Ark: The Animated Series (2024) s01e01 Episode Script

1
What will I do without you?
Hm?
Hi there.
I won't hurt you.
You've got some
explaining to do, little friend.
What the hell?
You mind not domesticating
my dinner there?
Your dinner
is Raphus cucullatus,
which hasn't been seen alive
for three hundred years.
This creature is a miracle!
And you think it's dinner?
You're new here. Come on.
I'm not going anywhere with you.
Look, I don't know
what kind of sick game
you're playing at here, but
You don't know
how you got here, right?
You woke up in the water,
washed up on the beach.
Right. It was the same for me.
Let's say I believe you,
and I'm not saying I do.
Then just where exactly are we?
Hell if I know.
Better question is "when."
"When"?
Hey! What do you mean, "when"?
Look, kid, you won't be alive
for the next thirty minutes
if you don't do
exactly as I say.
The name's Bob. And this place
is a lot more dangerous
than you know.
Uh
Come on,
we don't have all day, kid.
So, why aren't you
wearing any clothes?
I spent my life
wearing a uniform,
following other people's orders.
Now, I've got a fresh start,
so here, I choose to live
just as nature intended.
Come back here!
I bet you taste like chicken.
I'm sick of eating berries.
There was a 90-foot cliff
and the roar of the naval guns
firing on the Krauts.
You could feel the explosions
in your chest.
Just as we were
about to make landfall,
there was a bright light,
and a loud sound.
And then I woke up here.
And you were there, at Normandy?
But that's impossible.
That happened in 1944.
For me
that was two weeks ago.
Crazy as it may be.
But you can't deny
that we're both here, now.
What about you?
I'm
I'm from the 21st century.
So, you must know
how the war ends.
You're Australian, right?
One of the good guys. Do we
Yeah. Yeah. We win.
We win. Hmm.
We should get moving.
I
I can't believe it!
- Believe it.
- Wow.
Our next applicant
overcame great adversity
to become one
of the most exciting voices
in her field.
And she has a reputation
for being as nervous
as a long-tailed cat in a room
full of rocking chairs.
Raised by
a determined single mother
who worked on-staff here
at the University of Sydney
she has submitted
ground-breaking papers
in the fields of paleontology,
archaeology, and geochemistry.
Hmm.
May we present the recipient
of last year's grant
Dr. Helena Walker!
According to selection theory,
a creature's heritable traits,
including its mental aspects,
are an adaptation to the demands
of its ecological situation.
But what if natural selection
was not the only mechanism
of evolution?
The epigenome,
the protective package of
proteins cocooned by DNA ab
absorbs this influence
and, in turn,
determines which genes
are expressed.
At our dig
in the Liaoning Province
At our dig
in the Liaoning Province,
we discovered a group
of velociraptors
with abnormal scleral rings,
the bones that form
the structure around the eye.
It is accepted that all raptors
were best suited to see at night
and had poor daytime vision.
But we found
significant variability
based on environmental factors.
What a creature eats,
its behaviors,
both intrinsic and extrinsic.
The data gathered
from dinosaur fossils
reveals that these traits
are inherited
in a lasting manner.
You're suggesting
that natural selection
isn't the mechanism
for evolution?
Not the sole mechanism.
Science is about the pursuit
of the truth
in all its complexity.
Isn't it the truth
that she has an arrest record?
Why should she
receive the grant,
of all the applicants?
You're here
I'm here.
Ladies and gentlemen,
professors and donors.
Through the use
of a learning neural network,
we can study
the epigenetic material
of prehistoric megafauna,
and one day, we may even
be able to reconstruct
these creatures'
lived experiences
from their physical remains.
This will lead us away
from "just-so" explanations
of prehistoric life,
yielding testable, verifiable,
and scientific data about
how these creatures evolved
and about the very mechanisms
of evolution itself.
Well?
- We're going back to China.
- Yes! Oh, I knew it!
I knew those puckered,
dusty, dried-up old fossils
Victoria! Keep your voice down.
couldn't stop my Helena!
I'm proud of you.
I couldn't have done it
without you.
And you'll never have to.
Oh, Helena!
We're going on an adventure!
What about a Stegosaurus?
Have you seen one of those?
Spiked tail?
Too busy trying not to die.
- They all look the same to me.
- Well, they're not.
A Parasaurolophus!
We should put it out
of its misery.
Stop.
It'd be a kindness.
You don't even know
how bad it's hurt!
Hmm. We have to keep moving.
Nothing's stopping you.
What? You think
I can't take care of myself?
I know you can't.
Help me with this.
Come on.
Unbelievable.
Careful. It's lodged in,
but it hasn't hit
any major arteries.
Keep it that way.
Slowly.
It's okay,
you're going to be all right.
Scary.
Yeah. Yeah, that's what
we'll call you.
"Scary the Parasaur."
So,
you're not entirely heartless.
Thank you.
How do you know so much?
It was is my job.
I'm a professor of paleontology
at the University of Sydney.
I study the fossils
of creatures like that one.
You're a professor?
I don't see
why that should be so shocking.
Well, uh, you're a
a w
Help!
Oi! Over here, lass!
Stay absolutely still.
They can't see as well
in the day. Theoretically.
Hmm.
No.
Hmm.
I'm here. You're here.
I'm sorry.
Tell me you'll change your mind.
What will I do without you?
You'll
you'll be okay.
They need me, Helena.
Especially this time.
Jim, Suhani, Nancy, and George,
none of them
speak the language like I do.
The conflict over there
is getting worse by the day,
and the refugees
have almost no support.
Except for us.
I can help those people.
I can make a difference.
I know it's for a good cause
and I know it's what you do,
and you're awesome at it.
But this God, Victoria,
it's it's so dangerous.
It's three months away
in the mountains,
and then I'm home.
But does it always
have to be you
who saves the world, Victoria?
I'm so,
so sorry I'll miss China.
But hey, think of all
that you'll get done
while I'm gone.
Full night's sleep
without me snoring,
full days to work on finishing
your beautiful storybook
side-project.
And this time, without me
blundering in,
carrying bags
of roadside oranges
and tickets to concerts
for bands you hate.
The bed's always too big
when you're gone.
Well, just imagine how I farted
after chili night
and you'll be grateful I'm away.
Victoria!
That that was a 6.7
on the Richter scale.
You take me back there
right now,
and I'll be the one
to rock your world.
Oh, puns!
Puns, she gives me
Do you know what this means?
Divorce!
You must rest, child.
Who
Who are you?
I am Sir Edmund Rockwell,
Honored Member
of the Royal Academy
of Sciences,
of Her Majesty's Empire,
the Year of Our Lord, 1890.
- Where am I?
- Hmm.
What a pity that one
of the first questions
you ask me,
I, alas, cannot answer.
No one knows where
or, indeed, what this place is.
Some think it to be
the afterlife,
and others purgatory.
But I call it
the Ark.
And and what is this place?
This, child, is the camp
of General Gaius
Marcellus Nerva.
Come.
This place,
this beautiful island,
holds many secrets,
and I will know them all.
I must know them all.
But of one thing I am certain.
We are in a crucible
from which only the strongest
and most fit shall emerge.
Huh. The creatures interest you?
They they do.
And you understand their nature?
Um. Of course you do,
as a daughter of Eve.
The serpent's ways
come second nature.
They should not be
treated like this.
No one here
should be treated like this.
We have brought
these beasts to heel,
as is our right and duty
as superior beings.
A predator kept in a state
of constant hunger?
You don't know how
what you're doing
will change them.
You speak as a woman
who has been educated
- in the sciences.
- I am.
Then surely you can see
what we have at work here
are the scientific principles
of natural selection,
in their purest form.
Survival of the fittest.
What you're doing here,
it's not science.
It's it's brutality.
This is wrong.
All of this.
Tell me then,
from what enlightened era
do you join us?
Your face so clean,
and your eyes so bright
and full of life.
None of that impertinence now.
You're going to be a good girl
and help me understand
these beasts.
Stop her!
Please!
Hmm.
My lord.
This is the one
I told you about.
Place her
with the rest of the captives,
for now.
And Rockwell,
you really must learn
how to take a hit
like a centurion!
Hmm.
It's all right. We'll be fine.
Jamie.
Helena.
When are you from, Jamie?
Anno Domini 1746.
Dunna be afraid, Helena.
We saw darker days than this,
fighting
for Bonnie Prince Charlie
against the execrable English!
I had just run my blade
through a cowardly knave,
and then quick
as a banty rooster,
I awoke here. What about you?
Your insolence
deserves correction.
Yes.
Yes, I can see this.
I wonder how best to discourage
such undesirable behavior?
A visceral reminder should do.
You.
You are correct, my dear.
Starving the beasts
does alter their behavior.
No!
But all behavior
can be modified.
Provided the right tools
are used.
No! Please!
No!
Helena, please help me!
He didn't do anything wrong!
- It it was me!
- I'm sorry! I'm sorry!
Not yet.
But you will be.
No! No, don't do this!
Hail Mary, full of grace,
the Lord is with thee.
Only those who know
their place
will survive.
God, pray for us
No, no, no, please.
Please, please!
You have this girl
to thank for the demonstration.
Disobedience will be purged.
I hope you learned
a lesson today, Helena.
It's my fault.
It's all my fault.
Hmm.
No!
I'm afraid
I have to tell you that
she's gone missing
in the civil war.
We believed she was killed.
We're hearing
over the cams that a broadcast
is claiming her murder.
Helena?
I could hear your empty stomach
from over there.
I'm sorry,
I I don't understand.
Thank you.
Scary?
How did you get free?
Go on. Someone might find you.
Bring the defiant one.
The general wishes
to interrogate her.
If you will have a second death,
make it a good death.
There is nothing else to fear.
Hmm.
Bonds for such a little puella?
Rockwell must have found you
dangerous indeed.
Although I imagine
he had it coming.
So, what is your name, girl?
Helena, Dominus. Helena Walker.
Helena. Hmm. An ill-omened name.
So, do you come
to destroy this place
as Helen brought destruction
to Troy?
That is not my intention,
Dominus.
I I woke here.
Woke here after what?
There is only one way
that we all come to be
in this land
of the would-be dead,
Helena of the Walkers.
So, what was it,
some clan raid your village?
A plague strike you down?
What were you, girl?
A teacher, Dominus. An explorer.
An explorer, huh?
How many tribes did you conquer?
Or were you just some
merchant trader's daughter?
In my era, exploration
did not mean conquest.
I studied the histories,
Dominus.
Not just the Etruscans
and Phoenicians,
but what existed before them,
when there were only beasts,
and gods.
I traveled the world
to learn more
about the very beasts
that populate this place.
The creature you ride,
in my time,
is called
the "Tyrant king of lizards."
With careful breeding,
you could create one
almost half again as tall.
I have seen the bones myself.
You know the beasts, then.
Can you Is it possible?
Their natures are difficult.
You wish to have
greater command over them.
Hmm.
Well, they are stubborn beasts,
no doubt,
but I've brought them
to heel well enough.
Rockwell is effective
at what he calls "conditioning."
Whatever Rockwell has told you,
he is wrong.
You must carefully
control their environment.
This will produce the adaptation
to subservience that you desire.
To have a natural philosopher
who could master
these serpents
You could be of use to me yet
Helena.
From when did you come here?
Almost two thousand years
after your time, Dominus.
By then, the Roman Empire
had long since fallen.
Hmm. So, Rockwell informed me.
Although that was no surprise,
considering the rot
infesting its leadership.
Perhaps my ways appear
uncivilized to your eyes.
I I have seen
much in my travels, Dominus,
but I have never seen
anything like this place.
But know this,
whatever I must do, I will do.
The world that I know
is not your world,
and it does not share
your moralities.
What was your realm, Helena?
I'm from a place called
"Terra Australis,"
- in your language.
- Australis? Hmm.
And what do you call it
in your own language?
Home.
Aye, I know of home.
Those things we left behind.
So, if you are indeed
a philosopher,
then show me
how I am to use this.
The legends of this world
depict three such Artifacts.
One I have here.
Two remain scattered
across this land
in the hands of my enemies.
This inscription shows
that once I possess all three,
I will gain a power greater
than anything ever known,
and be able to leave
this cursèd afterlife.
I will return
to the Rome of my time,
at the head of an army,
the likes of which no empire
has ever seen.
Caesar himself
will bow before me,
and I will sweep aside
the corrupt elite,
making way for a new order
in which any man of strength
can be
You were speaking
of the legends, Dominus?
You little viper!
You think to poison my wine?
No, I didn't poison the wine,
General.
After I spared you?
After I deigned
to elevate your station?
You would have
tasted the difference.
No, I just ran a tiny
Achatina limusegnis snail
along the rim of your cup.
Clearly they're relatives
of the cone snail,
a creature from my time.
Its excretions are toxic.
Not enough to kill you.
But enough for a few hours
of paralysis.
Mm.
Wicked to the bone.
Guards!
Get up.
- Get up!
- I can't.
Filthy, degenerate, girl!
Scary!
We have to free the prisoners!
Come on, come on, come on!
That works.
Come on, hurry!
There isn't much time.
With gratitude, brave warrior!
All right, you too!
Hmm.
Clever.
But not clever enough.
You!
Go!
No.
She's getting away. That witch!
I warned you, Nerva,
she's like nothing
we've ever seen before.
A traveler with such knowledge!
She stole the Artifact.
She stole my way home.
I will capture her.
And once I've conquered Rome,
I'll take her world as well.
I will take everything from her.
In just an hour,
Australians will be
some of the first
to ring in the New Year.
What's your own
New Year's Resolution?
I'm here.
You're here.
You're still here.
What will I do without you?
I'm going to survive.