All language subtitles for levels.2024.1080p.web.h264-scepticalbizarrepegasusofsorcery

Okay, okay.

I'm awake.

Good morning, Joe.

You have several items
on your calendar today.

Would you like me
to read them to you?

No. I'm good.

You have a request
from Ash's assistant.

Coffee at Old World
Roasters. 9:30 a.m.

Confirm that and send
a note to Maxine.

Ask her to mine the
fort till I get in.

Reconfiguring.

All set.

Yeah.

Hm.

First time in a bookstore?

Yeah.

No.

Beautiful detail.

I was joking.

I mean, personally, I prefer

what's written
inside on the pages,

but, uh, you know,
to each their own.

Do you like coffee?

Oh, everyone likes coffee.

What's your name?

Uh, Joe.

Yours?

Coming?

Now?

You got a better time?

No, uh...

Oh, Maxine, are you,
uh, okay if I, uh...

Yeah.

It's Ash, by the way.

Ash.

Okay.

So you've read that stuff.

I have. Yeah.

Makes you think.

Without man in his potential
for moral progress,

the whole of reality would
be a mere wilderness thing,

in vain, and have
no final purpose.

Hm.

Final purpose.

I don't know about that.

Maybe we have what we have

and you do your best
with it day by day.

Yeah. Yeah, sure.

Oh, for me, it just
makes things feel...

richer, somehow.

Take a picture,
it'll last longer.

Oh, that's... that's
actually a good idea.

- Hm?
- This the way I'll have proof.

Proof of what?

Of a beautiful woman
hanging out with me.

Okay, MEL. I'm out.

System is now armed.

You have 30 seconds to depart.

Have a great day, Joe.

You, too, pal.

My brother!

How are you this beautiful day?

I'm doing well,
Oliver. Yourself?

- Eh, no complaints.
- I'm off to see Ash.

Ah! Lucky man.

Yeah. Don't I know it?

There you go.

Oh, I'm supposed to guess who.

- Mm-hmm.
- Okay.

Well, it's either my
beautiful girlfriend

who I'm meeting on
this wonderful morning.

Or...

it's my other, sexier girlfriend

from the bad part of town.

Oh, you! Hi.

Hmm.

What can I get for you?

I'll have a cappuccino, please.

You got it.

You have to work after?

- Yeah.
- You know, I would love

to know what that is.

You know what they
say about curiosity.

- No.
- Really?

Oh.

You adore me.

I do.

So...

I want you to know something.

- About?
- You.

About you.

Hey!

I love you, Joe.

Hey, hey, hey, hey.

Ash...

Ash, you surprised
me. That's all.

I need to tell you something.

Anything.

I'm not from here.

I know. You're
from Bridgewater.

No. I mean, I'm
not from... here.

No.

Do you two know each other?

Don't.

No, no, no.

MEL, shut everything down.

This is your second week

without leaving
the apartment, Joe.

Are you unwell? Should
I call for assistance?

Can you call Ash?

I am not currently
able to do that.

Hmm.

Well, then fuck off.

Just let me sleep.

You have a visitor.

Don't answer.

It's Oliver.

This is the third
time he's been by.

Fine.

Joe, are you there?

I'm here.

I'm here.

Hey, man. Uh...
got the good stuff.

Let me up?

I hear it's better hot.

Good?

I can't taste anything.

What?

Taste. I can't... I can't.

I'll get it.

Where do you keep the towels?

Joe?

I know it doesn't feel like
it, but you're gonna be okay.

She's gone.

I...

Maybe she's in a better place.
- Oh, don't patronize me.

Just... don't.

Well, look, you, uh...

You take mine.

Come back tomorrow
with more coffee.

But, uh, eat something, okay?

Joe.

Hello, Joe.

See you soon.

Or I won't. Either way.

Fucking...

A weapon has been
discharged. Are you safe?

Please respond, Joe.

I am contacting the authorities.

- No, no, no, no!
- No, no, wait, wait, wait.

It was an accident.

Joe!

Good morning, Joe.

You have a new message from Ash.

Would you like me to play it?

You have another new message
from Ash, marked urgent.

Should I play it?

In here.

You okay, brother?

You see that, right?

Oh.

Have you checked any of those?

Well, maybe it's,
uh, a message for you

in case anything
happened to her.

I-I thought of that, but
the screens and the, um...

Well, what?

You know, nothing. It's, uh...

shock, maybe.

Look, go home.

Get some rest, and then
you check the message...

messages.

You might get some closure.

Would you mind if I
checked here, actually?

I'm not sure I want
to go back yet.

Mi casa!

It's all yours.

Hey, Joe.

Hey.

If you're seeing this,
something's happened to me.

And I might not see you again.

For that...

I am so, so sorry.

I need your help.
It's important.

It might not make
sense right away,

but I need you to
get something for me.

Your bookstore...

there's a special order
there waiting for you.

Will you help?

Yes. Of course.

Thank you. Details
are downloading.

I planned for this.

Not... Not for...
everything that's happened,

but for this.

Bring the package
back to your place.

I'll talk to you again later.

I love you.

We have further contact.

We should leave it alone.

Track him. Let me know
what he does next.

Copy.

Hey, boss, are you doing okay?

Was something delivered for me?

Uh, right. Yeah.

This one's a prize.
- Thank you.

I'll see you tomorrow?

Uh, yeah. Yeah,
I'll let you know.

- He has...
- Something.

Take him down.

Retrieve whatever that is.

Backup incoming.

Copy.

Floor?

Same.

What is happening?

MEL, someone's
trying to break in!

Should I call the authorities?

Knock, knock.

- Yes!
- Contacting authorities now.

I'm sorry, Joe. I
appear to be offline.

Reattempting.

Oh. Uh, uh, uh...

Oh, fuck.

Something's wrong. Help me up.

Who are you talking to?

MEL.

Fuck off!

I don't understand.

You and me both, pal.

Joe.

MEL, pause Ash's message.

I'm sorry, I don't understand.

Could you rephrase?

Joe?

Hey.

MEL, is this real?

I'm sorry, could you
rephrase the question?

Jesus!

I'll explain.

Where are you?

I didn't mean to be mysterious.

It just took me a while
to hack a connection.

And time works a bit
differently here.

- "Here"?
- Where I'm from.

There's, uh...

The technology,

it's almost impossible
to get access, but I did.

No, no, no, no, no,
no. I saw you die.

I saw someone kill you.
- I know.

I know, I know, I'm
sorry. I'm so sorry.

Oh, there's so much
I have to tell you.

So much... So much
I want to say.

I just need to explain
a few things first.

Is that okay?

Okay.

Years ago, technology made
several rapid jumps...

machine learning,
behavioral modeling,

artificial intelligence,
ultra-realistic rendering.

A lot of it was driven by
the entertainment industry.

Gaming, streaming,
deep learning,

and AI brought others...

intelligence agencies,
special interests.

Those interests saw
where the tech could go,

recruited hungry young
minds like Anthony Hunter,

a brilliant software engineer.

He worked for Sentech,
one of the big firms.

His day job was
data acquisition,

gathering as much information
from the real world

as possible,
feeding the machine,

building models to
analyze process control.

On the side, he was
working on his own project.

From what we can piece together,

Hunter was trying to incorporate

all of this data into a true

virtualized reality,
something alive,

fed by a constant
stream of information.

It was too big for him to
put together on his own.

He couldn't get to a
stable build until...

He met someone, another coder,

apparently with
similar interests.

A new mentor

who helped the final
pieces fall into place.

The first DU.

DU?

Digital Universe.

He made a world, a fully
realized population.

The corporations had
been trying for years

to harness machine learning
to their advantage.

What was missing?

People... billions of them,

with their own emotions,
desires, agency.

Hunter began to use the
system for advanced R&D.

He realized he could test
anything on his pet universe.

High-risk surgical
implants. Advanced weaponry.

Mass testing of cutting-edge
pharmaceuticals.

Within an impossibly
short amount of time,

he became Sentech's CEO.

Then things moved even faster.

What better testbed?

What better way to
prototype anything?

Human beings may be cheap,

but simulated ones
were even cheaper.

He had a world of his own to
play with, no consequences.

He tried version...

after version...

after version.

Hunter kept going.

He spent almost
a decade testing,

fine-tuning, restarting.

I'm in one of those
versions, aren't I?

How many?

Before this, how many versions?

497.

As far as we can tell.

So, what does that make me?

A man.

One I love.

A virtual man.

This is a fucking nightmare.

Where are you, exactly?

Home.

I just need to show
you a bit more.

It got out, what Hunter
and Sentech were doing.

Even if you didn't believe that
the people in the DU were real,

the ethical implications
were too much to ignore,

and the power that came
with being able to test

any conceivable possibility
on unwitting populations?

- Us.
- The tech was outlawed.

The DU system was supposed
to be spun down for good.

It wasn't. He just hid it,

both physically
and on the network.

But I found a way in.

I found...

You.

Wait. That... That's
the man who shot you.

Hunter.

How come he didn't disappear,

like when you...

- When I died?
- Yeah.

Okay. You needed
admin-level access for that.

The control teams don't
even like doing it.

It throws major checksum
errors, risks corruption.

It messes with the analytics.

The more you break
the physical laws

that are coded in...

The less the system
works as a tool.

Exactly.

So, the goon that attacked you,

when you killed
him, it hurt, bad.

It needs to be real for
the system to function.

No cheating, or
the data devalues.

So, what is this?

Now? Just a book, but it
carried another layer of data.

Data we need to get out, soon.

Wait.

Who's that next to Hunter?

That is the
enigmatic Oliver Cox.

After he saw what
Hunter was doing,

he disappeared from public view.

He hasn't been seen in years.

Holy shit.

- What?
- I know him.

What do you mean, you know him?

You know him! The... The
newsstand near my building.

He must be masking himself
from other users of the system.

Like me.

This newsstand,

it might be a kind of
hidden observation post.

Joe, he could help.
- How?

If there's anyone who
can get me back in,

help get that data
out, it's him.

I need to meet him.

He... He knows you're dead.

I don't think that'll faze him.

Wait. How did... How
did you stop me from...

I was watching you.

I tried everything, Joe.

The best I could do
was send messages,

hack into some displays.

Otherwise, I was locked out.

It wasn't me.

Then who?

Erica, What can I do for you?

We need to spin it down.

"We." Huh.

Okay. Sit.

We're having masking issues.

Security holes. I
can't patch in time.

Well, I patched up one of
them for you.

You shot a woman in plain
view at a coffee shop.

Yeah. Stress relief.

Besides, it's your job to
make sure no one else gets in.

Right? That's... That's
you? That's your job?

The only way to do that is
to isolate it completely

from global networks.
- Well, if I do that,

then I can't feed it,

and it doesn't work
as effectively, so...

It can function as a simulator.

We have excellent analytics.

It doesn't work as effectively.

We should have spun it
down with the court order.

We're risking exposure, Anthony.

We had another incursion.

A huge amount of data
just moved around.

I'm tracking it, but...
- Okay.

The world is shit.

You get that, right?

Like... what are we?

Collectively,
billions of idiots,

decimating the only
home that we have.

But we have a way.

We have way

to run any conceivable test

to find out what happens
before it happens,

before we have to hand over
the keys to the environment

to the fossil fuel
conglomerates,

before we go down the
same path as version 16

and elect an autocratic,

malignant narcissist
to high office.

Remember that fucking mess?

Him and his mob almost cost us

half the globe in seven years.

Before millions
of more people die

in senseless conflict

based on primitive ideologies

born out of ancient
superstitions,

mass manipulation,
targeted disinformation.

The world is shit!

But I'm going to fix it.

I am fixing it.

You're killing people to do it.

Billions of people.

Algorithmically generated
population units.

The rest of the world
doesn't see it like that.

Nor do the courts.

The courts can go
fuck themselves!

They will legislate us
into a burning cinder.

Keep it hidden.
Keep it connected.

Figure it out.

Erica.

My globe.

Um...

find that girl I shot...

Here in the real world.

What can I help you
with, dead girl?

- It is you.
- And you found me,

through my firewalls, no less.

Hey, talking is risky,

so I can give you
another 30 seconds.

I need to know where it is.
Can you help me find it?

- Find what?
- The DU.

The physical system location.

And I need a valid network
key to get back in.

It's distributed. It could
be anywhere. Everywhere.

Oh, and are you out
of your freaking mind?

What makes you think I can help?

Or would?

When I first started, I was
trying to get it shut down.

Now things are...
- Complicated. Yes.

Joe.

Seems like you're
using it yourself.

What are you doing in there?

We'll be in touch.

Missed her. Can't be far.

Scan the place.
Turn it upside down.

Yeah. Requesting your support.

You armed?

Nothing smart or
network-connected.

Inert non-metallic
nano-graphene blades.

That isn't standard issue.

- It's personal.
- Spring-loaded?

Well, it can't be legal.

Coffee.

There you are.

- You like things analog.
- Mm.

Well, you're welcome to
borrow something if you like.

Mmm.

Ahh!

I long ago learned that
I retain things better

when I read from the hard copy,

absorb works of art from
the original source.

It's just... it's
less ephemeral.

Digital, it can
be gone like that.

Like you.

What do you know about me?

I know that you
worked with Hunter.

Some kind of partnership.

You disappeared.

Mm, it's more like
a co-dependency

and not the whole story,
but probably enough for now.

He's after me.

Did, uh, getting yourself
killed give it away, did it?

Out here, I mean.

What were you doing in the
system in the first place?

I'm freelance. Intel
for a while before that.

I'm good at tracing data,

making connections.
- I've seen.

You don't just hack
into proprietary systems

like this by googling.

You're impressive, Miss Solway.

I was recruited out of college,

trained 10 years as an analyst.

I went out on my own
with a small team

when all of this
started with Sentech.

We were convinced Hunter wasn't
following the court orders.

Sentech was growing too
fast, becoming too powerful,

as were his corporate pals,

a few oligarchs he
did business with.

Some fringe nations
with money to burn.

Using data from DU iterations.

We were just trying to
confirm what we already knew,

really, deal with it.

And you just stuck
around after hours?

I saw what I saw.

What it was.

It wouldn't have been
right to shut it down

or let Hunter restart it.

These...

These are people.

Just going about their lives.

So, what are you doing in there,

selling newspapers and candy?

I knew Hunter would
keep it running.

There's just too many benefits.

It's like a-a
digital crystal ball.

There is so much the
DU can... can show us,

can teach us,

without outside interference.

That's not an answer.

It's the one I can give.

It was you, wasn't it?

Saving Joe, changing
things to help him?

I'll take that as a yes.

Why?

Maybe there's more to
him than meets the eye.

I think you know that already.

So, will you help me?

I need to get Hunter off my ass,

find somewhere safe, see Joe.

- Go back in?
- Yes.

Please.

You really love him.

I get that he's not... real.

But we are way past real
as an easy definition.

- Are you making fun of me?
- No, no, no, I'm not.

I-I'm saying there's
nothing strange

about the way you're feeling.

That was the whole
point of the design.

So, you'll help me?

I will.

But first things first.

I need to get you
somewhere safe.

Not here.

There's an autonomous
hotel downtown.

I'm part owner.

You can lay low,

log in if you must.

I'll get you a network address
and a new encrypted key.

Long term,

I'm not sure how to
handle Hunter yet.

Never mind save this
iteration of the system,

which means stealing it.

Yeah, I have a plan for that.

But right now, I'm
not on Hunter's radar.

I like not being on his radar.

Hey.

You're here.

Oliver.

Bellamy, this iteration's
run its course.

Time to archive it
and study it offline.

It was killing me every day,
knowing that you were in pain,

thinking that I was gone.

All I wanted to do
was reach out to you.

And when Hunter killed
me, he killed my access.

It had taken me months to
find a way in the first time.

I love you.

I wish I knew what
to do with that.

You could tell me
you love me, too.

But if I do, is that just...
programming, talking?

My whole world view's
kind of broken.

How would you feel...

if you found out you were
just a character in a game?

- It's not a game.
- You sure?

It's not a game.

This is as real as
anything I know.

Maybe my other life is a dream.

Maybe this is the
one that counts.

But you have a choice.

So do you.

No, I don't. You
can leave this.

This is all I have.

I need a drink.
- Joe.

Please come back.

I pulled you out.

- You can do that?
- Not now. Listen.

Hunter is onto you, and he's
throwing a hell of a lot

of compute your way.
It's time to move.

I just need to get
a message to Joe.

Ash! Get out!

Fuck!

- Oliver!
- Joe! How goes the day?

- Ash... she...
- I know, I know.

No, no. No, not...
she was here.

I was speaking with
her, and she just...

she disappeared.
She... She left.

I...

Look, man, I don't
know how this works.

Help me. Please.

Shit, shit, shit,
shit, shit, shit.

I don't know how to
deal with this...

with anything. She's alive!

But what does that mean? Am I?

If I love her, is
that even real?

Does anything I feel even...
- Joe!

She's in trouble, isn't she?

Alright. Alright.

Then that's all that matters.

How do I help her?

Have a seat.

This world won't be worth
the risk much longer.

Understand?
- He'll shut it down.

This iteration, anyway.

He's probably already
started the process.

He could just spin it back
up when the heat's off.

But for you, it's
the end of the line.

Everything you know, gone.

You, gone.

It's not just about you and Ash.

It's about billions of people
and their right to live.

I'm just a fish in a tank.

You're so much more than that.

Get the data you're
carrying out.

- How?
- Years ago,

software designers used to
leave stuff behind in the code.

- Easter eggs?
- In a manner of speaking.

They're usually tied
to a specific place

in the environment,
somewhere to stock up,

get cheat codes, transfer
things in and out.

Developer mode.
- There's a place like that here.

How do you know?
- Because I built it.

- What's in it?
- A way for you to upload

the data you're carrying.
- Which is?

It's an instance.

A backup of the entire
digital universe

from the moment you
opened that book.

That's the data Ash
is trying to get out.

- Holy shit.
- Indeed.

So, get there, upload.

- Then?
- Sit tight.

No, I can't do that.

I have to find Hunter, help Ash.

I don't think
you're stupid, Joe.

And that? That is stupid.

He can literally flick a
switch, and you are gone.

Gone like you never existed.
- Why hasn't he?

Because every time he cheats,
he acts in ways that don't abide

by the coded physical
laws of his universe.

- Checksum errors.
- Exactly.

Ash explained.

Errors. Inconsistencies.

Fidelity goes out the window.

Bad data.

Bad data has no value.

Joe, upload, then go home.

I'll try to help where I can.

It's one of a kind.

Please don't lose it.

I will send the location
of the room to your phone.

Load it with what you need.

Now, that is
hardware decryption.

It'll open the door,

but the phone will need to
trigger what happens next.

You need to find the comm panel.

If you touch it, it'll
start the data upload.

Don't touch anything else
while you're in there.

Okay. What else is there?

Find the panel. Upload.

Enjoy the day, Joe.

God.

Hello, Joe.

Hey, MEL. I hope you're happy.

My systems are now
operating at full capacity.

Listen, if I don't
see you again,

thanks for everything.
- My pleasure, Joe.

Have a great day.

It won't work.
It's keyed to me.

Seems like it works okay to me.

You're messing...

You're messing with
something you shouldn't be.

Your boss is doing that.

Where's the DU?

Where?!

You're already
dead in one world.

Not long here, either.

Bitch.

Morning.

So, Ash...

What now?

You going to kill me again?

Not yet.

Why did you do it
the first time?

You know why.

Because I found your
private playground.

Uh, my multi-billion-dollar
analysis tool, you mean?

You say tomato.

You were supposed to stop.

You seem to be enjoying it.

You asshole.

What gives you the right

to play with so many lives?

What about you, huh?

What were you doing
in that bookstore,

if not playing with lives?

Just browsing the
wares yourself?

A couple of books
and a boy to go?

It's different.

You know it's different.

Yeah. Okay, enough of this.

I have to, uh, catch
up with an old friend.

So...

You're cool to just hang here
for a few minutes, right?

I didn't take you for
the nostalgic type.

Surprised to hear from you.

Always good to see
you, old friend.

Why are you messing
with my universe?

Oh, see, there's your problem.

My problem?

Your need to possess,
your possessiveness.

- Fuck you, old man.
- Worked on that.

You did it to yourself.

Everything was moving
along just fine.

Well, it's a matter
of perspective.

The billions of dead in
your last little test

would beg to differ.

Our test, you mean?

I had no idea what you were
planning until it was too late,

and you know that.

Always pushing the limits.

You know, breaking things
intentionally, like a child,

you know, pulling the
legs off of insects

just to see what happens.

If I was being honest...
- Mm, yeah.

By all means, be honest.

You're a psychopath, old friend.

And I think you know it.

I'm just... trying
to do my own thing,

which includes staying
out of your way.

I want to believe that.

I may have made this with you,

but it's your playground.

I am down with that.

Whew.

I'm glad to hear that.

Hmm.

Ow!

Uh-oh.

No.

How did... How did you...

Your problem, if
we're being honest,

is that your curiosity
or your, uh, empathy

gets a better view every time.

Once you agreed to meet,
once we interacted,

I found you.

- Safeguards.
- Huh?

Yeah, you're dying.

Gonna be over in a
couple of minutes.

Um, if you want, I can
back up your avatar

for old times' sake.

I, uh, wrapped up some
of the loose ends.

Fancy.

Shit.

Some kind of transfer initiated
from inside the system.

What?

I think your guy is
transferring code out.

It's lighting up a city block.

Stop him. Now.

Shit.

Hello, Joe.

Please select required options.

Oh.

How many times do
I have to kill you?

Okay. Enough.

Hello, Joe.

W-W-Wait. Okay. Easy, easy.

Let me just... Let me explain.

There's only one you right now.

You... You get that, right?

There's only one
you. This one.

So if I were to, like, I
don't know, shoot you...

You'd feel it.

And if I were to kill you...

You wouldn't just wake
up somewhere else.

This... This is kind
of all there is.

I made you.

And I unmake you.

Everything you are,
everything you do,

everything you love...

Nothing more than
digital dust, my man.

Except for Ash, of course.

But, hey, don't worry about her.

She's in great hands.

I don't like your boyfriend.

He doesn't like
you much, either.

- What the hell?
- Erica, stand down.

Geddes.

I don't know how he's doing it.

But it doesn't matter.

It's time for a reboot.

No, please!

Please.

Close the door.

None of this
makes any difference.

And you're not even a memory.

Not even a ghost.

Enjoy the end, my man.

Please, at least
let me say goodbye.

You actually love him.

And... on to the next.

Ash. Ash! Ash, are you there?

I'm here.

Are you okay?

Yeah. I'm okay.

Good.

Good. That's good.
That's all that matters.

Look, I don't know if I'm real.

Doesn't seem like it.

But I know you are.

And I know what we have is.

It's the most real thing
I've ever experienced.

I love you, Ash.

And that's not code.
That's not programming.

That's real.

Well that was a lot.

So...

we're kind of in
a sticky spot here

because, uh,

I'm just not sure I know what
I'm supposed to do with you.

Don't twirl your mustache,
you piece of shit.

You know.

Fair enough.

It's just it seems so
valuable, you know?

Shame.

Don't do this, Hunter.

So, look.

I'm sorry.

Go fuck yourself.

Hey, don't be like that.

You are forcing my
hand, and you know it.

I got no choice.
- Don't you, old friend?

Oh.

You're dead.

It's a matter of perspective.

I killed you.

You always had trouble
thinking outside the box,

didn't you?

I'm sorry for that.

True disappointment.

What is happening?

Levels within levels, Anthony.

To quote a favorite
from this iteration,

there are other
worlds than this.

Drop it.

Kick it over to me.

You okay?

Yeah.

You hurt her, no?

You destroyed everything.

Everyone.

Take him down.

Erica!

I'm done.

No, no. None of that was real.

Like me.

Please.

You're real.

So are you.

I don't understand.

And that makes two of us.

Am I supposed to guess?
- Mm-hmm.

Ah, I'd know those
hands anywhere.

You want to sit for a bit?

Yeah.

It's weird, right?

Meeting here.

I don't know, everything.

I know you wanted to see.

Yeah. Nostalgia, maybe.

Lovebirds, good to see you.

You too. Hey.

Here.

So... how does it feel
to save the world?

Honestly, I'm not
sure I understand.

How are you...
- Still here? Alive?

Same way you are.

How many levels are there?

Ah.

Uh, okay.

So...

- That's supposed to be me?
- No.

Well, this is your world.

Your entire universe.

Created by Hunter with more
than a little help from me.

Okay?

I'm still getting
my head around it,

but yeah, following.

- Okay, now the cup...
- Is the real world.

A world. Ash's world.

Ash's?

It's a world.

Who knows how many levels,
how many universes?

There could be an
infinite number.

I'm not sure it's
even important.

So, Joe and I are the same?

You brought me up a level.

From the sugar
crystal to the cup.

I did, indeed.

And you're from the saucer?

Well, the metaphor
wears thin, but, uh...

Yes.

But I still don't understand

how you did that with Joe.

Well, not to put too
fine a point on it,

but it was simply a
matter of migrating code

from one system to the next.

- Ouch.
- No, it's semantics.

Not a declaration of value,

but a flesh, blood code.

Code that creates
flesh and blood.

Who knows? Who cares?

You're just as human as I am.

Look, we're all free to continue

to wonder about our creators.

You just happen to
have an inside scoop

from a guy who's
simply a level up.

You feel me?
- I feel you.

Look, Ash.

Hunter was born of my
hubris, my meddling.

He had all the tools to
create something good,

something positive.

But he lacked the one
thing I was looking for,

the one thing I was...
I was testing for.

And that emptiness, it
almost destroyed everything.

The one thing?

It's empathy.

And you showed up.

The surprise, the...
the unknown variable.

And where Hunter failed,
you... you didn't.

You stepped up. You and Joe.

You... You restore my faith

that we can be
good, caring, kind,

which is what we need to
be to survive in the end.

It seems the code gets there...

eventually.

That's not so bad, right?

It isn't so bad.

Look, Ash.

I created a simulation that is
indistinguishable from reality.

It is your reality.

It's everything
you've ever known.

And now it's yours, too, Joe.

But at some point soon,

this world will reach a high
enough level of technology

that it creates
its own simulation.

So, you see, it's unlikely,
if not impossible,

that my own reality
isn't also a simulation.

But chances are we are nowhere
close to the original real.

So, enjoy each other.

Enjoy what life has to offer.

Here. Up there.

Does it matter? Really?

There you go.

Ohh.

This, we got right.