Original subtitles

25 kilometres from the epicentre.

- Bulk. - Number 21.

Two.

Three.

Where are we going, cabbie?

- I'm not your cabbie. - What's going on?

Four.

Is this a kidnapping? This is it, isn't it?

- Who sent you? - Shut up.

Ah, Mr Harlan. Always good to see you.

- We've met? - I'm Aclima. This is Karl.

Don't say my name in front of him.

We have to hurry this along. We are on a schedule.

Chop chop, darlings.

Okay, okay, but I don't feel good.

- Do you want a glass of water? - Please.

Move it, sunshine.

Have you got his credentials, qualifications, diplomas?

He's a freelance journalist, single...

Looking for love.

Physically, he checks out -

brain scan, ECG, cardio, graphology, iris scan...

...astronomy, astrology.

So, basically, you are who we think you are.

Well, what do I know about you two?

You vibe "cop".

You're a little harder to pin down.

Is that a squirt of Coco?

It's not perfume, it's room freshener.

- Academic. Technical training... - One thing...

...from your general demeanour.

Sure.

Is this what passes for charm in your world, Mr Harlan?

It looks like he's been poisoned.

- Not your doing? - Nah, not this.

Heavy metals. I only use opioids.

We have two minutes to get this.

The portal will start to close otherwise.

You've got a nosebleed. Too many big words.

You're so obnoxious.

- Does that ever work for you? - When I was younger.

- Where am I now? - You've arrived at the House.

You're his boss. The ex-cop and the scientist.

- She's not my boss. - Yes, I am.

And I'm not an ex-cop.

- Come in here, please, Mr Harlan. - No drugging. No drinking.

- No gouging. No kidnapping. - Reception.

This isn't a kidnapping, it's...

too formal.

Must be his journalistic background that makes him so sharp.

I work for Chambers. Anton Chambers.

- Chambers? - Mm-hm.

Can you fill this in, please?

Now, none of your scrawling. Use the Underwood.

Hm, Anton Chambers is behind this?

This is his house, isn't it?

The Brain Collider. Anton's science project.

We don't call it that. The Brain Collider.

- Interview 85. - I don't call it that.

Aclima Benton.

They nicknamed it the Brain Collider because...

...because of what it did to people's minds.

It was designed to take every moment of your being

and merge them together.

From that point, they could re-sequence you

and rebuild you from scratch, but...

...there were problems in the early versions of the House's build.

And people had been hurt.

Badly hurt.

- It's all clocks with you. - We are on schedule.

Chambers is the big dog.

Yeah, I know who he is.

Oligarch tech guy.

Disappeared about two years ago, in some sort of accident.

- What was it? An explosion? - An explosion?

Yeah, I knew him when he was just a billionaire,

messing about in crypto.

His interests became a little more... esoteric, later.

He was meant to be tapping another dimension for power sources.

Difficult business. No wonder it blew up in his face.

- Who hit you? - Oh.

Weak veins - sometimes they pop.

Mm.

You're lying.

- Know how I can tell? - Illuminate me.

You're not convincing.

In the eyes.

They're the windows to the soul.

My advice is get some shades, if you're going to fib.

Huh. Charming.

I don't lie well because I never learned. If that's a crime...

- sue me. - Did you have to drug me?

Procedure.

It's important that you have no baggage.

Yeah, I have no baggage, 'cause he got me out of bed.

- Past baggage. Context. - That's fuzzy.

Here's your itinerary.

And here is your procurement form.

Mm-hm.

- Okay, all good. - It's an order, Mr Sessler.

Welcome to the House. Now, we don't have long.

Psst! Psst!

Don't keep saying my name in front of him.

The process is self-deleting, memory-wise.

This bit...

I know who you are.

Don't worry about it. I remember now.

- Yeah, because she told you... twice. - Because you look like a Sessler.

What's that supposed to mean?

I'm joking.

I saw you last week.

You followed me around for a bit.

I got a picture of you.

Reverse image search with ex-service and police,

in nearby cities in the last ten years.

Sessler. K. Took about five minutes.

- Wow. - Karl... right?

You were in the military.

Then military police, then police, then went private.

Clever. That's some real spy shit.

Funny, though - all your qualifications are science-based.

I wouldn't have thought you'd be into quantum physics.

There's no time for this. Chop chop.

Maybe you aren't as smart as you think you are.

Why do you find it so odd that a guy like me

could be into some serious science?

Maybe people can be two things at the same time.

Hm. In my experience...

they struggle to be one thing at the same time. Hm?

Interview 106.

Were you flirting with Aclima?

- Corey Harlan. - Well, I'm glad you call it that.

I thought I was being charming.

But, looking back on it now, she was right.

I was being obnoxious.

I didn't know any other way.

Will this be like Anton's Mars trips?

The one that blew all those passengers to bits?

His company was cleared of any wrong-doing.

Well, I'm sure that's a relief for the families of the people who got killed.

This makes Mars look like a bus ride.

No commercial flight has ever travelled so far inter-dimensionally.

- We're travelling inter-dimensionally? - Always. In time, in space.

But... between dimensions?

Sure. It's the new frontier.

Where are we, really?

I'm lying in a bed somewhere, cabled up to computer, aren't I?

This is all a construct, isn't it?

No.

It's real enough.

You have a look to you I'm not sure about.

How so?

There's something not right here.

I don't recognise you, but you look familiar.

I'm not sure how to take that.

- It's all déjà vu. - Ah, yes.

I feel like I've had one of those.

I've been here before.

I've been here before!

He's going into shock. Help me.

I've been here before!

I've been here before!

I've been here before!

- Please... no more drugs. - Take it easy.

- No more drugs! - We are here to help you, Mr Harlan.

Let me do it sober.

Partially.

Okay, are you calm?

It was a sense of... fight or flight.

The room's atmosphere tasted of electricity

and smelled like... burning cables.

I mean, it didn't help whatever Sessler had given me,

along with the general poisoning that was making its way through my system,

that I didn't know about then.

I just felt awful.

And then embarrassed

I had the distinct feeling I knew them both,

but I just couldn't put my finger on it.

Like seeing an actor in the street - you think you know them, but you don't.

I'm sorry.

It was like a rising panic.

Here's your itinerary. You better read it.

"Itinerary - orientation phase -

"Sessions - finish."

And this is tailored to me? 'Cause it doesn't seem that specific.

What are these things?

They just kind of appear. The house generates them.

"Go with it."

Oh, brilliant.

Mm-hm.

Okay, I need to go now.

- See you, Aclima. - Good luck, Mr Harlan.

- Yeah, see you around, Flatfoot. - Huh, funny.

By the time you've finished here, you won't remember a thing.

So, get fucked!

- Sorry about that. - What did Sessler mean?

Part of the experience involves memories. It's better that you don't carry forward.

I won't remember?

Not all of it. You will retain the helpful parts,

and every time you pass through the process,

it will get better.

Great, so... I don't remember getting here,

I don't know why I'm here,

and, in the end, I won't remember anything about it.

Wait.

Have I been here before, then?

I don't think so.

Would you be able to remember if I had?

We help people at the House. We have rooms to give you room.

I have been here before, haven't I?

If you had, I wouldn't know. And if I did, I wouldn't tell you.

Are you okay?

Can you smell... burnt toast?

- Almonds? - No.

Dizzy? Nauseous?

No, I... I...

I am a reporter.

I'm doing a piece.

- That's why I'm here. - Mm-hm.

Paid for by my publisher, Jericho House Press Group.

J-H-P-G.

I'm here to...

Write...

Well, more of a puff piece, an advertorial.

He owes me. Freddie Bishop, the owner.

Had a bit of trouble on a job.

Guadalcanal.

It was bad.

PTSD.

I guess this is his way of...

That's what Anton said.

Oh, he did, did he?

- So, you have spoken to him? - Via internal electronic letter.

Anton said to be... on our best behaviour,

because a prize-winning reporter was coming through.

A reporter who needed some TLC.

He's going to write an article setting the world straight about the House.

So they understand it's safe. No more talk of accidents.

Hm. We'll see.

Everything is arranged, you see.

Well, we got there in the end, didn't we?

We have to be careful.

Spies.

Well, not me.

I'm Corey Harlan, investigative reporter, Figero Pravda.

That's my byline.

Another visitor.

- Leaving, yes. - In a hurry.

I can't talk about it.

There's a confidentiality clause.

Can you take these pills and watch the video for me, please?

Down the hatch.

How long have you been working here for?

Me? Long time.

Introduction video presented by Aclima Benton.

My name is Aclima Benton.

- It's you! - I will be your guide today.

The House is a set of co-ordinates inside a multi-dimensional construct

known as the Bulk Brane.

- What? Who's brain? - No.

Brane, like crane with a B.

I know it's confusing. These are some challenging concepts.

Yeah, and, remember, I'm double-drugged at this point.

The central idea is that the visible, three-dimensi...

..inside a higher dimensional space,

called... the Bulk,

also known as hyper-space, so, no, Mr Harlan, it's not virtual reality.

Should I have taken these on top of the stuff Sessler gave me?

Just listen to what I'm saying. It's important.

if you haven't been inside, how can you be my guide?

Oh, that's true.

I haven't, but she has.

...and that will cause effects not seen in more standard cosmological models.

Maybe if I sat up...

..the House is a narrative-based learning experience where the visitor -

you, Mr Harlan - is guided through a series of scenarios

by the House systems, bouncing from one dimensional room to the next.

This is the moment when you receive a call to adventure,

which will come in the form of a message, a dream

and an encounter with a mentor or guide.

Me, Aclima. Come, Mr Harlan.

Where are we going?

- I have some bad news for you. - Is there any other kind?

- You have been poisoned. - A metaphorical poisoning?

- No, a literal one. - What with?

Heavy metals have been injected into your blood.

I do feel sick.

I only have a few moments before the induction drug takes fully hold.

Is this the narrative system?

No, no, no, that's all broken.

We haven't much time.

- Okay. - You came to us to help.

- I did? - Anton Chambers reached out to you,

his old friend, to help us.

The poison you have been given - only Anton can help you.

You have 12 hours. Quid pro quo.

You save him. He saves you.

- That's the deal. - Save him how?

There's no time for this. Do you agree with the deal?

I'll take it.

Room 1.

Please e-mail your waivers to the address supplied.

You are now under strict non-disclosure terms.

So, basically, you are who you think you are.

By listening to this warning, you are agreeing

to the terms and conditions outlined in the policy document

displayed at the end of this transmission.

Is that a squirt of Coco?

Room 1. Room 1.

Room 1.

Room 1. Room 1.

Room 1.

Illegal dimension intrusion.

Bulk Brane dilation detected.

Stay where you are.

Identification! Come on! Fucking hurry up! Fuck!

- Give it to me now! - It's me! Harlan! Corey Harlan.

What are you doing here, Corey Harlan?

I'm here to find Anton Chambers.

Good luck with that,

'cause Chambers is dead, or as good as.

What happened to him?

They lied! This is all wrong! They said it was a series of rooms!

They always lie!

I was told I'd be home in a week! It's been three fucking years!

Hurry up! Give me your fucking papers, quick!

- Okay... Okay, all right! - Come on!

Harlan.

His ID says he is who he says he is.

I know that's no proof, but hey. What do you want me to do with him?

Roger.

Come on!

Move it!

- Come on, pick it up. - All right!

Hurry up!

Come on, pick it up. Move it!

We haven't got all bloody day!

Move it!

Your pal Anton Chambers' doing.

Are you sick?

Are you sick? You can't stop here.

Anton's dead, you said?

No-one's heard from him in months.

Apart from his bloody soldiers bombing us!

This is real?!

Shut up! Course it's real!

What are you, a fucking teenager? Now, move it!

The train on Platform 1 is all stations to Terminus,

via the Valley of Screams.

I take no pleasure in this.

Can you hear that?

You get used to it.

Welcome to Terminus. All change, please.

Come on.

I recognise you.

I don't think so.

End of the line.

Karl... it's me.

Harlan.

You know me.

Is...

Is that you?

Harlan!

You just shot that soldier! He recognised me.

He was going to talk to me. He knew who I was.

It's best not to dwell on that unfortunate incident.

Just move on.

You killed him. He was...

I did.

Are we going to have a problem, Harlan?

We do what we must to survive.

He was going to kill you.

You will need to toughen up.

Toughen up?

It's not my fault that you come from a privileged reality

where this is not everyday.

Are you Aclima from the video?

Yes, I'm Aclima from the video. Or I was once.

I'm starstruck.

- You're teasing me. - Genuinely.

I mean, you must hear that a lot.

No, darling, no.

Welcome, though. Welcome to the House.

You made it.

Oh, no.

What did you do that for?

Hm.

Huh?

- Do you feel bad? - Yes. Sick as a dog.

We have a mission, don't we? Find Anton Chambers and get me cured.

You are so forthright.

What agency. Yes, we must find Anton.

The soldier said he was dead.

He's not dead, just hiding from his many enemies.

This looks like a police station.

I've got one.

- Huh? - Mm-hm.

Sorry, you are under arrest.

For what?

All right, let's go.

Arrest for what? Hey!

Calm down. We just want to ask you some questions.

- What is he? - Looks like a Harlan.

Well, we'll be the judge of that. Check his blood?

- Not yet. - I am a Harlan!

- Where'd you find him? - Terminus.

One of the rebel soldiers had him. Was going to kill him.

- One of the Sessler Popular Front? - From his uniform, I'd say yes.

You sold me out?

For what?

Hey!

She did you a favour.

You can't be out there wandering around the wastelands.

We will assess you. See if you are who you say you are

- or if you are a spy. - I don't like the sound of that.

It depends on how well you co-operate.

Aclima.

- You're supposed to be my guide. - I guided you here, didn't I?

Circumstances change.

I'm sorry, darling. There's nothing I can do.

Don't be hard on her. She's just doing her job.

Room 1.

Karl Sessler.

It's me, Harlan.

I worked with the real Harlan a long time ago.

And you don't think I'm me?

Well, we get a lot of people like you.

- And they look like me? - They look exactly like you.

I'm a reporter, sent to do a story on the House.

They all say that as well.

It's not true.

Where's Anton Ch...?

I ask the questions! Yeah?

Right, let's get serious.

You use that on me and I'll say anything.

- Well, that's the point. - I mean literally anything.

Right.

I'm sorry, I don't want to see its eyes.

There you go.

How can you be here and the soldier and the desk sergeant?

You get used to it over time. Sesslers, Aclimas, Harlans.

Was that an explosion?

The Aclima Liberation Army says "hello".

Just a moment.

Come on, Harlan.

I've got a bag over my head. I can't see anything.

Hurry up.

I'm sorry about that. Was it very loud?

Yes! Very loud.

So, you save me, sell me out and save me again.

it must be irritating.

Do you find it undermining?

Just confusing.

I needed you to get me into the police station.

You were a decoy duck.

Quack, quack!

So, you think I am who I say I am?

Oh, I don't know about that.

They send a lot of Harlan spies out into the wasteland

to lure in resistance fighters.

We are always hopeful they have finally sent the right one.

And you're a resistance fighter?

I'm part of the Aclima Liberation Army,

the ALA, yes. Yes.

And you still think I might be a spy?

They don't usually torture their own people.

That's a good mark for you.

So?

So, I trust you for now.

Still, it doesn't mean I won't shoot you if you do anything suspicious.

Thanks.

- What's that? - We're in trouble.

It's the police!

Take the wheel! Take the wheel!

Okay...

You're crazy!

Son of a bitch!

On their tail.

Still there!

- Taking south exit. - Don't lose him!

Don't worry, we'll be fine.

In my target range now. Do I have permission to fire?

It's a helicopter plane!

What now, mate?

Right. Firing now. Commence firing!

I'm losing control! Losing control!

You've got him!

Here again?

It's a house. It's not the House.

A house within the House. A safe house.

The House is all around us.

Reception.

Let me check.

Results available: Corey Harlan.

- What'd it say? - Good news from the blood.

Oh, yes?

- You are Harlan. - That's great.

I can tell because you are poisoned.

Oh.

Who is it that's coming for us?

Anton Chambers is imprisoned somewhere in the interior.

The Sessler Popular Front are a faction whose goals are opaque.

There's some complicated lore there, but it's not worth going into.

The ALA, who I work for, search for the true Harlan

and hope to free Anton and return the House to its original state.

What?! Where do I fit into all this?

We need to get you to Anton.

I'm poisoned?

I have, what, 12 hours?

- I'd say less. - Is it gonna be a long journey?

90 minutes, max.

Any longer is an indulgence, no?

That's quick.

56 minutes now. I mean, it could seem longer.

Oh.

It could seem like an eternity.

Come here.

Would you like a cigarette?

- Well, I'm... - I knew it.

Here, it's a terrible, terrible, disgusting, dangerous habit, I know.

No-one should smoke. No-one.

It's basically death.

I'm so bad. A bad influence.

I'm so bad!

This is calming me down. Taking the edge off it.

The house holds a lot of memories.

Babies are born, grandparents die,

babies are made, people trying to make babies.

- In every room? - Sure.

The walls are thin, emotionally.

I mean, this was Anton's house when he was a child.

That's what he wanted it modelled on.

It's built as a life raft, in case of accidents.

It's modelled on a universal childhood home.

To be comforting.

Yeah, well, I grew up in an apartment.

Yes.

Anton has the empathy of the wealthy, I suppose.

So, this narrative is a man's story about a man.

As usual, yes.

I think we should do this together.

- The two of us. - I'm starting to like you, Harlan.

You're a good egg. No-one's ever said that before.

No?

Seems kind of obvious. I mean, we need each other.

When the big one went up, I saved Anton.

- What big one? - The explosion.

That's how this all started.

This is the known world inside the House.

I got this from Carmel Sefer, the Hermit of the Dunes.

He was an engineer that got caught in the explosion.

Oh, I remember these from school.

- Pick a colour. - Grey.

G-R-E-Y.

- Pick a number. - Nine.

Hold it like that.

The fortune teller allows you to tap into your subconscious

and let it guide us. You are the only one who can work it.

- Why me? - You're special, I guess?

I don't know why it's set up like this. Man business, no doubt.

- So... this will guide us toward Anton? - No, to Carmel Sefer,

then he will guide us to Anton and help you with your poison.

They are here. They are trying to break in from another dimension.

Follow me.

Another dimension.

- Follow me. - Another dimension.

Follow me.

Another dimension. Another dimension.

How?

Another dimension. Another dimension.

- How? How? - Another dimension.

- Another dimension. - How?

- Another dimension. - How?

- How? - Another dimension.

- Another dimension. - Follow me.

Another dimension.

Follow me.

Spare room.

You're like a multi-dimensional estate agent.

Why is there no furniture?

Sometimes there is, and sometimes there isn't. Shh!

Be quiet, I can hear them.

How many are there?

Please, this takes a lot of concentration. I'm looking across dimensional space.

Oh, good God!

They have found us again. That was quick!

They must be tracking the heavy metals inside you.

Yeah, about that - I still feel pretty wretched.

- Okay. - Please, can't we stay here a moment?

Hello, and welcome to this room.

Anton!

- It's not Anton. - Anton, it's me, Harlan.

What can I tell you about this room?

It's an Al greeter from an early version of the system.

This room is sitting in a pocket dimension

between X1 333.5 and X1444.0 tetrabyte hertz.

As you can see, it is modelled on the back bedroom of 38 Bathland Street,

the childhood home of Anton Chambers.

Can he see us?

I'm aware of you.

- Ask me a question. - Where is Anton Chambers?

I'm sorry. I have no perception outside of this room.

I can answer who is Anton Chambers.

Yeah, well, I know who Anton Chambers is.

You're Corey Harlan,

- a friend of Anton Chambers. - Yes.

You two had a falling out, after Guadalcanal.

What do you know about that?

You blamed him for what went wrong, didn't you?

No, that's not true.

After the explosion, you blamed him for the accident.

The explosion? Your explosion, Aclima?

- it wasn't my explosion. - Aclima, tell him.

It wasn't Anton's fault all those people died.

It's lying. Don't listen, Harlan.

- Aclima, tell him we were trapped. - "We"?

We are all to blame. Not just me.

Not just Anton. You need to find us, Harlan.

You need to bring us back.

- Shut up. - Bring us back, how?

Back from the dimensional collapse.

They will follow you everywhere.

- How? - The heavy metals in your blood.

Come on!

We have a bit of time before they track us here.

There's something wrong with your paperwork.

Did I fill it out wrong?

I hate forms.

it says you're a scientist, not a journalist.

What has changed?

Really? That is quite a big difference.

Did you make a mistake? Is that a possibility?

A distinct possibility.

A certainty.

Why would you do that?

I'm prone to self-sabotage.

I don't really remember filling it in.

Thinking back, I always wanted to be a journalist.

It was my parents that wanted me to be a scientist.

We need to move.

The House will send its security systems after us.

They could pose a considerable threat.

- Physical? - Initially, and then something worse.

Their ultimate sanction is to meld us into the fabric of the Bulk.

We would be lost forever, screaming spectres in the void.

For filling out a form wrong?

That's unreasonable.

Paperwork is taken very seriously here. Get choosing.

What have you got? Two-three-one-nine-slash-three.

Get ready.

For what?

We are moving.

The hero leaves behind the known world

and crosses the threshold into the unknown,

often encountering tests, trials and challenges along the way.

What's that building in the distance?

It's a jungle temple.

God.

Even in a wasteland.

We seek Carmel Sefer...

...the Hermit of the Dunes.

And Sefer can guide us?

That's his thing, map-making.

And... he's in that building, so... we need to get to it.

- We can try, but we will never make it. - Why is that?

It's an illusion. You can reach out and touch it

but if you try and walk, you will never get there.

- Metaphorically? - No, literally.

It's not real, look.

I wasn't convinced when I saw it.

- Sure, darling. - It's just cardboard.

Yes, forced perspective. Happens more often than you think.

We better get going. It's a few hours' walk.

- So, we can walk there? - Come on.

There's an oasis.

We can rest there.

- Have you got any cigarettes? - I'm out.

That's bad.

A desert storm. They can be brutal.

Hold on!

- I'm slipping. Harlan... - I can't lose you, Aclima!

- No! Aclima! - Find Sefer. Be careful.

- Don't trust... - Aclima!

Aclima!

Please, e-mail your waivers to the address supplied.

You are now under strict non-disclosure terms.

Aclima!

Where are you?!

Aclima!

Aclima!

Aclima!

Get away from him!

Leave him! Leave him!

Go! Go away!

Get away, leave him alone!

Come, come.

Quickly! Quickly! Come on.

- That's right. - What was that?

A rock beast.

We must hurry, before it returns with its pack.

I can handle one, but I don't know about ten.

- You live out here? - Are you a seeker?

- I suppose I am. - Well, then,

you've come to the right place. Plenty of seeking around here.

Where are we?

In the Wastes! We are in grave danger.

My name is Carmel, Carmel Sefer.

- Sefer! - Act fast, boy, or we will both perish.

"Boy"? I'm 40!

40 is a boy to me!

I wish I was 40 again, I can tell you.

You get to my age... you'll know.

Listen on - enjoy 40, it never comes again.

Yeah, I'm happy with it.

- Be happy with it! - I am!

- The Trader's Cave. - It's a trader's shelter.

The rock beasts won't dare venture in here.

What are they?

What's left of the workers that were burnt in the explosion.

Their flesh fused in the white heat.

Pitiable, really.

They are the lost souls of the technicians.

- Poor bastards. - Yeah.

There is no rest for those who die at work.

This storm will last a good few hours.

Let me see your face.

I don't get to see many people out here in the wastes.

What they tell you about me, the butchers?

- Butchers? - Mind butchers!

Anton Chambers and his people.

I'm here to find Anton Chambers.

I know.

Do you know Aclima? I was with her.

Yes, Aclima, of course. She told you about me?

She told me about the explosion.

The fools. They blew themselves up.

Everyone else with them.

I warned them.

God knows, when it all comes out, I'll be vindicated.

Aclima knows.

Does she work for Anton Chambers?

We all work for Anton, even you.

What?

"The hero must navigate a series of tests,

"trials and challenges..."

"..often with the help of allies and the opposition of enemies.

- Don't bother with that. - No?

Oh, it was Anton's idea - make it a story.

Breadcrumbs to help you keep moving forward.

The ancient tale that appears in all cultures.

That's old news, brother man.

The hero with a thousand faces is also a myth. Source bias.

The mono-myth compilers ironically only chose stories that fit the pattern.

They left out anything inconvenient.

That's not good.

I'm more of an Aarne-Thompson-Uther Index man myself.

I see you as a classic bildungsroman.

- What's that? - The journey of a naive dunce.

Mm.

But in a good way.

This place is a story machine.

Anton is no dummy.

He realised we're not interested in truth or facts.

Just the story of finding them.

I'm interested in truth.

People always say that

until it bites them on the arse.

I want to know what happened here.

I have a root...

...that will help you see through to the other side,

- but it's very, very dangerous. - Let's do it.

I see.

Oh. Not... Not all... Oh, well.

Look into this.

Name a colour.

Yeah, have a look.

Grey.

G-R-E-Y.

That's it, off to bed.

- Morning. - How did you sleep?

Okay.

- Lots of dreams. - Mm.

It's funny, they're so vivid, and then they're gone.

Is it work, giving you dreams?

I'm worried, yeah, I suppose.

It's okay to be scared about Guadalcanal. It's dangerous.

Why is Anton even sending you? Haven't you done enough?

It's not like that.

It's not about enough. They keep sending you

till you're burned out, you know that.

I don't like it.

I don't like Anton. Or that oily little creep, Freddy Bishop.

Anton's all right.

I mean, I can trust him as far as I can throw him,

but that's not always the measurement of a friend.

We have very different ideas about friendship.

I don't want you to go.

- Okay. - That's what I'm saying.

- Well, I don't want to go. - Well, but you still are.

- Yes. - Yes. Against both our better wishes.

Well, I don't have much choice.

You need to think about that,

and you know you always shave a choice, but you choose destruction.

Hm.

It'll be fine.

Interview 63.

- I loved him. - Aclima Benton.

It was a love that crept up on you.

A background hum that's always there...

heavy in the air.

Like someone was...

slowly turning the dial up, louder and louder.

And you realise... it's all you can hear.

It's frightening.

Then it would ebb back, and I could think I was my own person once more, but...

...at night, I could sense it again.

We were no longer two people.

The third person was there, somewhere between us.

It was different from the two of us. Wanted different things.

When he went away, I felt free for a while.

But then, little by little...

that feeling ebbed away.

What would happen if they...

broke you down?

Tortured you?

Do you think you'd crack?

Well, I've got nothing worth holding out for, so, er...

-...yeah, I think I would crack. - Yeah, me too.

- Hm. - Hm.

- What are you doing? - I'm going to inject you with this.

What is it?

If you get lost...

then I can track you.

Track me, how?

The heavy metals leave a trace element that can be seen inter-dimensionally.

Inter-dimensionally?

Where do you think I'm gonna get lost?

I don't know. I just feel like I should do it.

- Seems like a strange thing to do. - I'm a scientist.

Yeah.

You are.

And I'm a journalist.

- Pick a colour. - Grey.

- Pick a number. - Nine.

I-I-O-V-E.

Open it.

- Harlan. - Oh!

Yeah. Cute.

I'm not falling for that.

Bye.

Yeah, well, I don't care how long it takes.

Yeah, ring me as soon as they get in touch with you.

But I don't care.

Hold on.

- I'll ring you back. - What do you want, Anton?

- Can I come in? - What's happened to Harlan?

Coffee?

I've never been here.

You used to visit all the time at the old place.

Yes.

You two fell out.

I don't remember how. Silly, isn't it?

These things happen between work colleagues and friends.

Things slip away. Where is Harlan?

We don't know. There was an explosion.

We went to the hospital, but he wasn't there.

The local militia has him.

So, you do know?

We don't know where.

You lost him.

You lost him, you get him back. Whatever it costs.

You go down there and find him.

We have our best people on it. You know I can't leave.

None of us can.

Not you, me or Sessler.

This is your fault Anton. You pushed it too far.

I don't know what I can do there.

You are the type of person who thinks about every possibility,

so when you say you don't know what you could do there,

I hear... you don't want to go.

Because you have something better to do? Or are you afraid?

That's not fair.

I'm very worried for Harlan. That's why we have our best people.

We think Freddy Bishop has him.

Bishop? Why him?

Doesn't he own your newspaper?

Yes, but Freddy has his fingers in a lot of pies.

This isn't right, Anton.

Harlan is not a journalist.

He's a seeker.

I thought... you were a billionaire.

Why do you work for a newspaper? What...?

What happened to us?

We all signed up for it.

What do I do?

You work at your laptop.

You're a scientist.

Get out.

Get out!

Somewhere on Earth, he was under the same sky.

Maybe it was night there, or morning.

The two of us hurtling through space on this rock.

What did you see?

It was so real.

Another life.

My life.

- But Aclima was there. - Hm.

Maybe...

two realities merging.

Truths from both, intermingling.

There seemed to be elements of here.

Is that how it works?

A reality full of clues to tell you it's a construct?

Warnings hidden in the culture, screaming at you to wake up?

Or you are a paranoid narcissist.

Shifting planes.

Welcome to the desert.

Hello, darlings.

You found us.

It's a dusty storm out there. I'm tired.

I'm surprised you'd show your face here, lady.

Oh.

What do I have to be ashamed of?

- You are the architect of all this. - What?

Come, now, Carmel. I'm just a guide.

You came back for me?

Hm. Sure, why not?

You're pretty easy on the eye.

Oh, dear. You won't have Harlan!

- She's not to be trusted. - No?

Get away from him.

He wants to stay here, with me, don't you?

We can find Anton together.

Yeah, sure he does, darling, sure he does.

- You get behind me, Harlan. - What?

He's trying to beguile you, drag you down.

No, I'm not.

He just wants to stay in this wasteland, moaning about the world.

You're not trying to fix it.

Don't listen, Harlan.

She's using you. Remember the police station?

You were just bait to her.

- Huh? - Now, get away!

- Or I'll shoot. - No, you won't.

Just because I never have in the past doesn't mean I won't now.

Darling, it's not in you.

You like that, don't you?

To see me pathetic.

- No. There's no pleasure in it. - This has happened before?

Yes. I always think it's gonna turn out differently,

but it's the same every time.

It must be a pattern, I guess.

Okay, let's go.

Shame on you, Carmel. You are supposed to enlighten him.

There is no escape out there.

I tried.

Through the desert and the jungle.

It's a loop!

But... then how did you draw that map?

It's not a map, it's a blueprint.

Mm...

We will take our chances. Bye, Carmel!

Carmel just spouts bullshit, but sometimes there's truth in there.

Please, e-mail your waivers to the address supplied.

You are now under strict non-disclosure terms.

By listening to this warning, you are agreeing to the terms and conditions

outlined in the policy document displayed at the end of this transmission.

- He's a liability. - Carmel? I kinda liked him.

- Sure. - Was he a worker caught in the explosion?

He was one of the engineers. Fell out with Chambers.

Later, he tried to sabotage the House.

The desert is a result of it.

- Could he help us, though? - Maybe.

You made it, then.

- Ah! - Huh?

No thanks to you.

You should listen to me now and again. You might learn something, hm?

What do you mean?

- You pulled a gun on me. - It was a test.

You cover your lies in riddles.

What?! It's your fault this wasteland exists.

Oh, uno reverso. Nice.

Why is it always old men?

Beats me.

In my case, just the way it happened.

I started off young, and the oldness came upon me a day at a time.

We don't have time for this.

Are you going to tell us where Anton Chambers is?

What makes you think I know?

Ow!

Huh? What was that for?!

Now we are even.

Imagine you get straight to the facts.

Skip the gobble-gobble. He doesn't have long.

Oh!

- The poisoning. - Yes, the poisoning.

I don't know how that is my fault.

Wasn't that Aclima who did that?

You did?

Not me. Science Aclima.

Science Aclima?

Wasn't it Dream Aclima, the one I'm married to?

Science Aclima is the main one.

- She's the one at Guadalcanal. - No, no, no, no.

Here, this is good.

Nobody's made it this far before.

I have something for you, Harlan.

Hold on. Pour le metal hurlant.

For the poison. It's lost in translation.

Giv... at...

to... Ac...

Give that to Aclima. Aclima.

Thank you.

I don't think we should be doing this.

Objection noted.

Anton seems pretty confident.

You know what's going on in his head. What do you think, Cory?

I think we all signed on for this and we should trust him. It's his gig.

How is this about trust?

It's about odds.

The research is there.

He rushed the research through.

It's been expedited in a speedy manner, but I've checked it over.

It's sound.

This is Daddy business.

You all look up to him, and it's blinded you.

General Freddy Bishop is demanding results.

And we'll give him results.

I'm the Chief Safety Officer, and I'm raising a major concern.

Are you really all arrogant enough to just ignore me?

We're not ignoring you.

We're taking your advice and considering it within a wider remit.

Risk versus bringing the project in on time to secure funding.

- That kind of metric? - It's a factor. Sure.

Anyway, we have your dimensional lifeboat as backup.

It's never been tested.

I read your white paper.

It runs the risk of wiping the minds of anyone who enters.

As opposed to having our atoms scrambled across space and time?

I'll take confusion over decimation.

Are those the options?

Never mind us. If Guadalcanal goes nova,

it will kill everything in a 25 kilometre radius.

That would not be an optimal outcome.

No, Karl, it would not.

We might be safe in our fancy dimensional lifeboat

while everybody else burns in a maelstrom.

HMS Brainsmasher?

We might be safe.

But who's going to find us and pull us out?

I'm sure you've thought of some elegant solution.

Some kind of tracking device?

Mm. Not one that isn't terminal.

Hm.

- Oh, Karl. Oh, Karl. - Unit one, check.

I don't call it that.

Number four.

- Unit one, check. - Hm.

Let's see what $15 billion looks like.

It's going to look very sweet indeed.

If this goes well, we will open a rift in the Bulk Brane

and be able to tap infinite dimensional power.

Nothing less than a new dawn for humanity.

Well, that sounds good for starters.

This project is either a work of genius

or the worst idea anyone's ever had anywhere.

Okay. Let's get going.

Alert. Alert. Dimensional buffer overridden.

It's well within the failure field, Dr Chambers.

- Huh? - I'm well aware.

If this continues, the cascading error could cause anomalous results.

Okay, noted.

- Let me make a formal caution. - Noted.

Alert. Alert.

It's just a board blown in the auxiliary bus.

- I'll change it out. - It's gonna be fine.

Full stack insertion.

- Harlan, what do you think? - I agree.

It's worth the risk. It's what we've been working towards.

All good, Anton?

All good, sir, but if it's not,

it's why you're in a bunker 25 kilometres away.

The readings I have suggest that the radiation generated

could cause irreversible damage to all four of us, if not the facility.

We have 200 workers in here.

Not to mention the base town, the families!

We are on the edge of something fantastic here.

ls nobody listening to me?

Breathtaking.

We must push this forward. If not now, when?

I don't get it.

We all want to pursue something original and new.

And yet, when we see it, we retreat.

Because it could quite literally blow up in our faces.

Then let it. We will see where the chips will land.

Harlan... you have to stop him. He's out of control.

He's so close to breakthrough.

The Bulk is unstable. There's a chance of a reality quake.

I'm sick of reality.

This does not look good.

The dimensional feedback dampner's failing!

Dimensional failure imminent!

- We're passing go/no-go. - It's all happening.

Danger. Danger.

Danger. Close.

- It's so loud. - This is not a drill.

- This is a full-blown disaster. - This is not the end.

Please, leave the facility, and don't look back.

We are sorry.

We will pay all funeral expenses.

Run, don't walk.

You need to be at least 25 kilometres from the core.

There's a chance you can survive.

If you do, you need to pull us out.

- It's the only hope. - Activate the House protocol.

Argh! What was that?

Heavy metals.

You poisoned me.

When the system goes nova, it might save your life

and then you save us.

- It's going to kill me. - Eventually, but not today.

Danger. Danger.

- Danger. - It's happening.

- No! - It's happening.

- God-damn it, Chambers! - This is not a drill.

This is a full-blown disaster.

Please, leave the facility, and don't look back.

We are sorry for this cataclysm, and we will pay for all funeral expenses.

Run, don't walk.

You need to be at least 25 kilometres from the core.

What was it? Some sort of explosion?

Oh, God!

We did this to ourselves!

Was that reality, or was that a dream?

Looks to me that the experiment went wrong, and...

I injected you with a trace heavy metal that allowed a rescue team to find you

and pull you out of the destruction field.

What am I doing back here?

They must have sent you back in.

Then what is this place?

The dimensional life raft that was supposed to save us

in the event of an accident.

It only partially worked.

The explosion was of an order of magnitude higher than I planned for.

It must have damaged the protocols.

I always feared I wasn't real.

What's that?

He has found us.

- Who? - Anton.

Harlan!

Stay where you are.

Harlan, run. Run!

No, you stay.

A moment's pause here.

Anton kills Carmel Sefer.

Aclima is pushed into a dimensional portal and disappears.

Harlan is knocked unconscious.

The boat.

We will be arriving on the island in two hours.

The island.

- We're sending you back. - Previously on Bulk.

You gotta shut that thing down.

We pulled you out of there at great expense, Dr Harlan.

25 kilometres to ground zero.

Everything has been destroyed in the implosion.

A whole town reduced to a superdense marble.

And at the centre of it, we can see a building.

What do you know about it?

I've never seen it before in my life.

We've sent troops forward and lost every god-damn one of them.

Either vaporised or brains turned to soup.

And you want me to go out there?

You're god-damn right, you're going back there!

You and that maniac Anton Chambers caused this, and you're gonna fix it!

You're goin' into that house, and you're gonna see what's inside.

Yes, sir.

It looks like there's a distortion field

that starts about five kilometres outside the building.

To be honest, we are not sure that is even a house out there.

We think it's the remains of the Guadalcanal device when it exploded.

We think we can detect life signs of three other people.

- Aclima's alive? - Aclima!

It's his wife, sir.

Maybe. Maybe.

This is your only chance to find out.

Over and out!

Make your way to the staging area.

Exit the briefing room using the blue door marked "exit".

Use your multi-key card on your security lanyard to...

Self-driving car can take you to ground zero.

After that, you're on your own.

Here, take these.

- What are they? - Doc said. For the distortion field.

Otherwise, you're going to be as sick as a dog.

Entering the Distortion Zone.

Oh...

you've woken up.

We'll be there soon.

Where are we going, cabbie?

- I'm not your cabbie. - What's going on?

Where am I?

The time distortion has ended,

and we will now return to the present moment on the island.

Is this the heart of the House?

Amazing, isn't it?

I'm not sure that's what I'd call it.

Oh, Harlan, you made it.

I wondered how you were doing.

Can't you stop what's going on and send us back?

I'm not sure I can any more.

Even if I wanted to.

You have to.

A lot of people have been hurt.

What is it in us that makes us do bad things?

Well, I can only speak for myself, but I think...

when we lose track of other people...

and reduce the universe to ourselves,

it's a desperately selfish place that just wants to survive

and it doesn't care who it hurts to do it.

Maybe.

This place was meant to be freedom.

That was what I was searching for.

What did you find?

I found me.

Isn't that what everyone's searching for?

No. Not really.

You found me, though.

I mean, that's something, right?

This place has held me in check for months.

Maybe years.

- Oh, you're back. - Hm.

I've been on a side mission.

It was really hectic and action-based. I survived, though.

- I would have liked to have seen that. - Hm.

- Why did you do it, Anton? - Do what, Aclima?

- Trap us all here. - Me?

You built this place.

As a life raft in case of an accident, not as a prison.

I don't see it as a prison.

You're not being held hostage at all, are you?

Well, what gave you that idea?

You don't want to leave the House ever.

You don't want to release us.

What's the saying?

Rule in Heaven rather than be ordered around in Hell?

That's not a saying.

Why did you push the experiment to fail?

I thought it would be a good idea to break reality.

But I didn't really think beyond the breaking.

You were the ones who lost their nerve.

We should have pushed through.

The experiment failed. I think we can all agree on that.

We were blown sky-high.

It was clever, jabbing Harlan with that heavy metal.

I had to do something.

It's a shame our employers only had the wit

to send him back to us.

It's easier to think...

this far into the House.

Anton.

If we are all free of the illusions of the House...

why are you still not helping?

I don't want to go back, ever.

I love it here.

It's not perfect, but it's ours.

It's ours, is it?

It's yours.

A gun.

How tawdry.

Well, sometimes it takes a blunt tool to get things done.

Did you just use me again to get back here?

- Yeah. - Hm.

That it? Has that worked?

Nothing seems to have happened.

This is the furthest we have got.

So, who knows?

You still... reading those things?

- They're important, aren't they? - I don't think so.

- The House is still spitting them out. - The House is broken.

Is this a code?

It's just gibberish now.

I liked knowing where I was going.

They were the only thing I had to cling on to in all this chaos.

False hope. Narrative is tyranny.

So... are we abandoned out here?

I guess...

...we go back.

This is the end. You made it

- I did? - You did well.

We are closer to resetting the House.

You think it can happen?

Sure.

We have all the time in the world.

Wait!

- Reception. - Where's Aclima?

House Aclima? You won't see her again.

You are just with boring old me. Reception Aclima.

I didn't get to say goodbye.

I was growing to like her.

She wanted to say goodbye, but... this place holds her back.

She's better back there.

I'm going back.

No, you can't. The story only goes forward.

Yeah, well, that's for saps.

- I'm going back. - Um... I won't let you.

You saw me with a bloody nose earlier.

Yeah.

Does that mean I hit you? 'Cause I'm not going to do that.

Sorry.

I'm sorry.

- Huh? - Oh... hello.

Aclima tried to stop me.

It wasn't so hard getting back here.

I'm on a break. You shouldn't be here.

Another Harlan turning up?

Yeah.

It's all Harlan, Harlan, Harlan around here.

- Is that it, then? - Don't question the story out loud.

It undermines it.

Is this a kidnapping?

- This is it, isn't it? - Oh.

That's me and Karl Sessler.

You can't talk to Harlan.

I have no intention of talking to him.

- What time do you get off work? - Hm?

I'm not sure.

Is it working?

You get a little closer each time.

- Where am I going now? - I don't know what happens to you.

I suspect you get drugged and end up in Sessler's car again.

Okay.

We can do this.

We are saving each other.

See you on the flip side.

Okay, we are done.

Let's wrap it up. Let me present the players.

Anton Chambers was played by Mark Monero.

Carmel Sefer and all the Sesslers were played by Noah Taylor.

Harlan was played by Sam Riley.

Aclima was played by Alexandra Maria Lara.

This is a Rook Films production, presented by Film 4.

Production design was by Matty Mancey-Jones.

The Colourist was Rob Pizzey.

Music by Dave Welder,

and the sound design was by Martin Pavey.

The editing was by Ben Wheatley,

and the Director of Photography was Nick Gillespie.

Executive Producers are Ollie Madden and David Kimbangi.

This film was produced by Andy Starke and Ben Wheatley,

and it was written and directed by Ben Wheatley.

So, darlings, thank you very much. Lights up, you can go home now,

and please tell your friends what you saw here.

Be generous... hit the Like button and "suscribe..."

Scheiße!

Subscribe! It's with a "B"!

"Suscribe", subscribe.

It's dubbed. Doesn't matter.

- It was great! - Yeah, really good!

That's it, you've done it. So, we just do...

One more. Give me one more chance.

- Yeah. Cool. - Do one of these.

I'll probably never be...

Oh, no, it's not framed up!

Okay, do it again?

Doesn't matter, you've done it.

You've done most of it, so it's fine.

Bulk.