All language subtitles for Silent Witness S29E09

This programme contains
some strong language

and some scenes which some viewers
may find upsetting.

BELLS CHIME

LOW CHATTER

BELLS PEAL

NIKKI: White.

Purity.

Innocence.

Brightness.

And death.

During Chinese Imperial rule,

a length of white silk
was occasionally offered

to those who had committed
a serious offence,

as a gift, to allow them
the possibility

of taking their own life
by hanging

rather than being executed,

preserving the physical
integrity of the body

in accordance with Confucian
principles of filial piety.

When was all this?

The Tang Dynasty,
10th century.

But the Chinese have practised
forensic science

to investigate crime
since the Western Han Dynasty

in the first century.

Do you know what their
most famous forensic book is?

Yes, I do know this. It's, er,
The Washing...Line And...

The Washing Away Of Wrongs.
That's it.

It was translated into Latin,

and came to Britain
during the Conquest.

It remained as a standard text
on forensic pathology

until the 1920s.

Do they still do
all that Imperial China

white silk stuff today?

No, the New Culture
Movement of 1915

thought that respect
for your elders

was an obstruction
to progress.

Mao's socialism in the '50s
shifted responsibility

from the family to the state.

Nikkipedia strikes again.

So, not many white silk gifts,
then, these days?

Not so much, no.
No, I didn't think so.

Detective Inspector Fred Casey.
Can I help you?

I think we're here to help you,
Fred.

Who are you?

Sorry. Dr Nikki Alexander.
Jack Hodgson.

Am I supposed to know who
you are and why you're here?

Bowman Centre.

Should that mean something to me?

Pathology. Forensics.

Birmingham.

Hodgson. No relation to Roy?

None.
I've read about you.

Well, I didn't call you,
so there must be some mix-up.

We've got our own people
in Oxfordshire.

So could you stand behind
the police tape, please?

It is a crime scene.
Excuse me. I requested them.

Did you?

Who's your friend?

It's always hard to know.

MAN: Go!

Right, watch your step.

Yeah.
There you are.

OK. Steady.

Put her down.
I got it.

BURNS: Home Office
felt it would be better

if we moved her body
to the Bowman.

I'm the SIO.
This is my crime scene.

I don't know anything
about this,

and I don't know
who you think you are.

I already told you.
I'm Alex Burns.

I'm a senior investigator
with the security services.

I've got a pretty clear idea
who I am.

Oh, you think
you're a comedian?

No, I don't think
I've ever thought that.

Let me walk you through
what you need to do

before you turn up here
and act like you're in charge.

You need to ring the coroner,

then the coroner
needs to agree,

then the coroner needs to speak
to my superintendent,

then my superintendent
needs to call me. All right?

How old do you think she is?
20s?

I'd say so.

I'll lift?

Preserve the knot?
Please.

CAMERA SHUTTER CLICKS

Young woman.

CAMERA SHUTTER CLICKS

Beautiful place.

Makes no sense.

SIREN WAILS

Hypostatic staining, but
no ligature marks or bruising.

Abrasion and laceration
to the zygomatic bone.

No petechiae
in the facial skin...

..eyelids...

..or buccal mucosa.

Nikki, what do you reckon?

Torn from the force
of her body falling?

Perhaps.

Not silk.
No.

I don't think
silk would have torn

from the dead weight
like this.

No.

I'll look for
the missing piece.

It's what you do.
Of fabric.

I got that.

No ligature marks, no bruising.

So...

..she fell,

hit her head on something,

knocked herself out, drowns?

NIKKI: Possible.

How long was she in the water?

Hard to say.

There's no sign of maceration.

Some skin wrinkling
on the finger pads.

Did you take
the water temperature?

Not yet.

I'll get a sample
for diatom testing.

OK. Let's see what
the postmortem tells us.

Could you bring the body bag,
please?

Yeah.
We're taking her

to the John Radcliffe.

LINE RINGS

Coroner's Office, please.
Thanks.

Do we know the name

of the deceased?
No.

It's Nikki Alexander
from the Bowman Centre.

Is Daniel available?

Hi, Daniel, it's Nikki.

I'm well, thanks for asking.
You?

Well, you can't let them
get you down.

I'm in Oxford

recovering an unknown female
from the Cherwell.

There seems to be some dispute...

OK. Thanks.

The coroner's instructed

that their body be moved
to the Bowman Centre

for the postmortem.
Well, nobody told me that.

PHONE VIBRATES

DI Fred Casey.

Yes, sir.

Understood, sir. Yes, sir.
Thank you, sir.

I'll see you in Birmingham.

We believe her name was Mei Li.

23. From Hong Kong.

How do you know?

We'll speak at the Bowman.

BELLS CHIME

PHONES RING
SIRENS WAIL

PHONE RINGS

Casey.

I'm really busy.

Well, has he not filled in
a missing persons report online?

Risk levels?

Does he understand that's why
he's not had a call back yet?

OK, OK. OK.

Well, I'm just finishing off

something I've got to get done
right away, and I'll come over.

Yeah.

Shit.

There you go.
Ta.

CASEY CLEARS HIS THROAT

Mr George?
Yes. Pike.

My fiancee is-is missing.

Are you sure she's missing?
Didn't have an argument?

Maybe she had a change
of heart about the marriage?

You know, it's happened to me.

Yes.

I'm certain.
I've called three times.

I've sent an email.

I need the police to help me
to do something.

Ah. Morning, Dawn.

So, uh, how long do you think
she's been missing?

Two days.

Two days? OK.

Better get some details, then.

Name?

Pike George.

Oh, yes.

Age?
31.

Occupation?

CTO. Research scientist,

physics -
for Hendelseshorisont.

Oh.

PEN SCRATCHES

CTO.

Missing fiancee's name?

Mei Li.

May, like the month?

Lee. L-E-E?
No, no.

Um...

Mei Li.

M-E-I...

L-I.

Is she Asian?

Chinese.

From Hong Kong.

Clothing, fresh
from the drying chamber.

We want to untie the knot

and see if we can extract
the DNA from the fabric inside.

Mm-hm. Got it.

Kit, you're young.
Yes,

but less and less every day.

Ever have dark thoughts?
What counts as dark?

Self-destruction.

Why would I have those?

I'm a goddamn miracle.
Ha.

Yes, you are.
So are you.

So is she.

You know when a dark cloud
descends

and blocks out the sun?

The sun is still there.
We just can't see it.

We can forget that.

The sun is always there.

We just have to wait for it
to come back.

We're still there,
even when it's dark.

You can't forget that.

So, yeah,

there is a little darkness,

but without the darkness,
you can't appreciate the light.

Shall I call you
the Philosopher Queen?

No.

Fucking Miracle.
LAUGHS

Why here? And why us?

The deceased woman's family
live in Birmingham.

It's true.

Why here? Why us?

The Home Office trusts you.

Why you?

To be honest, we rather
stumbled across this one.

We just wanted to make sure
that it's not...

What?

Well, that it all makes sense.

Does the death of a young person
ever fully make sense?

PHONE PINGS AND VIBRATES

Dr Alexander is ready for me.

Why would a young woman
with her whole life ahead of her

suddenly take her own life?

HARRIET: Shame.

A quality which alerts us
to the gap between

who we are today and the best
version of ourselves.

NIKKI: The deceased is
a young woman in her 20s

of East Asian extraction.

It's not a disparagement

of the essence of our being,

but a reminder
of who we could be.

It's a faint line, but no bruising.

Inspiring,

helping us to rise...

Laceration to the zygomatic bone.

..not driving us to despair.

The laryngohyoid complex is intact.

No sign of a fracture.

Shame is an overlooked quality

in a society which rewards
celebrity over accomplishments,

and mistakes the realisation
of one's imperfections

for a mental health affliction.

Shall we turn her over?

Yes. Of course.

We're just going to
turn you over, Mei.

Cupping.
Chinese medicine?

Yeah.

A society in which
we medicalise disappointment

and normalise complacency....

Acupuncture needle marks?

Not usually so conspicuous.

No, but there seems to be
some sort of localised reaction

to these.
Mmm. Mmm.

..whose preoccupation with "I"

cannot see "us".

We tolerate
a technological world

of falsehood,
deception and aggression.

A celebration of mendacity.

A world without shame.

There's no excess fluid
in the pleural cavities.

The lungs are not
hyperinflated, crepitant

or even doughy.

There's no froth
in the primary bronchi.

There's no evidence
that she drowned.

But if we are led by virtue...

..we will develop a sense of shame,

which, in turn,
will guide us to be good.

She was dead
before she entered the water.

Shame only shows us
how far we are from perfection.

It should never, ever kill us.

NIKKI: Her death is concerning.

Wrongdoing?
Concerning.

I'm not going to rule out
third-party involvement

at this stage.

When will you pin it down?

Well, we don't know
the mechanism of death.

I'm waiting on toxicology.

Why did you bring her here?

We've done this. Trust.

Oh, we're sticking
to that old chestnut, are we?

You knew her name
before her body was recovered

from the water. You knew
her age, where she was from.

And you knew the death
was suspicious

before we had even done
the postmortem.

Were you expecting it?
No.

HARRIET:
Were you responsible for it?

Absolutely not!

If you were following her,

you didn't do
a particularly good job.

We weren't following her, no.

Who were you following?

We have an interest
in British cyber research,

which we monitor to protect
against state-sponsored theft.

And it was while monitoring...

Phone tapping?
..while monitoring,

we discovered
that Mei Li was missing.

She matched the name
of someone known to us,

and the body found
matched her description.

Why was this woman known to you?

Oh, what happened to trust, Alex?

There was a bounty
on the young woman's head.

Allegedly.

Do you know who put it there?

Oh, yeah.

Well, let the police
arrest them.

It's not a person.

It's a country.

Or more precisely,

a Special Administrative Region.

Hong Kong?
Yeah.

That does not leave this office.

The Hong Kong Government
put a bounty on her head?

Allegedly.

For her capture, not her murder.

Why?

Pro-democracy campaigner.

What happened to
"one country, two systems"?

National security law.

This is a Chinese issue.

No, no, no. She's British.
BNO passport.

That's British National Overseas...

I know what that means!

It would be very handy

if you ended up proving that...

..this...
"This"? "This"?

The death of a young woman?

..had nothing to do with that.

What? Democracy?

PHONE RINGS

Hello. Harriet Maven.

Yes. Yes, she's here with me.

Dr Alexander.
Detective Inspector.

I think we know
who the deceased woman is.

WHISPERS: And I've brought him
to identify the body.

Why would she do this?
Can't be.

It's just not rational.

Can we...?
Yeah.

It makes absolutely no sense.

Are you certain it's her?

I need certainty.

Certainty brings closure.

Just a minute.

His name's Pike George.

He reported his fiancee missing,

and she matches the description
of the dead Chinese woman...

WHISPERS: ..we fished out
of the Cherwell.

She's British.

It's her.

It's Mei Li.

Hey.

Hello.
Pike?

I'm Jack. I, um...work here.

I just wanted to, uh...well...

It's a lonely thing.

Thanks.

She was your fiancee?

That's rough.

Yeah.

I'm sorry.

You knew her a long time?

Ten days.

When you know, you know.
Yeah.

Lost my virginity to her.

Right. OK.
Now she's dead.

She's taking my virginity
with her to the grave.

Do people from Hong Kong
have graves?

What would she want?

Who do I ask?

Her parents?

Her dad died.

I don't know her mum.

Never met her.

I was going to, but never did.

I've never talked to her
about death.

I guess it was
cos she made me feel so alive.

I'm really grateful to you
for coming to talk to me.

No-one ever comes to talk to me.

And you did.

Ten days.

He'd only known her ten days.

They were getting married.

Doesn't that seem odd?

I don't know.

There are some guys I'm ready
to marry after one night.

Too much information.

He never met her mum.

Well, we need to meet her...
and collect her DNA.

Fred?

Hi. I need a favour.

He said he wanted someone
with, you know,

high emotional intelligence

to speak to the deceased's mother.

Couldn't say no, really, could I?

How's the weather down there, then?

Yeah. That's funny, Fred.
You're a funny guy.

Bet you've heard that before.
Not me personally,

but I'm sure someone has, you know,

30, 40 years ago.

Eggshells.
Sorry?

Down here.

Well, a situation like this,
you know,

us working together,

pretending there's
nothing unusual about you,

can be...awkward.

So you crack a bad joke,
break those eggshells.

So that's what we're doing,
is it? Killing poultry?

See, it's doing exactly
what I hoped it would do.

Now we don't have
to tiptoe around so much.

I feel so much better.
Good.

This is the place.

LIVELY CHATTER

CHATTER STOPS

Huh?

What is it?

Nothing.

A lot of thinking about nothing.

There's nothing
in the toxicology report.

I swabbed the 22 pinpricks
on her back.

Pinpricks?

I suspect made
by acupuncture needles.

There's a small red mark
next to each one.

Localised reaction.

Each one of the sites has returned

a high level of the amino acid
tryptophan.

LINE RINGS

Hi, it's Dr Alexander.

I'd like to run analytical tests

outside of the normal
tox profile on Mei Li.

Yes. You just returned results
on her.

This time, look at serotonin

and all analogues
and derivatives of it.

OK. Thanks.

So what does it mean?

I don't know.

Serotonin is synthesised
from tryptophan,

but...why would it return
at a high level?

Hello.
Hello.

Detective Inspector Fred Casey...

..looking for
a Jackie Hiu Wai Li.

Er...

I am Jackie.

How can I help you?

Um...

Maybe we could speak
somewhere private?

Thank you.

CHATTER RESUMES

FRED CLEARS HIS THROAT

Jackie...

This is difficult news to tell you.

FRED CLEARS HIS THROAT

Your daughter Mei is dead.

I see.

OK.

We don't know what happened
to her yet.

We're still investigating.

OK.

When did you last see Mei?

I don't know exactly.

Not long ago.
OK. Um...

I understand this is bad news,
but...

..um...
We'd be grateful

if you'd volunteer
a sample of your DNA

to help with the investigation.

I... I will do it.
Thank you.

We won't be able to return
her body to you

until we complete the investigation.

OK.

If you could open your mouth,
please.

OK. All set.

Thank you.

That's my number if you need it.

Thank you.

We'll be in touch.

I have a daughter.

I'm not Chinese, so maybe
I don't know anything,

but...if I'd just been told
my daughter was dead,

I wouldn't have reacted like that.

KEYBOARD CLICKS

TABLET CHIMES

PIANO CHORDS

KNOCK ON DOOR

Well, I'm making progress.

And progress in anything
is very satisfactory, isn't it?

Don't you think?

You look troubled.

Not troubled. Puzzled.

The swabs from Mei Li's back...

What, from the acupuncture
needle marks?

As yet unconfirmed that

they were made by
acupuncture needles, but yes.

They showed a high level
of the amino acid tryptophan.

Did you look for serotonin?
Yes. And analogues

and derivatives.
The lab's just come back

with a lethal amount
of dimethyl serotonin.

Also known as 5-hydroxy-N,
N-dimethyltryptamine,

alkaloid tryptamine.
Yes.

Also known as bufotenine,

a serotonergic psychedelic
and potent hallucinogenic.

Bufotenine is an exotic, isn't it?

Yes. A potent and nonselective
serotonin receptor agonist.

Made from plants or mushrooms or...

And toad venom.

Used in Chinese medicine.

How is it used
in Chinese medicine?

Apparently to treat cancer.
Did she have cancer?

HARRIET: Not that we could see.

So it's not medicinal.
Because of its

structural similarities

with dimethyltryptamine
and serotonin,

it's considered a psychedelic.

She uses it to get high?
And overdoses.

Does she mean to overdose?

Hard to know intention,

but irrespective of her intentions,

the needle marks were on her back,

so she couldn't have put them
there herself.

Acupuncture is an unusual
method of delivery.

We found nothing in the literature.

And as she was lying face down,

she probably didn't know
it was happening.

The mechanism of death
in an overdose of bufotenine

is asphyxiation
leading to cardiac arrest.

Constricts the airways.

Hanging or drowning
might be a misdirect.

Yeah, confusing the investigation.

I don't believe
Mei Li took her own life.

I think we need to proceed

as though it's likely
to be a homicide.

Alex?
ALEX GROANS

Where do you find toad venom?

Well, we know that she had
cupping treatment

and she had acupuncture.

Kit, how many practitioners
of Chinese medicine

are there in Oxford?
On it.

NIKKI: Pike might know
who to speak to.

Yeah.

LINE RINGS

Hello. DI Casey.

Hi, Fred.

Oh, hello, Alex.
How's it hanging?

How do you still have a job?

Maybe because I do
people like you favours.

BELLS CHIME

Hello.

Do people call you the "hot doc"?

None that are still alive.

I'm up to 62 traditional
Chinese medicine practitioners.

Who knew they were so popular?

Yeah. Who knew?

What is it?

DNA result from the knot.

Not great quality.

But it's a mixed sample.

Hers and an unknown DNA,
a second female.

Someone else tied the knot.

Let's check against
the profiles we have

and do a spec search,
see if it's on the database.

Yeah. Will do.

Have you found any more
on Hendels...?

Hendelseshorisont.

Yeah.

ENTRY SYSTEM RINGS

INTERCOM: Can I help you?

Police, here to see a Pike George,

Hendelseshorisont...?

Can I see your identification,
please?

The woman is with you?

Yes. The woman is with me.

Not a sentence I say very often.

Unsurprisingly.

She will need to provide
identification.

Understood.

GATE CLANKS OPEN

After you.

Hendelseshorisont is trying
to design a quantum chip

that is a trillion times faster
than today's supercomputer.

Only a trillion?

ID?

Is this regarding Mei Li?

Police business.
Of course.

Is Pike expecting you?

I tried to call here several times,
but no-one answered.

We don't take messages.

NIKKI: Why is that?
Security.

Can I have your mobile phones,
please?

Pop them into a locker.

I'll take you to Pike.

SECURITY GATE CHIMES

SECURITY GATE CHIMES

Thank you.

Apparently, they're trying
to make a qubit chip

for a quantum computer out of water.

Water?

Water and pulses of light.

They make the water salty

by dissolving iodide ions into it.

A laser's fired into the water,

bumping electrons out of the salt.

The laser is so fast

the water is able to
switch states in picoseconds.

That's a trillionth of a second.

What happens in there?

They do coding.

Developing artificial intelligence.

Company's called Komnata.

I think it's a kind of
a training place.

Everyone just calls it "The Room".

DOOR BEEPS

It is not part of Hendelseshorisont.

They are through here

in the secure research area
of the building.

KIT: A faster, more efficient chip

is key to the future.

It would save massive amounts
of energy

compared to today's silicon chips.

The energy required
to drive the computers

to run an AI platform,

you could power a whole city.

Hello.

I'm Bendik Voss,
co-founder, Hendelseshorisont.

Can I help?
Police...for Pike.

A water-based qubit chip
in a quantum computer

would use a tiny fraction of that,

and operate up to 100 million
times faster for AI...

100 million?
Mm-hm.

..depending on the algorithm.

There's a quote from Pike
in the article.

"It will be faster
than God can blink."

That's world changing.

We're building it here?

We're creating it.

We're a nation of creators,
inventors, thinkers.

Pike does this?
Mm-hm. He's the founder,

along with

a chap called Bendik Voss.

Pike's Chief Technology Officer.

He's the brains behind it.

DOOR OPENS

FRED CLEARS HIS THROAT

Hi.

Hi.

Wu Li.

Physics. Or organised energy.

Th-That's what we are.

Energy organised
in the form we're in -

the organism we inhabit.

Hi, Fred.

Pike.

We live in a zero-energy universe.

You know what that means, Fred?

Not a fucking clue.

The energy is the same today

as it was
at the beginning of time.

That's right. Yeah.

When an organism dies,

the energy still exists.

I try and feel her energy.

I know it sounds crazy.
It's not crazy.

If you think of
a person's being as energy,

it accounts for spirits,

ghosts,

God...

Thanks, Rodrigo.

..all sorts of human experiences.

The moment of energy

is the point of singularity,
isn't it,

where physics and metaphysics meet?

Why are you here?

We're having a bit of trouble
finding Mei Li's address

in Oxford. You wouldn't
have it, would you?

Of course.

She lived in Jericho.
I'll get it.

COMPUTER BEEPS
Morning, Pike. I miss you.

Big kiss.

Thanks, Mei Li.

The guys in The Room are building me

a virtual interactive waifu.
Morning, Pike.

I miss you. Big kiss.

To get me through the dark hours.

It's eternal life.

Just different.

Don't have it.

I know it by sight.
I can take you there.

Great. Yeah. You wouldn't
have her laptop or her phone,

would you?
No. Sorry.

We'd be grateful
if you'd volunteer a DNA sample

to help us with our investigation.

Of course.

Did Mei Li ever talk to you
about Chinese medicine?

Oh, God. Yes.

She was always banging on about it.

Some woman she said I had to go see.
It would change my life.

Open.

Do you remember her name?

Don't think she ever
mentioned it. Why?

A few unanswered questions.

A few?

Only a few?

I have thousands.

Millions.

This is a temple
to unanswered questions.

CHIME
Rodrigo.

Oh, Rodrigo needs to walk us out.

Bendik is obsessed with security.

Thank you.

I'm getting nowhere on the phone.

I asked for toad venom or bufo.

Apparently it's called bufo

among a particular groovy set
of folk who use it.

Never was really part of that crowd.

No?
No.

Never really wanted to be.

No.

So I ask, they say no and hang up.

Sometimes they just hang up.

Usually they just hang up.

"Zhongyi"?

It literally means
"Chinese medicine".

An in-person consultation?

It's worth a try.

How did you meet Mei Li?

She worked for one of
the companies in the building

just along here.
This one. The Room.

Mei worked here?
Yes.

How long had she worked for them?

I don't know, exactly.

They moved in a couple
of months after we did.

Who owns it?
Huh?

Do you know who owns it?

Oh, uh, some evil genius

with no strong attachment
to reality.

I make the violin.

They play it so well
that even the devil will dance.

The things they can do with AI!

I used to see her through
this glass every morning

when I'd come in,

and every night when I'd leave.

She would look at me.

I would look at her.

First sight.

Do you believe
in love at first sight, Fred?

Why do I always get
the hard questions?

JACK: Do you think they can fix me?

KIT: Are you broken?
JACK: Yeah. We're all broken.

KIT: Oh. Who's
the Philosopher Queen now?

After you, Fucking Miracle.

Oh, such a gentleman.

I feel healthier already.

Hi.

Um, would you happen
to have HuaChanSu

that I could buy?

So sorry. My pronunciation
is terrible, I know.

Uh, HuaChanSu?

Am I saying it right?
Why are you asking me?

Chansu?

Toad venom?

Mm?

Right.
Well, this is going well.

TRANSLATION:

How can I help?
Oh, we'd like to buy Chansu.

Mm-hm.

Bufotoxin?

Yes.

You know that is
a class A drug, right?

For cancer treatment?
It is used for that. Yes.

The kids you are going
to sell it to,

they want it
for cancer treatment?

Sure, I believe that.

That's a go-to-prison drug.
Six years.

You can't buy it from a legitimate

traditional Chinese medicine
practitioner in this country.

You can't import it.

Sorry.

Can't help.

No... Yeah...

Can't help!

OK. Kit...

Cool.

KIT MUTTERS
DOOR CLOSES

This is it.

No key?
Sorry, no.

She live alone?
Yeah.

Are you sure this is her house?

Absolutely...

..certain.

You hear that?

What?
That.

No.
Oh, I hear it.

Someone's calling for help
from inside.

Oi! Hey!

Stop him!

Hey! Stop...

Are you OK?
Unbelievable!

Would you like me
to call the police?

No. I'm OK.

Oh...
Are you hurt?

I'm OK.
Come and sit down.

SIGHS
What's your name?

Helen.

I'm Nikki.

Did he hurt you?

He took my bag!

You need to go to the police.

They're not going to do anything.

If not for you, then to protect
the next person.

I will.

Would you like me to give you
a lift to the police station?

No. It's OK. I've got my bike.

Thank you.

Would you mind if I get your number?

Just in case I need a witness.

Of course.
He's got my phone. Bastard!

I'm so sorry.

Here.

Oh! Old-school business card!
Very classy.

You're a doctor?
Yes.

Nice to meet you, Dr Alexander.

Nikki.
Nikki.

I am Dr Helen Garnett.

The academic kind,
not the life-saving kind.

Thank you.
You've been really kind.

I really appreciate it.

Hey.
Hey.

How are you holding up?

I've been meaning to tell you,

but...
because of Mei Li, I, uh...

We've had an offer
to buy Hendelseshorisont.

Another one?

Not Musk or Altman?

Please tell me not them.
No, not them.

But it is an AI company.

Did you tell them to piss off?

We're close.

You know we're close, right?

We're running out of money, Pike.

We're running out of time.

Look, we're small.

We were always going
to get bought by someone else.

And right now,
we've got something to sell.

Don't do it, Bendik.

Please don't do it.

What is the point
of all of this work

if you just sell it
to the highest bidder?

We can create the future.

We can control how it's used
and who uses it.

We can stop it being used
for weapons,

stop it from destroying jobs,

stop it from destroying each other!

No, we can't, Pike.

We can.

Pike...

..human beings
aren't built like that.

We can.

We can.

Who was it?!

Who made the offer that's
turned your fucking head?!

Who was it?!

JACK: Class A. It won't be coming

from any legit
Chinese medicine clinic.

You learn anything?

Wu Li.
New word?

The idea that we are
organised energy.

Nice idea.
Mmm.

Mei Li worked for a company
in the same building

called Komnata.

I'll get Kit to look into them.

Do you believe
in love at first sight?

Of course. Ask me a hard one.

KIT: I must have screwed up
the DNA sample.

Along with this romantic moment!

Oh, it's so inappropriate
in the workplace.

Which sample?
Mei Li's mum.

Either I screwed up the DNA test

or Mei Li was adopted.

Let me see.

POWERS DOWN

NIKKI: The result shows

that Mei Li's mother
wasn't a biological parent

of the deceased.

Did that DI, Fred Casey,

go anywhere near the samples
after you took it?

He could have buggered them up.

No.

No, of course not.

HARRIET: Perhaps she adopted her.

We can ask.
It'd be useful to find out

as much as we can about the mother.

We can test her again,

but I don't think the result
will change.

Both the positive
and negative controls

in the extraction process
confirm validity.

And the amplification blanks
show no contamination.

It wasn't you, Kit. The test
wasn't spoiled or contaminated.

ALEX: Have either of you met her?

JACK: It would give us an excuse.

Meet her!

WOMAN LAUGHS

MAN LAUGHS

MOANS

LAUGHTER AND MOANING DISTORTS

Jackie, this is my boss,
Jack Hodgson,

and Dr Nikki Alexander,
who I work with.

I'm so sorry to trouble you,
but, um...

Did you by any chance adopt Mei?

No, I did not.

We might need
to do the samples again.

Why? Why do you need this?
We have done nothing wrong.

WOMAN: Stop!

I am Mei Li.