All language subtitles for Genius S01E07

Previously on Genius...

As long you are still
married we cannot be together.

I need to think of my daughters.

I moved my family to Berlin for you.

You came to join the academy.

I do wish Elsa could have joined us.

Apparently she's gone away to Esson.

That's where Albert is.

When were you going
to tell me about Elsa?

I want a divorce.

I am not letting you
walk away from the boys.

Fritz Haber.

The man that pulled
nitrogen out of thin air.

I'm a proud war veteran.

Really, Fritz?

You're proud of your military service?

The only way to confirm
general relativity

is during a solar eclipse.

The kaiser has declared war on Russia.

Your foundation for general
relativity is flawed.

I could have been ruined.

- You wanted me to fail.
- You're right.

Mileva has agreed to end things.

There is quite a difference between

separation and divorce.

Mileva I wanted to end
our marriage, I didn't want

to lose my whole family.

You can't have everything, Albert.

Tonight I will demonstrate black body

absorption and the forces.

Forgive me, but there is a
more urgent matter to discuss.

My friends, England, and all of
Europe, is facing catastrophe.

The natural fertilizer we have
long used to grow our crops

is dwindling rapidly.

Without it, our soil becomes barren.

What we are left with is
too many mouths to feed and

not enough food.

Tonight, I call on the
great minds of Europe.

Barring a monumental
scientific breakthrough,

in a few short years, Europe will starve.

Did you read what this
Crookes fellow claims?

Millions of people will
starve if we don't find

a new way to grow crops.

I must do something.

Fritz, you hardly keep
a houseplant alive.

Guano, do you know what it is?

Of course.

Bat excrement.

And why do we ship
bat excrement to Europe

from a world away?

It's a good source of nitrogen.

So is the air.

80% nitrogen to be exact.

You could never harness enough energy to

break apart nitrogen bonds.

A lightning bolt could do it.

Yes, but you can hardly
corral lightning bolts,

now can you?

Not yet.

Gentlemen, the very fate
of our nation depends

on the men in this room.

Our generals have informed
me that the army's ammunition

stockpile has dwindled
to a six-month supply.

And I say it's nonsense, in six
weeks our boys will be hurling

rocks instead of firing artillery.

My God.

I have taken it upon myself to fund a

military department devoted
to scientific innovation.

Make no mistake, we are
facing a bloody surrender.

I need you.

Germany needs you.

You have my support, Dr Rathenau.

And I'm surely not alone in that.

Hear, hear.

Gentlemen, I am
circulating a letter to the

kaiser, pledging the commitment
of the finest minds of Germany's

scientific community and
I beseech you to sign it.

Stand with the fatherland
in its hour of need.

Doctor Rathenau, some of
us still indulge in the wild

notion that scientists are
meant to unravel the mysteries of

the world, not find
new ways to destroy it.

We are all free to make choices.

And history will take note.

You didn't sign it.

Of course I didn't sign it.

I'm not a lemming like the rest of them.

Aren't you worried it might affect

your standing in the academy?

I won't make weapons, Elsa.

I have actual work to do.

You must miss them terribly,

I'm sure they miss you.

She was welcome to
every stick of furniture.

But how could I let her take my boys?

What choice did you have?

It's cruel, isn't it?

That what is most important
in life reveals itself

to be so only by its absence.

You can't stay here, alone,
in this empty apartment.

Are you offering to take me in?

Of course not, you're not divorced.

Don't start this again, Elsa.

But there is a flat
available in my building.

I could look after you.

I am quite capable of
tending to myself, thank you.

Yes, clearly.

No sleep, a bare
apartment, a flaring ulcer,

you're the picture of independence.

I know this empty space must
seem uninhabitable to you,

but to me, such a
vacuum is second nature.

Even I know that vacuums
can't sustain life.

General relativity is
everything to me now, Elsa.

Once I've solved it, the
rest of my life can rush in.

You are unbearable.

It's a pity I love you so much.

Mileva!

How good to see you.

Come in.

I'm afraid I don't have time today.

Anna was just setting up breakfast.

Anna, Anna, Mileva is here, come.

What a lovely surprise.

Yes, well, I only came by
to borrow some sheet music.

I find myself with some
spare time on my hands.

I thought perhaps I
could teach piano again.

Is everything all right, Mileva?

The money Albert sent for the month

lasted only a week.

You must write to him for more.

He wouldn't want you
and the boys to suffer.

He sends all he can.

But with the war, the German
mark is practically worthless.

I'll go find that sheet music.

Has Albert made any
plans to visit the boys?

I'm certain he will soon.

You are too kind to him, Mileva.

I know you will find students quickly.

Thank you.

Mama!

Frau Einstein.

Herr Nicolai.

I was not expecting company.

And apparently neither were you.

Nicolai is only here bearing news.

Yes, you see I'm the
leader of a new caucus

advocating against the war.

Actually, I was wondering if you would

introduce me to Professor Einstein?

Ilse tells me you are quite close.

I'm told he was the only
scientist who refused

to sign the war manifesto.

The support of a man of his stature

would help my cause greatly.

I'll convey the message.

But Dr Einstein is a very busy man.

Frau Einstein, Fraulein Ilse.

You didn't have to treat
him with such venom.

He's a cad, groping a
young woman half his age.

It's unseemly.

You, of all people, are lecturing me

about what is unseemly?

Don't you dare speak to me in that tone.

And it is careless of you
to insinuate to a stranger

that Albert and I are so close.

No one need insinuate anything, mama.

The neighbors have been gossiping about

you two for months.

You shouldn't waste your
time worrying over my affairs.

What I worry over is my own
mother's behavior impeding

my chances of ever getting married.

You've acted so outrageously
that no self-respecting man

will give me a second look.

I will make certain that you
and your sister are settled.

But then where will I be?

When you are older, you will
realize that there is little

for a woman in this world.

One way or another, I must
salvage a life for myself.

Eduard, is everything all right?

Uncle Michele!

Dear God, Mileva?

Mileva can you hear me?

She'll wake up.

She always does.

This has happened before?

She says her heart beats
fast and then she doesn't

remember what happens next.

Help me.

Help me lift her.

She'll all right, won't she?

Professor Hilbert?

Ah, Professor Einstein.

Come, come.

I was most taken by your
lecture on relativity.

Couldn't wait to meet the man with

such a boundless imagination.

These are calculations for relativity.

Well I should hope you would recognize

your own quagmire.

You know, the prickly
points in your theory

have even me at a loss.

For the moment.

I had hoped to show
you my most recent work.

I never imagined a mathematician
of your stature would actually

put your mind to it
before I even arrived.

I've spent the last two
days puzzling over it.

I've lost the last few
years of my life trying

to complete the damn thing.

I'm overjoyed that you're
willing to assist me.

Assist you?

Well, that would be fun, but
that would take far too long.

No, no, I can solve it
much more quickly on my own.

On your own?

Professor Einstein, physics
is far too complicated

to be left to physicists.

Albert, what are you so upset about?

He's going to finish it first!

Well consider yourself lucky.

It's not every day one of
the greatest mathematicians in

the world decides to take
up the cause of a physicist.

Sit down, Albert, please.

Relativity is the greatest
idea I have ever had.

Is it so wrong that I want to bring it

to completion on my own?

Albert, are you really going
to start a public pissing

contest over academic credit
when our boys, my sons,

are out the there fighting an actual war?

Besides, Hilbert is a
top-rate mathematician.

You'd be foolish to
try to match his pace.

Max, this is all I have.

Life is more than work, Albert.

I am about to embark on a great folly.

This will be the first of four lectures.

I will certainly be dubbed mad,

but by the last lecture,
I will either have tamed

this beast or will have
been trampled by it.

The Lagrangian must
be constructed in such

a way as to respect the
transformations we saw.

Now we can attempt to construct various

field equations,
analogous to what Maxwell

wrote on electromagnetism.

This equation works for planetary orbits

that never shift.

But here the constant shift
in mercury's orbit due to

the constant gravitational
pull of the sun should.

Have you solved it, Professor Einstein?

Not quite yet, but the beast is cowering,

that's for sure!

If only they'd let
women into the academy.

What I wouldn't give
to see Albert sweat out

his calculations in front of an audience.

It says here he doesn't
sleep, stays up all hours

of the night, working.

He should be applying his
mind to more urgent matters.

You certainly are puffing
yourself up just for

making gunpowder, aren't you?

I am doing much more
than making gunpowder.

By forcing air over the
iron and potassium hydroxide

promoter at such intense
pressure, the hydrogen from

natural gasses combines with
nitrogen from the air, producing

pure liquid ammonia, containing
the form of nitrogen most

easily consumed by plant life.

That is not enough to
feed one common ficus.

We'll build a
large-scale, high-pressure

reactor that would.

Blow up a small town?

The pressure you would need
to produce ammonia in large

quantities would explode
any reactor on earth.

Were you going to inform
us of this risk, Herr Haber?

We can build a new reactor.

Bigger, stronger.

Of course, it will take
money, quite a lot of it.

Gentlemen, Germany will go
hungry without fertilizer.

And, I do understand the
difficulty of industrializing

such a process.

But what's in this beaker is
already most of the way toward

a feat no one thought possible.

I have devised a way to pull
nitrogen out of thin air.

I imagine there would be profit
to be had in feeding the world.

No?

Albert.

Dear God, have you been eating?

With the war rations,
nobody's been eating.

You need rest.

Your ulcer.

Relativity is at my fingertips, Elsa.

I can almost touch it.

The universe isn't
going anywhere, Albert.

A little sleep will do you good.

I had a glorious
breakthrough today, Elsa.

Michele wrote to you five times.

You'd know if you didn't
disappear under a rock when

you throw yourself into work.

When you didn't answer,
he finally wrote to me.

Has something happened?

- The boys.
- They're fine.

It's Mileva.

She's been suffering
from heart troubles and

is recovering in the hospital.

Who's taking care of
Eduard and Hans Albert?

Michele is looking after them.

Then they are in good hands.

Don't worry yourself over Mileva.

She'll be fine.

She does this.

The woman craves attention.

But your boys need you.

I'll write to Michele at once.

I'll be there for them as
soon as I finish my lectures.

Dr Einstein?

George Nicolai.

I am acquainted with Elsa.

Surely she has mentioned me?

The committee?

I'm afraid I have no idea what

you're talking about, sir.

You see, I'm the leader of a new caucus

advocating against the war.

I wish you good luck with it.

All it would take is a signature.

To show that men of science
like yourself stand against

the treachery of war.

It's not that I don't sympathize

with your mission, sir.

But I'm a scientist, not a politician.

I've made a name for myself
by refusing to sign my name.

Good day.

Albert?

This just came for you.

From Hilbert.

He's done it.

He's completed the last equation.

He's defeated me.

I'm so sorry, Albert.

I was so close, max.

The theory is still yours.

No one can take that away from you.

The final calculation?

Merely a footnote.

And, at least now you
can go see your boys, yes?

Thank you for looking
after them, Michele.

But you won't have to be
burdened by these two rascals

much longer, the doctor says
I can go home in two days!

Just in time!

Just in time for what?

I received a letter.

From Albert.

He is coming to Zurich.

Isn't it wonderful, mama?

By order of the federal council,

all Swiss borders have
been closed due to the war!

This train and all passengers
will be turned back to Germany.

Excuse me.

I have a Swiss passport,
here let me show you.

The train is going back, sir.

But I must see my sons.

Their mother is ill, surely.

No exceptions, sir.

By order of the federal council,

all Swiss borders have
been closed due to the war!

It's getting cold.

Come inside, Hans.

Have some cocoa.

Just a little longer, uncle Michele.

He's coming.

I know it.

Good evening, sir.

Frau Haber, I presume.

I have an appointment with your husband.

At this hour?

Would you inform him that General Lehning

is here to see him.

No need, this way.

A glorious day!

It's raining, Professor Einstein.

Let it rain!

Hilbert made a mistake!

And so, when the next eclipse

is upon us, these
calculations will explain,

once and for all, relativity and

the reason for mercury's
pesky orbit around the sun.

There, it is complete.

Clara?

Clara, what a nice surprise.

But there's little use
in freezing to death

before our time.

Shall we?

How are the boys?

Do tell me some news of them.

Clara, what is it?

Surely you haven't come
for news of my boys.

I'm worried about Fritz.

He disappears all hours
of the day and night.

And he's always wearing
that damn uniform,

like a child playing dress up.

I wouldn't be concerned.

He's only helping
Rathenau produce gunpowder.

He's working on something else, Albert.

Something terrible.

I cannot live with a
man who engineers death.

It's abominable.

Have you ever seen men twisting in agony

on the battlefield, shot
through with bullets?

Or witnessed the horror in an infirmary

as sepsis overtakes a body?

That's abominable, Albert.

This, this is humane.

You'd burn a man's
insides, make him drown

in his own phlegm?

They're slaughtering our boys.

Because we attacked them.

Are you taking their side?

I'm taking the side of humanity.

Sitting on your hands.

That's a convenient vantage
point from which to judge.

Great men of history aren't remembered

for doing nothing, Albert.

They are remembered for taking
action when no one else would.

Ah, I see, so you're
doing this for glory.

No, I'm doing it to save lives.

Fritz, you're not making any sense.

We will only need to use it once.

The french, the Russians, they
will see the power we wield and

will have no choice
but to surrender before

any more people die.

My friend, listen to me.

You don't have to go through with this.

It's not too late.

We're scientists.

Not purveyors of death and destruction.

During times of peace a
scientist belongs to the world.

But during times of war,
he belongs to his country.

Peace cannot be kept by force, Fritz.

It can only be achieved by understanding.

Do you know, max?

What Fritz has been working on?

Max?

They say they will give
him a medal, a medal.

Oh, Max.

He was killed at a battle in Verdun.

They told me he faced his final
moments with great courage.

I'm sure he did.

You really think so?

Because all I can picture is the
little boy who ran into my arms

when the neighbor's dog barked at him.

That little boy, lying in a cold field

without his papa to hold him.

God, I can only imagine how
scared he must have been.

You should be with your family.

Come, come, I'll take you home.

You were right to defy
Rathenau's call to arms.

Right and wrong become
blurred in times like these.

I signed their damn war manifesto.

And now it feels like I signed
my own son's death warrant.

We can't just stand
by any longer, can we?

Your good name will draw
the attention we need.

I'm afraid the attention
may not be what you want.

Many of my opponents think I'm
a traitor for opposing the war.

To stand for your
principles when all others

have forgotten theirs isn't traitorous.

It's patriotic.

The wind is picking up, sir.

Inform the general we are ready.

To a true hero!

The English papers are
calling Captain Haber's gas

the "death cloud."

The enemy will surely
surrender soon thanks to

our gracious host, to Captain Haber!

To Captain Haber!

Yes, well, um, thank you.

But even victory isn't worth
letting a fine lamb shank

turn cold, so, please.

I've heard rumors the
kaiser himself is to bestow

a medal on your husband.

You must be very proud, Frau Haber.

Whatever grand invention
will you contrive

next, Captain Haber?

At the moment, I'm still
trying to perfect this one.

We need a more efficient
means to deploy the gas.

I think it's quite efficient already.

Clara!

No, no, no.

The war is over!

Troops to return home.

Armistice signed!

The war is over!

Albert?

The kaiser has fled.

The war is finished.

Thank God, Elsa.

It says here we're a democracy now.

Demokratia, rule by the people.

Let's hope the people have
their heads on straight.

Oh, my love.

Don't fill your brilliant
head fill with gloomy thoughts.

It's finally finished.

Yet I cannot help but feel somehow

it's only just begun.

Troops to return home!

Armistice signed!

The war is over!

Please, spare some coin?

Albert, there's a telegram for you.

Britain, the United States, Russia,

they all want reparations.

France is threatening to
occupy the Ruhr if we don't pay.

Forgiveness never comes cheap.

It's from Arthur Eddington.

What is it?

A silver lining, it seems.

"U-boats no longer threat, stop.

Will sail to Africa, will
photograph eclipse, stop."

Albert, that's wonderful news.

"Relativity proof imminent, stop."

I cannot wait to read that
in the scientific journals,

hopefully with a little more flair.

What is it?

You can forget about
the journals, Albert.

When you're proved right, your
name is going be printed in

every newspaper around the entire globe.

You'll be famous.

Don't be silly.

I'm a scientist.

They'll want interviews.

They'll want to know all about your life.

Your family, me.

We'll tell them you
are my social secretary.

It took the neighbors a couple of months.

Imagine the journalists
clambering for a story,

how long until they discover
that you are living in sin,

with a divorcee, who
is your first cousin?

Who cares what they think.

I care.

Elsa, I've asked Mileva for a divorce

in every way imaginable.

Then you must ask her again.

Make her an offer of some kind.

We don't have any more
Deutschmarks to give!

Fritz does.

He would lend to you.

I cannot take blood
money from that warmonger.

Well you had better think of something.

Because it's one thing for me
to withstand the shaming stares

of our neighbors.

But you cannot expect me to do that

in front of the entire world.

I need the divorce.

Are you asking me?

Or is it Elsa?

I'm sorry I could not be
what you needed, Mileva.

What about Hans and Eduard?

All they needed was a reliable father.

You took them away from me.

I didn't.

A British astronomer is heading
for Africa in a few months time

to capture the solar eclipse.

The first one in years.

You're sure you're right this time?

Your equations are co-variant?

Yes.

They will define the general relativity

of all forms of motion.

It's an extraordinary achievement.

And you were there to help me at

the beginning of it all.

I will never forget that.

Ah, recognition from the
greatest scientist in the world.

At last.

My career is complete.

There's already much
discussion of a Nobel.

You know, it comes with a
great deal of prize money.

I want you to have it.

All of it.

You want to pay me for a divorce.

You deserve to be taken care of, Dollie.

Do not call me that.

I'm offering you more
money than either of us

has ever seen, Mileva.

You need this.

Don't be proud.

Get out.

If not for you, do it for the boys.

I said get out!

What more do you want from me?

Why are you doing this
to yourself, mother?

He obviously wants nothing to do with us.

He hasn't since he left
me sitting on that step.

Just give him what he wants.

He'll be out of our lives
and we can all move forward,

once and for all.

Well?

She finally agreed.

But it comes with a terrible price.

State the reason for your divorce.

Adultery, Herr Richter.

And who is the guilty party?

I am, Herr Richter.

I have been living with Elsa
Einstein, divorced Leventhal,

for approximately four
years, and have had continued

intimate relations with her.

Did you bring proof?

She's the woman sitting
behind me, Herr Richter.

Well please indicate to
the court, where she is.

Is this true, madam?

Yes, Herr Richter.

The provisions of the divorce state that

Mileva Maric, married
Einstein, will receive

an annual stipend of 9,000 Deutschmarks.

Adding to this, Professor
Einstein promises her the full

proceeds of a Nobel prize,
should he be awarded it.

Very well.

On to the children.

Mileva Maric is to retain full
custody in Zurich, and the boys

shall not be permitted to
visit their father in Berlin.

Professor, do you object?

No, I do not object.

Dr and Mrs Einstein, over here!

Dr Einstein, Dr Einstein!

What did you do when you
heard that Mr Eddington

had proved your theory correct?

Well, I went back to work.

And I bought myself a new violin.

Mr Eddington, what did
your pictures prove exactly?

That gravity bends light
passing next to the sun by

approximately 1.7 arc seconds,
just as Einstein predicted.

Meaning what?

Meaning, gentlemen,
that the greatest of all

scientific generalizations,
the laws of sir Isaac Newton,

have just received their
first major modification

in over two centuries.

We are all witness to one of
the most resplendent achievements

of human thought in our lifetime.

Write that down.

Relativity is a hoax.

Doctor Lenard, it was just
proven by Arthur Eddington.

What happens at the next
eclipse, when the results vary?

You will look like fools.

Our discoveries changed
science because they were

grounded in facts.

They weren't philosophical
conjectures cloaked in

equations designed to deceive.

As the Nobel selection
committee, it is your duty

to know the difference.

They're giving it to Max Planck.

Well, you always said
it was a shame how the

Nobel committee overlooked
him all these years.

They're giving it to Fritz, too.

In chemistry.

For his nitrogen trick.

Quite a year for the Prussian Academy.

Well, I'm sure a lovely
celebration will be in order.

I'm not going if Fritz is to be honored.

Albert, if you insist on
condemning a man for his

mistakes you must be willing
to applaud him for his triumphs.

Fritz didn't start the war.

He's responsible for thousands of deaths.

He also saved half of
Europe from starvation.

Doesn't that mean something?

I cannot congratulate a killer and

call myself a pacifist.

But if you insist that the
worst disputes between two

warring nations can be
resolved, then can't two

old friends make peace?

Albert!

What can I say, old friend?

It's about time they honored you.

How many years has it been since
you discovered light quanta?

About 3,000.

Truly, Max, congratulations.

It should have been yours.

Nonsense.

You deserve it more than
any man in this room.

Excuse me, Dr Planck?

We'll talk.

Albert.

A Nobel in chemistry, that is something.

I'm not a genius like you, Albert.

All I did was see a problem
and find a way to fix it.

That's what I try to do, I suppose.

Fix things.

Yes, of course.

Or destroy them.

That is entirely unfair.

Did you not invent a new
way to destroy human life?

Yes, but that was not my only innovation.

I'm being honored tonight
for the good I've done.

Life cannot be balanced

like an equation, Fritz.

Good deeds do not erase the evil ones.

I certainly pray to God
you're wrong for once, Albert.

Perhaps I have been too harsh.

Perhaps you haven't.

I never told you, Fritz,

how sorry I was, about Clara.

We couldn't manage to hold on to the

more brilliant ones, could we?

Gentlemen, smile!

He didn't even win the Nobel and yet

still he graces our front pages.

And not only in Berlin.

Frankfurt, Paris, London, New
York, Tokyo, I could go on.

All about "general relativity," yes.

Relativity, politics, his hair,

what he ate for breakfast.

It's despicable.

It's to be expected.

He's a Jew.

A publicity-seeking Jew
who uses his influence

for his own profit.

Well now, Herr Weyland, I
didn't quite say all that.

You are standing in the
German national people's party

headquarters, Dr Lenard, we aren't afraid

to speak the truth here.

In fact, I imagine my
candor is the very reason

you've come to see me.

Now, please, what can I do for you?

I have a proposition to
make, but one with which

I cannot afford to be
publicly associated.

You can be assured of my discretion.

I read your paper denouncing relativity.

I think you deserve a wider audience.

Albert Einstein has
engaged in a profit-grubbing

promotion of his theory,
as our country suffers

deprivation and indignity.

And for what?

For a lie, for a hoax.

For a deception unlike any other.

Over the next two days, you
will hear from Germany's most

preeminent scholars, who
will show you exactly how

we've all been hoodwinked
by one enormous bluff.

Hear, hear!

Oh, apologies.

Continue, doctor Weyland.

We all eagerly await
your scholarly proof.

I'm sure it will be very interesting.

What in God's name were you thinking?!

It was a public lecture
and I was curious,

so I went.

I admit I didn't expect much,
but I also didn't expect it

to be a packed house of
anti-Semitic imbeciles.

What are you doing?

Writing to the Berliner Tageblatt to give

my honest critique.

Albert, stop.

You are sticking your
hand into a hornet's nest.

These men are vindictive and dangerous.

This world is dangerous,
Elsa, not because

of those who do evil,
but because of those who

look on and do nothing.

I cannot do nothing.

"I admire Lenard as a master
of experimental physics.

But he has not yet produced
anything outstanding

in theoretical physics."

He wrote that?

On the front of the damn newspaper!

Jewish publishers, of course.

"Lenard's objections to the
general theory of relativity

are of such superficiality
that, up until now,

I did not think it
necessary to answer them.

I intend to make up for this."

It's an affront!

I will not stand for it!

Why would he assume that
you had anything to do

with that lecture series?

You did not even attend!

That huckster Weyland
listed me as a coming

lecturer in the program.

No doubt trying to add
my prestige to his cause.

But it doesn't matter,

Einstein obviously
desires a public battle,

perhaps it's time I
enlisted some public allies.