Original subtitles

So you're not going to tell me about your hot date last night?

Hey, loose lips sink relationships to quote the master.

Look, I don't want to play by play. Just score.

Okay, zero, zero, nobody score.

Plas card rejected.

Insufficient credits remaining.

Don't give me that noise.

Plas card rejected.

Insufficient credits remaining.

Shut up.

Hey, hey, hey, relax.

Hey, you, come back here.

Come on, kid.

Vandalism's bad enough.

Resisting arrest?

Get serious.

You're destroyed, sucker!

Officer Pulati's death is, of course, a tragedy, but it is not our son's fault.

Your son allegedly fired the shots that killed Officer Pulati.

Stephen has never been in trouble before. Never.

But he hasn't been himself since he got hooked on this virtual reality game. You

contend that playing computer games is used. One computer game.

It's all destruction.

It's obscene violence that corrupted Stephen's mind.

If you're looking for the real villain here...

Try Harris Booth. President of Miniware Computers? Damn right. He manufactured

it. He sold it. Why shouldn't he bear the blame?

Because your kid pulled the trigger.

Can you believe that, man?

What happened to the notion of personal responsibility?

There is no evidence that links violent behavior with playing destruction.

Then why did you pull it from the market six months ago?

With the racket those hysterical parents groups made, I had no choice.

Now the game's all over the Matrix.

Meaning anybody can grab a free copy. A pirate copy.

With Miniware's logo prominently displayed.

Naturally, gentlemen, I am concerned about bad publicity.

A kid plays a game where he kills cops.

Then he shoots a cop for real.

You have more to worry about than bad publicity.

I am not hiring you to lecture me, Mr. Gomez. I'm hiring you to find that

and stamp out those damn bootleg copies.

Well, do you have any idea of anybody who might want to hurt you or your

company? Anybody who'd stoop this low?

I can promise you I have no idea who it might be. Doesn't have to be someone you

know personally.

Yeah, maybe a laid -off programmer, for instance.

If the culprit were in any way connected with Miniware, we would have found out

by now. Why do you think I came to Cosmos Security?

Our great coffee.

Your boss assured me that you would give this case your full attention.

And we will.

Good.

What are you making cracks for, huh? He's a suit. I hate suits. Yeah, he's

a client. We treat him nice. Why?

Because they pay our salary.

Lousy reason. Yo, Danny, learning the ins and outs of the big -time detective

agency? Oh, yeah.

Hey, sorry we couldn't bring you in on the meeting, but our client wouldn't go

for an observer.

No problem. You guys on a hot new case?

A lousy case. One that we're going to give our full attention to.

Hey.

Your boy's heading back to school this weekend, right?

Spend some quality time.

The case will wait till morning.

Later.

Do you need any help with this lousy new case?

If we can handle this one.

Hey, you ever hear of a computer game called Destruction?

Sure. Played it a couple of times. It was okay.

Still got a copy of it anywhere?

No, but I can get one off the Matrix.

If you want to scope it out, just take a nanosecond.

How come I never heard of this game?

Oh, what, now I'm over the hill? I didn't say that.

Wise -ass kid.

So you think this game could provoke somebody to shoot a cop?

Are you kidding?

It's an exciting game and it gets you pumped up, but it's just a game.

Didn't make me go shoot anybody.

There we go.

That was quick, considering it's a pirate copy.

Well, if the Matrix cops bust me, I'll just tell them you made me do it.

All right.

So, you want to try it out for yourself?

Yeah, sure.

As long as you take it easy on me.

Here.

Play together against the computer. See how you handle yourself.

I'll give it my best shot.

to destruction.

Where's my gun?

Right there.

Oh, all right. All right.

This way. Hey, right behind you, buddy.

I'm covering you.

I want you to cover me, all right? You understand that? Yeah. Okay.

You busted, Tex -Cabin!

You

shouldn't

waste your fire like that.

Yeah, well, the faster you nail him, the more points you get. All right. Let me

go first this time.

Cover me.

Go.

What are you doing?

What happened?

What happened? You didn't listen to your partner.

Player one, you are destroyed.

Game over.

Let's play again.

This time I'll be the bad guy. Me against you?

Hey, you better watch yourself.

I think I can handle it.

Yeah? All right, let's go.

You're under arrest.

Player two wins.

Player one, you are destroyed.

Sucker.

You cheated to win.

Let me tell you something.

Good cop.

Always uses surprise to his advantage.

Cheap trick.

You know what they say. All is fair in love and destruction.

So you cheated to win comedy. Or was it just a game?

It's all right.

Go on.

All right.

Are you okay?

Here.

Come on, get up.

What happened?

What happened to you?

I don't know.

The game's been altered.

Some hacker took Miniware's version, stuck in some new code, and uploaded it

the net.

Did you notify the Matrix police?

You bet. They've already destroyed all bootleg copies floating around.

What if the hacker uploads it again?

Well, let's hope he does.

The Matrix cops and I have rigged a trap. So if destruction shows up on the

we'll be able to backtrace it.

Whoever he is, he's good. I was up all night trying to disassemble his code.

Well, that's why we pay you in a megacredit.

Bascom could triple my salary. I would still be underpaid.

So here's the technical view, and here's what it looks like inside the game.

You don't want to look at it too long.

What is it?

Call it a violence virus.

It uses pulse subliminals to stimulate the limbic system.

It's like a shot of pure adrenaline. I mean, the effect.

Well, I saw the effect.

Turned my son into a wild animal.

The virus is like alcohol. It doesn't affect everyone the same.

So there's no way to tell who will become a killer?

No, but I ran some projections.

Most people get juiced up while they're playing the game. Some people stay

pumped up even after the game.

Like Danny.

But for a few, the effect is cumulative.

After a few exposures, they just go off the deep end.

Like that kid who killed the cop.

Don't worry, Danny is not in that category. For him, the effects were off.

be fine.

Which brings us to the next question.

Who's our hacker?

I've run a scan on all known cyber terrorists.

But not many minds are both talented and warped enough for this.

Jimmy Olmsted, Oscar Barnes, and Tanya Martin. I thought Tanya Martin was in

freezer. No, she's just in lockup.

There are six countries fighting over her for jurisdiction.

Mexico, New Prussia, People's Republic of Quebec.

Figures. Global terrorist, global custody battle.

The hacker's trying to upload another version of Destruction. We'll track it

down. Two through three, Selby.

Okay. Go, buddy.

Hey, Winger.

Vardigan, Gomez, go somewhere else. Lieutenant, always a pleasure to see you

too. Hey, Winger, what are you doing here? I have a warrant.

Any chance of telling us who it's for?

Yes.

John Doe.

Really? Small world. We want to talk to him too.

I told you to disappear.

You want me to take them in, Lieutenant?

Interfering with police business?

That'll be productive. Give John Doe a chance to duck out back.

Let's just tag along.

A lot easier than arguing about it.

Remember, this is my operation.

Stay out of my way.

Scout Connor.

Occupants have indicated a preference for privacy.

Yeah, I'll bet they have.

Stand back.

Portable molecular decomposer. I want one.

Sully, don't move.

Would you like a drink?

Cardigan.

Is this your bright idea?

Not at all, sir.

Actually, this is Lieutenant Winger's operation.

What can I do for you, Lieutenant?

We're responding to an anonymous tip that a suspect is uploading pirated

software from these premises.

Obviously, your tip is no good.

You're welcome to search the premises if you wish.

That won't be necessary.

Gee.

This would appear to be an illicit game of chance.

A friendly game, Mr. Gomez.

No money is involved.

Right. I guess all these plastic cards are empty, huh?

Come on, Gomez.

Good luck, sir.

Sorry to have disturbed you all.

Senator.

Well, it looks like we all fell for the same trick.

Gotta admit it, though. The look on Booth's face was almost worth it.

Whoever this hacker is, he has a perverted sense of humor.

And now he's laughing at us. I want that slime ball.

Well, you're not the only one.

That damn cop hater. He'd like to wring his neck.

Your hands would be dirty, too.

You're destroyed, sucker!

Come on, you gotta hang in there, buddy.

Don't you quit on me now.

Come on, you gotta fight it.

Sid.

Sid, listen to me.

You gotta fight it.

You hear me? Don't give up.

Talk to me.

What'd you always tell me when I'm hurting?

Well, not much I can say, Dan. And nothing that's gonna bring her back.

It's just been... so much loss in the last year.

And now this.

Hey.

You're not losing me.

You're going back to school on Saturday.

What, leave you here alone?

Forget it.

Stay with you for a while.

You're not playing hooky good to me. I'll be okay.

When you're okay, then I'll go.

What's the matter? Don't you want me around?

Of course I want you around.

I don't want you missing school.

Too bad. I'm staying.

Don't argue with me. I'm not arguing. I'm just not going.

You are stubborn.

I wonder where I got that from.

Your mother.

Nick, how you doing?

I have been better.

Yeah, me too.

We got to keep going, right?

Got to nail that psycho.

I just talked to the hospital and the kid who... The kid who Winger shot, you

can talk to him now.

Name's Luke Gray.

Good.

Hang in there.

Luke.

My name is Jay Cardigan, and this is my son, Danny.

I was there this afternoon.

The man I shot was my partner.

Take it easy. I'm not going to hurt you.

But I want to know what happened.

You played Destruction, didn't you?

How'd you know?

I played it, too.

I know what it can do to you.

This... A feeling came over me like I wouldn't be satisfied unless... Unless

killed somebody.

Yeah, unless I killed somebody.

Where'd you get the game?

A new math program I picked up this morning at school.

What school?

Jefferson High on 10th Street.

The game was in an extra file on the disc. I thought it was some kind of

for finishing my homework.

It was fun at first. It really got me going.

When you're playing this game, did you happen to see a bright red light?

Yeah.

It made me dizzy just looking at it, and after I thought, I finished the game in

half an hour. You felt really wired, like nothing could stop you, right?

like I couldn't get enough action, and my father keeps the gun in the house,

next thing I know, I'm out on the streets looking for some more kicks.

I'm right.

I want to say that I didn't mean to hurt anybody. I just thought it was more of

the game.

Sorry.

I know.

We got every copy we can spare rounding up programmed discs from the schools.

Every disc less than a day old has got a copy of Destruction on it. And every

one of those copies contains a virus.

Well, how in hell did the game get in there?

Well, evidently, our hacker got access to the distributions.

He can't put it on the net, so he sticks it on the educational disk.

Son of a... Watch your language, Quinn.

But, damn it, Lieutenant!

Yes, sir.

I want to know exactly when and how that program got added to the software

masters.

Keep on it.

Right.

Man's a little jumpy there, Winger.

Every uniform on the force is evidencing high stress levels.

Well, you can't blame them. One cop dead.

Another one would have been if Sid hadn't taken the bullet.

And our shooters are kids.

Kids who you wouldn't even suspect of jaywalking.

We're on red alert.

Double shifts.

Extra patrols.

Security cameras operational on all units.

Maybe we can spot the next one before it's too late. Yeah, but in the

the hacker's out there. He's spreading the game around.

I want you to pull some strings with federal corrections. I want you to get

in there. I want to see Tanya Martin.

Why?

We've already checked her out. She's not a suspect.

Yeah, but she knows how this hacker thinks.

See, it takes one sick mind to predict what another sick mind's gonna do,

I wouldn't know.

You must be Cardigan.

You know why I'm here?

My keeper said you wanted help.

That's right.

What's in it for me?

Well, I'd say saving lives if I thought it'd cut any iron.

But you're not stupid enough to think that.

Very good.

So name your terms.

A generous reduction in my sentence would be a nice start.

Keep dreaming. You killed 92 people.

98. And fixed governments are arguing over who's going to put you in cryo.

Parole is not an option.

Then we have nothing to discuss.

Must get pretty lonely in here.

Talk about sensory deprivation.

Me?

I'd go nuts in a day.

I'm sure you would.

No visitors, no communications.

Bet you missed contact with the outside world.

The outside world can go to hell.

I talked to your shrink. Seems to think that you might like to have a bib screen

in here.

Receive only, of course.

But at least you can watch the news channels.

You could arrange that?

For the right information.

You want to know about the hacker who planted the virus in destruction?

Do you know who he is? No.

But I can tell you one thing.

Your hacker and I have nothing in common.

I fought for a cause.

I saw what was happening to the world.

I saw the complacency, the stupidity. I tried to open people's eyes.

So who am I looking for, Tonya?

You're looking for a coward.

I took credit for what I did.

Your hacker sits behind his computer.

Safe, anonymous, a weakling after cheap thrills. But without a cause, the

violence means nothing.

Except in his mind.

The cop killing was just a blip on the radar screen.

Barely noticed.

It won't satisfy him.

He'll move on to bigger game.

How?

Maximum disruption.

Minimum risk of detection.

Power grid?

Perhaps.

Communication?

Maybe.

Think infrastructure.

The channels that connect us one to the other.

Places no one can avoid.

He'll be there.

Sooner. Not later.

Problem is, you'll be too late.

So how do I find him?

Tell me.

Your signal's low. Where are you, Kurtigan?

I'm in a cab on the Adway.

Danny's got my wheels today.

How was your talk with Tanya Martin?

Not much help.

The woman talks in riddles.

The educational software houses have been real cooperative.

We've already deleted a couple thousand contaminated disks and just got a lead

on another batch.

Good work.

You are already at maximum speed permitted on the ad wave.

Manual control enabled.

Hey.

What the hell are you doing?

Are you crazy?

Anything.

Our hacker is getting more ambitious.

He has managed to infect the Adway's auto -navigation system with his virus.

Don't ask me how.

Well, I am asking you how.

And I'm trying to find out.

You know, your orbiting me does nothing to speed the process.

Sorry.

You mean to take your hat off?

It just burns me that we can't get a lead on this hacker.

These guys are running rings around everybody.

Can you use some help?

Well, Sam Houston.

Never thought we'd see you again.

Weren't we supposed to have dinner once?

Oh, as I recall, you wound up with a case and had to postpone it.

The first time.

Next four times, you were too busy.

Well, maybe I work four times harder than you do.

Not a chance.

So what brings you here?

Special investigations on the hacker case, too?

No, I came on my own. I asked for a leave of absence as soon as I heard

Santa.

Well, then you're deputized.

Thanks. Hey, no need for thanks.

But Gomez saved Mike Bacon once.

I want the guy responsible as much as you do.

Nobody wants him more than I do.

Come on.

So?

Where do we stand?

The adway was shut down as soon as the virus was detected.

Even so, there were 30 accidents, 9 fatalities.

And no one's come forth with any demands, money, political action,

So what does this guy want?

Thrills. He's like an arsonist. Starts fires just for the kicks he gets.

But Tanya Martin called his shots.

The channels that connect us one to the other.

She knows what's going on in his head.

She's got to tell me more.

Since when do you do business with convicted terrorists?

If she doesn't help us, we don't catch this guy.

A psycho like Tanya Martin, you can't believe what she says. What if she's the

one behind all this?

What, she's pulling everybody's strings from her cell?

Why not? She knew about the Adway, didn't she? Come on, Sam.

Don't you think we checked Tanya out?

She's in special lockup.

No technology.

The most advanced thing she's in touch with is a spoon.

The only people she talks to is her jailers, and they're all clean.

And this virus isn't her style.

Tanya blew up power grids. She caught shuttle crashes. So she changes her

Come on, think it through. The woman's a brilliant has -been with nothing to

live for. What better way to catch some kicks?

Am I playing with my head?

Could be.

So now I'm stupid.

Didn't say that.

Well, that's what you meant.

I thought you came here to help.

I thought you wanted help.

Well, you're not helping me.

You're just wasting my time.

Get out of my face.

Hey, this is my case. You want to pitch in?

Then quit busting my chops.

I haven't gotten into him. Nothing.

Something's wrong.

Maybe this virus is affecting you, too.

The federal corrections has approved your vid screen.

It'll be outside the cell where you can't touch it.

Have to get a guard to change the channels for you. They don't even trust

with a remote or voice command?

You blame them? No.

They'd be idiots to give me any tool I could use.

So, what shall we talk about?

Come on, Jake.

You're awfully quiet today.

It's been suggested that maybe you're the brains behind the virus.

If you believe that, you have no brains.

Random terror was never my goal.

I chose each target for a reason.

But how come you knew the hacker was going to hit the Adway?

That was an educated guess.

Want another?

He's far too hot for you to handle.

If you know so much, then why did you help me find him? I thought you were the

detective. Damn it, Tanya! Quiet yourself, Sherlock, and let me think.

The virtual reality game Destruction. It's made by Miniware, Harris Booth's

company. So?

Booth's a rich man.

People don't get that rich without trampling on others along the way.

No, no, no. We've been down that road before. The cops have gone over anyone

who's been attached to Miniware and their competitors.

Zip. There's more to a man's life than his business.

What about personal malice towards Booth?

What, maybe somebody had a grudge against Booth?

That's a weird way to carry it out.

Vengeance can take devious forms.

Booth wants to go down in history as a great software innovator.

Now his name will always be linked to destruction and the virus.

What an exquisite revenge.

We got it, I tell you. I don't know, Nika. It looks a little thin.

What looks thin?

Don't listen to her. We are on to something.

Tanya Martin was right about this being a personal thing.

I grilled a couple of Booth's fat cat gambling buddies. The same name kept

coming up. Rock Murphy.

Numbers crunching wizard. Made a fortune in the stock market.

He was in a craps game that Winger and I dropped in on.

With his head for math, he fancies himself a big -time gambler.

Last year, he wound up one -on -one in a poker game with Harris Booth.

Lost. to the tune of eight million credits.

Word is Murphy was majorly upset.

Yeah, well, I would be upset, too, if I dropped eight mil, but Murphy's worth

two billion.

Eight mil's pocket change to him. Yeah, but it's not about money. It's about

losing face.

I mean, Murphy thought he would take that pot home, bragged about it to all

VIP buddies.

Well, that tracks so far.

And here's the kicker. In college, Murphy was a with -kid programmer, but

dropped computers, moved into high finance, figured he'd make more money.

So then he meets Booth, who's still a programmer, making ten times as much.

So there you are. Motive and means, both solid. Both circumstantial.

Why buy it?

I'll bet you Winger would buy it, too.

Sam?

Well, I guess there's no harm in bringing Murphy in for a few questions.

Right.

Sam, Sam, Sam, Sam, Sam.

I'll apologize, okay?

Didn't mean to take your head off before, okay?

Well, with Sid gone, I'm a little on edge, too.

So, let's call it square and get back to work.

There was a vehicle.

I'm wondering on the bus. This guy's a cop killer. Sure as if he pulled the

trigger.

Yes, sir.

Simple matter of probability.

A smart bettor can always beat bettors. But can he beat the rat?

Brock Murphy.

Now what? You're under arrest.

What the hell's going on? What's that charge?

202, your arrest form 35847 is incomplete.

Item 6B is not filled in. All right, let me see it.

6B, 6B.

Central, your signal's wobbly. Lock it down, would you?

I've known Walter Baskin for 20 years.

Quiet.

Would you just put me in touch with him and make it clear up? I said shut up.

Jake, take it easy. We're almost there.

You want to tell us something? Tell us about the virus. I don't know anything

about a virus.

You're a lousy bastard. Now you'll pay.

Nika, Brock Murphy's just been shot by a cop.

We need a med team in here right away.

And the virus is all over the police station.

We know.

Someone cracked security and dumped the virus into their dispatch computer about

three minutes ago. Three minutes ago?

Well, you know, we're still reading Murphy's rights.

So, that means Murphy's got an accomplice. No, which isn't likely.

Well, Murphy's not our hacker.

I am the destroyer, the master of fear and terror. You'll never catch me.

I gave you a chance to make good, Tanya, but you blew it.

Now you got more innocent blood in your hands. I thought I was getting a vid

screen, Jake.

I kept my word. I put in a request.

Obviously, your word's no good.

Well, it wouldn't matter if you got your lousy vid screen anyway, because

everything's down.

Telecommunications, computer networks, you name it. They're all contaminated?

They're shut down as a precaution.

Really?

Your hacker's actually better than I imagined.

Who is it, Don?

Tell me who's behind that.

Control yourself, Jake. My partner is dead because of this lunatic!

You really must learn to control that temper.

Given your lack of self -discipline, it's no wonder your partner is dead.

You can't have been much use to him.

Behold the killer instinct at work.

Virus or no virus.

Humankind will eventually destroy itself.

Your hacker is simply helping it along.

Tell me his name.

You give me far too much credit.

I have absolutely no idea who you're looking for. You know more than you're

telling me.

You knew you were sending me down a dead -end road. I merely opened a door,

Jake. You should have been more careful before stepping inside. Stop playing

games. The city's in a panic. People are dying.

And I'm missing every delicious moment of it.

You know something?

In a lot of ways, our hacker is different from you.

But in one way, he's not.

I seriously doubt that.

I'll bet that he's not as far from the action as you say he is.

In fact, I'll bet you he's watching.

What does that have to do with me?

I told you I'd talk to your shrink.

An incompetent fool.

Well, he told me you were never far from your terror.

Always observing.

I was there to document history, friend.

Uh -huh.

Then tell me the violence when they frightened you.

Nonsense. Tell me you didn't enjoy seeing it. Tell me that you didn't get a

charge out of it. Shut up, Jake.

You had to watch because it made you feel important.

It aroused. I said shut up.

And all your talk about cause, what a bunch of crap.

Because deep down inside, you were just looking for kicks.

Just the thought of violence excites you, doesn't it? Get out!

The truth hurts, Tanya, doesn't it?

I'm not saying another word to you.

You don't have to.

I know how to find the hacker.

There's nothing here, Cardigan. I've been to this area ten times, no breach.

You're wrong. He's tapped into the police network.

How do you know that?

Because our hacker has to see what's going on. That's how he gets his

But with all the vid channels shut down...

The only life he can use are the cops on surveillance cameras. That's right.

Which are double scrambled and ultra secure.

Believe me, if he's good enough to get his virus into the police dispatch

computer, he's good enough to crack their scramble. Yeah, but maybe he's

enough to cover his tracks.

Whoa!

Stop the music. This should definitely not be here.

Cardigan, this could be it.

Full audio and video tap, not police issue.

We'll track it down.

But don't tip him off.

Two backseat drivers. Would you guys just get off my back and let me...

Signal ends right here. Get that sicko.

Automated refinery. Great place for a hacker to hide.

Yeah, lots of computers, no people.

We're back in the damn game.

Welcome to destruction.

Very slow.

No point.

Come on.

I want him.

Get in line.

Zero score.

And you're still on level one. You will have to do better.

No points for player one.

No points for player two.

At this rate, you'll be destroyed in five minutes.

Jacob, you're going to tear his throat off. No, Sam, listen to me. No, he wants

to play again. We'll show him how to play. No, you can't play his game. Watch

me. Don't you get it? That's what he wants. To make us burn. To make us lose

Okay? That's what he loves.

So what can we do?

We give him what he wants.

Come on.

You'll never survive this game if you don't start making some points.

So far, your scores are pathetic.

And your tactics are primitive.

Shut up. This is your stupid idea. You shut up. You wouldn't work if you didn't

show. Shut up.

Thank you.

Sam, I'm sorry. I didn't mean it.

Sam, I'm sorry. Get up.

Sam, get up.

Get back.

Do not get near me. I will fire.

Too late.

Game's over.

I will kill you.

You haven't got the nerve.

That's why you put me and Sam back in the game.

Stay away.

So we fight each other. Don't get near me. I'll destroy you.

That hologram doesn't scare me and neither do you.

Let me go!

Let me go!

I thought you wanted violence.

I thought you got off on it. Jake, no.

Don't hurt me. I'll do anything you want. Just don't hurt me.

It doesn't feel so good now, does it?

It doesn't feel so good now that it's real.

Huh? Please.

You want to see what real violence looks like?

You want to taste your own blood?

You want to feel your rotten little neck snap?

No, please.

Don't do it.

I just get my hands dirty.

I could have pulled your punches a little bit more.

I had to make it look convincing, didn't I?

For a second there, I wondered if you were really going to kill him.

I guess the virus wasn't as strong as we thought.

It was strong, all right.

It just wasn't strong enough.

I'm not really in the mood for a toast.

Well, he wouldn't want us to sit around and mope.

He always said, don't mourn death, celebrate life.

This was his favorite? Iced coffee?

This is it.

The real stuff. That's what he liked.

So you ready?

What's the limit?

Four words.

Who thought up this toast, anyway?

He did.

He never really liked long, sad speeches.

He figured you should be able to sum up a person in just four words.

Sort of like haiku, but shorter.

Okay, you start us off.

Like gadgets and people.

Okay.

Um... Big man, big...

Miss that donut lover.