"Tell me, why are you here?" "I'm here to become a student." "I need to learn how to meditate, how to control my thoughts, and where they happen." "Why do you need to learn this?" "I've done something." "Something very bad." "And I need to set it right." "Let me take care of dinner tonight." "I've got an extra sausage." "How could I turn down charm like that?" "I'm serious." "I'm tired." "Yeah, but tonight, I mean." "I'll be more tired after work." "Let's go out, then." "You work too much." "We could ask your mom to take care of Lana." "We could go to that Thai place that you really like." "Fine." "Won't the paper burn when it explodes?" "It's not that kind of explosion." "We're going to make a chemical reaction." "What's a chemical reaction?" "It's kind of like magic." " Cool." " Yeah." "There you go, Grams." "Let's roll, gangsta." "What, what!" " Seriously?" " Shut up." "Such a dork." "For example, the subject is asked to think about Marilyn Monroe." "My study suggests not only conscious control in the hippocampus and parahippocampal cortex..." "Hey, did you hear about the new bioengineering transfer?" "My friend's in her class." "He says on a scale of one to ten, she's a lemniscate." "But also..." "Mr. Thorogood, perhaps you could enlighten us all with Ryan's gossip or tell us what else we can conclude with this study?" "We can conclude that all neurosurgeons are in love with Marilyn Monroe." "A single neuron has not only the ability to carry complex code and abstract form but is also able to override sensory input through cognitive effort." "It suggests thought is a stronger reality than the world around us." "Unfortunately," "I think you're both correct." "Dude, that's bullcrap." "I'm telling you, man, brains out-duels brawn every time." "It's not just brawn." "He's the most powerful character in any universe." "He's unbeatable." "Except for kryptonite." "Blanket?" "He could only win if he fought dirty." "If Supes took a sucker punch, it'd be over just as easy." "Say, no warning, they're both just teleported into a cage match." "It doesn't matter." "Batman keeps kryptonite in his utility belt." "Man, oh, man, give me some gloves." "Those Bunsen burners are too hot to handle." "Dude, did you just see that?" "See what?" "She totally just checked me out." "I'm gonna go talk to her." "Not now." "I'm..." "Hey." "I'm Ryan." "I know." "We have chemistry together." "Slow down." " David Thorogood?" " Yeah?" "You missed your rent payments for November and January." "I'm here to collect." "No, I-I talked to Stan." "He's--he's our landlord, and he" "He handed the situation over to us." "No, he said" "You owe 5,690." "Late fees included." "Um..." "Is that a new computer, David?" "Ah, damn it." "David, I'd like you to meet Jordan." "Hi." "Dave's my best friend, business partner, and the second smartest person I know after yours truly." " Nice to meet you." " Dude, what are you doing?" "Just wait a minute." "I know what you're going to say." "I-I'm sorry." "We have to talk for just a minute." " Do you mind waiting outside?" " Sorry, babe, one sec." "You told her about our research." "Well, yeah, 'cause she's assigned" "You just met this girl." "If it gets out that" " I know" " You're the one that said it has to stay secret to remain valuable." "It's fine." "I understand I said" "If the school finds out-- if they even suspect," "I cannot afford to lose my financial aid." " You said" " I know what I said." "My own wife doesn't even know what we're doing." "No--no girls, man." "That was your rule." "All she's gotta do is make one phone call to administration..." "She's not gonna make a phone call." "About some missing equipment, unauthorized experiments, and that's it." "We're done!" "Everything all right with Mel?" "You want to tell me what's really going on?" "Shut up." "Now will you just listen for a minute, okay?" "Jordan might just look like a hot body, but she's assigned to Professor Hamamoto's experiments with ATP powered, cell-powering nanotube devices." "Let's give her a peek, see what she says." "We'll make her sign a nondisclosure agreement and the whole nine yards, okay?" "She doesn't know we've borrowed lab equipment, so you don't have to worry about that." "I've seen this before." "Accuracy takes a nose dive once the word library goes over 80 or 90 words." "We're averaging almost 90% accuracy." "Most EEG nets track less than 100 neurons." "My compact electrode design lets us track almost 1,000." "How many words does it recognize?" "2,486." "Holy shit." "Military applications are obvious, right?" "DARPA's been trying to get this to work for years." "Cell phones themselves will become obsolete." "But we are nowhere near there yet." "It's tedious-- it's like training voice-recognition software from scratch with a stutterer." "Yeah." "And response time is slow." "Exactly." "It's" "Your mind can have a dozen thoughts in a millisecond, but it takes you five seconds to say," ""Hi, sexy"?" " It's not perfect." " It's crap." "You're proud of measuring 1,000 neurons?" "You're trying to read the contents of an entire library by walking through the aisles." "You gotta open the books to know what's really going on inside." "Look, we're not neurosurgeons." "You don't need surgery." "You need nanotubes." "We can create molecular electrodes by embedding carbon nanotubes into microscopic transistors that can bond with every neuron in your brain." "So you can decode signal from 1,000 electrodes, so what?" "What are you gonna do with 100 billion?" "I told you." "Next suggestion." "Yes, sir." "Sit." "Good boy, Bubba." "Good boy." "Oh, hi." " Who are you?" " I'm Jordan." "Oh, you must be David's wife." "David?" "Yeah?" "David?" "Hey, Mel, you look amazing." "Who is that?" "Um... it's Ryan's friend." "She's helping us out now." "Well, are you ready?" "Listen, um, we had a significant breakthrough." "Things are just changing so fast." "We really need this right now, like" "So?" "Could we just--could we just do this another night, please?" "Yeah, sure." "It wasn't a big deal anyway." "You look really nice." "Did you get a haircut?" "Hey, man." "How's it going?" "I'm just getting something to drink." "Uh, you need a ride home or something?" "Nah, it's cool actually." "I think Jordan can take me." "Uh, so how's your grandma doing?" "It is what it is." "If I could afford a doctor, they'd probably find a million things wrong with her." "You know what?" "Why don't you take some fruit for her?" "Come on, man." "You don't have to do that." "Ah, it's fine." "Here." "We're gonna bust this thing open soon." "You know that?" "You know it." "Got you some carne asada, Grams." "No, I ate." "They're beautiful." "All right." "Let's do this." "Um, where did this come from again?" "Stop stalling." "You should feel numb pretty quick." "Why do I have to do the injections again?" "Because, if we need a second test subject," "I don't want you injecting me without practicing first." "Here you go." "Holy crap, that's big." " That's what she said." " Really?" "That's your contribution to this situation right now?" "Relax, man, you're gonna screw up if you're all tense like that." "Just get ready." " I'm ready." " Okay." " Give me your hand." " Okay." " You feel those two bumps?" " Yeah." "Those are his L-three and L-four vertebrae." "You want to stick the needle in the space just between those two." "You should feel a give right away, otherwise you're in the wrong spot." "Okay." "I can't do this." "I don't like this." "The computers I could justify somehow." "They've got tons of computers." "Well, you didn't like injecting me blind either, now, did you?" "This will let you see what you're doing." "We should be doing this at night." "It's more suspicious at night." "Plus everything's locked up." "Don't worry." "No one would ever expect a fluoroscope to be stolen." "Somebody's definitely gonna notice when it's gone." "That was easy." "Grab the blanket." "How you doing?" "You're insane." "Hey, kiddo, I think it's time for you to paint your volcano." "Will you paint it with me?" "I tell you what, how about you paint it, and then later I can show you how to make it explode?" "Okay." "All right." "Here you go." " You got it?" " Mm-hmm." "Awesome." "Shouldn't we be wearing lead vests or something?" "Probably." " All right." " Thanks." "You know what you're doing?" "Yeah." "Just, uh, talk about something else, so I don't get all freaked out, okay?" "We can do that." " So..." " Mm-hmm." "Ryan, why don't we ever go to your place?" "I only bring girlfriends to my place." "You don't want me to be your girlfriend?" "Mm." "I live in a tiny studio apartment with my grandma." "Not exactly the glamorous lifestyle." "What about your parents?" "My mom died when I was 16." "I'm sorry." "What happened?" "She'd been sick for a long time." "It was one of those awesome, slow, agonizing cancers." " What was that?" " No, it's okay." "You broke through the arachnoid matter." "It means you're in." "Keep talking." "My, uh, dad..." "Remarried about a month later." "Turned out he'd been cheating the whole time." "Told me he had a new family now and that his dead wife's kid and grandma were no longer his responsibility." "That's it." "Done." "Thanks for telling me that." "Whatever, I was just trying to keep Dr. Pansy over here from cracking under the pressure." "No, you weren't." "How long does he have to hang like that?" "Long enough for gravity to take the nanotubes into his brain." "And, uh, how long is that?" "I don't know." "No one's ever done this before." "You're back." "Just for a little bit." "I'm picking up Angela's shift later." "Um..." "Where's-- where's Lana?" "She's in the bathroom." "She was covered in paint." "Where is the TV?" "We needed it in the garage." "Right." "Okay, I'll admit it." "If this thing works, I'll be thoroughly impressed." "And don't you forget it." "But if it cooks my brain, you just remember my glory days." "Yeah." "Spent in a garage playing with yourself." "Okay, how are we gonna know that this thing is working?" "Ryan's thoughts should appear on this output screen here." "Let's start the party!" "All right, here we go." "Please, God, don't let him die." "Ryan?" "Ryan?" " You okay?" " I'm fine." "Careful with that." "Okay, what just happened?" "The array struggled to enumerate the number of electrode cycles flowing through, let alone to analyze the input frequencies." "I'll have to apportion the feed to sector designated processors before we're even able to fathom a conscious filter algorithm." "It means it worked." "Whoo!" "Sir, it's one of the university leads." "They've shown progress." "That'll be all, Gates." "Next suggestion:" ""Kill the dog."" "Suggest:" ""I want to kill the dog."" ""I must kill my dog."" ""I have to kill my dog." "My life depends on it."" "We need something new." "Trace..." "Track..." "Traction..." "Tractor..." "Trade..." "Trademark..." "Tradition..." "Well, the system, it isn't crashing, which is really good news." "How is any of this good news?" "That we found a couple of words in the feed." "It's just--it's just way more data than we thought." "It's just going to take time to decode, that's all." "How much time?" "Months?" "Years?" "I don't know." "It has to happen live." "Real time." "What's the point of a machine that reads your thoughts a year after you have them?" "It'd make a pretty nifty diary." "Damn it!" "I'm not kidding." "Okay, a full night's worth of data, and all you've got is..." ""Hippopotamus"?" ""Menstruate"?" "I need an aspirin." "Look, man, I'm--I'm sorry." "There's just not a machine fast enough to decode human thought in real time." "It just--just doesn't exist." "Well, there is one." "No." "The brain is the world's fastest computer." " Nothing else is even close." " No." "No, no, no." " Yes." " No." "The only thing fast enough to decode the human brain is the human brain." "What's the worst that could happen?" "Worst-case scenario, it's too much activity, completely fries your cortex, and you lose all cognitive ability." "Relax." "It's gonna be fine." "It's only a one-way connection." "I'll hear her thoughts." "So, uh, what do you think of Jordan?" "So what, are you guys, like, officially dating now?" "No, no, nothing's happened yet." "But I like her." "Like, I think she could be" "I don't know, something." "She's cool, right?" "Ready?" "Damn." "Just try to think simple, clear thoughts." "What does that mean?" "Uh, I-I have no idea." " Whoa." " You okay?" "Fine." "I just got dizzy for a second." "Just try and clear your mind." "It's a blank slate." " Ten seconds." " Don't stop it early." "Okay." "Don't think about DARKBIRD." "I know what you want." "I understand what you've been through." "It's okay." "Touch me, Ryan." "Love me." "Feel me." "I want it too." "Don't let him find out." "Ryan?" "Ryan, can you hear me?" "Are you okay?" " I'm great." " What happened?" " It worked." " Yeah, but what was it like?" " Better than sex." "Ladies and gentlemen..." "We have just invented telepathy." "Guys, she said she wanted no cheese on the salad, and the burger's supposed to be well done." "Don't look at me." "I wrote it down." " Yeah." " Rough night?" "Yeah." "Wake me when it's over." "Just getting started, girl." "Honestly, man," "I thought we killed you, and then I went through the seven stages of grief in, like, half a second, and then I was like" "David, what is this?" "Hey, we're having a party!" "What are you doing?" "Get off of me!" "What is this?" "What does it mean?" "It means we're being evicted." "I thought you were calling the landlord." "What are you celebrating?" "That's what she said." "That doesn't even make any sense." "Come here, sweetie." "How long do you have?" "Two weeks." "So what are we gonna do?" "Get a finished product before then." "Blueberries are my favorite." "It's our secret what happened." "I hope he doesn't find out." "Keep it a secret." "Take my body, David." "That's enough." " Oh." " I'm so sorry." " It's okay." " I didn't mean to scare you." "They said they had a pot of coffee on." "Do you mind if I..." "Sure." "What's this?" "We're going around in circles." "I need results." "You're not giving me results." "Well, we're making steady progress." "Every practical application has failed." "What do you mean "practical application"?" "You're not field testing." "We--we're nowhere near ready." "Exactly." "We're no closer today than we were a year ago." "What am I looking at?" "The next phase." "DARKBIRD II." "Looks like a couple of Caltech students cracked the nut before you could." "Well, the likelihood of that is minimal at best." "Unlikely things happen all the time, Doctor." "We make a business of it." ""When she thought about it afterward, it occurred to her that she ought to have wondered at this."" ""However, when the rabbit took a watch" ""out of his waistcoat pocket," ""Alice stood silent, watching him." ""Suddenly, she brightened up." "'Look!" "Look!" "' she cried."" " Damn it!" " Look." "I need the money more than anybody, but it's just not ready yet." "I talked to some guys who graduated a while back." "They know these venture capitalists" "Ryan!" "It's not ready, okay?" "Like this whole page." "I don't remember any of this page." "Yeah." "I don't even remember reading this, really." "Okay, so maybe you're reading automatically." "What do you mean?" "We're tapping the part of the brain that we think is processing metacognition." "Yeah, but if I glazed over" "The words keep coming out because you know how to read instinctively." "Right." "And instead, whatever it is you're really thinking goes through the wire." "Dad?" "Yeah?" "Can you show me how to make my volcano explode?" "Sorry, kiddo, look, we're just really busy right now." "But the science fair is Friday." "Okay." "Look, I promise I'll show you how to make it work before then." "Okay?" "Okay." "Yeah, I'm a little more than slightly nervous." "Don't worry." "Grams actually loves visitors." "Am I dressed okay?" "Um... maybe just button up your sweater or something." "Ah, let me have it." "Okay, now," "It's tiny and probably a mess." "You have to promise not to judge, okay?" " I promise." " Good." "Now just wait right here a sec." "I need to let Grams know you're coming." "She doesn't know I'm coming?" "Grams, I brought a friend over." "Think you can get up for a bit?" "Grams, there's someone I want you to meet." "I don't have that kind of money." "That's the absolute bare minimum." "We can't do it for any less than that." "I don't have any money." "Isn't there any family that could" "There's no family, mm-mm." "I'm the only family." "Thanks, baby." "I guessed the jelly beans." "Professor Thompson wanted to prove the jelly bean experiment." "You know, like we're in fourth grade or something." "2,486." "I won two free movie passes." "I want you guys to go, right now." "Take a break." "I don't like this." "Are you even going to talk to me about the other day?" "No." "No, I'm not." "Doug, nice to meet you in person." "Welcome to our humble laboratory." "This is Jordan." "Let's cut to the chase." "You made some pretty outrageous claims on the phone, and I don't like my time wasted." "But Jerry vouched for you, so here I am." " Let's see it." " Okay." "Sure." "Of course." "But you can't really just see it." "You need to experience it, which means we need to administer a small injection into your cerebrospinal fluid." "Go ahead." " Um, sir." " Is it safe?" " Completely." " So go ahead, then." "You're gonna have to take off your shirt." "Do you want to see what we've been working on?" "So we're actually going to be able to talk to each other with our minds?" "Not exactly." "If we both listen to each other's thoughts at the same time, it could create a circular feedback loop." "Meaning?" "Meaning if I was listening to your thoughts listening to my thoughts listening to your thoughts and on and on and on and on, then it could create a resonance, like when you hold a microphone too close to a speaker." "So I'm just gonna hear your thoughts then." "Right." "You ready?" "I guess." "I love you so much, baby." "Everything I do is for you and Lana." "This should fix things." "We should have done this sooner." "I shouldn't have scared her with the feedback loop." "Everything I do is for you and Lana." "What was I thinking?" "I hope you know that." "Hopefully she doesn't see anything about Jordan." "This is going to change the world." "Everything is going to be okay now." "Don't think about Jordan." " How was it?" " Get it off." "Get it off." " Get it off." " Okay, okay, okay, there." "It's off." "What happened?" "What did you do?" "What do you mean?" "What happened?" " I saw her." " Saw who?" "Saw what?" " Tell me!" " I saw Jordan!" "You had sex with her." "That--that is not true." "Don't lie to me." "You can't lie to me." "I saw it!" "Oh, God, I saw it in your head." " Mel." " My God." "I kept telling myself that I was crazy, that it was-- it was nothing" "Melanie, it wasn't real." "It was real." "I felt it." "You probably felt a lot of things." "30 thoughts a second are flying into your mind." "Anything that pops into my consciousness, no matter how fleeting, you feel it, as if it was real." "Just stop it!" "Stop it." "This whole time" "I thought that our biggest issue was your prima donna bullshit, and now" "I have never done anything with her." "Never." "I've just" "I've just thought about it." "No." "I don't believe you." "Ryan, David, you mind staying for a moment?" "You know, a half dozen computers have up and vanished in the last couple of years." "Couple of weeks ago, half a fluoroscopy table went missing." "And then last night, at one of the galas that we host," "I got to talking to an entertaining young fellow, and he told me a story about an invention that's going to change everything, about unauthorized experimentation, and seriously dangerous, extremely unethical human testing." "You're both expelled." "What just happened?" "I don't know, man." "We better clear out your garage." "Ryan, come on." "Who was he talking about?" "How did he know?" "I don't know." "We got blitzed." " Your AC's busted." " How did he know?" "Look, you're obsessed with testing, so while you were gone the other night," "I had this VC guy come over, and I pitched him the project." "You did what?" "I needed the cash." "I'm sorry." "You needed the cash." "Yes, I needed the cash." "Oh, shit." "Please wait there, sir." "I said stop!" "David, what is going on?" " David Thorogood?" " Are you okay?" "You stole everything?" "Stop, now!" "Ryan." "Ryan Cates." "Fuck." "Wait." "How about this one?" "You want to read me the serial number?" " You can't take those." " You'd be mistaken about that." "No, I mean what's on those computers." "I own what's on those computers." "David Thorogood... you're under arrest." " Look, I'm sorry." " No." "Stop, I don't want to hear another word coming out of your mouth." "Fine." "I'm getting evicted, and you cashed in behind my back?" "I know you were stealing food out of my fridge." "Who does that?" "Who steals groceries?" "Bail's been posted, lover boys." "You're free to go." "Grams died." "I couldn't even afford a casket." "Hey, boys." "Let's go." "Ryan, wait." "Ryan, come on." "Hello?" "David." "Hi, Sharon." "How are you?" "Is Melanie here?" "No, she did say that she didn't want to see you." "Hey, kiddo!" "Get back inside, Lana." "It's okay, Mom." "What did you tell Lana?" "Nothing." "Her volcano didn't explode at the science fair, so she's pretty upset." " I'm sorry." " Don't tell me." "So what, they let you out already?" "We posted bail." "How'd that happen?" "Jordan had some savings, I guess." "Of course." "Mel..." "I really need you right now." "No, it looks like she's taking care of you just fine." " You know that's not true." " No, I don't, actually." "We get officially evicted tomorrow." "Yup." "Look..." "I think it's time that we just stop forcing this, just face the truth." "And we both know that if it wasn't for Lana, we would have never gotten married, and I just think that..." "We should just stop torturing ourselves and just move on." "So, for you, our marriage has just been torture?" "Come on." "You know what I mean." "You cannot tell me that you've actually enjoyed the last few years." "I have enjoyed every moment we've spent together." "Oh, my God." "I can't do this!" "I can't have you here." "I can't have you come here tomorrow." "I just-- I need some time, okay?" "So can you" "I don't know, can you stay with Ryan or something?" "Yeah, sure." "Whatever you need." "I just need to know we're gonna be okay." "No, we're not!" "You can't have it both ways." "You can't spend all of your time working on your crazy experiments and expect your marriage to work too." "You have to sacrifice something." "I know." "So what is more important?" "Changing the world..." "Or changing us?" "What's going on?" "Oh, man." "What are you doing?" "Just taking what's mine." "This stuff is both of ours." "No." "The computers and programming supplies, those were yours." "The head patches, those are mine." "The nanotubes and med supplies, those are Jordan's." "Why didn't you tell me about your grandma?" "You know what the best part about it is?" "Now that we're bypassing your BCI and connecting brain to brain directly, we don't even need a programmer anymore!" " Ryan, don't do this." " Yeah, come on, this is stupid." " We can" " You stay out of it!" "Look, I get it, okay?" "You've been abandoned by every important person in your life." "Death sucks." "Your dad's an idiot." "It's why you cut ties with anyone before they can hurt you." "It's why you go through girls so fast, it's why you got an investor behind my back, and it's why you're leaving now." "You think that reading my thoughts" "No, it's because you're my friend." "That's how I know." "I'm not going anywhere, okay?" "I'm not gonna die, leave, or secretly betray you somehow, I promise." "Just" "Just stay." "Ryan!" "Please." "Are you driving, or am I walking?" " I'm sorry." " Just drive, okay?" "Package one is in the red sedan on Lunada Place." "You're back." "Couldn't do it." "Wasn't right, what he did to you." "Whatever." "Doesn't matter, it's the least of my worries now." "Yeah." "I guess you're right." "Well, I'm sure you boys got some questions." "Who are you?" "My name's Harry Matthews," "Executive Director of Operation DARKBIRD." "DARKBIRD?" "Brain Information Reconnaissance Directive." "We work out of the Clandestine Information Technology Office." "Oh, shit." "You're a spy?" "I'm sorry." "How did you" "What's her real name?" "Jordan Rose." "Are you sure?" "Yeah, we're pretty sure." " Where are we?" " KPYL Chemical." "Undercover research facility in Washington, D.C." "We'd like to offer you boys employment with the company." "Is kidnapping your usual recruitment method these days?" "Nah." "Not usually." "But the ability to read minds is obviously a matter of urgent national security." "How did you find us?" "Six months ago." "You hacked into our CITO network, and you downloaded our most advanced EEG analysis software." "You thought we didn't notice." "We did." "Most of the biggest breakthroughs happen off the radar." "Can she not talk anymore?" "I'd prefer it if she stopped talking." "The company cannot afford to be behind the curve." "What, so you sent in spies?" "Yeah, we're the CIA." "That's what we do." "We've been funding BCI research for quite some time, but codes of ethics tend to slow down our government operations." "We strictly avoid any dangerous human experimentation." "Yeah, but why did you wait so long to bring us in?" "It's hard to capture lightning in a bottle twice." "We usually just let these projects go until the well dries up." "But Jordan convinced us that you boys might be of use to us here at DARKBIRD." "So...here we are." "If it's still an option, I think I'll just leave." "I won't tell anyone what I know." "My lips are sealed." " Sit down." " No." "I don't care what your pitch is." "I can't work with either of these people." "You can't work with--you're the one that we can't trust!" "Don't start lecturing me on trust again, okay?" "I don't care what you've been through anymore." "It doesn't give you free license to be a backstabbing bastard." "Tell me how you really feel-- wait, actually, why don't you tell me about this software you hacked?" "It wouldn't have mattered if you could stop chasing ass for five seconds." "Okay, stop." "It wasn't his fault." "If you want to blame someone, blame me." "I do." "Your Bond girl act ruined my marriage." "Oh, your marriage was shit long before she came into the picture." "Stop it!" "Don't!" "Stop it!" "Oh, my God." "Get up." "Oof!" "Ow!" "Here's the offer." "First, I'm gonna clear your name of all criminal charges." "Second, I'm gonna write down a fair salary right here on this piece of paper." "Third, you nancies get to continue your little science fair project with virtually unlimited resources." "We don't really have a choice, do we?" "No." "Double the salary." "The two of you will have a team of scientists assigned to your departments, and you'll report directly to Dr. Selph." "Dr. Nicolas Selph?" "The one and only." "Dr. Selph, hi." "I'd like to introduce you to David Thorogood and Ryan Cates." "It's a pleasure to meet you, sir." "Your paper on the neuromechanics of thought origination changed my life." "It's the reason I'm here today." "Kiss ass." "Well, thank you." "We've had a chance to take a good look at your work on thought decoding." "And you must be the brain interface expert." "We're very impressed with your work around here also." "Thank you, sir." "You know, my head patches really bypass the need for any thought decoding work." "Is David even really necessary on this project?" "Mom?" "Yeah, baby?" "I miss Dad." "Hey, Jordan." "Hey." "What's this?" "Ryan got wireless working on the new head patches." " Crazy." " Mm-hmm." "You know what's going on?" "I guess someone is coming down hard on Matthews about security." "Apparently the DST found out about our breakthrough, and they're trying to keep a tight lid on it." "Everyone's throwing "national security" around like a hot potato." "So what are they doing?" "It's Matthews' solution." "It's kind of obvious, actually." "Every scientist working on this project from here on out is going to get a dedicated Listener, making sure there are no spies in the room." "They're turning our own technology against us." "The experiment's results show that prolonged" "Two-way connection carries a severe risk" "Recognize patterns in the code." "See, the subject might think-- might think "shoot," right?" "But is he thinking about a gun, a camera, a basketball" "How am I supposed to work knowing that Listener's hearing every thought going through my head?" "This is insane." "This isn't right." "Right." "Got it." "We are all being violated." "Yeah." "He was thinking about a gun." "Oh." "Sorry, sir." "That's all right." "It's not easy." "David, how are you?" "I'm all right." "Still weirded out by the Red Room and all the Listeners keeping watch all the time." " It's creepy." "Yes, it's quite scary, where all this is headed." "Can't believe they've got you under surveillance." "What did you mean, sir?" "It's scary where all this is headed?" "Damn that Ryan." "Spends more time groping my scientists than doing any real work." "How did you do it?" "I don't like this." "I mean, we were plugged into your brain every day and never had any idea that you were even thinking something else." "I'm not actually a nymphomaniac, okay?" "It's as simple as that." "I have to see that file." "Plus, thinking one thing and actively doing another?" "You're talking about forcing metacognition in a different part of the brain, and you know that's impossible." "Buddhist monks can do it." "They can consciously control their blood pressure, change their body temperature just by meditating." "I can't afford suspicious thoughts creeping into my head at work." "Do you think Ryan will ever forgive me?" "I've never seen him let go of a grudge." "But if he was to forgive anybody, it'd probably be you." "I love blueberries." "They taste so delicious." "They're full of anthocyanins." "They taste like blue spectacularness." "They're really good in muffins, pancakes." "Blueberries in scones." "You can put 'em in your" "Blueberries?" " Really?" " I was just" "It's better if you don't make an excuse." "Really?" "There's a life-or-death emergency at the Lincoln Memorial?" "If they're reading our thoughts at work, it's a pretty sure bet they're bugging our apartments too." "Don't say anything you don't want my Listener to hear later." "I stole this file from work." "Okay, I'm leaving." "They launched a new operation." "They've got a plan for every kid in America to get a nanotube injection just like any other vaccine before they start grade school." "That's great." "Everyone's gonna need injections." "Soon enough, anything electronic is gonna have a brain user interface." "That's not the real motive!" "Okay, then how about locked-in patients?" "Laryngeal cancer?" "Children with autism?" "15 million Americans have some kind of communication disorder, and we're going to put an end to all of that." "Hell, we've already done it, man." "The bomb's gone off." "Come on, man, you've seen how it is at work." "Every contradicting thought has become a crime." "The whole world is gonna be like that." "The Red Room was my idea." "What?" "Look, they didn't un-invent the cell phone just because the FBI could listen in on your calls." "Do you know why they've got my team decoding the entirety of human thought?" "Yeah, so I can tweet without a keyboard." "Implanting." "That's the endgame." "The power to implant thoughts." "Into a person, a group, an entire population." "They'll sell it to the world as the power to communicate, and then they'll have complete power to control." "The CIA won't need to stage a coup to rig an election across the planet." "Hell, they could turn any one of us into an undercover assassin whenever they wanted, and they would do it all from a computer in a lab, right here." "Matthews lied--they've been testing on humans for months." "They were stuck, and we just unlocked it all for them." "This is a cure for war." "Do you realize how many lives this will save?" "It's too much power." "This work, everything that we're doing-- this is the end of freedom." "No, it's not." "It's the birth of freedom." "Go ahead." "Hello?" "His phone." "It's in his apartment, but he's not answering." " Check his car." " It's on the move." " Where to?" " Not here." "Why isn't he here?" " Who?" " Santa Claus!" " Don't ask me." " He's your best friend." " Not anymore." " What'd you say to him?" "Hey, the boy's a couple of minutes late." "Cut him some slack." "I want you to go find him." "He's not my responsibility." "Send a field agent." "He's headed to the airport." " I'll go." " Not alone, you're not." "We're bringing the cavalry." "Daddy!" "Oh!" " You're heavy!" "No more growing up without me." "Hi." "Where'd the car come from?" "It's a company car." " We need to talk." " I know, but not with Lana." "We can't talk at home either." "I looked up the venture capitalist that Ryan talked to." "He died in a car accident the same night we were kidnapped." "His assistant too." "I can't go back to work, no matter what happens." "If they knew what I wanted to do..." "What is it that you want to do?" "I have to stop it, just end it all somehow." " Dave!" " What?" "It's the CIA!" "I mean, what are you gonna do?" "I don't know." "Find a recipe in The Anarchist" "Daddy, watch me!" "Look, um..." "I'm sorry." "I really am." "I'm sorry you're so stressed." "I am not just stressed out, okay?" "Look, I didn't come out here to work this out." "I came here to get a divorce." " Mommy?" " It's okay, baby." "You're late for work." "So you're gonna shoot me?" "We didn't know where you were." "So you come with all this?" " Daddy?" " It's okay, baby." "They're not gonna hurt you." "Looks like this was just a miscommunication, sir." "I think David forgot to call in a sick day." "You haven't used all your sick days yet, have you, David?" "No." "Well, good thing you're a government employee and not a prison inmate, because government employees get sick days." "Look, I need you to know that David never laid a finger on me." "You wanted me to leave him." "You were expendable at the time." "I was trying to save your life." "He's a good man." "Be there for him." "Whoa, cool!" "This is actually really nice." "You've been getting the money I've been sending, right?" "Yes." "Thank you for that." " Hey, Dave?" " Yeah?" "Look, maybe I started too soon with all this divorce stuff." "Can you turn that down?" " No." " Why not?" "They can hear us." "Who?" "I need to get out of here, now." "Well, can we maybe just talk for a second first, please?" "Dave!" "Dave!" "Call Matthews." "I'm going up." "You and Lana need to get as far away from me as possible." "Where are you gonna go?" "I think I have a plan, but it's better if you don't know." "Daddy, it's loud!" "I love you more than anything in the entire world." "Don't forget that, okay?" "I can't hear you!" "I should've taken you on that date." "I know." "Where is he?" "Close your eyes." "Breathe deeply." "Clear your mind." "With each breath, your troubles leave you." "Your worries leave you." "Let go of your thoughts." "Let go of your body." " Feel only your heart." "Your mind is clear." " There is only your heart." "Beating..." "and beating..." "And beating." "And now... let go of your heart." "What happened?" "You fainted." "It's a good sign." "The right action for the wrong reason is still wrong." "The wrong action for the right reason is no more right." "You know that place between thinking about something and actually doing it?" "I've been there." "It's where free will happens, and..." "It's in danger." "If you go now, you will lose all that you have gained." "Then such is my sacrifice." "Holy shit." "Not quite." "Just semi-holy." "You look ridiculous with my haircut." "How's Jordan?" "I've been carrying this around for two weeks now, just waiting for the timing to be right." "Wow." "It's a little soon, don't you think?" "A lot's changed since you've been gone." "I'm the head of the lab now, just under Dr. Selph." "And me and Jordan, we're happy." "We're really happy, so now I gotta be willing to step up to the plate, right?" "That's great, man." "I'm really happy for you." "So you gonna tell me why you're here?" "I want to go back to work." "Good luck with that!" "Man, it was chaos when you disappeared, a full-on manhunt." "They planted stories in the news, saying you'd done all sorts of horrible things, trying to get people to turn you in." "Forget about coming back." "They hate you." "They're going to throw you in jail." "Or worse." "There has to be a way." "This is all I'm good at." "There's nothing else for me." "It has been slow as hell since you left." "I mean, we could definitely use you, but I think they're just as likely to shoot you on sight as to talk to you." "I'll take my chances." "Yeah." "Hello, David." "Long time." "Well, at least they didn't shoot you." "Not yet." "I took a bus to New York." "Hacked into a couple college student databases, ran them through facial recognition software until I found a kid at NYU that was a pretty close match." "I gave him 10 grand for his passport, no questions asked." "Since then, I've been living in a Buddhist temple, trying to find a new reason to live." "All over a broad?" "I never took you for the romantic type." "You never know what type you are until you lose the thing most important to you." "We need him." "He's the best BCI programmer on the planet." "I don't trust him." "We'll be listening to every thought that goes through his head." "David!" "David!" "Oh." "Can't believe you're back!" " He asked you." " Yeah." "Isn't it amazing?" "Congratulations." "What's he thinking?" "I think there's something wrong with my head link, sir." "What's happening?" "There's almost no activity." "This can't be right." "Connection looks good." "Everything should be working." "Get out of the way." "Get out!" "There's this background noise that sounds almost like a heartbeat, but all he seems to be thinking is" ""Breathe in and breathe out."" "Jordan!" "Your head patch!" "No!" "This?" "This is why you came back?" "I had to do it." "There's no other way." "Ryan, listen to me." "The information in our brains, it's too dangerous." "Open up a head link." "A one-way connection." "I want you to know what I'm feeling." "How could you do this to me?" "It's okay if you kill me." "It's the knowledge in both of our heads that has to die." "You've taken everything from me." "I said you've taken everything from me!" " She's not dead." " She might as well be." "You really thought you could undo all of it, just like that?" "We never meant to create a weapon." "You're the one using it as a weapon!" "This was your big plan?" "Come in here and nuke all our brains?" "Look at them." "What are you gonna tell his parents?" ""Sorry, your brilliant son is a vegetable now, but don't worry, it was for the greater good"?" "Is this the greater good?" "Enter the command for a feedback loop." "Don't hit Enter." "Back away." "You want to erase my brain?" "Well, I want to blow yours out." "Draw on the count of three." "Freeze!" "Put the gun down!" "Well, here it is, Dave." " Brains versus brawn." " Don't do this." "Put the gun down now, or we'll shoot!" "One... two... three!"