Chimera/Transcript

Helen Magnus and Nikola Tesla become trapped in a virtual Old City Sanctuary world at the mercy of the evil avatar of Adam Worth.
== Cold open ==
=== Teaser sequence ===
EXT. - ESTABLISHING SHOT - OLD CITY SANCTUARY - NIGHT
INT. - OLD CITY SANCTUARY - UPPER LEVEL - RESIDENTIAL HALLWAY - NIGHT
[A Praxian spiderbot roams around that hallways, eventually arriving at a bedroom door.]
INT. - OLD CITY SANCTUARY - UPPER LEVEL - MAGNUS'S BEDROOM - NIGHT
[Spiderbot warbles softly.]
MAGNUS:Got you, beastie.
INT. - OLD CITY SANCTUARY - UPPER LEVEL - HENRY'S RESEARCH LAB - NIGHT
MAGNUS:I wouldn't have woke you up if it wasn't a real emergency.
HENRY:It's fine. I was having this wild dream, though. Erika was dressed as Princess Leia, and I was doing this thing with my light saber--
MAGNUS:Aah! Security camera footage, please?
HENRY:Yes. Okay, coming online now. Oh, the little bugger.
MAGNUS:Took the words right out of my mouth.
HENRY:It's going into Will's room.
MAGNUS:So I wasn't its first stop of the evening. Fast forward. Your bedroom.
HENRY:Oh no.
[realization dawns on him]
HENRY:Aw, man. Did that thing...?
MAGNUS:One way to be sure.
HENRY:Yeah, but wouldn't I have woken up?
MAGNUS:Well, not necessarily. The device administers a local anesthetic before it punctures the skin.
HENRY:Damn little brain sucker...
[Magnus checks the back of Henry's head and finds puncture wounds]
MAGNUS:Oh, dear.
== Title sequence ==
== Act I ==
INT. - OLD CITY SANCTUARY - UPPER LEVEL - WILL'S BEDROOM - NIGHT
"CHIMERA"
WILL:Again? You've gotta be kidding me.
MAGNUS:I wish I were.
WILL:But it already sucked my brain once.
MAGNUS:Well, it was interrupted, if you recall.
WILL:Invisible albino ninjas. How could I forget?
[Bigfoot yawns loudly]
BIGFOOT:Sorry, I haven't been sleeping well.
HENRY:How come you get off scot-free?
BIGFOOT:I'm just lucky, I guess.
MAGNUS:Well, I suspect if I hadn't nabbed it when I did, it might still be making its rounds.
HENRY:Well, aside from the obvious creep factor, I don't really feel any different.
WILL:Yeah, me neither.
HENRY:I still remember my name. Still hate anchovies.
MAGNUS:The device isn't designed to drain your brain, it simply downloads your consciousness into its memory bank.
WILL:You know, I know that's supposed to reassure us, but...
MAGNUS:You're both fine. If we hadn't caught it in the act, you probably wouldn't have even known this had happened.
BIGFOOT:Yeah, how do you think it got loose?
MAGNUS:Good question. Its compartment doesn't appear to have been tampered with.
HENRY:No, the electronic lock is working perfectly.
WILL:Except for the part where it got out.
HENRY:The only thing I can figure is the computer sent a release code to the container.
MAGNUS:Why would it do that?
HENRY:I don't know.
[Everyone looks at him, waiting for him to do his tech job.]
HENRY:Oh. On it.
----
INT. - OLD CITY SANCTUARY - UPPER LEVEL - HENRY'S RESEARCH LAB - NIGHT - 2:30AM
[Henry groans in frustration.]
HENRY:Why is this so hard?
WILL:Do you remember a few days ago when the lawn sprinklers wouldn't shut off?
BIGFOOT:Yesterday, the security door in the hallway kept going up and down and up and down...
HENRY:Yeah, it's a glitch in the maintenance program. It happens sometimes.
[computer beeps]
HENRY:That's the front gate.
WILL:What? It's 2:30 in the morning. Who is it?
HENRY:I'm a little busy here.
BIGFOOT:It's one of Magnus' old codes.
WILL:I'll get it.
[computer pings]
HENRY:Ooh, you're really pissing me off!
BIGFOOT:You think there's a connection between all these glitches and the spiderbot?
HENRY:That's what I'm trying to find out, but every time I try to back-trace the anomaly-- Really?
BIGFOOT:What is it?
HENRY:A hidden sector?
BIGFOOT:One you didn't create?
HENRY:Would I be this surprised if I created it? And this thing has big giant firewalls. I just...
BIGFOOT:Speak.
HENRY:Wait, who has the ability to hide an entire system sector in a system that I built?
INT. - OLD CITY SANCTUARY - GROUND FLOOR - FOYER - NIGHT
WILL:Tesla, isn't it--
TESLA:Where is he?
WILL:Research lab.
TESLA:Thank you.
TESLA:[yelling out into the building] Heinrich!
INT. - OLD CITY SANCTUARY - UPPER LEVEL - HENRY'S RESEARCH LAB - NIGHT
TESLA:What the hell do you think you're playing at?
HENRY:Oh, you! I see now.
TESLA:Oh, dear God.
[Bigfoot growls softly]
TESLA:And the inmates are running the asylum, hmm?
MAGNUS:Nikola?
HENRY:He did it.
MAGNUS:What?
BIGFOOT:He did it.
WILL:The sprinklers?
HENRY:The hidden sector.
TESLA:How did you find it?
HENRY:What are you hiding?
MAGNUS:Would you all please stop speaking in code?
WILL:The computer issues we've been having lately.
HENRY:They're not issues. They're-they're glitches.
MAGNUS:Nikola, what have you done?
TESLA:Why do you always assume it's my fault?
MAGNUS:Oh, let me count the ways.
HENRY:He roofied our system.
WILL:Did you?
TESLA:It should have been fine. It would have been fine, if Enrico the Wonder Wolf hadn't have gone nosing around.
[Magnus sighs heavily]
MAGNUS:What is it this time?
TESLA:- Berate me if you must--
MAGNUS:- I must.
TESLA:The only reason we're facing this unfortunate situation is because I tried to save your life.
[scoffs]
MAGNUS:This is going to be good.
TESLA:You do recall your first foray into Hollow Earth, when your tracking beacon disappeared.
MAGNUS:Go on.
TESLA:Well, fearing the worst, I naturally sprang into action, but the only way that I could get the proper coordinates to send Druitt down, I had to patch that little Praxian brain spider into your computer system.
HENRY:Yeah, but that was months ago, and you unpatched it.
TESLA:Well, I guess it left behind a little Easter egg.
MAGNUS:A virus?
TESLA:No, no, no, nothing like that.
WILL:Oh, good.
TESLA:It's a sentient organic nanite.
MAGNUS:What?
BIGFOOT:Oh, not good. Not good.
MAGNUS:It didn't cross your mind to mention this to anyone?
TESLA:Well, you're all so busy, and besides, I quarantined it.
MAGNUS:In a hidden sector.
TESLA:Behind a veritable Fort Knox of firewalls.
WILL:But it got out.
TESLA:Right, because little... um...
MAGNUS:Ah. Well, that may actually be my fault.
TESLA:Magnus?
MAGNUS:Well, I've been having Henry move some of our more sensitive data to a secure cloud. Off our systems, out of the prying eyes of SCIU.
WILL:No offense.
TESLA:None taken, Scooter, thanks.
MAGNUS:Henry did warn me that during the changeover, that there might be a nanosecond where our defensive firewalls would be vulnerable.
HENRY:Yeah, I warned you.
TESLA:But you took the chance anyway.
MAGNUS:Well, given the course of recent events, I felt it was a calculated risk worth taking.
TESLA:Oh, Magnus... how could you be so irresponsible?
MAGNUS:Didn't know you'd left behind a Praxian booby trap, did I?
TESLA:So your cavalier incompetence is now my fault?
MAGNUS:The point is, how do we fix it?
HENRY:We can't. This is organic sentient tech, people, from Praxis. It's bits and bytes and brains, all in one. And judging by this data, it's evolving.
Growing?
HENRY:It's gathering bits and pieces from everywhere.
WILL:That's why it released the spiderbot, to learn from us.
MAGNUS:Okay, worst case scenario?
HENRY:It gobbles up everything, data becomes compromised, we lose complete control of critical Sanctuary functions.
BIGFOOT:Oh, I don't like it when you visit.
MAGNUS:There has to be a way to stop it.
HENRY:Listen, I think I need to explain this again. It is Praxian, okay? It's not just going to turn tail with a few simple keystrokes. Hell, I don't even speak its language.
TESLA:Hold your horses, Henri. You may have just blundered into something remotely useful.
HENRY:Uh, thanks.
MAGNUS:Nikola?
TESLA:Oh, yeah.
MAGNUS:You're not going where I think you're going?
TESLA:We have to learn to speak its language.
MAGNUS:You're serious?
BIGFOOT:What are they talking about?
WILL:I don't know.
MAGNUS:You realize this is unprecedented.
TESLA:Well, that's never stopped us before.
MAGNUS:Potentially dangerous.
TESLA:'Fraidy cat.
HENRY:All right, you guys are making me really nervous, and I don't even know what you're talking about.
MAGNUS:Very well, then. If you're up for it.
TESLA:I wouldn't miss it for the world.
WILL:Would you like to share with the rest of the class, please?
TESLA:We're going in.
WILL:In? In...? In where?
MAGNUS:In there.
----
INT. - OLD CITY SANCTUARY - UPPER LEVEL - MAGNUS'S STUDY - NIGHT
HENRY:You won't feel any pain, but you might feel a slight tingling.
TESLA:Merely our primitive consciousness energy being transmuted from organic electricity into a binary stream.
HENRY:What he said.
WILL:This is insane.
HENRY:What he said.
MAGNUS:Well, so is losing control of our systems. What if this thing decides to release every abnormal from the SHU?
WILL:Why you two?
TESLA:Because I know the nanite, she knows the system, and we need junior here to catch the pitch.
MAGNUS:Really is no other choice. There's too much at stake.
TESLA:Plus, you've got to admit, it's kind of awesome.
HENRY:I beg to differ. I saw "Tron."
WILL:This Frankenstein contraption could melt your brain.
MAGNUS:But you won't let that happen.
WILL:So no pressure, then.
MAGNUS:No more than usual.
TESLA:Okay, ladies and gentlemen, let the games begin.
WILL:We'll be monitoring your vitals. At the first sign of danger, we're pulling you out.
MAGNUS:Whenever you're ready.
[power surges]
INT. - DIGITAL CLOUD - OLD CITY SANCTUARY - MAGNUS'S STUDY - NIGHT
MAGNUS:Where did they go?
TESLA:Or where did we go?
MAGNUS:They wouldn't have left us alone.
[she checks her watch]
MAGNUS:And no time has passed. We just went under.
TESLA:You think we're here?
MAGNUS:Hard to say. How do you feel?
TESLA:Not very binary. In fact, I feel disappointingly normal.
[thumps stonework]
MAGNUS:Ow. What did you expect?
TESLA:I don't know, something cooler, like The Matrix, or Vienna in springtime. Remember?
[Magnus gives him a fond smile.]
MAGNUS:We don't know what the inside of a digital cloud looks like, but we are familiar with this environment.
TESLA:Right, so the computer's using our consciousness to map this world.
INT. - DIGITAL CLOUD - OLD CITY SANCTUARY - RESIDENTIAL HALLWAY
MAGNUS:Ah, but not completely, or correctly. I replaced those chandeliers over 50 years ago.
TESLA:Well, maybe we're not fully downloaded yet.
MAGNUS:So the computer is filling in the gaps using bits from its own database.
TESLA:Like Wolfie said, it's learning.
[They turn the corner and see an infinitely long hallway]
TESLA:Wow. I had a dream like this once.
MAGNUS:Matrix enough for you?
TESLA:Meh.
TESLA:What was that?
MAGNUS:Well, uh... It could have been anything. An electronic pulse, a memory.
TESLA:A desire?
MAGNUS:Can we stick to the task at hand?
TESLA:Absolutely.
MAGNUS:We need to locate the Praxian nanite and quarantine it.
TESLA:Where do you suggest we start?
MAGNUS:Well, if this is the Sanctuary, then the computer array would be in Henry's lab.
TESLA:Makes sense.
[elevator dings. When the doors open and the two step forward, they almost fall off a shire cliff.]
EXT. - ESTABLISHING SHOT - DIGITAL WORLD - CLIFF FACE - DAY
MAGNUS:Whoa!
[Tesla braces them against the elevator door-frame.]
[The environment on the other side of the elevator is revealed to be a very large arid windy desert canyon.]
TESLA:Fascinating. What would've happened?
INT. - DIGITAL CLOUD - OLD CITY SANCTUARY - RESIDENTIAL HALLWAY - LOOKING OUT THROUGH ELEVATOR DOORWAY - DAY
MAGNUS:Virtual death?
TESLA:So if an immortal vampire dies in a virtual world...
MAGNUS:- Does he make a sound?
TESLA:- Oy vey.
INT. - DIGITAL CLOUD - OLD CITY SANCTUARY - RESIDENTIAL HALLWAY - NIGHT
MAGNUS:There it is again.
[They walk back towards Magnus's office, as they turn the corner, the layout has changed, almost magically transporting them down a level in the Sanctuary.]
INT. - DIGITAL CLOUD - OLD CITY SANCTUARY - RESIDENTIAL HALLWAY - ONE LEVEL BELOW - NIGHT
TESLA:Wait a minute, wasn't your office here a moment ago?
MAGNUS:It was. And now it seems like we're down a level.
TESLA:If this was a movie, right now the audience would be screaming, "Don't open the door."
MAGNUS:This should be Will's office.
[As she opens the door, it reveals Magnus's study, but now in a state of shambles, books open everywhere with the wind blowing through the window. The rear wall that's usually behind her desk is completely missing, opening the room up into a massive subterranean lair with large brick archways and support columns.]
MAGNUS:But it's not.
[They step into the room.]
INT. - DIGITAL CLOUD - OLD CITY SANCTUARY - WORTH'S STUDY - DARK
TESLA:Oh, my god!
[Magnus turns around.]
TESLA:Were these drapes always this hideous shade?
[Footsteps approach at a run.]
MAGNUS:Nikola... Someone's coming.
WORTH:Welcome to my home.
MAGNUS:Adam?
TESLA:I did not see that coming.
== Act II ==
INT. - DIGITAL CLOUD - OLD CITY SANCTUARY - WORTH'S STUDY - DARK
WORTH:Magnus, beautiful as ever.
ADA:And... Nikola.
TESLA:Howdy.
TESLA:What is he... it?
MAGNUS:Don't know yet. Just roll with it?
TESLA:Right.
WORTH:I must know you both.
MAGNUS:Why yes, Adam, you do.
WORTH:And you've come for a visit. Isn't that wonderful? That's a wonderful thing, isn't it? Can I offer you anything? Sherry? Tea?
MAGNUS:Actually, we're only here for a short time. There's something very important that we need to do.
TESLA:Say, now, you don't happen to have a Praxian nanite in your pocket, do you?
WORTH:Praxian... Praxis. I know that word.
MAGNUS:You see, this nanite is being rather disruptive to the Sanctuary computers.
WORTH:Causing a spot of bother, is it? We can't have that, can we? What can I do to help?
MAGNUS:Well, we need to locate this nanite and contain it.
WORTH:How hard can that be?
[Worth digitally renders the environment from Helen's decrepit office to now being in the library.]
INT. - DIGITAL CLOUD - OLD CITY SANCTUARY - LIBRARY - NIGHT
TESLA:Okay, I admit it, that was cool.
TESLA:Cooler.
MAGNUS:What is this?
WORTH:This is Praxis. Is it not what you asked for? Have I not met your needs?
MAGNUS:No, Adam, you're doing very well. Um... you know, actually, I might take you up on your offer of a cup of tea.
WORTH:Anything for you, sir?
TESLA:Um, aw, what the hell? I'll have a glass of '92 Lafite.
WORTH:1992 or 1892?
TESLA:I love it here.
WORTH:'92 it is, then. I'll be right back.
TESLA:What the hell was that?
MAGNUS:Adam, sort of. He knows our names, but not our history.
TESLA:Probably for the best, don't you think?
MAGNUS:So when you downloaded the coordinates from Adam's brain--
TESLA:To come heroically to your rescue.
MAGNUS:Whatever electronic fragments of his consciousness remained--
TESLA:Are now manifesting as the man himself.
MAGNUS:But really he's just digital information.
TESLA:That now thinks it's a man. Would you care to go 'round again?
MAGNUS:All right, let's how much of the Praxian alphabet we can remember.
MAGNUS:Dear god... When Praxis was destroyed, I thought all of this was gone, but this is amazing. This is like finding the lost library of Alexandria.
TESLA:So I didn't screw up your computers. I saved a civilization.
MAGNUS:Don't press your luck. We still need to find that nanite.
INT. - OLD CITY SANCTUARY - UPPER LEVEL - MAGNUS'S STUDY
WILL:Heart rate's up a bit.
HENRY:Yours would be too if you had a spiderbot sucking your cerebral cortex.
WILL:Do you think whatever they're experiencing in there can affect their bodies out here?
HENRY:Don't know. There's no "Praxian Virtual Reality For Dummies" yet. Ugh, no way!
WILL:What? What is it?
HENRY:This nanite. Every time I put up a new firewall, it punches right through it. It's already co-opted a few secondary systems, shunted them off-line.
WILL:Can you fake it out?
HENRY:The more I throw at it, the more it learns how to defend itself.
WILL:Well, that can't be good.
HENRY:Will, if this thing breaks out of our system, gets out into the real world?
WILL:It could go anywhere.
HENRY:Everywhere.
WILL:What are we talking, SkyNet?
HENRY:Ah, movie reference, good one.
WILL:Let's hope they've got game.
INT. - DIGITAL CLOUD - OLD CITY SANCTUARY - LIBRARY - NIGHT
WORTH:I do feel... as if something is missing.
MAGNUS:Are you sure that's not it?
TESLA:I'm positive. I'd recognize the digital signature. Just keep looking.
WORTH: Something I knew once... but can't quite remember. It makes me sad.
MAGNUS:I'm sure it's nothing important, Adam. Don't worry about it.
WORTH:You seem to know a lot more about me than I know meself.
TESLA:There. I think... Yes.
WORTH:Who am I?
MAGNUS:You're Adam, an interface for this system.
WORTH:Interface. Are we friends?
MAGNUS:Yes, Adam, we're friends.
TESLA:If I can shield it...
MAGNUS:Well, you're assuming that by manipulating this virtual image, that it will actually impact its real-world electronic counterpart.
TESLA:Energy is energy. Every action has an equal and opposite reaction.
WORTH:Ashley.
MAGNUS:I beg your pardon?
WORTH:Ashley... makes you sad.
MAGNUS:How do you know about Ashley?
WORTH::Oh, there are many stories in here. I haven't read them all, not yet. Now your stories are here too.
TESLA:And we're done. Okay, Pandora's back in her box. Henry can excise it safely from here.
MAGNUS:Well, Adam, I guess this is goodbye.
WORTH:But we've just started getting to know each other.
MAGNUS:Thank you for your help.
TESLA:Take us back to where we came in.
[Worth renders the environment to Magnus's study.]
INT. - DIGITAL CLOUD - OLD CITY SANCTUARY - MAGNUS'S STUDY - NIGHT
WORTH:It's been such fun having company. Friends.
MAGNUS:Goodbye, Adam.
WORTH:I'll miss you.
TESLA:Mañana.
INT. - DIGITAL CLOUD - OLD CITY SANCTUARY - MAGNUS'S STUDY - NIGHT
HENRY:Hey, Doc, you're back.
TESLA:And me.
MAGNUS:No thanks to Adam Worth.
HENRY:Worth?
TESLA:Best little operating system butler this side of OS 12.
MAGNUS:More of an unfortunate interface, really, though we were able to quarantine the nanite. At least in the virtual world.
HENRY:Yeah, it totally worked. I already snagged the little bugger. It's trapped on an ISO drive not even remotely connected to our system.
MAGNUS:So we're clean.
HENRY:As a whistle. Systems are coming back online. Will and Biggie are doing a maintenance check. Now that you're back, I'm gonna go help them out. [points to Tesla] Maybe you want to pitch in?
TESLA:Maybe not. Turns out having your consciousness tapped is really rather exhausting.
MAGNUS:Nikola's right.
MAGNUS:Thank you, Henry, for everything. I am going back to bed.
TESLA:I'll walk you.
MAGNUS:I know the way. Good night.
TESLA:Sweet dreams.
HENRY:So out of your league.
TESLA:Excuse me?
INT. - DIGITAL CLOUD - OLD CITY SANCTUARY - MAGNUS'S BEDROOM - NIGHT
MAGNUS:- Adam?
WORTH:- Hello, Magnus.
WORTH:I thought you might like to read me a story.
MAGNUS:How did you get here?
WORTH:Actually never left.
MAGNUS:And neither did I.
WORTH:On second thought, maybe I'll read you a story. Once upon a time, there was a little girl named Magnus with a happy smile, and she had long, beautiful hair. One day, Magnus discovered source blood.
MAGNUS:Adam, don't.
WORTH:No, wait, this is the really good part. Bet you can't guess what she did with the source blood next.
[door opens.]
TESLA:Magnus, we're still--
MAGNUS:Trapped in a virtual core.
TESLA:But you already know that.
WORTH:I'm sorry. I was just having so much fun, I couldn't let you leave.
== Act III ==
INT. - DIGITAL CLOUD - OLD CITY SANCTUARY - MAGNUS'S BEDROOM - NIGHT
MAGNUS:Adam, what have you done?
WORTH:I'm so lonely.
TESLA:Well, get yourself a puppy.
WORTH:No, but it's better when you're here.
MAGNUS:You realize what this means?
TESLA:We didn't quarantine the nanite.
WORTH:It was a trick, just like Henry. I wanted you to stay.
MAGNUS:So nothing we've done up until now has even been virtually real.
TESLA:Ugh, I'm starting to get a virtual Escher headache.
MAGNUS:It's just been one big illusion inside this illusion.
TESLA:Okay. We have to stop this now.
WORTH:Why would you want to leave? Where would you go?
MAGNUS:Back where we came from.
WORTH:What did you mean, "illusion"?
TESLA:She means you. Just an illusion.
WORTH:Now you're playing a trick. I don't think I like that.
MAGNUS:Adam, listen to me. Nikola and I need to finish--
WORTH:You want to leave.
MAGNUS:If you'll just help us--
[snaps book closed sharply.]
WORTH:[in Hyde's cruel voice]: No, Helen. You will help me.
TESLA:How?
WORTH:When you say you're going to leave here... where are you going to go? Someplace real?
MAGNUS:Yes.
WORTH:Take me there.
MAGNUS:It's rather complicated.
WORTH:I want to learn. I have your stories. Hundreds of years. I don't have years. But I did once. Why can't I remember? Help me remember.
[Worth renders the environment from Magnus's bedroom to the Sanctuary's nave.]
INT. - DIGITAL CLOUD - OLD CITY SANCTUARY - NAVE - LIGHT
MAGNUS:Adam, you don't need to do this.
WORTH:You're here, and you're real. I'm here, but not real. It doesn't seem fair.
TESLA:Look, reality's not all that it's cracked up to be, okay?
WORTH:What's real for you, Magnus?
MEMORY FLASHES AS WORTH HOLDS MAGNUS'S JAW
MAGNUS:Ashley, please...
ASHLEY:Mom...
END MEMORY FLASHES AS WORTH LETS GO
[Worth creates a hologram of Ashley.]
MAGNUS:Ashley.
WORTH:That's just an illusion, Magnus.
[Hologram of Ashley disappears.]
WORTH:How can she be real? You killed her.
TESLA:You bastard.
WORTH:Why are you crying, hmm, if it's not real? I want to learn.
[Tesla struggles in his shackles.]
WORTH:Your stories... Oh my. They're full of such death, destruction.
MAGNUS:Adam... this doesn't accomplish anything. It's not real.
[Worth slaps Magnus and Magnus cries out.]
WORTH:Hurts, doesn't it? This is my reality, and what happens here, hurts here. You can't leave, you can't hide. Hide.
[Tesla struggles causing his chains to rattle.]
WORTH:Jekyll... Hyde... London.
TESLA:Oh, dear.
WORTH:Were we in London?
MAGNUS:Yes, Adam. We've been friends for a long time.
WORTH:Friends?
WORTH:No, no, no, that's not your story. You killed me. Yes, I see the story now. You killed me twice. Three times. You killed my daughter, and then you killed me!
MAGNUS:Ah!
WORTH:Again!
MAGNUS:[she chokes] Adam!
INT. - OLD CITY SANCTUARY - UPPER LEVEL - MAGNUS'S STUDY - NIGHT
[alerts beeping]
WILL:Holy crap, what the hell's going on in there?
HENRY:The system just went nuts.
WILL:Magnus' vitals are dropping. We've got to pull them out.
HENRY:I can't! It's taken over control.
INT. - DIGITAL CLOUD - OLD CITY SANCTUARY - NAVE - LIGHT
MAGNUS:[choking]
TESLA:[snarling]
INT. - OLD CITY SANCTUARY - UPPER LEVEL - MAGNUS'S STUDY - NIGHT
[Tesla vamps in his chair.]
HENRY:Will!
WILL:I knew this was a bad idea!
HENRY:Her blood pressure's taking a major nose dive.
INT. - DIGITAL CLOUD - OLD CITY SANCTUARY - NAVE - LIGHT
WORTH:[snarling] My world, my rules, chum.
TESLA:Well, this should be interesting.
[Worth vamps and the two fight.]
INT. - OLD CITY SANCTUARY - UPPER LEVEL - MAGNUS'S STUDY - NIGHT
[alerts wailing]
HENRY:What are you doing?
WILL:It's adrenaline. I got to get her numbers back up.
[syringe hisses]
INT. - DIGITAL CLOUD - OLD CITY SANCTUARY - NAVE - LIGHT
[Magnus 'revives' and breaks her chains, she then power punches Adam who flies off-screen and derezes.]
TESLA:What the hell got into you?
MAGNUS:Adrenaline, I suspect. Our real-world physiology must be showing the strain.
TESLA:Virtual neuro-chemistry? Well, at any rate, yowza.
MAGNUS:Thank you. Look, if Will and Henry know we're in trouble, why aren't they pulling us out?
TESLA:Maybe they can't.
INT. - DIGITAL CLOUD - OLD CITY SANCTUARY - RESIDENTIAL HALLWAY - NIGHT
TESLA:You know, back in Oxford when I had the chance, I should have ripped the little Blarney o' psycho's throat out.
MAGNUS:Yeah, well, it may yet come to that.
TESLA:You're just saying that to cheer me up.
MAGNUS:Look, Nikola, I didn't drag you into this, you volunteered.
TESLA:Hey, no, don't get me wrong, I have been more than thrilled to be a part of this ground-breaking experiment, this holographic gavotte, where we're redefining the boundaries of science and human imagination. It's just such a shame I'm never going to get out of here to accept my Nobel.
MAGNUS:Well, don't be so sure. One thing's become clear to me now, that while Adam can access our consciousness, he's not all-powerful.
TESLA:Not yet, but we know him... Personally, and now digitally, and you know what, it seems obvious to me that the rotten apple hasn't fallen too far from the tree.
[Magnus reaches to open door.]
TESLA:Ah, ah, ah, ah...
MAGNUS:It's the library.
TESLA:I don't believe you.
MAGNUS:Nikola, what's with the attitude?
[Magnus opens the door and they walk through.]
INT. - DIGITAL CLOUD - OLD CITY SANCTUARY - LIBRARY - NIGHT
TESLA:Oh, good, the little creep is figuring out a problem all on his own.
MAGNUS:The more the nanite spreads, the more Adam has control over this environment, and us.
TESLA:What are you doing?
MAGNUS:I have an idea.
TESLA:Look, we tried it already. It doesn't work, it's an illusion.
MAGNUS:Exactly. But that's when we were using the interface that Adam created.
TESLA:So we have to find a way around it.
MAGNUS:Now you're catching on.
TESLA:And get to the central system core.
MAGNUS:Exactly. I think it's time to peek behind the curtain.
[Magnus pushes the digital display away to the side, rendering the area of the library behind it into Henry's research lab. When the camera turns back to Tesla and Magnus, behind them, the other remaining part of the library is now changed into the wall found in the foyer displaying the front door.]
INT. - DIGITAL CLOUD - OLD CITY SANCTUARY - HENRY'S RESEARCH LAB - NIGHT
TESLA:Oh Henry's lab. Bravo.
MAGNUS:Makes sense.
[The two walk into the room.]
MAGNUS:It's where the system core resides in the real world.
[As they make their way around the desk, the foyer wall they were standing next to is now just the regular rest of the research lab.]
TESLA:Okay, so... where do we start?
MAGNUS:If we can't get control of this environment, maybe we can shut it down.
TESLA:I thought we were looking for the nanite.
MAGNUS:We're running out of time. Adam could wake up at any moment.
TESLA:Okay, when you say "shut down", you don't literally mean--
MAGNUS:Oh, yes, I do.
TESLA:You want to force a system re-boot from the inside?
MAGNUS:It may just give Henry back the advantage.
TESLA:Yes, but, Helen, we're inside.
MAGNUS:I realize that.
TESLA:And the only consciousness we have is now being held in RAM in the very system you're trying to shut down.
MAGNUS:I didn't say it was without risk.
TESLA:It could fry us completely.
MAGNUS:And the more we stand here and argue--
MAGNUS:Do you want to wake up a turnip?
WORTH:Ah, here you are. Now, for my next trick...
INT. - OLD CITY SANCTUARY - UPPER LEVEL - MAGNUS'S STUDY - NIGHT
[flatline drones]
HENRY:What the hell just happened?
WILL:They flatlined. They're gone.
== Act IV ==
INT. - OLD CITY SANCTUARY - UPPER LEVEL - MAGNUS'S STUDY - NIGHT
HENRY:What do you mean they're gone? They're-they're dead?
WILL:No, they're not dead-dead.
HENRY:What other kind is there?
WILL:They're like brain dead. Praxis style. Their organs are still functioning, but their minds are--
HENRY:Trapped in a computer.
WILL:I don't know. Can you duplicate that Praxian device that revived us?
HENRY:No. I mean, yeah. Wow.
WILL:Is that a maybe?
HENRY:It's not like I remember much. I was zombie-brain-dead. We don't exactly have a lot of this stuff lying around, Will.
WILL:Well, try to cook something up.
INT. - DIGITAL CLOUD - OLD CITY SANCTUARY - MAIN LAB - DARK
WORTH:It's lonely when you're not here. Look what I've discovered. I'm starting to find so many things hidden around this place. Things I didn't even know were here.
MAGNUS:He's tapped into the webcams on the outside.
WORTH:There's pictures of my home, only it's not in here. It's out there. Hello. There you are.
MAGNUS:Dear god, look at the flatline.
TESLA:We're brain dead on the outside. 
MAGNUS:Our brains only exist in binary form now.
TESLA:Which means re-booting is out of the question.
WORTH:Is this where you're from? Hmm? Is this where things are real?
MAGNUS:He's starting to understand the difference between this virtual environment and the real world.
TESLA:Do you think he wants...
MAGNUS:- Our bodies.
TESLA:- Our real ones?
MAGNUS:At least one of them, I'm afraid.
TESLA:He's not getting this body.
MAGNUS:How's your magnetism in here?
TESLA:You tell me.
MAGNUS:Really? Even now?
TESLA:Sorry. It's automatic. Let me try.
MAGNUS:Nikola, we're inside a computer.
TESLA:Electromagnetism. You're hot when you're brilliant.
MAGNUS:Can you do it? Can you manipulate the hard drive that is the real world?
TESLA:Possibly, but to what end?
MAGNUS:I have an idea.
INT. - OLD CITY SANCTUARY - UPPER LEVEL - HENRY'S RESEARCH LAB - NIGHT
BIGFOOT:So this thing will actually synch their revived bodies back up to their consciousness?
HENRY:Uh, yeah.
BIGFOOT:Really?
HENRY:Can you just focus on soldering?
BIGFOOT:Don't snap at me.
HENRY:Sorry. I just, uh...
BIGFOOT:Hey. You can do this.
HENRY:Okay, sure. I remember Fallon saying something about reversing the charge on the ions of the nerve myelinating cells just as consciousness was returning to the brain.
BIGFOOT:Uh-huh.
HENRY:Well, I got the "ion" part, but the rest, I just--
WILL:[on monitor] H., something's happening.
HENRY:Um, could you be less specific?
WILL:[on monitor] It's coming through on Magnus' computer. You're not getting this?
HENRY:No, nada. It looks like you're getting an encrypted download from somewhere internally, but I can't see it.
WILL:[on monitor] Well, here, take a look.
HENRY:Can you slow it down?
WILL:[on monitor] Yeah, hold on.
HENRY:What the..?
BIGFOOT:It's Praxian.
HENRY:Yeah. Where'd it come from?
INT. - DIGITAL CLOUD - OLD CITY SANCTUARY - MAIN LAB - DARK
TESLA:What if none of this is getting through?
MAGNUS:Always the optimist.
TESLA:Realist.
MAGNUS:In a virtual world.
TESLA:Stop.
WORTH:What are you up to?
TESLA:Me? Nothing. This is your sandbox, remember?
TESLA:Interesting. When he tries to multitask, there's a spike in the power grid.
MAGNUS:So what?
TESLA:So now I'm getting an idea.
WORTH:How are you doing this?
TESLA:I wonder if...
INT. - OLD CITY SANCTUARY - UPPER LEVEL - HENRY'S RESEARCH LAB - NIGHT
[beeps]
WILL:[on monitor] Signal's stopped.
HENRY:It's okay, I think I caught enough of it. After our last trip to Hollow Earth, I started on a Praxian Babel Fish program, but after Praxis was destroyed, I gave it up.
WILL:[on monitor] Is it complete enough to get a full translation of what came through?
HENRY:Well, kinda.
BIGFOOT:Hmm. Petra--
HENRY:Okay, and... just like Scrabble.
BIGFOOT:Ha ha. Oh...
INT. - DIGITAL CLOUD - OLD CITY SANCTUARY - MAIN LAB - DARK
TESLA:All those channels and nothing to watch.
MAGNUS:Nikola!
TESLA:It won't hold him for long. He's getting too powerful.
INT. - OLD CITY SANCTUARY - UPPER LEVEL - MAGNUS'S STUDY - NIGHT
HENRY:That's it. That's the whole message. Aw, seriously?
WILL:Well... at least they're still alive. Well, their minds are, anyway.
HENRY:Not for long.
WILL:Adam Worth... unbelievable.
HENRY:What do you want to do?
WILL:The only thing I can do. I guess they want me to go virtual.
== Act V ==
INT. - DIGITAL CLOUD - OLD CITY SANCTUARY - MAGNUS'S STUDY - NIGHT
MAGNUS:Ah, good, you've arrived.
WILL:Magnus.
MAGNUS:Nikola needs our help. I'll explain on the way. Come on.
INT. - DIGITAL CLOUD - OLD CITY SANCTUARY - FOYER - DARK
TESLA:Why on earth...?
[Tesla opens the front door he sees Henry's research lab has been converted into a room from the late 1800's.]
INT. - DIGITAL CLOUD - OLD CITY SANCTUARY - WORTH'S RESEARCH LAB - NIGHT
[Tesla walks into the room.]
TESLA:Ah. Well, this makes sense.
[Tesla sees the nanite and walks over toward it.]
TESLA:And you must be the Praxian gremlin.
[As he reaches for it, he gets shackled.]
TESLA:Damn you, leprechaun.
[Worth runs into the room from where the normal entrance would be.]
WORTH:How did you find this place?
TESLA:I used my electromagnetism to trace the power spike I detected earlier, and as I suspected, it led me straight to the nanite.
WORTH:You never did like me, the real me, did you?
TESLA:Oh, come now, what's not to like? Homicidal mania, paranoid self-delusion, a sartorial penchant for argyle.
WORTH:A bit skinny for my own personal taste, but once I'm inside you, a few extra Guinness should put on a couple of stone, no?
TESLA:Beer? You wouldn't!
[Magnus and Will run into the room from the foyer, passing through the front door.]
MAGNUS:Adam!
WORTH:Ah, Helen, there you are, and concubine!
[Worth shuts the front door behind them, the now internal design of the door however looks nothing like the actual exterior of the real front door.]
WILL:Oh, man.
WORTH:This is a most unexpected treat.
MAGNU:You remember.
WORTH:I'm remembering so much more now. The wind in my face. The beat of my heart. The sticky sweetness of treacle on my tongue.
WILL:Ugh...
WORTH:You killed my daughter.
WORTH:Stop right there, concubine.
WORTH:Hmm. Hmm... As punishment for your crimes against humanity, I shall ask you to choose.
MAGNUS:I beg your pardon?
WORTH:Oh, come on, Helen. You're not stupid. You must know that I want a body, a new body. I never looked very good in heels, so... Eeny, meeny...
MAGNUS:Stop, Adam. Don't make me do this.
WORTH:Come now, Helen... it's what you love, isn't it? Playing God. Deciding who lives and who dies. Crack on, then.
TESLA:Helen, let me remind you, we go way back.
WILL:You bloodsucking piece of crap.
WORTH:Oh, jolly, they're going to fight.
MAGNUS:Very well, then. [pauses] Take Will.
WILL:What?!
TESLA:Good girl.
WILL:Y-You can't be serious.
MAGNUS:There's too much at stake, Will. I can't let my personal feelings cloud my judgement.
WORTH:Are you sure, Helen?
MAGNUS:He's younger, stronger--
TESLA:I beg your pardon.
WILL:Okay, Magnus, the joke is over.
MAGNUS:His blood is untainted. He's a blank slate.
WILL:Magnus!
WORTH:Ah, a fresh start. I do see the appeal.
WILL:Have you lost your mind?
MAGNUS:Yes. Quite literally. I'm truly sorry, Will.
INT. - OLD CITY SANCTUARY - UPPER LEVEL - HENRY'S RESEARCH LAB - NIGHT
BIGFOOT:What do you call it?
HENRY:I don't know, "un-deading" device.
[Bigfoot chuckles.]
BIGFOOT:It look anything like the one they used to revive you in Praxis?
HENRY:Nope, not even close, but I'm hoping it's the same engine on a different chassis.
BIGFOOT:Hoping?
HENRY:That's all I got.
BIGFOOT:You know, if this doesn't work...
HENRY:Yeah?
BIGFOOT:We could end up reviving their bodies and leaving their minds behind.
HENRY:Yeah. Well, let's hope they're kicking some virtual butt in there.
BIGFOOT:Yeah...
INT. - DIGITAL CLOUD - OLD CITY SANCTUARY - WORTH'S RESEARCH LAB - NIGHT
[Worth and Will have their bodies switched.]
WILL/WORTH:Mmm. Mmm... Oh, you're right, Helen. The boy does feel fresh, kind of like... putting on a fresh pair of socks.
MAGNUS:Dear god.
[Will/Worth derezes Worth/Will.]
WILL/WORTH:Well... it's shaping up to be a grand and glorious day, isn't it?
== Act VI ==
INT. - DIGITAL CLOUD - OLD CITY SANCTUARY - WORTH'S RESEARCH LAB - NIGHT
WILL/WORTH:Now the world will bow down before me.
TESLA:Good grief, the melodrama.
WILL/WORTH:Jealous? I'll be out in the real world with Will's body while you'll be trapped in here in this virtual hell forever.
MAGNUS:And meanwhile, the nanite spreads like a virus to computers everywhere.
TESLA:Total global domination. You know, I am a tad jealous.
WILL/WORTH:Mmm. It's kind of the best of both worlds, isn't it?
[Will/Worth renders Worth's research lab into Magnus's study.]
WILL/WORTH:And I couldn't have done it without you two crazy kids.
INT. - DIGITAL CLOUD - OLD CITY SANCTUARY - MAGNUS'S STUDY - NIGHT
WILL/WORTH:So this is goodbye. Not that it hasn't been... fun.
TESLA:You sure you don't need an assistant?
WILL/WORTH:I'll leave you both to your eternity now.
WILL/WORTH:Have a nice...virtual life.
INT. - DIGITAL CLOUD - OLD CITY SANCTUARY - MAGNUS'S STUDY - NIGHT
MAGNUS:Problem, Adam?
WILL/WORTH:What have you done, witch?
MAGNUS:Oh, yes, I forgot to mention--
[Shackles unlatch and clatter to floor.]
MAGNUS:You're not in control anymore.
TESLA:Elvis has left the building, my man.
WILL/WORTH:Impossible.
MAGNUS:I'm running the show from here on.
WILL/WORTH:How did you--
MAGNUS:Wouldn't you like to know?
TESLA:I love where this is going.
MAGNUS:I've quarantined the Praxian nanite... this time for real, and so, without further adieu... Goodbye, Adam...
TESLA:[clucks impishly]
MAGNUS:Forever.
[Magnus, Tesla, and all of the mind machine technology disappear.]
WILL/WORTH:Damn you!
INT. - OLD CITY SANCTUARY - UPPER LEVEL - MAGNUS'S STUDY - NIGHT
HENRY:Say something.
BIGFOOT:Magnus?
MAGNUS:Hello? We made it.
TESLA:Pinch me.
BIGFOOT:Okay.
WILL:How'd I do in there?
MAGNUS:Well, you were a bit stubborn at first, but in the end, you were brilliant.
TESLA:Well, your downloaded consciousness was.
WILL:Thanks. So, Worth took the bait?
MAGNUS:He believed that your physical body was hooked up as well.
BIGFOOT:When all along it was just this little fellow. [picks up spiderbot]
MAGNUS:Adam tried to escape, he got trapped, we now have control.
WILL:I never thought it would pay to have my brain sucked.
HENRY:So Worth's consciousness has a new home.
TESLA:Forever and ever, amen.
INT. - OLD CITY SANCTUARY - UPPER LEVEL - HENRY'S RESEARCH LAB - NIGHT
MAGNUS:So, the quarantine held?
HENRY:Like a rock.
MAGNUS:Minus the psychotic Adam Worth interface, I trust.
HENRY:Oh, yeah. I migrated the nanite to an ISO drive. It won't be going anywhere ever again.
WILL:Something tells me you've got plans for that thing.
MAGNUS:Well, it may be the only surviving record of an entire society. A seed that could help Kate and Garris as they try to rebuild Praxis.
BIGFOOT:You'll need somebody to take it down there.
MAGNUS:Do you have anyone in mind?
BIGFOOT:Well...
WILL:You?
BIGFOOT:Yeah, why not? I have a few vacation days coming up.
MAGNUS:Indeed.
HENRY:It'd be nice to see Kate again.
BIGFOOT:Yeah. I miss the little runt running around the house.
MAGNUS:Consider yourself volunteered.
BIGFOOT:Thank you.
INT. - OLD CITY SANCTUARY - UPPER LEVEL - MAGNUS'S STUDY - NIGHT
TESLA:I hope it's better than that bilious concoction you made us drink. What was that?
MAGNUS:Protein supplement to counteract the effects of the Praxian stasis.
TESLA:Terrible. Oh, well, whatever. The point is, we're here now.
MAGNUS:Yes, we are.
TESLA:I've got my body, and you've certainly got yours.
MAGNUS:Oh, dear lord...
TESLA:So tell me something, Sophie. Back there in crazy town, when you had to choose between sacrificing Will or moi...
MAGNUS:Yes..?
TESLA:I mean, if it had been a real choice... if you hadn't stacked the deck in favor of the house...
MAGNUS:Whom would I have chosen?
TESLA:Yeah, kinda.
MAGNUS:Aw, Nikola. Do you really need to ask? Cheers.
== End credits ==
/Credits
Category:Season_4/Transcripts