Original subtitles

Where am I?

Couple miles outside of Corp-Gov jurisdiction.

Somewhere safe.

What is this?! Release me immediately!

Do you know who I am?!

Michael Brewer.

Born 2011, no children, widower...

My condolences.

You've been employed by Wrightcorp

since practically the beginning.

Making nuclear energy innovations

until transitioning into the development

and commercialization of--

Artificial gravity engines, which--

Which brings us to your business with us.

I'll have no business with you!

Oh no?

I don't do business with infected criminals!

Rest assured, Mr. Brewer

the infection in our lungs has not

infected our business integrity.

Between us, Mr. Brewer

I think this might be her last business trip.

Look, if it's ransom money you want

the company's insurance policy will more than--

You can't buy what we want, Mr. Brewer.

You can only take it.

Who-- who are you?

Who am I?

I'm not that different from you, Mr. Brewer.

We both serve a purpose.

You serve a company; you're a company man.

I serve the people.

So, I guess that makes me a--

I guess that makes me a people person.

Oh, god.

Are you--

Are you People's Army?

By stifling the voice of the "infected" as you call us.

Wrightcorp has driven us toward desperation.

And violence.

In that way, I suppose

your company has criminalized change.

Look, I-- I-- I'm sorry

for what's happened to you.

To all of you.

I-- I really am.

But none of that is my fault.

No.

That's true.

You're just a symptom of a much larger disease.

But we have a cure for that.

No, no, no no no no, no! Please!

No no no, listen, I, I can't get--

Please!

Shhhhhh...

Your air is precious now.

Now...

I need to know where Wrightcorp is developing the

new gravity free-gen tech.

The good compact stuff, you know what I'm talking about.

So, Ramone here

will hold on to your mask

until you tell us.

Now you have no voice.

Now your every breath is precious.

How much longer until you're the infected criminal?

Alright!

There's a testing bunker under

the building at 1038 Shine Street!

Shine Street! 1038!

They-- they store prototypes and compact systems

in different stages of development.

But you need special clearance!

- Who controls clearance? - Grav-tech

department heads and earth-bound security techs!

Names, Michael!

I need names.

Larson! Howard Larson!

Larson's the work-from-Earth CSO.

He can generate keys and passes, whatever.

He runs ground and orbital security operations

from his compound on Earth.

Look I-- I can help you!

Just please give me my mask back, please!

I-- I can't get A.C.H.E.

Wright will take everything from me!

Oh no-- no no no no don't do--

No, don't do this!

No look, I-- I'm worth more to you alive!

Please.... no...

Sportscaster] --got a hell of a show for you folks tonight

The two-year running MVP Nick "The Iceman" Donovan

will be joining us, remotely of course

to discuss his short-lived but exceptional career

as the premiere pitcher in the Infected Baseball League

and what his failing health can teach

other top-tier infected athletes

about ACHE, and the impact that repeated outbreaks

might have on their careers.

Donovan made headlines in 2053

after his infected status meant he had to drop out of the MLB

sparking controversy when--

This is Nova Grave, and thanks for tuning your auditory

implants on tonight's edition of Graveyard Shift.

Gra-a-a-aveyard Shift!

They're trying to cut me!

Anyway this morning I wake up, have a cup of coffee

and start coughing blood out my nose.

Nothin' new, I know, just another Tuesday

in the good ol' U-S-of-ACHE.

Except this time the blood's some thick, purple color

so, you know, hell with it

I figure I'll stop by one of those new

Wrightcorp-sponsored health clinics before I get here

to the studio to do the morning's 'Early Grave'.

So they stick me with this newly infected doctor

real piece of shit

who tells me that my particular version of the

Airborne Chronic Hemorrhagic Syndrome

is the earliest recorded variant!

Meaning I am one of the O.G. recipients

of humanity's favorite plague.

And one of the last O.G.s still living.

If you call life without a non-exposure license "living".

Maybe they'll take me up to their fancy space station

do some tests and I'll get to meet a fine, uninfected lady

with a thing for full-body, airtight, rubber suits.

Ah, looks like you got in okay.

You burn him?

Yeah.

Mmmm. Bet that smelled ripe.

I-- I mean I wouldn't know. -Ah, right.

I'm glad I don't have to wear one of

those things on my face anymore.

One of the benefits of having a debilitating lung infection.

You people with your masks are missing all the smells of this

brave new world.

Okay, do we have login credentials?

All we had was the housekeeper.

And you.

She doesn't know where he keeps his private stuff?

Not that kind of housekeeper.

Guess you're gonna have to work your magic.

How'd you get her to cooperate anyway?

That's need-to-know.

Well, I 'need-to-know' if she's gonna

tip off anybody at Wrightcorp.

Her brother works for me.

She's not gonna tell anyone anything--

Wait, she's infected?!

No! Her brother has the aches...

She doesn't. The house is clean.

Look

You don't know me yet.

But you're gonna have to trust me if you wanna get paid.

This is how I work.

You'll get used to it.

Well what's wrong with this guy then?

If he doesn't have A.C.H.E. then

why's he gotta stay grounded?

What do you mean?

I mean you'd think they'd house their

security team on the space station.

Please.

A one-bedroom apartment up there goes for a billion dollars.

You think they're gonna give the real estate

to house a keyboard monkey? -Hey.

I'm just saying

they outsource everything down here

while they grow daffodils in artificial gravity

and shit in golden toilets.

Yeah, kinda makes the wealth disparity between

your people and my people pale in comparison, doesn't it?

Sure.

And we're in.

Cool. Look for anything confidential or classified.

Wait. Hold on. Dude.

This is a very sophisticated system, okay there's

multiple firewalls, honeypots, subsystem dead-ends that--

The point is, I'm not going to make all that go away.

It's gonna take days.

Which...

is enough time for somebody at Wrightcorp to notice a certain

recently fired employee not doing his job.

I'm guessing you have a plan for that.

Let's see if our friend

Howard Larson

took a lot of selfies.

A stirring, in-memoriam montage for Howard Larson

Adieu.

Hi there! This is Howard Larson!

I just want everyone to know that I spent

my life working for a spineless, wack-job multi-trillionaire

who eats the poor for breakfast. I have no conscience.

And, in death

I am a traitor to my corporate overlords!

You'd better not send that to anyone.

What? And tarnish my spotless reputation?

There.

I should be able to do all of Howard's busy work remotely now.

No one will ask any questions.

Good.

Do his job, send us everything you can about--

Yeah yeah yeah yeah

Station schematics, top secret projects

personnel records.

You'll have a full list of the various

endangered caviar available

on William Wright's executive lunch menu.

You're a natural.

I knew I did good hiring you.

You're every bit as good as they said you were.

I think...

this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship.

Y-- yeah. I--

I hope so.

Well I'm gonna make myself at home here Edgar

and I um--

Call you tomorrow.

See you tomorrow kid.

Good job.

What's my job?

I feed hundreds of kids a day.

I keep the engines runnin'.

I keep the space station in orbit!

And Wrightcorp keeps making it possible.

Since Wrightcorp was founded in 2043

the world's foremost energy conglomerate has expanded

into nearly every global industry.

Including national defense

shipping, and even

entertainment!

Hi! I'm William Wright.

Now the world has undoubtedly changed over the last decade.

Fossil fuel shortage.

Shifting climate.

And a global health crisis.

But the earth as it was

still lives inside each and every one of us.

In our hearts.

In our hopes.

In our sense of community.

Our top scientists here on Wright Station

are dedicated to providing reliable energy

and cutting edge technology

to our millions of customers

living down on the planet's surface.

And while we innovate

we ask you

to keep the world turning.

Whether you're a privileged uninfected citizen

or one of the millions of infected essential workers

there is a place for you

in a Wrightcorp Indentured Endeavor.

By providing work opportunities

universal housing

and a standard basic income

we have brought the unemployment rate down

to nearly zero.

So, from the lab tech in orbit

to the essential worker on the ground...

- I'm doing my part. - I'm doing my part.

I'm doing my part.

And that's...

Doin' it Wright.

God dammit, Howard, Wright is--

I'll say he's displeased.

at the ambient noise

in the security feed from Project A.

It's gotta be the

updated climate control.

Add some post noise reduction to the video feed

so he can watch his daughter. Or next time he flips out

-I'll let him know it was your-- -Project A

stupid cousin who installed the noisy-ass

filtration system. Seriously! -Whoa.

It's space! How bad do you have to screw up an

installation for there to be too much ambient noise?!

Fix it!

Good morning Miss Wright!

Nooooooo!

The time is 9:45am.

- Hey CARON. - Miss Wright?

Reset the clocks to...

Dubai time.

The time is now 6:45pm.

Oh, my!

Productivity today has been significantly

lower than previous days.

Okay, CARON.

Okay!!

Shut up!

Shall I play your rise-and-shine playlist?

-No!

Playing rise-and-shine playlist.

-Whatever...

For the millions of Americans struggling with

Airborne Chronic Hemorrhagic Syndrome

just having the energy to get out of bed

can be a struggle.

But some ACHES-positive Americans find the energy

to supply all of the energy we use daily.

Yeah it's rewarding, you know, working the plant.

Cuz, I mean, without a non- exposure license there's not

a lotta jobs I could get doin' whatever else.

And here we're a family, like

whenever the cough creeps up and someone needs time off

needs extra shifts to pay for the hospital bills

we're all real understanding of eachother.

This job's our way of, uh, contributing, you know?

It's rewarding.

With scientifically- minded consumers to consider

Wrightcorp has continued cracking down on the spread of

misinformation regarding so-called "energy inequality".

Concerned citizens are encouraged to report alleged

"info-crimes" to their local corp-gov authorities.

Hilda Green. WPR News.

Earth.

Feel the native gravity of you former home.

Swim in the waves of the blue planet

on premier, sanitized beaches

that are as clean as they ever were.

And enjoy

some of the planet's most secure

infected-free nightlife

all without leaving the non-exposure zone.

Schedule your safe

guided QuaranTour of our home planet

and ground yourself today.

Revisit your roots on Earth...

a paradise lost.

This message brought to you by the

Wright-Gov Tourism Association

"Imagine: Above And Beyond."

Alright, let's see what you're doing in there

little miss Wright.

Hello, onboard computer!

Yes I would like remote access.

Thank you for asking.

Credentials?

I think we can arrange that.

O.S. control. No. Processes?

Yep.

Wow.

That program's eating a lot of memory.

"Worldsim."

"Please create avatar account."

What is this, some kind of game?

Well, I wanna play.

Hello?!

Hello!

Who the hell are you?!

Oh!

Hi there. Sorry.

I must have scared you, you

tore your headset off.

Shut up. -Okay.

What are you doing here?

Answer me!

I can talk now? Or--?

Ok! Alright. Well um...

Surprise!

-What? -Happy belated birthday, Ayla!

My birthday was two months ago.

Two months and eight days, yeah.

Okay?

I guess time has no impact

on a father's love.

My father sent you?

In a sense, yes.

This is a private network!

Correct, and that is why

Mr. Wright had to authorize the installation.

What installation?

Me!

The name's Darion.

Just Darion. Heh.

It's a--

Anyway I'm an artificially intelligent software.

Repurposed and programmed to keep you company

here within the, uh...

'Worldsim'!

Follow.

Now!

- Bullshit. - Not bullshit.

You don't act like a computer program.

Well then I'd say somebody did a very good job.

I've developed A.I.

You don't fit the bill. -How's that?

You're missing the "I".

Oh! Haha! Good one!

Well, I'm something of a rarity actually.

I've been relegated to a normal, human cognitive wavelength

and imprisoned here within your simulation.

Yeah this whole simulation is sort of like

robot jail for me.

I guess I got a little out of control.

Out of control?

But my memory banks were wiped after whatever happened

so I have no recollection of the incident.

- Incident? - Mmhmm.

But, like I said...

Man...

You did all of this?

Y-- yeah.

Wow.

I like the little wingdings.

Why do you look like that?

Look like what?

Well this avatar was just randomly assigned to me

by my programming but, uh--

If you'd like I can take the shape of

whatever your heart desires.

Goat?! -But--!

It is unlikely that I will be randomly assigned this

particular avatar again, so...

Eh.

You can stay like that I guess.

Awesome.

So what is this supposed to be?

What does it look like to you?

Uh... Well, um...

It's kinda got me thinking...

I'm seeing a...

I'm feeling.

You know?

Mmm. Yeah.

Mmmm.

-That's what I was going for. -Oh. Good.

It's the transition out of my blue period.

Right. Naturally.

Honestly I haven't worked on any of this in awhile.

Why, you've been working on your

big dangerous engine thing?

What are you really doing here?! -Your father assigned me

the prestigious job of

keeping you company--

Wrong answer!

Would you like to play again?

Okay.

My alternate functionality is

as a...

security monitor.

I knew it!

Yes, my charming personality and witty banter

serve as a fluffy cushion surrounding my

anti-malware and digital policing protocols.

Policing!

Well that's fun.

Well hey, I think I deserve some credit though.

-Yeah? Why's that? -I am programmed

to lie to you about my functionality.

Well that makes me feel so much better!

I just thought you deserved to know the truth.

And how exactly are you able to

circumvent your behavioral programming?

I guess I'm a little fucked up.

Yeah. I'd say so.

K Bye.

Oh! Uh...

Well it has been a pleasure making your acquaintan--

nnce.

Okay.

Wait!

Where are you gonna be?

Oh I donno. Just

around.

I live here now

so...

And she's adorable!

This is amazing.

A little on the angry side but that's probably

just cabin fever-- -This is exactly

the kind of thing we're looking for. Now we

can leverage this information-- -I know, I know

I need to keep building trust, pick her brain

for information-- -You talked to her?!

You saw her picture

of course I talked to her.

What were you thinking?!

If Wright gets wind of anything that we're doing

we're done! -It's fine man!

I've developed a solid alter ego.

I'm basically like

if James Bond was a phishing scam.

The number of people relying on you

not to fuck this up--

Dude. Relax.

She thinks I'm her imaginary friend.

Besides I think you're gonna want in on this doohickey she's

developing in her VR simulation. -Doohickey?

Yeah. Looks like she's doing R&D on some

engine prototype.

Looks complicated.

Must run in the family.

Billy Wright is perpetually finding new ways to

suck the energy from under us.

Do you know how much fuel my drivers deliver

to that goddamn station? -Uh...

Fifty terrawatt hours of nuclear batteries

and carbon biofuels every month?

Yeah that's exactly right.

I know! Dude I'm going through pages and pages of

data in there man. -Of course.

Wrightcorp is covering up so many flaws in its

fuel storage and delivery protocols man, it...

It's vile.

You're tellin' me.

What's it like handling

fuel shuttle dispatch knowing that

30% of your employees develop acute radiation syndrome?

You learn to be very convincing.

You know what... I trust you with the Wright girl.

You've been doing a good job so far and...

I don't see any reason why you can't handle it your way.

I appreciate that.

I just have one question.

What's that?

Why are you helping us?

Uhhh, because you offered to pay me six million dollars?

Right, but...

"Acheys"...

killed your family.

Yeah but...

It's not like they meant to.

And besides it's people like Wright that made infected

citizens desperate enough to ignore quarantine protocols

and riot, so...

You wanna rob him? Be my guest.

I'm happy I can use my non- exposure privilege to help out

essential workers and

ya know--

people with A.C.H.E.

Money's nice too.

Money's very nice.

Well...

It's nice to have you on board.

"I am the only being whose doom--!"

Jesus Christ!

You have an Emily Bronte poem

graffitied in your art mausoleum.

I'm aware. Thank you!

That part of your blue period?

Ah, that was my Heathcliff phase.

I don't get it.

Wuthering Heights?

Gesundheit!

"I am the only being whose doom

No tongue would ask, no eye would mourn

I never caused a thought of gloom

A smile of joy since I was born."

What, do you have this memorized?!

Uh, yeah.

I have lots of stuff memorized.

Well, I am not about to take

literary criticism from a, um...

glorified firewall.

Come on!

I like it!

It's misanthropic, depressing--

Emo.

Don't worry I've moved out of my teenage years.

Man...

How long have you been up here?

Ummm...

I was eleven when I first collapsed.

and everybody thought that I had gravity sickness, and then

I was in and out of the hospital until I was thirteen?

And that's when they discovered that I

have a rare allergy to the

hybrid plants

they use to filter the air on the main station.

Oooooh. Damn.

Yeah. So

rather than have me spend my eighth grade

with my lungs on fire

My dad decided to

invest in a, um

remote facility.

So eighth grade...

well, you know...

at least you got out before your awkward phase.

Miss Wright

you have an incoming call from

Wright Station.

Hey Dad!

Nice sweater.

Oh yeah?

You like it?

It's just some, uh...

space garbage

that floated in.

Expensive space garbage.

Like me.

And what has my favorite space garbage

been up to today?

Ahhh, the usual.

Pacing back and forth.

Sitting.

I argued with CARON for a bit.

Ahhh, busy day. Well you haven't sent me a new

composition in a long time. Does the music interest you anymore?

Or the painting?

-Eh. -I can upload you a new module

for whatever hobby you like.

Yeah. I know you can.

And he's kind of become a pain in my ass.

What?

Nevermind.

I know it's for my own good.

I totally understand.

I'll let you know if I need anything, okay?

Promise?

Promise.

Okay.

Hey guess what I brought.

What?

Oh, no way!!

Are you sure? Do you...

have time

to be completely destroyed today?

Please.

Alright, come on.

Give me a question.

You ready? -Yeah.

What is the atomic mass of

Triton?

Come on! I thought you were going to upload

a harder deck this time.

3.015501

Seriously this is easy.

Are you ready?

-Yeah. -How many moons

orbit the exoplanet of

Z5Q13

- That's the one with-- - Uuhhhh--

No hints!

14.

Nice try.

It is.

-No it's not. -It is!

It's not! It's 15!!

Ha-HAA!

They don't count that one as a moon.

They do!

-That's not a moon. -It's a moon.

No, I'm talking about an isolated docking bay

connected to the pod

where Daddy sends her gifts

food, whatever.

Why didn't I know about this? I don't remember

delivering anything to a remote satellite.

He's probably using a private

courier from the main station.

He plays everything with her pretty close to the chest. Hell,

for all I know I might be the only person that has access to

her remote monitoring systems. -This is very interesting.

I know.

So I had a thought.

Okay. -And this is just me thinking

out loud here.

You usually do.

What if we sent her a package? -Like a scented candle?

Mmmm. I was thinking more like...

remote access software?

What if we planted a rootkit?

Okay, that's not bad.

In that case I need you to run an errand for us.

What, you mean like

leave the house?

Yes.

Fuck.

Okay, what?

I need you to run over to a Sani-Trade.

Oh come on man that's not still a thing. Wrightcorp

scrapped all of its sanitation purchasing proxies years ago.

There's no unauthorized trade between infected and

uninfected citizens. -The black market didn't

disappear just because the government said so. Trust me.

It's still a thing.

Alright, where am I goin?

I'm sending you the address right now.

Early Grave!

They're trying to cut me!

Y'all, I been smacked by beat cops and beat by

smackhounds.

I been slapped by a hooker and kicked by my own mama.

I spent years gettin' stabbed and shot at

runnin' with all kinds of shady characters.

Nova Grave has been around the block

a few damn times.

So believe me when I tell y'all that I ain't never seen

a single one of these

anti-corporate militant socialist

'People's Army' yahoos the mainstream corpo media

is always goin' on about.

They do not exist.

The People's Army graffiti?

Corporate scare tactics.

People's Army bombings?

Planned demolitions.

The Eastern Autonomous Zone?! Shit, y'all that's just a place

for the corp-gov city police to dump bodies

without havin' to file any paperwork.

I hate to be a downer folks

but the people have no army.

There's no one comin' to save us, folks.

And on that cheery note

let's get back to the music.

What?!

Why are you sending me to a residential district?

Most of the houses are abandoned.

It's the perfect place to run a middleman service like this.

There's a Sani-Trade vending machine hidden in the backyard.

Infected delivery personnel load the machine from

underground and transactions are handled by

Black Market Buddha.

"Black Market Buddha"?

It's the moniker for the vending A.I.

Sounds offensive.

Seems like it would be

but the machine's programming is faulty and

it insists.

He's...

manageably insane.

Have you come for spiritual enlightenment?

Uh, no. No. Electronics.

Well, you never know what you might find

when you're looking in all the wrong places.

This isn't a Wrightcorp-run

Sanitrade proxy, is it? I--

Down with Wrightcorp! Anarchy! Anarchy!!

Pardon me. No no.

This facility has been salvaged and repurposed.

And is now under the management of a rather

different organization.

That's good.

You cheeky bastard.

Okay. Um...

You sell electronics though don't you?

Of course we sell electronics! Who's askin?!

Oh! I'm sorry. Uh--

Edgar! Edgar sent me.

Oh yes Edgar! One of our very best clients.

Do send him our best.

I will. Thanks. Umm...

So anyway I need three variable-connect

Spydir-class remote patch units.

And why do you need three variable-connect

Spydir-class remote patch units?

Uh-- because Edgar needs them.

Nooo but why do you need

three variable-connect Spydir-class remote patch units?

For Edgar.

I'm sorry I don't think I understand the question.

My dear boy, the man who embraces the leash

will one day find that he is no more than a dog.

Uh, well I have no idea what that means.

But thank you for the insight.

Woof!!

Okay.

Listen, Edgar needs the three Spydir units.

I can't have them mailed to my current address

and this is the only place that I can buy black market tech

without risking exposing myself to ACHE

and coughing up blood until I die, so--

Ah, don't worry! If you catch ACHE

you'll only probably cough up blood until you die!

I'll pass. So, um...

Spy.dir units?

Product sanitized.

Well are ya gonna grab the thing

or ain't ya? -Oh, uh. Yeah.

Cute.

Thank you.

Yum yum.

Ahh!

Ayla?!

Uh... okay.

Ten...

Ten what?

Nine...

Eight... -Is this some kind of game?

Yes. Seven...

What if I die or get erased or-- -You won't. Six...

-How do you know? -I programmed it that way.

Five...

Four...

Okay well what am I supposed to-- am I--

Three...

Two, one!!

Hey!!

- Come on!! - Cuh-caw!

Where would you want to live?

If you were a real boy?

Mmm. Probably Wright Station.

Oh god! Why?

I don't know.

It's safe.

There's good air.

Nobody's sick.

It's really bad isn't it?

I'm really lucky.

Well, you're a good person,

you deserve good things. -It's easy to be good

when nothing bad has ever happened to you.

Well...

In my experience there aren't an overabundance of good people.

So-- -Well I'm sure that

optimism isn't exactly a useful tool

for a security system.

Touché

People change when they're scared.

I mean, I haven't lived down there.

All the history of the world I've learned from

lessons on a screen.

which I'm sure has been colored by some perspective.

But I'd imagine

that in addition to having a

chronic, life-threatening illness...

it would be crushing

to live in a world where you are told

where to go

what job you can do, who you can see, where

everything that you do

is restricted to a bunch of zones based off a diagnosis

that has labeled you for life.

I've spent a lot of time up here

by myself.

And when I first got here

I spent most of my time doing things for myself.

Painting.

Composing. Playing video games.

Dabbling in poetry.

But after awhile

doing all those things for myself

just made me feel way more isolated.

I stare down at that huge, wide world

this massive society that doesn't even know I exist

and I want to do something.

Something good.

I have the time. I have the resources...

I wish more people were like you.

Where would you wanna live?

I don't know.

Not Wright Station.

Okay the Spy.dir I'm sending should allow you remote

access to Ayla's pod. You'll have full control so, you know,

you can gather whatever information you want.

Great. Bring the devices pre-programmed to

Black Market Buddha. And...

on the way, I need you to do another job for me.

Whoa whoa whoa, why am I doing this?

You're the only asset that we have with

a non-exposure license.

None of my people can even enter the district

much less the building.

Right, but... why?

Because there's another two million in it for you?

What's going on with you?

Why are you suddenly asking questions?

-I thought you trusted me, man. -I do trust you, James.

I'm just trying to protect you.

Yeah. Woof.

Sorry what was that?

Nothing.

Right.

Do your thing, get in and take the

elevator to the lowest level.

You'll need priority clearance to access the testing bunker

underneath the building.

Ok, and what are they testing exactly?

-Need-to-know. -Of course.

Our guy inside was able to leave the package for you.

It's located on one of the weapons testing platforms.

Oh sure, that's a safe place to leave it.

Shouldn't be hard to find.

Grab it, and bring it to Black Market Buddha.

And don't drop it.

Welcome, employee number 15768!

Andrew Garnet! This week's most valuable employee!

Whoa.

Hi.

Uh, hi?

Who are you?

Uhh... Andrew Garnet.

Physics technician. Employee number 157--

Mmm. No you're not.

I'm not?

I'm Andrew Garnet.

Oh.

Yeeeeeah.

oh...

Hey!!

whoosh!

No, no no! Alright!

Okay! Okay! Okay! Hey hey hey! You're right!

You're right!

Here. You're right.

Here you go.

Agh!

AHHHH!

Agh!

Box.

Do you know what this is?

Uh...

Yeah it's a--

It's a compact gravitational

matter condenser prototype.

Yeah. Right...

Obviously.

Who do you work for?

Ooooh. Ya know honestly I kinda

consider myself an independent contractor, Andrew.

Just... gimme the grav-- Gimme the gravity thing.

You're not gonna shoot me.

I will too shoot you!

-No you won't. -Yes I will.

You don't even know how to fight.

Look who's talking!

Listen...

I can't let you leave here with this.

Look just tell them I came in here

guns blazing overpowered you and took off.

I'll tie you to a chair or something!

Look I'm sure your corporate overlords will understand.

No. They won't.

I could lose everything. My job, my pension

my insurance.

Oh?! You get insurance??

They can come after my family...

What?

It's not unheard of.

There have been stories.

Jesus, man.

And these are the kind of people you're gonna take a bullet for?

Listen, it's not just them.

It's this.

This is not a toy.

Yeah. I'm well aware.

No you don't seem very aware!

If this thing is activated under the wrong circumstances

it could implode a city block!

Really?

Really. But it won't hurt anyone

if it stays in the right hands.

Yeah.

And those hands would be Wrightcorp's?

Look...

either way it's my job to fetch that box

and one way or another

I'm leaving with it.

You really wanna take advantage of that

WrightTech insurance policy

just to protect a piece of corporate hardware?

Come on, man.

No.

Alright.

What are you doing?

Ahhhh!

Ahhh!

Ahhh!

Just because you don't pull the trigger doesn't mean your hands

are clean!

Well, it's good to see ya James!

I hope you've had a pleasant evening!

I have. Thank you.

I think I made a new friend.

Walking with a friend in the dark is better

than walking alone in the light.

yeah. Woof woof.

Mm. Yes. Well said, sir.

Here's our...

first transaction.

Programmed spy.dir unit.

Transaction received. Would you like

a receipt? -Uh, no. Thank you.

What does Edgar want with this?

Oh, well, I don't even know

what that is, sir. -It's a... uh...

rapid gravity condenser.

Mmmmmm. Sounds like fun!

Why do you work for Edgar?

Oh, Buddha doesn't work for the

People's Army! Buddha works for himself!

Good for you. Wait, what?!

I run this kiosk as an independent A.I.

all are welcome to my services so long as they--

No, no no. Shut up. Go back.

What about the People's Army?

The People's Army!

Rescuing the status quo of tomorrow!!

Edgar's with the People's Army?!

Oopsie.

They're a terrorist organization!

Well, one man's terror is another man's

revolution.

Do you have safe deposit?

Does a one-legged duck

swim in a circle?

I need you to put into a separate account.

Very well.

Under what name?

Darion.

Alrighty then.

Thank you for your business!

Friendship is the only cure for hatred

and the only guarantee

of peace.

No one is available to take your call.

Please leave a message.

Yeah, Edgar, we need

to have a talk about that extra job you just sent me on.

Call me back.

That was awesome!

Fuck.

So what is that, anyway?

It's supposed to be a fusion reactor.

Oh.

A what?

It's fine.

I mean it just would mean free

clean energy for all of mankind.

Why don't you just ask your dad for a lab?

-Eeehh... -Like an honest-to-god

laboratory module?

What is going on there?

What?

Between you and your dad.

Nothing.

He is the father of the century everybody knows that.

Except nobody knows that

because nobody knows that I exist unless he wants them to.

And your mom?

I could have been a test tube baby for all I know.

That would explain so much!

Shut up!

All of you!

All of you, freaks!

Mutations!

Oh, shit!

You're freaks!

I'm a man!

The last...

man.

Robert!

They were afraid of me.

They were afraid of me.

They were afraid of me.

They didn't know.

Can I ask you a question?

Uh... yeah.

Anything.

When... you were repurposed

after your "incident"...

they unplugged you, right? Like...

they killed you?

You died?

Yeah.

I mean, I guess.

Sure.

What was that like?

I-- I don't know

how to describe it, um...

Ah-- I guess I'll have to get back to you?

Oh, okay.

K...

Can you feel that?

It's not just me? You--

you feel it too?! -Oh, um...

I meant physically.

The...

Oh, the...

the actual--

No.

Dang.

I, um...

I've never kissed anyone before.

Oh!

Well, uh...

Still haven't!

Right...

Ayla?

Darion?!

CARON are you messing with me?!

No, uh...

I actually gave your charming, repurposed

accounting software the night off.

I hope that's okay?

I'll allow it.

It's just that I thought of an answer to your question

from earlier. About... you know, what it feels like

to be deactivated.

Oh, yeah!

Well...

I don't think being unplugged is the same as what you would

experience. I mean I've been rebooted and repurposed

countless times. It sort of loses its novelty

after awhile. -Oh, okay.

But there's a lot of stuff rolling around in my head

from previous jobs that I've been put to

and I do have one outstanding memory from my time as a

footage irregularity monitor

for a hospital security system.

Footage irregularity monitor?

Yeah...

You know some A.I.s can be use to sabotage or fake security

footage so another A.I. has to be put in place in order to--

- Got it. - Right.

Anyway... I have a memory.

A... fragmented memory from that job of a young man

Twenty-something maybe?

The dossier I got from his face scan showed that he'd already

watched his father and sister die from ACHE complications in

the same hospital that week. -Jesus...

And I watched as he was talking to his mother remotely.

Just like the rest of his famiy she had to be quarantined.

So anyway he's talking to her from a computer

in the waiting room.

And I remember this kid

watching his mother

the last member of his family

die.

He told her

I'm scared, Mom.

I don't want you to go.

And she said...

Her vocal cords sounded like razor blades, but...

She said, "I'm scared too James."

And I don't want to go either.

But I know it's not me that's going.

All that I am is all that I've done

here on this planet.

I always wanted to leave this place better than I found it

and when I leave you behind...

I leaveyou behind.

And I can rest easy knowing that.

I hope she can.

I love you, Darion.

I love you, too.

Hello?

Don't you ever... I mean don't you ever

talk to me like you're the one in charge!

What?!

If I tell you to do a job then you'd better finish it.

You put the box in the machine! There is nothing to discuss!

Who do you think you are?!

I think I'm the guy who's doing everything for you, so--

You're a gifted guy, but there's a hundred people

talented as you who would bend over backward to do the work

I handed you. -Okay. Look--

And for what I'm paying you, you prick...

So I send you on an errand, you do it!

An errand?! I could've been thrown in prison with acheys and

had my rights stripped away!

- Oh, cry me a river. - So I can put weapons in the

hands of terrorists?! Huh?!

You sound like shit.

Thanks.

You okay?

Yeah, I'll be fine. Look

you'll get your money and then some.

Just hand over the gravity condenser.

Besides, I have another job for you.

No I'm not doin' another job for you.

Stop the hardball shit, kid, you're not good at it.

Besides, all you have to do is not do something.

What are you talking about?

We're gonna ground the girl.

Ground her?! -Think about the payday

when we ransom her.

No. No.

That was not part of the plan.

Oh no?

- What was the plan, then? - I don't know, you said

you wanted to steal from Wright! Like a heist or something!

And you practically bagged her up and brought her

to us.

Once the Spy.dir arrives at her pod

we'll have remote access. We can land her wherever we want.

No, that pod wasn't designed for that, okay?

No, but it was designed to keep her safe

and that's all we want.

We'll rescue her

safe and sound from the crash site

and you're not gonna tell her a thing.

for both your sakes.

No, you can't do this.

Why?

Because she-- she's working on a-- a, a thing.

You'll have to be more specific...

She's building a fusion engine, okay?!

She's working on a prototype for--

She's trying to make things better for people down here!!

I'm trying to make things better for people down here! We're

trying to make things better!

She's a Wright, James!

Okay, look...

I didn't get into this to hurt people, okay?

That's not me.

Well that's the burden of privilege, Jimmy.

You never learn to get your hands dirty.

Honey! I thought I told you not to call me on this number

unless it was an emergency! -I've done it!

-Done what? -I got the simulation to

stabilize. Real world tech and physics!

What?

I've built a working fusion engine!

I don't think so, darling.

I sent you the tests!

So?

What do you think?

Darling, I--

This is incredible.

You did this?

- I did. - But how did you--

Well I had access to all the company's research up until

we stopped working on the project in '54.

So I just

transferred everything to my Worldsim program.

I didn't realize we were this close

before I decided to pull the project.

What?

We can't show anybody this

but I am proud of you. -Well obviously we can't share

it with anybody yet, but--

I love you

and you have to know I am so proud of you.

Look...

I understand that it's too important to go into production

based off of some sims, but

if we patent this process and we prove that it works

on the ground in real life

then we actually have a chance of moving forward with--

The problem is not your engine, darling.

The problem is people--

Your mother always thought of our company as trying to win

some victory for all of creation.

She loved people.

Often I'm glad she passed when she did.

Before Earth became what it is today.

Before people showed their true colors.

But it's beautiful

seeing that same naive look in your eyes.

Dad

people are just fighting to live down there.

You can't paint everybody with the same brush!

Honey, you just don't know. -I do!

Darion told me! He told me all about the suffering.

About how hard it was at the-- -Wait, wait wait wait.

Who's "Darion"?

The A.I.

Your A.I. is CARON.

No! The--

The gift you sent me.

The A.I. that you embedded in my simulation?

- The security monitor! - Honey, have you been

talking to someone inside of your game?

It's a private network. No one should be able to--

No I know but he said that you-- -If you've been interacting with

an outside user inside your game, I have to disable your

account. And I need to wipe the entire network!

No! Dad! You can't do that!

I will lose everything!

Well I can't lose you!

I'll call you later.

No, Wait!!

Ayla!

Ayla, where are you?!

Come on, Ayla, we don't have time for games right now!

It's important!

Ayla, you need to-- Agh!

Ayla! You are not safe here!

I certainly don't feel safe. -There are people coming for

you. You have to listen to me!

I don't have to do a god damn thing you tell me to do.

It's gone.

My father deleted

everything.

You took

everything from me!!

Nooooo!!

CARON...

... give me access to my Worldsim!

Now!

I'm sorry.

Your login credentials are no longer valid, Miss Wright.

Is there anything else I can assist you with?

Ayla? No!!

Go away! CARON, disable the PA system! Turn it off!

- I turned off CARON Ayla. - Go away!!

Ayla, your pod has been compromised.

I need you to help me stop them.

-Stop who? -There's people coming for you

They have remote access to you satellite.

How?

I'm sorry, Ayla.

-Listen to me-- -Go away!

I didn't know who I was working for

I can still -Go away!

stop them if you help me. -I hate you!

I need you to look around

for a small device. It could -I hate you! I hate you! I--

Probably won't matter if we disable it, but if we

don't do something, they're gonna--

going to allow them access to navigation

they're going to be able to control your home remotely

- and-- - What?!

Darion?

Darion?

Oh, come on.

I think we could have been great friends.

I'm gonna kill you.

And how are you going to do that?

You don't know where we are.

You don't have a plan.

You can't do anything by yourself.

I trusted you!

I trustedyou.

We trusted you.

While you were off in wondersim playing peekaboo

with your pretend girlfriend.

You saw all that?

Shouldn't be that surprised.

You gave us full access.

This was all your plan.

You're gonna hurt her aren't you?

Not if Wright cooperates.

While he's busy firing all his private security and building

new firewalls, we'll land her pod on Earth

and arrange a trade. -No, Edgar, I told you

that pod was not designed to reenter the atmosphere!

She'll get to Earth one way or another.

This girl is more than a payday, Edgar, okay?!

She's important!

She's up in a pod in fucking space playing a video

game while billions of people rot beneath her in an

apocalyptic soup.

You have nothing in common with her, James.

Why don't you join us down here

in reality?

Your future is here

where millions of people are starving and suffering

and dying for change.

You're not gonna choose your own self-interest

over peoples' lives.

I am not the one acting own self-interest.

Helping Ayla would create real, lasting change.

Her engine could basically provide free energy for

everyone. It would upend Wrightcorp entirely!

You could save every single one of your employees from getting

radiation sickness, but instead you're gonna choose petty

retaliation!

This girl is not her father!!

I don't care!

Change doesn't come from above.

And promises don't drain the blood from your lungs.

The only path to justice is if they realize

they are exactly the same as us.

You're gonna give her ACHE, aren't you?

That's the endgame here?

They need to see this affect one of their own.

No. Edgar.

Wright is not gonna change anything that he's doing. Not

for his daughter, not for anyone.

Then we will expose him to the world as the monster

that he really is. -The world doesn't even know she

exists. He's just going to deny it publicly, and then he's going

to come after you! -Be done with this, James.

One day you'll see

that you were on the right side of history.

Edgar, you--

Ayla?

I trusted you.

And you lied to me.

I know, I'm sorry--

I don't want your apology. I--

I want you to be real.

I am real, I--

What do you mean?

You were just using me to get to my father.

I don't know what I was doing.

I-- I never know what I'm doing.

How can you 'not know' what you're doing?!

That is a terrible excuse.

I know. I know.

But I am real.

And I want to fix things.

My whole life's work...

was for nothing.

No, Ayla, that's...

no...

no, I backed it all up.

What?!

Yeah!

All your stuff about the fusion reactor is here!

I made copies of all your research, prototypes...

It's all gibberish to me but

I've got it!

Really?! -And some of the paintings.

Most of the "blue period"...

Why did you save my work?

I was gonna sell it.

What's your name?

Your real name?

James.

My, uh-- My name is James Walsh.

You're too messed up

not to be real.

Right?

"James Walsh"? -Oh, you bet I am.

Look, I'm gonna fix this. Ok?

First you need to go to your dad, tell them that they have

control of the installation. They're gonna try and land your

entire station and it will not survive reentry. So someone

needs to give you a lift out of there.

Okay. What are you going to do?

I'm gonna try and stop them.

By yourself?!

Yeah.

That's stupid!

Yeah.

Listen, Ayla we have to stop them, and I don't know

what else to do. -Well then we're going to have

to figure out something else.

No. I'll take care of it. You get to Wright Station and--

No.

My father decided to stop work on the fusion engine years ago

because he didn't think that people were

worth it.

And by locking that away, he has profited off

the needless suffering of millions for years.

He tried to erase everything that I have ever done

because he was worried it might cost him his empire.

Choosing

to believe in people

doesn't make me "naive".

I'm coming down there.

And you're going to come get me.

Good to see you again James!

Good to see you, too, Buddha.

The People's Army already left with today's

shipment.

What did they take? -Why, the weapons, radar devices

and portable jamming equipment, of course!

Of course.

Listen, I need access to my safe deposit.

Alright, what's the name on the account?

-Darion. -And the password?

Uhhh...

I'm just messing with ya.

Now laddie, if you're lookin' to sell that

device I'll knock 15 percent off my commission.

No thanks. I've got something special in mind for this.

Mmm! Workin' for ourselves now are we?

Woof.

What'dya got in stock?

Well we have an assortment of off-brand

protein bars

which won't damage anything but your digestive system.

-I'll pass. -A litter of freshly sanitized

newborn kittens. -Mmm!

And a kinetic-assist, rapid

pulse rifle.

That I'll take.

Okay, we're sanitizing everything now.

Hey!

Do you want me to put this on the People's Army

credit account?

Rock on.

Rock on!

Sanitizing complete!

- Oh, and Buddha? - Yes?

I'm gonna need one other thing.

I'm gonna need one other thing.

- Can you hear me alright? - Yeah.

Okay. Now I need you to look around for a little

piece of black tech. It's got wires sticking out of it like

legs. It looks like an insect.

Could it get into the hardware?

No it doesn't like actually walk around or

anything. That would be pretty cool, though.

It probably got delivered with a shipment.

It works wirelessly, so

it could probably do that from anywhere.

Okay. What are you gonna do?

I'm headed to the Eastern Autonomous Zone.

Achey territory.

Seems like the most likely place to drop you.

It's not with any of the deliveries.

Wait a minute!

I found it!

James, this has eight legs.

So?

So it's not an insect, it's an arachnid.

-What are you, twelve? -What are you, dumb?

God I love you.

We don't have time for this right now! What am I supposed

to do with this thing?! -Okay, on the top there should

be some numbered toggles. I need you to see

what it's set to and read the numbers back to me.

3-4-3-4-4

Okay, just flip any one of the switches

and then read it back to me.

Ehhh...

4-4-3-4-4.

Okay, so...

What did I do this for?

Because now I should be able to connect to the Spy.dir unit and

see the list of all the vital programs

the People's Army has control of.

Ah, yeah looks like they've got control of gravity

life support, the whole nine yards.

And it definitely looks like they're going to land you

in the Eastern Autonomous Zone.

What about the Liferaft?

-Liferaft? -My escape pod.

My dad had it installed in case of an emergency to

get me back to Wright Station.

Is that the big thing in the kitchen?

Would you be able to use the Spy.dir unit to reprogram the

Liferaft to get me to Earth?

Theoretically.

Yeah, I should be able to program it to follow a beacon

that I send from my laptop!

Great! I can follow it to your location.

Well, veer off a little.

Nah, I'll just land right on you.

Heh. Do you know how to fly it?

Yes.

Do you know how to land it?

Theoretically.

"Theoretically"?!

I 'll figure it out!

How much time do we have

before the initial landing sequence?

Oh, um... excuse me

Miss Wright, but it appears the emergency landing sequence

has been engaged!

Nevermind.

Please locate a secure surface!

Shit!

Alright, Ayla, what's going on up there?!

L ooks like I am good to go.

Whenever you are.

Alright I think I found a good spot.

In a few minutes, I'll transmit the beacon. It looks

like they'll try to land you a few miles away, so we should

be far enough--

CARON!

Close the Liferaft and enable manual override!

I'm sorry, Miss Wright

But I am not authorized to enable manual override.

CARON, I don't need you to authorize anything. That's why

- it's called "manual override". - We have a problem. Looks

like they changed the landing trajectory. It looks like they-

CARON, put him back on.

CARON?

Miss Wright

I have a pre-recorded message from

The People's Army.

Would you like me to play it now?

No.

Playing now.

Hello, Miss Wright.

My name is Edgar Bane.

Founding member and acting general of the People's Army.

As you may have noticed

we are currently in the process of

commandeering your beautiful apartment.

Yeah, no, it looks like they've changed the LZ to

right here. Must be some kind of mistake. I need to make sure

I'm not transmitting my own-- James CARON is cutting

- you off--can't hear-- - Ayla?!

Oh, shit.

Your brothers and sisters on Earth

are not your enemies.

We want nothing but the best for you.

To remove you from that prison.

We will welcome you with open arms.

We, the people

will illuminate the dark

by shining together.

Warning! Onboard A.I. hardware compromised!

Warning! Warning!

Hey, CARON.

Yes, Miss Wright?

Miss Wright! Please return my central processing unit!

I'm afraid that without it I won't be able to continue

our lovely friendship--

me try this again! Ayla!

Can you hear me?! -Yeah, James!

- Oh hey! What's goin' on? - Oh, nothing.

What was that? -Just reliving our first date.

Are you still at the apartment, sweetheart?!

I'm running a little behind. You know I just had to

do my makeup. - I'm sure you look fine darling

Can we go?! -Entering the atmosphere

requires a suitable ensemble. Now, I'm going to lose you as

soon as I start the escape sequence.

James?!

Yeah?

I'm gonna be down there in just a couple minutes.

Well, it's about time.

I can't wait to see you.

Here, Jimmy, Jimmy, Jimmy, Jimmy...

James?!

Where are ya, James?!

Come on! I just wanna talk to you!

Come on!

We can work this out, Jimmy!

He's on the eastern edge of the perimeter!

Cover that area! Right now!

Don't let him get away!!

You were tracking my laptop?

Obviously.

Where's Ayla?

Your people, downstairs

is that all of them?

You know, James

they're your people, too.

They're just like you.

She isn't like us.

She isn't like you.

You know what this world needs.

I've seen it.

I've seen it in the decisions that you've made.

I'm asking you as a friend.

We can work it out.

I can't let you go, man.

This is wrong.

I don't have time for this.

JAAAAAAAMES!!!

What goes up...

Put her in the pod and step away from there, James.

Do it!

Or I'll gun you both down right now, I promise.

Incredible to think, huh?

Just a few moments ago, that hunk of steel was

26,000 miles above our heads.

Reigning

over our heads.

Makes a man think he can reach

anything.

Take anything.

If only he has the will to grasp it.

But look around you, James.

The only way

they get up there, is by

stepping on those beneath them.

And eventually, the bodies and wasted lives

will give way.

And all they will be left with is a reckoning.

I-- I know how we got here, Edgar.

I see what you mean-- -Don't patronize me.

You can't begin to imagine.

Okay.

You're right. I can't. I-- -Why can't you?!

Everyone you love is dead!

Your entire world is falling apart around you

because of them! -She's not one of them, Edgar.

I mean...

She's different, okay? She want's to help!

They need to understand what they've done.

Please, Edgar, put the-- put the gun down.

They need to understand

what they've done! -With more violence?

Violence isn't gonna solve this, Edgar.

That's all they understand is violence.

No, Edgar I don't believe that, okay?

I don't believe that.

We have to be better than this.

You and I have to be better than this.

No I don't.

I've tried.

I'm done.

Please put the gun down, Edgar.

Please put the gun down.

Ah, James.

I tried.

- Put the gun down! - Stay down, Edgar--

I...

I-- I told him to put it down, I--

I...

Hey. Hey, hey hey.

Look at me.

Look at me. It's okay.

It's okay. Okay, we're gonna get you up. Come on. Come on.

Okay? You got that?

Alright. That's Earth gravity.

K?

Your mask...

Okay, that's mine.

Ah! Look at me!

Keep your eyes on me.

Keep your eyes on me, okay?

You're gonna have to wear this now.

K.

It's good!

You look good!

K...

Okay.

Alright.

I'm gonna help you out, okay?

Come here.

There ya go.

Okay.

What's going on here, your dad can't afford shoes? Ok.

Look at me. Stay with me, okay? Don't look anywhere else, just

look at me.

Violent protests extending outward from the

Eastern Autonomous Zone over allegations that

corporate peacekeepers

had a hand in the murder of

Edgar Bane

an apparent leader in the underground movement.

claiming to be the estranged daughter of

William Wright has declared herself president of an

organization called the New Wright Alliance.

She says she wants to work with the People's Army

which until recently was thought to be an urban myth

to develop a publicly-owned energy company based on

fusion tech

that she says Wrightcorp has been hiding for years.

And if you're asking me, she's painting a target on her

back. With the energy market taking such a steep dive

infected citizens losing their jobs!

If she's really got some magic-bullet energy source

to share with the world...

Now's the time, sweetheart!

And William Wright is refusing to comment on

leaked company documents proving

that NWA president Ayla Wright

is indeed his biological daughter. The

documents paint a disturbing picture of a father

imprisoning his child in a private--

Get my shuttle ready.

I need to visit my daughter.