The Colony (2007) s01e03 Episode Script
Comfort in Chaos
We are on the edge of a global catastrophic disaster.
Human conflict.
Nuclear bombs.
Natural disasters.
Chemical and biological warfare.
Without warning, the world as we know it can come to an end.
12 days ago, these volunteers entered a 10-week experiment designed to see if they can survive and rebuild after a simulated global disaster.
Their world constructed to mirror what survivors could experience if a viral outbreak left los angeles and the rest of the planet devastated.
The volunteers' backgrounds and skill sets represent a cross section of modern society.
Their new home a cordoned-off, 80,000-square-foot warehouse near downtown los angeles.
An old manufacturing plant for something.
Inside, they've been provided with limited tools, supplies, and food.
They have no electricity no running water nothing.
and no communication with the outside world.
As part of the experiment, a gang of looters and thugs will attempt to compromise the colonists' resources and security.
Aah! Yeah! So far, the colonists have built sustainable energy filtered water, and scavenged for food.
What we got, and go on back.
What we got, and go on back! Now tempers reach the boiling point so, next time i use the saw, i'll let you guys all know.
This is not to be made light of! And they face the ultimate security test.
Yeah! It's over! Gross.
I know.
This is disgusting.
They're never this dirty.
We are living in a very dirty, grimy climate and place to the point where you feel a little i don't know down in certain ways.
At least something smells good.
It's not me, though.
Cleanliness is really important.
With all this dirt and all the crap we're doing, you know, a little cut could mean life-threatening sickness.
We have hundreds of bacteria on our skin, and, in very unsanitary conditions, if these bacteria aren't kept in check, they certainly can lead to very severe and potentially fatal infections.
All right.
Let's get this show on the road.
Let's do some more talking.
All right, guys.
So, let's try to make this quick.
I think we had a very productive week last week.
I think we all think that.
And let's have another one.
At the colonists' morning project meeting, dr.
George brings up a perpetually important issue.
I think we need to always continue to return and address security.
At some point, we need to completely secure the perimeter.
I think we should brainstorm and get into making more weapons.
But the rest of the colonists have other plans.
Right now, what's going through my mind is we need a shower.
I wanted to work on a shower.
I'm gonna start it today, actually.
Obviously, we have to put energy into things for survival water, food, security.
But then, i think we need to build enough creature comforts to keep our strength and our health and our morale up so that we can build our way out of here.
I want to get the framing first so we can see exactly where it's gonna be and what the best positioning for that will be.
I'll get the drainage where we want to get it going.
Shower is definitely a necessity.
It's not a luxury.
It's being human.
A disaster disrupts daily life and takes away everything that was once familiar.
Bringing some of those familiarituals into the post-disaster world can actually help survivors cope with their new reality.
Why don't you show me what you were talking about? Okay.
Got this platform right here.
The steps are going down.
I'm gonna frame this in so this actually becomes a room.
Sticking outside of the building.
I want to get a tank up here on the roof.
Joey has designed a heated outdoor shower that will be constructed in two stages.
On the roof, a hot-water tank will serve as a reservoir and solar heater.
A hose will carry heated water down to a stall, constructed on the top of an exterior stairwell, and the gray water will be piped out of the bottom.
We have to be careful not to become too complacent with our surroundings after disaster.
When we start getting into that creature-comfort mode, we have to remember, what got us to that point in the first place was a disaster, and we also have to remember that our resources can be depleted or stolen in an instant.
I'm so excited because that's a little dinky thing in the bathroom.
I knew you would be.
This is gonna be fabulous! All right! All right! Using material scrounged from items around the colony, contractor joey gets back to familiar territory building the shower stall.
I want to make sure we're gonna have a drain in the center.
I just want to make sure this is what we're gonna be building off of.
Plastic shipping material will work as a shower floor, but most importantly, it will provide enough room to drain and preserve their most precious commodity water.
This will just kind of fit down in there, and we'll put the drain on there and just shoot it off to the side, and we're gonna frame up some walls nice, strong walls.
I actually saw some stuff that i can just put together that should fit nicely.
Thanks to fuel provided by the volunteers' wood gas system built last week, a few other colonists jump in to help joey cut walls for the shower.
Okay? Get that and set her down.
Should we take her down? What do you mean? Thank you, sir.
You're welcome, sir.
Who is using all the power? What's that drain sound from? Is that your belts? That's my alternator freaking out 'cause someone's using too much power.
I mean, the only person out there's probably joey.
That's it.
It sounds awful.
He's gonna blow the alternator.
So, now i turn off the power.
When they come here about it, i'm gonna tell them why.
I got the damn genny running, and we have power, so now everyone goes nilly-willy, "oh, i'm gonna grab a power tool and start building something i like," without realizing that if we overheat it, it shuts off.
If we overheat it too many times, it blows, and we're back in the dark again.
I just need people not to use electricity right now.
All of the colony's power comes from a string of 20 old car batteries that they've daisy-chained together.
To maintain their charge, mike assembled a generator built from an old pressure washer, a pulley from an electric fan, and a car alternator, which provides electricity.
As long as the generator is running, the batteries stay alive, but now, with joey's power-tool use on the shower project, they're using more energy than they're making.
Until mike can figure out a solution, he turns the genny off, so no power tools.
Just let me know.
I'm in the middle of the building.
As soon as i got them, i'm ready to go.
But contractor joey has trouble leaving a job half-finished.
I have my walls built, but now i need to attach them, and i don't have power tools, and i mean, this is gonna be a problem.
We need that alternator, and the only way we're gonna get that alternator is if we right-side up the car.
Adding a second alternator to the generator will add more power and solve the problem, but now they have to flip a car to get it.
Should we use a come-along? I believe that we have a i was thinking a combination of come-along and a whole bunch of people.
Yeah.
Hmm.
A "come-along" is another name for a block and tackle, and earlier, engineer vlad noticed one inside the shop.
Ready? Yeah.
Go! A block and tackle works by trading force for distance.
By looping a chain across a series of pulleys, one person can lift many times their own weight.
It's going over.
There we go.
Two three.
Whoo! There goes the tires.
Yee-haw! Now let's hope the alternator's worth it.
Voila! One alternator.
Hopefully a good alternator.
So, here's the plan.
Second alternator, first alternator they're gonna piggyback and double our output.
Michael has to build a bracket to attach both alternators to the generator.
Of course.
Why should it fit? Anything worth doing is difficult and never simple.
If it was simple and easy, the fluffy bunnies would be in here fabricating and welding.
Amy has started her own project and has a quick cut she needs to make, so she disregards mike's rules, but she's pulling power from the already-drained batteries without the generator on to recharge them.
If they get drained too far, she could destroy their entire power grid.
I was making my own slingshot, and i had a threaded pipe i needed to cut.
You are breaking rule number one.
Michael, please.
We don't have our generator on.
Oh, we don't? Do you hear the generator? No.
It's not on.
It's not on.
They don't get it, man! That electrical system if we harm it in any way, we got nothing.
We got no lights, no power tools, no fabrication nothing.
I just watched people do it today.
The guys could get away with it, but, apparently no.
If i saw them doing it, they'd get an earful.
That's wrong.
My rules are my rules, otherwise what's the point? It's just a miscommunication.
Just yeah.
It's gonna get ugly tonight at dinner, and i'm gonna be the ugly.
Coming up on "the colony," signs of life from outside.
They're not broadcasting.
They're just transmitting.
Then, an attack.
Okay.
Gather 'round.
We have rice, peas, and canned beef.
Yay.
Yum, yum.
The generator is still down, and mike, the 47-year-old handyman, is in a dark mood.
I'm gonna have to tell them tonight during dinner there will be rules.
There will be strict rules in the shop about electricity.
Hey, guys.
Why don't we have the light on today? Wasn't there a light on the other night? Oh, are we saving? Yeah.
We used electricity with the generator off, and we shouldn't have done that.
Now i turned off the generator.
We ran our batteries down, so we're at a minimum on lighting tonight.
What do we have, 13 or 12? You just can't jump into a shop and know what you're doing.
It takes years years of experience! Let's see the hands of people that worked in a fabrication shop for a year or more.
I have been in a shop.
I'm sorry.
Worked in a shop, fabricated, drill-pressed, everything else.
Mike decides to go off on some rampage about power at the table in a very aggressive way.
I felt like i was the object of it.
I noticed people were using tools all day long.
I don't know if the generator was on or off, so he can't get mad at me.
He just can't.
I think you're making really good points.
They're just not getting through because of the way you're saying it.
It was a very awkward, you know, tense moment.
You know, michael, there's a very lot of ego involved in the stuff that he does, and his way of teaching is to tell you that you're doing it wrong.
On the other hand, he's often right.
So, next time i use the saw, i'll let you guys all know.
You should probably actually take cover.
Actually, i think we'll take it out of your hand.
You know, that's cute.
That's cute and funny, but this is serious, okay? So can we get back to a serious discussion here and leave the cutesy stuff until we're finished? Can we do that, please? I think she was just trying to make light of an already tense situation.
This is not to be made light of! It doesn't have to be an argument either.
This is serious! If we break it, we don't have it, period! And if we break it and we can't fix it, then we'll be sitting in the dark.
Right.
Oftentimes, when a person presents in a situation where they know that they have the skill set and they know that they have the upper hand and the advantage, then there's a real power differential, which means that the group now has to acquiesce and has to give in whether they want to or not.
So, there are reasons for it.
There are reasons for it, so we'll all keep that in mind, and we'll get it down to a science.
Last night, the blowup between michael and some people, and his very valid concern of the conspicuous utilization of energy and power, and it's just a testament to how fragile we are.
That alternator or the gasifier generator goes out, and we're done.
No more power tools.
No more lights.
Without the electricity, it's back to the dark ages again.
With the generator down, all projects are at a standstill until mike can get it going again.
Got to trim this piece of metal off so it goes onto the alternator.
Oh, well.
The bracket that holds both alternators doesn't fit on the engine.
Mike has to cut the end off without using power tools.
Now, normally you shouldn't use tin snips to do this.
See? You can cut some pretty thick crap with tin snips.
Here we go.
You know and i just got to put a bolt in there to adjust it tight, and there it is.
I can actually fire it up.
He tests it out using some of their precious gasoline.
There you go.
With the engine running, mike can finally test the batteries to see if the new alternator is boosting the power outlet.
I just went from 11 volts to 13 volts in, like, 20 minutes.
Awesome.
With the generator's increased power output and the wood gasifier generating fuel hit it! joey can finally get back to fabricating the shower stall.
Oh, my! Oh.
They just cut out a big peephole is what they did.
That's not a peephole.
It's for solar-heating reasons.
Whoo! Step by step there.
Got it? We're good.
But let me get it from stop swinging.
With the stall complete, it's time to assemble the hot-water heater.
Lunch is ready, guys! I was sitting up there on the roof, trying to get a job done, trying to incorporate other people that wanted to help, and i think the last thing i heard was, "we'll bring some stuff up," and time's going by.
Time's going by.
I'm like, "you know what? "While this is going on, i can go down and start bringing some stuff up," 'cause nobody was bringing anything up.
And i went down, and it was soup time or, you know, sunbathing.
People were making something some cute clothes.
Like my outfit today? I think the prioriti to survive an apocalypse are getting a little bit confused.
You know, we just talked about you know what? Hey.
Let's bust some people just don't know what the work is! So i said it.
Joey decides to lift the 170-pound water heater up the three-story building by himself.
Nobody's doing a thing in there, and i'm lifting this whatever the hell i don't even know if i'm gonna be able to lift this but i'm gonna try.
I'm gonna do something.
Two weeks of long days and little food are taking their toll on joey's stamina.
Damn it! Hey, how'd you get that up there? Huh? You minx.
How'd you get that up there? Leprechaun? Unexpectedly, mike gives joey some praise.
That's determination.
He bit off more than he could chew, and he chewed it, and he swallowed it.
Inspired by joey's work ethic, the other colonists refocus on the business of survival.
Leilani tackles a project of universal importance the making of toilet paper from a roll of muslin.
We're out of toilet paper.
For right now, this is what it is.
Allison and vlad milk the goat they found on their street scavenge last week if i would have to redesign the goat, i'd make a larger hole.
while john c.
Teams up with joey to maximize the water tank's heating capacity.
This is black, so it's gonna absorb a lot, but, obviously, i would like to bounce a little bit more, just like getting it a suntan with those old-time reflectors.
Yep, yep.
That's what we're doing.
They hoist up a piece of flexible board and line it with recycled insulation they found in the warehouse.
They then wrap the outside of the tank with the reflector to catch the sun's rays.
More? And the final step is to wrap the tank in plastic.
We're gonna shrink-wrap the whole thing in clear plastic, so we warm it up during the day, and it doesn't cool off completely during the night.
Does it need another slip? As night falls on the sanctuary, dr.
George again brings up the issue of colony security.
I think we're all agreed we're relatively secure at night when we lock down in here, and we're most vulnerable during the day 'cause our easiest breach is that side yard over that gate.
Michael secured the colony perimeter when they first moved in, but they're still vulnerable on the west wall.
It might be a good idea to run razor wire out on the side yard.
Yeah.
It's easy to scale that fence.
Yeah.
I don't think we need to kill ourselves with the detail.
These doors i'm not worried about them the way i was a little while ago.
It seems like security keeps getting put on the back burner for other, bigger projects that need to be finished.
It seems like we have to do "a," "b," "c," "d," and "e" and fit in "f," "g," and "h," and there's only so many hours in the day.
Croatian engineer vlad is chef tonight.
Well, it is doctored-up top ramen.
I speak about seven or eight languages.
But saying it in french doesn't change the fact that they're having rice and ramen for dinner.
We need real food here versus just this canned stuff because what little we're eating we're gonna start losing our energy, and we're not gonna be productive.
They could eat the goats, but a steady milk supply is more valuable than a few days of fresh meat.
You can survive off of canned goods for weeks, but for long-term survival, you need to find an alternate food source.
The previous night's dinner was the last straw for the hungry colonists.
They need fresh food, and that means leaving the safety of their colony.
Something that i would like to do is to get out of the warehouse and go forage for fruit and go fishing.
On the way to the sanctuary, george remembered seeing citrus trees up the river a few miles.
Head upriver and have a couple hours to fish, get citrus, and do that.
Citrus is important for nutrition.
A lack of vitamin "c" can cause scurvy, which leads to a weakening of the bones.
This is a disease that certainly can eventually be fatal.
In preparation for fishing, amy has been working on a fish trap that she learned to make in the peace corps.
So, it's wide open for the fish to go in but a smaller diameter at the end.
So once it gets to the back, it can't find its way out.
But food isn't the only concern.
For the last 10 days, the colonists have been living off of rainwater.
Now they only have a two-day supply left.
We're installing a shower.
That'll be pleasant, but we're running low on water.
No, i don't have it.
Choose your weapon.
Who's going? I'm in.
I know you're in.
Everybody have a weapon? Do you have a multi-tool? Okay, guys.
Are we ready? We're ready.
Only morgan, john v.
, and mike will stay behind.
Although leaving the colony is intimidating, the three staying behind face the biggest challenge to protect their goods from outsiders.
Two weeks ago, the warehouse was threatened by hostile marauders as part of the experiment.
You know, i believe that all humans are good, because i've never experienced anything else, and i'm realizing that that's a very dangerous way to feel about it in a world like this that is full of people who want our stuff.
After two weeks of living in the warehouse, morgan starts a visual diary of their experiences.
So, day five was, like, a research day.
Like, i learned how to make cheese.
We learned how to make a solar bike.
So, we were just researching about future projects.
I mean, it's kind of cool-looking, i guess, you know.
It's pretty cool to be able to look back and see how far we've come, how much further we'll have to go.
These walls are pretty white.
Let's see here.
We just hear some squawking going on.
I'm like "did someone leave a record player on? "We don't have a record player that works.
We don't have anything that works," and no one else was here.
Hey! Tv's on! Emergency broadcast.
This is a not test.
They're not broadcasting.
They're just transmitting.
They're not broadcasting anything yet.
It was a one, two punch.
"Hey, someone's transmitting an emergency-broadcast signal, and the power's coming from the wall.
" So that was like, "wow!" Let's power up, kids.
For 15 days, the colonists have been struggling to squeeze power out of a busted-up bank of old car batteries.
If power from the grid stays up, it could change everything.
Any form of outside communication becomes a beacon of hope for survivors.
The question is will the grid stay on? But just as suddenly as it came on, the grid goes back down.
Guys, the power's already back off.
The tv's not working anymore.
What's going on here? After collecting water, the colonists locate the fruit that george was looking for.
Are those lemons or oranges? Oranges.
Let's jump it.
You want to jump the gate? Let's do it.
Here.
Step on my back.
Step on my back.
Step on my back.
Okay.
Are you good? Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Right here.
Right here.
Good job.
Drop, drop, drop.
Oh, hurry.
As many as you can get.
All right.
I'm trying.
I've got two.
Oh.
Oh, my god! This is heaven! It is so funny how the simplest things can be the most amazing things when you are truly in survival mode.
Crawling over the fence, just grabbing as many oranges as we could, as the orange blossoms fall down.
Oranges were falling all over the ground.
It was raining oranges, and it was the most amazing experience i've had since i've been here.
You guys get everything you can.
We don't know if we'll ever get this chance again.
I've never gone so many weeks without eating fresh fruit, and it was just a phenomenal experience.
We've still got a couple left.
Let's go.
Oh, yeah, it is.
Thank you, tree.
All right.
Let's go.
A few miles upstream, the river deepens, and the colonists break out the fishing gear.
In the context of the experiment, animals and wildlife have a natural immunity to the viral outbreak, so the l.
a.
River is still home to many species of fish, including tilapia and carp.
Although the river is heavily polluted, most of the fish are too small to contain dangerous amounts of toxins and should be safe to eat.
The fishing situation could have gone so much better.
I think bringing a bow and arrow to catch carp it just wasn't gonna happen.
Oh! Did i get it? After a few hours of frustration, the colonists decide to head home before it gets dark.
On the way, joey makes one last attempt to catch a fish using amy's trap.
Whoa! Whoa! Yay! Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa! Okay.
You got him.
You got him, joey! You got him, joey! Good shot! Oh! You got him.
Yee-hah! We got the carp! We got the carp! There was, like, three of them right here.
Really? Joey got a fish with amy's net.
Good job, joe-joe.
Amy, look at you.
That's amazing.
The morale of the crew was high.
There was a palpable euphoria in all of us walking back.
I think we're a ways off, guys.
Yeah, because my feet are wet, you know? Are you okay? Definitely.
Yep, there he is.
On the way back home, the colonists spot a familiar foe the same thug they encountered on their last foraging trip.
That's a nice bike! I like that bike! After a major disaster, resources such as food and water, medical supplies, are going to become depleted very quickly, and that's when we can have a very volatile situation of very normal people on a day-to-day basis becoming very animal-like in the aftermath of a disaster to fight for their survival.
What that means is they're gonna be ready for us over there.
We were certainly concerned that he was gonna round up some friends and be there waiting for us at the bridge.
Hey, guys, protect your oranges.
Less than a mile from the warehouse, the colonists spot a hostile outsider on the bridge.
He rides away, but the group hustles to get their resources back to the safety of the colony.
They're gonna be ready for us over there.
You guys, watch out.
Morgan! Coming! Fortunately for the colonists, they're able to make it home, but the marauder sighting is a reminder that, as long as they remain in the city, they can never be truly safe.
1, 2, 3.
Seeing that marauder, that was the alarm clock that"whoa.
"The dream is over, "and we need to get back to the post-apocalyptic mind-set.
" Do you want to hear the really good news or the really bad news? The good news is, the emergency-broadcast system came on, - on the tv.
- Wow.
We get electricity from the grid.
So they must be testing or some no kidding? The really bad news is the electricity is sporadic.
The electricity grid coming up even briefly means probably more to me than anything else.
That's the biggest hope to me right now.
- It only came on for a few minutes.
- It doesn't matter.
The colonists who went to the river have some good news of their own.
We got probably 160 to 170 gallons of water.
You guys, we have five full bags of oranges.
Oh! Here it is.
And the big catch of the day.
Man! Well, well, well, well, well.
Amy's amazing trap.
This is what amy's amazing trap and a piece of pvc over the head got.
What a day.
Know a good chef? First things first, the colonists filter the water and then fill the shower tank so they can heat it up.
Then vlad takes charge of the dinner menu.
We can have carp with a nice drizzle of orange gravy.
Orange marmalade? I can make that and then drizzle that over it.
I love you, vlad.
I know.
Right? Ooh! This is excellent, if i say so myself.
Yum, yum.
I'm very excited.
You guys want to bring that to the table? Who didn't get rice? I didn't.
They're getting rice right now.
This is for you.
There's so many things to thank.
How do we do this? Okay, guys, dig in.
I just did.
Okay.
I didn't hear it.
Thank you, joey.
Ooh.
Yeah.
It is good.
Good job, joey.
Everyone contributed to the dinner, but amy gets special recognition for her fish trap, even from mike.
At least amy didn't hold a grudge from last night.
I mean, she's starting to get that get-it-done attitude, so i'll give her two brownie points for that.
It's called cooperation.
We spent all day yesterday at the river collecting water and fruit.
Things just keep getting better day by day, but i'm just covered in filth, and it's kind of gross.
So it would be nice to have a shower.
The colonists have 160 gallons of river water.
Now joey can put the finishing touches on the shower.
He has two steps left build the showerhead and construct the ramp up to the stall.
I just want to make a little ramp so we can walk up into the shower, and, luckily, i found some of these i don't know what the hell they are, but they'll work great.
I can just cut them down.
Right there.
Really? I don't know.
We'll see what they say.
All right.
I found this curtain at the bottom of all the fabric.
Boy, you're gonna get a shower.
- Perfect! - Looking good.
With the ramp ready to roll, it's time for joey to construct a showerhead from spare fittings.
Right now, i'm looking at everything we got, and this is what i've come up with so far.
I mean, you can see it's just a bunch of connections.
Now joey mounts the showerhead and connects it to the water heater.
And, finally, with the addition of a barrel to catch the precious gray water runoff, the shower is ready to test.
Let's go, everybody! Front and center.
Everybody in the shower, naked, now! Is this everybody? That's a big okay.
Very simple.
Walk the plank on up.
Okay.
Got your curtain right here.
Whoo! Okay.
Ready? We have vertical.
There you go.
Coming up on "the colony" the consequences of ignoring security.
Okay.
Got your curtain right here.
Okay.
We have vertical.
There you go.
Whoo-hoo! Oh, my god.
All righty.
I like feeling like i busted my on something.
I like the fast pace of "get it done, get it done.
" And we got it done.
Aah! Aah! Aah! Thank you! Totally psyched.
To conserve water, only two colonists can shower per day.
Aah! Oh.
That is just brilliant.
Just to feel human again.
Is it good? Is it warm? Good! It's warm, and it's freaking fabulous! I'm very happy! All right.
The shower and river trip have raised the colonists' spirits.
They can finally relax and let their guard down.
How did you propose? I got down on my knees, and i gave my wife an engagement ring that i had made in blacksmithing which was made out of quarter-inch bar stock.
It rusted, but it was nice.
She said "yes.
" Does she still have it? The finger? No, the ring.
Yeah.
Wow.
As part of the next phase in the experiment, the colonists are being attacked for their food resources.
A diversion in the yard will allow marauders on foot to break into the back.
In any post-disaster scenario, lawlessness will become a huge factor, much as we saw during the l.
a.
Riots, when people took what they wanted, and what they couldn't carry, they destroyed.
If i knelt down in front of my ex-wife, she would put an ashtray on my head.
You were married? Is that what you said, mike? You were married? The attackers have been directed not to physically harm the colonists, but the colonists don't know that.
Where's joey and everybody? Where's morgan? Get me a fire extinguisher.
Go grab me a fire extinguisher.
They're in our kitchen! Oh, my god! Tear gas, joey! They're everywhere! It's over! It's the end of days, baby! Aah! How did they get up in the kitchen? 'Cause we didn't secure the back gate.
The colonists' worst fears are realized.
The hole in the razor wire was never patched, and, as a result, two days worth of food is gone.
"Let's build a shower! Let's build everything but security!" Anytime that stress is placed upon us, most of these men just start screaming at us.
Every person is safe! To my core, i'm a peaceful person.
The fact that i was angry at other humans, that i was in a situation that i had to be angry at other humans, just was it was so hard for me.
It was so hard for me.
- John - yeah.
Anybody comes over that fence, swing and throw this in their face.
I think the others need to toughen the up and grab on to a little anger.
Anger can be a gift.
Our kitchen is trashed! We'll fix it.
It'll be okay.
Oh "fix it! It'll be okay"! Maybe i'm tired of fixing! You know, we're in a big mess because their priorities are wrong.
We're not safe, we're not secure, and, you know, we better start thinking about it a little more seriously.
Coming up on "the colony" whoa! an internal explosion you want to go to the mat and see how good the gym is? Do you really want to go? Come on! and an external threat.
Hey, you
Human conflict.
Nuclear bombs.
Natural disasters.
Chemical and biological warfare.
Without warning, the world as we know it can come to an end.
12 days ago, these volunteers entered a 10-week experiment designed to see if they can survive and rebuild after a simulated global disaster.
Their world constructed to mirror what survivors could experience if a viral outbreak left los angeles and the rest of the planet devastated.
The volunteers' backgrounds and skill sets represent a cross section of modern society.
Their new home a cordoned-off, 80,000-square-foot warehouse near downtown los angeles.
An old manufacturing plant for something.
Inside, they've been provided with limited tools, supplies, and food.
They have no electricity no running water nothing.
and no communication with the outside world.
As part of the experiment, a gang of looters and thugs will attempt to compromise the colonists' resources and security.
Aah! Yeah! So far, the colonists have built sustainable energy filtered water, and scavenged for food.
What we got, and go on back.
What we got, and go on back! Now tempers reach the boiling point so, next time i use the saw, i'll let you guys all know.
This is not to be made light of! And they face the ultimate security test.
Yeah! It's over! Gross.
I know.
This is disgusting.
They're never this dirty.
We are living in a very dirty, grimy climate and place to the point where you feel a little i don't know down in certain ways.
At least something smells good.
It's not me, though.
Cleanliness is really important.
With all this dirt and all the crap we're doing, you know, a little cut could mean life-threatening sickness.
We have hundreds of bacteria on our skin, and, in very unsanitary conditions, if these bacteria aren't kept in check, they certainly can lead to very severe and potentially fatal infections.
All right.
Let's get this show on the road.
Let's do some more talking.
All right, guys.
So, let's try to make this quick.
I think we had a very productive week last week.
I think we all think that.
And let's have another one.
At the colonists' morning project meeting, dr.
George brings up a perpetually important issue.
I think we need to always continue to return and address security.
At some point, we need to completely secure the perimeter.
I think we should brainstorm and get into making more weapons.
But the rest of the colonists have other plans.
Right now, what's going through my mind is we need a shower.
I wanted to work on a shower.
I'm gonna start it today, actually.
Obviously, we have to put energy into things for survival water, food, security.
But then, i think we need to build enough creature comforts to keep our strength and our health and our morale up so that we can build our way out of here.
I want to get the framing first so we can see exactly where it's gonna be and what the best positioning for that will be.
I'll get the drainage where we want to get it going.
Shower is definitely a necessity.
It's not a luxury.
It's being human.
A disaster disrupts daily life and takes away everything that was once familiar.
Bringing some of those familiarituals into the post-disaster world can actually help survivors cope with their new reality.
Why don't you show me what you were talking about? Okay.
Got this platform right here.
The steps are going down.
I'm gonna frame this in so this actually becomes a room.
Sticking outside of the building.
I want to get a tank up here on the roof.
Joey has designed a heated outdoor shower that will be constructed in two stages.
On the roof, a hot-water tank will serve as a reservoir and solar heater.
A hose will carry heated water down to a stall, constructed on the top of an exterior stairwell, and the gray water will be piped out of the bottom.
We have to be careful not to become too complacent with our surroundings after disaster.
When we start getting into that creature-comfort mode, we have to remember, what got us to that point in the first place was a disaster, and we also have to remember that our resources can be depleted or stolen in an instant.
I'm so excited because that's a little dinky thing in the bathroom.
I knew you would be.
This is gonna be fabulous! All right! All right! Using material scrounged from items around the colony, contractor joey gets back to familiar territory building the shower stall.
I want to make sure we're gonna have a drain in the center.
I just want to make sure this is what we're gonna be building off of.
Plastic shipping material will work as a shower floor, but most importantly, it will provide enough room to drain and preserve their most precious commodity water.
This will just kind of fit down in there, and we'll put the drain on there and just shoot it off to the side, and we're gonna frame up some walls nice, strong walls.
I actually saw some stuff that i can just put together that should fit nicely.
Thanks to fuel provided by the volunteers' wood gas system built last week, a few other colonists jump in to help joey cut walls for the shower.
Okay? Get that and set her down.
Should we take her down? What do you mean? Thank you, sir.
You're welcome, sir.
Who is using all the power? What's that drain sound from? Is that your belts? That's my alternator freaking out 'cause someone's using too much power.
I mean, the only person out there's probably joey.
That's it.
It sounds awful.
He's gonna blow the alternator.
So, now i turn off the power.
When they come here about it, i'm gonna tell them why.
I got the damn genny running, and we have power, so now everyone goes nilly-willy, "oh, i'm gonna grab a power tool and start building something i like," without realizing that if we overheat it, it shuts off.
If we overheat it too many times, it blows, and we're back in the dark again.
I just need people not to use electricity right now.
All of the colony's power comes from a string of 20 old car batteries that they've daisy-chained together.
To maintain their charge, mike assembled a generator built from an old pressure washer, a pulley from an electric fan, and a car alternator, which provides electricity.
As long as the generator is running, the batteries stay alive, but now, with joey's power-tool use on the shower project, they're using more energy than they're making.
Until mike can figure out a solution, he turns the genny off, so no power tools.
Just let me know.
I'm in the middle of the building.
As soon as i got them, i'm ready to go.
But contractor joey has trouble leaving a job half-finished.
I have my walls built, but now i need to attach them, and i don't have power tools, and i mean, this is gonna be a problem.
We need that alternator, and the only way we're gonna get that alternator is if we right-side up the car.
Adding a second alternator to the generator will add more power and solve the problem, but now they have to flip a car to get it.
Should we use a come-along? I believe that we have a i was thinking a combination of come-along and a whole bunch of people.
Yeah.
Hmm.
A "come-along" is another name for a block and tackle, and earlier, engineer vlad noticed one inside the shop.
Ready? Yeah.
Go! A block and tackle works by trading force for distance.
By looping a chain across a series of pulleys, one person can lift many times their own weight.
It's going over.
There we go.
Two three.
Whoo! There goes the tires.
Yee-haw! Now let's hope the alternator's worth it.
Voila! One alternator.
Hopefully a good alternator.
So, here's the plan.
Second alternator, first alternator they're gonna piggyback and double our output.
Michael has to build a bracket to attach both alternators to the generator.
Of course.
Why should it fit? Anything worth doing is difficult and never simple.
If it was simple and easy, the fluffy bunnies would be in here fabricating and welding.
Amy has started her own project and has a quick cut she needs to make, so she disregards mike's rules, but she's pulling power from the already-drained batteries without the generator on to recharge them.
If they get drained too far, she could destroy their entire power grid.
I was making my own slingshot, and i had a threaded pipe i needed to cut.
You are breaking rule number one.
Michael, please.
We don't have our generator on.
Oh, we don't? Do you hear the generator? No.
It's not on.
It's not on.
They don't get it, man! That electrical system if we harm it in any way, we got nothing.
We got no lights, no power tools, no fabrication nothing.
I just watched people do it today.
The guys could get away with it, but, apparently no.
If i saw them doing it, they'd get an earful.
That's wrong.
My rules are my rules, otherwise what's the point? It's just a miscommunication.
Just yeah.
It's gonna get ugly tonight at dinner, and i'm gonna be the ugly.
Coming up on "the colony," signs of life from outside.
They're not broadcasting.
They're just transmitting.
Then, an attack.
Okay.
Gather 'round.
We have rice, peas, and canned beef.
Yay.
Yum, yum.
The generator is still down, and mike, the 47-year-old handyman, is in a dark mood.
I'm gonna have to tell them tonight during dinner there will be rules.
There will be strict rules in the shop about electricity.
Hey, guys.
Why don't we have the light on today? Wasn't there a light on the other night? Oh, are we saving? Yeah.
We used electricity with the generator off, and we shouldn't have done that.
Now i turned off the generator.
We ran our batteries down, so we're at a minimum on lighting tonight.
What do we have, 13 or 12? You just can't jump into a shop and know what you're doing.
It takes years years of experience! Let's see the hands of people that worked in a fabrication shop for a year or more.
I have been in a shop.
I'm sorry.
Worked in a shop, fabricated, drill-pressed, everything else.
Mike decides to go off on some rampage about power at the table in a very aggressive way.
I felt like i was the object of it.
I noticed people were using tools all day long.
I don't know if the generator was on or off, so he can't get mad at me.
He just can't.
I think you're making really good points.
They're just not getting through because of the way you're saying it.
It was a very awkward, you know, tense moment.
You know, michael, there's a very lot of ego involved in the stuff that he does, and his way of teaching is to tell you that you're doing it wrong.
On the other hand, he's often right.
So, next time i use the saw, i'll let you guys all know.
You should probably actually take cover.
Actually, i think we'll take it out of your hand.
You know, that's cute.
That's cute and funny, but this is serious, okay? So can we get back to a serious discussion here and leave the cutesy stuff until we're finished? Can we do that, please? I think she was just trying to make light of an already tense situation.
This is not to be made light of! It doesn't have to be an argument either.
This is serious! If we break it, we don't have it, period! And if we break it and we can't fix it, then we'll be sitting in the dark.
Right.
Oftentimes, when a person presents in a situation where they know that they have the skill set and they know that they have the upper hand and the advantage, then there's a real power differential, which means that the group now has to acquiesce and has to give in whether they want to or not.
So, there are reasons for it.
There are reasons for it, so we'll all keep that in mind, and we'll get it down to a science.
Last night, the blowup between michael and some people, and his very valid concern of the conspicuous utilization of energy and power, and it's just a testament to how fragile we are.
That alternator or the gasifier generator goes out, and we're done.
No more power tools.
No more lights.
Without the electricity, it's back to the dark ages again.
With the generator down, all projects are at a standstill until mike can get it going again.
Got to trim this piece of metal off so it goes onto the alternator.
Oh, well.
The bracket that holds both alternators doesn't fit on the engine.
Mike has to cut the end off without using power tools.
Now, normally you shouldn't use tin snips to do this.
See? You can cut some pretty thick crap with tin snips.
Here we go.
You know and i just got to put a bolt in there to adjust it tight, and there it is.
I can actually fire it up.
He tests it out using some of their precious gasoline.
There you go.
With the engine running, mike can finally test the batteries to see if the new alternator is boosting the power outlet.
I just went from 11 volts to 13 volts in, like, 20 minutes.
Awesome.
With the generator's increased power output and the wood gasifier generating fuel hit it! joey can finally get back to fabricating the shower stall.
Oh, my! Oh.
They just cut out a big peephole is what they did.
That's not a peephole.
It's for solar-heating reasons.
Whoo! Step by step there.
Got it? We're good.
But let me get it from stop swinging.
With the stall complete, it's time to assemble the hot-water heater.
Lunch is ready, guys! I was sitting up there on the roof, trying to get a job done, trying to incorporate other people that wanted to help, and i think the last thing i heard was, "we'll bring some stuff up," and time's going by.
Time's going by.
I'm like, "you know what? "While this is going on, i can go down and start bringing some stuff up," 'cause nobody was bringing anything up.
And i went down, and it was soup time or, you know, sunbathing.
People were making something some cute clothes.
Like my outfit today? I think the prioriti to survive an apocalypse are getting a little bit confused.
You know, we just talked about you know what? Hey.
Let's bust some people just don't know what the work is! So i said it.
Joey decides to lift the 170-pound water heater up the three-story building by himself.
Nobody's doing a thing in there, and i'm lifting this whatever the hell i don't even know if i'm gonna be able to lift this but i'm gonna try.
I'm gonna do something.
Two weeks of long days and little food are taking their toll on joey's stamina.
Damn it! Hey, how'd you get that up there? Huh? You minx.
How'd you get that up there? Leprechaun? Unexpectedly, mike gives joey some praise.
That's determination.
He bit off more than he could chew, and he chewed it, and he swallowed it.
Inspired by joey's work ethic, the other colonists refocus on the business of survival.
Leilani tackles a project of universal importance the making of toilet paper from a roll of muslin.
We're out of toilet paper.
For right now, this is what it is.
Allison and vlad milk the goat they found on their street scavenge last week if i would have to redesign the goat, i'd make a larger hole.
while john c.
Teams up with joey to maximize the water tank's heating capacity.
This is black, so it's gonna absorb a lot, but, obviously, i would like to bounce a little bit more, just like getting it a suntan with those old-time reflectors.
Yep, yep.
That's what we're doing.
They hoist up a piece of flexible board and line it with recycled insulation they found in the warehouse.
They then wrap the outside of the tank with the reflector to catch the sun's rays.
More? And the final step is to wrap the tank in plastic.
We're gonna shrink-wrap the whole thing in clear plastic, so we warm it up during the day, and it doesn't cool off completely during the night.
Does it need another slip? As night falls on the sanctuary, dr.
George again brings up the issue of colony security.
I think we're all agreed we're relatively secure at night when we lock down in here, and we're most vulnerable during the day 'cause our easiest breach is that side yard over that gate.
Michael secured the colony perimeter when they first moved in, but they're still vulnerable on the west wall.
It might be a good idea to run razor wire out on the side yard.
Yeah.
It's easy to scale that fence.
Yeah.
I don't think we need to kill ourselves with the detail.
These doors i'm not worried about them the way i was a little while ago.
It seems like security keeps getting put on the back burner for other, bigger projects that need to be finished.
It seems like we have to do "a," "b," "c," "d," and "e" and fit in "f," "g," and "h," and there's only so many hours in the day.
Croatian engineer vlad is chef tonight.
Well, it is doctored-up top ramen.
I speak about seven or eight languages.
But saying it in french doesn't change the fact that they're having rice and ramen for dinner.
We need real food here versus just this canned stuff because what little we're eating we're gonna start losing our energy, and we're not gonna be productive.
They could eat the goats, but a steady milk supply is more valuable than a few days of fresh meat.
You can survive off of canned goods for weeks, but for long-term survival, you need to find an alternate food source.
The previous night's dinner was the last straw for the hungry colonists.
They need fresh food, and that means leaving the safety of their colony.
Something that i would like to do is to get out of the warehouse and go forage for fruit and go fishing.
On the way to the sanctuary, george remembered seeing citrus trees up the river a few miles.
Head upriver and have a couple hours to fish, get citrus, and do that.
Citrus is important for nutrition.
A lack of vitamin "c" can cause scurvy, which leads to a weakening of the bones.
This is a disease that certainly can eventually be fatal.
In preparation for fishing, amy has been working on a fish trap that she learned to make in the peace corps.
So, it's wide open for the fish to go in but a smaller diameter at the end.
So once it gets to the back, it can't find its way out.
But food isn't the only concern.
For the last 10 days, the colonists have been living off of rainwater.
Now they only have a two-day supply left.
We're installing a shower.
That'll be pleasant, but we're running low on water.
No, i don't have it.
Choose your weapon.
Who's going? I'm in.
I know you're in.
Everybody have a weapon? Do you have a multi-tool? Okay, guys.
Are we ready? We're ready.
Only morgan, john v.
, and mike will stay behind.
Although leaving the colony is intimidating, the three staying behind face the biggest challenge to protect their goods from outsiders.
Two weeks ago, the warehouse was threatened by hostile marauders as part of the experiment.
You know, i believe that all humans are good, because i've never experienced anything else, and i'm realizing that that's a very dangerous way to feel about it in a world like this that is full of people who want our stuff.
After two weeks of living in the warehouse, morgan starts a visual diary of their experiences.
So, day five was, like, a research day.
Like, i learned how to make cheese.
We learned how to make a solar bike.
So, we were just researching about future projects.
I mean, it's kind of cool-looking, i guess, you know.
It's pretty cool to be able to look back and see how far we've come, how much further we'll have to go.
These walls are pretty white.
Let's see here.
We just hear some squawking going on.
I'm like "did someone leave a record player on? "We don't have a record player that works.
We don't have anything that works," and no one else was here.
Hey! Tv's on! Emergency broadcast.
This is a not test.
They're not broadcasting.
They're just transmitting.
They're not broadcasting anything yet.
It was a one, two punch.
"Hey, someone's transmitting an emergency-broadcast signal, and the power's coming from the wall.
" So that was like, "wow!" Let's power up, kids.
For 15 days, the colonists have been struggling to squeeze power out of a busted-up bank of old car batteries.
If power from the grid stays up, it could change everything.
Any form of outside communication becomes a beacon of hope for survivors.
The question is will the grid stay on? But just as suddenly as it came on, the grid goes back down.
Guys, the power's already back off.
The tv's not working anymore.
What's going on here? After collecting water, the colonists locate the fruit that george was looking for.
Are those lemons or oranges? Oranges.
Let's jump it.
You want to jump the gate? Let's do it.
Here.
Step on my back.
Step on my back.
Step on my back.
Okay.
Are you good? Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Right here.
Right here.
Good job.
Drop, drop, drop.
Oh, hurry.
As many as you can get.
All right.
I'm trying.
I've got two.
Oh.
Oh, my god! This is heaven! It is so funny how the simplest things can be the most amazing things when you are truly in survival mode.
Crawling over the fence, just grabbing as many oranges as we could, as the orange blossoms fall down.
Oranges were falling all over the ground.
It was raining oranges, and it was the most amazing experience i've had since i've been here.
You guys get everything you can.
We don't know if we'll ever get this chance again.
I've never gone so many weeks without eating fresh fruit, and it was just a phenomenal experience.
We've still got a couple left.
Let's go.
Oh, yeah, it is.
Thank you, tree.
All right.
Let's go.
A few miles upstream, the river deepens, and the colonists break out the fishing gear.
In the context of the experiment, animals and wildlife have a natural immunity to the viral outbreak, so the l.
a.
River is still home to many species of fish, including tilapia and carp.
Although the river is heavily polluted, most of the fish are too small to contain dangerous amounts of toxins and should be safe to eat.
The fishing situation could have gone so much better.
I think bringing a bow and arrow to catch carp it just wasn't gonna happen.
Oh! Did i get it? After a few hours of frustration, the colonists decide to head home before it gets dark.
On the way, joey makes one last attempt to catch a fish using amy's trap.
Whoa! Whoa! Yay! Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa! Okay.
You got him.
You got him, joey! You got him, joey! Good shot! Oh! You got him.
Yee-hah! We got the carp! We got the carp! There was, like, three of them right here.
Really? Joey got a fish with amy's net.
Good job, joe-joe.
Amy, look at you.
That's amazing.
The morale of the crew was high.
There was a palpable euphoria in all of us walking back.
I think we're a ways off, guys.
Yeah, because my feet are wet, you know? Are you okay? Definitely.
Yep, there he is.
On the way back home, the colonists spot a familiar foe the same thug they encountered on their last foraging trip.
That's a nice bike! I like that bike! After a major disaster, resources such as food and water, medical supplies, are going to become depleted very quickly, and that's when we can have a very volatile situation of very normal people on a day-to-day basis becoming very animal-like in the aftermath of a disaster to fight for their survival.
What that means is they're gonna be ready for us over there.
We were certainly concerned that he was gonna round up some friends and be there waiting for us at the bridge.
Hey, guys, protect your oranges.
Less than a mile from the warehouse, the colonists spot a hostile outsider on the bridge.
He rides away, but the group hustles to get their resources back to the safety of the colony.
They're gonna be ready for us over there.
You guys, watch out.
Morgan! Coming! Fortunately for the colonists, they're able to make it home, but the marauder sighting is a reminder that, as long as they remain in the city, they can never be truly safe.
1, 2, 3.
Seeing that marauder, that was the alarm clock that"whoa.
"The dream is over, "and we need to get back to the post-apocalyptic mind-set.
" Do you want to hear the really good news or the really bad news? The good news is, the emergency-broadcast system came on, - on the tv.
- Wow.
We get electricity from the grid.
So they must be testing or some no kidding? The really bad news is the electricity is sporadic.
The electricity grid coming up even briefly means probably more to me than anything else.
That's the biggest hope to me right now.
- It only came on for a few minutes.
- It doesn't matter.
The colonists who went to the river have some good news of their own.
We got probably 160 to 170 gallons of water.
You guys, we have five full bags of oranges.
Oh! Here it is.
And the big catch of the day.
Man! Well, well, well, well, well.
Amy's amazing trap.
This is what amy's amazing trap and a piece of pvc over the head got.
What a day.
Know a good chef? First things first, the colonists filter the water and then fill the shower tank so they can heat it up.
Then vlad takes charge of the dinner menu.
We can have carp with a nice drizzle of orange gravy.
Orange marmalade? I can make that and then drizzle that over it.
I love you, vlad.
I know.
Right? Ooh! This is excellent, if i say so myself.
Yum, yum.
I'm very excited.
You guys want to bring that to the table? Who didn't get rice? I didn't.
They're getting rice right now.
This is for you.
There's so many things to thank.
How do we do this? Okay, guys, dig in.
I just did.
Okay.
I didn't hear it.
Thank you, joey.
Ooh.
Yeah.
It is good.
Good job, joey.
Everyone contributed to the dinner, but amy gets special recognition for her fish trap, even from mike.
At least amy didn't hold a grudge from last night.
I mean, she's starting to get that get-it-done attitude, so i'll give her two brownie points for that.
It's called cooperation.
We spent all day yesterday at the river collecting water and fruit.
Things just keep getting better day by day, but i'm just covered in filth, and it's kind of gross.
So it would be nice to have a shower.
The colonists have 160 gallons of river water.
Now joey can put the finishing touches on the shower.
He has two steps left build the showerhead and construct the ramp up to the stall.
I just want to make a little ramp so we can walk up into the shower, and, luckily, i found some of these i don't know what the hell they are, but they'll work great.
I can just cut them down.
Right there.
Really? I don't know.
We'll see what they say.
All right.
I found this curtain at the bottom of all the fabric.
Boy, you're gonna get a shower.
- Perfect! - Looking good.
With the ramp ready to roll, it's time for joey to construct a showerhead from spare fittings.
Right now, i'm looking at everything we got, and this is what i've come up with so far.
I mean, you can see it's just a bunch of connections.
Now joey mounts the showerhead and connects it to the water heater.
And, finally, with the addition of a barrel to catch the precious gray water runoff, the shower is ready to test.
Let's go, everybody! Front and center.
Everybody in the shower, naked, now! Is this everybody? That's a big okay.
Very simple.
Walk the plank on up.
Okay.
Got your curtain right here.
Whoo! Okay.
Ready? We have vertical.
There you go.
Coming up on "the colony" the consequences of ignoring security.
Okay.
Got your curtain right here.
Okay.
We have vertical.
There you go.
Whoo-hoo! Oh, my god.
All righty.
I like feeling like i busted my on something.
I like the fast pace of "get it done, get it done.
" And we got it done.
Aah! Aah! Aah! Thank you! Totally psyched.
To conserve water, only two colonists can shower per day.
Aah! Oh.
That is just brilliant.
Just to feel human again.
Is it good? Is it warm? Good! It's warm, and it's freaking fabulous! I'm very happy! All right.
The shower and river trip have raised the colonists' spirits.
They can finally relax and let their guard down.
How did you propose? I got down on my knees, and i gave my wife an engagement ring that i had made in blacksmithing which was made out of quarter-inch bar stock.
It rusted, but it was nice.
She said "yes.
" Does she still have it? The finger? No, the ring.
Yeah.
Wow.
As part of the next phase in the experiment, the colonists are being attacked for their food resources.
A diversion in the yard will allow marauders on foot to break into the back.
In any post-disaster scenario, lawlessness will become a huge factor, much as we saw during the l.
a.
Riots, when people took what they wanted, and what they couldn't carry, they destroyed.
If i knelt down in front of my ex-wife, she would put an ashtray on my head.
You were married? Is that what you said, mike? You were married? The attackers have been directed not to physically harm the colonists, but the colonists don't know that.
Where's joey and everybody? Where's morgan? Get me a fire extinguisher.
Go grab me a fire extinguisher.
They're in our kitchen! Oh, my god! Tear gas, joey! They're everywhere! It's over! It's the end of days, baby! Aah! How did they get up in the kitchen? 'Cause we didn't secure the back gate.
The colonists' worst fears are realized.
The hole in the razor wire was never patched, and, as a result, two days worth of food is gone.
"Let's build a shower! Let's build everything but security!" Anytime that stress is placed upon us, most of these men just start screaming at us.
Every person is safe! To my core, i'm a peaceful person.
The fact that i was angry at other humans, that i was in a situation that i had to be angry at other humans, just was it was so hard for me.
It was so hard for me.
- John - yeah.
Anybody comes over that fence, swing and throw this in their face.
I think the others need to toughen the up and grab on to a little anger.
Anger can be a gift.
Our kitchen is trashed! We'll fix it.
It'll be okay.
Oh "fix it! It'll be okay"! Maybe i'm tired of fixing! You know, we're in a big mess because their priorities are wrong.
We're not safe, we're not secure, and, you know, we better start thinking about it a little more seriously.
Coming up on "the colony" whoa! an internal explosion you want to go to the mat and see how good the gym is? Do you really want to go? Come on! and an external threat.
Hey, you