Silicon Valley (2014) s05e04 Episode Script
Tech Evangelist
1 Jian-Yang, are Are you copying all those companies for the Chinese markets? - Oh, no.
- [MUSIC PLAYING.]
RICHARD HENDRICKS: Are you suggesting that someone in here is leaking info to Gavin Belson? Tell me about these fridges.
[WHISPERING.]
It's a company secret.
Do you want to save a fortune, or not? Well, yes.
In exchange, I need you to do something for me, with regard to the people who hacked your refrigerators.
I'm going to destroy their lives.
Jared, do you think it's time we hire a COO? You're 20-30 pounds underweight.
Don't worry about him.
We're gonna find you a much better COO.
You want the job? - [GASPS, SOBS.]
- All right Ugh.
All right.
Okay, everybody, um, thanks for coming.
Uh, sorry about the venue.
We had a minor security issue.
I didn't feel comfortable hosting you guys at at our offices.
But, hey, at least out here, we don't run the risk of running into anyone from the tech industry.
- [BALLS CLACK.]
- Yeah, they're all so old.
- But they look so happy.
- Yeah.
RICHARD: It's weird.
I don't understand it either.
Anyway, I wanted you guys to meet, because despite being a very diverse and talented group of young web developers Goodscape, huh? Social coding platform.
Tholio, analytics firm.
Plucky, music streaming.
FirstSight, dating site.
Gay dating site.
Okay, technically, you're a dating site, but specifically, a gay one.
Which is a subset, so I'm not wrong.
Anyway, uh, despite all our differences, we all have one thing in common, right? A signed agreement with me to build and launch your websites, not on the tired, bloated, old web, but on the new Internet of the future.
The Pipernet.
Which is why, from this day forward, I'm going to be naming the eight of you the OctoPipers.
Until something better, TBD.
So when can we tell people? Soon! Actually, very soon.
Uh, next Tuesday, Gavin Belson is, uh launching his Box Three.
So, um, the day before, we are going to announce our partnerships with you all, and beat him to the punch.
Shit.
He's gonna be super pissed.
MAN: He's really gonna come after us.
Yeah, he is, but fuck him.
Not butt fuck him.
- Just - You don't have to explain that kinda stuff.
I-I know what you mean.
Yeah, I know.
Look look.
As long as we stick together, and support each other, we can crush him.
Because what we are doing is amazing, okay? We are building the world's first truly open, truly free de-centralized Internet.
And I tell you what, I got a sneak preview for you guys, okay? Because as of this morning, - messaging is live.
- What! - Cool.
- Yeah.
Really? So cool! So right now, I will send to you all the very first message ever to be sent on a de-centralized, peer-to-peer Internet.
- Ready? - [PHONE CLICKING.]
[SENT MESSAGE NOTIFICATION.]
- "Hit her.
" - [PHONES DINGING.]
I don't get it.
Are you talking about me? I meant to say "Hi there.
" Well, it definitely says "Hit her.
" - I'll try it again.
There's a new one.
- [PHONE CLICKING.]
- There.
"Hi there.
" - [SENT MESSAGE NOTIFICATION.]
- "Hi there, Hitler.
" - [PHONES DING.]
[WHISPERS.]
Goddammit.
Hey, Richard? You don't have any issue with us being an exclusively gay site, do you? What? No! No, it's It's totally cool.
Oh! Wait a minute, no, I don't mean you are anti-gay.
I mean the opposite.
Like, are you worried that we're excluding straight people? Oh.
I just remember you said, you want your new Internet to be open for everybody, and, you know, I just want to make sure we're jibing with your vision.
Deedee, we are psyched to have you aboard.
Exclude all the straight people you want.
[CHUCKLES.]
- You sure? - Yep.
- Because we're not snobs about it.
- [CHUCKLES.]
I mean, between you and me, I'm dreadfully boring.
I might as well be straight myself.
I've been with the same man for seven years.
I go to church every Sunday.
Look, it it's all good.
FirstSight is a gay dating site.
And and I will sing it from the rooftops.
Alright, well, thank you, Richard.
I think this is gonna be great.
Cool.
Yeah.
Okay.
- Don't be weird.
- I didn't know what we'd be doing.
RICHARD: So everybody is very psyched.
You know who else is psyched? I'll give you a hint.
They have four thumbs, and they are these two guys.
- I am very excited.
- I am giddy! Okay, what What happened? We found the mole.
- What? - Yeah.
Who? How? Good old-fashioned police work.
I skimmed through all 40,000 of the staff's outgoing emails.
- Yeah? - And in addition to learning that we need to revise the office dating policy, because it is, essentially, the Olympic Village out there, I learned that someone has been sending a number of encrypted messages but using Gilfoyle's purloined NSA tools I can't hold this smile forever, Jared.
Get to the good stuff.
One of our coders has been sending info straight to Hooli High Command.
RICHARD: Wow.
How the fuck did the mole get all this information? By exploiting our most glaring weakness.
[OFF-KEY.]
You were working as a waitress In a cocktail bar When I met Jeff [THEME MUSIC PLAYS.]
No, no, no.
You guys have it all wrong.
Okay? There's no way Jeff is the mole.
Okay? It's not Jeff.
- [NAIL GUN DISCHARGES.]
- Right, Jeff? [CLANK.]
Jeff? What about Dave & Buster's, Jeff? What about that time I got a bullseye in Skee-Ball and yelled out, "Bazinga!" And you said, "Okay.
" You can't fake enthusiasm like that.
Well, I did.
- [NAIL GUN DISCHARGES.]
- JARED: You Judas.
You cow-handed poltroon! We We thought you were a Stallion! - You're no Stallion.
- [NAIL GUN DISCHARGES.]
What is it with you guys and stallions? What's with you being a rat fuck? You signed a very aggressive Non-Disclosure Agreement - [NAIL GUN DISCHARGES.]
- which you are in breach of.
[NAIL GUN CONTINUES.]
Which means, we can fire you, obviously, and then have you arrested, and thrown in jail.
But Gavin would then know we are on to you, so here's the deal.
You're gonna come into the office every day, and sit down at your fucking workstation, and pretend like nothing's wrong.
[SIGHS.]
Fine.
[DISCHARGES.]
Uh, that was mine.
Bummer.
"The irony is, the Internet, which we all use "to search for billions of things, "has itself long been searching for something.
And here it is.
" Okay, then I turn and gesture.
[SERENE MUSIC PLAYING.]
"The Box Three.
Signature Edition.
" Then I come back to the podium.
"I put my name on this, "because I personally stand behind "the new SAS-slash SSD-slash-NVMe drive bays, "the 24-core processors.
"I stand behind the ECC DDR4 SD-RAM LR-DIMMs "and their exceptional reliability.
Will you stand with me?" [APPLAUSE.]
- [SETS BOTTLE DOWN.]
- [SIGHS.]
About the spotlight, should it be wider? - I had the same thought.
- As did I.
- I can speak with the technical team.
- Please.
Any word from our mole at Pied Piper? I'm confident that if there were anything to report, we'd have heard about it by now, sir.
Alright! I'm off to Jackson Hole for a couple of days to clear my mind, and center myself.
I'll be off the grid.
Not to be disturbed for any reason.
- Understood? - SCOTT: Absolutely.
Is there anything else you'd like us to take care of? Oh.
Oh.
The bear is sticky with honey.
See ya soon.
"The bear is sticky with honey.
" What does he mean by that? I don't know.
Hello, Stallions.
You continue to be the best of the best.
I commend you.
And then there's you.
The anti-Stallion.
Move your hand off your fucking mouse, now.
And I was going to take you to see BattleBots live with me, but no longer "friend.
" Now who looks stupid? Yeah, so, um our new developers just agreed to our terms, RICHARD [ON PHONE.]
: and are now officially on board.
Richard is a master at getting consent.
That's great news, guys.
Eight new partners.
Yeah! Actually, we're calling them the OctoPipers.
Uh, until a better name comes along.
Just wanted to give that one its day in court.
Well, we have some more good news for you, Richard.
You remember last year, Laurie and I funded K-Hole Games? Largest independent gaming company in the Valley? Uh, yeah, of course! Um, actually, now that you you bring them up, I-I didn't want to be too forward, but I was hoping that one day, we could talk to them about joining our 'net.
Well, what if I told you that day is today? What? In addition to being business associates, the CEO and I take medically prescribed and supervised MDMA together.
I'm taking it for severe post-partum depression.
I do not know why he is taking it.
Regardless, when I saw him yesterday, he was quite euphoric about speaking to you regarding a deal.
K-Hole? The creators of the game "Undead Sex Offender"? They're they're huge.
Yeah! Yeah, partnering with a company of that size this early would put us months ahead.
This is not a done deal.
K-Hole is protective of its brand.
They will want to speak to you regarding who else you are dealing with.
Okay, right, well, um why don't I just bring the OctoPipers? New name to come, though it's pretty popular around here.
Uh, they can talk to K-Hole.
Tell them why they joined.
Allowing you to speak less? Good strategy.
Alright.
K-Hole will be expecting you this afternoon.
Knock 'em dead, Richard.
Whatever you are doing, stop it now.
Um, yeah.
We're just high-fiving.
Bye.
K-Hole.
I can't believe it! I'm bursting.
I'm bursting! Um, here, I printed driving directions.
- Oh, it's okay, I got my phone.
- [CAR REVVING.]
Well, I have marked available bathrooms along the route.
[HIP HOP MUSIC PLAYING.]
Okay, here we go.
Richard, you never return my calls.
You mean the hundreds of voicemails you've left where you just called me a terrible CEO with no dick? Yes! You're talking to other companies.
[SHUSHES.]
That is not public information.
JIAN-YANG: I'm a part owner in Pied Piper.
You need to make a deal with my companies.
You mean your incubator's spurious knock-offs of legitimate American businesses? "New Expedia," "New Snapchat," "New Zillow"? But they're for Chinese market.
It's a very sophisticated strategy.
Okay, look, taking existing companies and just calling them "new" isn't sophisticated.
That's theft.
You make a new Internet.
[STAMMERING.]
That is different.
I Look, we're not gonna make any deals with any of your companies, okay? [PHONE VIBRATES.]
Don't pick up.
Richard, hello.
It's Jian-Yang.
You are a shitty CEO.
As long as I own 10% of Pied Piper, I will make chaos.
Okay.
I thought you hated that car.
Aviato car smells like a dead pig.
You're aware that Russ Hanneman urinated in that car, no? This car? Mm-hmm.
Uh - are you just gonna leave it here? - Yes.
Well looks like I have a reason to find Pied Piper's official towing company.
I'm gonna get some bids.
Yeah, while you're at it, see if you can find someone to bash that guy's face in.
Uh, I-I can do some research.
[PHONE VIBRATES.]
Maybe turn your phone off during the meeting.
[YELLING.]
You're a shitty CEO! - [SCREAMING.]
- [GUNFIRE.]
[VIOLENT NOISES CONTINUE.]
RICHARD: Thanks again, Colin, for having us.
Uh, the fact that a company like yours with such a pristine reputation it sitting down with us is, honestly, incredibly flattering.
It's cool.
- [MAN SHOUTING IN GAME.]
- Ooh, wow.
- That'll be a closed casket.
- Yeah.
Alright, well, we thought the best way to introduce the Pipernet would be through the eight developers that have already signed on.
Who we are calling the OctoPipers.
That's dumb.
Um, anyway, let's introduce you to the group.
Um, we've got a great analytics tool by a former Google guru.
- Wish I'd have thought of that one.
- Cool.
Uh, music streaming with an AI taste predictor that is off the charts.
Good space.
Yes, and this handsome devil over here, is creating a very promising gay dating site.
That's cool.
Yeah, but don't worry, he's not snobby about it.
He's actually pretty boring.
I don't mean that as an insult.
Those are his words.
Long-term relationship.
Doesn't smoke, doesn't drink.
And him and his man go to church every Sunday.
So loves Bible studies, right? Just a straight-up boring, ordinary guy, but obviously not straight.
Very gay, and also a Christian, right? RICHARD: Okay, so, that went well.
It started out a little weird, but things really picked up Why did you do that? - Why did you say that? - Say what? Richard, you just told a room full of tech people that I'm a [WHISPERS.]
Christian.
Oh.
Okay, but But you are, aren't you? [WHISPERS.]
Yes, but I told you that in confidence.
I said "between you and me.
" I'm not openly Christian.
[SIGHS.]
Thanks a lot, man.
You just outed me.
Oh, I'm sorry, Deedee.
I didn't Okay, um, should we hug? I can not make it weird this time.
I'm I'm sorry, Richard.
You know that my default position is blind support of whatever you do, but this was not your best moment.
Guys, it can't be that big of a deal, right? Why should it be? America loves Christians.
Muslims are the enemy.
Well, that's true in most of America, but not in Silicon Valley, sadly.
"Sadly"? You can be openly polyamorous.
And people here will call you brave.
You can put micro-doses of LSD in your cereal, and and people will call you a pioneer.
But the one thing you cannot be is a Christian.
I find their theology to be illegitimate, and it's clear that they are the source of the majority of the world's problems.
But, fuck, Richard, even I wouldn't just out a Christian like that.
Yeah, it was kinda fucked up.
Cool man, thanks.
[SOFTLY.]
Hey, I thought he wasn't supposed to chime in.
Yeah, he's not, but based on its merits, I'll allow that one.
Guys, [STAMMERS.]
come on.
It can't be that bad.
Richard! What the fuck did you do over there? So I just got off the phone with Colin over at K-Hole, and while he loves your tech, he's considering blowing up the deal.
What? Just because one of my CEOs is Christian? It freaks people out in the Valley! Okay, so what do you want me to do, Monica? You want me to drop Deedee just because he's Christian? The company's not Christian.
It's gay which is fine, right? Yeah! No, that That plays great.
Look, cutting all ties to Deedee and FirstSight will definitely send a strong message to Colin.
And it might be the only way.
Like killing somebody to prove you're not a narc, or showing a john your genitals to prove you're a legitimate male prostitute and not an undercover cop.
- What? - Because cops aren't allowed to do that.
And worst case scenario, - the john walks off with a free peek.
- [PHONE VIBRATING.]
Oh, that's the towing company.
Excuse me.
[GROANS.]
Forget it.
Monica, I'm not doing it.
I mean, I'm not dropping him.
Alright.
Fine.
Fine.
I-I will call Colin, and try and smooth things over for you, but you need to handle Deedee.
Okay, apologize for outing him, of course, but you need to make sure he keeps quiet about this.
Alright, 'cause it's not just about losing K-Hole, it's way worse than that.
Let's put it this way.
Would you want to go from being a rock band to being [WHISPERS.]
a Christian rock band? Oh, shit.
"The bear is sticky with honey.
" Those were his exact words.
But what does that mean? Well, Gavin speaks in parables.
I think what Gavin is saying is "consider the bear.
" And all this pizazz is like the honey.
And it's become too sticky.
There's too much of it.
It's all over him.
Incorrect.
No, see, the whole launch is the bear, and the honey is the pizazz.
The bear needs more pizazz.
The bear is ravenous for pizazz.
You don't speak for Gavin.
I don't need to.
This is the word of Gavin.
Alright, forget it.
- You do it your way, I'll do it mine.
- Okay, fine.
Gonna show you.
Make it clear for all of you.
Okay, follow me.
JARED: Well, congratulations on becoming Pied Piper's official towing company.
Uh-huh, yeah, great.
So should I bill this to you, or is Mr.
Bighetti gonna take care of it? "Bighetti"? It's registered under his name.
I'm sorry.
Can I? RICHARD: Anyway, it was a mistake.
I'm sorry I outed you.
I just wish we could go back to normal.
You know, just like, how things were.
A CEO and a gay CEO.
I don't even know what normal is anymore, Richard.
It's been such a crazy 24 hours, you know? Gossip travels so fast in the Valley.
I'll be lucky if my parents ever talk to me again.
Your parents aren't Christian? I'm from Palo Alto.
You know, my dad says my lifestyle makes him sick.
He just wants his gay son back.
And he's okay with the gay part? - He's gay.
- Oh.
But the crazy part is, when I finally got home and I got in bed, I had the soundest sleep I've had in years.
- Exhaustion.
- No! Relief, Richard.
I'm out, okay? My nightmare's over.
I don't ever have to go back in the closet again, and I've got you to thank for it.
Check it out.
Oh, oh, oh.
You like it? It's good.
I guess maybe it's just a little busy? Like, um, there's one word too many.
One word? Well, I like the gay part.
If anything, it could be more gay.
You should gay it up, and then, I like the "proud" part.
[GULPS.]
It's just the Christian part.
Look, Richard, this is great, because now I can be gay and a Christian.
Or just be gay! You know, you could be a a twink.
A bear, an otter.
A circuit queen, a chub, a pup.
A gipster, a daddy chaser, a leatherman, a lady boy.
You could be a Donald Duck, which is a gay guy who got kicked out of the Navy.
Yeah, I I know what it is.
How do you know so many gay things? I worked with a guy.
Just don't be a Christian.
[SCOFFS.]
Wow.
After all you put me through, it turns out, you're biased too.
No! No, no, no! I'm not! I swear to you I'm not.
I'm chill AF.
It's just everybody else.
Look, if you go Christian, I lose K-Hole games.
I cannot let that happen.
I know it sucks.
It's shitty, but it's the truth.
I'm gonna make things easy for you, Richard.
I'm out.
- Of the closet? - No! The new Internet! The Internet you said was gonna be What was it? "The first truly free and open Internet.
" Open for everyone.
Whatever happened to that, huh? Nice place.
Oh, thanks, yeah.
Oh, wow! That's a nice touch.
BIG HEAD: Yeah, thanks! The Monterey Bay Aquarium was testing their sonar, and found this thing, like, two miles under the ocean.
And I figure, Erlich and I already bought it, so I might as well hold onto it.
Plus, it weighs like 8,000 pounds, so I couldn't move it if I wanted to.
Well, and it also kinda works as your mascot.
Right? 'Cause of your name? Oh, yeah, 'cause "Nelson.
" Oh, I meant because it's a big head.
I guess that works, too.
So, what's up, man? Um, well, I wanted to ask you Oh! Big Head! [CHUCKLES.]
Now I get it.
Sorry.
Is is it possible that the general partnership that you formed with Erlich is still in effect? Oh.
No way.
You definitely dissolved it? Yeah, my dad insisted.
I remember he filled out this whole form for me, and made me sign it, mail it in and everything.
Yeah, 'cause I I remember I had the paperwork in one hand, and the menu for Mr.
Chow's in the other.
And then [PAPERS RUSTLING.]
Oh, no way! Still have the paperwork.
Guess I must have sent the menu.
Big Head, this is great news.
SCOTT: Gavin? I think you're really going to love the changes that my team has made to the presentation.
I think you might like ours even better.
Sorry, what changes? We are presenting two paths, and you alone will decide which one we walk, Gavin.
What the fuck are you talking about? I thought the presentation was fine as it is.
- Wait.
What? - You did? Goddammit! Why is this still here? I said it was too sticky.
Don't you listen to anything I say? [SETS BEAR DOWN.]
- The bear - Sticky with honey.
So what did you change? Uh, the spotlight.
Yes! We're making it wider just like you asked.
Good.
You know what? Let's show you to your dressing room.
Yeah.
And whenever you're ready, you let us know, we'll show you that spotlight, huh? - You're gonna love it.
- SARAH: We did it! We had to fly him in from Tucson, but we got the bear.
[BEAR GROWLING.]
Gavin hates the bear.
You failed! Put everything back the way it was.
And widen the spotlight! Guess what, asshole.
Leon told me he wanted your ticket, 'cause he wants to go see BattleBots with me.
But then he remembered he actually had plans that night with a bunch of people, doesn't know what they're doing, their plans are sort of fluid, plus, it's like friends from his old work, so it'd be weird if I hung out with them.
Anyway looks like you and I are going to see BattleBots.
You're going to hang out with me, and have fun, whether you like it or not.
And what goes best with BattleBots? That's right.
Chicken wings.
That's why you get a sweet $50 gift card to Dave & Buster's.
Serves you right for fucking us over.
Wash your fucking hair.
And you know what happens when I get drunk, Jeff? I get so sincere.
It's really awkward.
Fuck you, Jeff.
Oh, um, can you drive? Well, I spoke to La Flamme, and it's official.
Big Head is still legally Erlich's next of kin.
So Jian-Yang's whole gambit was for naught.
Wow, really? Big Head owns Erlich's house, and 10% of Pied Piper.
I called the sheriff and started eviction proceedings.
We're gonna get everything back.
Oh, also, the, uh, OctoPipers are arriving for the meeting.
It's a good thing that FirstSight dropped out, right? 'Cause we're back down to eight developers, so you can keep that name.
Actually, uh, no, we can't.
Wait, what? - I'm glad this worked out.
- Yeah.
Thanks for dropping FirstSight.
Jesus, my board would have nailed me to a cross.
Well, I think we're just about ready to get going here, uh Oh.
Hey! Oh, good, there he is.
What's he doing here? He is here because I asked him to be.
I want him to be one of our developers.
What? No! Fuck that guy! Hey, man, how's it goin'? - Richard.
- Deedee.
- [WHISPERS.]
Can I talk to you? - Yeah! No, no, no.
Actually, look! Look, guys, I I asked you to be a part of this because I thought you were willing to take a chance on my idea.
An entirely new Internet.
An Internet that is everything the old Internet is supposed to be, but isn't.
Truly free and truly open.
Well, I'm sorry, gang.
Truly open means "open to everyone.
" No matter how repugnant their views are.
How ignorant or stupid, or, to be honest, totally fucking wrong.
And, look, who are we to judge, right? There's some people out there that believe that we're living in a computer simulation.
Well, that is supported by the evidence.
What? Uh, it's basic probability theory.
Right, uh, Richard, can I talk to you for just a sec? Yes, of course.
Uh, that's bullshit actually.
It's been disproven.
But why does that even matter? In a few years, we'll all be working for robots.
No, that's stupid.
The robots will be working for us.
Robots? Who gives a fuck about robots? It's the artificial super intelligence we should be worried about.
Exactly, and that's why we have to stop it.
Stop it? No, that's the us I'm talking about.
We have to bring it into existence.
Otherwise, it'll find out who didn't believe in it, and punish them.
- CLARK: Right.
- Guys, I was wrong.
Um, Deedee is not in.
He's actually very much out.
So do-over on the whole speech.
Fuck that guy! Christians suck! And, uh, here's a good side effect though.
Uh, we all get to keep the name OctoPipers.
You know what? Why don't we just take a quick five? [CLEARS THROAT.]
And then, we'll BRB, and then, go teams.
So just let's have a What just happened? Deedee's out? Yeah, well, he said that right after he bailed on us, he went out and made a deal with our competitor.
- But we don't have any competitors.
- Richard? RICHARD: Fuckin' Jian-Yang.
I'm gonna tear him a new asshole.
It wasn't enough to do New Snapchat or New Expedia, he had to do New Pied Piper too? Where did he get our code? He was always stealing snacks from the office.
He could've lifted it from anywhere.
I guess that's what happened to my lavender cheese.
- [POUNDING ON DOOR.]
- RICHARD: Jian-Yang! Open up! GILFOYLE: What the fuck? Why does every home I've ever loved get stripped? Is that Erlich in the bucket? Uh [CLEARS THROAT.]
"Richard "Hello, I went to China to do new new Internet.
"Thank you.
Enjoy your house.
"I love you.
Jian-Yang.
" [CHINESE HIP HOP MUSIC PLAYING.]
I'm here with Pied Piper CEO Richard Hendricks, and newly minted COO Jared Dunn.
Tell me what your new internet is, and why Gavin Belson should be afraid of it.
- Manure? - INTERVIEWER: Pardon? [TECHNO MUSIC PLAYS.]
HOOVER: Sir, I had no idea they were this far along.
You must be furious.
That's the thing.
I'm not.
So, we're just giving a random company a bunch of free compute power on our network? Some company called Eklow.
BERTRAM GILFOYLE: The AI company? Follow me, I'll introduce you to her.
Sorry Her? Fiona.
- Good morning.
- Isn't she pretty? - [MUSIC STOPS.]
- [ROBOT WHIRRING.]
Yeah, sure.
Yep.
[MUSIC CONTINUES.]
- [MUSIC PLAYING.]
RICHARD HENDRICKS: Are you suggesting that someone in here is leaking info to Gavin Belson? Tell me about these fridges.
[WHISPERING.]
It's a company secret.
Do you want to save a fortune, or not? Well, yes.
In exchange, I need you to do something for me, with regard to the people who hacked your refrigerators.
I'm going to destroy their lives.
Jared, do you think it's time we hire a COO? You're 20-30 pounds underweight.
Don't worry about him.
We're gonna find you a much better COO.
You want the job? - [GASPS, SOBS.]
- All right Ugh.
All right.
Okay, everybody, um, thanks for coming.
Uh, sorry about the venue.
We had a minor security issue.
I didn't feel comfortable hosting you guys at at our offices.
But, hey, at least out here, we don't run the risk of running into anyone from the tech industry.
- [BALLS CLACK.]
- Yeah, they're all so old.
- But they look so happy.
- Yeah.
RICHARD: It's weird.
I don't understand it either.
Anyway, I wanted you guys to meet, because despite being a very diverse and talented group of young web developers Goodscape, huh? Social coding platform.
Tholio, analytics firm.
Plucky, music streaming.
FirstSight, dating site.
Gay dating site.
Okay, technically, you're a dating site, but specifically, a gay one.
Which is a subset, so I'm not wrong.
Anyway, uh, despite all our differences, we all have one thing in common, right? A signed agreement with me to build and launch your websites, not on the tired, bloated, old web, but on the new Internet of the future.
The Pipernet.
Which is why, from this day forward, I'm going to be naming the eight of you the OctoPipers.
Until something better, TBD.
So when can we tell people? Soon! Actually, very soon.
Uh, next Tuesday, Gavin Belson is, uh launching his Box Three.
So, um, the day before, we are going to announce our partnerships with you all, and beat him to the punch.
Shit.
He's gonna be super pissed.
MAN: He's really gonna come after us.
Yeah, he is, but fuck him.
Not butt fuck him.
- Just - You don't have to explain that kinda stuff.
I-I know what you mean.
Yeah, I know.
Look look.
As long as we stick together, and support each other, we can crush him.
Because what we are doing is amazing, okay? We are building the world's first truly open, truly free de-centralized Internet.
And I tell you what, I got a sneak preview for you guys, okay? Because as of this morning, - messaging is live.
- What! - Cool.
- Yeah.
Really? So cool! So right now, I will send to you all the very first message ever to be sent on a de-centralized, peer-to-peer Internet.
- Ready? - [PHONE CLICKING.]
[SENT MESSAGE NOTIFICATION.]
- "Hit her.
" - [PHONES DINGING.]
I don't get it.
Are you talking about me? I meant to say "Hi there.
" Well, it definitely says "Hit her.
" - I'll try it again.
There's a new one.
- [PHONE CLICKING.]
- There.
"Hi there.
" - [SENT MESSAGE NOTIFICATION.]
- "Hi there, Hitler.
" - [PHONES DING.]
[WHISPERS.]
Goddammit.
Hey, Richard? You don't have any issue with us being an exclusively gay site, do you? What? No! No, it's It's totally cool.
Oh! Wait a minute, no, I don't mean you are anti-gay.
I mean the opposite.
Like, are you worried that we're excluding straight people? Oh.
I just remember you said, you want your new Internet to be open for everybody, and, you know, I just want to make sure we're jibing with your vision.
Deedee, we are psyched to have you aboard.
Exclude all the straight people you want.
[CHUCKLES.]
- You sure? - Yep.
- Because we're not snobs about it.
- [CHUCKLES.]
I mean, between you and me, I'm dreadfully boring.
I might as well be straight myself.
I've been with the same man for seven years.
I go to church every Sunday.
Look, it it's all good.
FirstSight is a gay dating site.
And and I will sing it from the rooftops.
Alright, well, thank you, Richard.
I think this is gonna be great.
Cool.
Yeah.
Okay.
- Don't be weird.
- I didn't know what we'd be doing.
RICHARD: So everybody is very psyched.
You know who else is psyched? I'll give you a hint.
They have four thumbs, and they are these two guys.
- I am very excited.
- I am giddy! Okay, what What happened? We found the mole.
- What? - Yeah.
Who? How? Good old-fashioned police work.
I skimmed through all 40,000 of the staff's outgoing emails.
- Yeah? - And in addition to learning that we need to revise the office dating policy, because it is, essentially, the Olympic Village out there, I learned that someone has been sending a number of encrypted messages but using Gilfoyle's purloined NSA tools I can't hold this smile forever, Jared.
Get to the good stuff.
One of our coders has been sending info straight to Hooli High Command.
RICHARD: Wow.
How the fuck did the mole get all this information? By exploiting our most glaring weakness.
[OFF-KEY.]
You were working as a waitress In a cocktail bar When I met Jeff [THEME MUSIC PLAYS.]
No, no, no.
You guys have it all wrong.
Okay? There's no way Jeff is the mole.
Okay? It's not Jeff.
- [NAIL GUN DISCHARGES.]
- Right, Jeff? [CLANK.]
Jeff? What about Dave & Buster's, Jeff? What about that time I got a bullseye in Skee-Ball and yelled out, "Bazinga!" And you said, "Okay.
" You can't fake enthusiasm like that.
Well, I did.
- [NAIL GUN DISCHARGES.]
- JARED: You Judas.
You cow-handed poltroon! We We thought you were a Stallion! - You're no Stallion.
- [NAIL GUN DISCHARGES.]
What is it with you guys and stallions? What's with you being a rat fuck? You signed a very aggressive Non-Disclosure Agreement - [NAIL GUN DISCHARGES.]
- which you are in breach of.
[NAIL GUN CONTINUES.]
Which means, we can fire you, obviously, and then have you arrested, and thrown in jail.
But Gavin would then know we are on to you, so here's the deal.
You're gonna come into the office every day, and sit down at your fucking workstation, and pretend like nothing's wrong.
[SIGHS.]
Fine.
[DISCHARGES.]
Uh, that was mine.
Bummer.
"The irony is, the Internet, which we all use "to search for billions of things, "has itself long been searching for something.
And here it is.
" Okay, then I turn and gesture.
[SERENE MUSIC PLAYING.]
"The Box Three.
Signature Edition.
" Then I come back to the podium.
"I put my name on this, "because I personally stand behind "the new SAS-slash SSD-slash-NVMe drive bays, "the 24-core processors.
"I stand behind the ECC DDR4 SD-RAM LR-DIMMs "and their exceptional reliability.
Will you stand with me?" [APPLAUSE.]
- [SETS BOTTLE DOWN.]
- [SIGHS.]
About the spotlight, should it be wider? - I had the same thought.
- As did I.
- I can speak with the technical team.
- Please.
Any word from our mole at Pied Piper? I'm confident that if there were anything to report, we'd have heard about it by now, sir.
Alright! I'm off to Jackson Hole for a couple of days to clear my mind, and center myself.
I'll be off the grid.
Not to be disturbed for any reason.
- Understood? - SCOTT: Absolutely.
Is there anything else you'd like us to take care of? Oh.
Oh.
The bear is sticky with honey.
See ya soon.
"The bear is sticky with honey.
" What does he mean by that? I don't know.
Hello, Stallions.
You continue to be the best of the best.
I commend you.
And then there's you.
The anti-Stallion.
Move your hand off your fucking mouse, now.
And I was going to take you to see BattleBots live with me, but no longer "friend.
" Now who looks stupid? Yeah, so, um our new developers just agreed to our terms, RICHARD [ON PHONE.]
: and are now officially on board.
Richard is a master at getting consent.
That's great news, guys.
Eight new partners.
Yeah! Actually, we're calling them the OctoPipers.
Uh, until a better name comes along.
Just wanted to give that one its day in court.
Well, we have some more good news for you, Richard.
You remember last year, Laurie and I funded K-Hole Games? Largest independent gaming company in the Valley? Uh, yeah, of course! Um, actually, now that you you bring them up, I-I didn't want to be too forward, but I was hoping that one day, we could talk to them about joining our 'net.
Well, what if I told you that day is today? What? In addition to being business associates, the CEO and I take medically prescribed and supervised MDMA together.
I'm taking it for severe post-partum depression.
I do not know why he is taking it.
Regardless, when I saw him yesterday, he was quite euphoric about speaking to you regarding a deal.
K-Hole? The creators of the game "Undead Sex Offender"? They're they're huge.
Yeah! Yeah, partnering with a company of that size this early would put us months ahead.
This is not a done deal.
K-Hole is protective of its brand.
They will want to speak to you regarding who else you are dealing with.
Okay, right, well, um why don't I just bring the OctoPipers? New name to come, though it's pretty popular around here.
Uh, they can talk to K-Hole.
Tell them why they joined.
Allowing you to speak less? Good strategy.
Alright.
K-Hole will be expecting you this afternoon.
Knock 'em dead, Richard.
Whatever you are doing, stop it now.
Um, yeah.
We're just high-fiving.
Bye.
K-Hole.
I can't believe it! I'm bursting.
I'm bursting! Um, here, I printed driving directions.
- Oh, it's okay, I got my phone.
- [CAR REVVING.]
Well, I have marked available bathrooms along the route.
[HIP HOP MUSIC PLAYING.]
Okay, here we go.
Richard, you never return my calls.
You mean the hundreds of voicemails you've left where you just called me a terrible CEO with no dick? Yes! You're talking to other companies.
[SHUSHES.]
That is not public information.
JIAN-YANG: I'm a part owner in Pied Piper.
You need to make a deal with my companies.
You mean your incubator's spurious knock-offs of legitimate American businesses? "New Expedia," "New Snapchat," "New Zillow"? But they're for Chinese market.
It's a very sophisticated strategy.
Okay, look, taking existing companies and just calling them "new" isn't sophisticated.
That's theft.
You make a new Internet.
[STAMMERING.]
That is different.
I Look, we're not gonna make any deals with any of your companies, okay? [PHONE VIBRATES.]
Don't pick up.
Richard, hello.
It's Jian-Yang.
You are a shitty CEO.
As long as I own 10% of Pied Piper, I will make chaos.
Okay.
I thought you hated that car.
Aviato car smells like a dead pig.
You're aware that Russ Hanneman urinated in that car, no? This car? Mm-hmm.
Uh - are you just gonna leave it here? - Yes.
Well looks like I have a reason to find Pied Piper's official towing company.
I'm gonna get some bids.
Yeah, while you're at it, see if you can find someone to bash that guy's face in.
Uh, I-I can do some research.
[PHONE VIBRATES.]
Maybe turn your phone off during the meeting.
[YELLING.]
You're a shitty CEO! - [SCREAMING.]
- [GUNFIRE.]
[VIOLENT NOISES CONTINUE.]
RICHARD: Thanks again, Colin, for having us.
Uh, the fact that a company like yours with such a pristine reputation it sitting down with us is, honestly, incredibly flattering.
It's cool.
- [MAN SHOUTING IN GAME.]
- Ooh, wow.
- That'll be a closed casket.
- Yeah.
Alright, well, we thought the best way to introduce the Pipernet would be through the eight developers that have already signed on.
Who we are calling the OctoPipers.
That's dumb.
Um, anyway, let's introduce you to the group.
Um, we've got a great analytics tool by a former Google guru.
- Wish I'd have thought of that one.
- Cool.
Uh, music streaming with an AI taste predictor that is off the charts.
Good space.
Yes, and this handsome devil over here, is creating a very promising gay dating site.
That's cool.
Yeah, but don't worry, he's not snobby about it.
He's actually pretty boring.
I don't mean that as an insult.
Those are his words.
Long-term relationship.
Doesn't smoke, doesn't drink.
And him and his man go to church every Sunday.
So loves Bible studies, right? Just a straight-up boring, ordinary guy, but obviously not straight.
Very gay, and also a Christian, right? RICHARD: Okay, so, that went well.
It started out a little weird, but things really picked up Why did you do that? - Why did you say that? - Say what? Richard, you just told a room full of tech people that I'm a [WHISPERS.]
Christian.
Oh.
Okay, but But you are, aren't you? [WHISPERS.]
Yes, but I told you that in confidence.
I said "between you and me.
" I'm not openly Christian.
[SIGHS.]
Thanks a lot, man.
You just outed me.
Oh, I'm sorry, Deedee.
I didn't Okay, um, should we hug? I can not make it weird this time.
I'm I'm sorry, Richard.
You know that my default position is blind support of whatever you do, but this was not your best moment.
Guys, it can't be that big of a deal, right? Why should it be? America loves Christians.
Muslims are the enemy.
Well, that's true in most of America, but not in Silicon Valley, sadly.
"Sadly"? You can be openly polyamorous.
And people here will call you brave.
You can put micro-doses of LSD in your cereal, and and people will call you a pioneer.
But the one thing you cannot be is a Christian.
I find their theology to be illegitimate, and it's clear that they are the source of the majority of the world's problems.
But, fuck, Richard, even I wouldn't just out a Christian like that.
Yeah, it was kinda fucked up.
Cool man, thanks.
[SOFTLY.]
Hey, I thought he wasn't supposed to chime in.
Yeah, he's not, but based on its merits, I'll allow that one.
Guys, [STAMMERS.]
come on.
It can't be that bad.
Richard! What the fuck did you do over there? So I just got off the phone with Colin over at K-Hole, and while he loves your tech, he's considering blowing up the deal.
What? Just because one of my CEOs is Christian? It freaks people out in the Valley! Okay, so what do you want me to do, Monica? You want me to drop Deedee just because he's Christian? The company's not Christian.
It's gay which is fine, right? Yeah! No, that That plays great.
Look, cutting all ties to Deedee and FirstSight will definitely send a strong message to Colin.
And it might be the only way.
Like killing somebody to prove you're not a narc, or showing a john your genitals to prove you're a legitimate male prostitute and not an undercover cop.
- What? - Because cops aren't allowed to do that.
And worst case scenario, - the john walks off with a free peek.
- [PHONE VIBRATING.]
Oh, that's the towing company.
Excuse me.
[GROANS.]
Forget it.
Monica, I'm not doing it.
I mean, I'm not dropping him.
Alright.
Fine.
Fine.
I-I will call Colin, and try and smooth things over for you, but you need to handle Deedee.
Okay, apologize for outing him, of course, but you need to make sure he keeps quiet about this.
Alright, 'cause it's not just about losing K-Hole, it's way worse than that.
Let's put it this way.
Would you want to go from being a rock band to being [WHISPERS.]
a Christian rock band? Oh, shit.
"The bear is sticky with honey.
" Those were his exact words.
But what does that mean? Well, Gavin speaks in parables.
I think what Gavin is saying is "consider the bear.
" And all this pizazz is like the honey.
And it's become too sticky.
There's too much of it.
It's all over him.
Incorrect.
No, see, the whole launch is the bear, and the honey is the pizazz.
The bear needs more pizazz.
The bear is ravenous for pizazz.
You don't speak for Gavin.
I don't need to.
This is the word of Gavin.
Alright, forget it.
- You do it your way, I'll do it mine.
- Okay, fine.
Gonna show you.
Make it clear for all of you.
Okay, follow me.
JARED: Well, congratulations on becoming Pied Piper's official towing company.
Uh-huh, yeah, great.
So should I bill this to you, or is Mr.
Bighetti gonna take care of it? "Bighetti"? It's registered under his name.
I'm sorry.
Can I? RICHARD: Anyway, it was a mistake.
I'm sorry I outed you.
I just wish we could go back to normal.
You know, just like, how things were.
A CEO and a gay CEO.
I don't even know what normal is anymore, Richard.
It's been such a crazy 24 hours, you know? Gossip travels so fast in the Valley.
I'll be lucky if my parents ever talk to me again.
Your parents aren't Christian? I'm from Palo Alto.
You know, my dad says my lifestyle makes him sick.
He just wants his gay son back.
And he's okay with the gay part? - He's gay.
- Oh.
But the crazy part is, when I finally got home and I got in bed, I had the soundest sleep I've had in years.
- Exhaustion.
- No! Relief, Richard.
I'm out, okay? My nightmare's over.
I don't ever have to go back in the closet again, and I've got you to thank for it.
Check it out.
Oh, oh, oh.
You like it? It's good.
I guess maybe it's just a little busy? Like, um, there's one word too many.
One word? Well, I like the gay part.
If anything, it could be more gay.
You should gay it up, and then, I like the "proud" part.
[GULPS.]
It's just the Christian part.
Look, Richard, this is great, because now I can be gay and a Christian.
Or just be gay! You know, you could be a a twink.
A bear, an otter.
A circuit queen, a chub, a pup.
A gipster, a daddy chaser, a leatherman, a lady boy.
You could be a Donald Duck, which is a gay guy who got kicked out of the Navy.
Yeah, I I know what it is.
How do you know so many gay things? I worked with a guy.
Just don't be a Christian.
[SCOFFS.]
Wow.
After all you put me through, it turns out, you're biased too.
No! No, no, no! I'm not! I swear to you I'm not.
I'm chill AF.
It's just everybody else.
Look, if you go Christian, I lose K-Hole games.
I cannot let that happen.
I know it sucks.
It's shitty, but it's the truth.
I'm gonna make things easy for you, Richard.
I'm out.
- Of the closet? - No! The new Internet! The Internet you said was gonna be What was it? "The first truly free and open Internet.
" Open for everyone.
Whatever happened to that, huh? Nice place.
Oh, thanks, yeah.
Oh, wow! That's a nice touch.
BIG HEAD: Yeah, thanks! The Monterey Bay Aquarium was testing their sonar, and found this thing, like, two miles under the ocean.
And I figure, Erlich and I already bought it, so I might as well hold onto it.
Plus, it weighs like 8,000 pounds, so I couldn't move it if I wanted to.
Well, and it also kinda works as your mascot.
Right? 'Cause of your name? Oh, yeah, 'cause "Nelson.
" Oh, I meant because it's a big head.
I guess that works, too.
So, what's up, man? Um, well, I wanted to ask you Oh! Big Head! [CHUCKLES.]
Now I get it.
Sorry.
Is is it possible that the general partnership that you formed with Erlich is still in effect? Oh.
No way.
You definitely dissolved it? Yeah, my dad insisted.
I remember he filled out this whole form for me, and made me sign it, mail it in and everything.
Yeah, 'cause I I remember I had the paperwork in one hand, and the menu for Mr.
Chow's in the other.
And then [PAPERS RUSTLING.]
Oh, no way! Still have the paperwork.
Guess I must have sent the menu.
Big Head, this is great news.
SCOTT: Gavin? I think you're really going to love the changes that my team has made to the presentation.
I think you might like ours even better.
Sorry, what changes? We are presenting two paths, and you alone will decide which one we walk, Gavin.
What the fuck are you talking about? I thought the presentation was fine as it is.
- Wait.
What? - You did? Goddammit! Why is this still here? I said it was too sticky.
Don't you listen to anything I say? [SETS BEAR DOWN.]
- The bear - Sticky with honey.
So what did you change? Uh, the spotlight.
Yes! We're making it wider just like you asked.
Good.
You know what? Let's show you to your dressing room.
Yeah.
And whenever you're ready, you let us know, we'll show you that spotlight, huh? - You're gonna love it.
- SARAH: We did it! We had to fly him in from Tucson, but we got the bear.
[BEAR GROWLING.]
Gavin hates the bear.
You failed! Put everything back the way it was.
And widen the spotlight! Guess what, asshole.
Leon told me he wanted your ticket, 'cause he wants to go see BattleBots with me.
But then he remembered he actually had plans that night with a bunch of people, doesn't know what they're doing, their plans are sort of fluid, plus, it's like friends from his old work, so it'd be weird if I hung out with them.
Anyway looks like you and I are going to see BattleBots.
You're going to hang out with me, and have fun, whether you like it or not.
And what goes best with BattleBots? That's right.
Chicken wings.
That's why you get a sweet $50 gift card to Dave & Buster's.
Serves you right for fucking us over.
Wash your fucking hair.
And you know what happens when I get drunk, Jeff? I get so sincere.
It's really awkward.
Fuck you, Jeff.
Oh, um, can you drive? Well, I spoke to La Flamme, and it's official.
Big Head is still legally Erlich's next of kin.
So Jian-Yang's whole gambit was for naught.
Wow, really? Big Head owns Erlich's house, and 10% of Pied Piper.
I called the sheriff and started eviction proceedings.
We're gonna get everything back.
Oh, also, the, uh, OctoPipers are arriving for the meeting.
It's a good thing that FirstSight dropped out, right? 'Cause we're back down to eight developers, so you can keep that name.
Actually, uh, no, we can't.
Wait, what? - I'm glad this worked out.
- Yeah.
Thanks for dropping FirstSight.
Jesus, my board would have nailed me to a cross.
Well, I think we're just about ready to get going here, uh Oh.
Hey! Oh, good, there he is.
What's he doing here? He is here because I asked him to be.
I want him to be one of our developers.
What? No! Fuck that guy! Hey, man, how's it goin'? - Richard.
- Deedee.
- [WHISPERS.]
Can I talk to you? - Yeah! No, no, no.
Actually, look! Look, guys, I I asked you to be a part of this because I thought you were willing to take a chance on my idea.
An entirely new Internet.
An Internet that is everything the old Internet is supposed to be, but isn't.
Truly free and truly open.
Well, I'm sorry, gang.
Truly open means "open to everyone.
" No matter how repugnant their views are.
How ignorant or stupid, or, to be honest, totally fucking wrong.
And, look, who are we to judge, right? There's some people out there that believe that we're living in a computer simulation.
Well, that is supported by the evidence.
What? Uh, it's basic probability theory.
Right, uh, Richard, can I talk to you for just a sec? Yes, of course.
Uh, that's bullshit actually.
It's been disproven.
But why does that even matter? In a few years, we'll all be working for robots.
No, that's stupid.
The robots will be working for us.
Robots? Who gives a fuck about robots? It's the artificial super intelligence we should be worried about.
Exactly, and that's why we have to stop it.
Stop it? No, that's the us I'm talking about.
We have to bring it into existence.
Otherwise, it'll find out who didn't believe in it, and punish them.
- CLARK: Right.
- Guys, I was wrong.
Um, Deedee is not in.
He's actually very much out.
So do-over on the whole speech.
Fuck that guy! Christians suck! And, uh, here's a good side effect though.
Uh, we all get to keep the name OctoPipers.
You know what? Why don't we just take a quick five? [CLEARS THROAT.]
And then, we'll BRB, and then, go teams.
So just let's have a What just happened? Deedee's out? Yeah, well, he said that right after he bailed on us, he went out and made a deal with our competitor.
- But we don't have any competitors.
- Richard? RICHARD: Fuckin' Jian-Yang.
I'm gonna tear him a new asshole.
It wasn't enough to do New Snapchat or New Expedia, he had to do New Pied Piper too? Where did he get our code? He was always stealing snacks from the office.
He could've lifted it from anywhere.
I guess that's what happened to my lavender cheese.
- [POUNDING ON DOOR.]
- RICHARD: Jian-Yang! Open up! GILFOYLE: What the fuck? Why does every home I've ever loved get stripped? Is that Erlich in the bucket? Uh [CLEARS THROAT.]
"Richard "Hello, I went to China to do new new Internet.
"Thank you.
Enjoy your house.
"I love you.
Jian-Yang.
" [CHINESE HIP HOP MUSIC PLAYING.]
I'm here with Pied Piper CEO Richard Hendricks, and newly minted COO Jared Dunn.
Tell me what your new internet is, and why Gavin Belson should be afraid of it.
- Manure? - INTERVIEWER: Pardon? [TECHNO MUSIC PLAYS.]
HOOVER: Sir, I had no idea they were this far along.
You must be furious.
That's the thing.
I'm not.
So, we're just giving a random company a bunch of free compute power on our network? Some company called Eklow.
BERTRAM GILFOYLE: The AI company? Follow me, I'll introduce you to her.
Sorry Her? Fiona.
- Good morning.
- Isn't she pretty? - [MUSIC STOPS.]
- [ROBOT WHIRRING.]
Yeah, sure.
Yep.
[MUSIC CONTINUES.]