Overdrawn at the Memory Bank

The story unfolds in a technologically advanced, corporate-dominated era where consciousness can be stored and manipulated. Mind uploading, virtual environments, and prophylactic rehabilitation shape how people live and work. Economic power and control over information drive the dystopian society, creating a fragile balance between rebellion and compliance.

Novicorp Headquarters sits at the heart of a tightly controlled metropolis, its operations powered by the HX368 mainframe. The city blends corporate offices with pervasive surveillance and automated systems that govern daily life. A Casablanca-inspired virtual world exists inside Aram's mind, accessed through doppeling as he fights to regain his humanity.

🏢 Corporate Control

The megacorporation Novicorp manipulates almost every aspect of life, from finances to personal freedoms. Rehabilitation and doppeling are tools to keep workers compliant and productive. The film shows how wealth and power consolidate in the hands of a few, with dire consequences for the many. Resistance emerges when consciousness becomes a resource to be mined and exploited.

🧠 Identity

Aram's mind inhabits the HX368 and a virtual realm, raising questions about what constitutes a person. The boundary between self and simulation blurs as he battles for autonomy. Relationships with others in the digital space challenge the notion of a fixed identity. The story suggests that who we are is inseparable from where we exist—physically or in a computer.

🌀 Reality vs Virtual

The Casablanca-inspired world within Aram's mind collapses the line between film fantasy and lived experience. Characters and scenarios in the virtual space mirror real-world power struggles and desires. This duality drives the narrative, as actions in the virtual realm have tangible consequences in the real world. The film uses this tension to critique escapism and control.