Var X is a Science Fiction story written and directed by James Clark, to be filmed in July for the MFA intermediate film.
Synopsis
Ziggo is a robotics tech who has built an android named Amber to assist him. Amber is a female humanoid robot who specializes in logical computations, to help Ziggo work out any problems he has and to serve as a mentor to him. Ziggo aspires to be known for doing something great. He’s working on developing a robot that can predict and prevent accidents which he calls Guardian. The Guardian will prevent major accidents such as a car falling off of jack stands and crushing someone, or accidentally dropping or breaking expensive equipment. It is even capable of acting as a body guard for personal defense.
He uses Amber to spy on other inventors, steal their ideas for designs that are not yet patented and implements them into his new invention. The Guardian is a viral sensation. Everyone loves it and it’s seen as a necessity to own in everyone’s household. Ziggo’s name is in lights in the city. He’s on news shows and everything. The other inventors are suspicious of the familiar characteristics of Guardian and dig deeper to find out about this new invention.
When they discover their own designs in it they release statements defaming Ziggo as a fraud and a thief, saying he is no inventor at all. That with their ideas combined there is hardly any creative input from Ziggo in the final design. That it’s a compendium of plagiarized ideas. Ziggo vehemently defends his invention. If he gave up any rights to it he would lose both the massive income from it and the notoriety of being the great inventor of something which is a life changing addition to society. He consults Amber, who helps him come up with proofs and counter arguments to their claims. He goes on talk shows to shut them down and to newspapers to have them write articles defending him against the defamatory articles.
When his fan base fades and the majority of people realize that he is a fraud after all, when he is found out and he has no more way of defending himself, he is left with a choice. The courts demand that he destroy the Guardian, recall all models, and repay the inventors. He meets with the inventors and admits to all of them that he stole their ideas. He convinces them not to destroy the Guardians but strikes up an agreement with them. He gives 90% of the proceeds from the sales to them, makes them partners and gives them credit. He tells them about the benefits of the Guardian and how it helps mankind.
The committee drops the charges against him, shake his hand and partner with him. In exchange for their repayment, and as a way to make it fair that he took their ideas, he gets their consent and they applaud his selflessness for this move, and he releases the copyright for it and makes the robot open source. They recognize him as coming up with the idea to implement their designs to help humanity and acknowledge him as an important figure in history.