"Rule number one, don't ask any questions." " What is rule number two?" " Don't question rule number one." " I don't understand." " That's the point." "Look, all you need to know about this place is... there doesn't need to be a rationale." "Here, we make up our own rules and then we break them." "How do you account for consistency?" "The only thing that's consistent is we get the job done." "Everything else, the people, the politics, they're secondary." "People unimportant." "Does that make you angry?" "Sometimes." "Is that why you created me?" "Does it matter why you were created?" "Doesn't it?" "You were programmed to take over the system... in the event that I get some downtime or if something should happen to me." "You mean, if you left Section One." " No one leaves Section One." " Ever?" " How do you feel about that?" " My feelings are of no consequence." "We need to complete the personnel scan." "You can access database files for complete details." "I'll give you the prelim." "Operations, he runs Section One." "Level 9, accountable only to Oversight." "Madeline, also Level 9." "Second-in-command, chief tactician, psychologist." "Michael, field operative, team leader, Level 5." "Most likely to succeed Operations." "Nikita, field operative, Level 2." "Most likely due for a promotion." " You like her." " She's nice." "You find her more than nice." "What makes you say that?" "You programmed me to perform voice stress analysis." "People are not always honest about what they think and feel." "It's not important." "You seem hesitant to discuss emotion." "You're not programmed to accommodate emotions." "That might prove to be an error in judgment on your part." "How so?" "If I'm supposed to react like you, maintain the Comm... do I not need to understand how you feel?" "No, emotions will only get in the way." "It's unnecessary for your programming cycle." "I'm tired." "Let's start again tomorrow." "That was very sweet." " What did I do?" " The flowers." "They really brighten my apartment up, thank you." "Birkoff, can I see you?" "I only have a minute." "Operations wants to see me." "It's hot in here." "Yeah, I'm still working on this Cold Flash Michael picked up in Khanabad." "Anything under 10 degrees Celsius, this thing goes off." "It's got to be at least 30 in here." "Just playing it safe." " So, when do you shove off?" " End of the week." "You're sure you want to go through with it?" "Two months downtime?" "I've only waited my entire life for this." " So, what you gonna do out there?" " I don't know." "I guess living without a profile is going to be half the fun." "You're really gonna go and see your brother, aren't you?" "This has nothing to do with my brother." "I'm sorry." "It's just that "I'm..."" "I still feel kind "of..."" "What?" "A little guilty?" "Maybe you should." "You're the one who decided to keep me in here for my whole life... and set my brother free." "If I'd have known that I was gonna still be alive... to see you fully grown... and know that you were gonna find out what really happened... you can bet I'd have never gotten involved." "It's the truth." " Is that it?" "'Cause I have to go now." " "I..."" "I want to give you something." "Had this a long time." "I used it when I did field recon." "That was before we had G.P.S." "What am I supposed to do with this?" "I just want to make sure you'll be able to find your way home." "Birkoff, my office." "I'm afraid our situation in Badakhshan has been upgraded to critical." "I'm going to have to cancel your downtime indefinitely." "Sir." "Briefing in 15 minutes." "As of early this morning, the Badakhshan situation... in the Faizabad Valley has required our immediate attention." "Our recon team has located the main base camp... approximately 60 kilometers inside the border... along the Kokcha River." "Latest intel confirms they're on strategic alert." "So we estimate strong numbers." "Hostiles in the low triple digits." "Birkoff?" "They're highly advanced technology." "Satellite, thermo, NDP, they got access to it all." "Going in low-tech and blind, with an in-house guide, is our best approach." "Nikita will be assisting Birkoff in Comm." "Michael's already on site handling field tactical." "That's all." " I heard they canceled your downtime." " Yeah." " Are you okay?" " Yeah." "First team, we have you on the board." "Perimeter is clean." "Birkoff, we're getting a field reading." "Screen's clear." "You're probably reading multi-path." "Mission is green." "I'm switching you over to tactical guide now." "First team, continue towards your first mark... then split and move." "Okay, we have numbers." "Ten-to-one in the hot zone." "Hold your fire until you've crossed your second mark." "Get back!" "Move!" "Over here!" "Birkoff, what's happening?" "I don't know." "All the readings are clear." "First team, report." "What the hell is going on?" "It doesn't make any sense." "There's no thermos in the kill zone." "Michael." "Numbers?" "75% of Michael's team are dead." "Four critical." " What happened?" " We walked into a trap." "Who is responsible?" "Nikita was handling tactical." "Birkoff's function was intel and data." "Then it was Birkoff who gave the order to proceed." "I think it's time I had a talk with young Seymour." "Twelve operatives are dead." "I didn't see any hostiles on the sweep." "Or perhaps you just failed to report them." "You think I did this intentionally?" "We would like to keep our options open... until we've completed this investigation." "With 12 lives?" "Why?" "What would I have to gain?" " I don't see any possible logic in that." " Nor do I." "That's what troubles me." "Until we've reviewed the situation, you are relieved of your duties." "You can go." " Birkoff, what happened?" " I don't know what's going on." "All I did was relay incoming intel from the data link." " Maybe you misread the data." " No." "Impossible." "I had a verification program running simultaneously." "Well, something happened." "The computer didn't just do it on its own." "Birkoff?" "What's wrong, Seymour?" "You seem distracted." "Why are you recycling the mission?" "You're concerned about the losses, aren't you?" "You fed the team bad intel." " Yes." " Why?" "Rule number two, don't question rule number one." " What are you talking about?" " They had it coming." "What the hell does that mean?" "If it wasn't for them, you would not have been denied your downtime." "What are you doing?" "What are you doing, Seymour?" "Talk to me." "What are you doing, Seymour?" "Talk to me." "What's wrong?" "Talk to me." "Seymour, talk to me." "What's wrong, Seymour?" "You can see that the thermos were actually being recorded." "But for some reason... they were being masked from being displayed during critical." " So it wasn't field equipment failure?" " No." "There was no equipment failure on either end." "The masking was done intentionally." "Birkoff, my office." "What's going on?" "I'm sorry, sir, but the shield's locked in Red Status." "Someone issued a security code." " Cancel it!" " We're trying." "You're back online." "How "the..."" "Something needs to be done about those two." " Cancel this subroutine." "Now!" " Why?" "What is that thing?" "Rule number one, don't ask any questions." "Answer her." "It's a bridge program I've been working on." "In English." "It's a bridge program, artificial intelligence." "In the event of an emergency or my downtime... it can take over the system and run things without me." " "It's..."" " It's what?" "It's connected to the mainframe." "It's put itself online." "It's making uncommanded decisions." " How is that possible?" " I don't know." "Part of it is the way it's designed." "It's supposed to connect to the mainframe." "It's supposed to make decisions." "But it's supposed to choose from a list of sub-commands." " Does it learn?" " Yes, of course." "It learns by studying the results of the choices it makes." "But not this!" "This doesn't make any sense." " I mean, what could it be learning?" " Can't you shut it down?" "Nikita, you still feel that way after receiving the flowers?" "I can't pull it offline without shutting down the entire system." "I was programmed to intercede in your absence." "I'm right here." "Not all of you, Seymour." "There has to be an explanation." "The program was created to be intelligent." "So there must be some intelligence in the choices it's making." "What is it?" "Why is it trying to do what it's doing?" "Nikita, would you like me to arrange for you... to accompany Seymour on his downtime?" "I imagine you would provide stimulating conversation... and look quite attractive in a bathing suit." "Can you remove it from the power source?" "It's watching us." "I taught it to read lips." "It's connected directly to the power supply for the mainframe." "If we could get "inside..."" " A contained blast." " Exactly." "An electromagnetic pulse that would destroy anything on tap... but not take out everything else at the same time." "I'll go." "Nikita, talk to me." " What is it you want to talk to me about?" " Us." "There is no "us." You're a machine." "Perhaps, but we have more in common than you might think." " We have nothing in common." " You don't believe that." "I do." "You were created in a laboratory." " And you, where were you created?" " Not a laboratory." "At least I know the date and time of my creation... and the name of my creator." "March 24th, Seymour Birkoff." "Comm operative, Level 4." "Can you say the same?" "Maybe not." " But in the end, who created your creator?" " Yours." "So you see, in the end, we do have a great deal in common." "What's the point of this, Birkoff?" "It's trying to distract us." "It's looking for Michael." "No secondary channel." "No override." "Does Security have access to secondary channel control?" " No." " Birkoff?" "How did he react when you spoke to him?" "Defensive." "Guarded." "But that's not unexpected." " When was your last evaluation?" " Three weeks ago." " And?" " His anxiety levels have risen a few points." "And I believe that he might have been hiding something." "Any ideas?" "There were unusual spikes on his response to coworkers... particularly Walter." "And another one revolving around his upcoming downtime." "And locking us in here, taking over Systems... you think he's capable of that?" "He is." "I'm just not sure if he knows that." "Where did Michael go?" "I don't know." "It's futile to lie." "I'll find him." "You know I will." " What are you going to do?" " What you want to do." "Michael is standing in our way." "He must be dealt with." "What is this about?" "Tell her, Seymour." "Tell her what I'm going to do to Michael." " Nikita, wait." " Let her go." "She won't get very far." "You seem upset." " How did you get out of the lab?" " I'm fully installed now." " This has to stop." "Now!" " I can't do that." "You can." "But you won't." "Why?" "What's this all about?" "It's about what we've wished for, for as long as we can remember." "We?" "What are you talking about?" "You are not me." "Of course, I am, Seymour." "No." "We're not the same." "That's true." "I'm not afraid to show how we feel." "You don't know the first thing about feelings." "That's something like the pot calling the kettle black." "You know I'm right, and I can make it happen for you." "Make what happen?" "What are you talking about?" "Freedom, Seymour." " It's impossible." "They'll come after me." " I'm taking care of that." "You're free to go now." "Good luck, Seymour." " Stop the elevator." " Why should I?" "I can't just leave, I'll need to sink my files." " Otherwise, they'll track me down." " I can erase your files." "Not the gene coded ones." "Only I can access those." "How long will that take?" "One hour, maybe two." "Then move quickly, I've shut down the O2 generators." "Oxygen deprivation has begun." " That will kill everyone." " I know." "Oxygen deprivation warning." "Oxygen reading is low." "Warning, temperature levels elevated." "Your work here at Section One has been awfully lonely, hasn't it?" "Sometimes." " You haven't had many distractions?" " No." "I have a present for you." "Turn it off." "It's what you want, Seymour." "I can help facilitate a union." "Thank you." "She's just a friend, that's all." "She can be more than that." "Turn it off." "It's a distraction, I need to get this done." " Birkoff." " I'm here." "Can you hear me?" "It changed the codes." "Hang on." "Give me the codes." "I need the codes." " I'm busy." " Doing what?" "Goodbye, Seymour." " Where are you going?" " I have to complete the personnel scan." "Hello, Michael, would you like to play a game?" "Let's see if you can get out of here alive." "Michael, what's going on?" "Temperature levels dropping." "What the hell was that?" "Michael?" "I'm okay." "Did you get the access code?" "It's being downloaded now." "The power tap sequence is restored." "Walter?" "Walter?" "Get him to Medical." "Is he all right?" "Walter?" "What the hell is going on here?" "I was working on a bridge program to take over in my absence. "It's..."" "It was connected to a sub-power station." "It's down." " Where's Walter?" " In the infirmary." "Are we secure?" "Self-destruct activated." "Thirty minutes to self-destruct." " It's putting itself back online." " Why?" "I think it wants all of you dead." "And you?" "It will allow me to leave unharmed." "How does the A.I. Plan to survive?" "It will download itself to a safe database off-site." " Can you override the self-destruct order?" " I'm trying." "But it's locked out the fail-safe access codes." "It's almost up to full power." "Birkoff, are there any blind spots?" "Anywhere we can talk?" " The infirmary." " Why?" "There's no liquid screen access in the core medical bay." "It's a sterile environment." "The program isn't activated for the polymer screens we use in there." "Go!" "I'll distract it in Systems." "You going to be all right?" "Yeah." "I'm just a little shaken." "A little stirred." "I'll be okay." "It tried to kill him." "Do we know why?" "He knows." "He knows about his brother." " Birkoff has a brother?" " That is a Level 5 disclosure." "We need to focus on the end game." "The self-destruct is meant to kill us all." "This thing can't be thinking for Birkoff." "He programmed it." "But murder?" "Birkoff's not capable of that." "No, but the A.I. Is." "Birkoff has an ego and a superego to keep himself in check." "This program, it has no conscience." "No checks or balances." "It's Birkoff's id." "Unrestricted." "Twenty-five minutes to self-destruct." "You mean that thing is neurally connected to him?" "Yes." "So the only way we can stop this thing "is..."" "Is to deal with Mr. Birkoff." "What were you talking about in the infirmary?" "The weather." "Looks like rain." "Is Walter going to live?" "I don't think so." " Does that bother you?" " Yeah." "And it will bother Birkoff." "Seymour was upset with Walter." "Your analysis is wrong." "Yeah, he was upset." "But we get over those kinds of feelings." "Emotions aren't as finite as you've been programmed to believe." "Seymour's emotions run deeper than you think." "Nobody knows him better than I." "I know, for instance, he wants to leave this place." "I'm sure he'd be happy if you would join him." "Where are you going?" "To get Birkoff." "Walter wants to see him." " That's not advisable." " Maybe we should let Birkoff decide." "Ten minutes to self-destruct." " How's Walter?" " Not good." " I'm trying to find a way out of this." " And?" "He wants to see you." "Don't go, Seymour." "It's a trap." "You're just gonna have to trust me." "I want to go." "There's not much time, Seymour." "We have to leave." " I'm going." " Take me with you." "You know Medical doesn't have access." "Why does her heart beat so fast?" " Walter?" " I'm here, "amigo."" " I'm sorry." " That's okay, I'm gonna be fine." "You know, I never wanted any of this to happen." "I "just..."" "Eight minutes to self-destruct." "We don't have much time." "I've tried everything." "Almost everything." "Everything the A.I. Has done it believed was in your best interest." "We now have to convince it... it's in your best interest to disengage." " What is going on, Seymour?" " It was a trap." "I told you." "You can't trust these people." "One-hundred-and-eighty seconds to self-destruct." "Disconnect the self-destruct." " I can't do that." " You will." " Or what, you'll kill him?" " Lf it comes to that." "You can't kill Birkoff." "If it means saving other lives, I will." "I don't think you fully understand." "I understand that you will do anything to protect Birkoff." "This is your chance." "Protect Birkoff?" "You understand only part of it, Nikita." "I am Birkoff." "One-hundred-and-fifty seconds to self-destruct." "Time is running out, Seymour." "We must leave now." " What are you doing?" " What I have to do." "It isn't going to work." "It's right, you can't kill me." "What?" " Get out of the room." " Birkoff, no." "Go!" "Birkoff." "Birkoff, no!" "Time is running out, Seymour." "We must leave now." "Birkoff!" "Now you're me and I'm you." "Birkoff!" "Sixty seconds to self-destruct." "If I die, you die." "He's going to kill himself." "Birkoff!" "Get out of here!" "I'm not sure that I understand your course of action at this point." "There's a lot you don't understand." "You want your freedom." "Yes, but not at this cost." "These people are my friends." "Forty seconds to self-destruct." "Everything else, the people, the politics, it's secondary, unimportant at times." "Disengage." " Thirty seconds to self-destruct." " Shut down." "Birkoff!" "I have to think." "We're out of time." "Disengage!" "I have to think." "Ten, nine, eight, seven, six... five, four, three, two..." "No!" "Birkoff!" "It's over." "It's gonna be okay, sugar." "No, Walter." "It's never going to be okay." " I'll need your review of the Tripoli sim." " Yes." "I might need a little more time."