"Harsh Realm went on line... the morning of October 13, 1995." "The culmination of years of work and billions of dollars... to create the Defense Department's ultimate crisis simulator." "For the next six hours, it was a virtual duplicate of our world... with ordinary people living ordinary lives... going to work, to school, to church." "They didn't realize that their future had been predetermined... written in lines of digital code... that they'd been created only to have their lives destroyed... in one cataclysmic baptism of fire." "Can I help you?" "No, I don't think so." "Is there something you'd like to talk about?" "I need to make my peace with God." "Excuse me." "Father?" "Wait." "Don't go." "I want to discuss with you the memorial garden we talked about." "Uh, all right." "Is it possible we could meet around 3:00, 3:30?" "That sounds good." "Thank you, Father." "Ripped By mstoll" "The nuclear blast was part of a terrorist attack simulation... programmed to play out exactly as it would in the real world." "Four million people, virtual characters... were killed in the space of two-and-a-half seconds." "Lives ended, their files wiped clean." "They were the lucky ones." "A world exists exactly like ours." "You live in this world... your family and friends... and though you may not know it..." "I was sent to save you." "It's just a game." "From the ashes of the nuclear devastation, a new world was born... where only the strong survive... and the weak are trampled underfoot." "If I am to complete my mission, I must continue the fight in my enemy's field of battle." "I must meet his army with one of my own... for brute force is the only currency of tyrants... of men like Omar Santiago." "I've come here in search of volunteers... men who are willing to fight and die for a cause... for in the footsteps of such men is a thing called freedom." "Told you no one's interested in fighting' your little holy war." "It's the only way we're gonna stand a chance." "Against Santiago?" "We got no chance." "I'm not giving up." "Good for you, Hobbes." "Let me know when you're done not givin' up." "Is one of you named Hobbes?" "No volunteers, huh?" " I'm Hobbes." " I'm Stewart." "I'm looking to hire some protection for my family..." " for my wife and my kids." " Wait." " You want to hire me?" " Well, yeah." "They told me that you were handy with a gun." "I'll hire both of you, and I'll make it worth your while." "Not unless you're gonna turn into a blonde, a big-screen TV... and a roast beef sandwich." "I'll pay you five pieces each." " No, thanks." " Excuse us." "Are you brain dead?" "That's my ticket out of here." " I'm not a mercenary." " You want to start your own little army... that gold buys you five men." "You gonna let us in on where we're goin'?" "Fifty, sixty miles northeast of here, just off the turnpike." "Hey, what kind of crap are you tryin' to pull?" " You'll be well-paid." " The turnpike?" "This joker's tryin' to take us to New York City." "Ground zero." " Even Republican Guard won't go there." " It's safe now." "That right?" "Never heard of acid rain?" "Tons of collapsing steel?" "Oh, and a little problem called radiation?" "Look, you want the job or not?" "Sure, but now it'll cost you 10." " What's that?" " Dental X-rays." "You hold one up." "If it's clear, you're all right." " If it starts turning black..." " Your ass is cooked." "Yeah, well, you can take a pretty big hit and still survive." "Take some of these." "But you better clear out as soon as you can." "Let's get off the street." "So who are we supposed to be protecting you from?" "Jasper McKinley." "Lowdown, double-crossin' piece of scum." "He wants what's ours, but he's not gonna get it without a fight." " Prince." " What?" " Thank God." " What's wrong?" " Fallon's missing." " Fallon?" "Oh, no." "We looked everywhere." "She went outside." "No!" "She knows better than that." "I told you not to go, but you wouldn't listen, and now she's gone." "Who's Fallon?" " She's my daughter." " She ever run off like this before?" "No, of course not." "She's only 16." " Uh-huh." " All right." "We're gonna have to go get her." "So you come with me, and you stay here and watch the others." "What others?" "Fallon!" "Fallon, are you there?" "What makes you think she's down here anyway?" "These steam tunnels go on for miles." "The safest way to travel is to stay underground." " Up!" "Get up!" " Don't shoot." " You." "What'd you with her?" " Nothing!" " What have you done?" " I did nothing." " What did you do?" " Wait a minute." "Where's my daughter?" "Ow!" "What the hell are you doin'?" " You hired a gun, not an executioner." " Don't you understand?" "He's one of' em." "They're a bunch of back-stabbin', murdering' thieves." "Give me that gun!" "Give me..." "He looks like a scared kid to me." " You know where his daughter is?" " No." " You all right?" " Yeah." " You got someplace to go?" " Sure." " Come on." " Where the hell are you goin'?" "To see these back-stabbin', murderous thieves for myself." "Hey, you're workin' for me!" " You're Fallon." " How do you know my name?" "I'm working for your father." "He's been looking for you." "Please don't tell him." "He'll kill me if he finds out." " Finds out what?" " Fallon!" "Where the hell have you been?" "Where were you?" "Nowhere." "I wasn't anywhere." "She was sleeping." "Found her in back." "Come on, then." "We've got some mouths to feed." "You are in so much trouble." "Shut up, Daria." "Daddy!" " Hey, don't point that thing at me." " Who are you?" "What did you do to my boy?" "I didn't do nothin' to him." "I found him in the tunnels." "Maybe you'd prefer I left him there." "Damn it, Aethan!" "That's Stewart's territory." "You know better than that." "I can take care of myself." "It's not just about you." "You're my only son." "If anything ever happened to me..." "The family needs you to carry on the fight... to keep those Stewart bastards from wiping us out." "Wipin' you out?" "That's not the way I heard it." "Prince Stewart is a liar and a thief." "Funny, he said the same thing about you when he hired me." "How much gold is he paying' you?" "Fifteen pieces." "I can pay 20." "Well, it was real nice meetin' you." "Twenty-five!" "That soldier, Pinocchio..." " I hired him away from Stewart." " For 25 gold pieces?" "Yes." "Yes, everything you said has come true." "I just need to know more." "The word of God is not at your beck and call." "No, no, of course not." "Please, just tell me what's gonna happen next." "Fallon!" "Come here." "Where the hell have you been slinking off to?" "Come here." "Come here." "Geez, your mother's worried sick." "What happened?" "Where's Pinocchio?" "He was captured." "By who?" "Well, a couple of the McKinley bastards ambushed us." "Caught him off guard." "Look, I thought you two were supposed to be good at this." "Where is he?" "They're at the Federal Reserve building across the alley, where the bunch hangs out." "Now..." "Where you going?" " Gonna get him out." " That's a suicide run." "There's a lot of them over there, and they're all well-armed." "Listen, why don't we attack 'em together?" "You can lead us." "You can draw us up a battle plan." " I've got maps." " Hold on." "I was hired for protection, not for a war." "You were hired to fight." "If you want to get your friend back... that's exactly what you'll do." "We'll go when you're ready." "What kind of gun is that?" "MP5K." "You ever kill anyone with it?" "What's it like?" "Believe me, kid." "You don't wanna know." "My father says the only way you can tell the measure of a man... is across the barrel of a gun." "Your old man's wrong." "Then why do you do it?" "I do what I have to do." "The Stewarts are planning an attack, an all-out assault later this afternoon." " How do you know that?" " I just know." "And your friend is gonna lead it." " Hobbes?" " I got hold of his battle plan." "Uh-uh." "Deal's off." "I'll double your take." "That's 50." "No way I'm goin' up against Hobbes." "I'll cut you in for a share." "Share of what?" "You're gonna do it, aren't you?" "You're gonna start the fighting." "My friend's in danger." "There's no other way to get him out." "Then you're no better than McKinley and my dad." "What did they do to each other?" " What do you care?" " Maybe I want to know what I'm fighting for." "I don't want to talk about this." "It's stupid anyway." "So why keep the feud going?" "Daddy says that it's a matter of family honor." "Honor?" "To see your family die?" "You don't want to fight, do you?" "I just want to help my friend." "Come with me." "Where are we going?" "You'll see." " Aethan!" " Hey!" " I knew you'd come." " I couldn't stay away." "Aethan McKinley?" "Now do you understand?" "Do you have any idea how awful it is being kept away from someone that you love?" "I understand." "I just want to get my friend released." "Released from what?" "Pinocchio, what are you..." "Stewart said that the McKinleys captured you." "Like hell." "I volunteered once I saw what they were paying'." " Your father lied to me." " Big surprise." "He wants you to help him wipe out Aethan's family... the same way that his father wants to get rid of us." " Why?" " Gold." "Lots of it." "That building McKinley's holed up in used to be the Federal Reserve Bank of New York." "Held over one third of the world's gold reserves." "There are rumors of an underground vault buried beneath the street." "No one knows for sure." "My father found an elevator shaft below the bank." "It's the only one that didn't collapse." "Elevators need electricity." "That's why your father wants the power station." "Seventy-five million bucks in gold, Hobbes, and I'm gettin' a cut." " What do you mean?" " I mean they're lettin' me in on the haul." "You should get your share too." "All we have to do is set up the battle and let 'em fight." "Watch them kill each other?" "If that's what they want to do, I say let 'em fight." "I can't do that." "You already have." "My battle plan." "Where'd you get this?" " Hey." " Come on." "Let's go." "How'd he get this?" "It's exactly the same." "Where did it come from?" " My name's Hobbes." " Tom Hobbes." "I know." "You seem to know a lot of things." "This came from you, didn't it?" "I was only trying to prevent a slaughter." "So you gave it to McKinley and let the Stewarts get slaughtered instead?" "No one has to die if you do exactly what I say." "Hold off your attack until 4:17." "Why?" "What happens then?" "4:17." "Not a moment sooner." "Look, we've been out here for over an hour." " Let's go." " Not yet." " What the hell are we waiting for?" " Just stick to the plan." "You might want to take the safety off." "Enough of this." "Enough of this!" " Hey!" "Wait!" " Let's go!" " I got him!" " Get back!" "Damn it, Hobbes, get out of there." " Acid rain!" " Take cover!" "Take cover!" "That priest knew exactly when the rain would come." "He knows everything." "He knows about me and Aethan too." "Daddy said he was at the center of the nuke blast." "It gave him powers." "So why doesn't he use the powers to stop the fighting?" "He's trying." "You don't know what it's like living here... with Jasper McKinley and my dad." "How did it start?" "They came here to make their fortune." "They were going to be partners." "Split everything fifty-fifty." "What came between them?" "One gold bar." "Daddy and Jasper wanted more." "They wanted to find the vault." "The next day, that gold bar was gone." "Daddy said that Jasper took it." "Jasper accused Daddy." "That was nearly a year ago." "They found gold." "No." "The priest gave it to them." "Why would he do that?" "He's a man of God." "He doesn't want gold." "He wants something." "What are you doin' here?" "What are you doin'?" "I'm here to see a man about some gold." "I want some answers." " So do I." " If you can see the future..." " why don't you stop the fighting?" " You think I haven't tried?" "For the love of these two young people, if for no other reason." "You could help them." "Their parents will listen to you." "I can't do any more." "Let me see your gold." " What?" " Just let me see it." "Hey, what the hell you think you're doin'?" "I'm giving them a fighting chance." "I didn't stick my neck out so Romeo and Juliet could ride off into the sunset." "My sunset." "Aw, for cryin' out loud." "Here." "Take it." "I don't know." "You should go..." "far away from here." " You may not get another chance." " Fallon, Aethan, listen to me." "If you leave now, you'll both die." "You gotta be willing to take a chance." "You can change your own future." "Go on." "We should get out of here too." "Like hell." "I came for the gold, Hobbes, and I'm not leavin' without it." " Pinocchio." " I have seen the future." "You can't change anything." "Where is she?" "Where's Fallon?" "Gone, with Aethan McKinley." "You let her run away?" "She wanted to get away from this place." "She didn't want to watch you all die." " Well, that's not gonna happen." " Then stop the fighting." "Split the gold with McKinley." "No." "We tried that before." "That double-crossin' bastard stole my share." "Well, if you won't end this, I will." "Stewart!" "Prince Stewart!" "I ought to shoot you where you stand!" "Yeah, you ought to, but you won't." "And why the hell not?" "'Cause I have somethin' that belongs to you." " Fallon." " Daddy, I'm sorry." "No time for a family reunion." "You got one hour to get those generators up." "If you don't, your sweet little girl's gonna eat a bullet." " If you hurt her, I swear..." " Time's a-wastin'." "One hour." " This is your fault." " No." "It's someone who doesn't want this to end." "You betrayed those kids." "You let them get caught." "On the contrary." "I was trying to save them from themselves... as I'm trying to save you." "Let me show you." "What is it?" "A gift from God." "He wouldn't let me change the past, so he gave me the future." "The bomb created it after it destroyed everything else." "It ripped open the heavens and exposed the face of the Almighty." "You said you wanted to save me." "Save me from what?" "From this." "What the hell is this?" " This isn't gonna happen." " Father!" "McKinley has my daughter." "He wants me to turn the generators on." " Then do as he asks." " What?" "Turn them on at 8:00." "McKinley will take the elevator down into the vault." " And he'll get the gold." " It won't matter... because precisely at 8:15, you'll turn the generators off." "And he'll be trapped down there." "Don't do it." "He's tellin' you what he wants you to hear." " What are you talking about?" " Don't you see?" " What are you talking about?" " Don't you see?" "He's the one who gave Fallon to McKinley." "Have I ever led you astray?" "He's playing both sides." "He's playing on your hatred for each other." "He doesn't want to try to end this feud." " He's trying to keep it alive." " Why would he do that?" "Because he's seen the future." "And in that future, he's left here all alone." "You're all he's got." "Make peace with McKinley." "Put aside the feud and see." "If you do, your daughter will die." " Time's up." " What's gonna happen to her?" "What do you care about some little whore?" " I don't care." "I just want my gold." " You're gonna get your gold." "She's gonna get what's comin' to her, just like the rest of them." " No!" " Son, move the hell out of my way." "I'm not gonna let you hurt her." "I've been waitin' a long time for this." "You're gonna have to wait a while longer." "Uh-uh!" "Lay 'em down!" " What am I supposed to do with this?" " Hold 'em here till I get back." " Where are you goin'?" " Collect my pay." "Don't let 'em follow me." "You're right, Dad." "You really can tell the measure of a man across the barrel of a gun." "Don't do this, Aethan." "I wasn't gonna kill her." "Where's Pinocchio?" "He told us not to let anyone follow him." "Go to your father." "Tell him not to turn off the generators." "Pinocchio?" "Pinocchio, we gotta get out of here!" "The priest set us up." "He was the one who brought us here in the first place... to keep the feud going." "If we stay down here, we're gonna get trapped when they turn off the power." "I'm not leavin'." "Pinocchio!" "Get the hell away from me!" "You're getting sick." "We both are." "It's radiation poisoning." "This tunnel is hot." "I'm almost through to the vault." "I'm taking you back." "I'm not leavin' without the gold!" "It's me." "It's Hobbes!" "I'm not leavin' without the gold!" "Then we're both gonna die down here!" "Fallon." "Oh, my dear, I thought I lost you." "Daddy, you can't turn the power off." "What?" "No, no, I have to." "I have to get rid of McKinley." "He's not down there." "Hobbes and Pinocchio are." "No." "This is some kind of... of trick." "He saved my life!" "You can't just leave him down there to die!" "Well, maybe that is what is meant to be." "No." "I don't believe that." "We make our own future." "It doesn't make us." " Darling, the priest told me that our..." " Daddy... maybe it's time to stop listening to the priest." "McKinley!" "Put the guns down." "This is what you've been fighting over." "There is gold." "I knew it." "How much?" "Not enough to die for." "The vault's contaminated." "It's all radioactive." "The gold will kill whoever tries to take it." "It's too bad about the gold." "Guess you're stuck with me for a while." "Hobbes, uh..." "Wait." "Where are you going?" "Where are you going?" "Far away from here." "But why?" "Why?" "The gold." "What about the gold?" "You can't leave." "You can't leave me here." "Come back." "You can't..." "You can't leave me here!" "You can't leave me here." "I made this!" "Ripped By mstoll"