TEN % MAX ... creator notes
This three-episode series (based on the early TEN % MAX novel) is perhaps our most commercial property to date. Like several other High Heart films, Ten % Max aims to tackle a core human-survival strategy– in this case, how to quickly (and secretly) use bio-tech to reduce our all-too-human edge of intolerance, greed, violence and war. In other words, how can scientists act to alter the universally-nasty dimensions of our brain’s amygdala programming – without overly-violating our cherished personal integrity?
TEN % MAX presents one possible solution that current neuro-resonance research indicates might become all too real in the next decade. Are we ready? Can we handle the related ethical and political conflicts? And hey – who’s going to control this radical but urgently-needed psych-tech designed to make us more compassionate and less violent? Ten % Max dives right into this potentially-disastrous scenario.
At first glance this story might look like just another bio-tech thriller - but in several ways it's the opposite. The good guys are playing the traditional bad-guy roles, threatening to suddenly zap our brains without our consent. And our drama isn't about a stereotype hero coming in to stop them - it's about whether they're going to stop themselves! After all, what they intend to do might be exactly what must be done - but at what cost?
This unusual series presents characters harboring highly-conflicting attitudes about the ethics of secret mass-treatment policies - should our government zap terrorist leaders and rogue heads of state without their consent in order to eliminate violence? We’ve aimed to present this emerging psych-tech controversy without bias - but finally in the climax it becomes grossly obvious that humanity's universal virtues such as individual freedom of choice must win out over fear-based plots to secretly alter our basic emotional identity.
Although the plotline often follows Jack Hadley as the central character, this is mostly an ensemble piece rather than a solo hero-driven story. A dozen key characters play essential roles in the drama, ranging from the horny guard at the research center to the tormented president of the United States. TEN % MAX is a complex puzzle that sidesteps the usual thriller knee-jerks in order to get at something much deeper.
There's also seriously mature romance running throughout the story. In fact each character is played with an unusual level of complexity. Interior conflicts and shifting priorities create a number of sudden reversals in the plot flow. And moments of intense hostility can shift rapidly into deep engagement and resolution.
Perhaps the most jolting twist in this story, which raises the impact considerably, is that the supposed spiritual master in the plot turns out to be the most amoral of the team - while the Afghani terrorist who gets zapped with the neuro-resonance treatment ends up becoming the true spiritual center of the tale. And yes, he's played for real, he's got to be entirely believable or the whole story collapses.
As in other High Heart Films properties, this limited series pushes beyond industry-standard characters and climaxes, choosing instead to leave the audience stirred up by very real choices we all must face in the near future. The series aims to entertain - but also to educate and enlighten.
TEN % MAX provokes this question: in order to avoid looming planetary disasters, will we blindly allow heartless tech to alter our core human qualities and handicaps ... or will we wake up and insist on a more humane path than bio-tech dominance of our emotions?
This series stirs up these urgent questions
... and then ln a totally unexpected climax, leaves its audience deciding for themselves which outcome they're going to bet their lives on.
