Original subtitles

Thank you.

Look at that.

I'll kill you.

Farrah.

Farrah. Are you all right?

Why did you leave me in there so long?

I know that it's hard to believe, but it's only been a few seconds.

No.

No, it's so real.

For all perceptible intents and purposes, it was real.

And Varian, Mr. and Madam Senators, provides the future of our penal system.

There is nothing wrong with your television.

Do not attempt to adjust the picture.

We are now controlling the transmission.

We control the horizontal and the vertical.

We can mute you with a thousand channels.

or expand one single image to crystal clarity and beyond.

We can shape your vision to anything our imagination can conceive.

For the next hour, we will control all that you see and hear.

You are about to experience the awe and mystery which reaches from the deepest

inner mind to the outer limits.

Crime and punishment. An age -old dilemma.

Man has long sought a solution to society's ills. But at what point does

punishment itself become a crime?

That is why Senator Walston was able to ride in tandem with the subject, but

only up to 17 seconds.

But it felt so much longer. Exactly.

The subject's only been in his program for a few hours, but in his mind, he's

serving the 25th year of his life sentence.

SVR adjusts the brain's cognitive sense of time.

The total effect allows the subject to experience many years within a single

hour.

And...

What if Senator Walson had ridden in tandem longer than 17 seconds? I mean,

hardly seems like enough time. The computer simulation would have adapted

brain's neural net.

She would have had to stay for the rest of the subject's run.

A life sentence?

Yes.

You have to understand that because of the time compression experienced by the

person riding in tandem, 17 seconds represents a much, much longer period of

time. More than enough time to disengage from the program.

Uh -huh.

So... For the prisoner, there really is no hope of parole.

Yes, but consider the alternative.

Compared to what convicts encounter in today's correctional facilities, with

new, tougher crime laws going into effect, with diminished appeal and

options, our prisons are becoming increasingly overcrowded, inhumane,

bereft of any reformational value.

Bereft?

There have been some advances during my watch, Doctor.

Holographic psychology, copy nutrition.

The bill for the electro -stim security system I introduced in Congress last

year? Well, shocking prisoners into submission hardly constitute the step

forward, Senator.

Is that so?

By which I mean of my sensory bypass rehabilitation program.

Incorporates both penalty and reform conditioning for a fraction of your

prison budget.

Billions less. Senator, you must consider, while these people are paying

debt to society, society is falling further into debt.

With SBR.

Repeat offenders of violent crimes will become virtually non -existent.

If you'll excuse me, the program's complete.

Please keep a good distance from the subject.

Cool down. Take several seconds.

Cool down.

As with entry, exit. Take several seconds.

Brain sensory perception to return to normal.

When the subject realizes that he's been given a second chance, that his whole

life is in front of him, the mode of outbursts often fall.

My God.

What happens to him now?

He'll be remanded to a halfway house for observation.

But we have a 95 % success rate for rehabilitation covering a group of

of 200.

Eventually, that man, You'll re -enter society as a productive, tax -paying

citizen.

He is a new man.

They seem impressed.

What do you think?

Well, Senator Meade is a hard sell.

But I heard them talking about SBR going online nationally as early as next

year.

Well, why wouldn't they back up?

pilot programs achieved too high a success rate even for Senator Meade to

ignore.

I think I did it.

Congratulations.

I mean, we did it.

No, no, no. It was your vision.

Yeah, at the start, but you've been a big part of this.

In fact, Dana, without you... Ah!

There you are.

There they have it, Jack.

Dr. Ellen, I'd like to hear more about this project, from your perspective.

Oh, um, I think that Dr. Henson is better qualified.

Oh, you two are a team, aren't you?

Please, the next subject's being brought in.

I didn't do it!

I said let me go!

Does this happen often?

This particular subject doesn't fit our usual profile.

I'm innocent.

Please.

Please. Let me go. Mostly we have repeat offenders, hardened criminals.

Really, we see a great deal of bravado in here.

Not this time.

Well, in a few hours, he'll be a new man.

Jack? Are you sure we should proceed with the subject?

Excuse me?

His anxiety is going to put his vital signs outside the point. He'll be calm

a moment. Begin sentence.

Do anything wrong.

Will he be put in the same prison as the last convict?

The computer creates each individual experience from the subject's own mind.

No. No.

It assesses what stimuli will be the most effective and then builds those

various situations.

Sort of a custom fit.

Doctor.

What is that?

That is the subject's heart rate.

He's all over the place. We're going to stabilize him in a minute. Stimulate the

adrenal medulla. I want a 50 % increase in epinephrine rate.

He's still 70 over 50.

Prompt the hypothalamus to stabilize arterial blood pressure.

He is dying, Doctor.

What are you doing? Get him out of there.

I can't.

He's going to die anyway.

Turn the power off. He's been in more than 17 seconds. The program is running

now. How could you not have a contingency for this? This has never

before.

Unless... Why?

He claimed he was innocent.

Well, what happens if an innocent man is put in that thing?

I don't know.

The level's stabilized at all. No, the same, Jack. We have to do something.

Have you just endangered an innocent young man's life, Vincent?

The program assumes guilt. All my work has been based on that assumption. Jack,

we're losing him!

Open my death button.

What are you doing?

I'm going in.

To do what?

To bring him out.

Once I'm in, there'll be plenty of time.

Jack, if you can't bring him out... I will.

I'm going to ride in tandem with Mr. Isaacs and try to talk him back into an

awareness of being in a simulated reality.

Then it might be possible to bring him off the machine without damage.

Jack, I'm sure.

I'll be right back.

Doctor.

Good luck.

Okay.

Ready.

will become operating in six seconds.

Cory,

can you hear me?

You have to listen.

This isn't really happening.

You're not in prison. This wound hasn't happened.

You're sitting in a laboratory in a sensory bypass program.

Remember? You were brought in.

You said you were innocent.

I do it up. I believe you.

All you have to do is remember where you are. This isn't reality.

Just remember, you're sitting... Get away from him.

He isn't real. The knife wound isn't real. I only have... Get the hell away

him!

Just take my hand. Remember.

See?

That happened because I know he isn't real.

Listen... No.

You and I are not here.

Take my hand.

Take it.

Show me you know this isn't real.

Three seconds is fair.

Dr. Hanson, over here.

Quickly. I need an ambulance to the research center at Western March Street.

Hurry. I can't feel anything.

I think he's... I think he's... I'll give CPR.

Two, three, four, five.

Three. Four.

It's not possible.

He was all right.

He took a couple of steps and then he just... collapsed.

Couldn't save him.

But I had him.

So he's dead.

Dana.

Dana, I did everything I could.

I know.

I was just thinking how this morning we were on top of the world.

Now.

There is no way we could have anticipated this.

Researching it.

It would have been a waste of resources.

A waste?

Jack, a man died.

Don't you feel the least bit responsible?

SBR was developed for convicted criminals.

Jack, you should have seen it.

What did you say?

You should have accounted for the possibility.

Of innocence? That is the court's responsibility, not mine. Courts make

mistakes, Jack. They're human, like you.

Like your subjects.

Ah.

See? They're my subjects now.

Projects are all mine again.

I know in my heart that the potential danger to an innocent person never

my mind.

Did it cross yours?

Are you questioning my ethics?

If it was an honest mistake, no.

You think I knew this could happen?

Dana, you've been right beside me from the beginning.

You've seen violent felons changed into functioning human beings. You've seen it

countless times.

How can you, of all people, raise a question of ethics?

SBR will be hailed as one of the great humanitarian breakthroughs of this

century. Someday.

I guess my name will be the only one on the Nobel Prize after all. Jack Henson?

Yes. What? You're under arrest for the murder of Corey Isaac. What? You have

right to remain silent. Anything you say... What is going on? ...will be used

against you. Dana! Dana!

I'll call your lawyer!

Jack Henson, you are charged with manslaughter and

reckless endangerment of one Corey Isaac.

How do you plead?

Not guilty.

Ms. Hall?

Your Honor, I intend to prove that Dr. Jack Henson knowingly endangered the

of an innocent man and indeed caused his death for the purposes of self

-aggrandizement.

They say it had only been an hour.

That's the longest hour I ever knew.

And what has your life been like since then?

I can't sleep no more.

Sometimes I still wake for days and days.

I can't work.

But without Dr. Henson, you'd be in prison right now.

Wouldn't you have rather had SBR?

I'd rather be dead.

I'm sorry, could you repeat that, please?

I said I'd rather be dead.

Dr. Henson was driven, but that was one of the things that I admired about him.

Driven to what?

What was he after, in your opinion?

Success of the project.

To what end?

Um... He wanted a Nobel Prize.

Did you, in fact, warn him not to perform the procedure with Corey Isaacs?

Yes, I did.

And what did he say?

He suggested that there was nothing to worry about.

That Corey Isaacs would soon be a new man.

But he was wrong.

Yes.

Were you or were you not aware of the potential danger of putting an innocent

person through the simulation?

As I have told you, my concern was with the penal system, not... With the

judicial... Answer the question, Doctor.

Yes.

The thought crossed my mind. All right, there.

I admit that much.

But not the repercussions. I had no idea what would happen.

All I knew was that it was an unexplored aspect of the research.

Yet you proceeded.

Look, it's not that difficult to comprehend.

SBR is the answer to our society's problems. It is...

Revolutionary. And sometimes in a revolution, you lose lives.

Do you have any idea how many lives we are losing in our prisons today?

There was an accident. One accident compared to all the good it can do.

Anybody can see I didn't murder Corey Isaacs. It was a mistake.

And if it weren't for an error in the court's judgment, it never would have

happened.

It's not my fault.

Dr. Henson, before I read the jury's verdict, do you have anything further to

add in your defense?

No, Your Honor.

Well, Dr.

Jack Henson, I find you guilty as charged.

Justice, Dr. Henson, I'd be better served if I could sentence you to your

machine. 20 years is all the law will allow.

So be it. There's no possibility of parole.

Dismissed.

You have to appeal.

This isn't right. You have to appeal.

Senator. Not right. Are you coming to the press conference?

No. You took a right on that thing. You can tell them what it was like.

You can also tell them that Dr. Elwin and I are heading down to that torture

chamber right now.

Dismantle every laugh.

Dana, no. Don't let them... Dana?

Dana! Help me! Please! Dana! You've got to help him!

Dana!

Please place personal items in the bin, including all clothing, accessories,

currency.

Retain visual or hearing.

Thank you.

Please continue to station four.

Do not venture beyond the blue line on the floor, or you will be reanalyzed.

Please continue to cell 1, 4, 6, 5.

One, four, six, five, three.

Please, don't do this.

Shut up!

I hear you like to torture cons.

You wanna try again?

Come on, pick up.

I've been hearing about your little experiments for a while now.

I know people that got friends who did tie them in your chair and they got sent

back here.

And I gotta tell you, you ain't gonna be too popular around here.

It's not what you think. Stop!

I hope you're in for a long time because I'm not finished with you yet, Doug.

to save him?

Don't sleep, handsome.

Don't ever open your eyes.

Because I'll be there waiting.

Please follow

the

walkway.

For a portion, please press 1.

We're sorry.

Court number 1 is empty. For an alternative, please press 3.

For seconds helping.

of cardiovascular exercise available.

Please stand on the treadmill.

Calculating.

Maximum heart rate for your age and size is 195 beats per minute. Optimal

training zone is 166.

166? No. No.

That's too fast.

Cigarette smoking diminishes lung capacity.

Refrain from smoking.

Do not allow fingers to cross the midline of your body.

Keep your arms at a 94 degree angle.

No, this is too fast.

Could you slow this down?

This is too fast. Stop!

To prevent injury, make sure your heel strength is not below your center of

gravity.

Dr. Henson.

Dr. Henson.

Well,

how are you adjusting?

Adjusting?

The prison system is a joke.

There's no reform here.

I've only managed to retrieve about half of my meals.

I know. They malfunction more often than they work. It's all these cutbacks. I

don't know how much more they can cut.

To whom do I complain?

You're the first person I've seen who actually talks to me. I'll see the

machines are looked at. You have to eat. It's ridiculous.

Thank you.

Would you also alert someone to the fact that the man in the cell next to me is

the brother of Corey Isaacs?

He intends to kill me.

The brother of your victim?

Not my victim. I didn't kill anyone. But this man thinks that I did.

We don't have Corey Isaacs' brother in here.

What do you mean?

I handle all the prisoners on your block, and he's not here.

Oh.

I don't know who he is, but every night since I've arrived here, he's kept me

awake.

You just hear his voice?

Yes, but he's very real, believe me. Oh, I believe he's real to you.

No, you don't understand.

I hear that you need me to understand, but a boy is dead.

How do you feel about that?

Feel?

Terrible. It was a terrible accident.

I see.

What do you mean, I see?

What do you think I mean?

I think you're not listening.

What would you like me to hear?

That I shouldn't be here.

It may take some time, but the first step toward change is to account for

actions. I told you. To face one's inner demon. I didn't do it.

That's you.

My God.

You all right?

I'm fine. You're here.

I thought you'd bend your back on me.

I should have come sooner.

It doesn't matter.

You're here now.

You've been to the FBR lab.

I suppose there's not much left of it.

I still have the schematics.

You know where they are.

You could probably start rebuilding the whole thing.

I thought that I'd take some time off.

Away from the project.

you so much. I think about you every day.

Your appeal has been rejected.

The attorney was going to tell you but I wanted you to hear from someone who

cared about you.

I never told you this. I was always too clumsy or too awkward.

John.

I think I can get through this.

If I just know that you feel the same way about me.

If I thought that someday you and I...

Senator Meade.

Dana, he did this to me.

I shouldn't go.

This is going to take... I'm seven hours in.

Forgive me.

Dana, don't do this.

I'll get out of here. I'll get out of here now.

I swear it!

Hello? Anybody there?

How long have I been in here?

You

can't

steal a man's life and expect that he won't try to get it back.

one more chance, I could convince them.

And I can't do that when they're out there.

And they're stuck in this box!

treatment like animals and expect them not to behave like animals.

I won't try it again.

I'll do whatever.

I'll do whatever you...

I

just don't wanna be alone in here.

Somebody must be listening.

So... No!

Talk to me!

Just let me go back to my son.

Tell me what day it is.

You're coming.

I thought I could change things.

Leave my mark on the world.

I pretended I was doing it for the good of the country.

thought I deserved some sort of reward for my genius.

I thought of my subjects as things, objects that I was repairing, make me

off.

And if one innocent man died, compared to all those who would be held,

who would be saved from violent crime,

What's one life compared to all that?

One life.

What's one life?

Jen?

You all right?

We were getting worried about you, Ansel.

It's been hours.

Hours.

No, no, no, no, no, no. Calm down, calm down.

It's okay.

You're at the lab.

Cory.

He's at the hospital.

You saved him.

That's right. It's going to be just fine.

To be honest, that was my biggest concern about SBR, but you got him out.

Jack, you didn't make it out within 17 seconds.

I tried to get you out the same way you retrieved Corey, but you were already

riding in tandem.

There was no way of going in without experiencing the entire program.

It's all right, Vincent.

Now, sure, the situation with the boy was a close call.

But now that we know that SBR has a few glitches, you can address them.

You've gone through it now.

Who could be more of an expert, hmm?

And I think we can put this thing through Congress and be expanding

as early as next year.

Or the what?

You've convinced us.

We think SPI could revolutionize the penal system as we know it.

No!

was guilty.

I'm sorry?

If he believed he was innocent, then the same thing that happened to Corey

should have happened to him.

He sentenced himself to life.

Sometimes it is an easy thing for a man to cry out for retribution until he

himself has walked in the footsteps of those suffering the penalty.