"WORLD ON A WIRE" "Einstein!" "Don't be a fool, you've no chance." "I won't go back, I want to live!" "Get help!" "Call Edelkern!" "Call someone for help." "You have to speak up, I can't hear you." "I'm hard of hearing." "Telephone!" "Help!" "Edelkern, I'm in the cafeteria." "I need help, quick!" "What's wrong, Fred?" "What happened?" "Take him to a hook-up station, fast." "And load the program for 0001." "He looks like Fritz Walfang, right?" "In reality, he's identity unit 0001." "Vollmer named him Einstein." "Yes, but, I mean..." "I just saw him." "Come with me." "Ready?" "Nearly." "Let me do that." "I had no idea..." "About what, Holm?" "What could happen." "What in God's name happened?" "Careful." "Quiet now." "Anything?" " No, but..." " That's OK." "I wanted to see if I could hook myself up, too." "But..." "He switched their minds." "He should be here." "Hi, Fred." "Don't bother, she's not in." "Why not?" "She's been gone for six weeks." "Sick." "Yes, but..." "On sick leave." "For six weeks." "Do you have a key?" "Me?" "Oh, it's you." "We haven't seen you for a while." "No." "Where were you?" "Were you sick?" "We wondered where you were." "We were talking about you." "The key's under the mat, where it belongs." "I always see it when I'm cleaning." "The upper lock." "Please, after you, you know the way." "A real ambulance came and took her." "I wasn't there, but I sure heard about it." "Six weeks..." "A long time." "I could do with a leave, but our sort..." "Where are you going?" "The key!" "Strange..." "She was always compulsively tidy." "Lovely little bar, huh?" "If you say so." "No, it's lovely." "Especially in the afternoon, when everyone's working." "It gives you a feeling of..." "Is that your line?" " Line?" " For meeting women." "No, I don't have a set routine." "On the contrary, I'm a bit of a chameleon, you know?" "I adapt." "Hahn?" "Hello." "Whiskey?" "Whiskey..." "Hi..." "milk, anything at all." "Angry?" " Pardon?" " You angry?" "Two whiskeys." "I'm not angry, I'm..." " Heard you hit a glitch." " I did." "Strange, I always thought switching minds was a utopian joke." " A joke?" " A very sophisticated one, but..." "It's not a joke." "You seem pretty upset about it." "Not about that." "Come on, out with it." "What's eating you?" "I know why Vollmer died." "High voltage." "Right, high voltage." "Tell me." "He couldn't take it." "800 volts, you mean?" "Sorry, bad joke." " Why didn't I think of it?" " What?" "The people in our simulation model think their world is the only real one." "So?" "Who says this isn't also a computer?" "You, me, all of us..." "Just electronic circuits." "Identity unit 3,124,000, named Hahn." "How does that sound?" "Drunk." "The whiskey, peanuts..." "all artificial." "Why are you gobbling them down?" "Nervous?" "No, I was thinking they taste good, for artificial peanuts." "Don't joke about it." "You must have a screw loose." "Yeah, an artificial screw." "I bet Vollmer panicked." " Vollmer, why?" " Because he knew." "Knew what?" "That this isn't the real world." "I mean, he was convinced of it." "And, if he was right, then they'd..." "Yes, they." "They'd have simply deleted him." "Exit Vollmer." "How did we deprogram Nobody?" "Who?" "Christopher Nobody." "His name was a joke." "Well, how?" "By pressing a button." "Yes, but discretely." "Do you understand?" "It has to look like an accident so the other units don't suspect." "Like Vollmer." "The system remains stable." "Do you see the parallel?" "I see you're drunk." "And Lause?" "Who?" "Oh, yeah." "Lause was removed from the system too quickly for them to have time to think up a plausible excuse." "So they deleted him from people's minds." "No one remembers Günther Lause." " Who?" " You see?" "How it works." "God!" "I was taken in." "Want me to drive you home?" "You need to rest." "The contact unit!" "That's it!" "The contact unit." "We needed a contact unit for our simulation model to work." "Einstein." "If we're the simulation model of a real world there must be an Einstein here who knows... who's in contact with above." "Help me find him, Hahn!" "You can always count on me." "It could be anyone, Siskins, Gloria Fromm" "Eva Vollmer, Walfang, even you, Hahn." "Me?" "Even you." "Why not you?" "Why not me?" "Well..." "It's true, I wouldn't just admit it." "You'd have to corner me, trip me up." "OK, fine." "Besides, there's proof." " People keep disappearing." " Who else?" "First, Lause." " Now Maja Schmidt-Gentner." " Who?" " My secretary." " Gloria?" "No, before her." "Oh, her." "On leave, supposedly." "But no one would go away leaving their flat like that." "Yes, but..." "Come, I'll show you!" "If you insist." "The tab!" "I don't know, everything looks normal to me." "But two hours ago, it was completely different." "Everything was..." "The bed... the bathroom." "You?" "I think he's gone crazy." "When did you get back?" "An hour ago." "The janitor..." "Oh, forget it." "Come here..." "When do you say the story appeared?" "May 31." "On May 30 the world ends." "Uschi!" "Bring me May." "Right away." "How's the computer?" "OK." "And Siskins?" "Fine, thanks." "Still pals with Ηartmann?" "Maybe." "Why not?" "There are stranger reasons to be friends." "Yeah, I guess." "Look, I'm doing you a favor." "You could give me some information." "I'm lousy at making deals." "Does United Steel have a deal with IKZ?" "Thank you." "I think so." "But I can't provide photocopies, if that's what you mean." "The official simulation program must contain projections that would be very useful to United Steel." "I guess so." "May 31." "It's a new article." "Let me see." ""CS"..." "Christoph Simon, our correspondent in Rome." "Could it have been another day?" "No." "Here, ladies and gentlemen, you see our reporters." "It's they who write the stories." "They start with news leads" " the yeast for any article - then add background information to write their stories." "The copy, once it's finished is sent for typesetting, as you'll now see." "Thank you, and good-bye." "Tell me..." "Was there another edition on May 31 ?" "They're both there." "If the existing forecasts don't meet Hartmann's needs, could they program others in?" "Yes, if they wanted to." "It was on this page." "But here's CS's article again." "Do they want to?" "They, perhaps." "Me, no." ""Vanished into Thin Air", I remember it perfectly." ""Vanished"..." "No idea." ""Drug Ring Broken up in Rimini"." "Not as punchy, but there it is, black on white." "I don't get it." " This guy..." " Christoph Simon?" "Yeah." "Couldn't you check with him to see if he actually wrote this article?" "Come on, I'll look like a fool." "Alright, if it helps clear this up." "Please!" "Cable Christoph Simon in Rome about his May 31 article." "Ask if there are any developments." "I'll see you out." "So this steel analysis...?" " I forget." " Forget?" "Alright." "Simulacron forecasts transportation needs through the year 2000." "That could be quite important for a steel conglomerate." "Well, that's something." "Not Chinese." " Why not?" " I dunno, it's too sweet." "No, it's not." "It can be spicy, too." "That Stiller is definitely screwy." "I sent off your cable." "What?" "I just said that to humor him." "It doesn't matter." "Uschi, get me a book on forecasting transportation needs." "You've been looking at me so strangely." "Is something wrong?" "I don't know." "A headache." "Then go lie down." "I don't feel bad, I just have a headache." "Maybe I'm just going crazy." "Employees are continuing to work to rule to back up demands for a wage increase." "The Daily News quotes a reliable source that the CEO of the prominent Cybernetics Institute," "Herbert Siskins, maintains close ties to a certain steel conglomerate." "The paper has expressed suspicions that Simulacron 1, the simulation computer developed by IKZ, is being used for not only scientific, but also commercial purposes." "The News writes: "The computer's revolutionary findings must remain in the hands of responsible individuals to ensure they are applied for the good of society."" "End of quote." "The Science Ministry has named a commission to investigate." "And Siskins?" "Herbert Siskins has vigorously denied the allegations and initiated legal action against the paper." "And now in brief..." "Helsinki:" "The Finnish poetess Araba Suukoonen distinguished for her translation of the Nibelungenlied died yesterday at the age of 86 when her small private plane collided with a glider at an airport near Helsinki." "The glider pilot suffered minor injuries." "This brings an end to our broadcast schedule." "We wish you good night." "Good night." "Siskins... or not Siskins." "Holm or..." "Pardon?" "I only said good night to the announcer." "It's Stiller, give me Siskins." "Hello, this is Stiller." "Feel like visiting the computer room?" "I have a surprise for you." "Come in." "What's up?" "What's this?" "It's you." "I programmed it myself." "Interesting, isn't it?" "Yes, indeed." "Very interesting." "It's funny." "You find it funny?" "How many Siskins are there?" "I have no idea." "Have you programmed others?" "It's the only one in that world." "You're the only one here." "And above?" "Where, above?" "Don't you know "up"?" "You're talking nonsense." "This is above, and that's below." "Or, how much deeper does it go?" "Infinitely, maybe." "Yes, quite true." "And infinitely higher." "That's very funny." "What's he doing now?" "Very impressive, Mr. Siskins." "Isn't it?" "I began to carry out my scheme." "Jessie's eyes gleamed of love." "And she whispered, Maybe..." "Hey, maybe the sofa's wide enough for three!" "Nice setup, Mark." "Really nice." "What do you mean, nice?" "Like the entire world." "It's nice, isn't it?" "Quit playing around." "What do you want?" "I know, Mark." "You can stop pretending." "What do you know?" "That you're the contact." "You found out?" "So what?" "I just wanted to tell you, Stiller knows." " Put him on." " Sure." "It's him." "But Stiller, it was clear from the start..." "What was clear?" "That Holm was to be Hartmann's contact." "The decision was mine." "Mine alone." "Hartmann's contact?" "Oh, God!" "What was that?" "He seems pretty screwy, our Fred." "He just walked out." "I think we can proceed." "Yes, I agree." "Hey, you?" "Are you OK?" "Is he dead?" "No, not exactly." "Hey, wake up!" "Right, he's not dead." "Thanks, I'm OK." "Mr. Siskins ordered me to take you home and look after you." "Come along." "Go back to work, it's over." "Wake up." "Breakfast's ready." "That's right, you're still here." "They're Mr. Siskins' orders." "They are." "Well, then..." "Got a cigarette?" "Thanks." "I think... therefore I am." "Right?" "Yes, I exist." "I can't be alone in thinking that nothing really exists." "Right." "For Plato, reality exists in the realm of ideas." "And Aristotle!" "He conceived of matter as passive non-substance that only becomes reality by thought." "Got a friend?" "What?" "Of course." "Good." "Let's suppose he disappears without a trace." "He's standing next to you, and suddenly he's gone." "But that's..." "We're just supposing." "So, you inform the police." "Next day, the papers run a story on it." "Suddenly everyone maintains this friend never existed." "So they maintain." "What would you tell them?" "Me?" "I'd tell them they're crazy." "After all, even the police..." "The police also say they never heard of him." "But it was in the papers." "According to you." "It's not there anymore." "There's something different." "I see." "You realize that I've given you a hot tip how to get yourself declared crazy." "In case you ever need it." "More coffee?" "No, thanks." "I'll take a shower." "I'm sure you all know the reason we're here." "Of course, we..." "The story in the News took us all by surprise, aroused our concern." "Mr. Siskins, I'd like to hear you answer the charges." "Certainly, Mr. Secretary of State." "To my regret, I must acknowledge that Simulacron 1 has been the object of misuse." "Mr. Holm will report on the situation." "Excuse me... but who is Mr. Holm?" "Mr. Holm is assistant to Mr. Stiller, our director." "I see." "So, well... during an inspection we discovered that a program completely unrelated to our research had been loaded into Simulacron." "And for what purpose?" "That's hard to say." "The answers obtained by this new program are meaningful only if one knows the questions." "I see, and..." "And the questions are known only to the programmer." "Who is?" "We're not absolutely sure yet." "But we have suspects in mind." "And they are?" "Mr. Holm, please." "Naturally, I can only report on things that I've seen for myself." "Draw your own conclusions." "Lately I've been doing a lot of testing at night and Dr. Stiller has always been at the computer." "Dr. Stiller?" "Several times he's thrown me out saying he wanted to be alone." "I asked what he was doing." "He said, "None of your business."" "I'm sure he'll deny it all." "Dr. Stiller?" "What do you have to say to these accusations?" "Which ones?" "That you were alone at the computer, and threw Holm out." "If he says so, it must be true." "I can't stand him." "Yes or no..." "Did you use the computer for unauthorized purposes?" "What if I did?" "What would it matter?" "Unheard of!" "Yes, unheard of!" "I hear... you." "I hear." "He's..." "Crazy." "Yes, he is." "Is he?" "Stop!" "Your cigarette..." "Are you sure that's a cigarette?" "It's..." "The idea of a cigarette." "You see?" "The real cigarettes are somewhere else." "Where real people sit on real chairs." "Is that a chair?" "Say, "It's a chair."" " It's a chair." " It's not a chair." "It's... the idea of an idea of an idea..." " The man is..." " Crazy." "We agreed on the term long ago." "What color's your coffee?" "It's brown." "Why is it brown?" "Because coffee's brown." "Isn't it?" "Of course." "Your coffee's not brown because coffee is brown." "But rather because somewhere outside this box" "there's real coffee that may be brown." "But it may be purple, too and some idiot made this stuff brown to laugh at us drinking brown coffee." "You're not a human, sir..." "Stop it." "You're nothing." "There's the rub." "Because nothing doesn't think it's secretary of state." "That's it." "Do you remember... who was it?" "Professor Vollmer, right." "A similar situation." "Still..." "Excuse me, but..." "I'm the psychologist at the Institute." "I've been observing Stiller for some time very closely." "He's suffering from a case of acute paranoia." "He's an extreme example of psychological degeneration." "He is, in so many words, not responsible for his actions." "I recommend he be put on leave immediately." "For treatment..." "I mean" "I'm certain he'll return to normal one day, perhaps." "Thank you, Hahn." "Thanks so much." "I think that would eliminate the problem, gentlemen." "Yes, indeed." "If Stiller..." "So he's not responsible, Hirse?" "No, definitely not." "For now I recommend Mr. Holm assume" "Stiller's responsibilities." "As you like." "You're still free to make personnel decisions." "Thank you, gentlemen." "I'd be grateful if you'd prepare a clarification for the press." "Of course." "Still, the parallel to..." "Professor Vollmer is quite baffling." "And now?" "Nothing, I'm on leave." "That's terrific." "There's no one in Holm's way." "So what?" ""So what"?" "You used to care about what happened to the computer." "That was then, this is now." "I can't figure you out." "Tell me..." "What are the limits to the perceptive faculties of our identity units?" "Listen, suppose we were beings who had been programmed in a computer." "We'd sit here, drinking whiskey." "We'd perceive what is in fact our imaginary world as if it were the real one." "Of course." "An electronically simulated environment would appear real to an electronic being." "Good." "And can glitches occur?" "It's possible, but not very." "And what would a glitch be like?" "A glitch?" "Here's a simple example:" "You're driving down a street that suddenly ends because it hasn't been fully programmed." "But after a few seconds the artificial being would see a completed street because the correcting software had kicked in." "It's obvious:" "What can't exist, doesn't." "Did you read my headline?" ""Director Suffers Nervous Breakdown"" " I don't like it." " Why not?" "It's too simple." "Stories written by life are never simple." "No?" "But truth is stranger than fiction." "Either way." "Two sides of the same coin." "You read it?" "What?" "The cable from Simon in Rome." "No, what's he say?" ""Never wrote about drugs in Rimini." "Besides, was sick at the time."" "That's impossible." "That's not all." "Naturally I asked what's in his edition of May 31." " Want to see?" " Give it to me." ""Mine reads 'Vanished into Thin Air'." "Hope that helps." "Christoph Simon."" "I must be going crazy." "I can't help think that" "Stiller's caught up in a massive intrigue." "Siskins must be a bigger gangster than I thought." "I brought your things." "That's very kind." "Fred, I'm so sorry." "About what?" "Your sick leave." "Especially since I'm partly to blame." "What do you mean?" "I've been spying for Siskins." "I was obliged to tell him all you said that night and everything else." "Of course." "I've known that for a long time." "But...?" "But I still like you." "Me, too." "Whiskey?" "Yes, please." "Does he pay you, or...?" "Or what?" "Do you love him?" "Both." "At least you're honest." "You're my type of man, well almost." "You're exactly my type of woman." "Siskins is exactly my type of man." "I can't bring myself to leave him." "Do you want to?" "I don't know." "Probably not." "I don't know if I could." "You can if you want." "That's a fairy tale." "Right." "I'm one of his puppets." "But what's even worse is..." "I love it." "At least at night." "Want to sleep with me?" "How's it going?" "We're running the analysis." "I hope you can interpret the data." "No need to insult me." "I don't want our friend Hartmann to make a bad investment." "I told you, you're not wanted here." "Beat it!" "This department is still my responsibility, Mr. Holm." "Don't be impertinent." "I'm not being impertinent." "Not at all." "I'm merely doing my job." "We'll decide what your job is, my good man." "You're mistaken there, my good man." "My contract contains a precise job description." "Contracts can be terminated." "Or broken, like Dr. Stiller's." "What's he got to do with it?" "Quite a bit, doesn't it?" " Does who?" " What?" "What, what?" "Besides, Stiller's on leave." "I see." "That's something else entirely." "What you did to him's scandalous..." "Watch it!" "Both of you." "But personally I'm curious why you're so intent on keeping me out of here." "Because you're incompetent, that's why." "That's the only reason." "And now, please, we're busy." "OK, my good man." "But you'll hear from me." "Good-bye, Mr. Siskins." "He's next." "You should watch what you say." "Why?" "There are employee committees, unions." "Don't forget that." "Alright, I'll do my best." "I hope so." "Finally!" "Make sure he doesn't stir up trouble." " Yes, sir." " Of course, Mr. Holm." "Tell me, Holm." "What about Stiller?" "If everything went according to plan, he's in a straightjacket right now." "My head!" "Yes, it's me." "What time is it?" "330." "Morning or afternoon?" "Afternoon." "Then we slept for 1 8 hours." "You slept for 1 8 hours." "I'll see who the idiot is." "Great." "Siskins' latest trick." " What?" " Ηave a look." "Hurry, you must get away." "I don't care." "They'll put you in a straightjacket!" "Maybe I belong in one." "Stop joking." "Hurry up!" "Take the fire escape." "What can I do for you?" "The madman." "Which madman?" "What do you mean?" "Stiller." "He lives here." "You mean Freddy?" "Yes, he is crazy... in bed, if you get my drift." "In bed?" "Crazy." "Definitely." "Let us by." "Or else..." "Alright, if you insist." "Eva!" "Open up, police!" "We know you're inside." "Stiller, don't make it any harder." "We'll break down the door." "Get in, you can't escape." "I'll take you to a room here." "No one will find you." "Thank you." "My God!" "You?" "Yes, me." "What's wrong?" "Don't you get it?" "It's him!" "The contact unit." "Of course, him!" "What an idiot I am!" "I fell for it!" "But Stiller..." "Hahn's been providing us information on IKZ for months." "What's the problem?" "Information?" "Yes." "On Siskins and the computer." "Then..." "Still suffering from your delusions?" "Delusions?" "Listen, Hahn." "I like Vollmer's delusions more and more." "Yeah, I know what you'll say..." "A madman finds proof everywhere." "Maybe I am crazy after all." "But..." "Vollmer died for a reason." "If he was right, God, or someone, help us!" "By the way, I got an answer from Italy." "You got..." "What did it say?" "You were right." "I was right." "Simon never wrote the article on the Rimini bust." "In his edition, the headline is "Vanished into Thin Air"." "What?" "It's troubling but we'll figure it out, don't worry." "When is the strike?" "What strike?" "The strike at IKZ." "You said..." "Oh, that." "I don't know." "Tomorrow or..." "What's wrong?" "Don't you feel well?" "Sure, I'm fine." "For now." "What strike?" "A certain Fritz Walfang has been organizing the workers." "To have you reinstated." "Reinstated?" "It's great: worker initiative, solidarity." "You should be proud." "None of it matters anymore." "You're right, Ηahn." "His nerves are completely shot." "Günther Lause?" "Chief of security at IKZ?" "Siskins' party." "Say something!" "Like what?" " We can't both be..." " Crazy?" "Why not?" "You're the expert." "Where are you going?" " I'm just going." " You can't go." "Why not?" "Every cop is carrying your picture." "Tell me... the story about your so-called contact unit..." "I just meant..." "I want to find out who's crazy... us, or everyone else." "Well now, that's what I call a noble motive." "Come with me, I'll smuggle you out." "Your only chance." "It's not Siskins, Holms, Gloria Fromm or Walfang..." "It can't be Rupp or you or me or Eva..." "That's ridiculous." "Eva Vollmer..." "Stop at that pay phone." "My God, where were you?" "I slept at your place, I climbed in through a window." "No, but I was worried." "OK, fine." "Could I see you, right now?" "Anywhere." "No, nothing urgent." "My God, I just want to see you." "I need you." "I'm not tense, I'm..." "Can you hear me?"