Synopsis

Present/ Flight: Christopher Kidd is on the run together with two other young adults: Serenity and her brother Kyle. They both don’t really know yet exactly what Christopher is running from, but they help him nonetheless. They are chased by four helicopters through the Nevada Desert (USA). The car is too slow, there is no place to hide and they don’t have any weapons. So Christopher decides to do the only thing that could help them: he uses his brain-computer interface to connect with the central processing units of the helicopters and makes them crash. For now, they are safe, but Serenity and Kyle can’t believe what they have seen. When they resume their journey by car, Christopher finally opens up and tells them his long story.

Christopher’s Story: When Christopher was little, he lived happily with his family in Frankfurt, Germany. As his Dad, James Kidd, was a software engineer, Christopher grew up with computers. He was a natural when it came to finding mistakes in the programming of software or to writing new software routines. But one day, everything changed. Christopher was 13, when he released a virus in the computer system of the bank where his mother was working. The impact was huge. The scandal brought Christopher the nickname Computer Kid. To escape the media buzz, the family left Germany to live in England. Moreover, Christopher’s Granny started to go blind. This was one reason why James Kidd joined a BCI research team at London University’s Medical Department that was looking for a software engineer. The goal of this project, led by Dr Stephen Connery, was to produce better prosthesis. Soon, a third person joined the group, Linus Meany. Tattooed, pierced and overweight, he didn’t look like a computer nerd, but he knew everything about electronic devices. Also with the help of Christopher, the team worked on the toughest hack ever: They tried to enter the human brain in order to link neurons with any electronic devices.

Present/ Flight: Christopher, Kyle and Serenity see two people on the side of the road who seem to have had a bike accident. When they stop to help, it becomes apparent that these two are Upgraders, part of the Field that Christopher is fleeing from. The Upgraders threaten them with weapons, but the three young adults manage to knock them out and flee once more. Christopher explains to Kyle that he has a chip in his brain. Through this chip he is connected with the internet and – more important – with the Field. Christopher’s parents also belong to the Field.

Serenity’s Story: Serenity and Kyle are the children of a scientist called Jeremiah Jones. As Jeremiah is convinced that humanity is too dependent on artificial equipment, the children grew up on in the country with as little technology as possible. One day, someone managed to associate Jeremiah with bomb attacks on several data processing centres. The FBI started looking for him and Jeremiah had to go into hiding. The children continued to live with their mother.
One day, when Serenity was at the beach trying to study, Christopher approached her, claiming that he could help her father. He tried to convince her to take him to Jeremiah. Back home, Serenity told Kyle about Christopher Kidd; and Kyle recognised his name. He remembered an incident which turned everyone in the world with a bank account into a billionaire for a week. A hacker called Computer Kid had sent a virus into the system which turned the world upside down. The banks closed down all ATMs, shops didn’t accept neither credit cards nor cheques; the Stock Exchange broke down, and business transactions stopped worldwide. The only way to get rid of the virus was to reboot the banking systems with the security backups from the day before the incident. If Christopher really was Computer Kid, he could definitely be capable of helping their Dad by hacking into the FBI’s computer system to delete Jeremiah Jones’ name from the Most Wanted List.

Present/ Flight: In order to find Jeremiah, Christopher. Serenity and Kyle need to contact several people who forward them to others. Each of them only knows one piece of information that helps them to find him. They arrive at a house where they spend the night. Although they talk to no one, they know that they are watched by Jeremiah’s friends who want to make sure that they are not followed. Christopher tells them about the day when he became famous as Computer Kid.

Christopher’s Story: Christopher started to play with computers when he was three years old. Soon, he developed his own routines and programmes. He was fascinated by viruses and read everything about them. But he even more enjoyed networks that were not open to everyone. He even found a leak in the computer system of the bank his mother worked for.
One day, Christopher’s mother returned home from work, totally devastated. She had made a crucial mistake when she placed a huge order with wrong prices that would have horrible consequences. Therefore, Christopher sneaked into his Mom’s office and inserted the virus that would make him famous into the network. It was his intention to cause as much chaos as possible so that the bank wouldn’t have any other chance than to reset the whole system with the data secured the day before the mistake happened. After a turbulent week, the banks reset the system and everything was restored. But the Kidd family had to move to England where he and his Dad started to work on the BCI project.

The BCI Research Project in England: Trouble occurred when they realized that other research teams worked on the same topic. In order to speed up the research, Linus proposed to volunteer as a human guinea pig. Dr Stephen Connery didn’t like this reckless idea; his ethics didn’t comply with human experiments. So Linus took matters in his own hands. He asked a neurosurgeon to implant a BCI chip into his body. Now he was able to access the internet wherever he was. He started to attend quiz shows on TV where he won all the prices; he was the star of the tabloids until they found out how he did it. Linus vanished with all the money and all the research findings of Dr Connery. Dr Connery was devastated and blamed himself for advancing an issue that was too dangerous. He ended the research project and vanished.

Present/ at the Camp: After a long drive through remote country areas, the teenagers finally arrive at Jeremiah Jones’ camp in the mountains. Finally, Christopher meets the scientist. Christopher reveals that he helped to protect the camp by altering the software that controls and interprets the satellite images that the FBI uses to find them. The software is no longer capable to detect them. In return for this favour, he would like to take refuge among them. Moreover, Chrsitopher knows that Dr Stephen Connery hides in the camp. Christopher wants him to remove the BCI chip in his head.

Christopher’s Story: Christopher’s Dad received a letter from Linus, including three flight tickets, a year after Linus had vanished. He invited them to visit him in Singapore where he claimed to have successfully started an enterprise.
When the Kidd family met Linus and his girl-friend they obviously acted much synchronized. Linues had discovered a way to connect brains without the internet; brains can now communicate directly with each other (the BCI chips act as a transmitter of the signals the nerves emit; they use the cellphone networks to connect with each other). Linus wanted to convince Christopher’s parents to join their network called »The Coherence«. As soon as it ws possible, the Kidd family sneaked away and took the next flight possible to leave the city immediately. This time, they got away. However, after taking part in a congress in Mexico, James Kidd returned completely altered. He stopped laughing; he stopped talking, and was factional and silent most of the time. In order improve James’ condition, the parents decided to go on vacation together. While they were away, Christopher did some research on this conference which his father had visited. He found out that Linus’ company was one of its sponsors. When his parents returned from the trip two weeks later, it was immediately clear that what had happened to Christopher’s Dad had now also happened to his Mom. They were both part of the Coherence now. Soon after that, his parents brought home visitors who forced a chip on Christopher, too, and connected him with the Coherence. Christopher melted into the great collective. However, sometimes he remembered being Christopher Kidd and that he was able to shut down the chip. He was able to control his connection with the coherence. He decided to flee from the Field, even though he knew that they would try to hunt him down.

Present/ at the Camp: After Christopher told Jeremiah and his friends what had happened to him, they start thinking about what they could do against the Upgraders. The next day, Christopher has an idea: If they destroied the only chip production site in San Francisco, they could at least slow the Coherence down. The group starts working on a plan. After a few days of preparation, they leave the camp and head in small teams towards San Francisco. Serenity and Melanie (Jeremiah’s girlfriend) settle down in house close by which functions as a safe house. If anything goes wrong, everyone is supposed to send a coded message to them.

Present/ San Francisco: Their first stop is a motel on their way to San Francisco. Suddenly, police surrounds it. Christopher is scared to death and heedlessly calls Serenity on the phone and tells her openly about what happened. However, it was a false alarm; the police was looking for a drug dealer who was suspected to hide in the motel. The safe house is moved to another spot. The team arrives in San Francisco on the next day. They use an empty storage house as headquarter.

Present/ San Francisco: While waiting for the attack, they watch the news on TV. It becomes apparent that even the White House is being infiltrated by the Coherence.
They start the attack on the plant at exactly 2:51 am. Christopher is the first one who has to enter the plant; it is his job to use his chip to open the access to the building. When he enters the machine hall, he realizes that there are no machines, but his Dad and half a dozen further Upgraders. James Kidd tells Christopher that the chips are now produced all over the world and that Christopher and his friends don’t stand a chance against them. At this moment it becomes apparent that Christopher had a plan of his own that had nothing to do with what they discussed in the camp. He uses the Field to turn off the public electric power supply system of California that is administered through internet interfaces inserted in electric control cabinets all over the state. Christopher’s ultimate goal is to shut down the cell phone masts that support the Field’s communication. If the masts fail, the Field is turned off.
Still, the system doesn’t shut down fast enough, the Upgraders attack Christopher. They want to insert a new chip that isn’t dysfunctional. Fortunately, the team arrives just in time to rescue Christopher; they also take James Kidd with them, they are able to remove the Chip. Afterwards, the group learns that the incident with the police at the motel was also part of Christopher’s plan to manipulate the Field to send James to the plant.

Present/ at the camp: They open a new camp. James Kidd needs a few days to recover from the trauma of being disconnected from the Field. Christopher reveals up to Serenity that he saw that, before the chip was forced upon him, his Dad was able to exchange it so that a deficient one was implanted. When James is doing better, he and Christopher decide to rescue Mom and the rest of the world. They are optimistic that they might be successful; they have friends now.