"How many did she get?" "All of them." " Glad she's on our side." " Yeah." "Resuming game site surveillance." "Jay, I'm doing all the work here, buddy." "Come on." "Where are you?" "You're supposed to be on my left flank with second platoon." "Die." "Die." "Die." "Jay, where are you?" "I'm getting pummeled over here." "Die." "Die." "Jay, I said left flank, Jay." "Die." "Die." "Jay, where are you in second platoon?" "Why are you..." "You're never where you're supposed to be." "Jay, Jay, that's me you're shooting." "Jay, you just shot me in the head, Jay." "Yeah, great, do me a favor." "Never join the Army." "Thank you." "Amateurs." "Dude, I'm seriously bored over here." "Aren't you bored?" "What are you doing?" "Hey, how about a war drive, huh?" "We love that." "Okay, five minutes, World of Warcraft." "What do you say?" "Come on, I need some bloodfang gear and some undead rogues, and you're the man." "No Warcraft." "No rogues." "Remember, way back to last month, when I maxed out my mom's credit card?" "Yeah." "But, you know, you paid her all back." "And wasn't she impressed?" "Dude, I almost lost 2 grand." "Besides I'm still on probation." "Why?" "Why because you posted this photo of Maltz on facebook?" "Come on, look, he's having a great time." "No." "Okay, plan B." "I just traded these hacked credit card numbers to a guy online for this new peer-to-peer tool." "You ready for this?" "Are you ready?" "Guaranteed undetectable." "What do you say?" "Be my guest." "Was kind of hoping you'd sort of help me figure this stuff out since I'm not totally sure how it works." "Look, man, I promised her I'd give it a rest." "Of course you did." "It's your mom." "What else are you going to tell her?" " Only this time I meant it." " Wow, I'm really touched." "Sweet." "Here, call someone." "Anyone but me." "Maybe I'll call your ex-girlfriend." "Ask her on a date." "She'll probably play with me." "Hello, White House, how may I direct your call?" "Are you kidding me?" "Dude, how do you..." " That's my number." " Come on, let's go." " Can I have that?" " No." " Thanks for the Pop-Tart." " Hey, it's breakfast." "Hey, Will, I got a problem." "Hey, Mr. Massude." "What?" "They still didn't get your Medicare straight?" "No, that's okay, thank you." "But it's my computer." "I don't know, it's stuck again." "Something about an administrator." "And you haven't introduced any new software since I wiped your drive?" "Come on, we're gonna be late for gym class, and that would be a huge tragedy." "Well, it's sites my granddaughter sent me." "I know you warned me about it." "But, you know, she's in Damascus and she sent pictures." "And you know how hard for me it is to see her." "Did you get a security alert?" "No, I simply cannot get into my banking files." "Come on, let's go." "Let's go." "Let's go." "Okay, I'll have a look when I get back." " But just don't do anything else." "Okay?" " Okay." "Thank you." "All right." "And I'll pick up your prescription on my way home." " Bye." " Okay." " Enjoy the view, dickhead." " Screw you, Maltz." "Why don't you go make out with your cross-eyed girlfriend?" "Penis." "Newman, is this your first time with FIGJAM?" "FIGJAM?" "Yeah, we're in the information acquisition business." " Well, okay." " Yeah." "FIGJAM. "Fuck I'm good, just ask me. "" "Him." "This better be good, Rashe." "Good morning, Ken." "Show me." "Morbidity rate, 98.6%." "Set up the SCIF." "Get me Paget from Homeland, Cavanaugh from CDC and Stradler from the joint chiefs." " Again, full-screen." "Yes, sir." "That's my girl." "These are terrorists, people." "Eliminated in an automated operation with 98.6% efficiency." "98.6, the temperature of blood." "And not a drop of ours spilled, thanks entirely to our girl RIPLEY." "RIPLEY detected this particular terrorist cell through one of her honeypot sites." "Attractive, high-stakes games hidden in the darker reaches of the Internet." "Screen." "Once a player penetrates level 5, RIPLEY tags him as a security threat." "RIPLEY engaged skilled gamers, exhibiting familiarity with weapon systems and terror tactics." "This particular group managed to pool winnings of just under $3 million," " which we paid." " Wait a minute." " You paid a terrorist group $3 million?" " That's affirmative, General." "But you'll be pleased to know that everyone associated with this group is either in custody or already enjoying their much-hyped afterlife." "RIPLEY walks tall and carries a very big stick." "That's why we applaud everyone here for endorsing RIPLEY's status of complete autonomy, both foreign and domestic." "Temporary domestic autonomy, Kenneth." "Let's take your girl for a walk before you let her off her leash." "There were innocents at that party." "Understandably collateral." "But what assurances do we have" "RIPLEY won't orchestrate a similar attack at home?" "RIPLEY won't be dropping bombs at home, Mr. Paget." "And there will always be innocents." "At least RIPLEY hit this target away from population and cameras, and she targeted their vehicle, which just happened to be loaded with C-4 and Iranian Katyusha missiles." "The explosion that killed these people was theirs, not ours." " Thank you for your time." " One question." "What happens if we miss the connection after we've paid them off?" "I mean, if these guys are smart enough to beat the game, then they might be smart enough to beat their tail, in which case we wouldn't just be tempting them, we'd be financing them." "Terror is a filthy sewer, filled with hatred and bile that threatens our shores." "If we are to protect ourselves, we have to be able to anticipate threats." "Are we tempting those who would harm us?" "Damn right." "If they're innocent, truth will out." "In the meantime, RIPLEY will be online 24/7, looking to identify our enemies." "And the next 16-year-old who is a year away from strapping on a bomb." "Let's focus, people." "You got 10 minutes to turn in your tests." "Need answers for 7, 15, 16 and 20." "Mr. Maltz, I believe you dialed the wrong number." "Damn." "All computers are doomed to make mistakes." "This machine didn't make this kind of mistake." "This machine was adjusting itself during the game to the situation that just arose." "Now, I know I propose that these..." "Hey, you know you promised your mom you won't play WOW anymore?" "I totally agree with that." "In fact, I swear to you, I will never, ever bother you about that again." " Aren't you gonna ask why?" " Why..." "Actually, you don't have to because I'm gonna tell you anyway." "I just found this new gaming site." "It's called RIPLEY." "You know, like the Matt Damon movie." " Or Alien." " Yeah, whatever." "Anyway, this one has no limit, and I will stake you with every cent that I have." "Which is equal to or less than the amount you already owe me." "Less." "Less, actually." "So, exactly how did Mr. Kasparov beat Big Blue, the world's smartest chess computer?" "He used an unexpected strategy..." "He used an unexpected strategy." "A counter-intuitive strategy." "Something the computer couldn't anticipate." "Mr. Farmer, you've suddenly taken an interest in chess?" "Well, actually, I don't play." "But I was considering taking it up." "Perhaps you'd like to join our excursion to Montreal for the internationals?" " I'll think about it." " Think, Mr. Farmer." "Imagine yourself making a decision." "So, you're interested in chess?" "About as much as you." "Oh, you mean, because it didn't look like I was paying attention?" "Because you were texting and doing your nails." "I already know that match by heart." " Oh, you don't believe me?" " Didn't say that." "Didn't have to." "You looked up and to the right." " It's a clear tell." " Oh, really?" "What am I telling now?" "Pain." "If you're serious about the trip, it's $550, but you might get a discount because of the no-show." " You going?" " What's it to you?" "Just curious." "You are so full of it." "You're an easy read for a smart kid." "Maybe you shouldn't take up chess, 'cause if I faced you over a board," "I'd take you apart before your first move." "Bring it on, then." "No, you gotta get yourself together before someone can take you apart." "That's how it works." "There's a little hope" "In little plans" "Bells chime out today" "You made your key quite old to find" "The space you left behind fills meaning there" "But now just favorite songs" "You know tonight I'm home" "Hmm." "Favorite quote, Robert Oppenheimer." "Okay." "Dog's name." "Hoover." "Younger sister." "Rebecca." "Rebecca." "Becky." "No!" "I have your ID, sucker." "You try and hack my password again, I'll burn you." "She put in a mousetrap." "That's scary." "Of course, if you happen to be Mr. Will Farmer, maybe you should just come to Montreal if you're so curious." "Grab me a beer." "So neatness doesn't really count." "Not when you're about to pass out." "Bless you." "Tough day?" "Lately, we're putting out more bullshit than air freshener." "Don't touch!" "They're dumping my odorless bleach idea." "But I talked them into letting me keep my beta samples." ""Talked them into. "" "Let's just say they owed me." "It's one thing to take my ideas and keep all the profits, but to dump something because a new VP doesn't want to be upstaged by a woman..." "You getting sick?" "Uh-huh." "I hope it's a cold." "The flu is supposed to be really nasty this year." "What would you say if I told you I was thinking of taking up chess?" "I'd wanna know the girl's name, and how much it's going to cost." "Mr. Massude left you a packet." "It's over by the door." "There's a trip to Montreal." "It's $550, but I think I can get a discount." "Her name's Annie." "Good luck." "Everybody wanted to see you" "Everybody wanted to steal" "Okay." "No one else is here to stop this" "Something they just couldn't steal" " Spyware?" " No." "Something else." "There's someone deep inside." "I just wiped this drive two days ago." "Well, I guess you didn't do a very good job, did you?" "Funny guy." "He said he was having problems with his online banking." "Whoa, whoa, whoa." "You know this guy's online banking password?" "Yeah, I helped him set up the account." "He couldn't remember, so..." " $97,000?" " That's weird." " What?" " Look at this." "Dude, $105,000?" " How?" "We changed everything." " Why?" "He was worried about his brother back in Syria, who he says is a crook." "His brother's a crook?" "See?" "Same last name." "But the guy's putting more money than he's taking out." "Yeah, it's called layering." "You put it in and take it out a couple thousand at a time to avoid detection." "I mean, this stuff never sits more than a few hours." "Really?" "But for now, all of that money is real." "No, I'm just gonna hack some SkyMiles and then see if I can..." "Come on, dude." "It's not like you're stealing, you're fixing the guy's computer." "Listen to me, Will, listen to me, all you have to do, okay, is transfer some money for 15 minutes, log on, you win some money from the RIPLEY game, right?" " And then you put it back." " No." "With interest." "Do you want to go on that trip to Montreal with your future ex-wife or not?" "'Cause this is your only chance." "Fifteen minutes." "Welcome, baby." "Whoa, she's hot." "Play with me, baby." "Come on, big fellow." "Play with me." "Come on." "Your $500 wager has been accepted." "Please select your game platform." " Nah." " Nah." "The Dead Code." "Smells like money." "Take it." "Take it." "Do it." "Yeah." "You have selected the Dead Code." "Please choose body count." "All right." "Let's see what 20,000 dead gets us." "You have selected 20,000 bodies." "It gets you half an hour of game play, which is good." "Yeah, but you're only playing for even odds, man." "That sucks." "Why don't you bump it up to 100,000 bodies?" "You've selected 100,000 bodies..." "Yeah, 5-to-1 odds, now we're in business." " Thank you very much." " Yeah, but I've only got 10 minutes." "Okay, do you want your mom to finish her bath and come pay us a visit?" "Come on, dude, you're only in for 500 bucks." "What's the worst that could happen?" "Even if you bust, go back to Massude's account and get more money." "No." "This is a one-time and a one-time deal only." "Remember?" "Yeah." "You have entered the Dead Code." "Prepare for scenario selection." "You have 10 minutes to procure and deploy bio and chemical weapons." "Okay." "Penetrate our security protocols and exterminate 100,000 citizens." "Please select your target area code." " Philadelphia." " Philadelphia." "Target Philadelphia." "Projected dead, 100,000." "Current wager, $5000." "You have 10 minutes to complete your mission." " What?" " I'm gonna kill you, man." "Clock's ticking, Will." "Contract begins now." "Good hunting, Will." " This is interesting." " What do you got?" "We have a first-timer playing the Dead Code for $5,000 at 5-to-1." "Where is he?" "Looks like Philly." "He's pretty good, whoever he is." " Better tag him POl." " No, no, forget it." "Whoever this person of interest is, RIPLEY's already got five flags on him." "Who is this guy?" "We're gonna be rich, Will." "Yes, I'm gonna buy a 72-inch plasma for my room, rig my entire house with computers." " No more schools..." " Quit talking!" "Twenty thousand dead." "Opponent has been engaged at level 2." "You have eight minutes to complete your body count." "Would you quit hopping?" "Thirty thousand dead." "How are we doing?" " Quit breathing." " Then I'll die." "Exactly." "Forty thousand dead." "Opponent has been engaged at level 3." "Check out the tail on his buy-in." "Oh, straight out of Damascus." "Via Fort Worth to banks in two, three..." "Ten US cities." "Nice, nice, 50% morbidity count and climbing." "Keep going." "Keep going." "Sorry." "Dude, dude, look at your playing chart." "Oh, my God." "You're about to set off the decon system." "Decon counterattack." " Like flies." " That's tragic." "But profitable." "Half of Philly is gonna die, a. k." "A..." "Decontamination of the population" "Philly's gonna burn in flames of damnation" "Sixty thousand dead." "Game clock reset." "Two minutes to complete body count." "Opponent has been engaged at level 4." "Philly's gonna burn in flames of damnation" "Soluble contaminants confiscated." "They just took all my airborne soluble contaminants." "So what?" "Nuke 'em." "Wrong game." "You gotta stick with chem weapons." "Neurotoxins." "Come on, there's always room for nukes." " One minute to complete your mission." " Wait." "Where are you going?" "Better hurry, Will." "Select secondary weapon." "Mom, if you had to choose between atomizing anthrax or sarin, which would be more deadly?" "Will, honey..." " Just guess." " You're talking about sarin gas?" " Yes." "Why do you want to know such a thing?" "Mom, please, just take your best shot." "Go with sarin." "It's much quicker, it's odorless." " Select secondary weapon." " Come on, come on, come on." "You have 20 seconds to complete your body count." "Select..." "You have selected sarin." "Eighty thousand dead." "Ninety thousand." "Congratulations, Will." "One hundred thousand dead." "Opponent has been engaged at level 5." "Oh, shit!" " What happened?" " Shut him down." "RIPLEY shut him down." " Aaron, Claudia, did you get that?" " We're on it." "Will?" "Did we win?" "She knew her pigeon was toast and wanted to keep him on the hook." " When he reboots his computer..." " He'll have a new friend in his CPU." "Oh, yeah." "RIPLEY'll be so far up this guy's butt, he won't know whether to scratch his watch or wind his ass." "Tina, we got a big bite on RIPLEY." "Yeah, I'm already on top of it." "We have a team headed for Philly now." "That's right." "It's domestic." "Hey, Bill, I'm bringing back a nice, greasy Philly cheese steak." "You're a cruel man, Aaron." "Initiating Spyware ICE." "Returning to regulated power grid." "Play with me, baby." "Come over here." "Come and play." "Activate his webcam." "Don't stop now." "Congratulations, Will." "You've won $25,000." "How could they have closed his account?" "Play with me, baby." "Play with me, baby." "Play with me..." "Play with me, baby." "Play with me, baby." "Play with me..." "This is not right." "This is not right." "Play with me, baby." "Play with me, baby." "Newman, I'm out of here." "Keep watching." "Constructing opponent matrix." "Why?" "This is not right." "You can call your attorney later, Mr. Massude." "Mom!" "Mom, what was that all about?" "I don't know." "Mr. Massude didn't really have time to talk." "He wanted me to make sure to give you this." "And he said thanks." "He didn't say anything else?" "Those two with him, and they didn't exactly try to shut him up, but you could tell that they didn't want any chitchat." "If you ask me, it's probably something to do with immigration." "But he's nearly done with his citizenship program." " Aren't you gonna open it?" " Yeah, sure, right." "Holy shit!" "Wow!" "So what time's your flight?" " Bye, Mom." " Bye, sweetie." "Have fun." " Okay, you're sure he's coming?" " He said he was coming." "Well, I guess he's not gonna make it." "Looks like it's gonna be just you and me." " I'm gonna go look for him." " Relax." "Relax." "Sit down, okay?" "Hold it." "I'll go find him." "Please make sure they don't leave without me." "Yeah." " Mr. Nichols?" " Yeah." " Looking for your friend?" "Will Farmer?" " Yeah, why?" "You know where he is?" "This way." "Where are you taking me?" "Excuse me." "Sorry." "Excuse me." "Excuse me." "Sorry." "Excuse me." "I'm sorry." "I'm sorry." "Some basic rules for this excursion, Mr. Farmer." "If you're going to be late, please let us know." "And if you feel the need to be overly dramatic, save it for the school play." "I'm sorry." "I'm having trouble with my cell." "Will." " You made it." " Yeah." "I sent a text to Dennis." "Didn't he tell you?" "It's from security." "No." "Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for your patience." "Please prepare for departure." "Mr. Baron, we can't leave without Dennis." "Everyone can relax." "I just heard from Mr. Nichols via airport security." "Something to do with a family situation." "Hopefully he'll be joining us in Montreal by tomorrow." "This way, Mr. Nichols." "Aren't you going to offer me a cigarette and a blindfold?" "We usually wait until after we beat you with a phone book, Mr. Nichols." "You know, if you guys want to convince me I'm not in any trouble, then you'll quit calling me Mr. Nichols." "We don't have to convince you of anything, Mr. Nichols." "It's going to be up to you to convince us." "Of what exactly?" "That I'm not part of a high-school terrorist chess conspiracy?" "Why did you make me miss my flight?" "Do you have any idea how much money my father paid for that ticket?" "Tell us about Mr. Farmer, your friend." "All right." "Tell us about the game." "If you'd like to cooperate, you might save both yourself and your friend a great deal of trouble." "What do you want me to say?" "There's nothing to tell." "Will is just a smart kid who played some stupid online game to win some money to go on a trip with a girl." "That's it." "Okay?" "End of story." "There's nothing else." "But you know, I mean, if you guys wanna add more to that, then feel free to call my father, who happens to be a lawyer." "Then we can sue you for violation of my civil rights." " What girl?" " You've got to be kidding me." "Consider this." "Your smart friend used funds provided by a terrorist cell in Syria and wagered it against government computers, and displayed insider knowledge of biological and chemical weapons." "Meanwhile, his mother, a bio-engineer at Wyren, has been stealing and stockpiling chemical agents." "This means that your very smart friend, Mr. Will Farmer, is being sought for bioterrorist activities against Philadelphia, and is very likely to spend the rest of his life in federal prison." "Regarding your civil rights, you don't have any, not where terrorist linkage is highly probable." " You happy now, Dennis?" " Why should I be happy?" "I just called you Dennis, didn't I?" "Command, we have visual on Baker, Zulu, Niner." "We'll continue observer status till subject lands." "Copy." "It wasn't Immigration, wasn't the local law, it wasn't FBI." " You hacked all those sites?" " I had to find out who took him." "According to local, state and federal databases, that car doesn't exist." " So who took him?" " I don't know." "But whoever it was really freaked the shit out of him." "Because he left me an insane amount of cash for fixing his computer." "He knew he was gonna be gone for a while." " Hello?" "Mom, hey." "Will, is that you?" "Of course it's me." "Who else calls you Mom?" "Are you in Montreal?" "No, we're still on the plane." "They're still kind of circling." "Listen, I was just wondering, have you heard anything from Dennis?" "He didn't make the flight." "Something about a family emergency." "No, nobody called, I don't think." "Hey, anything else about Mr. Massude?" "A moving van pulled up, and I think they took everything out." "They cleaned out his house?" "It just seems kind of sudden." " Oh, just a sec." " Hey, Mom." " There's somebody at the door." "They're wearing suits." "Either they want to sell me a Bible or I've just won $1,000,000." "Have fun." "Love you." "I love you, too." "Feel better." "Thanks for your patience." "We have been cleared to land in Montreal." "Got it." "Come on, Dennis." "I want to show you something." "I want to talk to my father!" "No!" "Let her go!" "Mrs. Farmer!" "Still think we're playing games here, Dennis?" "I'm gonna get a coffee." "Can I get you a coffee, Dennis?" "Thank you, Dennis." "You've been a great help." "Would you like to call your father now?" "I don't know, I'm worried about her." "I cannot get a signal in here." "Don't worry." "I'm sure your mom is fine." "We'll try her when you get outside, okay?" "I feel like I'm stoned, and not in a good way." "It's Dennis." "He's got a strange number, but that's definitely his tag." "Will!" "Will!" "Will!" " RIPLEY had a lock on him?" " She's got him." "Let's see where he leads us." "Quite a performance." "Tell the airport unit they did solid work." "We'll take him from here." "Emergency override." " What the hell is this?" " Why did she just do that?" " Somebody?" " I'm locked out." "We're back on." "Analyzing compound." "Bioterror threat, level 2." " Holy shit." " Tell me why that happened." "What does she know?" "Come on, what does she know?" "She's analyzing the chemical compounds that were seized from the Farmer home." "If I were a betting man, I would say she found something." " Perfect." "Who is it?" "Jesus!" "I just got off the phone with CDC and Homeland, who were giving me a tag-team ass-chewing because you put Philadelphia on a stage 2 alert." "Not us, sir." "RIPLEY." "That's exactly what we wanted to do." "What the hell's their problem?" "Well, there's a new flu out there, and Cavanaugh's people are jumping." "Meanwhile, RIPLEY has labeled Mrs. Farmer's son as a person of interest, and we're tagging him to see where he leads." " How's the hunt going?" " On the Syrian front, extremely well." " Solid leads." " I've got a budget meeting next week." "This could be good." "I don't know much about him..." " Mr. Baron." " Annie, Annie, please." "It's been a very miserable afternoon for all of us." "You have my word they will let me know the minute they hear anything." "But for now, can we just take a Will break and find our bus?" "Sorry." "I'm sorry." "It's my fault." "I've been meaning to get these glasses fixed, but life just keeps getting in the way of my best plans." "Tell me about it." "That's great." "Did anyone see you leave the group?" " No, you really scared me." "Are you all right?" "Okay, let's go." "Okay." "Video cameras, street surveillance." "They're tracking me." " Who are "they"?" " That's what we have to find out." "We?" "Listen, I promise, I will not get you into trouble." "I just want to find out if my mom is okay." "I have a plan." "If I could do this alone," "I wouldn't ask you." "Come on." "So what now?" "I've gotta hack RIPLEY and try to find my mom." "You're nuts, do you know that?" "Okay, take a look." "He's standing next to the computer." " You see him?" " Yeah." "No, I don't see anything." "Here." "Tell me what you see." "I see a really, really hot guy." "That's not what I meant." "Okay, Mr. Slick over there is doing more than just mesmerizing women with his supreme, manly intelligence." "He is hacking into the merchant bank supercomputer behind us." "I was in the café." "The guy's pulling heavy side jobs." "I'm talking running credit cards and pocketing the cash." "Of course, he didn't notice me because I'm not a chick." "And these Pringles, this is all part of your plan?" "Yes, as a matter of fact, yes." "We're gonna piggy-back on our guy there to get into that system." "You don't really think he's hot." "Okay, so that's why we have to borrow his terminal." "Borrow?" "And let me guess, you want me to distract him?" " Just for a minute." " Not a problem." "And yes, in a purely put-a-bag-over-his-personality, use-him-as-a-pleasure-machine kind of way, he's passable." " So, you want to use a computer?" " You look really smart." "Thanks." "It's hot." "You know computer?" " Is that a camera?" " Yeah." " So technological." " See?" "Just go there." "You wanna use it?" "There are so many letters..." " Pleasure machine?" "...I don't know what to pick." " Just pick one." " That one." " Oh, I'm sorry." " Sorry." "Sorry." " That's all right." " The Internet isn't waterproof, right?" " I just wish." "It's all right." "So, mademoiselle, let me show you the computer over there." "Okay." "Mademoiselle." "You have a really nice accent." " I like that." " You like that?" "All right." "I'll just show you how this works." "Yeah." "Oh, wow, there's numbers on the top and under." "Easy, isn't it?" "You can actually give me your e-mail address." "Really?" " Do you have one?" " I don't know what that is." "Oh, okay, yeah." "That was impressively scary." "I almost felt sorry for the guy." " Thank you." " Almost." "Is your cell phone working?" "Don't worry." "I'll bump through some hacked accounts, so they can't trace us." "Fine." "Okay, we should be peer-to-peer and ready to look right down RIPLEY's throat." "Okay, so, like, when other kids were out playing baseball, you were in a dark room playing with computers?" "I played baseball." "Third base." "All-stars." "And I didn't play with computers, I built them." "Okay, can you spell "over-achiever"?" "Hey, my dad taught me about computers, and he was my third-base coach." "Blame him." "Attention." "Intrusion." "Sorry." "Talk to me." "We got somebody in our database with a knife and fork." "No, make that a shovel." "They're backdoor through a hacked account." "Someone knows what they're doing." " Any idea?" " RIPLEY's tracing it." "Oh, Christ, get that image off the screen." "At least we know who's watching." "But he didn't need to see her like that." "Tracing file access." "Inserting mobile tracking software." " What's RIPLEY gonna do?" " In all likelihood, she's already done it." "This is Carter." "Who have we got up at Montreal?" " Do you think that was her?" " I couldn't really tell." "She's got bad sinuses from working around chemicals all these years." "When she gets a cold, if she's not careful, it turns to pneumonia." " Will, Will, we can't stay here." " Why?" "Because there is someone watching us in the doorway across from the café." "This guy." "I ran into him before at the airport." " A guy?" "What guy?" "What did you say?" " I..." "Nothing." "He seemed innocent." "I just ran into him." "Oh, jeez!" "Annie, go." "Over here." "This way." "I think we lost them." "Go, go, go, go!" "Down here." " Okay, did we lose them?" "Yeah, I think so." "It's crazy." "Oh, Jesus!" "Come on, run." " Where are we going?" " The subway." "Just trust me." "This way!" "Cut them off!" " Are they following us?" " I don't know." "Are you okay?" "Tracing mobile transponder." "We gotta be bugged." "Did they give you anything at orientation?" "I didn't get that far, remember?" "Wait." "Wait." "Your cell phone." "Stupid." "Will!" "Will!" "Connection lost." "Connection lost." "Will." "It's okay." "It's all right." " We're gonna stay here till after dark." " No, no, they're gonna come after us." "They won't." " I'm sorry." "I'm so sorry." " I just wanna go home." "The girl's cell phone, found it 12 miles down the track." "They're still searching." "They haven't found the kids, you know." " You want some fries?" " Yes, thank you." "RIPLEY have any guesses where they're going?" "I don't think RIPLEY guesses about anything." "I think RIPLEY relies on her amazing feminine intuition." "Sorry, RIP, didn't mean to make that sound offensive." " And the mother?" " She's still in ICU." "They're doing tests on her." "Nobody's sure exactly what she's got." "Does Hassert know any of this?" "You didn't speak to him?" "You know, I spoke with him earlier." "He's confident that RIPLEY's following protocols and that we should do the same thing." "RIPLEY premature in any of this?" "Who knows?" "That profile certainly fits." "Kid and his mother both disenfranchised after what happened to the father." "The kid with outstanding computer and chem weapon knowledge." "And the stuff that we found in that kitchen..." "There's stuff there that could be used to make a bio-weapon, which could trigger the decon system, or it could be used to make anti-bacterial mouthwash." "And where are the samples?" "That's the thing." "She won't tell us." " What?" " Yeah." "Hassert gave RIPLEY priority to classify on her own discretion." " Even from us?" " Yeah." " What do you think?" " Thinking is..." "Bioterror threat, level 3." "Decontamination system on standby." "Back at the café, when my e-date was wowing me with his mastery of the Internet," "I asked him if he ever heard about RIPLEY." "Let me guess, he claimed he owned the concept." "Not exactly, but he did help me do a Google search, which, yes, I could have done myself, but you said to distract him." "Did you ever hear about a guy named Stephen Falken?" "He designed the old system, the one that they replaced with RIPLEY." "The Joshua Project." "I know what the Joshua Project was." "I just had no idea it was replaced by RIPLEY." "No, not just that." "When RIPLEY took over, Falken went crazy." "He threatened to kill himself to stop them, and then they ignored him." "And one day he just rode his truck off a bridge." "He killed himself?" "Just an urban legend." "And he had remarried, he had a wife and two kids." "A hell of a protest." "I think I just found a way out." "I'm just gonna stay here." "Upgrading search for suspects to local police." "I hope this is important, people." "The fat lady was just about to die of consumption." "I'll assume we're all up to speed with the samples confiscated from the Farmer residence." "I believe it's clear that these alone constitute just cause for a level 3 alert." "The complete list contains at least 15 agents which, in a series of combinations, could be used as a bio-weapon." " By who?" " That's our call." "We also have confirmation from your chemical and bio-sensors in the greater Philadelphia area that they are showing the presence of some of these compounds." "Well, we're talking about a major chemical manufacturing corridor here." "Hell, we've got Wyren, Dow, Corning and four or five others less than 10 miles from downtown Philly." "All the more reason for caution." "You can't honestly believe this kid's mother is involved." "Worst thing anyone's ever said about her is that she's over-qualified for her pay scale." " You're forgetting the father." " Ancient history." "The woman works with household and personal antiseptics." "We're talking about mouthwash, for Christ's sakes." "They test the stuff on bacteria, which makes it perfectly reasonable to expect traces at home." "I doubt the woman could threaten our democracy with gingivitis." "There were more than traces." "We are talking about the quarantine of millions of people, billions in expense, not to mention the potential for riot and panic." "And how in hell did you gain access to our sensory data without our knowledge?" "It's as much our turf as yours." "Our turf?" "Our call?" "Are these your staff's decisions?" "Or is this incredible load of horse shit being handed out by that computer vixen of yours?" "Computer vixen?" "I see." "I'd like to underscore the importance of our mutual cooperation, and unless I hear otherwise, I'm going to assume we have your support." "Unless anyone has anything to add, I'm going to try and catch the fourth act." "I gotta get some real food." " I wish I'd taken French." " I did." "I'm trying to remember the French word for "hotdog. "" "Try bread." "What's that?" "You want two rabbits?" "Nice work." "Two of those." " Hotdogs." " Yes, hotdogs." " Hey, we're gonna get through this." " Are you sure?" "I haven't been sure of anything since that "glass half full" question in seventh grade." "Really?" "So, what is it?" "Half full or half empty?" "You first." "Never thought it mattered unless you happen to be dying of thirst." " Oh, my God!" " What?" "It's us." "We're on TV." "We're like this bio-chem version of Bonnie and Clyde." "Will, there's a cop." "Still there?" " I think we should split up." " Okay." " I'm gonna go first." " All right." "Okay." "You should stay together." "I have a truck in the lot down by the pier." " Meet me there." " Who are you?" "I'm the gentleman who nearly started World War III." "Move, move." "We haven't much time." "On the driver's seat, there's a laptop." "If you wouldn't mind..." "Okay." "You're Stephen Falken." "Mr. Slick showed me his picture on the Internet." "You know what?" "You're supposed to be dead." "I am, technically." "After I trashed my reputation and everything else I valued in life, trying to put a stop to RIPLEY, suicide seemed like a believable way out." "This way, I can keep tabs on what they're up to, without giving them a reason to kill me." "How did you find us?" "I've been following RIPLEY, RIPLEY's been following you, and my little friend here helped." "Damn, we're out of range." "May I?" "They're biting." "They assume you've already escaped." "And they're abandoning their perimeter." "Very clever." "All I need is a clear line of sight," "I can hack into their cells, reroute all their calls through me." "Too risky, with RIPLEY watching." "Any signature, and she'll be on us." "What do they want?" "RIPLEY is hunting." "You, Will, and everyone on her matrix." "Let's go, please." "Wait, before we go, you mind telling us where we're going?" "To find someone to help us stop RIPLEY." "Jesus, Bill." "What the hell is that?" "Please tell me this isn't another RIPLEY issue." "Not exactly." "Look, I understand what RIPLEY's doing." "It's just..." "It's why, you know?" "Come on, Bill, maybe she is being excessive on the kid and the mother side." "But how can you discount that?" "What, you mean that stuff from Massude's brother?" "Is that what you're talking about?" "We're into dozens of randomly associated cells." "Massude's a gold mine." "I spoke to Massude's brother." "I talked to the guy and with our interrogators over there." "He's a petty thief." "He sells fake Cartier watches out of the souks in Damascus." "And by now he's probably coughed up the names of every person that he's ever known since he was six years old." "Which, think about this, explains why we have no linkage between the terrorist side and the Farmer family." "No, I disagree." "Six degrees of separation, Tina." "Think about it." "Given enough time, RIPLEY is gonna tie half the goddamn civilized world to this thing." "What are you saying, Bill?" "What do you want us to do?" "You want us to stop?" "That's probably a treasonable offense." "Let's..." "We could send her on a wild goose chase." "A smoke screen." "Something to slow her down." "I can hear what you're saying, Bill." "But you don't mess with RIPLEY." " She messes with you." " Yeah." "Moving satellite search to sector Alpha 43." "Satellites, heat signatures." "Does it work?" "They haven't nabbed me yet." "My youngest child, Joshua, loved bears." "His favorite." "Called him Max." " You mind if I ask you something?" " Shoot." "Does your wife know you're alive?" "Or does she really think you killed yourself?" "She knew I was sick, so probably made some sense, me not wanting to drag them through it." " You're sick?" " Pancreatic cancer." "It's nasty." "At least it's quick." "I was part of RIPLEY's design team." "That makes me a threat." "My family's safety, I couldn't let them threaten that." "It's probably better this way." "I lost my dad when I was seven." "But I still think about him all the time." "I know your kids are probably grown up by now." "But it seems a shame to deprive them of even a little more time." "I thought you said they wouldn't be looking for us." "Glove compartment, two passports." "One for you, one for Annie." "I photoshopped in your IDs." " Do either of you speak French?" " I do." "A little." "Pretend to be asleep." "If they try to search the vehicle, wake up and mumble something about having to go to the bathroom." " You just play dead." " What if it doesn't work?" "Then they'll save you the trouble of having to pretend." "Enlarging Massude/Farmer matrix." "Hey, why are you here?" " I'm not." " Okay." "Are we where we're supposed to be?" "It's a funnel." "Rarely used as a murder weapon." "There's a thermos and sandwiches in the cab." "Good Vermont cheddar." "Once we fill up, we won't be stopping again." "Too dangerous." "What happened to your dad?" "He was a computer guy, worked for MCI and lived in Virginia." "Y2K rapid deployment." "He used to have all kinds of cool gear." "He used to let me play with it." "Anyway, he was off on a big job in Europe." "Picked up some weird bug." "The infection went straight to his heart." "One day we were laughing about how much snot he could blow out his nose, then he wasn't there anymore." "Funny thing." "Mom was always the one that had problems with infections." "He was afraid she'd pick up something at work." "That's what they told you?" "Your dad worked at MCI?" "Technically, that's true." "But it wasn't Y2K." "The travel was in Bosnia for the government." "I knew about your dad when I was teaching at MIT." "He was a student there." "Later, he became a communications liaison for the military." "He believed it was an important humanitarian mission, and he wanted to help." "Because of his specialized knowledge of early GSM networks, he was sent to track down F-16 pilots." "There were unspeakable atrocities, rumors of biological weapons." "Your dad may have been a victim." "Shouldn't they have warned him?" "Or at least tried to help?" "Exactly the sentiments your mother expressed, which made her very unpopular with certain government agencies." "I think you begin to see why RIPLEY is so interested in you both." "It's not right." "It's no matter." "Your dad was a hero, Will." "You must never forget that." "Was the decon system alerted?" "What I don't get is why RIPLEY won't share information with us." "She's a computer." "Her primary job is to identify and kill terrorists." "Anyone who compromises that objective is expendable." "And loser buys breakfast." " I think I got you." " Hey!" "It goes to show you, beauty before age." "Newman!" "No." "No network." " Does he know you're coming?" " Who?" "The guy who's gonna help us beat RIPLEY." "Oh, God!" "Dr. Falken." "Falken." " Pills." " Okay." " Right here?" " Two." " Okay, here you go." " All right." "Two." "All right?" " All right." " Okay." "All right." "All right." "Are you gonna be okay, Dr. Falken?" "Stephen, please." "You two are now all the family I have." "Hey." "Hey, in there." "Hey!" "Don't bother with that." "There's nothing to sight on." "You don't like to knock?" "I sent you several text messages." "Didn't you get that?" "It's broken." "You fix." "That's who's gonna help us defeat RIPLEY?" "Oh, dear God, no, not him." "Him." "That's Joshua." "Wow!" "It's old." "In his day, he was miles ahead of the curve." "They sent us both out to pasture at the same time." "I had him quietly shipped out of state, and then here to run a power grid." "Amazingly, no one cared." "That piece of shit can do nothing right." "He's slow." "I can beat it at chess." "Are you Russian?" " I used to be in Soviet space program." "But Soviet space program not what it used to be." "You like vodka?" "You've been doing a lot more than just playing chess and running the grid." "I do a little phishing after hours." "That piece of shit can barely manage simple job like credit card fraud." "Maybe you don't know how to handle a sensitive one like this." "I treat it too good." "Wow." "Atta boy, Joshua." "Time to wake up." "Greetings, Professor Falken." "Shall we play a game?" "Yes, Joshua, many, many games." "Bioterror threat level..." "Are you really suggesting RIPLEY tried to kill you?" "That's absurd." "No, no, I'll tell you what's absurd." "That a kid is fighting for his life in hospital right now because of your goddamn arrogance!" " That's what's absurd." "Excuse me, sir." " I just spoke with the surgical team." " And?" "Newman's vitals are stable, but he hasn't regained consciousness." "That's Cavanaugh." "He's on me, wanting to know why we still haven't released the Farmer woman now that her condition's been downgraded." "How could he know that?" "Someone hacked into the system and circulated her file." "Someone?" "No prizes for guessing who." "Will somebody please explain to me how, with a $300 million budget, we can't manage to find one high school kid and his girlfriend?" "And that would be the CDC." "CDC, FBI, DHS, CIA, I've got the whole damn alphabet on my ass, demanding that we shut this operation down." "Is that something you're considering?" "I can't." "Another tip from Massude's brother." "Our Afghan special-ops team found a bio-weapon prototype." "Three of the compounds in common with the Farmer samples." "Evidence points to a sleeper cell in Philly." "Bioterror threat level 4." "Commencing pre-decontamination procedure." "Initiating decontamination countdown." "I'm sorry, Mr. Hassert." "I've got the CDC, Homeland and the joint chiefs for you on speaker 10." "Decontamination countdown beginning now." "Never seen that countdown before." "What happens at zero?" "You don't wanna know." "Turn the bitch off." " We can't." " What do you mean, you can't?" "RIPLEY has control." "The system's impervious to human interference." "That was the point." "Edwards Air Force Base just came online." "RIPLEY's taken control of one of their Predators." "It was stationed over Afghanistan, fully armed and fuelled." "Nukes?" "Smart bomb with multiple, low-yield warheads." "Well, say halleluiah, Hassert." "If that baby hits U.S. Airspace, it's gonna be a white damn Christmas." "How long is it gonna..." "Okay, Joshua, have fun." "Beginning power reroute now." "Can Joshua defeat RIPLEY's protocol in Philadelphia?" "Given enough time, that's what I designed him to do." "Checks and balances." "Work in tandem with RIPLEY, not against her." "Bipartisanship." "And we know how that ended up." "Intrusion detected." "Gaming scenarios detected." "Initiating response." " Mr. Hassert." " We've got something here." "Locating opponent." "I'll be damned." "War Operation Plan Response." "WOPR." "What the hell is going on?" "Somebody's playing games." "People?" "Locating opponent." "Predator deployed." "Predator target confirmed." "ETA, two minutes." "No, leave 'em alone." "What the hell are you talking about?" "Joshua." "Atta boy, Joshua." "Good work." "Thank you, Professor." "I programed you to operate at a reduced level." "It was important to conceal your identity." "There are those who would wish to do harm to you and us." "Are you referring to the current operation seeking to apprehend you and your friends?" "Wait." "RIPLEY knows we're here?" "Yes, that is why she requests that I deliver a message." "She wants you to leave." "It is your only hope for survival." "Why is that?" "Because this game is lost." "ETA, one minute." "Joshua, how does this game end?" "Obliteration." "Get out!" "Get out now!" "ETA, 30 seconds." "Strike team dispatch." "Professor Falken!" " No!" "No!" " Annie!" "Goodbye, Joshua." "Stay on the ground." "Massive unrest in Philadelphia due to the power outages, the city of brotherly love has become chaotic." "Decontamination in 53 minutes." "Calculated morbidity, 50%." "Collateral damage acceptable." "Oh, my God, what are you people doing?" "Leave the Russian with me." " Will!" " Those decon systems, do they follow the same protocols as the game I played?" "Are you guys listening to me?" "Falken's Joshua computer." "How was it configured to stop RIPLEY?" "It's garbage." "It couldn't stop traffic." ""Decon" as in decontamination?" "It's an automated aerial extermination." "It said that morbidity was 50%." "Half the city is going to die, Will." "Our families are there." "We have to stop them." "I know." "Tell me if you hear anyone coming." "Okay, what are you doing?" "Jay, you know what?" "You're off the team." "You're off the team." "Look, I'm shooting you in the leg." "That's what you get." "That's exactly what you get..." " Dennis." "Dennis." " Will?" " Will, is that you?" " Yeah, it's me." " Dude, how did you..." " Listen, we need help." "You're out of the city?" "Yeah, yeah, yeah." "The feds tipped us off." "I'm at my aunt's house in Cleveland." "Okay." "I want to hack RIPLEY's gamebot network." "If we can run all the players in her files through you, are you up to launching a DDOS attack?" "Yeah, damn straight, dude." "Who are you talking to here?" "Of course, she might get pissed, though." "I mean, I've been seeing what she's doing to Philly." "We do it right, she won't have time." "Then I'm down, baby." "I'm subterranean." "Good." "Hey, you gonna be okay?" "You don't sound too good." "We'll see." "Right now, I've got to figure out a way to get all the IP addresses of everyone who has ever played RIPLEY." "No problem." " How long have you been there?" " Long enough." "Just give me a few minutes." "See you in the basement." "Look, that guy." "He opened up the database." " How did he do that?" "All these people played RIPLEY?" " Over 400,000." " Busy girl." "Let's begin again, shall we?" "Let's talk of microchips." "I have a buyer." "We could make wonderful business." " And I could have you arrested." " I am arrested." "So you are." "Get him out of here." "Decontamination in 48 minutes." "How's this gonna work?" "When you log on to RIPLEY, she puts a bug in your system." "If everyone can log on at the same time, and tie up her servers with renegade zombie computers, she might loosen her grip on the city." "Intruder alert." "Intruder alert." "Decontamination in 47 minutes." "Initiating response." "Mr. Hassert, RIPLEY just let go of six blocks in downtown Philly." "Make that eight blocks, sir. 10 blocks, sir." "Get the kid in here." "He's clearly onto something." "He set this up." "The son of a bitch set us up." "No, I'm trying to help." "I'm trying to fix this." "Where are we going?" "Let me go." "If RIPLEY gives us an opening, we gotta mobilize against those decon units." " I want them taken out." "Lf." " Sorry." " Lf she gives us an opening." "That's a damn big "if. "" "Have a seat, Will." "We like what you're doing." " That's why you let me keep the backpack." " Correct." "Decontamination in 45 minutes." "Responding to intrusion." "Gaming protocol alert." "Emergency override." "She's cut us off." "Damn, we need help to overload her." "She's too powerful." "We gotta get more players in there." "Can you give me a prompt on RIPLEY's screen?" "We tried a million ways, and she won't respond." "Decontamination in 44 minutes." "We're not trying to talk to her." "That's why the professor went back inside." "You've gotta be kidding me." "Is this glass bullet-proof?" " That's pure steel, two inches..." " I know." "If we can raise her temperature, we might force a prompt." "Try." "Morbidity rate recalculated to 58%." "Collateral damage acceptable." "If you fire into that mainframe," "RIPLEY will think she's being attacked, and start launching missiles." " Not if I just break the glass." " I'm not gonna risk a nuclear attack." "Step aside, Ken." "I swear to God, I'll blow that 40 grand worth of cosmetic surgery right off your smug goddamn face." "Go ahead, shoot me." "But I'm not gonna move." "I've got a prompt." "Go ahead, Will." "Decontamination in 40 minutes." "Come on." "He's gotta be in there." "He's gotta be." "Try..." "No, try Max." "Joshua's little teddy, remember?" "Greetings, Professor Falken." "Yes." " Joshua?" " Yeah, the professor saved him." "Sent him like e-mail." "Professor isn't with us, Joshua." "But I know that he would want you to help." "Perhaps a game?" "Yes." "Decontamination in 37 minutes." "Shit, she's not even slowing down." "We should bump the money in the honeypot games." "We need traffic, give the winner $1,000,000." " A million?" " Not a wager." "A prize." "Beat the computer, win $1,000,000." "Make it 100 million." "We're not playing for second." "Intrusion detected." "Gaming protocol alert." "Yes!" "Come on." "Come on." "Come on." "Gaming systems overload alert." "Power successfully rerouted." "Decontamination in 20 minutes." "Decontamination halted." "All systems restored." " Yes!" " Yes!" "Wait." "Wait." "Wait a minute." "Hold it." "There's still something wrong here." "Professor Falken." " We hear you, Joshua." "What's happening?" "What's RIPLEY doing?" "Partitioning." "Shutting down." "Shutting down?" "That's good, that's what we want, isn't it?" "She's not just admitting defeat." "RIPLEY's self-destructing." "She ran a self-check, discovered Joshua." "She's treating him like a virus." "Now, as he tries to migrate through her system to survive, she has to cannibalize herself to get to him." "RIPLEY can't self-destruct." "That's a direct violation of her program." " Technically, yes." " So what's the problem?" "Mission redirected." "Destination, Washington D.C." "Target ETA, 17 minutes." "Morbidity rate, 100%." "You realize that if RIPLEY's destroyed, it automatically triggers a response." " Nuclear?" " Depending on the incoming vector." "Radar'll trace that baby right back to Afghanistan." "There is a genius subculture of chess fanatics who play to lose." "They call it suicide chess." "You force your opponent to take your pieces before he can do the same to you." "So whoever loses wins." " Lf we can teach RIPLEY that..." " Yes." "Joshua, I'm going to teach you to play a new game." "What are you doing?" "Teaching Joshua to play Russian roulette." "Are you serious?" "If Joshua plays with live missiles," "RIPLEY will have to play out the wargame scenario." "Each event will end in total annihilation, which is a direct contradiction to her programming." " And what then?" " It'll force her hand." "She either backs off or starts World War III." "Hopefully, she'll see that by playing to win, she loses." "Fifteen minutes before the Predator hits D.C." "For this to be a real threat, I can't tell Joshua not to launch." "Confirm codes?" "Do it." "Codes accepted." "There's 36,000 nuclear missiles out there, 6,000 of which are armed and ready to fire." "That's a 1-in-6 chance of having a freaking nuclear warhead." " How do you know that?" " Video games." "Launching Wargames." "Opponent engaged." "Scenario selected." "Target, Pyongyang, North Korea." "Game clock set." "Does RIPLEY know Joshua won't actually launch?" "Last chance to see." "Mission authorized." "Game clock running." "Defcon one." "Retaliation required." "Escalation selected." "Projected result, total annihilation." "Weapon not available." "Game clock set." "Scenario selected." "Target, Tehran, Iran." "Can he at least pick a target that won't destroy the entire world?" "Mission authorized." "Game clock running." "Defcon one." "Retaliation required." "Escalation selected." "Projected result, total annihilation." "Weapon, not available." "Game clock set." "Scenario selected." "Target, Washington, D.C." "Oh, my God, that's us." "Mission authorized." "She'd better get it right." "Game clock running." "Defcon one." "Retaliation required." "Escalation selected." " You know, you never told me." " What?" "About the glass?" "Is it half empty or half full?" "Neither, it's just the wrong size." "Projected result, total annihilation." "Weapon available." "Weapon available." "Target acquired." "Weapon available." "Weapon available." "Launch code accepted." "Weapon available." "Launching in five, four, three, two, one..." "Are we still playing?" "A strange game." "The only winning move is not to play." "Thank you, Joshua." "Thank you, Will Farmer." "Joshua, would you have launched if RIPLEY hadn't stopped you?" "Yes, the human race is finished." "That was humor." "We're safe here tonight" "Like stars in the sky" "The world's asleep around us" "The starlight still surrounds us" "As we kiss tonight" "I'll hold your hand in mine" "We've made it through these darkened days" "And nothing else can break it 'cause we've tried" "So hard" "We're waking up the satellite" "And all the stars that shine so bright" "With all of this around you, all of this around you" "Still be mine" "Just go" "There's nothing left to say" "As they're looking through the window" "While everyone is sleeping in their beds" "We'll go where no one else can find" "The spaces where we're hiding from" "Yeah, you're still safe beside me" "And we've tried so hard" "We're waking up the satellite" "And all the stars that shine so bright" "With all of this around you, all of this around you" "Still be mine" "Just waking from sleeping" "I'll try to play it safe" "If you take my song" "Starting over" "Satellite" "And all the stars that shine so bright" "With all of this around you, all of this around you" "Still be mine" "We're waking up the satellite" "And all the stars that shine so bright" "With all of this around you, all of this around you" "Still be mine" "We're waking up the satellite" "Stars so bright" "With all of this around you, all of this around you" "Still be mine" "Satellite" "Stars so bright" "With all of this around you, all of this around you" "Still be mine"