Fringe s03e06 Episode Script

Previously on Fringe: Walternate said it was a powerful piece of ancient tech.
- He's finished assembling it? - He was missing pieces.
- This machine is dangerous.
- Which is why we need to understand it.
Our Agent Dunham, has she made contact? She's on the Other Side focused on the task at hand.
- I had a really nice time tonight.
- Me too.
I don't know what your mission is.
I imagine it requires you to gain Peter Bishop's trust.
You're in over your head.
Your emotions betray you.
You question your ability to pull this off.
And that will lead to your undoing.
I would like to talk to you.
- I lied to you.
- About what? I don't wanna talk.
Stockton Harbor.
Stockton Harbor, come in.
Requesting clearance.
Tide is coming in strong, pulling a fog bank in from the east.
It's close to shore so watch yourself and take it slow.
Copy that, we see it up ahead.
It looks like pea soup.
Maintain a bearing of three-five-eight.
I've hung a lantern out for you.
Uh-huh.
Shen, you're seriously not coming? Dude, when I crack this thing they are gonna write books about me.
Hey, Beck.
You want a tea? Love one.
Hey, Aaron, you gonna make Mommy a tea? - It's starting.
- Okay, I'll leave you alone.
Captain Barrett to Fort Point Light Station.
Come in.
Over.
Fort Point, we're lost in the fog bank.
We can't see the light.
Over.
Fort Point, are you there? This is Swedish Fish.
Come in.
Murray, it's Dave.
I've got no eyes out here.
Hey, I forgot my ID.
Dude.
Shen? - Becky.
- Stay away from me.
- Whoa.
Wha? - I said stay back! Who are you? It's me, Laird.
Who am I? Oh, wow.
This is better than room service.
- What did I do to get so lucky? - Nothing.
It's just for being you.
- Thank you.
- You're welcome.
So, what's the latest catastrophe I wanna know nothing about? Well, uh, earthquakes, oil spills, financial disaster.
Not really the best way to start the day.
Here I thought there was nothing good until the entertainment section.
- What's in the entertainment section? - I don't know but you should find out.
- I love U2.
- Figure we're overdue for a normal date.
That is just so sweet and so kind of romantic.
Try not to sound so shocked.
Thank you.
Walter.
Walter, is that you? Of course it's me.
I came in this morning and found your little project.
- What project would that be? - You know what project.
You are continuing to work on this infernal device the one in the blueprints.
- Correct.
I'm running diagnostics I thought I made my position clear.
I do not want my equipment used for such reckless purposes.
You have no idea what it does.
You might as well be building a nuclear bomb in my lab.
I don't think that's entirely fair.
Fine.
If you end up breaking the universe this time it's on your head.
- What was that about? - It's nothing.
Apparently, Walter doesn't want me playing with his toys.
Dunham.
There's been an incident.
- Yes, sir.
- I'll text you the address.
We'll meet you there.
Broyles.
Guess that means we're doing the crossword in the car.
So 15 people down the Eastern Seaboard all suffered amnesia at the same time? Around 10:45 p.
m.
Collective memory loss? That's a new one for the medical books.
According to the Pentagon, victims were all using shortwave radios.
Ham radio enthusiasts? Maybe their brains were erased by the magnetic winds from a solar storm.
If it hadn't happened four hours after sundown, you might be onto something.
Becky Woomer.
Her husband said he left her alone for three minutes.
In that time, she forgot all details, including her name.
DOD is concerned this could be a test run for a potential terror attack.
The doctors don't understand it.
They can't even tell me if she's gonna get her memory back.
Did your wife ever tell you what it was she listened to? Becky was a moderator in a chat room.
They listened to number stations.
- Number stations? - I don't know much about them.
They're kind of a mystery.
Oh.
A reel-to-reel.
I used to have one exactly like this.
I remember hours spent, ripped out of my gourd listening to Beatles albums backwards for secret messages.
They weren't there.
So apparently, Becky recorded last night's broadcast.
Whatever she heard should be on that tape.
But listening to what they recorded last night could cause us to forget why we wanted to listen in the first place, Einstein.
- Did he say what's on it? - He said she spends her nights listening to numbers on random ham radio stations.
She's trying to crack some code.
- Number stations? - You heard of them? Number stations.
Nobody knows what they are or even where they come from.
They're artificially generated voices reading streams of random numbers in a wide variety of languages.
The Department of Defense hired us to investigate.
Other than the fact they were first discovered 70 years ago we came up with nothing.
We could never triangulate their point of origin.
This one, we picked up four years ago.
Some people think they may be covert communications between spies or drug traffickers.
Problem is, no one has been able to find proof to support any theory so they remain unexplained.
But the number broadcasts have never caused amnesia? Not to the best of our knowledge.
Perhaps Peter would like to play last night's tape aloud to everyone.
Given his recent fondness for dangerous activity.
As soon as she's up to it, I'd like to examine the woman who lost her mind.
And I think I know a way to analyze the tape without losing our memories.
Oh.
I need something from the Child Development Center.
- Sixth floor? - Actually, the seventh.
Might want to escort him.
Yesterday he spent 15 minutes in front of a utility closet, thinking it was the elevator.
Right.
Be right back.
Could Astrid take a look at your research? She might pick up something.
Of course.
Olivia are Peter and Walter okay? Yeah.
You know we found a piece of the machine that Walternate is building.
- Peter's trying to figure it out.
- He should.
We need to know what we're dealing with.
Except Walter doesn't agree.
He won't help.
He keeps setting up roadblocks for Peter.
You know, you two go back a long way.
Maybe you could talk to him.
What, you're not having any luck? Oh, I haven't tried.
But that's not like you.
You're usually more direct with Walter.
It's complicated between them.
I don't wanna make it worse.
I'll speak with Walter.
Dunham.
Yes? Where? Homeland Security traced the broadcast.
When they tried to contact the tower employees, they didn't get a response.
As far as we can tell, the break-in happened around 10:30.
Security system was state-of-the-art.
Whoever did this was a pro.
But there's something else.
How the hell's it doing that? It's not floating exactly.
Apparently it's got some sort of magnetics inside.
Do you think this was the source of last night's broadcast? This is definitely wired to output a transmission.
Hold on.
I wanna see that panel.
I need the print powder.
It's impossible to do microelectronics with gloves on.
Let's get this to Dr.
Bishop.
This should keep me busy for eternity.
Thank you.
Okay.
That was Olivia.
They're analyzing the fingerprints they found at the tower.
And they think they found the device used to upload last night's broadcast.
Ah.
What's that? "Property of Massive Dynamic"? It's not theft if you own the company.
I've found a way to listen to the tape of the numbers broadcast without losing what faculties I have left.
How'd you manage that? The key is analog demodulation.
I knew my Jimi Hendrix wah-wah pedal would come in handy.
Take a look.
This is the sound of the transmission modified so it's safe, of course.
But if we demodulate - So there are two signals? - Precisely.
The top wave is the numbers.
The bottom wave, which I have suppressed, is a pulse.
And I believe that this is responsible for the amnesia.
Someone found a way to attach this pulse to the numbers broadcast.
That explains why nobody's been affected by listening to number stations before.
They're not causing the problem.
So we still don't know where the numbers come from.
But I suspect that the device that Agent Dunham found is the source of the pulse.
Okay, but who would do this? And why give these people amnesia? Because they cracked the code.
Or they came damn close to figuring out what number stations are.
- Somebody wants to keep that a secret.
- Well done.
You sounded very Sherlock Holmes just then which makes you Watson, dear.
Walter.
Is this the sound board I was using to run diagnostics on the weapon? I was using it to down-convert the signal.
Really? I was focused on solving the case at hand.
I'm not concerned with preserving your wretched experiment.
Now, if you don't mind, I have some thinking to do.
This has gotta stop.
Walter.
I asked you not to work on that device in my lab.
They're working on it on the Other Side.
We need to understand what it does.
What's to understand? You're playing with fire.
Stop being so bullheaded and put a stop to this.
Walter.
When I touched that device on the Other Side, it came alive in my hands.
Like it responded directly to me.
How can you expect me to ignore that? I just talked to Olivia.
They pulled a picture of our suspect from his prints.
She's taking it to the Woomer house to show the husband.
And Becky was released from the hospital.
She's back home now.
Oh.
His name is Joseph Feller.
Earlier we picked up his prints from a radio tower just outside Boston.
His last known address was Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
That was in 1997.
But since then, he's been off the map.
I've never seen him before in my life.
Do you mind if we poke around? Some things here could be useful to us.
Maybe check out her computer, address book? Of course.
Read this and then do what it says.
"Stand up.
Then sit down.
" Wonderful.
Thank you.
Earlier I told you the names of three things.
- Cat, horse, cotton candy.
- Very good.
It's beautiful.
I don't remember doing this.
I suppose I was knitting it for the baby.
I don't recognize him.
I don't recognize that man who is out there.
I look at the pictures everywhere and I see myself in them but I don't know them.
The human brain is a miracle a most resilient organ.
The storage unit for everything you have ever known or seen or felt.
It's all still in there whether or not you're conscious of that.
This is a list of everybody Becky talked to about the number stations.
- You recognize anyone? - Ed Markam? Bookstore owner, purveyor of rare manuscripts, your favorite ladies' man.
- Oh, right.
Ha, ha.
How could I forget? - I'm gonna give him a call.
See if maybe he has some idea about this.
Walter? Are you all right? I know what it's like.
What this woman's going through, I lived it.
To not recognize your life, it's awful.
I'm sorry, Walter.
Don't be.
Let's just focus on putting a stop to this before more people get hurt.
Baltimore Center, this is Landau 287.
Request to divert to Richmond, over.
Roger, Landau 287.
Weather is - level five thunderstor - you'll have to Baltimore Center, say again, you're breaking up.
Oh, no! We had you on - four eighty-two The small twin-engine plane went down just outside of Owings Mills NTSB just released a statement.
It looks like the plane's radio was tuned into the same frequency of the second broadcast.
Precisely what I was worried about.
A second attack.
Now not only do we have 20 new amnesiacs, but six people died.
Damn it! Why can't I get a current? - Maybe you reversed the poles.
- No.
It just doesn't make sense.
Everything that I know about the physics of electricity says that this device shouldn't work at all.
Walter, I know that you're angry right now, and I get it.
I cannot make heads or tails of this code.
It's immense.
It's not even just one code.
The numbers are a code, the time between the numbers is a code Yes, sir? Okay, I will make sure that he gets it.
That was Agent Broyles.
There was another radio-tower break-in.
It was unmanned, so nobody was hurt.
But they found another cube, the one that must've downed the aircraft.
- They're sending it over now.
- Wonderful.
Another cube I can't make any sense of.
Well maybe this will do us some good? Hmm.
All right.
Let's get back to work.
Number stations? It was a hobby.
I banged my head on that wall for five years, then gave up.
Stamp collecting, now, there's a hobby with dividends.
All the people who listened to the last two number broadcasts have had their memories wiped.
- We're trying to identify who's behind it.
- Are you serious? Whatever they figured out about the numbers somebody made sure they forgot it.
So whatever you know about what they mean would really help us.
Okay.
I'll help you, but you have to promise me I'll be safe.
Sure, done.
Just tell us what you know about the stations.
First of all, they're as old as dirt.
When Marconi invented the radio, first thing he heard was the numbers.
They were floating around in space, waiting for someone to listen.
Marconi picked up a transmission before humans invented the technology to send one? - Creepy, right? - The First People.
- By Seamus Wiles.
1897.
There was only one edition.
You're holding one of the last copies.
- This'll tell us what the numbers mean? - No.
Where they came from.
Or one theory at least.
By "first people," are we talking about Adam and Eve? Before dinosaurs, before all of it, there were the First People.
The first humans to evolve on this planet.
- lf you don't know anything, say that.
- I'm serious.
Look, just read the book, it's all in there.
- How much for it? - I don't want money.
I want protection.
What if someone comes to erase my memories? I should be so lucky.
Thanks, Markham.
Fantastic.
Now I have bookends.
Definitely a conversation piece.
Nina.
If I'd known you were coming, I'd have baked a cake.
- Ha.
- He means that.
Literally.
Next time I'll call.
Hello, Astrid.
Walter, I need to speak with you.
I forgot how serious this campus has become.
I remember my time here quite differently.
We did have fun, didn't we? I don't know what happened to this generation.
I have a prescription.
So do I.
Look at all these students.
When did they become so afraid? We had the courage to think against the grain of what we were told.
We let our curiosity be our guide.
So why stop Peter from following his? What Peter's doing is different.
He is bent on pursuing something despite the grave risks it poses to his well-being.
You can't create a vaccine without working with the virus.
- No.
But I have experienced what this kind of hubris can do.
Yet you didn't heed anyone's warning.
I begged you to stop, but you insisted on finding a way to cross over.
Peter wouldn't be here now if you hadn't.
- lf he continues to investigate - He will continue whether you like it or not.
Then he will play right into Walternate's hands.
- What do you mean? - lf only one world can survive then it stands to reason that Walternate will use Peter to ensure that it's his world that does.
He's already built as much of the machine as he can.
He gave the blueprints to Peter and asked him to complete it.
Even though this could kill him.
I remember, Walter, but who says this is the only outcome? It's a drawing, not destiny.
Even if you're right about Walternate's plan, you don't know if he'll succeed.
And given the stakes, won't Peter need your guidance more than ever? Walter, one of the things I have most admired about you is your optimism.
Don't become a fatalist now.
So according to this, something happened, some sort of cataclysm that so decimated the First People, they were just wiped out of history.
So how did Seamus Wiles know about them? Ha, ha.
Yeah, exactly.
They were apparently very technologically advanced.
- They discovered the Vacuum.
- The vacuum cleaner? No.
The Vacuum as in "the source of all creation and destruction.
" Interesting.
This book is useless.
There's nothing here.
What were the numbers on the first broadcast? - Why? - lf you believe the book the First People measured time in months with different numbers of days.
- Humor me.
What were the numbers? - Uh Twelve.
Thirty-four.
Seventeen.
Nine.
Fifteen.
- And, uh, eight, 42, 40, yeah.
- Eight, 42, 40.
The numbers of the first broadcast correspond with the numbers here.
They match the numbers of this calendar.
I never thought I'd say this, but I think Markham's right.
Somehow these number stations are connected to the First People.
What the hell does that mean? It's fascinating.
Remarkable.
Read more.
You don't actually believe this? An ancient people who evolved before the dinosaurs just vanished without a trace? It's absurd.
Why should we be so arrogant as to assume that we're the first Homo sapiens to walk the Earth? History is full of extinction events.
- Climate change, meteorites, Atlantis - Atlantis? - Peter, help me out here.
- I don't know what I believe yet.
Their calendar corresponds with the numbers of the first broadcast.
That can't be a coincidence.
"They were a people of technological prowess who made the ultimate discovery: a mechanism known to them as 'the Vacuum.
' Containing at once both the power to create and to destroy.
" The Vacuum.
What a wonderful name.
And it verifies some of my theories.
What theories? Create and destroy what? Well, everything.
Many religions speak of such a power.
And science.
The big bang, and its counterpart, the big crunch.
The universe expanding and contracting and expanding.
An endless cycle of creation and destruction.
Okay, let's run with that.
Let's say these First People did create this mechanism.
And then somehow translated it into a code.
And now someone is wiping peoples' memories to keep the code a secret? It's not so surprising.
It's the key to the universe.
It's a secret worth protecting.
Hey.
Sorry I'm late.
I thought these might cheer you up.
Oh.
Oh.
Malasadas! Oh, wonderful.
- Anything new in the book? - The numbers hold the answers.
But beyond that, nothing tangible.
Wait a minute.
Hey, Walter.
Come here, take a look at this.
This transistor is newer than the rest of them.
Somebody must've replaced it.
It's Polish, and it's military grade.
A couple places are licensed to sell parts like that.
They're all regulated.
Which means you have to give a verified address to buy one.
I'm gonna make some phone calls.
- May I borrow that? - Mm-hm.
I feel a bowel movement coming on.
Walter.
Can you tell Peter I'll be back? - I'm gonna let Broyles know where we're at.
- Mm-hm.
Avocado, cucumber and cheese.
In 1974 the CIA asked me to develop the best sandwich for clarity of thought.
There's too much information here.
Of course, the chips are just because I like foods that crunch.
There has to be a pattern here.
Every code relies on a pattern.
I just need to see it.
But you can't.
That's your problem.
- Thanks for the vote of confidence.
- Oh, no, no, no.
No, I simply meant that to break the code you'd have to think like they did.
And they lived millions and millions of years ago.
I mean, for one thing, look at their concept of time.
Nine days in a month.
If you're not going to eat those chips, may I? What? What happened? Here.
Read me this calendar.
How many days are in each month? - Why? - Humor me.
The first two have 12 and 34.
Then 17, nine, 15.
What are you thinking? That maybe what we're missing is a cipher matrix.
Our decoder ring.
Okay, what are the next months? Eight, 42, 40, 27 We got a problem.
The secretary said we weren't supposed to meet.
He's on the Other Side.
He can't foresee every event.
You replaced a transistor in one of the boxes? Polish.
They found it.
They're tracking the sale as we speak.
- Who are these people? - You were sloppy.
- You jeopardized the mission.
- I upload another pulse tomorrow.
You've done enough.
We've got their attention.
No need to hurt more innocent people.
What do they say on this side? "All's fair in love and war"? If they were in our shoes, they would do exactly what we're doing.
Dunham.
We've got an address on the suspect.
Joseph Feller.
989 Nelson Street, Medford.
- We're en route with backup.
- Okay.
I'm on my way.
- They're coming.
- Where should I go? You have any information on my next mission? Yeah.
I do.
Olivia's already here.
- Oh, no! - Did you see that? I saw the whole thing.
- What happened? - He jumped.
It's a shapeshifter.
Olivia.
Thank God you're all right.
What happened? - He came at me.
I had no choice.
- But you're all right? Yeah, I'm all right, but l He was coming out as I got here and - But you're all right? - Uh-huh.
- Any breakthroughs? - I don't know.
I thought that maybe if I added up all the numbers Well, keep at it.
Oh, and I wouldn't go in the bathroom, dear.
Huh.
Whoa, whoa, hold on.
I need to look at that body.
You got a pair of gloves on you? - What is it? - It makes sense why Walter couldn't figure out the tech that emitted the pulse.
It came from the Other Side.
Which suggests Walternate knows what the numbers mean.
He must be the one protecting the code.
What? Data storage unit.
Guess we're not gonna get anything out of that.
It's toast.
- Dunham.
- I think I cracked the code.
I know what number stations are.
It's a coordinate system.
These numbers indicate locations.
Latitude and longitude.
by 58 degrees and 40 minutes west.
That's just outside Buenos Aires, Argentina.
All of these numbers indicate specific locations on the globe.
Ethiopia, Spain, China.
So, what's there? At the end of the points? So far as I can tell? Nothing special.
A farmhouse, a public swimming pool, random stuff like that.
We're not looking for a manmade structure.
If this message is millions of years old then we're likely talking about something buried beneath the earth.
How many locations? I haven't finished plugging in all the numbers, but so far, 22.
And what's the closest one? What'd I miss? Oh, uh, thank you.
Nothing yet.
They just pulled up an old buried football, so I had to go back.
I forgot to say skim.
You walked there twice? You didn't have to do that.
I had a motive.
It's the little things that make me irresistible.
What if he's right? - Walter.
- Right about what? I've been thinking, Peter.
Your father's concerned about building Walternate's device.
What if it does mean the destruction of one universe or the other? We don't know that yet.
That's not really my point.
If you knew that only one of our worlds could survive and if it was up to you and you alone to defend your side you'd have no choice, right? I mean, you would have to do what you had to do no matter the cost, to protect our world.
There are billions of innocent people over there.
Just like here.
People with jobs, families, lives.
I gotta believe there's another way.
And whatever my part in all of this is I gotta believe there's another way.
There's always hope, right? We got something! Oh, my.
Dunham.
I just identified the last coordinates.
Milton, Massachusetts.
The house where the first piece of Walternate's machine was buried.
Do you think it's possible that these locations are all part of the machine? That Walternate's device is the Vacuum described in The First People book? Uh, yes.
I think they're one and the same.
Astrid finished the code.
There are 37 more locations.
In that case, it seems we have work to do.
We'll have to recover the pieces, assemble it and figure out how it works.
Creation and destruction.
I suppose we'll have to hope for the former.
- Dunham.
- Agent Dunham, this is Brandon Fayette.
Oh, Brandon, hey.
Uh, I'm on my way.
I should be about an hour.
Actually, that's why I'm calling.
The secretary has decided to postpone today's procedure.
- So when do you want me to come in? - It may not be necessary.
We'll let you know.
Okay.
Bye.
You have to get out of here.
You know why they canceled the last test, don't you? Whatever they needed from you, they have it now.
It's not safe for you here anymore, Olivia.
You have to go home.