All language subtitles for Dark Net - 01x05 - Trapped.WEBRip.English.HI.C.orig.Addic7ed.com

[narrator]
The Web transforms us.

We become data...

code...

uploading our very selves...

to a place we call the cloud.

But this cloud is grounded
in hardware, a chaos of code.

But with the right tools,

you can find the signal
in the noise.

[static]

[Melissa] When they put the
tower up in this neighborhood,

life became pretty intolerable.

It was like being tortured
24/7, that you never stopped.

When around Wi-Fi
and cell towers,

it feels like it's killing me,

and it's just like I get sicker
and sicker from it.

[Woman] It doesn't matter
how impaired you are.

When you don't have
that mind connected --

When you don't have that,
life isn't worth living anymore.

My relationship
with my husband has changed.

But I know his mind is there,
it's soaring.

[Mike]
Marisa was awesome.

She was just a great kid.

She was always happy,
always smiling.

Couldn't ask
for a better daughter.

We were really close
when she was young,

And then when she got older,

you know, we would argue
about things, you know?

I got on Facebook,
and I noticed I wasn't --

She wasn't my friend anymore.

And I'm like,
"Well, what's this all about?"

[Jackie] I do remember her
talking to me about this group,

but, you know, like, I had
no idea what this group was.

Prior to this,
I would never have believed

that there was such a thing
as an Internet cult.

[narrator] We escape
through our screens --

From boredom and loneliness,
from our problems,

our limitations, ourselves.

You can find freedom online.

But you can also find yourself
isolated, ensnared in the web.

And the more you struggle,
the harder it is to break free.

[Melissa]
The lights are a little bit
much for me right now,

especially from above.

So, if there is a way
to possibly turn them off,

that would be better.

[light switch clicks]

Yeah, that's a lot better.
Thank you.

[narrator]
Melissa wasn't always this way.

She wasn't always
an electrosensitive.

[Melissa] I always wanted
to be a pilot -- my whole life.

It was the best job ever.

Life was good until I got sick.

[Static]

This is a radio-frequency meter.

The high-pitch noise
you're hearing is the cell tower

coming in from this direction
over here.

Most people, they're just not
feeling what I'm feeling.

[clicking]

[narrator] What Melissa is
feeling are electrical waves --

signals transmitted
from cellphones, baby monitors,

and many other devices
in the Internet of things --

Wi-Fi, too.

They're making Melissa sick.

[Melissa]
I will turn bright red.

I get really dehydrated,

and my eyes get
really, really blurry.

I can tolerate the computer
for a while,

as long as it's
a land line computer

and not a wireless connection.

I'm so sensitive, that if
a neighbor were to turn Wi-Fi on

next door I wouldn't be able
to stay in my own house.

[narrator] Headaches,
sleeplessness, irritability --

Soon, she couldn't do her job
or really much of anything

except live
with a new kind of disease

almost no one took seriously.

[Melissa] We turn most
of the power off all the time.

We have flashlights everywhere
in the house.

We've put shielding up
on the one side of the house

for the neighbors and the rest
of the neighborhood there,

to try and minimize
what comes into this house.

[narrator] Melissa has put
herself and her husband

under quarantine
from the wireless world.

So far, Sweden and Germany
are the only countries

that recognize
electrohypersensitivity

as a disease.

But EHS has nonetheless
gone viral.

There are EHS sufferers
all over the world --

some say as many as 5%
of the population.

And there's no cure.

[Melissa]
Doctors that deal with this --

There was really nothing
they could really do for me,

other than tell me
to move away from it.

♪♪

Hi, Henry.

Just folding laundry.
What have you been up to?

[narrator] This is Henry.

Actually, this is
a Wi-Fi controlled device

called a B.E.A.M...

Bye, Henry.
I'm almost done.

I'll be right over, okay?

...operated by Henry.

A dozen years ago,
he was in perfect health --

a father,
a successful businessman,

a long-distance runner.

Then, he suffered
a sudden, massive stroke.

He was unable to speak or move.

He was locked in.

[Via computer]
Before the stroke, I was 40,

and it felt like life was
just beginning.

The night before the stroke,
I went to bed.

The next day I felt badly.

When I woke up,
I got tunnel vision.

I felt weak and dizzy.

My physical body was suddenly
and inexpectedly shutting down.

When I started to come to,
I was on life support.

I had no motor control.

I was basically a vegetable.

Trapped in my own body,
I cannot escape.

I was telling him,
"Henry, you're there."

And he's looking at me like,
"Yeah, I'm here. Duh."

[narrator]
Henry was there, but
getting to him took technology.

[Woman] The communication
evolved over time.

It went from eye-blinks,
and then it was the board.

"T"..."S"...

[narrator]
Adaptive technology was the key
that helped unlock Henry.

Digitizing his head, eye,
and finger movements

enabled him to connect with and
control the world around him.

Hack after hack,
he could do more and more.

[Henry]
All technologies I use

help me regain control
over my environment.

I found a power wheelchair
I liked.

A medical equipment vendor
fitted it with a head array

so I could drive with my head.

I also have a device
I control with brain waves

which lets me sip
single-malt scotch whiskey

without needing a caregiver
to spoon it to me.

[chuckles]

I have always been
fiercely independent.

With one stroke,
I became completely dependent

for everything -- eating,
drinking, going to the bathroom.

It is something I doubt
I will ever come to grips with.

I have no choice and no way out.

I really wanted to be
a good Dad, and I wanted to have

a family unit
because I didn't have one.

Like every parent,

I just wanted Marisa to be
happy and healthy.

[Jackie] When she was in high
school, she started to rebel.

Apparently,
she was going through some pain

that I was not aware of.

[Mike] I went to the mailbox,
and I got a letter.

And it says, "Hello, Dad,
I have decided to take

an indefinite break
from our relationship.

Please do not try to contact me.

I will contact you if and when

I decide to resume
our relationship.

Sincerely, Marisa."

And my ex got the same letter.

The letter was
three sentences long,

basically telling me
not to contact her

and that she would
get in touch with me

if and when she ever decided
to do that.

I was full of fear not knowing
what was going on with her,

not knowing if she was alive.

It was devastating,
to say the least.

And I tried to call her --
She wouldn't answer her phone.

The last thing I told her is

"I will always be here for you,
Marisa.

Whenever you decide
to reach me is fine.

I'll always love you,
and I'll always, you know,

always care about you and"...

Time.

[sighs]

[narrator] Mike O'Connor
and his ex Jackie

had no idea where Marisa had gone.

But they did begin to have
a sense of why she had gone.

Hi, everybody, Stefan Molyneux
from Freedomain Radio.

Hope you're doing well.
I know I am.

[Mike] The first time
I heard about Freedomain

is when Marisa started
telling me about it.

And I said,
"Oh, that's interesting,"

and she said, "Yeah,
you should check it out."

So, I looked it up online,

and I looked
at a couple of the podcasts.

You know, a match burns because
it has ignition and friction.

I bring the ignition,
the world brings the friction,

and we bring light
to what was formerly dark.

The gift of thought --
nothing thinks but us!

[narrator] Freedomain Radio --
a series of podcasts and videos

created by this man,
a former software salesman

named Stefan Molyneux.

Every single time in history,
philosophers lose.

Now, by God, we could win.

All you have to do is say no!

It really does
damn well matter to me

how you raise your children.

I have to live with the effects
of your good or bad parenting.

[Mike]
When I got into these podcasts,

I realized that he was telling

all these people that followed him

that all parents were bad parents.

[Molyneux] A child is a
complete slave to the parents,

and it's the greatest
power disparity in the world.

Molyneux said all parents
totally screwed up their kids,

and that the only way
to free yourself

from that was to "deFOO."

[narrator] FOO -- F-O-O --
Family of Origin.

So, for Molyneux, to deFOO means

to cut off all ties
to your family.

[Molyneux] Life is short,

and if you can't get people
around you to treat you well,

then don't bother
being around them,

and this is the deFOOing process.

[narrator]
He calls himself an anarchist

and disseminates his ideas
online on topics ranging

from philosophy to history
or parenting.

His followers are spread
across the world,

and they gather at
the Freedomain Radio website --

a massive Internet forum
with over three thousand hours

of original podcasts and over
303,000 posts and comments.

There are thousands more

on assorted FDR groups
on Facebook.

Analyzing the user data
from these groups,

a composite of the average
FDR follower emerges --

male, college-educated, single,
and between 25 and 34.

[Molyneux] You can't be free,
in a political sense,

until you deal with you family.

[Steven]
Stefan Molyneux says, "to see
the farm is to leave the farm."

When you see the bars
of the cage that you're in,

you can pull the bars aside
and step into a new frontier.

[narrator]
Steven is a 28-year-old
therapist in Portland,

And just like
Mike's daughter Marisa,

he's been a subscriber
and active member

of Molyneux's community.

[Steven] When I first
discovered Stefan Molyneux,

what I really admired
about him early on

was he spoke to me as an equal.

He spoke to me as
a fellow traveler, if you will.

He talked about the idea

that all adult relationships
are voluntary in nature.

I was really excited by this idea,

that all my adult relationships
could be voluntary.

My parents were
really loving in some ways,

and then they failed
pretty miserably in other ways.

And I got away from them,
and it was a huge relief.

And I was listening
to the podcast at the time.

The nature of
the technology is that --

Well, it's right in your home.

So, whatever community
you want to connect to --

Yeah, it's a way out of the
fucking abuse of your parents.

More power to the kid that wants
to escape their family system.

[narrator] And now,
just like Molyneux,

Steven makes his own podcast
and YouTube videos.

I'm Steve Franssen.

Today I want to talk about
going with someone else

into things that are
emotionally painful for you.

The community that Stefan Molyneux

and very dedicated listeners
have created

could not have existed
pre-Internet.

Sometimes -- Sometimes...

[Melissa] The Internet
provides a way to connect

with other people
that are all over the world.

And so, I don't feel alone
in this at all.

Are you going through
Pennsylvania, again?

Yeah, kind of
through Detroit, Toledo,

and then go east from there
into Pennsylvania.

[Man] Of course
I worry about my wife.

I miss her when she's gone,
and the situation

takes a toll on the relationship.

[narrator]
In the U.S. there are thousands
who believe they have EHS,

and if you look
at the Internet chatter,

what they're Tweeting and
posting and Facebooking about,

this place comes up --
Green Bank, West Virginia --

the only certifiably
Wi-Fi-free zone in America.

The Garden of Eden
for electrosensitives.

[Melissa]
I travel to Green Bank usually
about two weeks of every month.

I do the drive all at once.

I don't stop and stay in a hotel

'cause I can't stay in a hotel.

Most of the time,
you're on the interstate,

and there's always cell towers

all the way along the interstate.

[static]

Cell towers feel like
it's just, like, energy

coming from it on your body
that I can feel on my skin.

But if you keep moving,
it's almost like

if you were walking across
hot coals, right?

If you stopped,
your feet would start burning.

[static]

[birds chirping]

[Quiet static]

I consider Green Bank an escape.

I look at it as a place
to recover.

A place that I can
just have myself back.

I can have my life back.

It feels great on my body,
and I'm up really high,

and it kind of reminds me
of when I used to fly.

Unfortunately,
the fallout from this is

that it's hard
on all your relationships.

I don't see anybody
nearly as much as I used to.

I feel like I let my family down,

'cause I was always there
for them before.

So, I miss my friends
and my family, and, honestly,

you shouldn't have to
leave the country

to not be exposed to this stuff.

"Wireless refugee"
is a common term in Green Bank.

[narrator] While you're
looking for more bars,

Melissa and her fellow
electrosensitives

are looking for a way
to pry them apart.

But these days,
it's almost impossible

to escape the reach
of wireless networks.

Google is sharing plans online

to blanket the globe
with Wi-Fi.

Yes, global Internet --
universal connectivity --

no spot on earth without coverage.

It means for sensitives
like Melissa,

there will be no place to go.

They will be completely trapped.

But for people like Henry,

it means a whole new world
of escape.

[Henry] Some of the projects
people are working on for me

right now include bringing
the remote control camera along

on a mountain-climbing
expedition

so I can join them in real time,

installing a smart
telepresence robot

on a sailing ship so I can
go along on a sailing trip.

The possibilities are endless.

In a way, it's a relief
from what could be

a very tedious and lonely world.

Morning, handsome.

Ready?

[Henry] Every day begins
with the morning routine --

My wife sits me up...

brushes my teeth...

puts on my glasses...

changes my catheter...

feeds me breakfast...

dresses me...

puts me in my wheelchair...

and sets me up on the computer.

Henry has
a very strong presence online --

He has a blog, he does Facebook,

he'll send e-mails out.

This is his only way
of communicating.

That is his world --

cyberspace, the Internet,
Facebook, all that.

That is his world,
and he loves it.

He embraces it.

♪♪

Is that okay, Henry?
With your glasses? Yeah?

Can see? You good?

Okay. So,
you'll see it blink.

We're just gonna go ahead
and restart it

so that it re-calibrates
to where you are.

So, get wherever
you want the center to be.

And the double-click
is take-off,

and double-click
is also land.

And then tilting forward
is forward,

backwards, backward.

Okay. Good to go.

[narrator]
For Henry, technology
is the answer, the way out.

He's ready to take flight.

Ooh.

But for the moment,
he's still in beta.

It was like two years into
Marisa's deFOOing

that one of her friends
had called my son and said,

"Hey, we found Marisa."

When Marisa was living here,

I was worried about her, you know?

I mean, just because, you know,

it's not the greatest
of neighborhoods.

It was here -- The Aloha.

This is it.

Yeah, I actually parked, and
I kind of just peeked in there,

and was just looking.

You know, I did it
two or three times.

I just parked down the street,
and then I kind of just look up,

you know, this corner
right here, and, you know,

try to see if I could see her,
you know, moving around.

You know, she was
basically in there

just on her podcasts everyday
in this little, dingy apartment.

I started listing to the podcast
hoping that I would hear --

because people call-in,
it's like a call-in show --

And I was hoping I would hear her,

and hear what she had to say
and just try to figure out

why she did what she did.

[Molyneux]
This is Stefan Molyneux.

[Marisa] Hi.
Hello.

I've decided to deFOO
from both of my parents.

Right. Go on. Can you tell me
what you're feeling?

[Voice breaking] I'm feeling
really sad right now.

Right. Right.

[Marisa] I was
in a lonely place in my life.

I was very depressed and anxious.

And when I discovered
Stefan Molyneux,

I thought he was just
a podcaster on the Internet.

I listened to thousands
of hours of podcasts.

I was really
kind of relieved to hear

that I didn't have any, like,
obligations to my parents.

My Dad -- I didn't think

that he treated me
or my brother right.

His temper was probably
my main concern.

With my Mom, she didn't like

that I wasn't as religious
as she was.

I really felt like she was
choosing religion over me.

Then when I found FDR, I
ended up choosing FDR over her.

Molyneux convinced me
that my parents manipulated me

into thinking that they are
great people who love me --

That my feelings of love
towards my family

and my friends,
that's like Stockholm Syndrome.

So, pretty much at that point, I
had made the decision to deFOO.

[narrator]
With her decision made,

Marisa started her new life
with her new virtual family.

[Marisa] Every aspect
of Freedomain Radio is online.

The podcasts are
all available online,

the forums are
all available online,

all of my friendships
that I made through the group

were all online.

When I deFOOed, it was
definitely devastating.

I cried a lot.

I felt incredibly guilty.

I would think
about my Mom sitting, you know,

by the phone crying
in case I called,

you know, which was just awful.

I also felt really bad
about my younger brother

who I stopped talking to as well.

And I missed them.

So, I made myself
searchable online

so that they could know
that I was okay.

I named my blog my name.

[Mike] She was putting
these daily blogs in there,

and I was so relieved,

because just to know that she
was safe and she was alive

gave me a lot of comfort.

Those bread crumbs that I saw,

the Internet
with her name attached to it,

was definitely a lifeline.

It was the only connection I had.

[Marisa] My brother -- He
contacted me on my Tumblr blog.

They have, like, a little
"ask me anything" button,

and he sent me a message
just saying, you know,

"I really miss you.
Please just, like, talk to me."

I was just so excited
to hear from him.

And kind of at that point,
it was like I kind of knew

that I had been taken in
by a cult,

and that I didn't
make that decision rationally.

You know, I was like,
"You know what?

I'm gonna give my parents
another shot.

I'm gonna try this again."

[narrator]
With their digital reconnection
came a very analog reunion.

But they've never talked about
Marisa's deFOOing until now.

♪♪

When me and Jackie had you guys,
we swore we were going to be

the best parents in the world,
you know?

We tried so hard, and, you know,

I think you've learned a lot,

and I'm sure
when you have a family,

you know,
you'll make your mistakes,

but I think you'll do a lot better

than me and your Mom did.

I think both of you will.

Yeah, I'm sorry that I ended up
hurting all of you so much.

I'm glad you guys held out hope.

We always did.

I was really nervous
about talking to you.

And I loved that you, like,
apologized to me

because I wasn't expecting
an apology.

You know,
I was expecting to be doing

most of the apologizing,

and especially
in that first conversation,

and that just meant so much to me

that you showed understanding
to that decision.

I really appreciated that.
Thank you.

For... for me, uh --

[sniffles]
I need to stop.

Want a break, Mama?

[crying]

[Mike] I used to think
that a cult was something

where they had to
take you somewhere

and, you know, reprogram you.

And now they can do it
on a screen.

They don't need to take you
somewhere and isolate you,

they can do it, you know,
through technology.

[Marisa] The leading
cult expert in the country,

he has a website where he lists,

like, high-demand
and cult groups.

And I submitted Freedomain
Radio to that website,

and they ended up posting
what I submitted.

So, Stefan Molyneux,
he's now registered as, like,

somebody to look out for
[laughs] on there.

So, I feel pretty good about that.

[Melissa] I've met
a lot of people through this.

But even though Green Bank is
a really great place to go

for the few that are able
to travel there,

it's really just a tiny
band-aid on this whole problem.

There's a whole bunch of people
getting sick,

and nothing's being done about it.

I feel that this is really a
giant human-rights catastrophe.

People still want Wi-Fi
covering the entire planet.

They want it 'cause
it makes their life easier,

or they just feel
more connected all the time.

You know, in two years
there will be Wi-Fi from space.

There will be no where to go --
even in Green Bank.

So, I don't think there's
much of a future for people

who are electrosensitive at all
if things don't change.

[Henry] Today, I will try
to fly the drone high enough

to see the bridges.

With drones, I am able to escape

the surly bonds of Earth.

I think a lot about frailty
as human beings,

and how we all use
mechanical devices

to overcome limitations.

In this way,
everyone is actually acting

like they are disabled,

and I don't feel unique
in that regard.

We are more than
our physical selves.

♪♪