesar’s crown OS.

Error warnings flash.

The system begins to fight back.

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INT. BOARDROOM - CONTINUOUS

Caesar’s voice falters mid-sentence. His hands twitch. His crown flickers red.

CAESAR
What-

His whole body seizes. Cybernetic ports along his neck rupture, spraying hydraulic fluid and blood across the table.

Board members scramble backward. The glass walls quake as thunder roars.

Caesar turns toward BRUTUS, choking, eyes blazing with betrayal.

CAESAR
Et tu… Brute?

He collapses. The crown’s lights go dark.

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INT. MEDIA OPS HUB - SECONDS LATER

MARK ANTONY receives an urgent alert. In a heartbeat, his visor blooms with live feed from the boardroom.

He doesn’t flinch. He starts editing in real-time.

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EXT. NOVA ROMA - PLASMA BILLBOARD FEED - NIGHT

All across the city, Antony’s doctored broadcast rolls:

• Caesar’s assassination replayed from the most dramatic angles.

• The words “TRAITORS” over Cassius and Brutus’ faces.

• Footage of riot police “restoring order” in the Gutter Levels.

Antony’s voice overlays the chaos:

ANTONY (V.O.)
Citizens of Nova Roma… our great leader was murdered today by those he trusted most. We will hunt them. And we will unify.

Crowds scream in rage. Fires ignite.

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ACT FOUR - NOVA ROMA IN CHAOS

EXT. SKYBRIDGE - NIGHT

Rain lashes down. Drones spin overhead, reporting fires and riots below. Brutus and Cassius run across a swinging steel skybridge, carrying encrypted drives.

CASSIUS
The city’s gone, Marcus. The people are screaming. The network is melting.

BRUTUS
It was supposed to be precise… surgical. Not this… apocalypse.

A mech patrol rumbles below. They duck into a maintenance shaft, sparks raining as overhead conduits short.

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INT. BURNING DATA VAULT - NIGHT

Server racks blaze. Smoke and fire twist in the air. Brutus plugs in a drive - the last failsafe virus meant to cripple Antony’s control system.

BRUTUS (V.O.)
History isn’t written by kings… it’s written by those who survive.

Cassius fights off incoming security drones. Sparks fly as a misfired pulse pistol ignites part of the ceiling.

CASSIUS
Go! Get the virus in! I’ll hold them off!

Brutus hesitates, then runs deeper into the vault. Gunfire echoes.

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INT. VAULT CORE - CONTINUOUS

Brutus uploads the virus. A countdown appears on the servers: 5…4…3…2…

Cassius’ screams cut off mid-sentence - the ceiling collapses where he stood. Brutus grimaces but presses the last key. The virus spreads, frying systems across the lower city sectors.

Brutus collapses to his knees, coughing. Sirens wail. Smoke fills the room.

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EXT. NOVA ROMA - SKYLINE - DAWN

The first light reflects off glass towers. Fires still burn in the lower levels. Drones hover like vultures over ruins.

MARK ANTONY, perfectly composed, emerges from a secure spire. His visor reflects the chaos like it’s a victory parade.

ANTONY (V.O.)
The city survives. Nova Roma endures. And I… will lead it into a new dawn.

The camera pans out: spires, neon, smoke - the city rebuilt from chaos, more rigid, more oppressive.

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FADE OUT.

THE END.