Threshold (2005) s01e02 Episode Script

Gunneson Threshold Season 1 Episode 2 "Trees Made of Glass" (Part 2) Gunneson you're you're not yourself ! We can help you.
Please ? Sah vaah norah whee.
Federal agents.
Federal agents.
- What ? - Whoa, whoa.
Orders from Cavennaugh.
We've had your entire team under surveillance.
He-He-He's down there ! Lights ! Where are they ? There's a-a switch on the on the on the post to your right ! He's not here.
Well, that's impossible.
We've searched the whole room.
He's not down here.
All right, talk to me.
- It was Gunneson.
- How is that even possible ? Are you telling me he swam 80 miles to shore after getting shot four times ? It's a good question.
It's not like he could have grabbed a life preserver.
We blew up his damn ship.
And how'd he find this house ? Why come here ? Look, there's a lot of folks checking this out.
What's our cover story ? We're saying it was a home invasion, attempted rape.
Oh, yeah, Caffrey's gonna love that.
What about the local police ? Who's Bigfooting them ? I already took care of it.
Told them we were FBI.
All right.
Getting your hands dirty, Fenway ? Not that often I get to practice my forensics.
I spend most of my days in a lab chatting with test tubes and cell cultures.
Glamorous life of a pathologist.
Well, I brought you a coffee.
It's okay to set this here ? Don't spill it.
What have you got ? - Footprints.
- I can see that.
We'll run an analysis of the soil, see if we can backtrack how he got here.
Well, I'm guessing he didn't take a cab.
You old enough to drink coffee ? Oh.
Uh, no, thanks.
Never after 9:00.
Besides, I'm wired enough as it is.
Anything ? Plenty.
I'm picking up some weird magnetic anomalies here, which is interesting in itself, but this is really unnerving.
Looks like Gunneson left us a parting gift.
Is it the same pattern you saw on the ship ? It was on all the electronic displays.
You have any strange dreams last night ? Beg your pardon ? As I understand it, Dr.
Caffrey and Mr.
Cavennaugh both had the same nightmare, saw similar things.
Yeah, I heard that, I heard that.
You watched the same videotape of the UFO they did.
You were the only three.
Figured you might have had the dream, too.
I hardly slept last night.
No dreams.
You sure about that, my friend ? Yeah, I'm positive.
There's nothing's wrong with us, right ? Dr.
Fenway tested our blood.
He said we're not infected.
Our theta-waves are a little off.
It's no big deal.
Let me know what else you find.
You doing all right ? Thanks.
290 million people in the United States, and he makes his way to your front door.
Why ? I don't know.
But the more disturbing question is, how did he find me ? You didn't get one for me ? I could use a jolt.
Is that my underwear in your hands ? - Yes.
- Drop it.
Did Gunneson say anything to you ? He He was trying, but, his, uh his words were all mixed up.
If I'd heard it, I could have helped.
Too bad we don't have a recording.
Actually, we do.
You had my house bugged ? Just interpreting your plan.
"Safety of the Red at all costs," right ? Gunneson, you're you're not yourself.
We can help you.
Please ? Sah vaah norah whee.
Sah vaah norah whee.
- Sah vaah norah whee.
- Doesn't make sense to me.
Well, that's because you're not a linguist.
It's word salad.
Expressive aphasia.
Common in stroke victims.
They garble their words, they say things backwards.
God knows what was happening to Gunneson on a neurological level, but I think it might be something similar.
Now, if we play it backwards, we get this.
You're one of us.
You're one of us.
You're one of us.
You're one of us.
The signal from that object affected every living thing on the boat.
If Gunneson made it to shore, chances are, the other crew members survived, as well.
So, we're dealing with a total of seven potential alien infectees.
Got Captain Manning, Lieutenant Novak, Crewmen Sanford, Sonntag, Park and Pena.
We've got to find them.
Containment is the first priority, per the Threshold Protocols.
We've already begun surveying their homes, family members and friends.
I'm sorry, but has anyone stopped to think that maybe we should be staking out ourselves ? I've doubled the watch on all of you.
We're covered.
Like she was covered ? By the way, what are we gonna tell these guys'families ? Their sons died at sea.
Oh.
That's gonna go over great when they show up on Mom's doorstep covered in seaweed.
Can we move on now ? Fire away.
Signal telemetry ? It's an engineer's middle name.
What about it ? I need you to break that signal down into its mathematical components.
Uh, look for any pattern or form of communication.
Ramsey, you can help him out.
Now, Fenway, you said the signal was modifying human DNA.
We need more specifics.
Yeah, like, can the process be reversed ? Can we inoculate ourselves against it ? If you want me to figure out how this "bio-forming" works, I'm gonna need a live specimen.
Then we'll get you one.
And his name is Gunneson.
Whatever else is happening, I think a part of him genuinely came to me for help.
I could see it in his eyes.
There's a war going on inside him.
Uh, hey, uh, guys, can I talk to you for a second ? Uh, I don't know if you're aware of this or not, but I'm supposed to be getting married in six weeks.
- We're aware.
- Oh, okay, okay.
So, uh, what am I supposed to tell my fiancee ? I mean, uh, I've been gone for two days.
You're not telling her anything.
We'll take care of it.
What is that supposed to mean ? As far as I'm concerned, the entire Red should be sequestered until this whole mess is over.
Especially after what happened last night.
No, it's counterproductive.
I already I already covered this in the plan.
If we strip these people of their support systems, they won't be able to function as well.
As long as we're asking our team members to relocate, we need to do the same with any spouses or family members.
You're confident of that ? Absolutely.
Part of crisis management is looking after the welfare of your team.
Lose sight of that, and we end up with a plan that's gonna fall apart faster than we can make a new one.
Then I guess I'll defer to you.
We're already drafting a cover story for your work here.
We'll see if we can't fold your intended into it, as well.
Much appreciated.
I found traces of sodium, sulfur and calcium in the mud from these boot prints.
That doesn't give us much.
Those elements are found everywhere.
Mm-mmm.
Not in this particular combination.
Spent activated alumina.
It's used to remove arsenic in water treatment facilities.
We've got three possibilities.
Three different water treatment facilities in the metro area.
It's this one, just south of Cape Charles.
How do you know ? Larkspur.
I smelled it on him.
The flowers are farm-harvested near the canal.
They're everywhere.
All right.
So Gunneson headed to this refinery after he made landfall.
The question is, why ? Let's grab Ramsey.
If Gunneson's there, we may need a translator.
Hey, can I talk to you a sec ? Yeah.
Uh, you know the blood spatter Lucas found in your bathroom ? The one that congealed into Ramsey's fractal pattern ? Well, it wasn't Gunneson's.
It was yours.
But you said I didn't have any cellular damage.
You don't.
So why in God's name would my blood do that ? That's a good question.
What happened to this man ? Apparently, he wasn't too keen on the alien signal.
It caused a sudden and catastrophic implosion throughout his entire body.
See this thing that looks like a peach pit here ? That was his heart.
Poor son of a bitch.
How come this didn't happen to all the crewmen ? I don't know- something something unique in his DNA or He was found holding a cell phone.
Maybe that was it.
Maybe he was just standing in the wrong place.
And the blood pattern I found on the bathroom floor, I understand it's Caffrey's.
That's right.
How worried should we be about that ? You know, that's a good question.
And again, I don't have the answer.
When I find something you'll be the first to know.
That's fair enough.
Is there something else I can do for you ? I need your wallet.
Are you mugging me ? Because I'm a little busy right now.
I want to check everyone's organ donor status.
We already have three members affected by the signal.
No telling what might happen next.
We can't risk anyone from Threshold having their insides spread out among the general population.
Can't this wait ? I'm afraid not.
While we're on the subject of invading my privacy, would you mind telling me who's been censoring my e-mails ? Come again ? I sent two e-mails to my brother in Boston.
From his responses, clearly, he hasn't been getting everything I wrote.
Then I suggest you write shorter letters.
What's that supposed to mean ? You mentioned you were working with Molly Caffrey, that you were involved with something classified- sensitive information, my friend.
What are my rights here, exactly ? You have the full complement of rights guaranteed to every American.
Mm-hmm.
What if I decided to walk outside and go to the store ? Well, what do you need ? That's not the point.
Am I free to come and go as I please ? We'll provide you with anything you need.
All right.
I need a tennis ball, some baby carrots, a number three pencil and a vintage Hohner harmonica 542 Golden Melody- with its original case.
You'll get a new license by the end of the day.
Here, keep it.
Don't you need it ? I carry two.
You gave me the girl gun.
A revolver's more reliable.
It won't jam like an automatic.
When we have time, I'll take you to the range.
I shot Gunneson four times.
It didn't even slow him down.
Yeah, well, after what happened on that ship, I had all our ordnance switched to explosives.
Should cause a lot more damage.
Right now, I want you to aim for the ten-spot, the heart.
Okay ? If your aim was better, you might've put him down for good.
My aim was good enough to save your life.
It's not mine I'm worried about.
Afternoon, sir.
Mind if we ask you a few questions ? Questions ? Yeah, we have reason to believe a suspect we're investigating has taken refuge in there.
Factory's closed.
Cavennaugh, come back.
- Cavennaugh.
- We're aware of that.
There's no one here.
All the same, we'd like to take a look.
Copy that.
We're getting warmer.
Couple of the boys found a lifeboat from the Big Horn about a mile up the shoreline.
Great.
At least now we know he didn't walk on water.
So when was this facility shut down ? I don't know.
What did they manufacture here ? I don't know.
Do you know who was on duty last night ? No.
Wow, do I feel safe with Ricky Retardo working the case here.
Guys ! Over here.
He was definitely here.
This is from the boot print we lifted at my house.
Gunneson's.
Look.
The tread pattern's an exact match.
You've got at least four other sets of prints here, as well.
The other crewmembers.
You don't know that.
Could've been anyone.
Different sizes, maybe, but they're all the same pattern.
I ran Gunneson's impression through the database.
It's a WORX steel-toed boot made by Red Wing.
Now, the Big Horn was a Naval freighter.
These boots are standard issue.
So we're not just dealing with Gunneson anymore.
At least four of them made it to shore.
They definitely didn't meet here by accident.
They're congregating.
- Cavennaugh, come back.
- Cavennaugh.
We're in the building just south of you.
It looks like there's some blood here.
- We're on our way.
- Roger that.
That's disgusting.
Isn't it ? So the big guy in there used to be one of the roaches on the ship ? Mm-hmm.
I've been watching him mutate for the last 48 hours.
Okay, check out what he does next.
He'll keep doing that all night long, over and over again.
The fractal pattern ? Part of it, anyway.
You really think we're okay, Doc me and Dr.
Caffrey and Cavennaugh ? Well, medically, yeah.
I haven't found anything to cause me worry- a few spikes in your theta-waves.
Weird stuff, yeah, but not worry kind of stuff.
That theta-wave business, that's not something I can pass on to my fiancee, right ? Honestly, I have no idea.
Why don't you just keep your mitts off of her till we know what we're doing here ? Didn't you say you had some kind of theory about the signal ? Yeah.
Let me show you.
Whoa, whoa, whoa ! What do you think you're doing ? It's okay.
There's no audio on this tape.
So ? So the audio's what we need to be worried about.
I ran the tape through a spectral frequency analysis.
It's what we do with the imaging data we get back from our deep space probes.
The camera picks up more than the human eye can see, anyway.
Here it is in infrared.
Ultraviolet.
As far as I can tell, the visual component is inert.
It's harmless.
Just to be safe, I'd like to explore this further with proper clinical trials.
Okay.
Fair enough.
But here's the point- I've been dissecting the auditory components from the tape.
And we struck gold.
See, the signal's miles deep.
It's made up of hundreds of different harmonics some of them are even beyond our technological ability to measure.
That could be the hyperdimensional characteristics of our UFO, could be something else.
But what we need to do is start pulling out and isolating the individual subsignals like this one.
Or this one.
And see how they affect your average living organism.
Exactly.
Might even tell us how our Average Joe Cockroach managed to Hulk out into Skeletor Roach over there.
Wait a minute.
Play that one back again.
Loop it.
Look at these guys ! The brown ones are getting awfully agitated.
The brown ones are from the ship, right ? Yeah.
And the white ones are our controls, but they're not affected.
Give yourself a gold star, Mr.
Pegg.
Do you have a key for this ? No.
Shoot it.
Get down ! Don't move ! Stop ! This is Cavennaugh.
I've lost him.
Make sure the area is secure.
Whoa ! What in the hell ? Say hello to our real security guard.
So that guy I was just chasing Yeah, hold on.
It's Sonntag.
One of our missing crewmen.
Son of a bitch shaved.
- What ? - Where's Ramsey ? Ramsey ? Ramsey.
Hey, Ramsey.
Ramsey.
Ramsey ! - Ramsey ! - Ramsey ! You gave us quite a scare, Ramsey.
Thought you might've been kidnapped or something.
"Otal ebay, orway otnay otayebay.
" Come again ? "To be or not to be" in pig Latin.
Very impressive.
You finished going AWOL ? I'm just saying, to "not be," that's a big deal.
It's not really my cup of tea.
How'd you find me ? We planted a tracking chip on you.
Don't worry, you won't find it.
It's under your skin.
You like playing Big Brother, don't you ? Well, I'm sorry to disappoint you, but, you know, I'm outta here.
Yeah, we figured as much.
It's okay, though.
We got a replacement for you already lined up.
It turns out you were actually number two on Caffrey's list.
Yeah, number one just became available.
Oh, really ? Yeah, Andre Novakovitch.
Novakovitch ? That little math bitch ? He's all smoke and mirrors.
Isomorphic group therapy.
Monotonic null sequences.
Quadratic reciprocity.
Blah, blah, blabbety-blah.
Come up with something new.
Please.
So, you want back in, then ? I can't.
When I saw that agent get shot right in front of me, I knew I was out.
Hey, he'll live.
He was wearing a vest.
You see a lot of guys die ? A few.
You get used to that ? Unfortunately, yes.
That's what I'm afraid of.
Please Sah vaah norah whee.
Sah vaah norah whee.
You're one of us.
You're one of us.
- Molly ? - You're one You all right ? Yeah, I was just, uh, going over this stuff.
So how's it going ? Trying to get inside Gunneson's head.
I read his file a dozen times, his service records.
Even his high school transcripts.
Sounds like you're covering all the bases.
But we can't find him, and we came face-to-face today with another crewman and he got away, so I think I'm running out of bases to cover, you know ? You knew this would happen, sooner or later.
What, aliens ? Your contingency plans.
Viral outbreaks, international monetary collapse.
And, uh, what was the one you wrote in'97 ? Cataclysmic shift in the polar ice caps.
Mmm.
Sounding pretty good right about now.
Reality scaring you a little ? Little more than a little.
Look, I remember something that someone once said- "Focus on the task, not the fear of the task.
" I can't believe you remember that.
You wrote a hell of a thesis.
It was the only "A" I gave out that year.
Maybe the author should keep her own words in mind.
The brown ones are from the ship.
Each of them shows signs of cellular mutation.
The white ones, on the other hand, are a basic laboratory stock, and they're unaffected by the signal.
We've been dissecting the audio signal from the videotape, experimenting with different harmonic components.
And the one we're about to play for you has produced some interesting results.
Remember, this is only part of the signal- a sub-harmonic- not enough to cause harm to any of us.
I'll be damned.
How many times have you run this test ? Dozens.
And everytime it's had the same result ? Mm-hmm.
Do you think it could have the same effect on an infected human ? - Well - Whoa, whoa.
Guys.
Experimenting with rats in a controlled environment is one thing.
We take this out in the open, we could be playing with fire.
We already are.
Listen, before they tested the atomic bomb, Edward Teller theorized the entire atmosphere may go up in flames.
But they went ahead and tested it, anyway.
Why ? Because there was a war going on.
Who's to say that's not the case now ? Look, we've already instituted a nationwide manhunt.
We're staking out all of the crewmen's friend and family.
So far, we've come up with nothing.
So we try something new.
It wouldn't be called risk management if there weren't any risks involved.
I say we make our own RangaTang lure.
They've got these little sonar lures.
I use them when I fish peacock bass out at Lake Okeechobee.
The lures beep imitate the croaking sounds of the bait fish.
We can do the same thing with your signal here, see if we can't snag Gunneson.
Or see if we can't snag all of them.
Hey, you guys seen the van ? It's pretty tricked out.
It's like top-of-the-line surveillance gear and cool night-vision scopes.
Only the best for Threshold.
Who makes this stuff, anyway ? So, are we sure about this little plan of yours ? I mean, aren't we going to be in proximity of the signal ? It's a sub-harmonic.
We'll be fine.
All right.
I just hope you know what you're doing.
Hey, Nigel ? Baylock said this is for you.
For me ? Hmm.
I always wondered what doctors carry in their little black bags.
Dr.
Fenway ? Just some supplies I requested.
It's been three hours.
What do you think ? I think humans aren't rats.
Maybe we need more bait.
Lucas ? Go ahead, Dr.
Caffrey.
Let's amp the signal a little more.
Are you sure about that ? - We don't really know what effect - Just amp the signal.
Okay.
Stand by.
- So, I heard you're getting hitched.
- That was the plan, anyway.
Well, if you're having second thoughts, you've got the perfect excuse.
- Which is what ? - Alien invasion, jackass.
Why are you even still here ? Aren't you supposed to be making your big getaway ? Oh, he chickened out.
He couldn't stand the thought of Novakovitch stealing his thunder.
So you really don't know where your father is ? Whether he's dead or alive ? So what happened ? What's the story ? You didn't read my file ? I skimmed it.
He disappeared when I was younger.
Want me to try to find him ? Bet I could.
If you'd asked me that two days ago, I might've said yes.
Now, I don't know.
All the things I thought mattered to me Maybe they matter more.
You got movement in Zone Three.
Copy that.
Zone Three.
I've got a visual.
Stand by.
- Negative, sir.
It's a dog.
- It's just a dog.
- So, three times, huh ? - Down the aisle ? Yep.
How'd you keep working up the nerve ? Weren't you worried each one was going to end up like the last one ? Unfortunately, it didn't occur to me.
Would you ever do it again ? Given our present circumstances, I suppose anything's possible.
I was worried you were going to talk me out of it.
No, don't worry, Lucas, because I really don't care.
You know, a cynic is an idealist with a broken heart.
Thank you, Dr.
Phil.
Hey, Rhonda here just got her boobs done, and they garnered a very enthusiastic round of applause from the audience.
Yay.
Oh, sor sorry to interrupt your poignant moment there.
Lucas, you there ? Yeah, go ahead.
We're not registering a signal from the transponder on the eastern perimeter.
Can you take a look ? Yeah.
On my way.
Looks okay to me.
Dr.
Caffrey ? Hello ? We're connected, you and I.
Did you know that ? All of us are.
We're drawn to each other.
We can't help it.
God created man in His image.
This is no different.
You want to scream for your friends ? Go ahead.
Scream all you want.
Scream ! Guys Hey, guys.
Guys ! Help ! He's here ! Help me ! Help ! Bad dream ? Sorry, no I'm great.
"Great"? How do you define that adjective exactly, 'cause you certainly don't look great to me.
Hey, the situation's getting to all of us some more than others.
Listen, I've got some great sedatives handy, if you want to take the edge off.
I said I'm fine ! Caffrey ! Caffrey ! It's Gunneson ! He's got Lucas ! He's got Lucas ! Do you see now ? I had to come.
We're all connected.
We've acquired the target.
He's on the move.
Remember, we need him alive.
I've got him in my sight.
- He's in Zone One.
- Copy that.
Zone One.
He's heading for us.
I've got him in my sight.
Missed the target.
What just happened ? Zone One, negative on the target.
That's a negative on the target.
Repeat.
It's a negative on the target.
Where is he ? Zone Three, negative on the target.
We have nothing.
No, nobody just falls of the radar like that.
That's exactly what happened to me last night.
He disappeared.
Molly, what are you doing ? He showed up at my house.
He's looking for me.
No, Molly Gunneson ?! It's Molly ! I'm right here ! I want to talk to you ! I'm right here ! Gunneson ! You don't want to shoot me.
Don't you understand ? You're one of us.
No.
I'm not.
Now ! Move in ! I guess you just weren't feeling the part about capturing a live specimen.
- He's alive.
- ish.
Now we know they're vulnerable.
We got him, that's what important.
Let's get him back to Threshold and run every test we got.
You doing all right ? Yeah.
I'm just wondering do you think he came here because of signal or because of us ? Maybe we were the bait.
Just be glad only one of them showed up.
Uh if we're still broadcasting, you might want to ixnay on the signal.
Stay down, remain calm, and no one will be hurt.
I told you, I don't know why I'm here.
I went out for a drive and I ended up in this place.
I never go out for walks, especially at night.
I don't know why I came here, I don't know why.
Did you see anything unusual ? An object in the sky perhaps ? Either charge me with something or let me go ! Mirandize my ass, or I'm walkin'right now, pig ! Excuse me.
- What's your name ? - Paul.
Why are you here, Paul ? Why did you come here ? I don't know.
Ever catch this many bass when you went fishing ? No.
Man, let me go ! We got some righ Man, answer my questions, or someth So.
Doctor Caffrey anything in those protocols of yours on how we're going to spin this one ? We're going to have to put all of these people into custody ? Not necessarily.
We've managed to work our way through about 60 of them so far.
We've done buccal-mucosal swabs, various blood panels.
Based on the preliminary DNA sequencing that we've been running, I'm not detecting any cellular mutations.
No triple-helix.
I don't think these people have been infected.
Then what the hell are they doing here ? Well Well, look we were operating under the assumption that our signal fragment would only draw in our missing crew members, but obviously, it had some sort of effect on the the general population, as well.
So far, all the people we interviewed came from within a five-kilometer radius, so it seems like the signal was localized.
But there's got to be tens of thousands of people living in that area.
Why didn't they all show up ? Why just these hundred and six ? Maybe the people who showed up share something in common, some kind of genetic predisposition.
Then you need to find out what that is.
You know, we dodged a bullet, here today.
But we can't let that happen again.
Let's make sure we have a clean bill of health on the rest of them.
Done.
Let's go.
So, what's next in the Threshold playbook ? Well, I want to keep these people under surveillance.
There's not reason in detaining them at this point.
Then I'll see you back at Threshold later tonight.
I've got a date with Gunneson.
What is up with this traffic ? Arlington's never packed at this time.
And Gunneson said what ? That they were recreating us in their image.
How do you know it wasn't just a regular nightmare ? Basic anxiety ? 'Cause I had the same dream you guys did last night.
The one with the trees of of glass, and that thing that creature.
- Why didn't you say anything ? - Because I was scared.
I still am.
I mean I know Dr.
Fenway said thatwe're okay, but I just don't feel like myself anymore.
I know you guys know what I'm talking about.
I mean, your blood turned into the fractal pattern.
What does that mean ? Doesn't it bother you ? Just a little bit ? What's happening is bad, really bad.
I'm not going to lie to you, Lucas.
I'm scared to, we'd be insane not to be.
we're going to stick together and get through this.
How can you say that, though ? You don't know what we're fighting.
What's the alternative ? Give up ? Pretend that this isn't happening ? Is that going to make you feel safer ? Look at me.
We have a plan and so far, it's working.
We got Gunneson, and we're going to get the rest of them.
Okay ? We just have to stick to the plan.
Subbed by the "Red Team" Transcript : RaceMan Corrections : Seth Cohen