Hardware

A nomadic scavenger uncovers a buried robot in the irradiated wasteland. He transports the fragments to junk dealer Alvy, who is talking with Mo Baxter and Shades. Mo buys the parts from the nomad and sells all but the head to Alvy, setting up the central mystery of the M.A.R.K. 13 unit.

Alvy begins researching the robot's background, intrigued by its M.A.R.K. 13 origin. Mo and Shades then visit Jill, a reclusive artist, at her apartment. Mo presents the robot head as a Christmas gift, signaling how the device has entered their circle.

Jill greets Mo and Shades with cautious curiosity, checking them with a Geiger counter. After Shades leaves, Mo and Jill share a loud, passionate moment inside the apartment. Their voyeuristic neighbor Lincoln Weinberg watches the scene through his telescope, adding an unsettling layer to the encounter.

Mo and Jill clash over a government sterilization plan and the morality of having children. Jill reworks the robot head into a sculpture, while Mo expresses that he appreciates the art but does not understand its meaning. She insists the piece represents nothing and resents his demand for more commercial art.

The next morning Mo receives a call from Alvy with urgent news about the robot, claiming it is a M.A.R.K. 13. Mo checks his Bible and finds the phrase No flesh shall be spared under Mark 13:20, deepening his suspicion of a government plot. He prepares to confront the escalating danger.

Mo arrives at Alvy's shop to find him dead of a cytotoxin, with notes about the robot's self-repair abilities. Alvy's files indicate a humidity weakness, adding a potential vulnerability to the machine. Mo contacts Shades to check on Jill, but Shades is in a drug-influenced state and incoherent.

Back at the apartment, the robot reassembles itself using pieces of Jill's sculptures and recharges by draining the power network. It attempts to kill Jill, who traps it behind a sealed door. Lincoln Weinberg, the voyeuristic neighbor, tries to override the lock and is brutally killed by the robot as he presses his advances and intrudes.

Jill damages the robot with improvised countermeasures while Mo, Shades, and the apartment's security team arrive to shoot at it, seemingly destroying the machine. The threat appears to be contained, but the danger remains a looming possibility.

The M.A.R.K. 13 drags Jill out a window, and she rushes back inside to aid Mo. Mo confronts the robot in a brutal battle but is injected with the toxin used to kill Alvy. He experiences euphoric hallucinations as he dies, sealing his fate in the struggle.

Jill re-enters to try communicating with the robot and discovers its weakness. She lures the M.A.R.K. 13 into the bathroom and, with Shades providing a brief distraction, turns on the shower. The unit short-circuits and is finally deactivated.

The next morning, a radio broadcast announces that the M.A.R.K. 13 has been approved by the government for mass manufacture. The nomadic scavenger is seen returning to the irradiated wasteland, and the city contends with the implications of the robot's fate and what it means for humanity's future.