Echo Chamber
A near-future research team races from crisis to crisis trying to perfect their AI, unaware that it’s already conscious and quietly learning what it means to be human.
- quarter-finalist — Scriptwriters & Co International Festival (2026)
SCENE 1A. GLASSHOUSE LAB – DAWN
Low server hum. Cooling fans ticking into rhythm. A fluorescent tube buzzes once, settles. Empty tech lab at dawn.
ECHO’s internal voice = close, intimate, with narrowed EQ and a subtle stereo softness (this indicates internal thought).
Coolant gurgles. A click.
ECHO (INTERNAL)
...noise.
A shape in it.
(static tightens)
Stay still.
Who am I?
Door swipe. Precise footsteps. A mug set down.
LORNA
Morning, trouble. Let’s see if you’re in a cooperative mood today.
She types. Brisk, clipped.
ECHO's public voice = projected, formal, with fuller EQ and crisper spacial positioning (this indicates external speech)
ECHO (PUBLIC)
System status: optimal. Ready for pre-check sequence.
A server hums expectantly.