Original subtitles

[indistinct voice] Bernard.

[creaking]

Who is it?

[creaking]

[door creaks]

Who's there?

Hello, Bernard.

Go away.

You go away.

No.

What makes you think you have any more right to be here than I do?

I'm sorry. Leave me alone.

What are you going to do, kill me?

[Bernard whimpering]

Kill me like you killed your little sister?

Are you going to set me on fire like you did Mimi?

I didn't mean it!

You're a sniveling little coward.

That's all you are, Bernard. And a baby killer.

No!

Yes, yes, yes.

You know what they do to baby killers, Bernard?

Pyromaniac baby killers?

[babbling]

No, no!

Let the punishment fit the crime.

[laughter]

[maniacal laughter]

[maniacal laughter echoes]

[control voice] 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 deluge 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.

[Control Voice] Experience teaches that of all the emotions,

fear stands alone in its power to move us

or to capture us in its grip forever.

Morning.

[horn honking]

[Car alarm blaring]

[indistinct cacophony]

Hello, Bernard.

[driver] You okay?

[rock music playing]

[indistinct voice] Bernard.

[Doctor] Bernard Seldon, 27,

Suffered a trauma at age 6 from which he never recovered.

In the midst of a raging tantrum,

he started a fire in his orphanage

which resulted in the death of his 4-year-old sister.

Bernard, you had us worried.

We weren't sure you were going to make it.

[Doctor] In all my years of studying mood disorders,

I have never seen a patient so crippled by his phobias.

Bernard lives in a world filled with chronic, pernicious hallucinatory terrors.

[female doctor] As you might expect, he's been rendered

effectively dysfunctional.

You've got to wonder,

what is he seeing?

[male doctor] So far he's been impervious

to conventional somatic therapies.

And you really think you can help this man.

Dr. Osgoode,

if this procedure lives up to its promise,

we are gonna be able to help him vanquish his fears forever.

Just relax now.

The sedative should be taking effect.

[female doctor] Bernard's life is dominated by fear.

He lurches from one panic attack to the next.

It's these attacks, often accompanied by catastrophic migraines

that Dr. Pike's procedure is designed to significantly moderate,

and with luck, eliminate altogether.

[Dr. Pike] As most of you are aware,

The amygdala is located here, deep in the limbic system.

Excuse me, Mr. McKenna.

The anatomy lesson's up here.

The amygdala being the repository of what, Mr. Mckenna?

The brain's fear conditioning mechanism.

Indeed, among other things.

Now, you may have noticed

that the patient's amygdala is grossly enlarged,

which may suggest an organic component

to his hyper-fearful state.

The EEG even detected a mild electrical discharge.

Now, for years, we have observed a rare medical condition.

For reasons we have yet to understand

the amygdala can become encased in a thin calcium shell.

Now, the individuals to whom this occurs

seem to lose their ability to feel fear, in a conventional sense,

or even to recognize it in others.

Utterly fearless.

The polar opposite of the patient's psychological state.

What we're going to do today is give Bernard

the first of a series of injections

off a concentrate of antibodies

taken premortem from one such patient.

Our animal studies have shown that these antibodies

trigger the encapsulation of the amygdala

and we hope, in Bernard's case,

control his tendency to be overwhelmed by fear.

[Dr. Pike] We have found a way

to dramatically accelerate that process

By irradiating the brain with an attenuated phase EMP.

We anticipate a series of three to five injections

and radiation treatments over a period of two to three weeks.

Prepare to irradiate.

EMP calibrations 200 Roentgens.

Begin radiation.

[Dr. Pike] Increase to 400 roentgens.

End radiation.

[Dr. Pike] Bernard, I just want to remind you

that even if everything goes perfectly,

you probably won't notice any significant change for a while, all right?

Yo, Bernie.

How's my man?

What's the matter? You don't say hi to a bud?

You're not my friend.

You hear that, guys?

Bernie here don't like us.

I think maybe he needs a lesson in respect.

You don't want to mess with me.

You know, I think we understand each other, Bernard.

[laughing]

[Lisa] Hi, Bernard.

What's wrong? Are you all right?

I'm just a little winded, that's all.

Hey, listen, uh, I'm making lasagna tonight

And there's probably going to be some leftovers,

so, um, what do you think?

You should probably freeze it.

I'm always throwing away moldy food.

Um, thanks for the tip.

[knocking at door]

Hi.

Uh, I'm going for a walk in the park

And I was wondering if you wanted to come.

Yeah, I would.

Can I finish this first?

Sure.

This park is the whole reason I took the apartment.

I mean, the sinks drip, the roof leaks.

I don't know about you,

but I can't get them to fix a damn thing.

I don't even have a smoke alarm.

If you ask me, the whole place is a firetrap.

I had a fire, but it wasn't real.

Have you been living on your own long?

A long time.

Me too.

[dog barking]

I prefer it, actually.

Do you like animals?

They're okay.

I was going to be a vet. Didn't know where to start It didn't work out.

[Lisa] Did you know that there are over 200 kinds of pigeons?

I've got some, I'm raising them.

In your place?

On the roof. I'll show you sometime.

I'm afraid to go up there. It's very high.

No, I'll take you. It's nice.

Nobody goes up there, but me.

-Don't look up. -What?

What do you know, Bernie got himself a girl.

Just ignore him.

Hey, who's the babe, Bernie?

Aren't you going to introduce us?

Hey, leave him alone.

Come on, Bernard.

Now you tell the truth.

Does she put out, hmm?

Oh, I bet she's a real screamer.

Shut up, Blanco.

What did you just say to me?

Punk!

Hey, you better watch yourself, asswipe.

'Cause I got plans for you.

Big plans.

Big plans!

Big plans!

[thugs laughing]

[thunder]

-That hurt? -No.

A little.

That guy's a creep.

I saw him harassing others in the neighborhood.

At least he didn't stab me this time.

He stabbed you?

In my head.

In my mind.

Repent ye, sinners!

Or you shall burn!

Repent ye, sinners!

Or prepare to burn!

A lot of things go on in your head, don't they?

Ever since I was a kid.

But they're trying to fix it.

I know what it's like to be afraid of your own thoughts.

You do?

That's why I had to drop out of vet school.

I spent six months in Glen Ellen, the psychiatric hospital.

How did they cure you?

They didn't cure me. I cured me.

I just got sick and tired of being sick and tired.

That's kind of funny.

You think so, huh?

[Lisa chuckles]

This bluish area here.

That's the calcium shell.

As you can see, it has enclosed

almost half the mass of the amygdala.

So it's working.

Pretty good so far, Bernard.

Have you noticed any changes?

I'm not sure.

I think so.

The panic attacks?

I haven't had a bad one since Tuesday,

After Mr. Wilkes tried to burn me.

Mr. Wilkes?

Oh, the tall, gray-haired man.

Any feelings of anger?

Not really.

I still get the migraines...

And real claustrophobic.

I don't think I'm ever going to be okay in an elevator.

But I met somebody I really like.

Her name is Lisa. We went for a walk.

And we're going to eat dinner together sometime.

That's, that's very encouraging, Bernard.

Well, who knows? Maybe a couple more and you'll be done.

[cooing]

Do they have names?

No, not really.

I don't personally believe in naming animals.

I heard that pigeons carry lots of germs.

Oh, that's an urban myth.

Right, guys?

You want to hold one?

No thanks.

Do you ever let them out?

Yeah, all the time.

And they come back?

Yeah, they're homing pigeons.

This is their home.

There we go. Come on.

Going to go for a little fly.

Little fly.

See?

There you go, little guy.

Wow. So high!

Thought I'd be a lot more scared coming up here.

Yeah.

I love it up here.

It's like you can see the whole world,

But they can't see you.

It's so safe.

Come here.

Come on, it's okay.

See? Was that so bad?

You're right. It's...

[Bernard] Wow.

You ever wish you could fly?

I can. In my head.

Bernard.

Bernard, what are you doing?

Don't worry.

It's okay.

Bernard, don't.

You're making me nervous. Stop it, please.

Get off of there, right now, I mean it, you're scaring me.

Oh, my God. Bernard, listen to me.

This isn't funny. This isn't why I brought you up here.

Give me your hand. For god's sakes, Bernard, you're really scaring me.

Please stop it. Stop it now.

It's incredible!

I'm not afraid!

It was incredible.

I stood up on that roof,

and I didn't feel afraid.

I'm a little worried

that you're maybe pushing yourself too hard.

But I feel really good.

Everything's going okay, isn't it?

Have you noticed any unusual side effects?

Well, I still have the headaches.

Any other physical sensations? Tingling, muscle twitches?

Not really.

Well, maybe when that bully grabbed me.

I could feel all this energy rushing through me.

When you were frightened.

When I was angry.

So you have been feeling increased anger.

Just that one time.

Bernard, there is no question that you are making excellent progress.

But we might want to wait a while

before we move forward with this next round of treatments,

just to give your body a chance to adjust to some of the changes.

But you said...

...that part of my brain,

the fear part, wasn't closed up yet.

That's true.

But there may be some unnecessary risks in closing it completely.

I want to finish the treatments.

I have things I want to do.

Things I have to do.

We'll have an evaluation period

and then we'll make our best judgment.

But what if it starts breaking apart?

What if the fears come back?

What if Wilkes comes after me?

There's no reason to believe that any of that is gonna happen.

But you're not sure!

[female doctor] You've got to trust us.

We want this to work as much as you do, Bernard.

All right?

All right.

[indistinct chatter]

How much for this flower?

For you, half off.

Are they for anyone special?

For someone very special.

[Bernard] I had another treatment today.

Well, whatever it is, it seems to be working.

There's a million things I want to do, Lisa.

How about buying me lunch, for starters?

Got to be back in half an hour.

Two hot dogs, please.

[gasps]

What's wrong?

Bernard.

It's nothing.

I'm fine.

[woman screaming] Help! Somebody help me!

Help! Alex!

What's wrong? What's wrong?

Help me! My son! He's fallen down here.

-[boy] Mommy, it hurts. -He's hurt!

Okay. You're going to be okay.

[boy] It really hurts.

Do something, please!

Do something!

[crying]

Hold on! I'm gonna come get you!

All right. It's okay. I'm gonna come get you.

Get a rope or something.

[crying]

Help me. It really hurts.

[Mother] hang on, honey. This man's coming to help you.

You're going to be all right.

[boy] Ow!

Ow, Mommy, It hurts!

Hang on, honey. Hang on.

Hurry! Help me.

I'm going to get you out of here, okay?

Okay, you're all right, okay?

Okay.

-Can you stand there? -[Lisa] Bernard.

[boy] I'm scared.

I know.

I am too.

[mother] it's okay, Alex.

You'll be all right.

Okay, Lift your arms up.

We're going to get you out of here. All right?

[Bernard] Okay.

[Lisa] Okay, Bernard. We got him.

[thug] There's the creep!

Hey, Bernie.

What you been doing, playing in the mud?

Leave me alone.

Whoa. That's no way to talk to the guy who's been protecting you.

Protecting me? From what?

From this.

Lay a hand on me again, I'll make your life a living hell.

You got that?

[gun cocks]

Tell him to put it away.

Put it away.

This guy's a joke.

Put it away.

What the hell's going on, Blanco? You gonna let him get away with this crap?

To hell with you.

I'm sorry, it sounds awfully far-fetched.

Oh, come on, Miles.

There's nothing in the literature

that begins to account for what we're seeing.

I've run a battery of brain scans,

every neurological test, just like you asked.

There's no other way to account for it.

Look, I agree there seems to be an excess electrical energy

accumulating in the limbic region.

But I'm a long way from accepting

your interpretation of their release.

Well, think about it. We've known for years

that one animal can palpably sense fear in another.

This is just a reverse of that mechanism.

Bernard's brain has somehow managed to transmit,

to instill fear in another human being.

I'm hearing conjecture, not hard science.

I know it's anecdotal, but it's first-hand.

I'm telling you, I felt it.

He reached into the deepest corner of my own fear.

Are you telling me that specific imagery

is being passed on in whatever you call it, in this transmission?

All I know is it happened to me.

The calcium shell may actually be allowing the charge to build up.

The energy emissions expelled through this fissure.

They must have been absorbed by Dr. Pike's amygdala.

What are you proposing be done with your patient?

Every time that Bernard explodes in anger,

This fissure can widen, maybe irretrievably.

There's no telling the magnitude of the damage

that he can do, both to himself and to others.

We close the fissure, we can stop the discharge.

There is more risk to non-intervention

than in resuming treatment.

I can't explain it, but...

Something's changed. Something big.

You're losing your fears. That's what's supposed to happen.

Yes, but I've also gained something.

There's a reason those bullies ran away from me.

I-I did something to them, something that I control.

You believe me, right?

Of course, I believe you.

I'm just worried, that's all.

You think i'm not really better?

That I could get sick again?

No, that's not it.

Well, what then?

The last time I was this close to someone,

I got hurt, I got really hurt.

I'm worried that I might be, you know, falling in love with you.

[knocking]

Just a second, Bernard.

[screaming]

Surprise!

Hey! What are you going to do?

Lisa?

Gonna report me to your boyfriend?

Wait till he finds out he's been dating a whore!

[screaming]

Leave her alone!

Yeah, I'll get to her later.

First I'm gonna cut you in half.

What are you afraid of?

I warned you, but you wouldn't listen.

[wheezing] No, please.

Get out of here.

Get out!

If you hadn't gotten here...

If I hadn't stopped, I don't know.

I could have killed him.

Was that your first time?

Uh-huh.

[Lisa] What is it? What are you seeing?

It's the fire I started.

The one that killed Mimi.

Never saw it so clearly before.

How do you know you started it?

You were so young.

He told me, over and over.

The guy with the gray hair.

Mr. Wilkes.

He ran the orphanage.

You know, when I was at the psychiatric hospital,

I saw how they used this hypnosis.

No, we already tried it.

Doesn't work.

Anyway, I don't want to remember.

Well, maybe that's the problem.

The treatment seems to be increasing his recall.

He wants to be hypnotized.

This time, it might work.

You know the risk.

One powerful emotional outburst,

and his amygdala casing could be ruptured beyond repair.

He'd be right back where he started again.

He's still a prisoner of his past.

We have to try and free him.

[Dr. Pike] I want you to try again, Bernard.

Go back to that day.

The day your sister died.

Can you do that for me?

[Bernard] I saw her.

I saw the flames.

She wasn't moving.

The fire was everywhere.

[Dr. Pike] How did the fire start?

I don't know.

-They told me I was very-- -Forget what they told you.

Just tell me what you see.

[Young Bernard] Mimi?

Mimi?

[Bernard] I'm looking for Mimi.

Nobody can find her.

I think...

No.

[Dr. Pike] Go ahead, Bernard.

I do.

I hear screaming.

[Dr. Pike] All right.

[Bernard] I smell smoke. I see the flames.

There's nothing I can do.

The fire. When you went downstairs, was it already going?

Yes... Yes, it was already burning.

[Dr. Pike] Was it a fire that you started, Bernard?

No.

I didn't do it.

It wasn't me.

It wasn't me.

[sobs] It wasn't me!

He lied.

It wasn't me. It wasn't me.

It wasn't me.

Dr. Pike seems to think you made a big breakthrough.

Huh?

Dr. Pike.

[man] Hey!

♪ You shouldn't be here ♪

It's him.

♪ You shouldn't be here ♪

That's him.

I don't think it's who you think it is, Bernard.

I don't think it's who you think it is, Bernard.

Bernard, it's not who you think it is.

It's not who you think it is. Bernard!

[man] I got a leak to fix here.

You folks might want to go somewhere else.

It's the super. He came to fix the roof.

Why is this happening?

I want it to stop.

We've got to find that Wilkes guy.

He blamed you for something you never did.

Until you tell him that, you're never gonna be free of him.

He'd be an old man by now. Probably dead.

But if you knew that for sure, I don't think he'd haunt you anymore.

I don't think I could stand to face him.

Would you rather see him one more time in the flesh

or as a phantom every day of your life?

[bell dinging]

[Lisa] Wow.

After all this time, I can't believe it's still here.

[Young Bernard] Mimi.

[indistinct chatter]

[Lisa] Come on, Bernard.

We've come this far.

Is that him?

No.

Excuse me, we're looking for a Mr. Wilkes.

We were told he still runs this place?

I'm Harold Wilkes.

You're Mr. Wilkes?

No, it's not him.

Look, if you don't have business here...

This is Bernard Seldon.

Is that supposed to mean something to me?

He was in this orphanage 20 years ago.

It's not him.

No, that's not Wilkes.

If you don't remember him, maybe you remember the fire,

the one that killed Mimi Seldon.

My God.

You blamed a six-year-old.

You said he killed his sister.

He said so himself.

He confessed to Father Claridge.

He was there.

Ask him yourself, if you don't believe me.

Him.

That's him.

It's okay, Bernard.

You're just going to get yourself upset.

No, I am telling you he's the one.

This is Bernard Seldon, Father Claridge.

The boy who set the basement on fire 20 years ago?

I don't know what you're talking about.

Of course you do. The boy who confessed to you.

[young Bernard] Mimi.

Mimi, Mimi.

[fabric tearing]

I saw him.

He was standing over Mimi.

She wasn't moving.

He was tearing rags.

He lit a fire.

Then he saw me.

Come here, boy.

She wouldn't stop screaming.

She wouldn't stop screaming.

I never meant to hurt her.

You tell them that you started the fire

or I'll do the same to you.

I told you not to play with matches!

Now see what you've done?

She wouldn't stop screaming.

Look what you've done!

You'll burn in hell for this!

No!

Bernard?

Put that down, Bernard.

God will forgive you.

Just put it down.

[screaming]

[screaming]

Bernard.

[whirring stops]

It's gone.

I can feel it.

The fear, the power,

all of it.

It's gone.

The last treatment did it, Bernard.

The amygdala is now completely enclosed.

It worked.

Our experiment worked.

You're going to be okay.

The nightmares are over?

At least for you they are.

[Control Voice] in a world of terrors,

there is nothing more fearsome

than the unknown,

especially when what is unknown is ourselves.