Colter Stevens

Colter Stevens is a fictional character appearing in the 2011 film Source Code, from which he serves as the protagonist. He is portrayed by Jake Gyllenhaal.
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== Biography ==
He is an army pilot who was recruited for a top-secret operation. He then finds himself in the body of an unknown man. Soon, he is on a mysterious trail to track down the bomber of the Chicago commuter train.
== Throughout Source Code ==
US Air Force helicopter captain and pilot Colter Stevens wakes up on a train en route to Chicago. The last thing he remembers is flying on a mission in Afghanistan. He discovers that in addition to the other people on the train, including his traveling companion Christina Warren, he physically appears as Sean Fentress, a teacher. While trying to figure out what happened to him, a large explosion occurs on the train, due to a bomb being placed on the train itself, killing all the passengers and derailing it.
Stevens regains consciousness inside a kind of capsule from which he cannot escape. Through a screen, Air Force Captain Colleen Goodwin verifies Stevens' identity. Twice Stevens finds himself on board the exploding train helpless and demands an explanation: he is told that he is using the "source code", an experimental device created by Dr Rutledge, a scientist who works for the military unit of the Besieged Castle, which allows its users to experience the last eight minutes of another person's life in an alternate timeline. This device was created thanks to the fact that the human brain after death maintains the residual electromagnetic impulses for a short period of time, such as the brightness of the filament of a light bulb that has just been turned off, and also records a short-term memory trace. term that goes back about eight minutes: as long as the circuits are still active, it is possible to access this data and trace what the deceased person experienced in this situation. Stevens is then explained what his mission is: to use the source code to discover the location of the bomb aboard the train and locate the bomber who detonated it.
Goodwin also explains that the attack on the train took place that morning and that it represented a warning from the creator of a larger attack, which could cause the death of two million people: the explosion of a device nuclear in downtown Chicago. Although theoretically his actions could not change the past and save the lives of those aboard the train (as the alternate dimension produced by the source code is said to not exist and have no influence in reality), Stevens , by identifying the bomber, can ensure that it is blocked before causing the death of other innocent citizens. Sean Fentress was chosen because, of all the people who died on the train, he was the one who most closely resembled Stevens physically, in temperament, and in terms of brain build.
Stevens enters the source code several times, continuing to investigate and reject the passengers among whom he suspects the bomber is and slowly falling in love with Christina, and returning to the capsule each time, in the alternate timeline, he dies or leaves the eight minutes. During these "jumps", he learns that these events occurred two months after a serious accident in which his military unit was involved and which led to his death. Once his true fate is discovered, he needs an explanation from Goodwin, who is forced to reveal to him that he did indeed die during the mission in Afghanistan, that the remains of his body are in a military facility. a military headquarters and that its mind is maintained active thanks to the connection with a computer science system, the same with which they communicate. The cabin Stevens is in is just a projection of his mind. Stevens then makes a pact with Rutledge and Goodwin: he will complete the mission, but he wants the supports that keep his brain alive after this one to be permanently disabled.
In the penultimate entry in the source code, Colter manages to locate and chase the bomber, also finding the nuclear device, but he is killed by it. Once back in the capsule, after reporting the identity of the terrorist, convinced that the one generated by the source code is not just a simulation, he asks to return for the last time on board the train before his detention alive is disabled. Rutledge is adamant and orders that Colter's memory be erased to continue exploiting it in the future for further operations. Goodwin, on the other hand, has taken the soldier's situation to heart and decides to please him. Colter then returns to the train, where he defuses the bomb and manages to handcuff and report the bomber, so that he can be turned over to the authorities.
So he calls his father posing as another soldier who offers his condolences for Colter's death and sends a message on his cell phone. Finally, before the eight minutes are up, he pulls Christina aside and kisses her. After eight minutes, as promised, Goodwin deactivates his life support: a scene reveals the true condition of Stevens' body which is badly mutilated and in a comatose state. However, when the eight minutes pass, nothing happens; Colter realizes that even though the source code action is over, he remained in the alternate timeline. The train quietly arrives at the Chicago station and he and Christina begin walking around the city together, entering Millennium Park and looking at each other in the Cloud Gate, a sculpture that Colter saw, with Christina's face, in a quick foresight that appeared every hour the alternate timeline stopped when eight minutes passed.
==Personality==
Colter is a military man. Therefore, he must rigorously obey the orders of higher authorities, even if he completely disapproves, or if he is overwhelmed by events. This happens after his first trip, although confused, he still answers the questions asked by Goodwin.
Colter is also very compassionate with the passengers of the train, in particular Christina, whom he absolutely wants to save. However, he tries several times to save the other passengers of the train, by defusing the bomb, twice. We also see him very touched when he learns that he has been officially dead for two months, and when he calls his father to say goodbye. 
==Appearances==
*Source Code (2011)
Category:Characters
Category:Male characters
Category:Source Code characters
Category:Characters portrayed by Jake Gyllenhaal