Operational Realignment

"**Operational Realignment**" is the eighth episode of Season 1 of Incorporated. It aired January 18th, 2017 on Syfy.

## Synopsis

To protect his secret, Ben may have to sacrifice his life. Plus: Has Laura made a deal with the 2074 devil?

## Plot

Theo's newly decadent lifestyle is getting the better of him as he seems to be hopped up on drugs and alcohol pretty much 24/7. His lover Anthony doesn't appreciate his attempts at rough sex, but his new ladyfriend - the one who brought him down after a Rage-fueled match via a hummer - seems to like it just fine.

Theo shows up at the Cut Room high as a kite and ready to fight, demanding he receive not one but two doses of the Rage powder. Theo's opponent that night has the advantage for a while but doesn't stand a chance once the Rage kicks in; Theo pummels the man to a pulp, killing him. The crowd loves it (as does Terrence), though a suddenly sober Theo is shocked by his actions. Time to detox, kid!

Meanwhile, Hendrick has successfully erased the 'Aaron' side of Ben's memories and personality, keeping them stashed away via neural imprint on a portable drive. Ben's crazy plan actually works, as he now has no memory of killing Roger and passes Julian's interrogation via Everclear with flying colors. After offering his condolences to Roger's father George, Ben even offers to help Julian with his investigation of Roger's murder … which means he's unwittingly tracking down himself.

After a quick analysis of the GPS in Roger's car, Ben is able to locate the scene of the crime: the burned-down restaurant formerly owned by Elena's father. There, Ben and Julian find Roger's collar pin, but the lack of any security cameras or satellite coverage means there's no video document of the murder. They catch a lucky break in the form of a weather monitoring system; with Ben's tech genius, he can analyze the wind and sound patterns and eventually create a 3D recreation of the crime.

Ben, stop trying to help!

The thing is … Ben's kind of a better person now that he's not obsessing over Elena. He's more attentive to his wife Laura, even taking the time to call it an early night at work so they can indulge in some much-needed lovemaking. He also presents Laura with a for-the-heck-of-it gift: a ring … that pretty much looks exactly like Elena's. There's still some Aaron kicking around in those brain cells, apparently …

Hendrick really likes this new Ben, too … and sees the perfect opportunity to rid himself of Aaron forever. All he has to do is destroy the neural imprint on the portable drive … though a sudden message reveals that Ben had a failsafe, warning Hendrick that if he doesn't reinstall the Aaron side of his personality within 72 hours, Hendrick's true identity will be revealed to SPIGA. Hendrick tries to hack Ben's failsafe, during which he receives another warning … and a decrease in time, as he now has 36 hours to bring Aaron back. Crap.

While in the Red Zone, Julian pays a visit to an old colleague: Goran, the tough guy who enlisted Laura to set up a medical clinic in his neighborhood. Julian and Goran were once soldiers together, though Goran gave it up for a security gig in the Red Zone whilst Julian took the cushy corporate job. Julian asks Goran for his help in investigating Roger's murder, to which Goran agrees.

Speaking of the clinic, Laura's in full swing with her new gig, even hiring her former housekeeper Rachel to help set it up. Their first patient is a kid with an artificial heart that needs rebooting; this can't happen remotely due to the fact that it's black market tech, so Laura has to get in there and do it manually. Which she does beautifully. Laura is thrilled to have saved someone's life … and to be using her medical degree to actually, you know, be a doctor!

Back at SPIGA, Julian tells Elizabeth that Ben passed the Everclear interrogation and seems to be cleared of any suspicion. He also tells her that he was approached by Elizabeth's number-one rival, David Gates, about reporting directly to him about the investigation into Roger's murder. Elizabeth makes plans to extract Sanjay Maraj as soon as possible, which will give her leverage with the Board … and allow her to send Gates packing.

The episode ends with Julian calling Ben and asking for a status report on his 3D rendering of the crime scene via the weather equipment. Just then, the image is completed … revealing Ben himself carrying Roger's corpse. Ben, who of course has no memory of the incident, stares at himself in shock and confusion.