Sliders s03e11 Episode Script

[Whooshing.]
[Wade screaming.]
[All groaning.]
[Quinn grunts.]
I hate to say it, guys (men) But I have a strange feelin' about this place.
Well, I do.
As we all should, Miss Wells, especially when we land on a world (Professor) Seemingly devoid of humans.
Especially when the sky's a funky color.
(Quinn) Everything seems to be kept up.
Yes, but for whom? Right now, I'd rather know by whom.
Me, too.
What the devil is that? What remains of a robot.
[Vehicle approaching.]
Do you hear that? Yeah.
It sounds like a motor.
[Tires screeching.]
Don't tell me that that's the neighborhood welcoming committee.
Let's not wait around to find out.
We'll never outrun them.
Evasive action! Q-Ball! Quinn! Wait! [Brakes screeching.]
(Quinn) What if you found a portal to a parallel universe? What if you could slide into a thousand different worlds, where it's the same year, and you're the same person, but everything else is different? And what if you can't find your way home? (voice) Sliders [sensor bleeping.]
[Bleeping continues.]
Seems to be checking for life signs.
[Panting.]
Is he breathing? I can't tell.
Why didn't he come after us? I don't know.
He didn't seem to detect our presence, [jeep leaving.]
Which may mean Q-Ball's okay.
Hey, fella, how you doing? Are you okay? [Panting.]
Fine.
I feel like I just put my tongue in a light socket.
Who's got the timer? I do.
We've got three days and then some.
Come on, let's find a place to stay out of the line of fire.
[Grunting.]
Good idea.
Up you come, Mr.
Mallory.
What about them? Wild.
They're robots.
(Professor) That's why we weren't detected.
He was looking for signs of electronic life.
[Buzzing.]
Help me.
He's still alive.
Lots of wires in there.
How can you be sure that you hooked up the right ones? We're doing a lot of guessing.
Actually, it's not entirely guessing.
You see this this bundle of wires that runs down the spine here? [Crackling.]
(Quinn) Yeah.
That's essentially his central nervous system.
And, uh, these metal plates here are analogous to our vertebrae.
His internals are very much modeled on the human form.
Well, the last time I checked, we didn't have any of that green gel floating in us.
That green gel is supposed to conduct electricity to the areas that aren't hard-wired.
(Professor) All right.
[Buzzing.]
That should do it.
Oh, I think I may know what happened here.
These are brochures from Aldohn Robotic Technologies hawking the wonderful benefits of a robotic workforce.
(Wade) Leaving humans free to enjoy the pleasures of everyday living.
[Buzzing.]
Hey, he moved.
What did you do? He stimulated my tricordial neuroglia sending an impulse to my upper dextral appendage.
One moment please, while I reset my vision parameters.
[Sighs.]
He's so real.
Do you have a name? Something people call you by? I'm an Aldohn D.
063, but I'm called Deric, which is an acronym for the Delta model of the Emotional Response Intelligence Chip unit.
(Deric) What models are you? I'm not familiar with your designs.
Actually, we're not robots.
You are human.
How fascinating.
The fascination is mutual, believe me.
You who repaired me, did I sustain injury to my power supply? Your power unit's fine.
You just had a couple of burnt wires.
That must be why I shut down.
And why the RPP didn't detect my energy output.
RPP, does that refer to the person chasing you? He's a Recall Patrol Paul unit.
And he's not a man.
Is my friend in the adjoining workroom? You were the only one working, so, uh You left him out there? I must get to him.
(Deric) Despite Father's genius in programming robotics technology, some of the ERI models had programming problems and did not perform as expected.
Father attempted to recall us, but many did not voluntarily return.
Who's Father? James Aldohn.
Aldohn Robotic Technologies.
He's our creator.
The factory is our origin.
Just for the record, what kind of problems are we talkin' about here? ERls are programmed for emotions.
The alpha and beta units suffered intensity problems when emotions conflicted with logic.
Oftentimes a malfunction would occur.
Human fatalities were not uncommon.
(Deric) You do not have to fear me.
I've adjusted my programming accordingly.
You have the ability to reprogram yourself? I'm a fourth gen.
An advancement to my model was a learn mode.
Self-programming was an unintended byproduct of the LM.
So that's why Father ordered all of you recalled.
He couldn't predict how you might behave.
Father doesn't much like what he can't control.
At one time, there were 2,916 ERI units.
Now, only a handful are left.
The Pauls' main directive is to destroy us.
No! Leave him alone! If we knew this would happen, we wouldn't have left him.
There's no way you could have known.
Maybe we can put him back together.
No.
Usable parts are rare outside the factory.
There's nothing we can do.
Guys, RPP, 10 o'clock.
Split up! Back here in 20! (Deric) In here.
[Brakes screeching.]
[Grunts.]
I'm sorry.
I'm sorry.
[Screaming.]
[Grunts.]
Should we deactivate them? No.
These we take back to the factory.
If they've been captured, where would they have been taken? The factory.
(Wade) Take us there.
The perimeter is highly guarded.
It's dangerous to approach the factory on foot.
What if we had one of their vehicles, could we get in that way? In order to operate a patrol vehicle, you must have a chip in your hand.
The chip activates the ignition system and factory entry.
Now, this chip, presumably only the RPPs have them? Not necessarily.
I have a friend, an early model.
She's navigational.
Does she have a vehicle? No.
That we'll have to steal.
I like the way he thinks.
(female electronic voice) Spectra imaging process successful.
Data stored.
Hey, twin-bots.
You guys are Pauls, right? Nice talkin' to you.
You, what's your name? Aldohn E.
075.
I'm a technical engineering device equipped with the most current memory and micro-circuitry upgrades.
I'm very happy for you.
How about unstrapping me? No.
Where's my friend? Is he all right? Father is anxious to meet you.
[Pneumatic door hissing.]
Q-Ball, you okay? Yeah.
They do that scanning thing to you, too? Yeah.
What was that all about? I am not sure.
Check these out.
(Aldohn) Sort of adds a whole new meaning to livening up the room, doesn't it? Welcome to Aldohn Robotic Technologies.
You must be Father.
[Aldohn snickers.]
Oh, only to the machines.
I'm James Aldohn.
Quinn Mallory.
Rembrandt Brown.
You'll, uh, have to excuse this, uh, industrial accident.
(Rembrandt) You're him.
Matt.
(Aldohn) Very perceptive.
Me at 23.
Matt.
(Aldohn) I was a handsome devil, wasn't I? Well, I can't tell you how good it is to see faces that I didn't create with my own hands.
You're the only one left? The last human? Well, I thought I was.
But now that you two have shown up, I'm clearly not.
But l l I must tell you, I am rather pleased to have the company.
[Birds chirping.]
[Sighs.]
You should have told us that Erica was this badly damaged.
I'm not sure that I can fix her.
I'm not an engineering unit.
I tried, but was unable to rewire her power supply.
If you can't, she will be permanently inactive.
Don't worry, Deric.
The Professor's good at this.
If it's possible, he can do it.
Yes, if it's possible.
What you're doing there will not work.
Please.
I think I can make it work.
But your pattern of wire relays is not consistent.
It's called improvising.
Circuits are so badly burned the only way to re-power her is to work around the damaged areas.
Will improvising work? I don't know.
But if you would shut up, I could finish the job and then we could both find out.
I'm sorry if I was bothering you.
I'll wait upstairs.
[Crackling.]
[Sighs.]
(Wade) Why do you do that? Mmm? What? Just run all over people's feelings like nothing else matters but you? Uh, to begin with, I don't, and secondly, he's not a person.
Well, he has feelings.
Miss Wells, he's a machine.
You really think that, don't you? Miss Wells, I don't want to get into this now.
You know, I guess you're right, I mean, he he is a machine.
That thing that powers him, his battery, that that would be right around here, right? You're right.
Right.
And whenever he goes to take a step or he reaches out to catch a raindrop in the palm of his hand, he's just reacting to an electrical impulse sent from, what? Right about here, right? Right.
Right, yeah.
L I guess he is a machine.
But guess what? We may run on different oils, but we're machines, too.
And if you consider how you've just behaved, you'd realize that that machine upstairs has just acted a whole lot more human than you have.
Just a minute, young lady.
You and I are not machines and he, by definition, is not human.
Now, I don't care how creative he is, whether he can compose a symphony or write a sonnet.
He cannot experience the joy of creativity nor can he experience the pain of failure.
Now, what's the difference between us and them? It's the ability to tell the difference between right and wrong.
It's our capacity for moral growth.
It's our capacity for love, truthfulness, charity, and an ability to put up with friends when they drive us to the point of distraction.
When I see those characteristics in him, then I'll reconsider the question.
Till then, he's just a damn walking calculator! [Crackling.]
Where I come from, the sky is blue, sunset's orange.
This is an interesting change.
Sky coloration is the result of light waves entering the atmosphere.
On your world, particles and gases in your atmosphere capture the blue waves and scatter them.
Here, our particles must be smaller, allowing the blue to pass but capturing the violet, causing our sky to appear lilac.
Oh, that sort of takes all the mystery out of it, doesn't it? Have I ruined it for you? No.
It's still really beautiful.
You look somewhat sad.
[Birds chirping.]
Maybe I am, a little.
Why? I guess, sometimes I just feel a little lonely even when I'm with my friends.
It's like I'm, I'm just traveling through these worlds and l I don't have any grounding.
There's nothing that connects me to anybody or anything.
And when I see something as beautiful as this, it just It reminds me that I'm pretty much moving through life alone.
You are not alone, Wade.
I am here with you.
That was nice.
Uh, Deric I'm I'm sorry.
This This just isn't right.
(Aldohn) Eventually, my robots comprised the entire work force.
Of course, when people realized that they had abdicated their very usefulness, they got scared.
They thought if they destroyed the robots, then everything would return to the way it had been.
[Scoffs.]
Very foolish.
Very foolish, indeed.
The clock can never be turned back.
The robots just wouldn't go away, would they? They fought for survival.
No, no, no, no.
Not all of them.
Only the ERI models.
You see, what the people forgot was that survival is one of the strongest drives we humans have.
Well, the ERls are programmed for survival.
There must be some more people out there.
Your robots wouldn't have killed them all.
As far as I know, no man survived, except me.
Of course, they, they couldn't very well kill the creator now, could they? It's true.
A Paul just informed me.
Where did they come from? According to them, another dimension.
(Shauna) Passing between dimensions is highly possible.
It would require opening an energy passage of identical polarity, and identifying parallel coordinates for exit and entry.
The calculations involved in determining those factors would be impossible for a human to reach on their own.
I used a computer.
Yes.
You'd have to.
Another one of your creations, huh? When my wife, Shauna, died, I couldn't bear the loneliness.
So I simply recreated the woman I fell in love with.
She is an Erica model, but with my constant tinkering, I've managed to keep her working just fine.
The perfect wife and lover.
You look shocked.
L I just wouldn't have thought that was possible.
Well, as I told you before, the ERls replicated the most basic of human functions.
[Inaudible.]
Hmm.
Paul has just told me that, uh, he and the others have prepared a splendid meal in your honor.
I'm sorry.
We already told you, we have friends outside.
We've already stayed too long.
James was so hoping you would stay, if only for a game of Monopoly.
We can't.
Thank you for the tour, though.
(Aldohn) Oh, I missed that, too.
The unsurpassed arrogance of the individual.
Especially when he feels mistreated.
Or is about to be.
Sorry, gentlemen, but you left me no choice.
You will be staying the night.
Now, let's see what the robots have cooked up, hmm? [Doors hissing.]
The Pauls are programmable to almost any task.
Mmm.
Truly an extraordinary unit.
They were modeled after my son.
He was killed in an accident when a non-visual automaton crushed him.
(Aldohn) Fortunately for Shauna, she's been programmed not to remember him.
She's been spared that pain entirely.
(Rembrandt) Lucky her.
Who'd want to remember anything about their own kid? Not to your liking? I had enough of this kind of meal when I was in the service.
We used to call it SOS, which in this case, is more of a compliment.
Trust me, you don't wanna know.
I'll I'll have them fix you something else.
How about just letting us go? I'm sorry.
I, uh, can't do that.
(Rembrandt) I'll tell you what you can't do.
You can' t force us to stay here and keep you company.
You really think this is about my desire for human company? I could build robots for that, and they'd be more pleasant to spend time with than either of you.
Fine, then why don't you build yourself a couple little playmates and let us go? [Aldohn sighs.]
You have something I need.
Something that I can't yet build.
The only thing that we have that you can't build is our minds.
Yes.
The human mind is the last great mystery of our existence.
And I, I have found a way to duplicate it.
To actually download a living mind into a mechanical substructure.
And you want to practice on us? (Aldohn) Yes.
And you two will be my first guinea pigs.
[Door opening.]
(Aldohn) Gentlemen, meet the next generation of your existence.
Great.
They cut the power off to the door.
Try the window.
It's gonna need some help opening.
Please tell me you got some kind of idea about how to get out of here.
I do.
Through that door.
I'm gonna have to slave the power from this light to try and open it.
Just hope there's enough slack in this wiring to do this.
That is amazing.
That brain of yours just keeps working overtime.
I mean, when I look up there, all I see is recessed lighting, you you see the wires, electricity, a way out of here.
Look, man, I'm sorry if I'm not carrying my weight sometimes.
What're you talkin' about? You always carry your weight.
They've been so many times where if you hadn't been there, I don't know if I'd be here today.
[Scoffs.]
Yeah, sure.
I'm serious, man.
We've been in some pretty hairy situations, and I thought for sure we'd bought it and then, bang! [Snapping finger.]
Remmy pops out.
Maybe you don't realize how lucky we are to have you along for this ride but I do, and I know the others do, too.
Thanks, man.
[Grunting.]
Right.
Well done, Professor.
That only took My word! If I had known it would take that long, I wouldn't have bothered.
I could have created one from scratch in half the time.
I find that highly improbable.
He was joking.
Right.
Let's see what Dr.
Frankenstein has accomplished then, shall we? [Buzzing.]
[Erica crashing.]
(Wade) Did you cross a wire or something? (Deric) She's supposed to do this.
She's re-setting her spatial orientation coordinates.
Deric.
[Exclaims.]
Erica, this is Wade and Professor.
They helped reactivate you.
Thank you.
(both) You're welcome.
It wasn't exactly a selfless act, though.
We need your help.
I have the chip.
You can't engage the ignition system without it.
Deric told us already.
Why do you have it? What is your primary function? Ericas are ERI companion units.
My primary function was companionship.
Along with that, she was designed to make life easier.
That included running errands and maintenance schedules.
The chip allowed her to re-enter the factory.
If I were Aldohn, the first model I'd recall would be the one with a built-in key.
Actually, Ericas were the first to be recalled.
Sorry.
How did you avoid being recalled? My human companion shielded me from the Pauls.
And what became of your human companion? They do foot patrols in these buildings every 22 minutes.
(Deric) One should arrive soon.
Erica or I will jump the Paul.
We can match his strength for a short period.
One of you must open his panel and pull his spinal bundle.
Don't stop until you hear the snap.
Only then will he be disabled.
Right.
I suggest we divide our forces in two.
I will go with Deric.
Very well.
Miss Wells and I will take the south side.
Did you miss me while I was out? Yes.
Even though you had her for company? I only just met them.
She's small.
[Chuckling.]
A lot of humans were.
Do you think she's pretty? Yes, but no prettier than you.
Miss Wells, I want to apologize about that little discussion we had this morning.
I was anxious about Quinn and Rembrandt, and, uh, I suppose I took it out on the robot.
That's okay.
I hadn't really thought about it like you, but what you said was right.
Deric definitely isn't human.
We kissed.
I know, it it was It was weird.
It wasn't a bad kiss exactly, it just It d-didn't feel real.
Look, I'm I'm sorry if I came down on you like I did.
It's just, you know, sometimes you say things, it just really pushes my buttons, you know? Miss Wells, the four of us have become an extended family and like all families, I'm afraid we know how to press each other's buttons.
Well, in case you didn't realize it, our friendship is very important to me, and I would never let anybody or anything come between that.
It means a great deal to me, too.
And I promise you, nothing shall ever come between us.
And confidentially, I adore you.
[Jeep approaching.]
[Grunts.]
(Professor) Hold him! [Spinal bundle snaps.]
Are you all right? It felt an awful lot like murder.
(Professor) Let's press on.
We've already hooked up every conductor in the room.
Not every conductor.
You could always hold the wires together.
Wait a minute.
Water.
The perfect conductor for electricity.
Fire it up.
[Switchboard crackling.]
[Door opens.]
What was that about not carrying your weight? [Whispers.]
It's all clear.
You know what, Q-Ball, if there aren't any humans left, why are they still makin' these things? These bots are drones, programmed to do a task.
They don't care if there are any people left.
They just do their jobs, which is make more.
[Brakes squeal.]
(Professor) Come on.
All right.
Deric, you and I will go ahead and see if it's safe.
You two stay here.
If there's any trouble, get out.
Okay.
Q-Ball! Do it! I'll fry you! Do it! [Panting.]
I'm gonna need a pacemaker after this slide.
(Erica) Why are you like that with him? You treat him as if he's human.
I'm just trying to be nice.
Nice.
That can mean many things.
You're you're an ERI, right? You're not by chance an early model, are you? I'm an Aldohn A.
01.
You're an alpha model? Where are you going? I-I-I'm just gonna go see where they they went.
Deric said to stay here.
You're hurting me! Erica! What are you doing? I think I just experienced the ERI chip intensity problem up close and personal.
There they are.
Quinn! Rembrandt! Over here! They look strange.
Yeah.
It's not exactly a great fashion choice for either of them.
No, I don't mean that.
Those are not your friends.
Run! Run! Nice timing.
Glad you could make it.
[Buzzing.]
Who's she? Uh, a friend of Deric's.
Her name's Erica.
All right, come on, people.
Let's move.
I'm so pleased.
Your friends have decided to join us.
Well, now there's no reason to leave, is there? I could definitely think of one.
Remarkable.
ERls.
Delta.
063 and, uh, Alpha.
01.
Oh, how have you managed to survive all this time? You programmed us well.
Yes, I did, didn't I? [Chuckles.]
Take them to the task room.
What're you gonna do with them? Dismantle them.
Use them for scrap.
You, you're lucky.
You're lucky your duplicate is in no condition for this experiment.
(Aldohn) But you, you're less fortunate.
Prepare this one for immediate download.
[Door opening.]
Don't do this, Aldohn.
You can't play God with people.
[Aldohn laughing.]
Look around you.
Haven't I already, hmm? I can't wait to see if this procedure works.
I assure you, Father, it will.
If it does, prepare the duplicate for me immediately.
Don't you realize what I'm giving you, hmm? Eternal life.
You could be a god yourself.
I'd rather die as a man than live forever as some plastic toy who thinks it's a god.
[Sighs.]
Well, depending upon how this little experiment goes, you might just get your wish.
Prep him.
I'll be right back.
I don't want to be deactivated.
I can't stop them, Erica.
Father made us, and now he will destroy us.
Oh, how touching.
Well, chivalry, too.
Fascinating what your learn mode has done for you.
(Erica) Deric.
[Spinal bundle snapping.]
[Erica grunting.]
[Erica thudding.]
Afraid to die, Deric? "Science says: 'We must live,' "and seeks the means of prolonging life.
"Wisdom says: 'We must die,' and seeks how to make us die well.
" Quoting man doesn't make you one.
One thing you can say about the bots, they pick up quick.
This time they cut off the power to the entire room.
What about the windows? Already been tried.
They don't break.
We'll have to get to Q-Ball before they start that downloading thing.
Downloading? Would that by any chance refer to the the transferring of a human mind into a mechanical robot? That's exactly how Aldohn explained it.
Then we better move quickly.
My guess is, after such an experiment, there would only be one viable brain, and it would not be in the human.
I don't think knocking's gonna help, sweetheart.
I'm looking for the wall stud.
My dad once told me and Kelley, if we ever got caught in a fire and couldn't get out the door, to kick through the sheet rock and climb through to the next room.
Here.
All right.
Step back.
It worked! (Wade) Deric and Erica have been deactivated.
There's nothing we can do for them now, sweetheart.
Let's go.
No matter what you get, Aldohn, it won't be me.
(Quinn) I've got tears In my 'fro 'Cause I'm sending Got a long way to go He's overloading the sensors.
The duplicate can't process this much at one time.
[Quinn continues singing.]
We may have underestimated his strength.
[Bleeping.]
Okay, experiment's over.
Put it down.
I didn't mind killing him.
I might have a twinge of guilt about killing you, but then again, maybe not.
You'll never get off this compound.
We'll find a way.
How's he look? Wasted.
How many fingers am I holding up? Seven.
(Wade) Close enough.
All right, come on, science boy.
[Grunts.]
[Wires snapping.]
Well, sorry to be so brutal, but we need your chip to get out of the compound.
(Quinn-bot) I've got tears in my 'fro from loving you so It was the only song I could think of.
[Continues singing.]
I've got tears (Quinn) I swear I wasn't that off-key.
From loving you so [gasping.]
(Quinn) I figured if I stimulated my brain in enough places at once, they couldn't get a clean duplicate.
(Rembrandt) That's brilliant.
Just might have saved you.
Coming from you, Rembrandt, that means a lot.
[Gun fires.]
Over here! (Professor) Mr.
Brown! Hey, Scarface! Over here! James.
I'm one of them? You didn't know? Shauna? How? Your experiment.
It worked.
(Shauna) Paul downloaded you.
How long have I been like this? Seven years.
It works.
Actually works.
[Chuckling.]
[Electronic buzzing.]
(Shauna) He would've died in the accident.
Paul saved him with the download.
If he was a robot, why couldn't he walk? The robot body would have walked, but James' mind lost its locomotive skills in the accident.
Almost everything else transferred, though, except for some memories and maybe some of his compassion.
[Sensor bleeping.]
So he wasn't always like that? Harsh, you mean? He only became like that after the experiment.
We're not gonna be here much longer.
Maybe Quinn could leave instructions for the others to put your husband back, you know, in one form or another.
James had a favorite expression: "You can't turn back the clock.
" We missed that point the first time.
I think now, we'll just let him move on.
How's he running? Oh, considering I only spent 10 hours putting him back together, remarkably well.
What about the girl Erica? Well, I talked with Deric how to reattach the bundle.
He'll do fine.
What did Mrs.
Aldohn decide? She's gonna leave Aldohn deactivated.
Very wise.
Aldohn, all done.
[Laughs.]
Who will be the father, then? Why not you, Deric? You seem up to it.
I think you're a little young to be a father, but I'm sure you'd be a great leader.
I will do what I can.
Well, that's all a man can do, huh? [Sighs.]
I'll think of you whenever the particles in the atmosphere catch the light waves and scatter them.
Good.
Then you will never be alone.
Bye.
Bye.
[Electronic beeping.]
[Wormhole whooshing.]
Last man out!