Surface (2005) s01e03 Episode Script

Previously on Surface.
You sure your parents won't notice? Whoa! I think he likes them alive.
Looks like you caught your fish.
Shut it down now! The damage to his face was extensive.
I was about to pronounce when the nurse found an extremely faint pulse.
Mr.
Singh? The Institute's research programs have been suspended indefinitely.
I was the one that saw it Alone, at 5,000 feet.
A new vertebrate! George did not drown! Hon, I don't think you were in your right mind.
That thing took my brother and I ain't leaving until I get a look at it.
Mom, what kind of snakes are they? They're not snakes, baby, they're hagfish.
These hagfish fed on the carcass.
Daughtery, you can't be here.
I have a right to my own work, and a right to my own research, and a right to know what's down there.
This is gonna help me.
I met someone else who saw it.
"It"? Yeah.
The sea monster Godzilla thing.
Yes.
Come on, now, this is a good thing.
It means I'm not crazy! Let's see.
Over there.
Somewhere over there is Austin.
That's where I go to school.
And down there on the boat, that is Mallory and Garth.
Great job, Kadee! Just look at her! Good job! You know, I cannot believe you guys talked me into this.
I can't believe she did it.
I'd wet my pants.
Let's see.
Over there is What is that? What You're doing great! Mallory, turn around! Turn around! Look out! Oh, my God! Turn around! Go that way.
Look at her.
She is scared to death! Guys, look out! Look out! Oh, my God! Look out! Oh, my God! Is that age-appropriate behavior? RON: Hmm? All that time in a playhouse.
They're making a fort.
Boys make forts.
You ready, Nim? What do you think of your new home? He digs it.
You realize this is a misappropriation of university funds.
I would have gone someplace else, but I don't know that many people who can barcode DNA.
Well, there's that.
Yeah.
So where'd you get the sample? Intestines of a hagfish.
A hagfish is a primitive vertebrate.
It feeds on carrion.
Really? So what is it? Well, it's 90% junk DNA, 10% Liopleurodon.
What's that? Kind of a prehistoric eel.
Is that a species that exists near the rift? Well, it did.
Liopleurodon is extinct.
It has been for 100 million years.
Honey, honey! What? I found the perfect thing for us to do as a family.
Oh, that would be good.
Hey! Hey, girls! Who wants to go on an adventure? We do! We do! What kind of adventure? It's gonna be the type of adventure where we learn all about new animals that are just now being discovered.
What kind of animals, Daddy? Like the ones you saw in the ocean? "Southeastern Cryptozoology Conference".
Yeah, yeah! In Houston! Today! Today! Isn't that cool? Cryptozoology? Yeah, yeah.
It's the It's the study of undocumented animals.
Mmm-hmm.
Oh! And guess what, girls? They're gonna teach us how to make a plaster casting track.
You know, that's the thing you put Plaster casting track.
And then they're gonna have field photography I can't believe we're having this conversation, actually.
Baby, come on.
At the very least, it's a family outing, right? Yeah.
Come on, girls! We gotta go, go, go! This is gonna be a ball.
Awesome! Awesome! Great.
Nim? Got you some goldfish, Nim.
You know it's dinner time, don't you, Nim? Here you go.
I hate it when he does that.
That is so sick.
I'll take one.
Here you go.
Thank you.
Hi, how you doing? Get one of these.
You can see it's amphibian in nature.
Hey, let's go over here! Girls, stay where I can see you.
Oddly enough, this specimen has eleven legs.
I myself saw a marine humanoid off the Keys swim parallel to our boat for over 90 minutes.
She's the most rational woman you've ever met.
Till this day she's got a weekend that she just can't account for.
Hundred and eleven men on the USS Topeka are still unaccounted for, despite the government cover-up that they lost the sub.
Did you take that? May 17th, 2002.
Twenty miles off Mobile.
It made a sound I do not want to hear twice in my life.
I can see by your interest that you've had an encounter.
As a matter of fact Late May, maybe June? Late May.
How long were you in contact? One, maybe two minutes.
Did you see the lights? Dozens.
You know, that's a first.
Do you mind if I make a record of your experience? I absolutely mind.
Any side effects since the encounter? Yeah, I mean, I've been having some episodes, you know, like panic attacks.
Of course you have.
It's the only sane response to the insane.
Mom? What is it, honey? There are dinosaurs in the Bible.
You know, I've had similar panic attacks.
I've had some recurring nightmares.
Rich.
Do you hear voices? Baby, hang on a second.
I'm talking about something real important here.
We are leaving.
Honey, we just got here.
Now.
So how long were you a prisoner? What? A prisoner in the Aquatic City.
You're in perfect health.
Recovery's total, best we can tell.
When can I see my kids? Lee's okayed a phone call in time, but I want to keep you under observation for a few more weeks.
Never thought I'd be the one under the microscope.
Excuse me for interrupting.
There's been a new citing, in Texas.
In the Gulf? No.
Three hundred miles inland.
Fourteen confirmed casualties.
AP's reporting that the lake collapsed into a sinkhole.
So far it's getting traction.
For now.
Relax.
Containment's my specialty.
Have we sent anyone below? The heat is too intense to send someone down.
But we are working on an ROV.
This extends the range estimate.
Yeah, to land.
This message is for Aleksander Cirko.
I am in the possession of some very compelling evidence that I feel certain he will be interested in discussing.
Please call me before 5:00 p.
m.
or my next call will be the Berrong Institute.
Let's see if that gets a reaction.
What's a "final notice"? Oh! Hello? It's Aleksander Cirko.
Meet me at the Sausalito waterfront tomorrow at 9.
:00.
Is that the reaction? Yeah.
One-handing it again, kiddo? Huh? What you doing? Eels? Some biology paper? Well, they have these special cells that all polarize at the same time and, well, the eel becomes like a battery, which is Sounds pretty interesting.
Do you know of any other animals besides the electric eel that shock? Other than your mother, no.
I love you, Son.
I love you, too.
Well, off drugs, out of prison, that's all I ask.
Anybody pregnant? Just kidding.
What about fireflies? Fireflies? Other electric animals.
They glow, right? Good night.
Fireflies? You know what, hon? I learned a lot more about cryptozoology than I ever thought I was gonna.
Amen.
Yeah, it could have been a lot worse, though, you know? How is that? Well, I could have been a prisoner in the Aquatic City.
Oh, man.
Those people were crazy, weren't they? Hey, you know what I was thinking? Maybe we should take the girls to the Gulf this weekend.
You know It'd be good for them to get out and have some fun.
I don't know if I'm ready to go back in the water just yet, baby.
Do you think we should go see someone? No.
That won't help.
Don't be so hard-headed.
I am hard-headed.
Then help me understand.
I don't understand.
That's the problem.
Okay.
Come on, Cirko.
You tell me 9:00, I get a sitter for 9:00, I'm here at 9:00.
I was surprised to hear from you.
Yeah, well, I guess I took a chance and assumed that underneath all the hardware you still might be dedicated to open science.
Where would you get an idea like that? I have a dog-eared copy of Sudden Evolution on my bookshelf.
Here's a sample of the extinct genetic material.
And yet here it is.
It suggests to me that this animal is anything but what, extinct.
The sea contains many mysteries, Doctor.
An underwater volcano.
A big one, I think.
Enough to annihilate all marine life for 100 miles.
This is where you first encountered it.
The exact latitude.
But that can't be a coincidence.
I'm sure it isn't.
I wanted you to see this.
To see that there are consequences here beyond any you may have imagined.
Consequences that make the normal method of collaborations impossible.
Is that a threat? I wish it weren't.
Hey, Frodo.
What are you gonna do about my jewelry box you broke? Nothing.
I don't think Sylvia's gonna be down with your little goblin gulag.
If you tell Mom about Nim, it'll be war.
Don't threaten me.
The party, Greg, Valentine's? Yeah.
It's all on the table.
Why do you care about that disgusting thing so much? Why do you care about your pom-pom squad? Because it's meaningful, because it represents accomplishment.
Yeah? So will Nim.
Yeah? I'd like to see that on an application to Duke.
Extracurriculars, "Raised big lizard".
You're a lock, buddy.
Not everyone cares about going to Duke.
Yeah, and what do you care about, Miles? Komodo dragons, wizards, creatures from another planet? What do you have against komodo dragons? You are hopeless.
Why don't you just file for unemployment now and get a jump on it.
You know what your problem is? Please, enlighten me.
You don't have a sense of wonder.
You get that off a greeting card? Well, at least I still have some kid in me.
Yeah, I can see that.
You're heading towards the playhouse! Please, Doctor, listen to me.
A new vertebrate has emerged and Cirko and his people are denying access.
Alex Cirko? Yeah, Alex Cirko.
Nobody's heard from him in 15 years.
Well, now he's back and he's confiscated my research.
So, you had an encounter with a species? Yes, and it almost destroyed a 50 ton submersible.
And where's the submersible? I told you, the Mystic is confiscated.
They probably took it down to the San Juan de Fuca They confiscated it? Wait, hang on a second.
Look, here's a sample.
Look, go ahead, look at it, you prove me wrong.
You know, I want to help you.
I really do.
But it's just gonna be tough in light of this whole plagiarism thing.
You don't know? Know what? I got a phone call this morning from Bessemet in Hawaii.
And according to him, three paragraphs of your thesis were lifted verbatim.
That's absurd.
He made it sound pretty airtight.
Your degree's under review.
Plagiarism, until it's resolved, there's not much I can do.
This is all part of it.
Part of what? Part of what? Hon.
Hi.
You're gonna be late on your first day back.
Oh, gosh.
Go, go.
So I don't like to fraternize with plagiarists, so I have to ask.
Yeah, I did it.
I lifted it all.
Hey, I understand.
I wrote my thesis on caffeine pills and white wine.
I get the temptation.
Come on, this is serious.
They framed me, Carolyn.
Okay, I know.
Relax.
This is past due, you know.
Yeah, that's what happens when you get a divorce and lose your job.
So get a new one.
Who's gonna hire me? It doesn't even matter that I'm innocent.
Right now, I'm unemployable.
I have rent to pay Okay, okay.
Let's just assume that everything you've told me is true.
That there's an extinct sea monster in the ocean.
The government doesn't want people to know about it, and they're gonna do what they have to, to keep a lid on it.
And they don't fight fair.
So why should you? Sometimes If she doesn't wanna do something, she won't do it.
She's generally not aggressive towards people, but if they have a dog She's a powerful breed.
You have to learn a technique which allows the brain to snap out of it.
Hey, there.
What are you watching? A show about training dogs.
We don't have a dog, Miles.
Mom, I'm trying to watch here.
It doesn't mean you have to live like that forever.
Owners change.
The dog is not going to be able to change on his own.
Whoever is around Emily have to represent authority figure.
That's the only way we can correct the problem when she makes a mistake.
Good to see you again, Rich.
Rich, I'm so sorry.
Hi.
Hey, Rich.
Welcome back.
I'm so sorry about your brother.
Sorry, Rich.
If there's anything I can do.
Miss Wilson, you're still there? Hi.
I'm sorry to put you on hold.
Dude, he's gonna spark, knock you out and eat your face.
Not if I don't challenge him.
He thinks we're his pack and there's a pecking order.
If he thinks he's higher than me, then he'll challenge me with aggressive behavior.
Oh.
Savannah, do you know where Miles hid my tools? I think I saw him out by the playhouse.
With tools come responsibility.
Miles, how many times have we been through this, huh? He's a proud breed.
You just have to teach him who's the master.
Yeah.
Whoa.
Miles.
Hi, Phil.
Hey.
There it is.
There what is, Dad? My toolbox.
When we borrow things, we put them back.
Sorry, Pop.
I want to see my tools back in their proper location from now on, okay? No problem.
Yes, ma'am.
We'd be more than happy to take care of that for you.
Mmm-hmm.
Your policy is definitely strong right now and the deductible is very high, so that's good.
Yes, ma'am, I can look at it right now.
Give me just a second, okay? Okay.
Hey, Rich.
Rich.
Rich! You're spilling, man.
Huge.
Where did you see it? What are you doing up? Nothing.
How did you respond to Daughtery? She's been contained.
Your specialty.
I have some experience with whistle blowers.
Talk would only make her more determined.
So you ruin her career.
She has a son, you know? Let's get to the debrief.
This footage was shot last night inside the sinkhole in Texas.
A Navy robot was outfitted to withstand heat up to 800 degrees.
How far did it get? Forty-three, 44 miles all the way to the magma.
That's when the ROV melted.
But not before it sent back this.
Why don't they burn up in the heat? Perhaps its home.
You mean that this is their habitat? Maybe the species isn't a sudden evolutionary mutation.
Maybe they've been down there, in the earth, the whole time.
The secretion's ability to recuperate is remarkable.
In addition to facilitating Dr.
Singh's recovery, we've documented it restoring diseased cells at a nuclear level.
No matter how we regulated the temperature, we were losing the sample.
Yeah.
This image has been slowed down so you can see the deterioration.
Millions of cells per second.
It would have been gone by dawn.
We had no choice but to freeze it.
Imagine the possibilities, Davis.
A new era of medicine, maybe the end of disease.
You know your problem, Doctor? You're an optimist.
Hi.
I'm looking for a Wayne Johnson.
You got him.
Hi, I'm Dr.
Laura Daughtery.
Hi.
Affiliation? Monterey Oceanographic.
Look, I was interested in getting a recording from one of your hydrophones a week or so back.
Yeah, what for? I was on a dive the other weekend sponsored by the Institute and we came across an animal that, quite frankly, I couldn't identify.
Well, I got over 500 hydrophones from Reykjavik all the way to the Cape of Good Hope.
Without specific coordinates 46, 15 North, 129, 53 West.
That's near the San Juan de Fuca.
Yes, sir.
Yes, it is.
What day? September 19th.
September 19th? Two guys came in here yesterday looking for the exact same thing.
You should be dead.
Extensive facial contusions, massive blood loss and look at you.
I'm a miracle.
There are no miracles in science.
Somehow this species produces a collagen-binding membrane like obratzin.
This allows them to survive in such a hostile environment.
Alex? What are you doing? Nothing.
Nothing.
Who are the Who are these guys? Both of them are civilians, but they had DOD credentials and a subpoena to confiscate the material.
So they seized the sound file? From the mike you're talking about, yeah.
So what's the range on these mikes? 500 miles, give or take.
So, could I pull the sound file from the next mike up the chain, say, like that one? Do you know how loud an animal would have to be in order to be audible underwater from 100 miles away? You haven't heard the animal I'm looking for.
It's like a needle in a haystack.
You're eating my head! Did you hear it? No.
What's it matter, anyways? A wild recording means Mommy could get a grant or a job or Pay the power bill? Today's gonna be a good day.
No hearing voices, just a regular day for us regular folks.
Yep, just a day in the life.
Okay.
Go make yourself useful.
Looks like we're in for one, huh? Hi.
I heard you were hiring? You have some restaurant experience? It's how I paid my way through graduate school.
Yes, I see, Dr.
Daughtery.
You certainly are qualified.
It's $4.
25 an hour plus tips.
When do I start? Rich.
Rich.
Rich.
All right, Miles, it's your turn to say grace.
Heavenly Father, please bless this food to the nourishment of our bodies.
Amen.
I think it would be nice if you said something meaningful during the blessing.
Dear God, thank you for giving me the opportunities that you have.
Thank you for my loved one.
Ones.
I'm trying not to get frustrated even though I know most kids would have given up by now.
I know that through consistency and repetition, through positive reinforcement and not rewarding bad behavior that you'll take care of everything.
Because deep down I know that there's something good in everybody and it just has to be given a chance.
Amen.
Amen.
Amen.
Thank you, Miles.
Okay, that was creepy.
Savannah.
What? Hey, I applaud the effort.
Miles! Miles! Miles! Jeez! Oh, my God, the playhouse.
Everyone get back inside.
Just get back inside! Miles! Get away! Miles, come here.
Miles.
Miles, we've gotta get back inside, buddy.
Miles, come on.
Let's get inside before we get struck.
Come on! Come on! Miles! Get back inside! Come on! Oh, Rich.
Rich, honey? Honey? What happened? Something wonderful.
What? Rich? Honey, look at me.
Look at me.
My brother, George, he's still alive and he's talking to me.
Hey, you went for the heat.
It's okay.
It's okay, little buddy.
Did you do it? Did you make the lightning flatten Savannah's playhouse? Did you? Good boy.
Twelve hours, $68.
So much for my thesis.
Wrong bandwidth.
I have you on the wrong bandwidth.
Cirko, it's Laura Daughtery.
I need you to listen to this.
Okay, hear this.
Do you hear that sound? That is the species.
I have it on tape.
You shouldn't be calling.
Who is this? I believe Dr.
Cirko gave you some advice about pursuing this, Dr.
Daughtery.
Is that what you call it? "Advice"? Is that what you call framing someone for plagiarism, taking their career away from them? When are you guys gonna realize that I am in it? I'm not going anywhere.
I have proof! I have evidence of a new life form, on tape.
I have proof! Imagine a perfectly evolved animal, Mr.
Lee.
One that has ability to heal itself instantaneously.
And you've replicated the results under controlled conditions? Wasn't this proof enough? Nothing, not a scratch.
Such a species might well be invincible.
Impervious to physical harm.
Quite fascinating.
I'm not sure I share your enthusiasm.
Wadham's report came in.
A complete thermogram of the entire San Juan de Fuca plate.
"Significant thermohaline deterioration across the northern Pacific.
" The ocean's heating up.
Yes.
They dig, they release heat.
The question, Mr.
Lee, is how much? Old Faithful erupts more frequently than any of the other big geysers, although it's not the largest or the most regular geyser in the park.
The average interval between eruptions is 91 minutes.
Each eruption will expel between 3,700 and 8,400 gallons of boiling water and reach heights of 106 to 184 feet.
Although, the interval between eruptions has lengthened due to vandalism and earthquakes.
Old Faithful is still as predictable as it was a century ago.