Silicon Spies is set in Canberra in 2079 after global warming has melted the ice caps, creating billions of refugees and locking humanity in a battle for survival. Governments fell as the oceans rose and the multi-nationals stepped in to house, feed and, ultimately, rule. The Corporations are headquartered for safety in shielded cities, the largest being Canberra. Like a medieval castle, the city of Canberra houses the richest safe from the weather's tyranny beneath a perspex sky, while the aspirants cling to the outer ring wall and the poor take their chances in the surrounding slum districts, Through this dystopic world moves Rez, a data thief for hire in a world where life is cheap, all drugs are designer and information is the only currency worth a damn. When the mystery client Cassandra hires Rez for a daring theft from the BioCorp citadel, Rez finds the target is a genetically-modified woman by the name of Annika. Forced to live in captivity, she can link wirelessly with any computer system. When Rez becomes aware that Annika is desperately searching for her child (which she believes BioCorp has taken from her), he and Annika join forces, and a series of adventures, betrayals, murders, blackmail attempts and uneasy alliances ensue.
Based on his 1996 play of the same name, this screenplay was submitted to the Australian Film Commission. The AFC's report records:
'It's a well-crafted screenplay for this genre, and certainly sets its world as a convincing place sometime in the future. The storyline moves with considerable ease and dialogue and characters are tonally consistent. The humour of the script is nicely developed alongside some great sophisticated approaches to information, society and technology, environment and overpopulation. The themes of this screenplay then are woven into the narrative. Silicon Spies is quite an achievement in terms of freshness and distinctiveness" (Sighted Blue Angels website, q.v.).
Despite securing interest from the AFC and Inventive Films, Silicon Spies is yet to be produced (even though the cast and production team were finalised in 2003). A trailer was also produced in 2003, with funding from the ACT Government Knowledge Fund.
