Salvation (2017) s02e02 Episode Script
Détente
1 Previously on Salvation But like Darius said, this bunker will protect us from any nuclear strike.
And just how long are we supposed to be down here? Could be 30 days.
I didn't sign up for that.
I'm going to see my family.
Looks like he fell from the gantry.
Maybe Joe hadn't given up on finding a way out.
What if this wasn't an accident? Global citizens, we are RE/SYST.
The United States and Russia have initiated an armed nuclear conflict.
We control one remaining ICBM carrying 13 warheads.
Madam President.
We just received the demands from RE/SYST.
They're assembling their own asteroid mitigation project with 30 scientists from around the world.
They've given a list of names.
- Liam Cole.
- Hello, Liam.
- Croft? - They're asking for Tanz as their base of operation.
Well, they've taken away all my power.
I'm essentially useless.
Not to me.
I, Darius Tanz, do solemnly swear You're vice president? I poured my heart out on that hill.
You're wondering why I can't be emotional right now? I-I can't be anything right now.
To anyone.
Monroe Bennett and his men have managed to escape.
Now he and Claire Rayburn, they're in the wind.
We need to find them.
- Madam President - Yes, Madam President, finding Monroe Bennett and Claire Rayburn will be my top priority.
We have control of three airbases and two aircraft carriers.
- What are your orders? - We will take back the White House.
By any means necessary.
Yes, Mr.
President.
Are you prepared for the worst? No problem.
Because we are.
Ride out the apocalypse in style in one of our luxury survival condos.
Nestled safely underground, this 22-story, family-friendly complex has all the conveniences of a five-star resort.
And at a bargain of only $5 million per family of four, what are you waiting for? The end of the world? By then, it'll be too late.
The stock market is in free fall.
Many people have stopped showing up for work.
Police report a spike in looting.
Believing Judgment Day to be on the horizon, many seeking solace where they can find it.
Our Father, who art in Heaven, hallowed be Thy Name, Thy kingdom What's happening out there? Everything.
That's everything the NSA has on Bennett's possible whereabouts.
The only way Bennett could have escaped is with some help in high places.
That's why I'm giving this to you.
I don't know who I can trust right now.
I need Monroe Bennett brought in quickly, quietly.
Dead or alive.
Is this the president's edict or yours? Bennett gave the order that killed my son.
You're a father.
If someone was responsible for Grace's death, what would you do to them? Nothing that can be repeated.
But Bennett deserves far worse than a quick death.
He deserves to rot in prison, not a hole in the ground.
All right, bring him in.
Find your name and take your seat.
There'll be a packet there, waiting for you.
It's good to be back in this room.
Yeah, you steal all your best ideas here.
I suppose I deserved that.
You deserve far worse than that.
What? Like a bullet in the shoulder? I wish I'd put it through your heart.
Perhaps you'd like to switch seats.
So you can sit next to your friend? Good morning.
Some of the greatest minds in the world are assembled in this room today.
You are being asked to solve the most critical problem facing humanity: how to deflect the asteroid which is due to collide with Earth in 121 days.
The goal is to quickly settle on the plan which has the highest probability of success.
You will divide into preselected groups based on expertise.
Your group number is on your name card.
You will be well cared for, provided you play by the rules.
Anyone who attempts to contact the outside world will face consequences.
Anyone who doesn't report them will face execution.
We are RE/SYST.
I've put together profiles on anyone in the Ark bunker who wasn't properly vetted through the initial screening process.
Good.
I'll need you to go through them with a fine-tooth comb.
Okay, and, uh, what am I looking for? Other than a a "saboteur.
" Inconsistencies, anything that doesn't add up.
Think of it as a story you're writing.
Make sure the narrative doesn't have any holes.
Okay.
Wait, Darius, isn't this your office? No, no, no, no.
I-I asked them for something more suitable.
- Like? - The attic.
Uh, the White House attic is your office? I can't think outside the box from inside a box.
Oh, and Darius, about Joe Riggs, the, um, man who passed away in the bunker.
Yes.
I'll pay the family an official visit to offer my condolences.
I should do that, shouldn't I? As soon as I get back.
Wait, back from where? You're insane.
"You're insane, Mr.
Vice President.
" Show at least some level of decorum, Mr.
Secretary.
Okay, Mr.
Vice President, we cannot authorize you traveling to New Jersey, let alone Iceland.
RE/SYST has threatened to drop nuclear weapons on anyone who defies their travel ban.
Which is why I'll need a stealth jet to get me there.
A B-2 bomber, to be more precise.
Fly under the radar, as it were.
- What's in ReykjavÃk? - RISC.
ReykjavÃk International Science Coalition.
RE/SYST has drafted the world's best scientists.
We'll need to do the same in order to implement my plan to deflect the asteroid.
And what exactly is your plan, Mr.
Vice President? A rail gun.
In layman's terms, a massive magnetic cannon that will fire a series of hypersonic bullets at the asteroid, knocking it off course.
Simple idea, difficult execution, I'm afraid.
Which is why I need to get to ReykjavÃk.
RISC presides over the world's largest supercollider.
A 17-mile pipe - I'll repurpose into a rail gun.
- Darius Mr.
Vice President RISC is disbanding, as are most international forums right now.
Disbanding in 24 hours.
They haven't yet.
There isn't much time, so I'd appreciate a signoff on a requisition form or however it is one gets permission to borrow a stealth jet these days.
I'm sorry, I'm new at this.
Madam President, I promise you, the rail gun will work.
Grace.
I want you to accompany the vice president.
Use that same diplomatic flair you two so expertly displayed - with our Russian friends.
- Will do.
You're only gonna have one shot at this.
You have 24 hours to get in, get it done, and get home.
If you're caught crossing international borders, it will trigger a nuclear response from RE/SYST.
Well, then, we'd better not get caught.
I'm sorry.
You got roped into this alone.
Babysitting Darius halfway across the world.
You all right in here? Harris, I'm seeing her.
Everywhere.
Claire.
I know, I know it's not real, and yet Grace.
Grace, it's PTSD.
Now, you've been through a trauma.
Nightmares, flashbacks, it's all normal.
Yeah, well, this "normal" is making me insane.
The guilt of carrying this secret Hey.
We're in this together.
I'm the one who pulled the trigger.
To save my life.
And I'll never forget that.
Hey.
I'm here for you, no matter what.
Grace.
Speaking of stealth, the jet's ready.
I'm Dr.
Vinay Chandra from New Delhi, specializing in orbital dynamics and general perturbation theory.
Alycia Vrettou.
Born in Athens, Greece.
Studied at Caltech.
Undergrad in engineering physics.
PhD from ETH Zurich in mechanical and aerospace engineering, specializing in avionics.
Ah, I'm Professor Malcolm Croft, formerly MIT, specializing in planetary sciences.
And speaking of breakthroughs, I created a working EmDrive.
With a little help from my protégé over there, Mr.
Cole.
A little help? - Mm-hmm.
- Wait, wait, you have a working EmDrive? That must have taken - Years.
- Weeks.
Took him years.
Me weeks.
I'm Liam Cole.
MIT, astrophysics.
Darius Tanz's head of new projects.
From the United States of America.
What country are you here representing, comrade? Well, we have to put forth our best ideas here, so Well, he's the genius who invented the EmDrive.
Why don't you start with him? Croft, what brilliant idea have you been incubating? Well our EmDrive is attached to a gravity tractor, which should be reaching the asteroid in a few weeks.
And once there, it's supposed to slowly pull the asteroid off its collision course with Earth, but apparently something didn't add up, or we wouldn't be here.
So, Mr.
Cole you have any idea what went wrong? Hmm? The asteroid's iron core.
We didn't account for its density.
The-the gravity tractor's mass may not be great enough to move Samson off its course.
No.
Nothing? No idea.
Hmm.
Well There are 30 different countries represented at RISC.
You'll need a two-thirds majority.
Most influential members tend to be the European Bloc.
They vote on a united front.
Yes, but relations are frosty right now between the East and the West, so you're gonna have to forge, um, a détente of sorts.
They were frosty before they knew the world was about to be incinerated by a space rock.
Perhaps now they're in a more of a hugging mood.
Hmm.
Wasn't it Winston Churchill who said, "Never let a good crisis go to waste"? He had World War II.
You have an asteroid and a nuclear bomb.
Use them wisely.
So you and Harris seem cozy.
Really? That's what you want to talk about? Well, it's just an observation.
We don't have to talk about it.
Good, 'cause we're not going to.
Fellas, would you mind just giving us a second? Grace, is there something I need to know? - Because if there is - No, Mr.
Vice President.
- Oh, stop.
- You wanted things to be professional.
I want things to be normal between us.
You say you're not a politician.
You certainly flip-flop like one.
You can't have it both ways.
This is the new normal, Darius.
Get used to it.
Fort Lesley J.
McNair, Washington Navy Yard, National Guard Armory, all reported missing munitions, vehicles, even tanks.
Bennett's amassing an army.
- Only two reasons to do that.
- Yeah.
To defend or to attack.
He's got to be working out of a shuttered military base, somewhere within 20 miles of here.
I had three generals fail to report for duty today.
All three were stationed at Fort Reynolds at some point in the last five years before the base was closed.
Do you believe in coincidences? Not since the night I realized my father and Santa were never in the same room at the same time.
Makes perfect sense.
Go to ground you know, where you feel safe.
They would know every inch of that base.
I'll assemble my team.
We'll move tonight.
We'll need backup.
- You'll have it.
- See you there, Mr.
Secretary? I wouldn't miss it.
Sir, that detective from D.
C.
Law Enforcement called again.
Third time.
- Did he say what it was about? - Claire Rayburn.
Okay.
Thank you, Lois.
So, are you on some kind of suicide mission or just an idiot? What are you talking about? The world's greatest scientists are assembled here to save the world, and you and your professor friend are bickering like two little boys.
Former friend.
That little troll was selling secrets - to the Russians.
- Oh, who cares, Liam? You need to move on from the past.
Get on board to protect our future.
Get on board with RE/SYST? They're criminals.
They dropped a nuke on Kansas.
No.
They moved a nuke to Kansas.
Have you ever thought about what Russia's original target was? RE/SYST stopped the United States and Russia from destroying each other.
The arrogance of your countries, it's obscene.
Well, you, okay, you seem to be a huge fan of RE/SYST.
I'm not big on being held hostage.
You think I want to be here? Look, maybe you have nothing to live for, but I do.
RE/SYST is not the problem.
You are.
You said you were calling from the Office of Strategic Plans? Is that even a thing? Oh, yeah, no, uh, of course it is.
Uh, yeah, sorry.
The vice president is currently unavailable.
Will return.
Thank you.
Sorry.
I just need you to sign for this.
Jillian? Yeah? It's me, Nate Ryland.
Thomas Jefferson High School.
Sophomore year? Mrs.
Lattimore's English class? Nate? - Yeah.
- Oh, my God.
Sorry, I didn't recognize you.
Uh, without the braces and the acne? Yeah, I hope not.
So, office of the VP, impressive.
How are you holding up with all the crazy going on out there? About the same as everyone, I suspect.
Uh, so you work at the White House? Uh, DoD, actually.
I'm a liaison to the White House.
I deliver classified documents.
Oh, you mean like this box? The one that I now have access to.
FBI, NSA, Homeland all the names you requested.
You're busy.
I'm gonna take off, but, uh, we should catch up, grab a drink sometime.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Uh, yes.
Um Vice President Tanz's office.
This is a special report.
Streets are deserted, as most citizens hunker down with their families, unsure of what the future holds.
Whiplashing between multiple crises, Americans don't know which way to look.
Meanwhile, Vice President Tanz's approval ratings are at a record high.
Listen, Officer, I'm in a bit of a hurry.
- My name is Harris - Harris Edwards.
You're a hard man to reach.
Detective Alonzo Carter.
D.
C.
Police.
Investigating the disappearance of Claire Rayburn.
Mm-hmm.
Mind if I ask you a few questions? Good day.
We're here to see the director general.
My name is Darius Tanz.
- Is she expecting you, sir? - No, but she'll He's here on official business as vice president of the United States government.
There wasn't time to make an appointment.
Grace Barrows, senior advisor to the president of the United States.
One moment, Ms.
Barrows.
Thank you.
Way to throw our weight around.
If you got it, flaunt it.
Okay, clock's ticking.
What's our first move? Get Rosetta to convene one last meeting with the council, - so I can address them directly.
- Rosetta? We're old friends.
Gun! This is obviously a mix-up.
We're representatives of the United States government here to speak with Dr.
Stendahl.
I'm afraid I can't do that, Darius.
I don't know how you got into the country, but if you don't leave immediately, security will be forced to shoot.
Drop your weapons.
This is madness.
Darius, do not make this any harder than it needs to be.
Rosetta, I have a plan to save us all.
Shoot me and you'll be killing seven billion people with that bullet.
It's good to see you, too.
Detective, I'm guessing this isn't exactly department protocol.
Well, protocol has kind of gone out the window these days, Mr.
Secretary, with the world being what it is.
But, uh, I won't take up too much of your time.
I haven't seen Claire since the nuclear threat was announced.
She took off, along with Monroe Bennett.
I assume wherever he is, she is.
What was your relationship with her? We worked together, as you know.
Seems like you were more than just work friends.
Unless this was just casual Friday.
We were involved three years ago.
I was married.
She was divorced.
I broke it off.
We remain cordial.
"Cordial.
" I like that word.
Her place was scrubbed clean.
No prints.
Not even her own.
It's unusual, don't you think? Look, Detective, I know you're just trying to do your job, and I wish I had more information.
But right now I've got the security of the country on my back, and this is not my priority.
Now, if you don't exit the car immediately, we're gonna have a problem.
Okay.
Thanks for your cooperation, Mr.
Secretary.
I see you follow instruction about as well now as you did at MIT.
What were you thinking, violating the travel ban? Rosetta and I were classmates and friends, so I thought.
- You put us all in grave danger.
- You're right.
We are in danger, which is why I need to speak to the council immediately.
You're too late.
RE/SYST has ordered the council to disband.
We're shutting down.
Not for 12 hours.
- There's nothing I can do, Darius.
- Yes, there is.
You hold the power to call a vote.
You can keep RISC operational.
If we defy them, they have threatened to drop their bombs on London, Berlin, - Vienna - And that scares you more than complete annihilation of the planet? Let's just say they're both equally terrifying and call it a draw.
People have lost their minds here.
The past few weeks have been Unlike anything the world has ever seen.
Dr.
Stendahl, RE/SYST doesn't want to drop those nukes, but they do want to scare us into believing they will, to control us through fear.
We can't kowtow to them.
And we can't rely on them to solve the problem.
They are the enemy.
We are the resistance.
It's up to us to save our future.
Remember what we used to say? "Ex nihilo nihil fit"? Nothing comes from nothing.
Who else knew about the console's ability to connect to the outside? It doesn't work.
You don't think I tried? RE/SYST has plugged every hole in the Tanz network, including the one in this game.
You're not gonna communicate with the outside world this way.
So, what, are you gonna turn me in? Oh, no, no.
Then, what do you want, Croft? I come in peace.
Come on.
Thank you, Mr.
Ortiz.
Yeah, the vice president just wanted to make sure we had all your correct information.
- What's your name? - Joe Riggs.
Maybe Joe hadn't given up on finding a way out.
Or maybe he just gave up.
We're sorry.
You have reached a number that has been disconnected or is no longer in service.
Hi.
This is Jillian Hayes from the vice president's office.
I'd like to request a car.
Russian, no doubt.
Oh, yeah, that's funny.
That's really funny.
Mm-hmm.
I don't remember you being such a jerk.
- I studied under the best.
- Yeah.
Listen, we don't have time to chat.
What went wrong with the gravity tractor? By all accounts it should have worked.
Look, Liam, don't be a fool.
If you know something, you need to share it.
No.
No, I don't.
I don't have to do anything, Croft.
I don't trust them, and I definitely - don't trust you.
- Look, I'm sorry.
I really am.
But what happened is less important than what is happening.
We've got some of the greatest minds in the world gathered.
We've got 14 Nobel Prizes in that room.
Our best hope for saving the planet is right here.
But if you know something and you're holding back, then, you're not hurting me.
You're not hurting RE/SYST.
You're destroying the planet.
You think about that.
Look, I know you gotta be you, and that works most of the time, but you never tried to get consensus from 30 countries at once, none of whom have a favorable impression of the U.
S.
right now.
Meaning? Meaning you're not just here as a scientist but as a diplomat.
Remember, détente.
You have to play nice if you want them to share their toys.
I was never good at playing nice.
Why doesn't that surprise me? Thank you, council members, for gathering on such short notice.
I appreciate your forbearance.
You are risking devastating consequences simply by listening to me today.
The fact that you are here is already a victory of hope over fear.
Now, I have a plan to stop the asteroid that will work, but I need your cooperation to make it happen.
The plan: we repurpose the supercollider here at RISC, turning it into a rail gun.
Using material technology developed by Dr.
Raul Aguirre, we shoot thousands of iron sabot shells encased in dense, depleted uranium capable of knocking the asteroid off course.
Instead of hyperaccelerating subatomic particles, we will use magnets to launch our projectiles.
Why should we trust the United States? You incited a nuclear conflict and allowed RE/SYS to take the world hostage.
Your plan puts all of our countries in jeopardy.
If-if RE/SYST was to find out any of us cooperated, they'd drop warheads, kill millions of people.
America is a pariah, Mr.
Tanz.
There is no goodwill left here.
We are not going to risk the lives of our citizens for a plan that may or may not work.
This meeting is over.
Oh, so you cowards are just prepared to die, is that it? We are going to have to trust RE/SYST.
- Your plan will get us all killed! - RE/SYST? Y-You're entrusting the fate of the planet to an extremist group? A group that incited a nuclear war between nations, all so they could look like heroes.
Make no mistake.
This is terrorism, pure and simple, and it will not stand.
No.
These are not the people that we should entrust with the fate of the world.
We are.
Are there risks? Of course.
Only a fool would deny it.
But the but the greatest risk right now is that asteroid hurtling toward us.
And the only way to stop it is science.
If-if you'll just hear me out.
Please.
Throughout time, thinkers like Galileo and Turing have led the way, braving ridicule and even death to-to-to push mankind up the hill of history.
This is our time to stand tall, our time to lead.
I ask you this: if not us, then who? Darius Tanz! - Move! - Keep his hands behind his back.
Darius? Move.
Move.
Move.
Darius.
No.
No.
Are you okay? Thanks to a fantastic tailor in, in Bogotá.
A bulletproof shirt? Graphene fiber antiballistic fabric.
Very expensive, but light as a feather.
It's okay.
I'm okay.
I'm okay.
Get him out of here.
You'll kill us all, Darius Tanz.
We should trust RE/SYST.
They will save us.
They will save us! Sir, we need to get you to the plane.
Now.
Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait.
First rule of diplomacy: never let a good crisis go to waste.
Help me up.
Now, where was I before I was so rudely interrupted? - Mrs.
Riggs? - Yes.
My name is Jillian Hayes.
I'm sorry to disturb you.
Um, I'm here on official business from the office of the vice president.
I'm sorry about the loss of your husband.
My husband? Yes.
Has no one contacted you? Honey? What's going on? Joe, this lady from the vice president's office seems to think you're dead.
Well, obviously I'm not.
Uh thank you very much for your time.
Enveloping the asteroid in a carbon fiber mesh could alter its flight path.
It's a glorified trawling net.
And it's unsustainable, Croft, not when you consider the time factor.
I ran the numbers.
At ten million Newtons per square centimeter - Stop.
- He speaks.
We thought maybe someone cut out your tongue.
It's not gonna work.
Neither will the rocket thruster or the drill bomb.
It's not gonna work.
None of these ideas are gonna work.
All right, well Show me this again.
Liam.
Liam! Okay, clearly, you have information you're withholding.
What aren't you telling us? We don't have time for your games, Mr.
Cole.
My games? What about your games, Ms.
Vrettou? What? Earlier, you went straight to those tea bags.
You knew exactly where everything was.
It's a break room, not the labyrinth of Knossos.
It doesn't take a genius to find some tea bags.
Actually, it does.
I couldn't find them for, like, a week.
I don't have to answer to you.
Well, you do if you want answers from me.
If you want to know my secrets, I need to know yours.
Fine.
Okay, have it your way.
Wait.
You're right.
I have been here before.
I used to work for Darius.
How long before we move? Any moment now.
I had a visit from a D.
C.
Metro detective looking into Claire Rayburn's disappearance.
This gonna be a problem? Not for us.
My team took care of it.
Yeah, a little too well.
There were no prints at her house, not even hers.
Better that than yours.
There's no way to tie Grace, you or me to that body, wherever it may be.
You don't know? In my line of work, you don't ask a question if you don't want the answer.
Blackbird One, this is Blackbird Leader.
Ready to move on your command.
Showtime.
Move out.
Let's go.
Over here.
Sir, we have a problem.
You're gonna want to see this.
You all right? We got the two-thirds vote we needed.
It was a nasty scrum, but we won the day.
Congratulations on your first victory as vice president.
Our victory, Grace.
I could never have gotten this far without your diplomacy.
Convincing Rosetta was just as important as convincing the rest of them.
It seems we were able to achieve détente after all.
I hope so.
Darius, wait.
There's a problem.
It's just over here, sir.
We're too late.
He's gonna go public.
Question is what's he gonna say? The Mackenzie regime has committed treason and lied to the American people.
They are criminals who must be stopped.
I am still the president of the United States of America, and I am going to take back the White House.
So, why all the secrecy? Thousands of people have worked for Darius.
It didn't end well.
What? He fired you? Fired me? He ruined me.
For seven years we worked together side-by-side until I outpaced the "master" and developed some technology that could change the world.
And he kept her all for himself.
Her? Tess.
Tess? Tess? You developed the software for one of the most advanced learning computers in the world? He promised he would share the knowledge with the world, that it wouldn't just be a money-making enterprise.
But at the end of the day, his narcissism wouldn't allow that.
And when I challenged him to do the right thing? Well, let's just say he didn't like that very much.
And it's pretty difficult to get a job in the tech world after Darius Tanz blackballs you.
That doesn't sound like the Darius I know.
Yeah, well give it time.
But this isn't about Darius.
There are people out there that I love, that I want to live to get to see again.
The sooner we solve this, the sooner the world goes back to normal.
If we could focus solar radiation on one point long enough, we may be able to super-heat the asteroid surface, vaporizing it, causing the rocket effect.
Excuse me, Croft.
What are you doing? What are you? Would you stop that?! Stop.
You're erasing hours of work! None of your ideas will work because the asteroid has an iron core.
- Iron core? - Iron core? No, no.
We have data, we have images.
It's a rubble pile held together by its own gravity.
Yes, on the outside, but underneath, it is iron, much too dense - for any of these current calculations.
- What? You've been holding this back the whole time? And I'm sorry.
But we got to save the world, and I know what to do.
All right.
Here.
There must be something we can say or do to change their minds.
You have to understand.
Making a deal with the Mackenzie administration was risky enough for us, but now No one feels they can trust a United States in chaos.
Believe me, I'm as disappointed as you are.
We've run out of options.
Sir? What if we haven't run out of options? What if I could get access to the Maxwell Collider? Wait.
You mean that particle accelerator in Virginia? It's half built, abandoned.
It's half built if we need a particle accelerator.
As far as planetary-scale rail guns go, we could convert it.
We? No one knows the complexities of magnetic systems better than you do.
It's not optimal.
We'd need a team, of course, but it's something.
A place to start.
But I can't do it without you.
And you're telling me this will work? It can if we get it done in time.
It-It's not gonna be easy.
But nothing comes from nothing.
Take her down! Take her down! Take her down! Take her down! Take her down! Take her down! Take her down! Take her down! Take her down! Hmm.
Hello? - Grace.
- Jillian.
Uh, there's someone here to see you.
A detective.
What? Can I help you? I hope so.
Detective Alonzo Carter, D.
C.
Police.
I'm investigating the disappearance of Claire Rayburn.
Doesn't D.
C.
Police have more pressing matters right now than Ms.
Rayburn's whereabouts? Mm, probably, but I don't.
Claire is my sister.
Honey, I'm right here.
Take her down! Take her down! And I thought Iceland was tense.
Bennett's played this perfectly.
By going public the way he did, he's inoculated himself.
We've lost our chance to handle this discreetly.
I'll say.
He's got an army waiting in the wings.
All we can do now is prepare.
Prepare for what? War.
And just how long are we supposed to be down here? Could be 30 days.
I didn't sign up for that.
I'm going to see my family.
Looks like he fell from the gantry.
Maybe Joe hadn't given up on finding a way out.
What if this wasn't an accident? Global citizens, we are RE/SYST.
The United States and Russia have initiated an armed nuclear conflict.
We control one remaining ICBM carrying 13 warheads.
Madam President.
We just received the demands from RE/SYST.
They're assembling their own asteroid mitigation project with 30 scientists from around the world.
They've given a list of names.
- Liam Cole.
- Hello, Liam.
- Croft? - They're asking for Tanz as their base of operation.
Well, they've taken away all my power.
I'm essentially useless.
Not to me.
I, Darius Tanz, do solemnly swear You're vice president? I poured my heart out on that hill.
You're wondering why I can't be emotional right now? I-I can't be anything right now.
To anyone.
Monroe Bennett and his men have managed to escape.
Now he and Claire Rayburn, they're in the wind.
We need to find them.
- Madam President - Yes, Madam President, finding Monroe Bennett and Claire Rayburn will be my top priority.
We have control of three airbases and two aircraft carriers.
- What are your orders? - We will take back the White House.
By any means necessary.
Yes, Mr.
President.
Are you prepared for the worst? No problem.
Because we are.
Ride out the apocalypse in style in one of our luxury survival condos.
Nestled safely underground, this 22-story, family-friendly complex has all the conveniences of a five-star resort.
And at a bargain of only $5 million per family of four, what are you waiting for? The end of the world? By then, it'll be too late.
The stock market is in free fall.
Many people have stopped showing up for work.
Police report a spike in looting.
Believing Judgment Day to be on the horizon, many seeking solace where they can find it.
Our Father, who art in Heaven, hallowed be Thy Name, Thy kingdom What's happening out there? Everything.
That's everything the NSA has on Bennett's possible whereabouts.
The only way Bennett could have escaped is with some help in high places.
That's why I'm giving this to you.
I don't know who I can trust right now.
I need Monroe Bennett brought in quickly, quietly.
Dead or alive.
Is this the president's edict or yours? Bennett gave the order that killed my son.
You're a father.
If someone was responsible for Grace's death, what would you do to them? Nothing that can be repeated.
But Bennett deserves far worse than a quick death.
He deserves to rot in prison, not a hole in the ground.
All right, bring him in.
Find your name and take your seat.
There'll be a packet there, waiting for you.
It's good to be back in this room.
Yeah, you steal all your best ideas here.
I suppose I deserved that.
You deserve far worse than that.
What? Like a bullet in the shoulder? I wish I'd put it through your heart.
Perhaps you'd like to switch seats.
So you can sit next to your friend? Good morning.
Some of the greatest minds in the world are assembled in this room today.
You are being asked to solve the most critical problem facing humanity: how to deflect the asteroid which is due to collide with Earth in 121 days.
The goal is to quickly settle on the plan which has the highest probability of success.
You will divide into preselected groups based on expertise.
Your group number is on your name card.
You will be well cared for, provided you play by the rules.
Anyone who attempts to contact the outside world will face consequences.
Anyone who doesn't report them will face execution.
We are RE/SYST.
I've put together profiles on anyone in the Ark bunker who wasn't properly vetted through the initial screening process.
Good.
I'll need you to go through them with a fine-tooth comb.
Okay, and, uh, what am I looking for? Other than a a "saboteur.
" Inconsistencies, anything that doesn't add up.
Think of it as a story you're writing.
Make sure the narrative doesn't have any holes.
Okay.
Wait, Darius, isn't this your office? No, no, no, no.
I-I asked them for something more suitable.
- Like? - The attic.
Uh, the White House attic is your office? I can't think outside the box from inside a box.
Oh, and Darius, about Joe Riggs, the, um, man who passed away in the bunker.
Yes.
I'll pay the family an official visit to offer my condolences.
I should do that, shouldn't I? As soon as I get back.
Wait, back from where? You're insane.
"You're insane, Mr.
Vice President.
" Show at least some level of decorum, Mr.
Secretary.
Okay, Mr.
Vice President, we cannot authorize you traveling to New Jersey, let alone Iceland.
RE/SYST has threatened to drop nuclear weapons on anyone who defies their travel ban.
Which is why I'll need a stealth jet to get me there.
A B-2 bomber, to be more precise.
Fly under the radar, as it were.
- What's in ReykjavÃk? - RISC.
ReykjavÃk International Science Coalition.
RE/SYST has drafted the world's best scientists.
We'll need to do the same in order to implement my plan to deflect the asteroid.
And what exactly is your plan, Mr.
Vice President? A rail gun.
In layman's terms, a massive magnetic cannon that will fire a series of hypersonic bullets at the asteroid, knocking it off course.
Simple idea, difficult execution, I'm afraid.
Which is why I need to get to ReykjavÃk.
RISC presides over the world's largest supercollider.
A 17-mile pipe - I'll repurpose into a rail gun.
- Darius Mr.
Vice President RISC is disbanding, as are most international forums right now.
Disbanding in 24 hours.
They haven't yet.
There isn't much time, so I'd appreciate a signoff on a requisition form or however it is one gets permission to borrow a stealth jet these days.
I'm sorry, I'm new at this.
Madam President, I promise you, the rail gun will work.
Grace.
I want you to accompany the vice president.
Use that same diplomatic flair you two so expertly displayed - with our Russian friends.
- Will do.
You're only gonna have one shot at this.
You have 24 hours to get in, get it done, and get home.
If you're caught crossing international borders, it will trigger a nuclear response from RE/SYST.
Well, then, we'd better not get caught.
I'm sorry.
You got roped into this alone.
Babysitting Darius halfway across the world.
You all right in here? Harris, I'm seeing her.
Everywhere.
Claire.
I know, I know it's not real, and yet Grace.
Grace, it's PTSD.
Now, you've been through a trauma.
Nightmares, flashbacks, it's all normal.
Yeah, well, this "normal" is making me insane.
The guilt of carrying this secret Hey.
We're in this together.
I'm the one who pulled the trigger.
To save my life.
And I'll never forget that.
Hey.
I'm here for you, no matter what.
Grace.
Speaking of stealth, the jet's ready.
I'm Dr.
Vinay Chandra from New Delhi, specializing in orbital dynamics and general perturbation theory.
Alycia Vrettou.
Born in Athens, Greece.
Studied at Caltech.
Undergrad in engineering physics.
PhD from ETH Zurich in mechanical and aerospace engineering, specializing in avionics.
Ah, I'm Professor Malcolm Croft, formerly MIT, specializing in planetary sciences.
And speaking of breakthroughs, I created a working EmDrive.
With a little help from my protégé over there, Mr.
Cole.
A little help? - Mm-hmm.
- Wait, wait, you have a working EmDrive? That must have taken - Years.
- Weeks.
Took him years.
Me weeks.
I'm Liam Cole.
MIT, astrophysics.
Darius Tanz's head of new projects.
From the United States of America.
What country are you here representing, comrade? Well, we have to put forth our best ideas here, so Well, he's the genius who invented the EmDrive.
Why don't you start with him? Croft, what brilliant idea have you been incubating? Well our EmDrive is attached to a gravity tractor, which should be reaching the asteroid in a few weeks.
And once there, it's supposed to slowly pull the asteroid off its collision course with Earth, but apparently something didn't add up, or we wouldn't be here.
So, Mr.
Cole you have any idea what went wrong? Hmm? The asteroid's iron core.
We didn't account for its density.
The-the gravity tractor's mass may not be great enough to move Samson off its course.
No.
Nothing? No idea.
Hmm.
Well There are 30 different countries represented at RISC.
You'll need a two-thirds majority.
Most influential members tend to be the European Bloc.
They vote on a united front.
Yes, but relations are frosty right now between the East and the West, so you're gonna have to forge, um, a détente of sorts.
They were frosty before they knew the world was about to be incinerated by a space rock.
Perhaps now they're in a more of a hugging mood.
Hmm.
Wasn't it Winston Churchill who said, "Never let a good crisis go to waste"? He had World War II.
You have an asteroid and a nuclear bomb.
Use them wisely.
So you and Harris seem cozy.
Really? That's what you want to talk about? Well, it's just an observation.
We don't have to talk about it.
Good, 'cause we're not going to.
Fellas, would you mind just giving us a second? Grace, is there something I need to know? - Because if there is - No, Mr.
Vice President.
- Oh, stop.
- You wanted things to be professional.
I want things to be normal between us.
You say you're not a politician.
You certainly flip-flop like one.
You can't have it both ways.
This is the new normal, Darius.
Get used to it.
Fort Lesley J.
McNair, Washington Navy Yard, National Guard Armory, all reported missing munitions, vehicles, even tanks.
Bennett's amassing an army.
- Only two reasons to do that.
- Yeah.
To defend or to attack.
He's got to be working out of a shuttered military base, somewhere within 20 miles of here.
I had three generals fail to report for duty today.
All three were stationed at Fort Reynolds at some point in the last five years before the base was closed.
Do you believe in coincidences? Not since the night I realized my father and Santa were never in the same room at the same time.
Makes perfect sense.
Go to ground you know, where you feel safe.
They would know every inch of that base.
I'll assemble my team.
We'll move tonight.
We'll need backup.
- You'll have it.
- See you there, Mr.
Secretary? I wouldn't miss it.
Sir, that detective from D.
C.
Law Enforcement called again.
Third time.
- Did he say what it was about? - Claire Rayburn.
Okay.
Thank you, Lois.
So, are you on some kind of suicide mission or just an idiot? What are you talking about? The world's greatest scientists are assembled here to save the world, and you and your professor friend are bickering like two little boys.
Former friend.
That little troll was selling secrets - to the Russians.
- Oh, who cares, Liam? You need to move on from the past.
Get on board to protect our future.
Get on board with RE/SYST? They're criminals.
They dropped a nuke on Kansas.
No.
They moved a nuke to Kansas.
Have you ever thought about what Russia's original target was? RE/SYST stopped the United States and Russia from destroying each other.
The arrogance of your countries, it's obscene.
Well, you, okay, you seem to be a huge fan of RE/SYST.
I'm not big on being held hostage.
You think I want to be here? Look, maybe you have nothing to live for, but I do.
RE/SYST is not the problem.
You are.
You said you were calling from the Office of Strategic Plans? Is that even a thing? Oh, yeah, no, uh, of course it is.
Uh, yeah, sorry.
The vice president is currently unavailable.
Will return.
Thank you.
Sorry.
I just need you to sign for this.
Jillian? Yeah? It's me, Nate Ryland.
Thomas Jefferson High School.
Sophomore year? Mrs.
Lattimore's English class? Nate? - Yeah.
- Oh, my God.
Sorry, I didn't recognize you.
Uh, without the braces and the acne? Yeah, I hope not.
So, office of the VP, impressive.
How are you holding up with all the crazy going on out there? About the same as everyone, I suspect.
Uh, so you work at the White House? Uh, DoD, actually.
I'm a liaison to the White House.
I deliver classified documents.
Oh, you mean like this box? The one that I now have access to.
FBI, NSA, Homeland all the names you requested.
You're busy.
I'm gonna take off, but, uh, we should catch up, grab a drink sometime.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Uh, yes.
Um Vice President Tanz's office.
This is a special report.
Streets are deserted, as most citizens hunker down with their families, unsure of what the future holds.
Whiplashing between multiple crises, Americans don't know which way to look.
Meanwhile, Vice President Tanz's approval ratings are at a record high.
Listen, Officer, I'm in a bit of a hurry.
- My name is Harris - Harris Edwards.
You're a hard man to reach.
Detective Alonzo Carter.
D.
C.
Police.
Investigating the disappearance of Claire Rayburn.
Mm-hmm.
Mind if I ask you a few questions? Good day.
We're here to see the director general.
My name is Darius Tanz.
- Is she expecting you, sir? - No, but she'll He's here on official business as vice president of the United States government.
There wasn't time to make an appointment.
Grace Barrows, senior advisor to the president of the United States.
One moment, Ms.
Barrows.
Thank you.
Way to throw our weight around.
If you got it, flaunt it.
Okay, clock's ticking.
What's our first move? Get Rosetta to convene one last meeting with the council, - so I can address them directly.
- Rosetta? We're old friends.
Gun! This is obviously a mix-up.
We're representatives of the United States government here to speak with Dr.
Stendahl.
I'm afraid I can't do that, Darius.
I don't know how you got into the country, but if you don't leave immediately, security will be forced to shoot.
Drop your weapons.
This is madness.
Darius, do not make this any harder than it needs to be.
Rosetta, I have a plan to save us all.
Shoot me and you'll be killing seven billion people with that bullet.
It's good to see you, too.
Detective, I'm guessing this isn't exactly department protocol.
Well, protocol has kind of gone out the window these days, Mr.
Secretary, with the world being what it is.
But, uh, I won't take up too much of your time.
I haven't seen Claire since the nuclear threat was announced.
She took off, along with Monroe Bennett.
I assume wherever he is, she is.
What was your relationship with her? We worked together, as you know.
Seems like you were more than just work friends.
Unless this was just casual Friday.
We were involved three years ago.
I was married.
She was divorced.
I broke it off.
We remain cordial.
"Cordial.
" I like that word.
Her place was scrubbed clean.
No prints.
Not even her own.
It's unusual, don't you think? Look, Detective, I know you're just trying to do your job, and I wish I had more information.
But right now I've got the security of the country on my back, and this is not my priority.
Now, if you don't exit the car immediately, we're gonna have a problem.
Okay.
Thanks for your cooperation, Mr.
Secretary.
I see you follow instruction about as well now as you did at MIT.
What were you thinking, violating the travel ban? Rosetta and I were classmates and friends, so I thought.
- You put us all in grave danger.
- You're right.
We are in danger, which is why I need to speak to the council immediately.
You're too late.
RE/SYST has ordered the council to disband.
We're shutting down.
Not for 12 hours.
- There's nothing I can do, Darius.
- Yes, there is.
You hold the power to call a vote.
You can keep RISC operational.
If we defy them, they have threatened to drop their bombs on London, Berlin, - Vienna - And that scares you more than complete annihilation of the planet? Let's just say they're both equally terrifying and call it a draw.
People have lost their minds here.
The past few weeks have been Unlike anything the world has ever seen.
Dr.
Stendahl, RE/SYST doesn't want to drop those nukes, but they do want to scare us into believing they will, to control us through fear.
We can't kowtow to them.
And we can't rely on them to solve the problem.
They are the enemy.
We are the resistance.
It's up to us to save our future.
Remember what we used to say? "Ex nihilo nihil fit"? Nothing comes from nothing.
Who else knew about the console's ability to connect to the outside? It doesn't work.
You don't think I tried? RE/SYST has plugged every hole in the Tanz network, including the one in this game.
You're not gonna communicate with the outside world this way.
So, what, are you gonna turn me in? Oh, no, no.
Then, what do you want, Croft? I come in peace.
Come on.
Thank you, Mr.
Ortiz.
Yeah, the vice president just wanted to make sure we had all your correct information.
- What's your name? - Joe Riggs.
Maybe Joe hadn't given up on finding a way out.
Or maybe he just gave up.
We're sorry.
You have reached a number that has been disconnected or is no longer in service.
Hi.
This is Jillian Hayes from the vice president's office.
I'd like to request a car.
Russian, no doubt.
Oh, yeah, that's funny.
That's really funny.
Mm-hmm.
I don't remember you being such a jerk.
- I studied under the best.
- Yeah.
Listen, we don't have time to chat.
What went wrong with the gravity tractor? By all accounts it should have worked.
Look, Liam, don't be a fool.
If you know something, you need to share it.
No.
No, I don't.
I don't have to do anything, Croft.
I don't trust them, and I definitely - don't trust you.
- Look, I'm sorry.
I really am.
But what happened is less important than what is happening.
We've got some of the greatest minds in the world gathered.
We've got 14 Nobel Prizes in that room.
Our best hope for saving the planet is right here.
But if you know something and you're holding back, then, you're not hurting me.
You're not hurting RE/SYST.
You're destroying the planet.
You think about that.
Look, I know you gotta be you, and that works most of the time, but you never tried to get consensus from 30 countries at once, none of whom have a favorable impression of the U.
S.
right now.
Meaning? Meaning you're not just here as a scientist but as a diplomat.
Remember, détente.
You have to play nice if you want them to share their toys.
I was never good at playing nice.
Why doesn't that surprise me? Thank you, council members, for gathering on such short notice.
I appreciate your forbearance.
You are risking devastating consequences simply by listening to me today.
The fact that you are here is already a victory of hope over fear.
Now, I have a plan to stop the asteroid that will work, but I need your cooperation to make it happen.
The plan: we repurpose the supercollider here at RISC, turning it into a rail gun.
Using material technology developed by Dr.
Raul Aguirre, we shoot thousands of iron sabot shells encased in dense, depleted uranium capable of knocking the asteroid off course.
Instead of hyperaccelerating subatomic particles, we will use magnets to launch our projectiles.
Why should we trust the United States? You incited a nuclear conflict and allowed RE/SYS to take the world hostage.
Your plan puts all of our countries in jeopardy.
If-if RE/SYST was to find out any of us cooperated, they'd drop warheads, kill millions of people.
America is a pariah, Mr.
Tanz.
There is no goodwill left here.
We are not going to risk the lives of our citizens for a plan that may or may not work.
This meeting is over.
Oh, so you cowards are just prepared to die, is that it? We are going to have to trust RE/SYST.
- Your plan will get us all killed! - RE/SYST? Y-You're entrusting the fate of the planet to an extremist group? A group that incited a nuclear war between nations, all so they could look like heroes.
Make no mistake.
This is terrorism, pure and simple, and it will not stand.
No.
These are not the people that we should entrust with the fate of the world.
We are.
Are there risks? Of course.
Only a fool would deny it.
But the but the greatest risk right now is that asteroid hurtling toward us.
And the only way to stop it is science.
If-if you'll just hear me out.
Please.
Throughout time, thinkers like Galileo and Turing have led the way, braving ridicule and even death to-to-to push mankind up the hill of history.
This is our time to stand tall, our time to lead.
I ask you this: if not us, then who? Darius Tanz! - Move! - Keep his hands behind his back.
Darius? Move.
Move.
Move.
Darius.
No.
No.
Are you okay? Thanks to a fantastic tailor in, in Bogotá.
A bulletproof shirt? Graphene fiber antiballistic fabric.
Very expensive, but light as a feather.
It's okay.
I'm okay.
I'm okay.
Get him out of here.
You'll kill us all, Darius Tanz.
We should trust RE/SYST.
They will save us.
They will save us! Sir, we need to get you to the plane.
Now.
Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait.
First rule of diplomacy: never let a good crisis go to waste.
Help me up.
Now, where was I before I was so rudely interrupted? - Mrs.
Riggs? - Yes.
My name is Jillian Hayes.
I'm sorry to disturb you.
Um, I'm here on official business from the office of the vice president.
I'm sorry about the loss of your husband.
My husband? Yes.
Has no one contacted you? Honey? What's going on? Joe, this lady from the vice president's office seems to think you're dead.
Well, obviously I'm not.
Uh thank you very much for your time.
Enveloping the asteroid in a carbon fiber mesh could alter its flight path.
It's a glorified trawling net.
And it's unsustainable, Croft, not when you consider the time factor.
I ran the numbers.
At ten million Newtons per square centimeter - Stop.
- He speaks.
We thought maybe someone cut out your tongue.
It's not gonna work.
Neither will the rocket thruster or the drill bomb.
It's not gonna work.
None of these ideas are gonna work.
All right, well Show me this again.
Liam.
Liam! Okay, clearly, you have information you're withholding.
What aren't you telling us? We don't have time for your games, Mr.
Cole.
My games? What about your games, Ms.
Vrettou? What? Earlier, you went straight to those tea bags.
You knew exactly where everything was.
It's a break room, not the labyrinth of Knossos.
It doesn't take a genius to find some tea bags.
Actually, it does.
I couldn't find them for, like, a week.
I don't have to answer to you.
Well, you do if you want answers from me.
If you want to know my secrets, I need to know yours.
Fine.
Okay, have it your way.
Wait.
You're right.
I have been here before.
I used to work for Darius.
How long before we move? Any moment now.
I had a visit from a D.
C.
Metro detective looking into Claire Rayburn's disappearance.
This gonna be a problem? Not for us.
My team took care of it.
Yeah, a little too well.
There were no prints at her house, not even hers.
Better that than yours.
There's no way to tie Grace, you or me to that body, wherever it may be.
You don't know? In my line of work, you don't ask a question if you don't want the answer.
Blackbird One, this is Blackbird Leader.
Ready to move on your command.
Showtime.
Move out.
Let's go.
Over here.
Sir, we have a problem.
You're gonna want to see this.
You all right? We got the two-thirds vote we needed.
It was a nasty scrum, but we won the day.
Congratulations on your first victory as vice president.
Our victory, Grace.
I could never have gotten this far without your diplomacy.
Convincing Rosetta was just as important as convincing the rest of them.
It seems we were able to achieve détente after all.
I hope so.
Darius, wait.
There's a problem.
It's just over here, sir.
We're too late.
He's gonna go public.
Question is what's he gonna say? The Mackenzie regime has committed treason and lied to the American people.
They are criminals who must be stopped.
I am still the president of the United States of America, and I am going to take back the White House.
So, why all the secrecy? Thousands of people have worked for Darius.
It didn't end well.
What? He fired you? Fired me? He ruined me.
For seven years we worked together side-by-side until I outpaced the "master" and developed some technology that could change the world.
And he kept her all for himself.
Her? Tess.
Tess? Tess? You developed the software for one of the most advanced learning computers in the world? He promised he would share the knowledge with the world, that it wouldn't just be a money-making enterprise.
But at the end of the day, his narcissism wouldn't allow that.
And when I challenged him to do the right thing? Well, let's just say he didn't like that very much.
And it's pretty difficult to get a job in the tech world after Darius Tanz blackballs you.
That doesn't sound like the Darius I know.
Yeah, well give it time.
But this isn't about Darius.
There are people out there that I love, that I want to live to get to see again.
The sooner we solve this, the sooner the world goes back to normal.
If we could focus solar radiation on one point long enough, we may be able to super-heat the asteroid surface, vaporizing it, causing the rocket effect.
Excuse me, Croft.
What are you doing? What are you? Would you stop that?! Stop.
You're erasing hours of work! None of your ideas will work because the asteroid has an iron core.
- Iron core? - Iron core? No, no.
We have data, we have images.
It's a rubble pile held together by its own gravity.
Yes, on the outside, but underneath, it is iron, much too dense - for any of these current calculations.
- What? You've been holding this back the whole time? And I'm sorry.
But we got to save the world, and I know what to do.
All right.
Here.
There must be something we can say or do to change their minds.
You have to understand.
Making a deal with the Mackenzie administration was risky enough for us, but now No one feels they can trust a United States in chaos.
Believe me, I'm as disappointed as you are.
We've run out of options.
Sir? What if we haven't run out of options? What if I could get access to the Maxwell Collider? Wait.
You mean that particle accelerator in Virginia? It's half built, abandoned.
It's half built if we need a particle accelerator.
As far as planetary-scale rail guns go, we could convert it.
We? No one knows the complexities of magnetic systems better than you do.
It's not optimal.
We'd need a team, of course, but it's something.
A place to start.
But I can't do it without you.
And you're telling me this will work? It can if we get it done in time.
It-It's not gonna be easy.
But nothing comes from nothing.
Take her down! Take her down! Take her down! Take her down! Take her down! Take her down! Take her down! Take her down! Take her down! Hmm.
Hello? - Grace.
- Jillian.
Uh, there's someone here to see you.
A detective.
What? Can I help you? I hope so.
Detective Alonzo Carter, D.
C.
Police.
I'm investigating the disappearance of Claire Rayburn.
Doesn't D.
C.
Police have more pressing matters right now than Ms.
Rayburn's whereabouts? Mm, probably, but I don't.
Claire is my sister.
Honey, I'm right here.
Take her down! Take her down! And I thought Iceland was tense.
Bennett's played this perfectly.
By going public the way he did, he's inoculated himself.
We've lost our chance to handle this discreetly.
I'll say.
He's got an army waiting in the wings.
All we can do now is prepare.
Prepare for what? War.