Hello Tomorrow! (2023) s01e06 Episode Script

The Numbers Behind the Numbers

Hi there. I'm out delivering smiles.
So, how's the family, Bill?
Oh, the lousy brats and
the human buzz saw? Kidding.
Yeah, right.
Uh, what's it all for,
right? All the hard work.
It sure as hell is not for me.
All right,
so what's the old crystal ball
machine got for me today, huh?
Back to the northeast? That's
always been good turf for me.
- Hmm, nice net last month.
- Well, thank you.
It's the best January in years, but hey.
Well, this is a shock really.
What?
Well, it's the last
thing I want to do, Jack.
But looks like you're coming off
rotation on a permanent basis.
Wait, wait, uh
you're a numbers guy, Bill.
I just told you that was
the best January in years.
Yeah, well, there's the numbers
and then there's the
numbers behind the numbers.
N-No. No, no, not yet.
This time next year, you are in the red.
Says who? A bunch of goddamn wire
Come on, Bill.
You remember when your Reggie
was learning to swim
at the company picnic?
He goes under
This is Processor Assisted Logic, Jack.
You can't sell your way around it.
That's my job! Isn't it?
So how does a processor know
who can sell and who can't sell
if it can't be sold itself?
You tell me that.
I have got big days coming.
I've got big plans, personally.
Well that'll serve you well.
Gonna land you right on your feet.
No. No, no, no, I know
the job. Thirty years.
That's a whole lifetime on
other people's doorsteps.
I know the job. You want me
out there! Goddamn it, Bill!
I'm out there on the street. I've
seen life rip right through people.
I see the stained sofas.
I see the tired eyes looking
up at me from the scrap heap,
looking for anybody to tell
them that it's gonna be okay.
And I do it. I do it
I do it with a VegiDice.
I do it with a PermPerfect
or whatever other crap
y-y-you put in my hand.
And I'm out there saving
people with it, Bill.
I know this job. It's s-saving lives!
That's the job.
That's the job.
And And that's gonna save you too
isn't it?
Putting me back out there, knowing
you did what's right. Right?
Hiya, Jack. Sell out before lunch again?
Well
time to move on, Shirl.
Turn the page.
Turn the page?
You know, I got a family
I've hardly seen in 20 years.
Oh? I guess that never came up.
Been a long time, and always imagined
that I would be coming home
with something.
Where are you right now, Jack?
Life on the road moves pretty fast.
What's that?
Hands in the grooming area, please.
That's the damndest foul-up I
ever did see on that machine.
Gosh, talk about a hazard.
Well, I saved this as evidence.
Someone owes you a
new one is my thinking.
I saw you blink there for a bit.
Well, thank God. You're still with us.
I'm the one who sprang you
from that devil's-own sink unit.
Henry Mason. But, uh,
plain old Hank will do.
I never thought I'd have
it in me to save a life
or guessed it'd feel half so good.
I'm grateful to you, mister.
Um I don't know what got
your head under that water,
but accidents happen to each of us.
The important thing is
it doesn't happen again.
Thank you. Than Thank you.
I tore the roller arms right
off that sucker to fetch you out.
He got his.
I guess I got mine too,
far as laid off for
destruction of company property.
- Oh, don't don't You
- Oh. Bastar Bastards.
You bite your tongue. I
know what you're gonna say.
Okay, us Masons have seen hardship
before and never not come through.
All right? This is why they put
the tighter notches on the belt.
Gosh, she's a beaut tonight.
Always wanted to go.
Same here, mister. What a dream, right?
My old man used to say,
"No one is not a dreamer."
Now he sounds like a wise man.
Well, a salesman.
Ah, f
- Hank Mason, is that you?
- Jack!
Goodness, it is great to see you.
Oh! I was half scared
you might never remember.
Ah, nah, no.
Come on, and what kind of
guy would I be to forget you?
- How you been all this time?
- Oh, you know, can't complain.
Mr. Walter has been awful kind
to let us camp on his spread.
At least, uh, kind enough once I
showed him this with your name on it.
Ah. Your contract.
Lot A-1. There it is.
Had it for a while. Been
holding on to it maybe, uh
Yeah, yeah.
I'm embarrassed to say your
launch got pushed back a bit.
They should've called you.
- But
- Oh, we might've missed it.
You know, we've been,
uh, living in the truck,
uh, s-since I got laid off.
Yeah.
You know, uh, prices on our
units, they just keep climbing.
If you ever had a mind to sell,
I could get you set up for life.
Uh, no, sir.
Uh, you gave me this gift.
And dreaming on it has been our
one spot of grace in rough waters.
What's waiting a little longer?
That is one That's one
beautiful frame of mind, pal.
I'll start working on getting
you up there first thing.
I'm forever in your debt.
And us in yours, Jack.
Fuck.
I'm sorry about all this, Walt.
Don't look like they're packing up.
Our outfit does launch services
with a provider at Vista Park.
I must've given him
your address by accident,
and it was hectic when
I was cutting the deal.
Maybe, uh, give him a couple more days?
I'll get it all worked out, make
it more than worth it for you.
Gotten into the moon
game, huh? Just like pops.
A little different. I'm in real estate.
You know, uh I saw
a rocket the other night.
Thought it might have
come from this direction.
It wouldn't be too hard to get
you some work launching for us.
No chance. I shut that all down when
Mmm.
Hey, I wanna show you
something. Come on.
Morning, kid.
Morning. No Jack yet, huh?
- It sounds like you got a bone a pick.
- Oh, he's just
He's always telling people
what they wanna hear.
You know, he likes you, kid.
I can tell he's really
looking out for you.
Mm-hmm. Yeah.
Now, what's the most
he's ever sold in a week?
He's got the record, right?
Nine. Three A-Plexes.
All right. Well, I'm at six
after those golf course guys.
Kept telling me I was just like
them before their first million.
That means I got the whole day
to close four if I wanna top Jack.
Mmm. With that attitude, he's
gonna wanna piss you off more often.
Apricot, which the ancients
called the fruit of forgiveness
of unhinged men rehinging, atoning,
just nosing to the grindstone
of, uh, general stability.
- Well, you look pretty good.
- I look normal, Shirley,
which I have come to accept is,
uh, more important than good.
Occasionally.
Good morning, ma'am.
This is Joey Shorter
with Brightside Lunar Residences.
Now, a new opportunity
just rolled across my desk
that I'd love to talk to you
about if you have the time.
I try not to get back here too much.
Well, I got you beat.
Been ducking this place for 40 years.
Genius, your old man.
Yeah, so I heard.
He never really bothered
to let me get to know him.
Ah.
Fathers and sons.
If you ask me, it was built not to work.
Used to think the same thing.
You know, I hit a rough
patch a while back,
and I just kept hearing
his voice telling me,
"No one's not a dreamer."
Oh, yeah. That one.
Yeah, well, it set me back on my feet,
remembering that, so I probably
owe him more than I care to admit.
Did he ever tell you about the
subterranean power unit we drew up?
Lunar temps swing 500 degrees in a day.
Now, if you can harness that,
we could've had enough juice to
run a whole damn mining operation.
One of those, all that land he bought,
he had enough to build
a whole community.
Well, I never thought
about it like that,
but maybe you should tell those
real estate people you work for.
Oh, yeah. They know.
Jack.
This might be hard for you to
see, but the day it happened,
I got everything I could off the tarmac.
Now, as crazy as this sounds,
if your daddy is
anywhere, he's in there.
The music can't stop, Shirl.
Which means what?
These things, they're
worth something now.
We stop selling, everybody
panics, and it all falls apart.
We keep smiling, keep selling,
we can make enough money
to make things right.
- You mean pay people back?
- Oh Sure.
- Who pays the new customers back?
- We'll find newer customers
- That's not a solution, Jack.
- But it'll buy us enough time to find one.
We sold big at that club,
and none of them wanna
launch anytime soon.
One day, they might.
What if Jenkins had big plans,
and maybe broke ground even?
What if he just never
finished what he started?
More likely, he just robbed everyone.
Here.
A hundred and forty-three?
We sell 143 units,
we got all the refunds we need
and this whole thing's over.
So you're with me?
The music can't stop.
I was thinking.
That rich lady at the club,
the one batting her eyes at you?
- Mm-hmm?
- Let's sell her our whole mess.
That's pretty good, Shirl.
One check. We're free and
clear. Pocket change for her.
Hmm.
You think we can pull this off?
You're not that bad a liar.
I guess so.
Good afternoon, guest. Can I
help you with transportation?
Thank you for coming, ma'am.
I "apogolize." I ceased
investigations prematurely.
Apologize.
I thought you were
supposed to shred these.
Let's say they fell out
of the feeder tray and
failed to be "sucessfully" reloaded.
Brightside.
Joey, what a heavenly surprise!
Don't you tell me you don't remember me.
Of course, Mrs. Billings.
Is your, uh, boss around?
Um, no, I haven't seen him all
day, but I can tell him you called.
You know, I've been
begging Jack for months
to send one of you over to this
dungeon he's banished me to.
People here are very well-funded.
Oh, yeah?
Seems a shame to leave that
money on the table. But you know,
little boys hate owing
their mothers anything
since they actually owe
them goddamn everything.
Uh, well, you know, I
could head down there today
- if you think it's worth the trip.
- What an idea.
Maybe best not to
advertise it all to Jack.
Yeah, I can I can do that.
Hey, what was that?
Something stale on the south side.
Oh. You good for new leads?
I got a few from the club
I could throw your way.
Uh, yeah, I I don't need your help.
Ooh, loud and clear.
Hey, listen.
You don't want this
grudge holding you back.
It won't.
Well, I want to put it behind us.
And since you're on a
pretty good run lately, I
I talked to Jenkins
about bumping you to
Senior Sales Partner.
I had to stick my neck out a little,
but I wanted you to know how
important you are around here,
and the extra cash
shouldn't hurt either.
How about I take the
promotion when I earn it
and not because you feel guilty?
I don't need handouts.
Okay, it is not a handout.
Listen. This is where your boss
talks and you listen. Got it?
This is a good thing for you. You
might wanna act a little grateful.
Uh, I got a lot of work to
do, so I'll see you later.
Okay. Right. Well,
hey, go get 'em! Right?
You know, a couple of entries
on the right side of the ledger,
it's got a way of fixing everything.
Yeah. You know, you could've
just said you're sorry.
Are you doing the
head-in-your-hands thing again?
It's just, the twins should have
a Senior Sales Partner as a dad.
Okay. Unlock the door or,
ooh, I'm gonna pee on this
carpet right this minute!
Okay. I have something to tell
you, Herbie, that I think will help.
Turns out, I'm not as
pregnant as I thought I was.
Oh. Oh, no.
Ooh, no. No, not like that.
Like, maybe, I never was.
I mean, I was sure of
it, and we were so happy.
But then, Dr. Ergomano
had this different opinion
which I realized was actually correct.
I thought we could just,
you know, fix it at the club. But
So you lied to me then?
No. It's not a lie if
I believed it. Right?
No.
Um, I think, technically, it is.
W-We can make it true, Herbie.
Does this entryway look
8-30B compliant to you?
Jesus, is that good?
What Where are we?
With With respect, ma'am, the
documents show one John Billings,
father to Jack, as the
"incorportating" officer.
And an assets and
"libatillities" cross-reference
shows that John as the owner
of an extensive extra-atmospheric
launch facility which,
"susquebent" to his
demise and financial ruin,
transferred to a former associate,
one Walter Greene, where
So they own this launchpad?
Or Billings who runs the
company owns it? Or his dad?
Exactly. The licensed premises of
John Billings's registered entity,
i.e. the Brightside "Corportation."
W-Wait.
Wait.
This is fucking it?
Well,
while we can't conclude this
is all the "it" there is,
it certainly is an "it."
- This fucking dump is all they've got.
- Yeah.
Good luck getting to the
moon from this place, right?
Oh, my God, it's all bullshit.
Hey!
- Uh, ma'am? Ma'am?
- Get down!
Direct contact is well-beyond
current prerogative.
Final warning, lady.
Fuck off!
Mrs. Mayburn.
We got him.
You got him.
I feel a "bingo" coming on.
B-8. B-8, lucky ladies and gents.
That's me.
You know, I'm not sure anyone
here would survive the trip up.
Oh, they don't know that.
This is a desperate
and lonely place, Joe.
G-47.
Trish over here.
She lost her husband last
year, and a lung last month.
She would buy anything if you smile
and tell her you like her hair.
Yeah, I I I don't know, it
just it just feels a little, um
wrong.
Mm-hmm. You're right, you're right.
What a decent, caring,
incorruptible young man you are.
- I-24.
- You must visit your mother often.
Um, well, I I used to
go around almost every day,
but it's it's, uh,
harder now with the job.
Yeah, and she's, well
and here I am wide-awake.
And Jack's in agony
over the slightest visit.
B-7.
Oh, I have that.
Oh, th they they
haven't called that number yet.
Oh, they don't check. Unless
you're gonna rat me out.
- No, never.
- N-36.
- Bingo. Bingo!
- Bingo!
Stop the draw. Bring me
my dumb box of chocolates.
Oh, boy.
They never stood a chance.
All right.
I ought to head out and try
to make a few more sales.
What? And make me eat
my chocolates alone?
Nah.
Oh, no, never.
Let me tell you something.
An honest day's work is
no fucking joke, Shirley.
Welcome home, champ.
What are you,
rewarding me to mold my behavior
like the dog with the bell?
Listen.
I'm very, very accepting of it.
Oh, well, let me show you something.
Try to only get very, very
excited.
Whoa. Whose is this?
Yours.
Mine? Who's coming to kill me for it?
It's honest American business, Ed.
I saw an opening. Flipped our
moon unit for twice the price.
No, you didn't. You didn't.
Yeah, don't argue with
a bag of money, right?
We still want a spot up
there, we can buy two.
Uh, kind of had my heart set
on that one, Shirley. Ours.
I'd be happy anywhere with you,
Ed. I'm happy here. Right now.
Who even needs the moon? Yeah?
Okay.
I didn't humiliate myself
in that place, Shirley,
'cause I felt iffy about you, or I
wanted to do better business deals.
I mean, love isn't some frozen
pizza you can just have now or later.
That's not what this is.
Okay, then it's a managed fucking exit
from the quagmire you believe me to
Did I say any of that?
Bag says it, Shirley. Bag says it all.
No Jesus, Ed, I love you.
You know, I wouldn't be surprised
if you expected me to piss it away
in my usual manner, freeing you forever
from our dumb dreams together. Jesus.
You ever been up there?
Ha! You'd have to kill me and ship me.
That was a gift from my late husband.
Say, Joey
there are some things you
should know about Jack.
And all of the Billings men, really.
Okay.
They are insufferable dreamers.
But don't hold that against him.
It's the only way he knows to
show he cares, and he does care.
He loves you. He just gets a couple
of things dead wrong sometimes.
- Mmm.
- Can you see that?
'Cause you probably got some of
it in you too. After all, he is
- Get dead, space scum!
- I'm not quite sure I can help with that.
Get a taste of rough-and-ready
lawman, you one-eyed Gargon savage!
Buck. Buck M
Mr. Manzell?
Ha! Who asked, interloper?
You some Gargon-sympathizing rat fink?
Don't bother, Joe.
Somebody probably let him
watch all his reruns again.
He's not on the moon?
If you told him he was,
he'd probably believe you.
N-No. Freeze, brain-scrambler!
M Mr. Manzell. Mr. Manzell.
- Mr. Manzell!
- He's warming up.
A neutron gas attack.
Cover your ears and nose, Mr. Jenkins.
- Mr. Jenkins.
- I'm out of ammo.
Come on, Mr. Jenkins.
Stay down, stay low.
Senior partner. Sales.
Hey, pal.
Hit me with some of that, uh,
insufferable sunshine of yours, will you?
Well, Betty, bad. Joey, bad. Jack, bad.
Our twins who don't actually
exist, more bad than when they did.
Christ.
You see, there's pain, Eddie.
And then there's lying to yourself.
That's the world in a nutshell.
Get another one over here, please.
She's on the hook, our wealthy widow.
- Dinner and a sales pitch.
- Good.
I came by for a pep talk.
I feel like I stepped into a funeral.
Sorry. Get this done, Jack, please. 143.
Okay. To the moon.
Good evening, guest.
Would you like me to assist
you with transportation?
Hey. Hey!
Hey, kid. I got a meeting I'm
about to Oh, Joey, what?
I just ran into Buck Manzell.
Oh, yeah. What a guy.
What a fella, right? I heard
that he was back in town.
No, don't don't do that.
- Welcome back to The Vista Motor Lodge.
- You fucking liar.
Hey. Look, I don't know what
you think you know, uh, Joe.
- But it's not the whole story.
- Come on, Jack.
What are we selling
here, pieces of paper?
- I mean, is there anything real?
- Hey, it's all real.
How do you think anything
real in this world
gets started by guys like you and me?
I don't think I'm anything like you.
Grow up, kid. We're both nobody.
You think I didn't try
to do this the right way?
Go around hat-in-hand, get
laughed out of every room.
I'm about to have a
meeting with an investor
who can get this whole thing
up and running with one deal.
- It's getting realer every day.
- What the fuck are you talking about?
We all believed you, Jack.
- I mean, I lied to everybody. I
- You did the job I asked.
Better than most.
That's not lying. That's
making things possible.
Look at me, kid.
This is the most important
lesson of your life.
Getting stuck in the
details and the doubt?
It'll kill you. I've been there.
You just knew that I'd fall for it.
Right? When you
When you first met me,
- because I'm just the right kind of loser.
- No. Stop!
Don't do that. I'm gonna build
every unit we sold, trust me.
Trust you? Stan Jenkins
is a fucking turtle.
All right, keep it down, keep it
down. Think about if this gets out.
Do you want to be the one
who killed their dreams?
Who blew up their investments?
That's our ship coming in.
And I met her at the club, so really
you're the one who made it happen.
You should be a goddamn partner.
Quit fucking dreaming.
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