Far From Perfect
- Peter K F Cheung SBS
- Jun 2, 2023
- 2 min read
FADE IN
Act 1
INT. STUDIO - 00:00
Watching Cable TV, PETER sees: No signal.
PETER (V.O.): Okay, I've witnessed how its pay service ends.
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): One of the channels that I watched a lot for the past months was about modifying and overhauling cars.
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): In the morning, I'll take the 2002 New Beetle to the repairer to check why oil is dripping from the engine.
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): My wife will drive her 1995 Eunos 30X to the office. But the old coupe may refuse to start up right away...
Act 2
INT. BEDROOM - 06:30
Getting out of bed, Peter finds a jump starter and charges it.
PETER (V.O.): This is for extra support, just in case.
EXT. ROADSIDE - 09:00
Peter sees his WIFE adjusting the seat and mirrors before driving the Eunos 30X away.
PETER (V.O.): I love its bullet-shaped body and the V6 engine inside.
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): But my wife loves more the cute body style and the swiftness of the newer Beetle.
EXT. ROADS - 10:00
Peter is driving a cyber-green New Beetle. We see the oil lamp in the dashboard flashing.
PETER (V.O.): Don't worry. I'm taking you to see the doctor.
MONTAGE OF PETER'S EXPERIENCE WITH THE ORIGINAL BEETLE.
A. 1973. Housing estate. Peter takes the back seat of a yellow Beetle.
B. 1976. Yuen Long area, Peter drives an orange Beetle.
END MONTAGE
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): My colleagues owned the original Beetles.
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): They had rear engines and were air-cooled.
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Just like the original Porsche. They had the same designer.
Recalling.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): I got my driving licence in 1976. I dreamt to own a Porsche 924.
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd):I knew it was beyond my means to buy one. And so, I bought affordable ones with similar features.
Arriving at the car repairer.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): In 1989, I bought a Nissan 200SX, and in 1995, the Eunos 30X.
The MECHANICS are taking care of the New Beetle.
INT. STUDY - 11:00
Smartphone in hand, Peter types on screen.
PETER (V.O.): I try to ascertain if the AI drawing App can generate a picture of a cyber-green New Beetle and a silver Eunos 30X.
We see an image of a part of a new Beetle appearing on screen.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): How about the other car?
Tapping "Regenerate", Peter waits the App to build another image.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): The App may not have any datasets about Eunos 30X.
We see on screen a green New Beetle-like car and part of another car.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): The image is far from perfect, but I've to accept that.
We see in the image there's no one driving the green car on the road.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): I believe it is an autonomous car capable of driving without human input.
Act 3
INT. STUDIO - 23:00
Looking at his AI drawings, Peter is in thoughts.
PETER (V.O.): My old cars are far from perfect. Me too, but I don't have an ugly heart.
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): And the memories that come with my old cars still make me happy.
Pausing.
PPETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Like my soul, I'm not giving them away. I'll exercise my best endeavour to keep them reasonably healthy.
FADE OUT
THE END
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