- A security breach at tech firm, Bijon, Inc., could not have come at a worse time. Company CEO, Eiko Amari, is moments away from taping a national interview to introduce Optiks, their Virutal Reality eye-wear that promises to circumvent racial bias within law enforcement; a technology that the U.S. Senate will soon vote on whether to implement on a national scale. The interview, however, takes a sudden turn as attention is drawn to a viral video involving a police officer using a beta-test version of the glasses. Eiko's team swarms into PR spin mode while the inevitability of Optiks' impact looms.—Nicola Bullock
- Tech company Bijon Inc., faces a potential public relations nightmare after learning of a database breach overnight. Fearing a scandal from whatever contents were captured, CEO Eiko Amari (Vivian Vu-Sosa), and her PR team, Jared Williams (Chace Beck) and Danika Franks (Melissa Sledge), clamor over how it happened and what's at stake; namely, the upcoming U.S. Senate vote on whether to approve a bill that will enact nationwide use of their groundbreaking Augmented Reality eyewear (Optiks) by law enforcement officials which promises to curb implicit bias. Meanwhile, Jared alerts the team that the "Trash Video" of an officer wearing a beta version of the glasses has gone viral and there's concern that Eiko's impending interview with journalist Joyce Winters (Katusha Robert) could make the incident a focal point. Danika reassures Eiko that her team is already doing damage control on the matter by calling up ally senators and assuring them that the device is sound.
Moments later, during the taping of her interview with Joyce, Eiko explains how Optiks are similar to virtual reality technology in that the eyeglasses instantly change a person ethnicity, unbeknownst to the person wearing them. With continued wear, the ultimate goal is that the wearer will refrain from reacting to any subconscious biases. Joyce eventually sets Eiko up to discuss the viral "Trash Video." Jared flinches at the tactic while Eiko politely obliges to watch it.
Police Officer Nicholas Navarro (Raul Chacon) rolls with laughter as he watches the viral video starring his lunch buddy, Officer Marty Gray (Tim Fletcher), who is extremely concerned about the possible repercussions of his actions. They are soon joined by Officer Craig Brooks (Pierre Farmer) who, after being out on paternity leave, is promptly chastised for not wearing his Optiks. The glasses activate as soon as Craig puts them on. He's amazed at how realistic his surroundings seem and at the fact that microchips in their badges prevent their own appearance from changing. Nicholas and Marty proceed to tease him for his growing family which prompts Craig to excitedly share a photo of his oldest son, Kevin (Joseph Scardino), in his new baseball uniform. Aware of their disinterest, Craig's attention immediately shifts to Marty as he presses him to explain what happened the day of that video. Marty proceeds to share the events that stemmed from what he "thought" he saw.
Marty's retelling shows the scene through the lens of his glasses as he approaches a Black man (Donald Rose) who is picking up trash. An argument ensues as the gardener is irritated and confused as to why Marty is questioning him. Marty continues to instruct the man to put down his weapon and to show identification. Nicholas then jumps in to exclaim that six police officers arrived as backup. Confused, Craig asks how it happened and why he was hassling the guy, to which Marty solemnly replies, "It just didn't seemed like he belonged there."
Danika paces in her office while on a call to Senator Peter Morris (Larry Landaker) who is concerned about the negative press that the "Trash Video" has received. Senator Morris explains that the overall confidence in Optiks is now shaky and that more research is needed before voting in favor of it. As she tries to counter his arguments, the Senator quickly ends the call leaving Danika frustrated.
The viral video shown during Eiko's interview is cell phone footage taken by a neighbor (Ashly Tyson) who is heard yelling to Officer Marty Gray that the object in the gardeners hand, "isn't a weapon, it's a trash grabber!" The gardener (Sandy Dutchak), who is actually White, is seen frustrated by Marty's questioning. Marty reaches for his walkie talkie and proceeds to call for assistance. Joyce then stops the video and asks for Eiko's thoughts on the matter. Eiko offers a surface response then, distracted by Danika's entrance into the room, asks for a break to attend to an urgent matter. Joyce agrees and Eiko, Jared and Danika leave to discuss the latest developments.
Clearly rattled by the pressure of the interview, Eiko pleads for good news from Danika, who has none. She explains that many of the senators who supported the bill are now wavering. When Eiko hears that Sen. Morris is among them she's desperate to get him back in line. Danika asks to use a major tactic to which Eiko quickly agrees. As Danika scurries off Eiko turns to Jared demanding that his team find a way to spin the narrative on the viral video. He nervously scampers off to perform the task, leaving Eiko fuming.
The conversation between the officers turns to a traffic stop incident involving Officer Navarro. He recalls pulling over a woman, Natalie (Emily Pokora), and that as he was giving her a warning he asked her to put out her cigarette. She was irritated by the request. He noted her frustration and asked her to step out of the vehicle. Marty scowls that Nicholas would be in the same position as him if someone had had a camera phone on him at that time. Upset by the suggestion that he's racist, Nicholas gets up to leave for court. As he stands he welcomes Craig back and playfully cautions him not to let Marty, "turn you into a Nazi." Craig asks Marty if all of this trouble is due to the glasses. Marty replies, "Yes and no; it's complicated," but reassures Craig that the worst of the problems have passed.
Danika follows up with Sen. Morris and dangles the proposition of having Bijon, Inc., build their manufacturing facility in his state. Intrigued, the Senator and Danika strike up a deal to use his influence to ensure the bill gets enough votes in the Senate to pass.
Officer Craig Brooks and his partner (Ambrose Vargas) respond to a dispatch call of "a young, armed male" at a nearby park. Meanwhile, Eiko settles back into the interview but interrupts Joyce with a request to comment further on the "Trash Video." Eiko explains how Optiks cannot fix racism overnight, but that it can build up skills to prevent people from making judgments based on a person's appearance. She concludes her remarks by noting that, "Fairness is a cornerstone of justice."
Craig and his partner arrive at the park. Craig leaps from the patrol car, gun drawn, shouting at - from his perspective - a young Black teen (Bryce Rizzo) ordering him to drop his weapon. The boy turns, smiles and waves as if he recognizes Craig. Craig fires a shot. A young girl, Jennie (Ka'lena Bee) cries, "Daddy!" from behind him. Curiously, he turns and from his perspective he sees a young Black girl. He removes his glasses to glance again and sees that it is his daughter (Eryn Tyler). In shock, Craig turns toward the boy laying on the ground. He mistakenly shot his son, Kevin, who was innocently playing with a toy gun.
Relieved that the interview is over, Jared and Danika report the results from their efforts to Eiko. Danika smugly shares news that the senators are back in line. Jared announces that corporations are interested in using Optiks to interview job applicants. Suddenly, their phones and emails chime away as news of the police officer shooting his son comes through. As they read the message, they look up from their phones at one another in shock.
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