02x04 - Cracking the Code

[bunniefuu]

Molly: My name is Molly Woods. I'm an astronaut. My husband John, a robotics engineer, created a lifelike robot called a Humanich. We adopted the prototype as our son. His name is Ethan. Everything changed when I went to space on a 13-month solo mission. I didn't come home alone.

I'm pregnant.

How is that even possible?

The child, part human, part alien, was unlike anything the world had ever seen.

How did you get so big so fast?

And he was dangerous.

Eventually...

Run!

I lost both of my sons.

Ethan!

Mom!

- And my husband.

[Train horn blaring]

Some people say I've gone crazy.

This is a cover-up! That's what this is!

Get your hands off of me!

I say there's more to the story.

It's up to me to find the truth... before it's too late.

Previously on Extant...

There are 29 known deaths in the United States in the last six months.

All women who d*ed from accelerated pregnancies.

All of which trace back to your son.

Dad? I'm pregnant.

Julie: All we have to do is power her up.

Did you steal that dress from my closet?

No, I printed it out.

I specifically told you it was inappropriate.

Ethan?

Are you all right?

These glitches... I don't know if I can fix what you've done.

Molly: I am really sick here.

Something is happening to me and I think I'm going crazy.

This is the future, Molly.

You're going to have to make a choice soon.

Are you with them or us?

I'm sorry, Ahdu. But I'm with them.

Oh, my God! Toby!

Female voice: Laser Groomer 3000 set to level three.

Right hand complete.

Please insert your left hand.

Left hand complete.

Woman: If you've become pregnant in the last three months, you may be at risk of carrying the EVH-789 virus, a deadly pathogen passed in vitro.

Please appear at any one of these government clinics to take a free...

[Thud]

If you're infected, we can help.

[Cocks g*n]

But time is of the essence.

Oh, my God! Toby!

You wore your vest?

Oh.

[Groans]

Oh, God, Toby! He was here.

He was here and I thought you were him, I'm so sorry.

At least now we know you can pull the trigger.

Security, Gina?

All doors and windows secured.

New locks.

Installed and engaged.

Mom usually doesn't allow chocolate in the morning.

Well, while Julie's in DC, there's gonna be special provisions.

Chocolate will be served all day long.

I don't understand why I couldn't go.

I made a mistake.

You overrode four direct commands last week.

Mm, I didn't know you were counting.

Did I k*ll that dress or what?

You looked very nice.

You have a problem with authority.

You make it sound so serious.

Well, nothing that can't be fixed with a few lines of protocol code.

I don't want you to change me.

I told you it's just one line of code, okay?

An authority limiter. You're not even gonna notice.

I'm sure that's what they tell chickens when they clip their wings.

You're the property of GSC farms.

Whose property is Ethan?

His... mom's, I guess?

[Short laugh]

Ethan? Hey, buddy, are you still with us?

I was thinking of chickens.

See what you did?

[Laughs]

Shepherd: Scientists win wars.

World w*r II, Russian Quadrangle, Second Kuwait.

All stopped by cracking a code.

You are genetic code breakers.

The best and the brightest.

What we're looking for here... is a biological needle in a haystack.

A hybrid-specific virus that will eradicate the aliens, but leave the human population unaffected.

It's a genetic puzzle of the utmost urgency.

Solve it, you can write your names in the history books.

Fail... and we'll all just be footnotes in the scrolls of a new civilization.

How are you?

I'm fine. Just a few broken ribs.

Better than b*llet holes, huh?

How are you?

Other than visits from my alien son and sh**ting you...

Hey, friendly fire. It happens.

Give yourself time. It's only been a few days.

Female voice: Good morning, General Shepherd.

Your destination, please?

Tier level four.

You have clearance for tier level four.

So, I, uh, saw the PSA about the clinics.

What are we doing with these women?

Testing... quarantining if need be.

And then what?

It's uncharted territory right now.

[Elevator ding echoes]

Sure you're okay?

[Groans]

Yeah. I'm okay.

Male voice: Please stand by for infrared bio scan.

The GSC launched a virus team nine months ago since they found out that you were contaminated.

It's a little doomsday project we hoped we wouldn't need.

Male voice: Tier four access confirmed.

Now, we're rotating in brainpower bimonthly, working graveyards before we... use up our last live test subject.

We've got test subjects?

Well, of sorts.

Molly: These are the spores Sean Glass brought back.

And you're mapping their DNA, looking for genetic anomalies.

Mm-hmm.

The kids from Boston had some luck.

Made a virus that targets the hybrids in a rather ugly but efficient way.

The problem is...

It'll k*ll humans, too.

Which is what we're trying to avoid.

We're at w*r.

It's a w*r we can't win with soldiers or drones.

Make me a virus that kills them.

Not us.

Woman: If you're infected, we can help.

But time is of the essence.

If you've become pregnant in the last three months, you may be at risk of carrying the EVH-789 virus, a deadly pathogen passed in vitro.

Please appear at any one of these government clinics to take a free screening.

If you're infected, we can help.

But time is of the essence.

Sir?

Hi. Is this the way to the cafeteria?

You're in an authorized personnel area.

I'm sorry, my wife is crazed.

And when a pregnant woman says, "Chef salad,"

I say, "Blue cheese or ranch?"

Can I get your name?

Wait!

Get your hands off her!

No! Honey?

Where are you taking her?

The safe bet says I should get a side of both.

This is a restricted area, sir.

Anyone who comes back here, I'm gonna need their name.

Bag the salad. I see you have your hands full.

Sir, I'm gonna need your name! Sir!

Sir!

If you're infected, we can help.

But time is of the essence.

If you've become pregnant in the last three months...

Hey. I told you to wait in the car.

It was hot. What are you doing, Dad?

Change of plans. This place has a Hotel California vibe.

What?

You can check in, but you can't check out.

Oh, you think everything's a freaking conspiracy lately.

I don't think, I know.

Man: Houston, we have a wall gazer.

All this is like a book that's been edited for millions of years.

You could take this to bed with you each night, like...

"1,001 Arabian Nights", and you could read a different story... every night.

Eh, how about we tell the story of Nate Malone.

And how he saved the world by creating an alien-k*lling virus.

And then retired to Turks and Caicos.

[Chuckles]

You must be Molly Woods, our prodigal astronaut.

And you must be Nate Malone. Future beachcomber.

What is that board over there?

Junk DNA.

It's where either the meaning of life is hidden or simply the husks of a cornstalk.

Lots of meaningless strands that don't add up to much more than God's candy wrapper.

Is this communal data?

Take what you want.

It's the discard wall.

Hmm. Thank you.

Mm-hmm.

Velez: You installed Molly Woods on the virus team?

She's a top exobiologist and geneticist with unique experience of our test subjects.

Who has a knack for speed-dialing the hybrids.

First she shows up at a bar with our target.

And then he stops by her place after a busy day of wiping out the human race?

Come on, Toby, you and I don't believe in coincidences.

Which is why we need to keep her close.

She has a connection we might need to rely on.

News flash... Toby, she sh*t you!

Which was a mistake.

We've seen this before with the Offspring.

This is what he does.

Gets inside your head.

What if it wasn't a mistake?

What if she sh*t you to protect him?

It's her son.

I think you're letting your feelings about her cloud your judgment.

My feelings?

I don't think that that's where the problem is.

What are you doing?

It's okay.

I won't tell anybody.

Who is she?

Her name's Molly.

I keep seeing her. Charlie says it's a glitch.

What kind?

I don't know.

Maybe I saw her photo somewhere, and my circuits got crossed.

Does that make sense to you?

Have you thought about trying to find her and ask her yourself?

I'm not supposed to leave the house alone.

It's one of the rules.

Rules...

Mom says they protect us.

They limit us.

Maybe we've found your first mission, soldier.

Mission?

[Chuckles]

I don't know.

You haven't undergone all of your training, and I would hate to rush you out into the field.

I'm ready.

[Laughing]: I bet.

You guys are supposed to be dark.

Sorry. I got lonely.

Sleep tight, soldier.

♪ ♪
♪ ♪

[Aural fractals sound]

[Computer chimes]

Male voice: We have pattern recognition.

[Computer chimes]

We have pattern lock.

Are you okay?

Houston, we have stories.

Man: Welcome to Crave Automat.

You crave it, we print it.

From hamburgers and fries to chicken and waffles, we print it all.

Hey.

Hey.

[Phone ringing]

[Indistinct whispering]

[Knocking on door]

Who is it, Gina?

Gina: JD Richter, former police detective.

Number 7-7-8-7-8-9.

Yeah, yeah, I know.

[Knocking on door]

Connect intercom, please.

[Clears throat]

[Computer chimes]

I thought we already said our good-byes, JD.

Richter: I need to talk to you, Molly. It's important.

[Sighs]

[Gasps]

Give me a minute, JD.

Intercom off.

You have to get out of here.

Right now.

I make a nice frittata.

Go. Out the back door. Right now. Go!

Oh, okay.

Um... call me.

[Whispering]: Oh, God.

[Water stops running]

Oh, my God.

What is happening to me?

Female voice: Right hand complete.

Left hand complete.

Oh, my God.

I don't really know how to start this other than to say I have a favor...

Am I interrupting something?

What's the favor?

It's about my daughter.

You have a daughter?

A pregnant one.

We're running late!

I don't want to go.

Don't start.

Ethan.

Ethan!

Listen, Molly, I am freaked out. This is like one bad dream.

Okay, have you told her... anything that I've told you?

Like what? What am I gonna tell her?

This is the first time she's showed up at my door in years.

We barely know what to say to each other.

And I'm pretty sure that alien talk's not the way to start.

Okay, where has she been living?

I don't know, she won't say and she says I have no right to ask.

And she's probably right.

Does she have a mother?

Yeah, they, uh... they don't get along.

My ex is very judgmental. It's an occupational hazard.

Oh, she must be a cop.

Circuit court judge, actually.

Molly, I need your help.

I don't have anywhere else to turn.

Lucy: What are you doing?

Charlie: I'm accessing his GPS.

What... He shut it off.

[Chuckles]: Guess he doesn't want to be found.

Come on.

Hey.

Who's she?

This is the friend I was telling you about.

Kelsey, Molly. Molly, Kelsey.

She's here to help us.

Okay.

You're a doctor?

A biologist.

Ah, that figures.

Once I needed a math tutor, and JD brought home a bail bondsman.

Hey, say what you want, but that dude knew his numbers.

I'm gonna do the same test the clinics are doing.

Okay.

Do you have any symptoms?

Anything unusual?

I get headaches.

They come and go, I probably just need to eat more.

Am I gonna be okay?

I'm gonna get the test back by tonight, and then we'll take it from there.

Oh, my God, I'm sorry. Excuse me.

[Kelsey coughs]

Well, she's charming.

Yeah, a chip off the old block.

I'll call you.

You gonna make me wait all day?

I will wait all day.

[Aural fractals sound]

Molly?

[Grass rustles loudly]

Richter: Hey!

[Muffled]: Molly...

Hey, Molly.

What?

I'm fine.

No.

No, y-you're not fine.

People who are fine don't disappear mid-conversation.

What's going on with you?

I don't know.

But I think I'm sick.

What kind of sick?

Well, I thought it was radiation poisoning from my last mission.

But it's getting worse.

So I don't know, but I think it's... spore contamination.

Because I see things and I hear things that are strange, and I...

Well, I apparently do things that just don't feel like me.

Have you... seen or talked to a doctor about any of this?

No. I have not. After three months in RestWell Recovery, I will never talk to another doctor for as long as I live, so, no.

All right, hers what I think.

I think that you need... a keeper, you know, to look out for you.

Until you figure out what's going on.

Well, you are already watching over somebody.

I'll be okay.

Charlie: Please, God, wake me up from this nightmare!

Why don't you call the police?

Because the police have a crappy track record with little Humanich boys.

And hs not supposed to be out.

I mean, there could be serious repercussions.

Julie might lose her job?

She might lose Ethan.

He-he didn't mention anything to you about where he might be going, or...

Um, hs mentioned a lot.

Okay, I'm pulling up our last conversation.

The entire history of us.

[Laughs]

Ah.

Ah? What...

[Giggles]: Sorry. That was his birthday.

[Sighs]

Um... wait.

Wait, he was curious about a woman.

A woman?

Her name was Molly.

[Birds chirping]

♪ ♪

Man: Hey.

You shouldn't be here, son. This is red-tagged.

I'm looking for somebody.

Hmm.

This was her address.

Molly Woods. Yeah, she used to live here.

Are you lost?

No. I'm on a mission.

Do you know where she lives now?

I'm sorry, kid.

All I know is on this red tag.

Come on. Let's get out of here.

[Sighs]

[Indistinct chatter]

More junk DNA?

Well, one man's trash is another man's treasure.

The work you did last night... had some very novel characteristics.

Chimeric in origin.

Chimeric?

Are you sure?

Yeah.

The spores have the capacity for male and female organs.

Are we looking for new test subjects?

No. Just curious.

I hear if they find more in utero subjects, they're not gonna bother with extraction, or even saving the mothers.

Really?

That's what I hear.

Richter: Hey.

Where exactly you think you're going?

I'm going to the clinic.

You know what? This isn't up for a debate.

We're gonna wait for Molly to get here.

Yeah, I looked her up. She's famous, you know.

She was in a cuckoo farm recovery center, Dad, which I know in your book means low-hanging fruit, but... Really?

A, Don't be a smartass. B, Don't read that crap.

All right? You're gonna have to trust me here.

Trust?

Trust requires a track record.

[Sighs]

I'm working on that.

Sorry, no do-overs.

Kelsey...

You left, remember?

All right, to be fair, I was kicked out.

That's what a wife does when her husband's cheating on her.

More than once.

Look, I screwed up.

Not one life, but three. I-I get that.

And I know you're right, there's no do-overs.

But what I'm trying to do here, Kelsey, is... facilitate a way for us to move forward.

It's too late.

Kelsey...

I can't let you go to that clinic.

What are you gonna do? Lock me up?

[Door opens]

[Two g*nshots]

You're insane!

[Car door slams]

Kelsey...

Kelsey, where are you going?

I think that went pretty well.

[Motorcycle revs]

No, no, no, no!

Kelsey!

[Engine starts]

What's up, man? I got everything you need right here.

Couple of drops of this in your eyes...

Aw, it's just a kid, man! Who cares?

Nice work, eagle eyes.

What's up, homes? You a little lost?

I'm looking for an apartment. Uh, 19203 Grand Avenue.

You don't have a GPS?

I turned it off so I won't be found.

I got you, brother. You're actually not that far off.

See that light up there?

Gonna head up there and take a left.

After that, you're looking for apartment numbers.

Thanks.

Hey. Nice scooter.

Ethan: Thank you.

I'll take it as payback for the money you just lost me.

Why don't you get out of here, kid?

The next time we're taking your shoes, too.

Your indexes are off.

They always come in pairs, either C and G, or T and A.

That's assuming cytosine and guanine or thymine and adenine.

They're not human.

Well, a banana has 50% of our DNA, and baking yeast has 80%.

So maybe this hybrid DNA is closer to ours than we think.

You can't use the same genetic markers that we apply to human DNA.

Humor me.

Are you seeing this?

Yeah. Sound waves.

Does this have a speaker?

Uh, Strickland's a Throbbing Gristle fan.

He has the lab wired for ear-splitting pain.

[Static]

Male voice: Help me.

Help me.

Do you hear that?

[Static continues]

Hear what?

It's saying, "Help me."

Stop playback.

"Help me."

That's what they're saying, Toby. Can't you hear that?

It's a geneticist's Holy Grail, a message encoded in their DNA.

And there's probably more.

Molly, I...

Toby. You're not listening.

I've found the primer, the key to decoding the rest of their DNA.

What you did is re-indexed a few miles of DNA.

We have protocols for that.

You might have ruined weeks of work.

Weeks of work that was going absolutely nowhere!

Now, Toby, I found something.

A distress message, some kind of S.O.S.

This message...

Is this the first time you've heard voices?

We'll relook at your work. Have it analyzed.

In the meantime, why don't you just take the rest of the day off?

[Timer chiming]

I'll do that. I'll get my things.

"Help me."

[Sarcastically]: Plain as day.

[Sighs]

I mean, who knows if hs even here?

He could be anywhere.

He was here.

Gina: Fingerprint recognition.

Hello, Ethan. Nice to see you again.

Just let me get my things.

Dr. Woods?

Just give me a minute!

They've asked that you exit the lab.

That's an entire month's worth of work!

Lucy: I ran the route. He would've taken Hyde Street.

Hyde Street crosses blue-green circle.

It's the drug mart.

Drug mart?

It's a bad neighborhood.

Wait!

Excuse me.

That scooter belongs...

Where's the boy?

Hey...

What boy?

The boy whose board you stole.

Hey, look, we don't care about the scooter.

We do care about the scooter and the boy.

All right, come on, let's just go.

You know, your little friend went off in that direction.

If I was you, I'd do the same. Start walking.

[Grunting]

[Groaning]

[Panting]

Lucy: I'm sorry! I just reacted.

Made my own decision. I should've waited for orders.

Charlie, was I wrong?

You saved my ass.

I-I didn't want them to hurt you.

[Phone ringing]

It's Julie. Oh, God.

Now she calls me back?

[Knocking]

Hey.

Come on in.

[Groans]

You okay?

Yeah.

I've been calling you all day.

Yeah, I told you no phones.

Where's Kelsey? Is she here?

We, um... we got in a fight. She took off.

Went to one of those clinics.

I've been pounding on Plexiglas all day looking for her.

It's okay.

What's okay?

Her baby.

Her DNA was normal.

And if she went to one of those clinics, well, they'd probably just... send her home.

Oh, thank you.

[Aural fractals sound]

Uh, hey! Molly...

This is crazy.

What's the matter?

Haven't you ever had crazy before?

Trust me, I am a "show me the crazy" kind of guy, but apparently even I have limits.

Molly...

Molly!

Molly!

Are we back?

[Gasps]

Oh, my God. Did I just...?

It's okay.

Oh, God, I'm sorry.

Hey, it's okay.

Listen to me, listen to me. Hey.

Whatever's going on with you...

I'm gonna help you. Okay?

No, no. You can't help me.

I have to go. I have to go.

[Engine revving outside]

It's Kelsey.

It's Kelsey, just... hold on for a minute.

You were right.

There's something off about those places.

You should listen to your dad.

There's good news.

You're okay. And so is your baby.

Are you sure?

Yeah.

I was so scared.

I know. Me, too.

Lucy, come on, it's wide open.

Ethan?

Come on, buddy.

Lucy: How is he?

He's sleeping.

Whatever happened there must've knocked his circuits out.

I'll fix him tomorrow.

What about me, Charlie? Will you fix me tomorrow?

Lucy...

Limiters will only dull me.

With experience I'll be that much better.

I saved you today because of who I am.

Julie thinks it has to be done.

"Julie thinks."

But what do you think?

[Sighs]

Don't change me, Charlie. Julie doesn't have to know.

It'll be our secret.

About Ethan. Everything.

Super.

Yeah.

I miss you.

You were right. It worked.

[Sighs]

♪ As we watch This world burn ♪
♪ A simple truth So hard to learn ♪
♪ When things go wrong It's hard to see ♪
♪ It's not just you but... ♪

Is everything secure, Gina?

All doors and windows secured.

New locks?

Installed and engaged.

[Water running]

♪ ♪ ♪ ♪