The Net (1998) s01e18 Episode Script

Gentlemen, the millennium bug has the potential to shut down every single computer.
January 1st, 2000, a little less than a year from now the industrialised world wakes up to doomsday.
Satellites, banking systems, telecommunications, the entire Internet all thrown offline because our computers will think it's 1900.
Essential worldwide systems will fail including some of the nation's most sensitive military programmes.
You know, that last footage looked an awful lot like a test we ran on our ABMs last month.
It is.
The problem the military is having is with your fail-safe.
Your missiles launch when they lose contact with your central computers.
When the date reads 1900, they'll think they haven't been contacted in over 100 years.
And that's kaboom! Which is where Chaser comes in.
Okay.
So how does it work? Without going into a lot of techno-speak, it's an overlay that takes control of all date-time functions.
Observe.
I'm going to back up here and use your own simulation.
Chaser is going to go in and correct your clock.
- Hold on.
- What's happening? I'm not sure.
I need to reboot.
I don't understand this.
It was working this morning.
Seems pretty straightforward to me.
If your simulation had been for real you would have just started World War III.
We got hacked.
Some kind of data-advancement device.
Yeah, I finally get to see these Air Force guys, and everything fubars.
Fubars? Fubars? What are you talking about? We're completely screwed.
Sun, Microsoft or somebody got in here and sabotaged us.
All right.
We gotta tell Lloyd security has been breached.
He knows.
I just spent 20 minutes screaming at him.
- This is a disaster.
- You're telling me.
The future of this company depends on us beating Microsoft to the punch with Chaser.
- What are we going to do? - I'll try to fix it.
You know, if we're lucky, maybe we can still get an October ship date.
You tell your so-called head of security that I'm pulling Chaser off the main system.
Nobody's going to have access to it but me.
My name is Angela Bennett.
I discovered a group of computer terrorists.
They erased my life.
They made me into a criminal.
I am not going to stop until I get my life back.
But if they did this to me, they could do this to you.
TOTAL SYSTEM FAILURE" The most that we can hope for is love.
And the greatest love beyond the love of God is that of family, and to Cal's family I just don't think it was an accident, Jacob.
The funeral was so sad.
- Sorry you had to go alone.
- It's okay.
Why didn't you try writing the programme to fix the millennium bug? I don't like bandwagons.
Fixing the millennium bug is the programmer's Holy Grail.
Have you even dealt with it at all? Well, I was dealing with it, remember? Then I made the mistake of following a hunch.
A hunch? What do you mean? Well, I think Cal found a worm in the programme.
- It made Chaser chase its own tail.
- Sabotage? Well, and then some.
But I think that Cal found the worm but they killed him before he could rip it out.
I've got to get into Future Dynamics and find what Cal found.
Angela, Cal found the bottom of an elevator shaft.
Don't talk to me unless you're going to help, Jacob.
I need a résumé.
Use your patented knee-knocking smile.
That's sexist.
Anyway, it wouldn't work.
Okay.
Well, fill in whatever details but put down MIT for post-grad, Media Lab.
Why? I've never seen that campus.
Yeah, but Perry Reeves is owner of Dynamic Systems, and he went to MIT.
Great.
So how do I fool him? If anyone mentions Nicholas Bagdasarian, Perry gets stars in his eyes.
I know that it's a bad time after what just happened.
I appreciate you meeting me.
How did you hear we had an opening? Oh, a friend on the Net.
You know how it is when there's an opening in a hot shop.
Everyone posts about it.
It's only been a couple of days.
I didn't know word was out already.
Now, look, your résumé is very impressive but we're still kind of reeling.
So why don't I keep it on file for a few days and I'll give you a call when things calm down.
Okay.
Yeah, I understand that.
- Thanks.
- Nice to meet you.
Oh, by the way, Professor Bagdasarian he asked me to tell you that he was sorry about Cal.
- You know Nicholas? - I did a stint with him in the Media Lab.
Oh, Nicholas is He's a hell of a good judge of talent.
I'll tell you what.
We have an opening in graphics if you're interested.
You can start right away.
See Sam Lloyd, our head of security, and I'll have Deanne show you around, okay? Okay.
No wonder Perry hired you on the spot.
You're an engineer, too.
Oh no, I'm not an engineer.
I'm just a programmer.
No, I mean the MIT mascot thing you know, the beaver, nature's engineers.
Oh, right.
Right.
But I did.
I graduated with just a computer science degree, no engineering.
Don't mind Lloyd.
He's just your typical high-strung security guy.
I understand you graduated from MIT.
You must have known Cal.
No, I never actually had a chance to meet him.
We debugged a couple of programmes together over the Net.
- He was incredible, wasn't he? - Yeah.
People around here thought he was the second coming of Steven Jobs.
Cal was practically the whole company all by himself.
You think that's why? I mean Do I think that's why he was killed? Is that what you're trying to ask? No.
No.
It's just something stupid that I read on the Net.
Yeah, for the most part I think the majority of what is posted on the Net is either half-truths or blatant lies, but that rumour about Cal it might be true.
- But why? - Because he cracked the millennium bug.
The money pundits think about $20 billion will be spent trying to avert it.
First on the shelves, first to the bank, right? That was the plan, but it's not gonna happen now.
Microsoft announced their new overlay programme today.
They're planning to be in the stores by the end of summer.
- So you think it was industrial espionage? - You got a better motive? This is you.
Why don't you take the rest of the afternoon to get up to speed? We'll touch base at the end of the day.
- Great.
Thanks.
- Okay.
Hey, Sam, come here.
Listen, I was just over at Cal's, helping his sister with his things.
We found an e-mail that he sent to himself notes about what he found in Chaser some kind of a worm.
For all we know, it could be eating its way through our system.
- A worm? - Yeah.
- Did he identify the code structure? - No, he didn't have a chance to.
Now, look, I just want you to make this your priority, all right? I'll get right on it.
Perry, wait.
What's MIT's mascot? - Beavers, nature's engineers.
Why? - We got a problem then.
I don't think our girl went to MIT.
Now you see, it's the same backwards.
"Reviled did I live said I as evil I did deliver.
" - Here.
Hold on a second.
- Yeah, okay.
I'm here.
Where are you? I got the job.
I'm in the Dynamics e-mail system.
It's not difficult to do.
That's surprising.
High-security place like that.
So Perry swallowed the bait? Well, let's see.
Perry.
What's this? Well, it looks like Perry checked out the reference that I gave him.
So much for trusting me.
Jacob, would you like to confirm what a great gal I am? Certainly.
Thank you.
So have you had any luck getting into Cal's Chaser programme? I'm attempting to access it right now.
Let's see what this is all about.
Looks like security is pretty tight on this one.
I can't get in.
I'll have to use Cal's system.
Stay put.
I'm moving.
Hey, be careful.
Too easy.
Wiseman algorithm? Cal, I'm disappointed in you.
All right.
Let's see what you got, little fellow.
Angela? I'm in.
Okay.
I'm going deeper into the administrator levels.
Don't you just love getting in up to your elbows? God, God, God.
I could eat it all day.
Angela? - What's that data stream? - I see it.
- That's different from Chaser.
- Okay.
I'm opening it up.
It's the worm! You found the worm, Angela.
All right.
Follow the data stream and reconfigure the code structure.
Got it.
Okay, I'm deleting the data code, and I'm repatching it to- Wait, wait, wait.
Look at that.
- There.
You see where I'm highlighting? - "Aptos.
" What's Aptos? - It's a city south of here.
- Weird.
Well, let's get that disable up and running.
Okay, I'm on it.
All right.
I just have a few more lines to write.
- What the hell are you doing? - Perry, hi.
- These are restricted files.
- I just need There was just this- Who are you? No, wait.
I'm right in the middle of a disable.
- What the hell was that? - Oh, no.
What just happened? You activated the worm.
We've known about India's nuclear programme for years.
The fact that the CIA was standing around sucking their thumbs makes my point exactly.
- What? - Big problem.
- Hang on.
Scale of 10? - Ten.
No, I'll call you back.
- The Aptos test just initiated.
- What? I didn't believe it myself.
It wasn't scheduled to begin for another month.
- Who the hell is responsible for that? - You're not going to like that, either.
I already don't like it.
Angela Bennett.
Dynamic hired her this morning.
Sam Lloyd is waiting to talk to you on Line 1.
First they mess with the programmer, now this.
Mr.
Lloyd's inadequacies are causing us a lot of headaches.
It gets worse.
The application for Aptos wasn't clean.
Anyone who gets a good look at it, they could trace it back us.
If we don't recapture it, it'll go global in two days.
Counter the programme, Miss Kelly.
Disable it.
We can't, not from here.
It's self-protecting from any external sources.
We'll have to work from a local system.
- When's Harris back from Pakistan? - Not soon enough to handle this.
Get the jet ready.
We're going to Aptos.
All right.
Mr.
Lloyd, I understand we have a problem.
This will not be a problem for you, Mr.
Trelawney.
I promise.
- I'm going to take care of it.
- Let's make sure that you do.
Yes, sir.
I want you to hold on to her.
Do you understand? Until I arrive.
Can you do that for me, Sam? Absolutely, Mr.
Trelawney.
Consider it done.
Kyle DeMillo in Tech Support.
Would you please pick up Line 3, Kyle DeMillo? Has anyone seen Angela? Hold on.
I saw her and Perry leaving together.
I traced the message's path to a system in the city of Aptos.
I don't understand.
Why was the programme triggered to go to Aptos? Well, it was a booby trap.
When you shut me out of the programme it somehow activated the bug.
What were you doing in those files in the first place? I think Cal was murdered, and I'm trying to find out why.
Murdered? By who? Just get me to Aptos, and I promise I'll tell you as much as I can.
And in local news, all of the traffic signals in downtown Aptos have mysteriously broken down, causing a rash of fender-benders and slowing the afternoon commute to a crawl.
The Department of Transportation has no explanation for the failure saying only that they are busy sending out crews and are doing everything within their power to fix the problem.
We also have received reports of power outages in the outlying areas of the county.
To repeat our top story Okay, people, step back! What is going on? The worm has activated the millennium bug.
It's starting in a central system and then emulating its way out.
It looks like it's moving to the signal-light systems.
Where would the computer be that controls the signal lights? - City Hall, I guess.
- All right, let's go there.
Okay, here.
"County Transportation Emergency Control Centre.
" "Basement.
" If the virus is in one part of the city's system, it's only a matter of time before it spreads everywhere.
Substation 3 malfunction.
Backup - Hey, what are you doing in here? - We were sent to fix your computers.
We're from Dynamic Systems.
- I didn't call you.
- Well, does it matter who called? I mean, you have a city-wide disaster happening here.
I don't know if I'd be the one to call the Mayor and tell him - what the holdup is.
- So we got a situation here or what? Yeah, take a look.
Whole damn system locked up.
We've got accidents piling up out there.
If this is anything like what happened on Cal's system, and it crashes the whole city is gonna systematically shut down.
It's gonna be a domino effect.
- Hope you know what you're doing.
- So do I.
Due to the continuing power outages Mayor Grisham has cancelled the Jazz Festival that was scheduled to begin this afternoon.
The Mayor has also suspended all leaves for the police and fire departments stating their need to stay until the city I can't get through.
Every time I see an opening, it closes up on me before I can get in.
- It's like - Right.
Like it's self-protecting.
It auto-launches a new security string every time we attack it.
Yeah.
It's a double firewall.
I've never seen anything like this before.
- I have.
- Where? You wouldn't believe me if I told you.
Sources state the cause of the problem seems to be in the city's central computers.
We have been told that there are technicians currently working on the problem at City Hall.
City officials, while not openly optimistic say they have reason to believe that order and All right, look.
We can attack this separately but we'll never win.
The only shot we have is if I isolate the code and you lock it off before it replicates.
- Think you can handle it? - You say when.
"When.
" All right, 8485 alpha, alpha, beta, beta, backslash, 42533637.
All right, hit Shift and then hold Enter when I say "when.
" When.
That's it.
Did we do it? Not yet.
Again, the Mayor is asking that people stay off the roads unless absolutely necessary.
Those of you who must travel, please be advised that Euclid Street has been closed to all traffic from Main all the way through downtown.
Oh, hey, hey, hey.
Check this out.
- Look how this thing's transmitting.
- This must be the worm Cal discovered.
It's moving from system to system via e-mail.
It's got an auto-execute command, and it fools the host into thinking that it's a Oh, my God, did anybody send an e-mail out today? Right before our system shut down, I sent an e-mail to my fiancé.
- He's a controller out at the regional airport.
- Call him.
The phones went dead when this started.
We gotta get to the airport or this whole thing starts spreading across the country like wildfire.
All right, this is going to reboot.
Don't send any e-mail.
Don't read any e-mail.
Just stay off the network, okay? We'll be back.
- Angela, Angela, hold up.
- We got to keep moving.
No, no, no, we're not going anywhere till you tell me who you are and what the hell you're doing here.
- We don't have time for my whole life story.
- We're gonna make time.
You lied to me from the moment I met you.
You're telling me Cal was murdered and for some reason you know about this worm.
What is going on here? Damn it, why can't you trust me? Only somebody from inside your company could have placed a worm.
- Whoever it was, killed Cal.
- What? - What? Sam.
- Perry, don't.
Perry, run! Ready, run! Okay.
Come on.
Quick, get in.
Just drive! We're gonna get you to a hospital.
You gotta get to the airport and stop this.
No, first things first.
Just hang in there.
- He's been shot.
- Quick, get him out of there.
Okay.
Easy.
- All right now, here we go.
- Be careful.
- Nice and easy.
- Got him.
Perry.
- Easy now.
- There you go.
- I'm right here.
- We'll take care of it from here.
Don't worry.
- Take him to Triage.
- Yeah.
Can I get a doctor over here, please? - I need an orderly.
- You're going to be okay.
I'll be right back with an anaesthesiologist in a minute.
Calm down, please, calm down.
- Yeah, an extra pint.
- I need medication.
I already did reboot.
That's not the problem.
Please, just get somebody in here.
Every system's running down.
What should we do? Until we get the vents back online put the respiratory patients in the lobby and bag them in shifts.
We have another trauma coming in, ETA five minutes.
Excuse me.
Look, the clerk will be with you as soon as possible.
Please take a seat.
I'm a programmer from the Central Control Centre.
They sent me.
They said you need some help.
Just in time.
The ventilators shut down.
Something about the computers, but I don't All right, there's a virus that's infecting all of the infrastructures.
It started with the traffic lights.
We're trying to contain it.
That what's going on outside? All of a sudden we had all this activity.
Yeah, outside it's just starting.
You better get your off-duty staff in here.
Okay, but first we have to get the ventilators back online.
- And that's the tip of the iceberg.
- I'm on it.
The virus is doing the same thing that it did at Central Control.
- That's the good news.
- And the bad? It's gonna infect every system in town if I don't stop it.
What systems? Well, if a machine uses electricity the chance is a computer controls it.
- My God! - Right.
Even the power plant is vulnerable right now.
If it starts generating too much electricity, we're going to get fires everywhere.
Could we get a little help over here? Put him in Trauma 1.
Find Dr Wyatt.
- No beds in 1.
- Then make room in 2.
What's happening? A small plane crashed at the airport.
Thank God he was alone.
We're full.
The airport.
- Jacob.
- So you made it to the airport? Not yet.
Listen up, I'm at a hospital in Aptos.
The systems are dropping out, and I have my hands full.
- It jumped again? - Things are breaking down all over town.
Well, did it hit the electrical grid? I don't know, but I'm afraid when it does.
- Wait, what are you doing in a hospital? - Perry was shot.
What? The Praetorians had an inside guy.
Well, then he's still out there, Angela.
He's gonna try to stop you.
I have to get to the airport, Jacob, and you have to take over here.
Okay.
I'm hooked in.
Well, finish the life-support systems first and then work your way out through critical care.
All right, I'll check around.
After that, you know I'll try to build up some firewalls around whatever's left standing.
Good luck.
I've got a plane to catch.
- Where are you going? - Oh, no, it's okay.
My office is jacked into your system now.
Don't touch anything.
You're gonna get a call when it's all back up.
Look, you can't leave.
What if What's happening here is happening at the airport, too.
You have my word, it will all be fixed soon.
This is Aptos Control, and I'm having a major problem here.
I'm losing control of our radars, and that has already caused one accident today.
Now the data is freaking out.
Hang on.
Commence approach.
You're clear for Runway 1-5.
Roger, moving to 3-0-2, on final approach to 15.
Jake, I'm not panicking for nothing.
Send one of your techs down here ASAP.
With this fog up there, you're gonna have metal piling up on the runway.
This is Bravo Tango 299, heavy, what's going on down there? We're having computer difficulties.
We'll have you back online in just a moment.
Roger that, Aptos Tower, but you better work fast.
We're low on fuel here and there are 220 people onboard who are very anxious to get on the ground.
- Jacob, are you there? - Yeah.
I've contained the virus at the hospital but the airports could be a disaster.
What do you think the Praetorians are after? The best I can figure is they've created some bizarre scenario so they can set off the millennium bug prematurely.
Why would they do that? Who knows? Maybe so they can ride in on their white horses with a fix.
They'll be the only game in town, right? So they can break into any computer in the country.
Well, watch yourself.
The Praetorians are onto you and if I can track you, so can they.
Have you heard anything from Lloyd? Nothing yet.
Tell me, what is the situation with the Aptos computer system? Well, the city centre just came back online and most of its core systems have been restored.
The inner circle is secure, but the virus has rippled to its second phase.
I'm showing 13 secondary systems currently in a full-systems crash and nine are - Now what? - I'm not sure.
I'm trying to ascertain if this information is correct.
I don't have time for you to protect me from the facts, Miss Kelly.
Get to the point.
- The virus just hit the third ring of the tier.
- Which means? Which means it spread to the local airport, and once it passes its initial stage it'll crash the entire air traffic control system in In 13 minutes.
Ten minutes before we're supposed to land.
Can you disable it from here? No, we have to be at a primary system.
So This is going to be an interesting landing.
Bravo Tango my CRT has just froze.
Are you in control? What's happening down there? Any luck? Well, basically what I'm trying to do is download existing flight plans before the whole system goes dark.
Then, when we lose contact with the tower assuming every other plane goes into divert we should at least be able to avoid a mid-air.
Is it safe to import the data off an infected system? The problem is our FMS systems will be affected by the tower and it will eventually shut down my system but at least we'll have the flight info we need in order to land.
Now, everything should be fine as long as we don't bump into anybody else flying VFR.
Remember, we didn't register this flight plan for security reasons.
I know, but because we're flying without a flight plan we technically don't exist.
So there's no way for anyone else to know where we might pop up.
Great.
Yes, Captain, is there a ceiling under that fog? Five hundred feet.
We'll be down before it drops.
I'm coming forward.
Get a hold of Lloyd.
Tell him to get to the airport.
Have we connected with Aptos Tower yet? We're still a few minutes out of range.
- Can we get there any faster? - We're already cruising at the top speed.
- Too bad.
- What's the hurry? The control tower computer is gonna crash.
Regardless of what happens, we need to put down.
If the ceiling holds, then we can get in under the weather.
Flying in blind might get us all killed.
We're downloading their current flight info.
My colleague thinks that should be enough to get us down.
Do you, Captain Barrett? Yeah, if the VASIS is visible, yeah.
Maybe.
Maybe.
Aptos Tower, listen up.
We're running out of time.
We got less than 10 minutes for you to get our system back up or we're coming down, one way or the other.
Bravo Tango, we're going to have you coming in on Runway 1- Oh, God, it's starting.
Bravo Tango, do you read? Bravo Tango.
Aptos Tower, this is Bravo Tango.
What's going on down there? The whole system is crashing.
I've just lost both sets of my runway lights and all my power, except for my backup generator.
No one can come down here.
You have to divert to San Jose.
Negative, Aptos.
We don't have enough fuel.
You must clear the runway.
- This isn't happening.
- What are they transmitting? Nothing.
System's locked on a landing path.
I can't turn it off.
- What options do we have? - None.
The plane's bringing us down.
We're out of control.
It's the millennium programme.
It's attacking all interconnected systems.
Guess your choice to download infected us, Miss Kelly.
Well, usually onboard computers aren't linked with flight systems.
What about your disable codes? You'll have to shut down the system and reboot.
I can't guarantee I'll be able to refire the jets.
I assume that will severely reduce our chances of landing.
To a rock under the sky.
Tell me, what are our chances to just ride the flight path, let it take us in? If we don't hit another plane, and the FMS is accurate, it's 50-50.
Well, here's what was in the sky the last time I checked the radar.
It's thick.
I've gotta warn the tower.
We're mayday.
I suggest that you go into the cabin, strap yourselves in.
Keep the transmitter in the back on.
Nobody takes off.
You got it? I'm not kidding.
This airport is offline.
Everyone is on divert.
You better be somebody from airport systems.
Not exactly.
Well, then get out of here.
I'm in the middle of a crisis.
I don't have time to talk to you.
I know what's wrong with your system.
So do I.
A virus shut us down.
A lot of good that does us.
I can get you back online.
Aptos Tower, this is November Tango 3-7.
We are at 2.
5 and descending on a preset FMS onto your Southwest 19 Runway.
Repeat.
We have lost flight controls to autopilot.
We need you to clear a path.
That's a negative, Tango 3-7.
This airport is closed until further notice.
Aptos Tower, this is an NSA aircraft.
We have the authority to override tower control.
We are exercising that authority.
Clear us a path.
We're coming in at 095.
This is an emergency landing.
Trelawney.
- You know this jerk? - Yeah, I know him.
Well, if you can't get the system up, this guy is gonna be a fireball.
Hey.
Okay, Tango 3-7, we have technical assist here.
We will attempt to clear a path for you.
- You can do this, right? - I can do this.
- Someone's coming.
- Lock the door.
Are you crazy? It's probably my boss.
Billy, is that you? Bennett.
That's your name, isn't it? All right, step away from the panel.
- Now.
- Trelawney, are you there? Answer me.
- Angela.
- Tell Mr.
Lloyd to put his gun down.
- Where's Conway? - Dead.
And that means I'm the only chance you've got.
We've got no visual and no controls.
We'll never make it without radar assist.
Five seconds, Trelawney.
Do you want me to save your life or do you want to be a footnote in aviation history? Tell him.
Do what she says.
Put the gun down.
Back away.
Back away.
Don't make me nervous.
I'm not very good with these things.
Now, like it or not, you're gonna need to do what I say.
Trelawney, this man makes one move towards me, and you're on your own.
You have my word, he won't.
Sit down.
- You're going to help me.
- I don't know anything about this system.
You're about to learn.
Follow my lead.
Put your terminal into service mode.
Shift, Alt, F9.
Now delete lines 290 through 340.
Then input exactly what I tell you.
Go.
Beta, beta, backslash, 0-1-0, HPP dot, backslash, semicolon, backslash backslash, 0-1-0, HPP We're below 10,000 feet.
We're coming down too fast.
- Hold on.
- Nothing to worry about.
dot, backslash, semicolon, backslash.
Hit Shift and hold.
Then when I say "hit Enter" Hold it.
- Hold it.
Hold it.
When.
- You did it? Trelawney somebody, there's a plane coming right for you! Divert! Divert! ND-9-5, NB-9-5, or Y-37, come in.
Yes, this is November Tango 3-7.
Pull up.
Pull up.
There's a plane coming right for you.
Pull up! Control, this is Tango 3-7 we are having a hell of a day, but we are stabilised have regained control, and we are locked on our descent.
We have a visual and are on final approach.
Angela.
Angela.
Control Tower, that was a close call.
I've got a lot of people here that really want to thank you for your help in getting us down.
I appreciate it.
Where is she? - I was matching her commands when she- - Outsmarted you.
Let's get this mess cleaned up.
You'll need to disappear until I can deal with you.
Call ahead.
Tell them to make the proper arrangements.
- Jacob, are you there? - Hey, always.
I stopped the worm, thanks to your help.
Yeah.
So we're safe now? Until January 1st, 2000.
Then who knows? So how's Perry doing? Have you had a chance to see him yet? - You know I can't do that.
- Trelawney could be waiting? Well, he'll always be waiting.
So where are you gonna go? Keep moving, for now.
Someday I'll take off my walking shoes.
Until then - You'll stay in touch? - Always.
Hello? - Is this Perry Reeves' room? - Angela? It's Deanne.
Is that you? He's been asking for you.
How is he? Is he all right? He's feeling much better.
Let me wake him up.
No, no.
Just let him sleep.
Can you tell him that I'm sorry and that I wish I could be there? - You ready? - Yeah, yeah.
Like I said, I'm only going as far as Salt Lake but I can hook you up with another ride when I get there.
Okay, that would be great.