Earth: Final Conflict s03e19 Episode Script
The Fields
Previously on Gene Roddenberry's Earth Final Conflict: Why are you pushing this so hard? It legitimizes my position as a liaison between Doors International and Taelons.
Why the hell would you be breaking into secured area? Doors has a small fortune invested in these coventures with the Taelons, not to mention my reputation.
Damn right I'm gonna find everything I can.
Focus on your own business, Miss Palmer.
Let us handle ours.
Strength of the Taelons lies in the common purpose.
That is the core of the Commonality.
What you are suggesting is blasphemy.
No, the Commonality is our weakness.
We are running from the Jaridians because they are not bound by a commonality.
They are individuals, like the humans.
Please, leave me alone.
Please, leave me alone! Please.
Leave me alone.
Please, leave me alone, please.
No! Axarion They have come to Earth with the promise of peace.
An alien race called the Taelons.
But, there are those who resist these Alien Companions.
For the Taelons' true mission, the secrets they hide will forever alter our world.
The fate of humanity now relies on those who dare challenge the future of Earth.
Let's get press out of here! Who is this? Liam Kincaid, I'm with the Companion Protector Service in DC.
Is this official, Kincaid? Otherwise, I'm busy.
I saw it happen.
Security says he was alone in the building.
- How did you get in here? - I didn't exactly.
You saw it, but you weren't here? I'm trying to get some inkling of how you fit into this.
- If you weren't here, where were you? - In my place in Washington, asleep.
I know how it sounds, but I dreamt it.
Look, he was terrified of something.
He ran from it, he broke that vase Sweeney, find out if the IO gave any of this to the press, and if he did, I'll have his job.
The vase wasn't on the news.
I dreamed it.
You found his ring yet? Solid gold, the design was a circle with a dot in the middle, it's under his right arm.
That's the ring I saw.
Can you dream up an explanation for this? The arson team says the way this circle melted into the floor, the fire was maybe 2,000 degrees.
Which means the whole carpet would have burned and taken whole building with it.
- It didn't look like a real fire.
- I guess not.
Or this ring would be a puddle of metal, wouldn't it? Mr.
Briggs might have had the decency to finish what he was doing.
Briggs can be replaced.
This time find someone with more emotional stability.
Emotional instability is not exclusively human, Zo'or.
- You refer to Ku'don suicide? - And Rho'ha before him.
I might point out, they were both in charge of projects for you.
Both voluntarily left this plane of existence to enter the next level.
Ku'don suffered from prolonged despair and Rho'ha was polluted with human DNA.
They were exceptions.
In any case, my source at NYPD tells me that the detective in charge is widening his investigation.
Then take the case over and close it.
I do not wish any investigation.
If the FBI strong arms the New York police at this stage, they'll be suspicious.
Let's wait and see, I can use federal laws to intervene when I need to.
How you do it is irrelevant.
Just keep my agenda on track.
Begone! This is a lot for me to absorb at 10:30 in the morning.
I was in Paris until 6.
Well, forget the fact I dreamed it happened.
I was shown it somehow.
I saw the look in Briggs' eyes, Renee, he was insane with fear.
Doors maintains a who's who database of financial movers and shakers.
Carson Briggs was definitely in that group.
That's him there.
The Wall Street Journal called him a genius at 26.
He saved his bank from going under.
I knew World Commonwealth privately held one of the top five US banks.
It predates the revolution, started by one of those European families that got rich off of wars and who knows what.
Any idea why you'd have a nightmare about the bank? It wasn't a nightmare, it was real.
There was a blue light and a voice.
Well, you didn't know Briggs, so you couldn't dream him up.
What's the bank's position? They waved their right to a search warrant, they sent Briggs' accounts right over to the NYPD.
No search warrant, no search.
Exactly.
Now, while I dig in Briggs' personal life, could you use your Doors cover to get into the bank? We need to explain why there are Taelon symbols all over it.
Okay.
But if I go in through the front door, officially, I won't find out much.
They usually hide the skeletons behind the back door.
That's why the back door is usually locked.
Exile.
Somebody got here before we did.
A heat signature passed through here not long ago.
Let's lay down that fog of binary shock gas.
He's going to cardiac arrest after his first breath but fire if you have to.
Fan out and search.
Do not let him out.
Fan out! Follow me! Someone broke the police seal.
We missed him.
If only you could see this place, Briggs was losing his mind.
Take inventory.
If Briggs followed my orders, we don't have to worry, if not, he didn't died soon enough.
They had M-31 neutron beam guns.
Which the Taelons only issue to Volunteers.
Oh, they weren't in uniform.
I called in an anonymous 911, maybe the cops can find out who they were.
Briggs hid this data log in his cellar.
One symbol stands for impurity, the rest looks like Taelon script, but I can't read any of it.
Is encrypted.
I've never broken purely Taelon code, but I'd like a crack at it.
Well, be my guest.
Oh, I saw the light again, the one from my dream.
This time I understood what it was trying to say.
It said "exile".
I think recognize who it is.
How can you recognize it? It's a light.
And I, for one, am not prepared to start believing in apparitions.
His name was Ku'don, I've seen him a few times on the mother ship.
Ku'don Strictly Taelon business, not much human contact, right? His name was Ku'don? Why was? Well, he's dead.
Or rather, he willed himself to the next plane of existence.
- He killed himself.
- Right.
Last month, I don't know why.
No one does.
He was a senior member of the Synod.
I met him a few times, and there seemed to be a genuine connection between us.
A dead Taelon showed you where Briggs hid his data log? Come on, Liam.
We've seen Taelons in any number of strange forms.
We have no idea of their abilities.
This one was translucent, floating through walls.
- Though walls? - Like a specter? An alien specter.
Let's just call it an entity, for now.
Miss Palmer, I am Samuel Priest, it's a pleasure to meet you.
.
Likewise, Mr.
Priest.
Thank you.
So, I understand that Mr.
Doors is interested in borrowing 60 million in the next two months.
He wants to include New World Commonwealth into loan syndicate.
That's very gratifying.
I can't tell you how hard we've worked to regenerate trust in the corporate community.
Carson Briggs pulled that off, didn't he? I read about his death today.
It's a tragedy.
A terrible loss.
And a personal loss for me.
He was a direct descendant of the original banking family.
Excuse me, Mr.
Priest.
My security sweep indicates a radio source in your office.
I'm sorry, Miss Palmer.
Mr.
Fisk's system detects everything, beepers, personal digital organizers.
We prohibit unauthorized recordings.
Well, that's very wise, so do we.
My global, it's on standby.
Would that do it? That would do it.
Well, I'm going to recommend to Jonathan that we proceed with the loan.
Wonderful.
And tell your boss I look forward to meeting him.
I admire his style.
I will.
- Flemish, correct? - You have a good eye.
It's form the original family castle in Antwerp, 16th century.
And the circle with the mark in it, that's on the building outside? Family crest.
We use that as the corporate signature.
We chose the logo because in the middle ages it was the alchemist symbol for gold.
Which you certainly have plenty of.
Well, thank you, Mr.
Priest.
I'll be getting back to you when we've crunched the numbers.
Good day.
You had to barge in? The woman had her global on, so what? - Establishing a relationship with Doors is - Foolish.
Even dangerous.
Jonathan Doors has coventures with the Taelons.
That's too close to the bone for you to deal with him as well.
But I'm keeping with the Briggs' guideline Briggs is dead.
I'm putting Fisk in charge of the agenda.
You well defer to him.
Let me remind you.
Our control on this project must remain absolute.
We raised your bank from the ashes.
We can burn it to the ground just as fast.
My global, is on standby.
Would that do it? That would do it.
If they auto sweep every business meeting for bugs, they are awfully paranoid.
Hm, I'll say.
While you were inside, they not only swept you for radio frequencies, but for infra-red, ultra waves and magnetic residues.
That sounds unhealthy.
How about Priest? Did you get enough to compute his confidence profile? Yes.
A terrible loss.
And a personal loss for me.
Confidence is low.
The man is lying, he hated Briggs, he's afraid.
I'd say terrified.
His bank just posted in the first quarter gain of 17 billion.
What's he got to be afraid of? Kincaid.
I'm glad you could make it.
We talked to Briggs' friends.
He was all smiles till last week.
I don't think anybody knew how far gone he really was.
- Assuming he did this.
- Assuming he did? And the kicker is the circles look burned, but they aren't.
Like Briggs.
Not with any heat source or chemical we know about.
At least now I can open a murder file.
Because of this? All this proves is that Briggs was deranged.
Because of Briggs' autopsy.
We knew he was burned, I thought it was external.
His organ cavities are charcoal.
How does a man burn from the inside out? You're the resident Taelon expert, you tell me.
Ku'don? - Exile.
- Ku'don! Zo'or, the bridge auto lock is disengaged! Use the manual override! He'll be blown into space.
Let me take you to the infirmary.
No, I do not require medical help.
What happened? Zo'or, there are six separate failsafe systems.
There're all disarmed.
I do not wish to discuss this any further, Agent Sandoval.
Make certain the ship's log is purged.
This incident never occurred.
No question.
Briggs was burned by Taelon radiation, so were his walls.
Why can't the police detect it? It's classified, they don't even have the lab gear to measure it.
The Taelons are very touchy on the subject of their radiation.
Too many humans have died of the exposure.
Yeah, the FBI even suppress medical publications from describe it.
Imagine a black-out on medical news.
Better living with the Taelons.
The Taelon anywhere near Briggs or his place was Ku'don.
The specter of Ku'don.
Except wraiths and evil spirits don't exist.
Well, it's a Taelon specter.
We don't know enough about energy-based life forms to be sure how they transmogrify.
You've got more to worry about than Ku'don.
Whoever tried to gas me at Briggs' place cleaned up every trace.
And they were very definitely human.
Ku'don was involved in a special project for Zo'or.
If this was the reason he lost his will to live, he has hidden the nature of it.
I will tell you in confidence, Ku'don has not rejoined with us.
Rejoined? I thought Taelons left the Commonality when they died.
Their essence rejoins us.
Humans have the same concept.
Of course, humans have to accept what they believe on faith.
The Taelons have a more tangible connection with their spirit selves.
Humanity has this energy as well, but it is less evolved.
You call it a soul.
Like Ku'don, a few Taelon souls have been banished, some forever.
Banished? You mean an exile? Ku'don hoped to escape his shame through death, only to discover his nightmare had just begun.
Exile is purgatory to a Taelon.
Exile, but not gone.
What humans call a poltergeist or apparition? They are simply an altered form of the same energy.
Ku'don wants me involved, he showed me where Briggs hid this.
This is an ancient form of Taelon.
A protolanguage from which ours has evolved.
- These appear to be amounts of money.
- The Taelons don't use money.
True.
It is abhorrent for an advanced species to imbue things with power.
But even Taelons did so once.
- Mr.
Osori? - That's me.
Renee Hayle, Dave Powers sent me.
I'm your new temp-tation.
Just a little joke.
I believe a casual working environment is essential to employ moral.
Now, what can I do for you today? Well, Miss Hayle, all you can do for me today is reconcile these books.
Sure.
Mr.
Osori, I'd be so grateful if I could make a short personal call.
I believe perks like that also give a definite boost to employ moral, don't you? Moral could use a boost around here.
Dial 9.
Thanks.
Hi.
Hi yourself.
How's the job? Oh, it's gonna be just fine, real nice people.
Yeah, I'm in that funky old building on Madison, you know, the one with the Common-something-bank in it.
Fifth floor.
Nice view.
New World Commonwealth, sure, I know just where you are.
- Sorry, no vidcomm.
- Well, I'd just have to use my imagination.
Oh, what's your number? Just in case I need to call you back.
Manhattan Sub Area code 0810, then New York I got it.
Have a good one.
What do you want? Stop, no more.
- Destroy them.
- Destroy who? You were informed of the incident which nearly claimed my life? Yes.
I am gratified no accident or harm came to you.
Indeed.
The harm was not accidental.
It was a failed attempt at murder by the spirit of Ku'don.
I mistakenly put him in charge of securing the financial profits from our various human coventures.
How can there be profits? We have given this technology to the humans.
The gift is public.
The profit is private.
- Your desire for wealth is degenerate.
- I do not desire wealth.
I desire to control this planet for our fight against the Jaridians.
Humans respect only one real power: wealth.
They respect noble motives much more.
Read their history, Da'an.
Money is at the root of every war, behind the throne of every king.
With the wealth I control, I can reform their governments to suit our ends.
The mystery of Ku'don's suffering is now explained.
You made him defile the Commonality.
You doomed him to exile and you doomed yourself, Zo'or.
Such lust for money is blasphemy.
Blasphemy? Only to a species like ours, which is dying its own illusion of moral superiority.
We can either be pure until the moment of our destruction.
Or we can survive by adopting the base values of a species like the humans.
And you expect the Commonality to condone this perversion? If I must force them by sheer willpower, I will.
But first, I must rid myself of Ku'don's malevolent spirit.
I wish you to perform the Hjarth'ra for Ku'don.
You would banish Ku'don for eternity, for a sin you asked him to commit? If not, he will continue to haunt me.
- I do not have time for that.
- I will not perform Hjarth'ra.
I ask you and it is your duty to accept.
Or will you defy the Commonality? I think not.
You would never risk being a blasphemer.
Not you, Da'an.
- What you got there? - Well, name tofu or tuna.
Yeah, yeah, part of my wage slave cover story to lose a big blast of protein, but dull.
How about a corny dog? Extra onions and a vicious looking chili that that guy swears will etch glass.
Fabulous, thank you.
So, Ku'don's apparition visited me.
You're getting to be old friends.
What did he want this time? My God.
He gave me an order.
He wants me to destroy them.
I'd say he made his point.
- We've got to get in there tonight.
- Tonight? Find out what Briggs was working on.
It's got to be why Ku'don killed him.
How's Augur coming with those plans? Slow.
The bank has the first 3 floors, security is tighter than your average nuclear plant.
There's a sub-basement beneath the vault, which is totally shielded.
He has no idea what's down there.
We'll have to learn as we go.
Zo'or had Ku'don running a project, but did it involve the bank? Well, you only need a bank if you've got money.
And the closest the Taelons come are the coventures.
Now, I spent all night in Doors data center I can't find a single link between the Taelons, Briggs or that bank.
Those coventures turn a lot of profit.
ID portals have already replaced half the airlines.
The Taelons aren't in the profit position, they make a big point in their benevolence.
But if they wanted to, they could wind up owning the whole planet.
By the ancient right of Hjarth'ra I am a conduit for all Taelons since the beginning of time.
One of us has profaned our noblest ideals.
Make yourself present.
You have this one chance to appeal the decision of the Commonality.
Ku'don, - You have blasphemed.
- It was not me.
The will of the Commonality is unchanged.
You are banished into eternal exile.
Your essence is cast out.
I will wait you there, Zo'or.
Ku'don can now never return to harm me.
I take this as an endorsement by the Commonality.
Or a paralysis to oppose you.
Either way, it is a frightening glimpse into our future.
Mr.
Osori, I have a proposition.
How about a little overtime? You give me way too much work to do.
Well, ordinarily it's out of the question.
But in this case yes, why not? I think I'll stay and help you.
You know, I have to make a quick visit to the ladies', but I'll be right back.
Augur, I got 60 seconds.
Take the stairs down two at a time, their security sweep is scheduled to start anytime now.
Can't go any further.
Opposite the wall on your right is a service shaft.
You'll be aiming down at 45 degrees.
Got it.
Increase the angle.
Bullseye, you're on target.
Fire away.
Good shot.
We're in.
I neutralized the infrared sweepers and the motion detectors, but I can't swear that they don't have a stealth system somewhere, so be ready to bail out.
Ready? It seems quiet enough.
They may be using a random patrol as backup.
You won't see them until you see them.
If that happens, there's not a lot more I can do for you from here, but to put up your bail bond.
Okay, the vault is through the bar door to your left.
Play the recording of Priest's voice to bypass its security lock.
Samuel Priest.
When you're using a weapon like that, Liam, you have to handle it with extreme caution.
You have the room to get clear.
You know, those fusion knives make a serious fireball.
Hands on your head, or I'll shoot to kill.
Liam! - Disarm that thing.
- I can't, the countdown is locked.
We're in the fatality zone.
Exile.
Do something.
We hit the jackpot, Augur.
These accounts have Briggs' name on them.
Begin the download now.
You have cleansed the impurity.
I am free and eternally grateful.
The examiners found the bank's coffers empty.
By tomorrow they will have closed their doors.
Excellent.
And your agent? Fisk is dead.
His security plan failed, he knew the consequences.
I've arranged for the police to find his confession admitting he killed Briggs as a career move.
We don't need them to worry about that detail.
Fine.
I shall deal with the rest.
I sense Ku'don's distance.
As do I.
I assume that in time he will vanish altogether.
He will never vanish, Zo'or.
It may suit your consciousness to think so, but, energy cannot be destroyed.
Ku'don is not at fault, yet he will dwell alone forever while you continue to defile the Commonality.
You will destroy us all.
Each of us is held to account.
I will save us from the Jaridians, but if you impede me, Da'an, you will be the one join Ku'don in exile, not me.
- Do you think Ku'don will be back? - No.
His spirit is at peace.
The bank's destroyed.
that's why he killed Briggs, to get us to look more closely at what they were doing.
He said something to me in Taelon in the vault.
Thank you.
I think he meant it for all of us.
Okay, I've downloaded the bank's mainframe, and I'm counting 3 trillion.
That's trillion with the T, and it's all in gold bullion.
to buy you a big bank.
More than one, the New World Commonwealth banking families worldwide.
Western Europe, Asia and hundreds of subsidiaries.
No wonder Briggs was a hero, too bad it all was Taelon money.
Is it just a coincidence that a human symbol for gold is the same the ancient Taelons used for wealth? Well, the Taelons used to trade throughout their own galaxy but not this one.
Still, makes you wonder.
Taelon spirits and human souls, gold and alien wealth.
Maybe some things are truly universal.
They don't profit from coventures.
How did the Taelons amass such a fortune? Well, besides the banks, they must have fleets of attorneys laundering it through shell corporations.
I've got a preliminary report together I'm about to e-mail to the Wall Street Journal.
It'll be on the streets tomorrow.
- Wait.
- What? It's being moved and transferred, and shifted into new accounts.
I don't know, but it's all disappearing.
How? 3 trillion dollars in gold doesn't just disappear.
It just did.
I trust you can hear me, Ku'don.
You understand that one day I will possess this species.
All I must do is buy them.
Axarion
Why the hell would you be breaking into secured area? Doors has a small fortune invested in these coventures with the Taelons, not to mention my reputation.
Damn right I'm gonna find everything I can.
Focus on your own business, Miss Palmer.
Let us handle ours.
Strength of the Taelons lies in the common purpose.
That is the core of the Commonality.
What you are suggesting is blasphemy.
No, the Commonality is our weakness.
We are running from the Jaridians because they are not bound by a commonality.
They are individuals, like the humans.
Please, leave me alone.
Please, leave me alone! Please.
Leave me alone.
Please, leave me alone, please.
No! Axarion They have come to Earth with the promise of peace.
An alien race called the Taelons.
But, there are those who resist these Alien Companions.
For the Taelons' true mission, the secrets they hide will forever alter our world.
The fate of humanity now relies on those who dare challenge the future of Earth.
Let's get press out of here! Who is this? Liam Kincaid, I'm with the Companion Protector Service in DC.
Is this official, Kincaid? Otherwise, I'm busy.
I saw it happen.
Security says he was alone in the building.
- How did you get in here? - I didn't exactly.
You saw it, but you weren't here? I'm trying to get some inkling of how you fit into this.
- If you weren't here, where were you? - In my place in Washington, asleep.
I know how it sounds, but I dreamt it.
Look, he was terrified of something.
He ran from it, he broke that vase Sweeney, find out if the IO gave any of this to the press, and if he did, I'll have his job.
The vase wasn't on the news.
I dreamed it.
You found his ring yet? Solid gold, the design was a circle with a dot in the middle, it's under his right arm.
That's the ring I saw.
Can you dream up an explanation for this? The arson team says the way this circle melted into the floor, the fire was maybe 2,000 degrees.
Which means the whole carpet would have burned and taken whole building with it.
- It didn't look like a real fire.
- I guess not.
Or this ring would be a puddle of metal, wouldn't it? Mr.
Briggs might have had the decency to finish what he was doing.
Briggs can be replaced.
This time find someone with more emotional stability.
Emotional instability is not exclusively human, Zo'or.
- You refer to Ku'don suicide? - And Rho'ha before him.
I might point out, they were both in charge of projects for you.
Both voluntarily left this plane of existence to enter the next level.
Ku'don suffered from prolonged despair and Rho'ha was polluted with human DNA.
They were exceptions.
In any case, my source at NYPD tells me that the detective in charge is widening his investigation.
Then take the case over and close it.
I do not wish any investigation.
If the FBI strong arms the New York police at this stage, they'll be suspicious.
Let's wait and see, I can use federal laws to intervene when I need to.
How you do it is irrelevant.
Just keep my agenda on track.
Begone! This is a lot for me to absorb at 10:30 in the morning.
I was in Paris until 6.
Well, forget the fact I dreamed it happened.
I was shown it somehow.
I saw the look in Briggs' eyes, Renee, he was insane with fear.
Doors maintains a who's who database of financial movers and shakers.
Carson Briggs was definitely in that group.
That's him there.
The Wall Street Journal called him a genius at 26.
He saved his bank from going under.
I knew World Commonwealth privately held one of the top five US banks.
It predates the revolution, started by one of those European families that got rich off of wars and who knows what.
Any idea why you'd have a nightmare about the bank? It wasn't a nightmare, it was real.
There was a blue light and a voice.
Well, you didn't know Briggs, so you couldn't dream him up.
What's the bank's position? They waved their right to a search warrant, they sent Briggs' accounts right over to the NYPD.
No search warrant, no search.
Exactly.
Now, while I dig in Briggs' personal life, could you use your Doors cover to get into the bank? We need to explain why there are Taelon symbols all over it.
Okay.
But if I go in through the front door, officially, I won't find out much.
They usually hide the skeletons behind the back door.
That's why the back door is usually locked.
Exile.
Somebody got here before we did.
A heat signature passed through here not long ago.
Let's lay down that fog of binary shock gas.
He's going to cardiac arrest after his first breath but fire if you have to.
Fan out and search.
Do not let him out.
Fan out! Follow me! Someone broke the police seal.
We missed him.
If only you could see this place, Briggs was losing his mind.
Take inventory.
If Briggs followed my orders, we don't have to worry, if not, he didn't died soon enough.
They had M-31 neutron beam guns.
Which the Taelons only issue to Volunteers.
Oh, they weren't in uniform.
I called in an anonymous 911, maybe the cops can find out who they were.
Briggs hid this data log in his cellar.
One symbol stands for impurity, the rest looks like Taelon script, but I can't read any of it.
Is encrypted.
I've never broken purely Taelon code, but I'd like a crack at it.
Well, be my guest.
Oh, I saw the light again, the one from my dream.
This time I understood what it was trying to say.
It said "exile".
I think recognize who it is.
How can you recognize it? It's a light.
And I, for one, am not prepared to start believing in apparitions.
His name was Ku'don, I've seen him a few times on the mother ship.
Ku'don Strictly Taelon business, not much human contact, right? His name was Ku'don? Why was? Well, he's dead.
Or rather, he willed himself to the next plane of existence.
- He killed himself.
- Right.
Last month, I don't know why.
No one does.
He was a senior member of the Synod.
I met him a few times, and there seemed to be a genuine connection between us.
A dead Taelon showed you where Briggs hid his data log? Come on, Liam.
We've seen Taelons in any number of strange forms.
We have no idea of their abilities.
This one was translucent, floating through walls.
- Though walls? - Like a specter? An alien specter.
Let's just call it an entity, for now.
Miss Palmer, I am Samuel Priest, it's a pleasure to meet you.
.
Likewise, Mr.
Priest.
Thank you.
So, I understand that Mr.
Doors is interested in borrowing 60 million in the next two months.
He wants to include New World Commonwealth into loan syndicate.
That's very gratifying.
I can't tell you how hard we've worked to regenerate trust in the corporate community.
Carson Briggs pulled that off, didn't he? I read about his death today.
It's a tragedy.
A terrible loss.
And a personal loss for me.
He was a direct descendant of the original banking family.
Excuse me, Mr.
Priest.
My security sweep indicates a radio source in your office.
I'm sorry, Miss Palmer.
Mr.
Fisk's system detects everything, beepers, personal digital organizers.
We prohibit unauthorized recordings.
Well, that's very wise, so do we.
My global, it's on standby.
Would that do it? That would do it.
Well, I'm going to recommend to Jonathan that we proceed with the loan.
Wonderful.
And tell your boss I look forward to meeting him.
I admire his style.
I will.
- Flemish, correct? - You have a good eye.
It's form the original family castle in Antwerp, 16th century.
And the circle with the mark in it, that's on the building outside? Family crest.
We use that as the corporate signature.
We chose the logo because in the middle ages it was the alchemist symbol for gold.
Which you certainly have plenty of.
Well, thank you, Mr.
Priest.
I'll be getting back to you when we've crunched the numbers.
Good day.
You had to barge in? The woman had her global on, so what? - Establishing a relationship with Doors is - Foolish.
Even dangerous.
Jonathan Doors has coventures with the Taelons.
That's too close to the bone for you to deal with him as well.
But I'm keeping with the Briggs' guideline Briggs is dead.
I'm putting Fisk in charge of the agenda.
You well defer to him.
Let me remind you.
Our control on this project must remain absolute.
We raised your bank from the ashes.
We can burn it to the ground just as fast.
My global, is on standby.
Would that do it? That would do it.
If they auto sweep every business meeting for bugs, they are awfully paranoid.
Hm, I'll say.
While you were inside, they not only swept you for radio frequencies, but for infra-red, ultra waves and magnetic residues.
That sounds unhealthy.
How about Priest? Did you get enough to compute his confidence profile? Yes.
A terrible loss.
And a personal loss for me.
Confidence is low.
The man is lying, he hated Briggs, he's afraid.
I'd say terrified.
His bank just posted in the first quarter gain of 17 billion.
What's he got to be afraid of? Kincaid.
I'm glad you could make it.
We talked to Briggs' friends.
He was all smiles till last week.
I don't think anybody knew how far gone he really was.
- Assuming he did this.
- Assuming he did? And the kicker is the circles look burned, but they aren't.
Like Briggs.
Not with any heat source or chemical we know about.
At least now I can open a murder file.
Because of this? All this proves is that Briggs was deranged.
Because of Briggs' autopsy.
We knew he was burned, I thought it was external.
His organ cavities are charcoal.
How does a man burn from the inside out? You're the resident Taelon expert, you tell me.
Ku'don? - Exile.
- Ku'don! Zo'or, the bridge auto lock is disengaged! Use the manual override! He'll be blown into space.
Let me take you to the infirmary.
No, I do not require medical help.
What happened? Zo'or, there are six separate failsafe systems.
There're all disarmed.
I do not wish to discuss this any further, Agent Sandoval.
Make certain the ship's log is purged.
This incident never occurred.
No question.
Briggs was burned by Taelon radiation, so were his walls.
Why can't the police detect it? It's classified, they don't even have the lab gear to measure it.
The Taelons are very touchy on the subject of their radiation.
Too many humans have died of the exposure.
Yeah, the FBI even suppress medical publications from describe it.
Imagine a black-out on medical news.
Better living with the Taelons.
The Taelon anywhere near Briggs or his place was Ku'don.
The specter of Ku'don.
Except wraiths and evil spirits don't exist.
Well, it's a Taelon specter.
We don't know enough about energy-based life forms to be sure how they transmogrify.
You've got more to worry about than Ku'don.
Whoever tried to gas me at Briggs' place cleaned up every trace.
And they were very definitely human.
Ku'don was involved in a special project for Zo'or.
If this was the reason he lost his will to live, he has hidden the nature of it.
I will tell you in confidence, Ku'don has not rejoined with us.
Rejoined? I thought Taelons left the Commonality when they died.
Their essence rejoins us.
Humans have the same concept.
Of course, humans have to accept what they believe on faith.
The Taelons have a more tangible connection with their spirit selves.
Humanity has this energy as well, but it is less evolved.
You call it a soul.
Like Ku'don, a few Taelon souls have been banished, some forever.
Banished? You mean an exile? Ku'don hoped to escape his shame through death, only to discover his nightmare had just begun.
Exile is purgatory to a Taelon.
Exile, but not gone.
What humans call a poltergeist or apparition? They are simply an altered form of the same energy.
Ku'don wants me involved, he showed me where Briggs hid this.
This is an ancient form of Taelon.
A protolanguage from which ours has evolved.
- These appear to be amounts of money.
- The Taelons don't use money.
True.
It is abhorrent for an advanced species to imbue things with power.
But even Taelons did so once.
- Mr.
Osori? - That's me.
Renee Hayle, Dave Powers sent me.
I'm your new temp-tation.
Just a little joke.
I believe a casual working environment is essential to employ moral.
Now, what can I do for you today? Well, Miss Hayle, all you can do for me today is reconcile these books.
Sure.
Mr.
Osori, I'd be so grateful if I could make a short personal call.
I believe perks like that also give a definite boost to employ moral, don't you? Moral could use a boost around here.
Dial 9.
Thanks.
Hi.
Hi yourself.
How's the job? Oh, it's gonna be just fine, real nice people.
Yeah, I'm in that funky old building on Madison, you know, the one with the Common-something-bank in it.
Fifth floor.
Nice view.
New World Commonwealth, sure, I know just where you are.
- Sorry, no vidcomm.
- Well, I'd just have to use my imagination.
Oh, what's your number? Just in case I need to call you back.
Manhattan Sub Area code 0810, then New York I got it.
Have a good one.
What do you want? Stop, no more.
- Destroy them.
- Destroy who? You were informed of the incident which nearly claimed my life? Yes.
I am gratified no accident or harm came to you.
Indeed.
The harm was not accidental.
It was a failed attempt at murder by the spirit of Ku'don.
I mistakenly put him in charge of securing the financial profits from our various human coventures.
How can there be profits? We have given this technology to the humans.
The gift is public.
The profit is private.
- Your desire for wealth is degenerate.
- I do not desire wealth.
I desire to control this planet for our fight against the Jaridians.
Humans respect only one real power: wealth.
They respect noble motives much more.
Read their history, Da'an.
Money is at the root of every war, behind the throne of every king.
With the wealth I control, I can reform their governments to suit our ends.
The mystery of Ku'don's suffering is now explained.
You made him defile the Commonality.
You doomed him to exile and you doomed yourself, Zo'or.
Such lust for money is blasphemy.
Blasphemy? Only to a species like ours, which is dying its own illusion of moral superiority.
We can either be pure until the moment of our destruction.
Or we can survive by adopting the base values of a species like the humans.
And you expect the Commonality to condone this perversion? If I must force them by sheer willpower, I will.
But first, I must rid myself of Ku'don's malevolent spirit.
I wish you to perform the Hjarth'ra for Ku'don.
You would banish Ku'don for eternity, for a sin you asked him to commit? If not, he will continue to haunt me.
- I do not have time for that.
- I will not perform Hjarth'ra.
I ask you and it is your duty to accept.
Or will you defy the Commonality? I think not.
You would never risk being a blasphemer.
Not you, Da'an.
- What you got there? - Well, name tofu or tuna.
Yeah, yeah, part of my wage slave cover story to lose a big blast of protein, but dull.
How about a corny dog? Extra onions and a vicious looking chili that that guy swears will etch glass.
Fabulous, thank you.
So, Ku'don's apparition visited me.
You're getting to be old friends.
What did he want this time? My God.
He gave me an order.
He wants me to destroy them.
I'd say he made his point.
- We've got to get in there tonight.
- Tonight? Find out what Briggs was working on.
It's got to be why Ku'don killed him.
How's Augur coming with those plans? Slow.
The bank has the first 3 floors, security is tighter than your average nuclear plant.
There's a sub-basement beneath the vault, which is totally shielded.
He has no idea what's down there.
We'll have to learn as we go.
Zo'or had Ku'don running a project, but did it involve the bank? Well, you only need a bank if you've got money.
And the closest the Taelons come are the coventures.
Now, I spent all night in Doors data center I can't find a single link between the Taelons, Briggs or that bank.
Those coventures turn a lot of profit.
ID portals have already replaced half the airlines.
The Taelons aren't in the profit position, they make a big point in their benevolence.
But if they wanted to, they could wind up owning the whole planet.
By the ancient right of Hjarth'ra I am a conduit for all Taelons since the beginning of time.
One of us has profaned our noblest ideals.
Make yourself present.
You have this one chance to appeal the decision of the Commonality.
Ku'don, - You have blasphemed.
- It was not me.
The will of the Commonality is unchanged.
You are banished into eternal exile.
Your essence is cast out.
I will wait you there, Zo'or.
Ku'don can now never return to harm me.
I take this as an endorsement by the Commonality.
Or a paralysis to oppose you.
Either way, it is a frightening glimpse into our future.
Mr.
Osori, I have a proposition.
How about a little overtime? You give me way too much work to do.
Well, ordinarily it's out of the question.
But in this case yes, why not? I think I'll stay and help you.
You know, I have to make a quick visit to the ladies', but I'll be right back.
Augur, I got 60 seconds.
Take the stairs down two at a time, their security sweep is scheduled to start anytime now.
Can't go any further.
Opposite the wall on your right is a service shaft.
You'll be aiming down at 45 degrees.
Got it.
Increase the angle.
Bullseye, you're on target.
Fire away.
Good shot.
We're in.
I neutralized the infrared sweepers and the motion detectors, but I can't swear that they don't have a stealth system somewhere, so be ready to bail out.
Ready? It seems quiet enough.
They may be using a random patrol as backup.
You won't see them until you see them.
If that happens, there's not a lot more I can do for you from here, but to put up your bail bond.
Okay, the vault is through the bar door to your left.
Play the recording of Priest's voice to bypass its security lock.
Samuel Priest.
When you're using a weapon like that, Liam, you have to handle it with extreme caution.
You have the room to get clear.
You know, those fusion knives make a serious fireball.
Hands on your head, or I'll shoot to kill.
Liam! - Disarm that thing.
- I can't, the countdown is locked.
We're in the fatality zone.
Exile.
Do something.
We hit the jackpot, Augur.
These accounts have Briggs' name on them.
Begin the download now.
You have cleansed the impurity.
I am free and eternally grateful.
The examiners found the bank's coffers empty.
By tomorrow they will have closed their doors.
Excellent.
And your agent? Fisk is dead.
His security plan failed, he knew the consequences.
I've arranged for the police to find his confession admitting he killed Briggs as a career move.
We don't need them to worry about that detail.
Fine.
I shall deal with the rest.
I sense Ku'don's distance.
As do I.
I assume that in time he will vanish altogether.
He will never vanish, Zo'or.
It may suit your consciousness to think so, but, energy cannot be destroyed.
Ku'don is not at fault, yet he will dwell alone forever while you continue to defile the Commonality.
You will destroy us all.
Each of us is held to account.
I will save us from the Jaridians, but if you impede me, Da'an, you will be the one join Ku'don in exile, not me.
- Do you think Ku'don will be back? - No.
His spirit is at peace.
The bank's destroyed.
that's why he killed Briggs, to get us to look more closely at what they were doing.
He said something to me in Taelon in the vault.
Thank you.
I think he meant it for all of us.
Okay, I've downloaded the bank's mainframe, and I'm counting 3 trillion.
That's trillion with the T, and it's all in gold bullion.
to buy you a big bank.
More than one, the New World Commonwealth banking families worldwide.
Western Europe, Asia and hundreds of subsidiaries.
No wonder Briggs was a hero, too bad it all was Taelon money.
Is it just a coincidence that a human symbol for gold is the same the ancient Taelons used for wealth? Well, the Taelons used to trade throughout their own galaxy but not this one.
Still, makes you wonder.
Taelon spirits and human souls, gold and alien wealth.
Maybe some things are truly universal.
They don't profit from coventures.
How did the Taelons amass such a fortune? Well, besides the banks, they must have fleets of attorneys laundering it through shell corporations.
I've got a preliminary report together I'm about to e-mail to the Wall Street Journal.
It'll be on the streets tomorrow.
- Wait.
- What? It's being moved and transferred, and shifted into new accounts.
I don't know, but it's all disappearing.
How? 3 trillion dollars in gold doesn't just disappear.
It just did.
I trust you can hear me, Ku'don.
You understand that one day I will possess this species.
All I must do is buy them.
Axarion