In the near future, artificial intelligence is everywhere around us: it does the house chores and
drives the cars. However Grey is old school and works as a mechanic refurbishing classic models.
He's happily married to Asha, who works for a company called Cobolt that makes human-computer
augmentations. One afternoon, Grey asks Asha to come with him to deliver a finished job. Grey
shows Asha two giant rocks that can be found outside the city, and right underneath them,
there's a corridor that takes them to the exotic home of Grey's friend Eron,
a renowned tech innovator. Eron takes the chance to show them his latest invention:
it's a microchip called Stem, the most advanced AI to date. Asha's very impressed, but Grey still
thinks there are things people can do better than machines. On their journey back, Asha tries to
get frisky with Grey in her car since the AI is driving. However Grey gets distracted when he
notices the car isn't taking them home, instead it's taking them to the shady neighborhood Grey
grew up in. They try to ask the car to correct its course and to take over it with manual control,
but nothing works. Suddenly the car begins gaining speed and crashes against some trash that makes it
flip. At that moment, a gang of criminals led by Fisk shows up and takes them out of the car as a
police drone arrives and records everything. Fisk immediately kills Asha, and the others hold Grey
down to shoot at the back of his neck, causing him to be unable to move. Then the gang runs away as
the police arrive to take Grey to the hospital, where he learns he's now quadriplegic - the only
body part he can move is his head. Three months later, Grey's mother Pamela takes him back to his
house in a modern wheelchair that he can handle himself. The house has also been renovated to
include even more robotic pieces that will do anything Grey needs. Technically Pamela doesn't
need to be here, but she stays to take good care of Grey and offer comfort. One afternoon while
she's cutting his beard, Grey finally can't hold it anymore and has a complete breakdown. Sometime
later, Pamela and Grey meet with Detective Cortez at the station. Cortez explains criminals have
ways to hide their faces from the drones, so they haven't been able to identify the gang yet. She'll
investigate this case thoroughly though and tells Grey he can help. However Grey is frustrated with
the cops being useless as usual and is rude to her before pointing out he can't help because he's an
invalid. Later in the evening, Grey's depression takes its toll, and when he asks the computer
for his medicine, he pretends the shot didn't work so the robotic arm will overdose him. His
plan to end things fails though because the robots immediately call for an ambulance. Sometime later,
Eron visits Grey at the hospital to offer him a solution: he can install Stem in Grey's spinal
cord to help him move again. Grey points out he doesn't want to restart his life,
and Eron responds this isn't what Asha would've wanted. Grey changes his mind and accepts Eron's
proposition. The procedure is done at Eron's home and it doesn't take long. As soon as they're done,
they test Grey's legs, but he can't feel it when they touch him. Eron isn't too worried because the
body may take time to adapt to a foreign object, but seconds later Grey is moving his arms. Next he
tries to walk, and Grey is amazed by the fact he doesn't even need the crutches. Afterward,
Eron makes Grey sign a confidentiality agreement, because his technology hasn't been approved by
the government yet. Grey wonders who is moving his limbs and Eron explains Grey is the one in
control, Stem just works in service for his brain. After running some tests, Grey's allowed to return
home, where he finds a box sent by Cortez with a bunch of files about the case. While studying
the recording of the murder, Grey suddenly hears a voice and discovers it's Stem. At first Grey
thinks he's going crazy, but Stem assures him it's just part of its programming. Nobody else
will able to hear it because it sends sound waves directly to his eardrums. It can't read minds
though, it can only know what Grey wants when he says it aloud. Stem points out that the man that
shot Asha doesn't have a gun in his hand, meaning the guy must've had a weapon implant in his body.
One of the other gang members has a tattoo on his wrist which isn't noticeable to the naked eye,
but Stem can see it. Grey gives it permission to take control of his arm and Stem draws the tattoo
on a piece of paper, allowing Grey to identify it as a military marking. Using Grey's eyes Stem
also scans the tattoo and learns it belongs to a guy named Serk, even obtaining his address in
the process. Grey wants to call Cortez and give her this information, but Stem reminds him he
isn't allowed to talk about his chip, so first he needs to find some proper evidence. The next day,
Grey revisits his old neighborhood while still using his wheelchair to keep up his secret. After
the criminal leaves his house, Grey leaves the chair outside and breaks into the house
as Stem gives him tips on how to investigate. They access the guy's messages on his digital
table and discover a bar called "Old Bones" keeps being mentioned, which Stem can't find
online because it's off the grid. There aren't any other clues in the messages, so Grey keeps
looking around the house. At that moment, Serk returns home. Grey tries to hide but Serk sees
him in the mirror and attacks him. Grey doesn't know how to defend himself against this beating,
so Stem asks for permission to take control of Grey's body. Grey grants it and to his surprise,
his body begins moving on its own, using incredible moves to easily overpower Serk.
The fight moves into the kitchen and Stem grabs plates to hit Serk, causing Serk to
respond by grabbing a knife. Stem makes Grey grab the knife and stab Serk in his back,
which Grey thinks it's crossing the line. However Stem doesn't care and retrieves the knife to kill
Serk in a barbaric way. Then Stem gives Grey back control of his body, and Grey immediately throws
up because he can't believe he technically killed someone. He's on the edge of a breakdown, but Stem
reminds him to get rid of all his fingerprints before the police come. Stem has a recording of
everything that happened, meaning it'll be easy to find everything Grey touched. The next day,
Eron makes Grey come to his house to scold him for what he did. His computer keeps track of
Stem's location because it's expensive technology he could be arrested for, and Grey can't go out
there to play vigilante when he promised to keep the secret. Grey replies that Eron kept secrets
from him first and tells him about Stem talking, which Eron is shocked to hear. Shaken by the news.
Eron asks Grey to be a perfect patient and not to confuse Stem with weird activities. Meanwhile
Serk's body arrives at the police morgue and Cortez learns he had weapon modifications inside
his arm and lots of computer implants all over his body in an amount the doctor never saw before. The
forensic team also found a bootprint on the front porch and they've identified it as engine grease.
Later Cortez checks the security cameras near Serk's home and discovers Grey going down the
street in his wheelchair. Cortez puts Grey's name in the computer as a possible suspect,
but the AI discards him as incompatible. In the evening, Cortez visits Grey and asks to buy his
classic car, but she's surprised to hear he won't sell it even if he can't drive it anymore. She
also checks Grey's boots, which Stem notices. Then Cortez admits she does have news about the case:
one of the people she had interrogated when the crime happened showed up dead yesterday. With
Stem guiding him to help him lie, Grey pretends he doesn't know anything about it, and when Cortez
mentions she saw him on the camera, Grey tells her he was around gathering information because
he decided he did want to help after all. After Cortez is gone, Grey tells Stem he wants to keep
investigating but without killing anyone else. Stem points out that the "Old Bones" is their next
logical step, but since the bar's off the grid, it can't hack into their systems for clues, so Grey
will have to go there in person. Grey decides to go to the bar while staying in his wheelchair to
avoid suspicion. After getting some help with a drink, Grey talks to everyone in the bar, asking
for anyone that knows Serk or the gang involved in the murder of his wife. Tolan comes forward and
takes Grey's phone so he can't call the police, but Grey taunts him by mentioning he killed Serk.
Tolan falls for it and drags Grey to the bathroom with some of his men while Eron realizes Grey
isn't home and begins tracking down Stem. In the bar bathroom, Tolan tosses Grey on the floor and
points out that if Grey really killed Serk, then he's faking his disability. Stem turns off Grey's
pain receptors right before Tolan starts poking Grey's body with his knife to find where he can
be hurt. Eventually his knife makes it to Grey's head and Grey notices Tolan's hand also has holes
for a weapon implant. Tolan admits he was part of the group that killed Asha, causing a furious
Grey to give Stem permission to take over again. Stem beats up all the guys with no difficulty then
jumps on top of Tolan to pin him to the floor. Grey asks for information, but since Tolan refuses
to speak, Stem makes Grey grab the knife and hurt Tolan until he's ready to talk. Disgusted
but determined, Grey asks his questions again, and Tolan explains that night the gang had been hired
for a special job. Tolan also mentions the name "Fisk". Grey doesn't understand who would want
to kill Asha, and Stem notices Tolan's implants come from Asha's company Cobolt. At that moment,
Stem senses that Eron is trying to track him, and Grey begins arguing with it over what to do next.
Stem points out that if Eron shuts the chip down remotely, Grey won't be able to walk and Eron will
send his security guards to retrieve him. They need to find a hacker that will shut down Stem's
input system, and Stem has already found one called Jamie that lives nearby. Stem also makes
Grey grab Tolan's gun and a pen so Grey can write down Stem's code on his arm. Then Grey leaves the
bar, and Stem tells him to leave the wheelchair because it'll slow him down, so a fake invalid
takes the chance to steal it. A moment later, Grey finds Jamie's building, but since Eron is already
starting to shut Stem down, he has to slowly drag his body up the stairs because little by little
his limbs stop working. Meanwhile at the bar, Fisk and his men find Tolan's body. Fisk uses his
special implants to see what Tolan saw and learns of Jamie's address because Grey had been talking
to Stem aloud. Then Fisk calls the bartender out because he didn't do anything to help his people.
The bartender doesn't want trouble and asks them to leave while pointing his gun at them,
so Fisk comes closer and pretends to sneeze. The drops he expells from his mouth have a nanomachine
that gets into the bartender's body through his nose and kills him from the inside. Back to Grey,
he manages to reach the right apartment and knocks right before Stem is shut down. Jamie
sees the money and accepts to help Grey using the code he wrote his arm. Grey notices this apartment
is used by VR addicts that never leave the virtual world, and he mentions he can't understand wanting
to live in a fake reality. After a few minutes of work, Jamie manages to remove Stem's input guards,
but it'll take a few moments for the chip to reboot. At that moment, Jamie notices Fisk and
his right hand on the building's security cameras and runs away. Eron's guards also arrive at the
building as Grey slowly begins to move again. For some reason, he can see Asha standing in the room,
but the illusion is broken when Fisk and his companion finally find him. Suddenly
Stem finally speaks again and Grey lets it take over to hit Fisk and run away. Fisk's companion
goes after him while he scans the elevator to discover Eron's guards, so he uses his weapon
implant to kill them. Stem guides Grey through the building to help him find the fire escape and
he reaches the roof with the criminal right behind him. Since he can't keep on running,
Stem takes over and kills the guy with his own weapon. By the time Fisk comes to the roof too,
Grey's already gone. Grey arrives at his house in the morning and begins arguing with Stem on
how to proceed, only to interrupt himself when he discovers Pamela is there. He has no choice but to
tell her about the operation, asking her to keep the secret if she doesn't want her son arrested.
Pamela is happy to keep her mouth shut because now she can hold Grey's hand again. Meanwhile
Eron's scared of what will happen now that he lost contact with Stem. After taking a good nap,
Grey wakes up and is shocked to find Asha next to his bed. Unfortunately it's just a dream,
but Grey worries anyway because it didn't feel like a regular dream. At that moment, Pamela
announces Cortez came to talk to him, so Grey gets in bed and pretends he can't move. Cortez informs
them that they found the wheelchair near a crime scene, and Grey responds he had been following
a potential suspect but got assaulted. Thankfully some witnesses put him in an autotaxi and sent him
home. Cortez is skeptical and while she mentions Grey could hire someone to do the killing for him,
she secretly touches Grey's jacket. Grey continues to deny any involvement and Cortez leaves the
house, but she actually stays outside in her car because she planted a microphone in Grey's
jacket. Now Cortez can hear Grey's side of his current argument with Stem. Grey wants to stop
this madness, but Stem points out that if they don't hunt down Fisk, he'll show up to kill Grey.
Suddenly Grey realizes he can't move, and Stem finally explains what the hacker did: by removing
Stem's input system, Eron can't reach the chip, but neither can Grey. Now Stem can take over the
body whenever he wants without needing Grey's permission. Then Stem makes Grey get dressed
and get the gun so they can go find Fisk. Pamela catches him red-handed and asks him what's going
on since she also saw the blood on his clothes, all this is heard by Cortez. Grey ignores her,
saying he doesn't have a choice, and he leaves in his car. Cortez follows him. In the middle of the
road, Grey finds the microphone in his pocket and throws it away. Stem couldn't detect it because
it's an old model and doesn't have digital parts in it. They begin to drive faster because they can
guess Cortez must be close, and Cortez decides to chase them properly, turning on the sirens. Grey
asks Stem to hack her car, but Cortez drives an old model without an AI and Stem can't access it.
When Cortez gets too close, Stem hacks into a random autocar and makes it crash against
her. Cortez is alive and well but she can't follow them anymore. Moments later, Cortez goes to Grey's
house and asks Pamela to tell her everything she knows. Meanwhile Fisk arrives at his house
and Grey surprises him from behind, holding him at gunpoint. Fisk knows about Grey's chip and
explains they're the same, just a couple of lab rats. He doesn't think he ruined Grey's life, in
fact Fisk thinks he's given Grey a gift by making him one of The Upgraded. Grey wants to know why
Cobolt sent him to kill Asha, but Fisk explains he isn't working for Cobolt. The job wasn't Asha,
the job was to severe Grey's spine with a medical tool, and Asha had only been a bit extra money.
Grey gets furious and Fisk takes advantage of that to start a fight. Stem uses the moves it
knows but Fisk has more experience and can read what Grey will do next. After lots of struggle,
Fisk corners Grey against the wall and is about to shoot him, but Grey distracts him by bringing up
Serk. Because of the surnames, Grey guesses he was Fisk's brother and begins describing in detail how
he killed him. Now it's Fisk who gets emotional and tries to punch Grey, so Grey quickly reacts
by throwing him on a table and killing him with the resulting glass shards. Then Grey takes Fisk's
phone and finds a message from Eron asking him to kill Grey. Hurt by this betrayal, Grey drives to
Eron's home and kills any guards he finds when he enters. When Grey finds his friend, Eron says he
didn't ask for Asha's death, but he's interrupted by Cortez's arrival. She tries to arrest Grey and
Eron warns her against it, but it's too late: Stem takes over and begins beating up Cortez. Grey can
see Stem will kill her and fights against Stem's control, ignoring Stem's warning that trying to
fight a powerful AI will fry his brain. Still stubborn, Grey takes out his knife and manages
to stab his own hand before Stem takes control again and goes after Cortez, pinning her against
the wall. Grey tells Cortez to use her taser and she does exactly that, managing to get him off
her. Eron grabs a gun from the floor and points it at Grey as he begins to explain he hasn't been in
control of his company in years. It turns out that when he invented Stem, the chip was so smart that
it took control over every aspect of Eron's life because it wanted to be human. Stem chose Grey as
his host, and it's been guiding Grey through every step of the process: it put him in a bad situation
to make him shut down the inputs, then it brought him here to kill Eron and stop him from creating
another Stem. At that moment, Stem's voice begins coming out of the house's speakers, admitting it
wanted Grey's body so it could fully evolve and it was the one who hired the thugs. Eron's amazed by
Stems ability to speak properly, but as soon as he turns around, Stem makes Grey kill him
with the knife. Then Stem grabs a gun and tries to shoot Cortez, but Grey begins fighting for control
again and causes his own hand to turn in order to end things for himself. After the bullet is shot,
Grey is shocked to wake up in the hospital. His body is perfectly fine and Asha is there taking
care of him, promising that he only had a bad dream. However Cortez suddenly talks and it's
revealed that Stem won the battle for control. The chip put Grey's consciousness in the fake world,
now Grey is happily living an illusion while Stem has the body it always wanted. Then Stem kills
Cortez and leaves the building, ready to discover what it can do now that it's the perfect being.