Masters of Science Fiction (2007) s01e01 Episode Script
A Clean Escape
From the very beginning, we have wondered how life began.
What our purpose is and where we are headed.
We have struggled to understand time, matter, the infinite universe, who we are and if we are alone.
Great minds have imagined the most wonderful and the most terrifying answers to these questions.
We invite you to join us on this great expedition.
Almost done.
Are there events so impossible to forget that they become too painful to remember? Forgot to shave this morning.
Sorry to hear that, Doctor.
Gail? This is hard, Deanna.
Let's see if I can make it easier.
The cancer has metastasized.
H.
E.
R.
-2s are through the roof, and treatment prospects are poor.
Sorry.
It's not your fault, Charles.
Feels like it is somehow.
So what do you think, three to four months? Sure.
You're a better doctor than you are a liar.
See you next time.
If I can work it in.
Come in.
I'm not sure I'm in the right place.
You are.
Please sit down.
Want some water? No, I'm Did I have an appointment? You're right on time.
I pride myself on that being punctual.
It's a lost art.
I've always said so.
And you are? Dr.
Evans.
This is a hospital? May I ask you some questions? The nurse's station.
They directed me.
I'd like to start with a little game.
Game? What sort of game? I want you to watch what I'm doing.
Are you going to make that disappear? What's under the handkerchief? Can we place a bet on it? Not this time.
Let's see.
A paperweight? Wonderful.
There.
You're not recording this, are you? - Would that matter to you? - I simply want to know.
Matter of common courtesy.
You're being dig'ed.
These are cameras, are they not? You're very observant.
I'm being observed.
We're both being observed.
Do you like it here? Well, honestly, I haven't been here long enough to form an opinion.
How long have you been here? Tell me what you were doing before you got here.
Before I I was at work.
And where do you work? I.
S.
T.
worldwide.
That's a technology company.
- That's correct.
- Government work? - Pentagon.
- And what do you do there? I run the company.
I suspect you know that.
Well, why do you assume I know? It's hardly a secret.
What we work on That's another matter.
Something you can't discuss.
Suffice it to say that we're an indispensable part of this nation's defense.
Well, I wouldn't want you to compromise any state secrets.
Confidentiality is part of your work, too, Doctor Doctor/patient privilege and all that hokum.
Excuse me.
so your job seems quite important Lucrative, too, I guess.
That's a little personal.
I could retire before I turn 45, but I doubt that I will.
What about your family? - What about them? - Children? Look, for the life of me, I don't know what you're getting at, but for the record, I have been married for 13 years.
My wife is named Dorothy.
I have 2 children Margaret, 12, and Peter, 7.
We live in a 10,000-square foot colonial.
I drive a 2-seater.
I'm a Redskins season ticket holder.
I don't eat quiche, and I loathe pointless small talk.
- What's your name? - You obviously know my name.
I'm Robert Havelmann.
Is there anything else you'd like to know? - Lots.
- Am I being interrogated? Is that what's going on? What's under the handkerchief? How in god's name should I know? - How old are you? - This is absurd.
It's a simple question.
I'm 41 years old.
How old are you, dDctor? What year is this? - Are you seriously asking-- - Year, Mr.
Havelmann.
It's 2007.
Maybe you should pop for a desk calendar.
So it's 2007, and you're 41 years old.
- That's what I said.
- Take a look in the mirror.
- What? - Please.
The mirror.
My god! What have you done to me? What did you do to me?! But you agree there's no significant change.
You watched.
Did you see any sign of progress? The old man is losing his patience with us.
How does he think I feel? Maybe we ought to try another tack.
I need more time.
Thanks.
So you still think there's a chance he'll remember? I don't think he's forgotten.
On some level, he knows.
You'll have a hard time convincing Geslow of that - Or me, for that matter.
- That's why I need more time.
Just a few more sessions.
I know I can break through.
You know how much I respect your work You think I've lost my objectivity.
Presumes you had it in the first place.
Not with Havelmann, anyway.
- That's not even the point.
- Then what is the point? Accountability.
The truth.
He can't just keep pretending to disappear into the ether like this.
Two number twos, nice and hot.
- There you go.
Enjoy.
- Thanks.
So what should I tell Geslow? Buy me a week.
He wants closure on this.
Not as much as I do.
Deanna, there are so many other people here who need you People in pain, people who've lost hope Lives you could be saving.
You're a gifted Doctor, and Well, I honestly think you're throwing away the chance to make a difference.
I care about these people.
That's why I'm doing this.
I'm doing this for them.
I need one more week.
I am so over vegetable lasagna.
Hold on here.
Oh! Behind you! - Will! - Gotcha! Over here! Gotcha! No, you got my shirt.
That doesn't even count.
No, no, no, no.
He got you.
He got you.
I got you.
Oh.
Will, be careful.
Come on! Hi, Dad! Oh! You got me.
That's because you're it.
Come in.
- Hello? - Mr.
Havelmann.
They told me down the hall Come in.
What can I do for you? I thought we could have a talk.
I'm sorry.
Have we met? Dr.
Evans.
I was due for a checkup annual thing.
- Is that why I'm here? - You tell me.
You're what kind of doctor, exactly? A psychiatrist.
Then I'm definitely in the wrong office.
I don't think so.
What's this about? I think you can answer that, Mr.
Havelmann.
It's pierce.
It's that S.
O.
B.
Pierce.
Am I right? Niles! Not now, Jerry.
We're late already.
- I need your support.
- Yeah.
Always.
Tell me I got you in my corner.
Yeah, yeah, always.
Let's get to that meeting.
I'm going after Havelmann.
I thought we agreed the strategy was to let him self-destruct.
We can't wait for that.
I don't think it'll be long.
The man's a ticking bomb.
He's a lot smarter than you think.
You give him way too much credit.
He canned Seidman this morning.
He smells rebellion in the ranks.
He's dangerous to us to this company.
We have to move now.
We wait till we go public, He consolidates his power.
You take your shot, Jerry.
I will not be joing you in this suicide expedition.
- Niles - Say what you like about Roberts.
He has friends in high places.
We all have friends in high places.
Happy hunting.
I need to know if I can count on you to help me take this son of a bitch down.
Jerry pierce was my right-hand man until he made a very serious miscalculation.
- What happened? - He went off the reservation.
Let's call it an aborted coup.
- But you stopped him.
- I fired him, yes.
But I don't know if that stopped him.
- Because? - Because I'm here, aren't I? Somebody is still gathering information against me.
Do I detect a little note of paranoia? You don't know the corporate world very well, do you, Doctor? - No, suppose I don't.
- It's not going to work.
I built I.
S.
T.
I have a game plan.
I'm not about to see it derailed.
You believe strongly in maintaining your objectives.
That's what it's all about.
You chart a course, and then you stick to it.
No self-doubt? As a leader, first thing you learn Inconsistency invites disrespect.
Respect.
That's important to you.
Respect, honor, loyalty, old-fashioned values All in painfully short supply these days, I'm afraid.
How would you describe your values? The fundamentals God, the family, Constitution, - doing what's right.
- What's right.
It's not a dirty word, Doctor.
No.
No.
If we ent a little more time protecting the fundamentals, we wouldn't be as vulnerable to our enemies.
Sounds like a man ripe for politics.
Don't laugh.
I've thought about throwing my hat in the ring State legislature.
Of course, there's a little empire-building to take care of first.
You're an ambitious man.
Is that fair to say? I only want what's due me.
I think we both want that.
- I'm sorry? - Let's just drop the charade, Mr.
Havelmann.
It's really getting old.
You make it sound as if we've met before.
Imagine that.
Look, whatever this is about, we've got ten minutes to conclude it.
I'm due at my daughter's school at 11:00.
She's in a play, and I promised dorothy I wouldn't miss it.
Promises like that they mean a lot to you? If you had children, you'd understand.
If I had children? I had two children, Mr.
Havelmann A boy and a girl, just like you.
Only I don't have them anymore, because somebody killed them.
You killed them.
You killed my babies! We ran Havelmann through the synaptical scanner.
That's digned to detect brain abnormalities, am I right? For the most part, yes.
But I had them adapt the program in a way I believe amounts to a very sophisticated lie detector.
And let me guess.
This proves that he's lying.
No, not definitively, - but it does prove that there's - But what? What? Deanna You've been banging your head against the same wall for a year.
Don't you see what he's doing? He's hiding.
He's cocooned himself into a dream world.
I don't know what's crazier, him taking refuge inside his head - or you thinking that this matters.
- But there are moments.
It's almost like he's reaching out, as if he senses a whole different reality.
Oh, come on.
You just have to talk to him.
He's lost his mind.
It's not as if he hasn't already paid the price.
He has to be held accountable.
He can't just get off scot-free.
You have until the end of the week.
Then we put this thing to rest.
It's wednesday.
That's only 2 more days.
Warren, if I push him too hard, we might never get him back.
Deanna, we have to move on.
We can't afford to endlessly tie up ouresources on Havelmann.
You know the difference between us? You've given up.
I haven't.
I haven't.
My, uh My colleagues think they have a possible diagnosis of your condition.
My condition? I wasn't aware I had a condition.
They think you exhibit symptoms remarkably similar to Korsakoff's syndrome.
You ever heard of that before? No doubt there was an "Oprah" devoted to it.
Korsakoff's syndrome is a rare form of memory loss.
There was a famous case back in the 1970s.
A marine sergeant by the name of Arthur Briggs He was in his late 50s, good health, generally.
But somehow he lost his memory of any event which occurred to him after September I don't know what this has to do with me.
I remember everything that happened to me right up until the time I walked into this room.
And that's precisely what Briggs told his doctors.
And to prove it, he told them that world war ii was going strong, that his unit was being deployed to the Philippines, - and that he was 20 years old.
- Fascinating.
Couldn't rember anything that happened to him for longer than 40 minutes.
He was permanently stuck in 1944.
Very distressing, no doubt.
Now can weet on with it? Where's the questionnaire? What questionnaire? That's why I'm here, isn't it? To answer questions like, do I sometimes feel as if there were a tight band around my head? And do I agree with the statement that these days I don't believe we have much to hope for? - Oh.
Do you? - Do I what? Believe we have much to hope for? I'm not going to be forced from my position by a handful of young turks who don't know cutting-edge from cutting farts.
Your colleagues didn't send you here.
Then who did? I envy you, Mr.
Havelmann.
- You don't even know me.
- You never have to grow old.
You never have to watch your friends die.
You can still enjoy the music you love, the pleasures of a good meal, good sex.
- You'll always be 41 years old.
- Not in 4 months, I won't.
You can create misery, but you don't have to feel it.
You made a clean escape.
I don't have to put up with this.
You don't have to put up with any of it.
That's what's remarkable about your deception.
You are blissfully insulated from who you are, from what you've done, or maybe, just maybe, it's just what you want us to believe.
Go to hell.
What was the weather like this morning? Do I really need to tell you? It was a glorious spring morning.
68 degrees.
Red buds on the trees.
- Is that so? - Good day.
Take a look out the window before you go.
That's not possible.
I've been very careful with you up to now.
But that wall between you and your memory is coming down.
There's nothing wrong with my memory.
No, nothing, except that little ellipsis the 24 years that are missing.
To this morning.
I don't remember discussing this morning.
That's of course.
We're beyond our window.
Your attention span, it's shorter than sergeant Briggs'.
Who's sergeant Briggs? Never mind.
This morning.
Tell me about this morning.
I got up at 6:30, just like every morning.
Dorothy made me breakfast oatmeal, one slice of ham.
I kissed the children.
I picked up my briefcase.
You were going to the office? Of course.
Where else would I But you wound up here at the hospital.
All right, I did.
How did you get here? If you know the damn answer, then tell me.
The answer is you were already here.
That's absurd.
What do you remember before walking into this room? There was a nurses' station.
I got directions.
There's no nurses' station.
I'm quite certain.
I There is no nurses' station.
All right, I I could be wrong about that.
Maybe we're finally making some headway.
I'm glad you see it.
The technology your company supplies to the government You don't like talking about that.
I'm forbidden from discussing the details of our proprietary patents.
Okay, well, you have my permission.
Really.
All right.
We managed a breakthrough in impulse beam weaponry.
Satellite delivery, intelligent targeting.
- Intelligent targeting? - That's right.
Ah, I bet that's winning you some points on the hill.
It never hurts to have the support of those who control the purse strings.
Actually, you might be happy to know that you sold your interest in the company for nearly a billion dollars in 2009.
Is that so? You cashed in your political chits as well to run for a seat in the maryland state legislature.
Maybe you could tell me who to bet on in the world series in 2010.
Oh, 2010? If I'm not mistaken, it's the braves in six.
You are a deeply disturbed woman.
You have no idea.
So how does the fairy tale end, Mother Goose? - Get your hands up.
- That's my wrap.
- Did you wash these? - I don't want that.
What? You told me you wanted a No! Not mine.
- Did you wash these hands? - Look, look, look.
- Now he took mine.
- Easy.
Why does he get chicken? Sir.
Major, we're at defcon one.
- Defcon one? - You've been ordered to the bunker.
I'm gonna decline.
It's not about saving you, Major.
It's not your call one way or the other.
We're not launching? It hasn't come to that? You'll be briefed at the appropriate time.
Now get in the vehicle.
well, I'm not going alone.
I'm gonna take my family My children, my husband.
We just need an hour.
You don't have an hour, and even if you did, there's no provision for you bringing anyone.
Now please get in the vehicle.
discussion is over.
- Mom? Mom! - Deanna! That's how it started An international crisis.
Not the first, certainly, but it was the last.
If you have a shred of decency in you, Dr.
Evans It's Major Evans.
I work for the NSA.
Whoever you are, I just want to go home.
Is that asking too much? You don't have a home.
None of us do.
Our homes are gone.
Our families are gone.
Anything that ever mattered to us is gone.
You're talking in circles.
I-I don't know where we are anymore.
Well, then I'll tell you We're stuck here, 1,000 meters under a hillside in Virginia.
That doesn't make any sense.
I don't care what year you say it is.
You just showed me the view out of that window.
It's quite obvious.
We're not underground! It's not a real window.
It's a projection, a digital display.
Then you admit, you have been playing with my mind! We're not underground! It's not winter! Oh, it's winter, all right Nuclearwinter.
That was a view from a robotic camera 3,000 feet above us.
Welcome to the apocalypse, Mr.
Havelmann.
I am going to see my daughter's play.
I am going to see my family now.
And I'm going to report you as unconscionably abusive to your patients.
Your family is dead, Mr.
Havelmann.
That is a horrible thing to say! Not as horrible as the way they died.
This has gone far enough.
You're a lunatic.
I just saw my wife less than two hours ago! And so you've been telling me for ten months.
Game's over, Havelmann.
You never showed any pity.
Why should you get any? You're not a doctor at all, are you? Deanna, what the hell are you doing? Deanna, put the gun down.
Deanna, please, just put it Nobody's gonna save you now.
Nobody.
- Now where were we? - Somebody help me! You will remember, Mr.
Havelmann, or you'll die trying.
I had a feeling something like this might happen.
- What you gonna do? - Find a way to that room and stop her.
- What do you expect me to do? - There is an alternative.
What are you talking about? You could let things take their course.
Maybe she isn't the only one who's cracked under the pressure.
Justice would be served, one way or the other.
The justice of naked revenge? Is there another kind left? I don't believe you.
Not a single thing you've said.
Then I suppose that puts us on equal footing, except that I can prove that what I'm saying is true.
Fine.
Then by all means, prove it.
- Just put down the - Get back! That's New York.
Former population, 11.
3 million.
No survivors.
That's Tokyo.
Sao Paulo.
Beijing.
And that's London Eight hours after the bombs hit.
The first few weeks, we had reports of pockets of survivors in Central America, North Africa, Australia.
But we lost contact with them.
As of now, we're not sure if there's any more than 871 people alive, all inside this bunker.
You're asking me to believe that I left home this morning, kissed my wife and kids and then stepped through some kind of time tunnel into a post-nuclear holocaust? You're not listening to me, Mr.
Havelmann.
You never really did hear me, did you? You couldn't even hear your own experts when it might have made a difference.
We have a potential problem with the I.
B.
-8, sir.
What sort of problem? It may be more More powerful than we intended it to be.
We're designing the weapons system of the future, Nate.
The more powerful, the better.
Or am I missing something here? Group 5 ran the beta through 10,000 sims.
Every possible scenario, including the targeting of nuclear sites, missiles, power plants.
And? We think the beam could unintentionally trigger all fissionable material within a radius of 60 miles.
You think, or you know? We're not certain, but given the danger - Of course.
- The potential I-I mean, if we don't solve this I'll read this immediately.
Mansur blew the whistle, didn't he? You had ample warnings.
You just wouldn't heed them.
There was a timetable in place.
A timetable.
Do you think the competion calls a time-out? - So you ignored the warnings? - Of course not.
We tweaked the design.
We built in safeguards, but we didn't veer off course.
Right and now you're looking at the result.
You're showing me a simulation to manipulate-- It's not a simulation.
- There's a sea of corpses-- - How stupid do you think I am, Major? You're not stupid.
No one ever suggested you're stupid.
There've always been people like you, Major People who don't understand that progress is our birthright, that the greatest danger is that we shackle our genius as a people.
If it had been up to you, you would've outlawed electricity, the automobile, the personal computer.
Oh, maybe I would've.
There.
You've proved my point.
One day, it's the greenhouse effect, and then the next day, we're poisoning the oceans.
You live in a world of paralyzing fears and irrational paranoia.
If we surrender to that fear, we might as well be back in the cave.
We are back in the cave.
I'll give you points for cleverness, Major.
You really had me going there.
So what are you going to do, Mr.
Havelmann? Are you going to walk out into the crisp, blue sunshine and congratulate yourself for making the world safe for democracy? I think I've earned a certain measure of contentment.
Well, it pains me to disappoint you, but you're not going to walk out of here.
By my watch, you have less than ten minutes before you cycle back to square one, before you tell me we've never met before.
Oh, I hardly think I could forget you, Major Evans.
You know, maybe I should put a hole through your brain right now.
The threat alone could end your career.
If I picked up the phone right now, you'd be toast.
Really? Who would you call? I think it's fair to say I've accrued some friends you would not want to tangle with Frankly, some of the most important people in washington.
Mr.
Havelmann, you are the most important person in Washington.
I've made my contributions, certainly, but there are a couple of hundred movers and shakers who might take issue with your assessment, not to mention the man in the oval office.
Mr.
Geslow took over shortly after we arrived due to your diminished capacities, but he was never sworn in.
You were, and still are, President of the United States.
It's designed to be impervious to attack.
It's the President's safe room in case the facility is breached.
There's no way we can bust in there? Not without the kind of firepower that would put the whole facility at risk.
There's got to be something we can do.
There are 4 inches of case-hardened steel.
- So? - We could use plasma torches.
- It could take some time.
- Do it.
We're in the President's office at the strategic emergency command bunker.
You should've made things a little more spartan if you wanted me to believe that.
The appointments are all yours, Mr.
President.
Lavish, self-indulgent, personalized.
If I'm the president what does that make you, the secretary of assassination? I was your psychiatrist.
You shared the most intimate details of your life with me.
And I cared about you, sir.
You know what's crazy? Part of me, even after all you've done, part of me still does.
I ordered a retaliatory strike, is that it? It was a preemptive strike.
You went against the advice of virtually all your advisors, including your Vice President.
You attacked with I.
B's First time they'd ever been used.
The one-minute war, you called it.
The I.
B.
is a deterrent.
Who would've What are you saying happened? You wound up triggering nuclear explosions from the Caspian sea to the Persian gulf.
Six countries answered in kind.
And then Well all hell broke loose.
Why are you doing this, Major? Is it possible you're actually a patient in this hospital? More pictures.
I told you your family didn't make it.
They were at the western white house at the time.
You had the arrogance to think they wouldn't be in danger.
What the hell is this? You had a robotic camera deployed before the Korsakoff tightened its grip on you.
What kind of sick joke is this? You watched this footage.
I was in the room when you did.
You cried like a baby.
That's Dorothy's ring.
Who gave you this? The remote found an inscription.
It also confirmed her D.
N.
A.
Do I need to show you the children? Oh, god.
Is it coming back now? What do you remember, Mr.
President? - I have to know.
- All of it! All of it! Do you remember ordering the strikes? I believed in what I was doing! Protect the country, protect our way of life, protect the democracy.
I had a duty A sworn obligation.
Of course, there'd be consequences! You can't succumb to emotion! Reports Three million dead 40 million A billion Numbers Incomprehensible numbers I considered the options.
I thought things through.
I didn't back down.
I believed in what I was doing! The democracy, the nation you protected It prevailed.
It's 871 strong.
Mission accomplished, Mr.
President.
There was reason, Robert A reason for what must seem like my unspeakable cruelty.
The people will survive.
The world will start again.
And they will look back to this moment and they'll be reminded that none of us can surrender our individual responsibility.
Not those who lead, not those who follow.
It's all we have, sir.
It's all we'll ever have.
We still have audio, but we lost picture.
It's time now.
I wish there was another way.
Please.
Good-bye, Mr.
President.
Deanna You can't do this.
Come in.
Hello.
Is this where I'm supposed to be? Yes.
Please sit down.
I hope this doesn't take long.
I've got to be at my daughter's school at 11:00.
My wife will kill me if I'm late.
When the fate of so many rests in the hands of so few, can the failure to be accountable ever be forgiven?
What our purpose is and where we are headed.
We have struggled to understand time, matter, the infinite universe, who we are and if we are alone.
Great minds have imagined the most wonderful and the most terrifying answers to these questions.
We invite you to join us on this great expedition.
Almost done.
Are there events so impossible to forget that they become too painful to remember? Forgot to shave this morning.
Sorry to hear that, Doctor.
Gail? This is hard, Deanna.
Let's see if I can make it easier.
The cancer has metastasized.
H.
E.
R.
-2s are through the roof, and treatment prospects are poor.
Sorry.
It's not your fault, Charles.
Feels like it is somehow.
So what do you think, three to four months? Sure.
You're a better doctor than you are a liar.
See you next time.
If I can work it in.
Come in.
I'm not sure I'm in the right place.
You are.
Please sit down.
Want some water? No, I'm Did I have an appointment? You're right on time.
I pride myself on that being punctual.
It's a lost art.
I've always said so.
And you are? Dr.
Evans.
This is a hospital? May I ask you some questions? The nurse's station.
They directed me.
I'd like to start with a little game.
Game? What sort of game? I want you to watch what I'm doing.
Are you going to make that disappear? What's under the handkerchief? Can we place a bet on it? Not this time.
Let's see.
A paperweight? Wonderful.
There.
You're not recording this, are you? - Would that matter to you? - I simply want to know.
Matter of common courtesy.
You're being dig'ed.
These are cameras, are they not? You're very observant.
I'm being observed.
We're both being observed.
Do you like it here? Well, honestly, I haven't been here long enough to form an opinion.
How long have you been here? Tell me what you were doing before you got here.
Before I I was at work.
And where do you work? I.
S.
T.
worldwide.
That's a technology company.
- That's correct.
- Government work? - Pentagon.
- And what do you do there? I run the company.
I suspect you know that.
Well, why do you assume I know? It's hardly a secret.
What we work on That's another matter.
Something you can't discuss.
Suffice it to say that we're an indispensable part of this nation's defense.
Well, I wouldn't want you to compromise any state secrets.
Confidentiality is part of your work, too, Doctor Doctor/patient privilege and all that hokum.
Excuse me.
so your job seems quite important Lucrative, too, I guess.
That's a little personal.
I could retire before I turn 45, but I doubt that I will.
What about your family? - What about them? - Children? Look, for the life of me, I don't know what you're getting at, but for the record, I have been married for 13 years.
My wife is named Dorothy.
I have 2 children Margaret, 12, and Peter, 7.
We live in a 10,000-square foot colonial.
I drive a 2-seater.
I'm a Redskins season ticket holder.
I don't eat quiche, and I loathe pointless small talk.
- What's your name? - You obviously know my name.
I'm Robert Havelmann.
Is there anything else you'd like to know? - Lots.
- Am I being interrogated? Is that what's going on? What's under the handkerchief? How in god's name should I know? - How old are you? - This is absurd.
It's a simple question.
I'm 41 years old.
How old are you, dDctor? What year is this? - Are you seriously asking-- - Year, Mr.
Havelmann.
It's 2007.
Maybe you should pop for a desk calendar.
So it's 2007, and you're 41 years old.
- That's what I said.
- Take a look in the mirror.
- What? - Please.
The mirror.
My god! What have you done to me? What did you do to me?! But you agree there's no significant change.
You watched.
Did you see any sign of progress? The old man is losing his patience with us.
How does he think I feel? Maybe we ought to try another tack.
I need more time.
Thanks.
So you still think there's a chance he'll remember? I don't think he's forgotten.
On some level, he knows.
You'll have a hard time convincing Geslow of that - Or me, for that matter.
- That's why I need more time.
Just a few more sessions.
I know I can break through.
You know how much I respect your work You think I've lost my objectivity.
Presumes you had it in the first place.
Not with Havelmann, anyway.
- That's not even the point.
- Then what is the point? Accountability.
The truth.
He can't just keep pretending to disappear into the ether like this.
Two number twos, nice and hot.
- There you go.
Enjoy.
- Thanks.
So what should I tell Geslow? Buy me a week.
He wants closure on this.
Not as much as I do.
Deanna, there are so many other people here who need you People in pain, people who've lost hope Lives you could be saving.
You're a gifted Doctor, and Well, I honestly think you're throwing away the chance to make a difference.
I care about these people.
That's why I'm doing this.
I'm doing this for them.
I need one more week.
I am so over vegetable lasagna.
Hold on here.
Oh! Behind you! - Will! - Gotcha! Over here! Gotcha! No, you got my shirt.
That doesn't even count.
No, no, no, no.
He got you.
He got you.
I got you.
Oh.
Will, be careful.
Come on! Hi, Dad! Oh! You got me.
That's because you're it.
Come in.
- Hello? - Mr.
Havelmann.
They told me down the hall Come in.
What can I do for you? I thought we could have a talk.
I'm sorry.
Have we met? Dr.
Evans.
I was due for a checkup annual thing.
- Is that why I'm here? - You tell me.
You're what kind of doctor, exactly? A psychiatrist.
Then I'm definitely in the wrong office.
I don't think so.
What's this about? I think you can answer that, Mr.
Havelmann.
It's pierce.
It's that S.
O.
B.
Pierce.
Am I right? Niles! Not now, Jerry.
We're late already.
- I need your support.
- Yeah.
Always.
Tell me I got you in my corner.
Yeah, yeah, always.
Let's get to that meeting.
I'm going after Havelmann.
I thought we agreed the strategy was to let him self-destruct.
We can't wait for that.
I don't think it'll be long.
The man's a ticking bomb.
He's a lot smarter than you think.
You give him way too much credit.
He canned Seidman this morning.
He smells rebellion in the ranks.
He's dangerous to us to this company.
We have to move now.
We wait till we go public, He consolidates his power.
You take your shot, Jerry.
I will not be joing you in this suicide expedition.
- Niles - Say what you like about Roberts.
He has friends in high places.
We all have friends in high places.
Happy hunting.
I need to know if I can count on you to help me take this son of a bitch down.
Jerry pierce was my right-hand man until he made a very serious miscalculation.
- What happened? - He went off the reservation.
Let's call it an aborted coup.
- But you stopped him.
- I fired him, yes.
But I don't know if that stopped him.
- Because? - Because I'm here, aren't I? Somebody is still gathering information against me.
Do I detect a little note of paranoia? You don't know the corporate world very well, do you, Doctor? - No, suppose I don't.
- It's not going to work.
I built I.
S.
T.
I have a game plan.
I'm not about to see it derailed.
You believe strongly in maintaining your objectives.
That's what it's all about.
You chart a course, and then you stick to it.
No self-doubt? As a leader, first thing you learn Inconsistency invites disrespect.
Respect.
That's important to you.
Respect, honor, loyalty, old-fashioned values All in painfully short supply these days, I'm afraid.
How would you describe your values? The fundamentals God, the family, Constitution, - doing what's right.
- What's right.
It's not a dirty word, Doctor.
No.
No.
If we ent a little more time protecting the fundamentals, we wouldn't be as vulnerable to our enemies.
Sounds like a man ripe for politics.
Don't laugh.
I've thought about throwing my hat in the ring State legislature.
Of course, there's a little empire-building to take care of first.
You're an ambitious man.
Is that fair to say? I only want what's due me.
I think we both want that.
- I'm sorry? - Let's just drop the charade, Mr.
Havelmann.
It's really getting old.
You make it sound as if we've met before.
Imagine that.
Look, whatever this is about, we've got ten minutes to conclude it.
I'm due at my daughter's school at 11:00.
She's in a play, and I promised dorothy I wouldn't miss it.
Promises like that they mean a lot to you? If you had children, you'd understand.
If I had children? I had two children, Mr.
Havelmann A boy and a girl, just like you.
Only I don't have them anymore, because somebody killed them.
You killed them.
You killed my babies! We ran Havelmann through the synaptical scanner.
That's digned to detect brain abnormalities, am I right? For the most part, yes.
But I had them adapt the program in a way I believe amounts to a very sophisticated lie detector.
And let me guess.
This proves that he's lying.
No, not definitively, - but it does prove that there's - But what? What? Deanna You've been banging your head against the same wall for a year.
Don't you see what he's doing? He's hiding.
He's cocooned himself into a dream world.
I don't know what's crazier, him taking refuge inside his head - or you thinking that this matters.
- But there are moments.
It's almost like he's reaching out, as if he senses a whole different reality.
Oh, come on.
You just have to talk to him.
He's lost his mind.
It's not as if he hasn't already paid the price.
He has to be held accountable.
He can't just get off scot-free.
You have until the end of the week.
Then we put this thing to rest.
It's wednesday.
That's only 2 more days.
Warren, if I push him too hard, we might never get him back.
Deanna, we have to move on.
We can't afford to endlessly tie up ouresources on Havelmann.
You know the difference between us? You've given up.
I haven't.
I haven't.
My, uh My colleagues think they have a possible diagnosis of your condition.
My condition? I wasn't aware I had a condition.
They think you exhibit symptoms remarkably similar to Korsakoff's syndrome.
You ever heard of that before? No doubt there was an "Oprah" devoted to it.
Korsakoff's syndrome is a rare form of memory loss.
There was a famous case back in the 1970s.
A marine sergeant by the name of Arthur Briggs He was in his late 50s, good health, generally.
But somehow he lost his memory of any event which occurred to him after September I don't know what this has to do with me.
I remember everything that happened to me right up until the time I walked into this room.
And that's precisely what Briggs told his doctors.
And to prove it, he told them that world war ii was going strong, that his unit was being deployed to the Philippines, - and that he was 20 years old.
- Fascinating.
Couldn't rember anything that happened to him for longer than 40 minutes.
He was permanently stuck in 1944.
Very distressing, no doubt.
Now can weet on with it? Where's the questionnaire? What questionnaire? That's why I'm here, isn't it? To answer questions like, do I sometimes feel as if there were a tight band around my head? And do I agree with the statement that these days I don't believe we have much to hope for? - Oh.
Do you? - Do I what? Believe we have much to hope for? I'm not going to be forced from my position by a handful of young turks who don't know cutting-edge from cutting farts.
Your colleagues didn't send you here.
Then who did? I envy you, Mr.
Havelmann.
- You don't even know me.
- You never have to grow old.
You never have to watch your friends die.
You can still enjoy the music you love, the pleasures of a good meal, good sex.
- You'll always be 41 years old.
- Not in 4 months, I won't.
You can create misery, but you don't have to feel it.
You made a clean escape.
I don't have to put up with this.
You don't have to put up with any of it.
That's what's remarkable about your deception.
You are blissfully insulated from who you are, from what you've done, or maybe, just maybe, it's just what you want us to believe.
Go to hell.
What was the weather like this morning? Do I really need to tell you? It was a glorious spring morning.
68 degrees.
Red buds on the trees.
- Is that so? - Good day.
Take a look out the window before you go.
That's not possible.
I've been very careful with you up to now.
But that wall between you and your memory is coming down.
There's nothing wrong with my memory.
No, nothing, except that little ellipsis the 24 years that are missing.
To this morning.
I don't remember discussing this morning.
That's of course.
We're beyond our window.
Your attention span, it's shorter than sergeant Briggs'.
Who's sergeant Briggs? Never mind.
This morning.
Tell me about this morning.
I got up at 6:30, just like every morning.
Dorothy made me breakfast oatmeal, one slice of ham.
I kissed the children.
I picked up my briefcase.
You were going to the office? Of course.
Where else would I But you wound up here at the hospital.
All right, I did.
How did you get here? If you know the damn answer, then tell me.
The answer is you were already here.
That's absurd.
What do you remember before walking into this room? There was a nurses' station.
I got directions.
There's no nurses' station.
I'm quite certain.
I There is no nurses' station.
All right, I I could be wrong about that.
Maybe we're finally making some headway.
I'm glad you see it.
The technology your company supplies to the government You don't like talking about that.
I'm forbidden from discussing the details of our proprietary patents.
Okay, well, you have my permission.
Really.
All right.
We managed a breakthrough in impulse beam weaponry.
Satellite delivery, intelligent targeting.
- Intelligent targeting? - That's right.
Ah, I bet that's winning you some points on the hill.
It never hurts to have the support of those who control the purse strings.
Actually, you might be happy to know that you sold your interest in the company for nearly a billion dollars in 2009.
Is that so? You cashed in your political chits as well to run for a seat in the maryland state legislature.
Maybe you could tell me who to bet on in the world series in 2010.
Oh, 2010? If I'm not mistaken, it's the braves in six.
You are a deeply disturbed woman.
You have no idea.
So how does the fairy tale end, Mother Goose? - Get your hands up.
- That's my wrap.
- Did you wash these? - I don't want that.
What? You told me you wanted a No! Not mine.
- Did you wash these hands? - Look, look, look.
- Now he took mine.
- Easy.
Why does he get chicken? Sir.
Major, we're at defcon one.
- Defcon one? - You've been ordered to the bunker.
I'm gonna decline.
It's not about saving you, Major.
It's not your call one way or the other.
We're not launching? It hasn't come to that? You'll be briefed at the appropriate time.
Now get in the vehicle.
well, I'm not going alone.
I'm gonna take my family My children, my husband.
We just need an hour.
You don't have an hour, and even if you did, there's no provision for you bringing anyone.
Now please get in the vehicle.
discussion is over.
- Mom? Mom! - Deanna! That's how it started An international crisis.
Not the first, certainly, but it was the last.
If you have a shred of decency in you, Dr.
Evans It's Major Evans.
I work for the NSA.
Whoever you are, I just want to go home.
Is that asking too much? You don't have a home.
None of us do.
Our homes are gone.
Our families are gone.
Anything that ever mattered to us is gone.
You're talking in circles.
I-I don't know where we are anymore.
Well, then I'll tell you We're stuck here, 1,000 meters under a hillside in Virginia.
That doesn't make any sense.
I don't care what year you say it is.
You just showed me the view out of that window.
It's quite obvious.
We're not underground! It's not a real window.
It's a projection, a digital display.
Then you admit, you have been playing with my mind! We're not underground! It's not winter! Oh, it's winter, all right Nuclearwinter.
That was a view from a robotic camera 3,000 feet above us.
Welcome to the apocalypse, Mr.
Havelmann.
I am going to see my daughter's play.
I am going to see my family now.
And I'm going to report you as unconscionably abusive to your patients.
Your family is dead, Mr.
Havelmann.
That is a horrible thing to say! Not as horrible as the way they died.
This has gone far enough.
You're a lunatic.
I just saw my wife less than two hours ago! And so you've been telling me for ten months.
Game's over, Havelmann.
You never showed any pity.
Why should you get any? You're not a doctor at all, are you? Deanna, what the hell are you doing? Deanna, put the gun down.
Deanna, please, just put it Nobody's gonna save you now.
Nobody.
- Now where were we? - Somebody help me! You will remember, Mr.
Havelmann, or you'll die trying.
I had a feeling something like this might happen.
- What you gonna do? - Find a way to that room and stop her.
- What do you expect me to do? - There is an alternative.
What are you talking about? You could let things take their course.
Maybe she isn't the only one who's cracked under the pressure.
Justice would be served, one way or the other.
The justice of naked revenge? Is there another kind left? I don't believe you.
Not a single thing you've said.
Then I suppose that puts us on equal footing, except that I can prove that what I'm saying is true.
Fine.
Then by all means, prove it.
- Just put down the - Get back! That's New York.
Former population, 11.
3 million.
No survivors.
That's Tokyo.
Sao Paulo.
Beijing.
And that's London Eight hours after the bombs hit.
The first few weeks, we had reports of pockets of survivors in Central America, North Africa, Australia.
But we lost contact with them.
As of now, we're not sure if there's any more than 871 people alive, all inside this bunker.
You're asking me to believe that I left home this morning, kissed my wife and kids and then stepped through some kind of time tunnel into a post-nuclear holocaust? You're not listening to me, Mr.
Havelmann.
You never really did hear me, did you? You couldn't even hear your own experts when it might have made a difference.
We have a potential problem with the I.
B.
-8, sir.
What sort of problem? It may be more More powerful than we intended it to be.
We're designing the weapons system of the future, Nate.
The more powerful, the better.
Or am I missing something here? Group 5 ran the beta through 10,000 sims.
Every possible scenario, including the targeting of nuclear sites, missiles, power plants.
And? We think the beam could unintentionally trigger all fissionable material within a radius of 60 miles.
You think, or you know? We're not certain, but given the danger - Of course.
- The potential I-I mean, if we don't solve this I'll read this immediately.
Mansur blew the whistle, didn't he? You had ample warnings.
You just wouldn't heed them.
There was a timetable in place.
A timetable.
Do you think the competion calls a time-out? - So you ignored the warnings? - Of course not.
We tweaked the design.
We built in safeguards, but we didn't veer off course.
Right and now you're looking at the result.
You're showing me a simulation to manipulate-- It's not a simulation.
- There's a sea of corpses-- - How stupid do you think I am, Major? You're not stupid.
No one ever suggested you're stupid.
There've always been people like you, Major People who don't understand that progress is our birthright, that the greatest danger is that we shackle our genius as a people.
If it had been up to you, you would've outlawed electricity, the automobile, the personal computer.
Oh, maybe I would've.
There.
You've proved my point.
One day, it's the greenhouse effect, and then the next day, we're poisoning the oceans.
You live in a world of paralyzing fears and irrational paranoia.
If we surrender to that fear, we might as well be back in the cave.
We are back in the cave.
I'll give you points for cleverness, Major.
You really had me going there.
So what are you going to do, Mr.
Havelmann? Are you going to walk out into the crisp, blue sunshine and congratulate yourself for making the world safe for democracy? I think I've earned a certain measure of contentment.
Well, it pains me to disappoint you, but you're not going to walk out of here.
By my watch, you have less than ten minutes before you cycle back to square one, before you tell me we've never met before.
Oh, I hardly think I could forget you, Major Evans.
You know, maybe I should put a hole through your brain right now.
The threat alone could end your career.
If I picked up the phone right now, you'd be toast.
Really? Who would you call? I think it's fair to say I've accrued some friends you would not want to tangle with Frankly, some of the most important people in washington.
Mr.
Havelmann, you are the most important person in Washington.
I've made my contributions, certainly, but there are a couple of hundred movers and shakers who might take issue with your assessment, not to mention the man in the oval office.
Mr.
Geslow took over shortly after we arrived due to your diminished capacities, but he was never sworn in.
You were, and still are, President of the United States.
It's designed to be impervious to attack.
It's the President's safe room in case the facility is breached.
There's no way we can bust in there? Not without the kind of firepower that would put the whole facility at risk.
There's got to be something we can do.
There are 4 inches of case-hardened steel.
- So? - We could use plasma torches.
- It could take some time.
- Do it.
We're in the President's office at the strategic emergency command bunker.
You should've made things a little more spartan if you wanted me to believe that.
The appointments are all yours, Mr.
President.
Lavish, self-indulgent, personalized.
If I'm the president what does that make you, the secretary of assassination? I was your psychiatrist.
You shared the most intimate details of your life with me.
And I cared about you, sir.
You know what's crazy? Part of me, even after all you've done, part of me still does.
I ordered a retaliatory strike, is that it? It was a preemptive strike.
You went against the advice of virtually all your advisors, including your Vice President.
You attacked with I.
B's First time they'd ever been used.
The one-minute war, you called it.
The I.
B.
is a deterrent.
Who would've What are you saying happened? You wound up triggering nuclear explosions from the Caspian sea to the Persian gulf.
Six countries answered in kind.
And then Well all hell broke loose.
Why are you doing this, Major? Is it possible you're actually a patient in this hospital? More pictures.
I told you your family didn't make it.
They were at the western white house at the time.
You had the arrogance to think they wouldn't be in danger.
What the hell is this? You had a robotic camera deployed before the Korsakoff tightened its grip on you.
What kind of sick joke is this? You watched this footage.
I was in the room when you did.
You cried like a baby.
That's Dorothy's ring.
Who gave you this? The remote found an inscription.
It also confirmed her D.
N.
A.
Do I need to show you the children? Oh, god.
Is it coming back now? What do you remember, Mr.
President? - I have to know.
- All of it! All of it! Do you remember ordering the strikes? I believed in what I was doing! Protect the country, protect our way of life, protect the democracy.
I had a duty A sworn obligation.
Of course, there'd be consequences! You can't succumb to emotion! Reports Three million dead 40 million A billion Numbers Incomprehensible numbers I considered the options.
I thought things through.
I didn't back down.
I believed in what I was doing! The democracy, the nation you protected It prevailed.
It's 871 strong.
Mission accomplished, Mr.
President.
There was reason, Robert A reason for what must seem like my unspeakable cruelty.
The people will survive.
The world will start again.
And they will look back to this moment and they'll be reminded that none of us can surrender our individual responsibility.
Not those who lead, not those who follow.
It's all we have, sir.
It's all we'll ever have.
We still have audio, but we lost picture.
It's time now.
I wish there was another way.
Please.
Good-bye, Mr.
President.
Deanna You can't do this.
Come in.
Hello.
Is this where I'm supposed to be? Yes.
Please sit down.
I hope this doesn't take long.
I've got to be at my daughter's school at 11:00.
My wife will kill me if I'm late.
When the fate of so many rests in the hands of so few, can the failure to be accountable ever be forgiven?