LOS ANGELES, 2099. The rain-drenched megalopolis, stuffed with smog and neon, had become a boiling pot of social discontent. Replicants have been an integral part of society for decades but tension has never been so high. A jaded retired Blade Runner Ashani Kapoor is assigned to retire a rebellious Nexus-9 replicant Synch.
Synch is characterized by the presence in him of some unique features not inherent in previous models because his memory could be accessed and experienced by other replicants. During one retirement session, a malfunction occurred which made Ashani unsettled. Instead of fading away into darkness, Synch utters these enigmatic words: “Project Lazarus…Eden.” This triggers curiosity in Ashani who probes further into retrieved memories.
She stumbles upon bits of information that point to the existence a hidden colony of replicants rumored to be located somewhere else outside the Off-world colonies. These memories show how life was like for this sect which is at variance with what happens on Earth where they stay as if they were criminals hence making their existence difficult and harsh. Ashani also suffers from nightmares about artificial people that appeared when she was still a child; this makes her go beyond her limits in order to find answers.
In her search, she comes across Dr Anya Sharma, an exiled but brilliant scientist who once took part in Nexus-9 project team. According to Anya, Project Lazarus was a covert trial aimed at producing self-preserving and procreative synthetic humans. Fearing social unrest due to the project’s outcomes, it was discontinued while Anya became ostracized.
Meanwhile,”Memory Dealers”, an unforgiving underground syndicate targets Ashani Kapoor for kidnapping or killing purposes regarding his ability -to access another individual’s mind by just looking into their eyes-, Synch has become such a valuable asset since then that it can even be used to extract vital information. To survive, Ashani is forced into an uneasy collaboration with Anya whose ideals do not resonate well with her cynicism. Ashani’s cynicism contradicts Anya’s idealism borne out of the potential of replicants.
The investigation leads them to a secret facility that is a relic of project Lazarus. There they discover something horrifying: the authorities exterminated all these procreation-capable synthetic people because they were too dangerous to be allowed to live on. However, one escaped, carrying a single embryo – a child with both human and replicant DNA, the key to Eden.
At the same time,”Memory Dealers” had also infiltrated this place. This turned into a chase in which Anya was fatally injured. She sacrifices her humanity by having her mind transferred into another non-living body of one who was still dormant from replication as she makes a desperate final bid to protect the future. She hands over the embryo for Ashani to locate Eden saying so.
Escaping with the embryo, she is on her way towards realizing Anya’s last wish. By using Synch’s power in order to travel through forgotten pathways that lay outside the city into Los Angeles wastelands beyond it, Ashani embarks on this journey fraught with danger as they are pursued unremittingly by Memory Dealers.
Finally after an arduous trekking, Ashani arrives at one hidden valley- an untouched green island amidst polluted outer world (Polluted Eden). Here are survivors of Project Lazarus’ Replicants have chosen this place for their haven.Ashani holds up the embryo symbolizing hope for coexistence between humans and reproducing synths someday.
Eventually, the film concludes with Ashani opting to remain in Eden. The ending leaves us cautiously optimistic that a divine-like race may be fostered between replicants and humans through Anya’s replicated consciousness and the possibility of a child. Nonetheless, at the end, as the shot pans backwards, it shows Los Angeles’ cityscape choking on its smog; symbolizing an era faced with difficulties. This incomplete thread about equality fight and human identity is left open-ended adding anticipation for additional sequels from Blade Runner universe.