01x01 - Splinter (Pilot)

[bunniefuu]

♪ These arms of mine ♪
♪ They are lonely ♪

Where are you right now... somewhere warm, safe... next to someone you love?

Now, what if all that was gone and the only thing you could do is survive?

You would, right?

You'd try.

You'd do things, horrible things... until you lose that last thing you have left... yourself.

But what if you could take it back... all of it?

A reset switch.

You'd hit it, right?

You'd have to.

♪ They are burning ♪

See you soon.

♪ Burning from wanting you ♪

It's never been about if.

It's always been when... when we'll face the next epidemic... or the next pandemic.

In Athens, 430 B.C., typhoid.

1,000 years later, the Justinian Plague ravages the Byzantine Empire.

In the 14th century, the Black Death destroys most of Europe.

Ancient history, right?

Not exactly.

This is last year.

My home turf, Pennsylvania Memorial, during last season's whooping cough... we were overrun. We didn't see it coming.

I know this is a controversial thing to say in front of a room full of doctors, but... we're not God.

We can't predict the future, but we can plan for it, and that's what I'm presenting here tonight, a level of preparation unprecedented in modern medical history, and it needs to start right here, on the front lines, with doctors like us.

[Cell phone ringing]

Dr. Railly.

How'd the presentation go?

[Whispering] Sign it.

You know, I might be getting the hang of this.

When are you coming home?

[Normal voice] Not soon enough.

Senator Royce and I have got another fund-raiser tonight.

I'm sorry there's been so many of these in a row, but I got plans to make it up to you.

They involve you, me, a cabin, no phones, no email, a lot of wine, all weekend.

I was hoping to see you tonight, but I guess I can let you sweep me off my feet and make it up to me... a few times.

Wow. Like, a few times?

Come home to me, and I'll show you.

As soon as I can, sweetie.

I'll be waiting up for you.

I'm not gonna hurt you.

Oh, my God. Aaron, call the police.

No, hey! Hey! Take... Don't... don't do that.

Cassie?

Don't do that.

Cassie?

[Whimpers]

Cassie?

What happened?

Cassie, stay on the line!

Oh, my God.

Somebody just grabbed Cassie.

Put the car in gear. Drive us out of here.

Hey, stop! Listen to me. I have a Kn*fe.

[Whimpers]

I have a Kn*fe.

I do not want to use it, but I will if I have to.

Do you understand me?

Put the car in drive, get us out of here.

Drive the car!

Okay, okay.

Get out of here.

I don't have time to play games with you. Drive.

Do you want money? I can get you money.

We can go to an ATM right now.

I don't want your...

I don't want your money. I'm not here to steal from you.

[Panting]

I'm running out of time.

It took too long to find you. There's too many damn people.

I'm not gonna hurt you, Dr. Railly.

How do you know my name?

[Sighs] Dr. Cassandra Railly, born October 3, 1980, Syracuse, New York.

Oldest child.

Intensive care, meningitis, 1986.

Your mother d*ed of an embolism in 1990.

You went to medical school, Columbia.

Viral containment for the CDC, 2015.

[Coughs] 2015?

It's 2013.

Yeah.

I work at a hospital.

You're the right person. Trust me.

Listen, I don't have time to explain things.

Just tell me what I need to know.

Okay. Okay.

Where is Leland Frost?

I don't know anyone by that name.

W-Wha... No. No.

No, no, no, no, no, no.

Look, Leland Frost.

I'm sorry.

Think!

You know a man named Leland Frost.

I need to find him!

Okay.

Leland Frost!

Okay.

Um, is he a patient?

[Coughs]

So many people go through the hospital.

No.

What are you talking about?

I'm sorry. I...

What are you talking about?

Leland Frost!

I...

[Police siren wailing in distance]

Pull... pull in here. Pull the car over!

Okay. Okay!

Do it!

Get out! Get out of the car!

No, please.

Come on!

Come on, come on.

Help!

Hey, hey! Don't!

Do not scream. [Coughs]

Come on. Come here!

Stay. Stay there!

Okay.

Stay there.

[Thud]

Come on! [Grunts] Come on.

[Whimpers]

It's got to go right.

[Grunting]

[Coughs]

What's your name? You know mine already.

[Breathing heavily] Cole.

All right... Cole, let's talk about this.

Nothing to talk about.

You don't know who Leland Frost is.

That means they sent me back too early.

What do you mean "too early"?

It's too far back in the past.

This is the present.

No, this is the past. 2043 is the present.

[Coughs]

You think you're from the future?

Okay, why did they send you back in time, Cole?

About four years from now, most of the human race is gonna be wiped out by a plague, a virus, and we know that it's because of a man named Leland Frost. [Coughs]

I have to find him.

You saw my lecture.

[Coughs]

Okay, listen to me, Cole.

I know you really believe these things, but they're not real.

I'm not crazy.

I'm not crazy.

That's just like mine.

It's not just like yours.

This is your watch... from my time, your future.

[Watch ticking]

This is your watch.

Don't take your eyes off that watch, okay?

Okay.

[Crackling]

[Rumbling]

How is that happening?

I know, it's hard to wrap your mind around.

You think it's impossible, but it's not.

I don't understand.

You break the past, the future follows.

[Coughs] One minute.

I have one minute left.

[Siren wailing]

They found us. Come on!

Cole...

[Wailing continues]

[Grunts]

[Tires screeching]

[Grunting]

[Wailing continues]

Cole, listen to me.

You're not traveling through time.

You saw the watch.

We have you surrounded.

You need to put down your Kn*fe.

You're gonna get yourself k*lled.

I can feel it.

The alley is sealed off!

I can feel it.

It's happening. It won't be long now.

Show your hands!

w*apon! w*apon!

[g*nsh*t]

Ah!

Ahh!

Get on the ground!

Don't sh**t!

Let me see it.

[Grunts]

Get back. Get back.

[Sighs] If you really want to help, if you believe me, two years from today, Philadelphia, John Adams Hotel.

Find me.

You come find me.

Ah!

[Dramatic music]

♪

[Mellow jazz piano music]

♪

Still waiting for your friend?

He's not my friend.

He wasn't anyway.

I don't know what he was.

You want another one?

Sure.

Okay.

[Footsteps approaching]

Miss? Miss?

Hmm. I'm off my shift now, but, honey, I'm gonna give you some unsolicited advice, okay?

It's been a week.

Now, I don't care how cute he is.

This is just gonna make you crazy.

But good luck.

[Watch ticking]

♪

[Elevator bell dings]

[Sighs]

Hi.

Can you help me check out of my room, please?

I'm in 516.

Sure thing.

Sir! Sir, sir, I'm sorry.

You can't be in here.

Last name?

[Grunting]

Sir, would you please come with me?

Get off me!

[Grunting]

Cole.

Cole.

Sorry. No, he's with me.

He's with me.

All right.

You need to get to a hospital.

No, no, no.

No hospitals, no authorities, just you.

[Groans]

Okay, almost there.

All right. Stay with me.

Ugh!

Shh, shh, shh, gentle.

[Grunting]

[Groans]

Take deep breaths.

[Breathing deeply]

You came.

I had to see if you were real.

Here I am.

Here you are.

[Chuckles]

[Grunts]

You know, you're late.

It's not an exact science.

Ah! Mm!

Cole.

Cole. Cole.

Are you listening?

Mr. Cole, you are welcome to spend the rest of your life right here on the floor of this cell.

That's one option.

What's the other one?

Depends. Do you believe in fate?

Sure... fate, karma, Santa Claus.

I'm very spiritual.

[Coughs]

Spirituality is just science we don't understand... yet.

Call it what you will, but something led you and me to this moment.

For what?

A mission... one for which I believe you were destined.

Who are you?

Jones is my name.

You're going to help me change the world, Mr. Cole.

[Gasps]

It's okay. You're okay.

Hey, hey, hey, just lie back.

[Panting]

Lie back. I'm here.

I'm right here.

Injections are complete.

And your cells have taken to the process quite nicely.

Splintering will be painful. Push through it as best you can.

Time is different for you now.

Everyone else is bound by time, not you.

Not even a paradox can hold you back.

Mr. Cole... she is not your mission.

She's just a puzzle piece.

[Indistinct chatter]

Remember, Mr. Cole. Remember your mission.

[Shivering]

Everything else is secondary.

[Power-up whine]

Everyone you see is already dead.

[Grunts]

How long was I out?

Almost three days.

What? [Grunting]

Whoa, no, whoa, hold on.

[Grunts]

You're not exactly 100% yet.

Ugh.

Although you do heal fast, like, unusually fast.

You're lucky. The b*llet passed clean through.

You know, the one you took before you... disappeared.

Splintered.

Is that what you call it?

That's what they call it.

You believe me now.

You don't think I'm crazy?

No crazier than I am.

I mean, I just sewed up a b*llet wound I saw you get two years ago.

I don't know what I believe, but... you're here.

[Sighs]

Okay. All right, we got to move.

W-Whoa, hold on. Cole, you've just been sh*t.

Your body has been traumatized. You need time to recover.

No, no, no, I don't have time.

Oh, but I just need a second here.

We got to go. No, no, no, we don't have a second!

We have to...

Stop!

You have no idea what the last two years have been for me.

It's been three days for you, but it's been years for me.

Listen, Dr. Railly...

Yeah, and it's not really doctor anymore.

It's kind of hard to keep your practice when everyone thinks you're a lunatic.

Now, you asked me to be here, and I am... but I have a lot of g*dd*mn questions.

You're right.

It's been a long time for you.

You deserve some answers.

Most of what we know is pieced together from fragments, but it all started with the world getting sick.

In 2017, a plague k*lled 7 billion people.

Only a fraction of the world's population survived.

Humanity's on the way out... one more generation at best.

The virus is mutating... evolving.

Some of us... very few were immune.

Many became scavengers, or worse, they took advantage of the chaos, raiding survivors, families... for food, supplies, whatever they could get their hands on.

The rest went underground... starving, nearing extinction till one day a group of scientists returned to the surface to gather information, piece together whatever they could, and they found something... a possible reset switch... something started in your time, finished in mine... a last resort.

Our only option is to undo it, stop the plague from ever happening in the first place.

[Power-up whine]

[Electronic thrumming]

Why did you come for me?

When the world was falling apart, you were with the CDC... holed up, searching for a cure.

You d*ed there, but you were able to send a message to anyone who'd listen... just a voice.

Now, the message that we have is... is broken.

The data's been corrupted.

My name is Dr. Cassandra Railly of the...

[Static] We're working on containment of the Co... [Static]

CDC stations, hear me.

The plague starts with Leland Frost.

[Static]

The true architects of the plague, they're watching me. [Static]

I'm running out of time.

[Static] Is among you.

Please, Cole.

I said your name?

You gave me this mission.

You're the reason I'm here.

Now, it's been two years, Cassie.

Please tell me you know who Leland Frost is.

I don't.

Ever since the day you disappeared or splintered or whatever, I've been looking for Leland Frost.

What'd you find?

A whole bunch of them, but no one fitting the description of a guy who ends the world with a plague, so I had to enlist some help.

I'll be right down.

Can I...

Yeah.

I'm very hungry.

Who is this guy?

Jeremy was NSA.

His job was to know things people didn't want him to know.

My father did some consulting work for him.

I told your father if he needed anything, I would be there.

Of course, those offers aren't meant to be handed down from generation to generation.

Jeremy's been helping me dig through Leland Frosts.

We needed to filter.

Well, from what Cassie's told me, we're looking for somebody connected with bioengineering.

And now I know why we haven't found him.

The name's not Leland Frost.

It's Leland Goines, CEO of the Markridge Group.

Aren't they working on a malaria vaccine?

No, that's the surface story.

But if you follow the black-budget coins, it's gonna flow right into biological and chemical munitions.

m*llitary programs, way, way off book.

This guy, Leland, well, take a look at his internal security designation.

"Frost." That's him.

We've been tracking the wrong name.

Leland Goines... where is he?

I can tell you where he's gonna be tomorrow night.

There's a big soiree in D.C. Markridge will be there.

Then that's where we're going.

It'll be a buttoned-up security operation.

Have to be on the list to get in, like, uh, Senator Royce.

Royce is gonna be there?

Probably more trouble than it's worth.

Could work, though.

Mmm. Oh, that's good.

If I lived in this time, this is all I'd eat.

[Laughs]

Cheeseburgers, every meal.

Hey, we need to come up with a game plan for when we find Leland Goines.

We find him, I k*ll him. That's it.

No!

No, you can't just walk in there and m*rder someone.

1 for 7 billion? That math works for me.

That might not solve the problem.

Whatever this guy's done to create this plague might already be under way.

No, let's say you stop him, how will you know if the future has changed?

Oh, we'll know. I'll be erased.

You mean you'll... you're gonna die?

No, it's... it's not death. It's something else. It's... this me will never have been from that moment forward.

It's complicated.

It's okay... I knew this was a one-way trip coming in.

And then what about the future?

It'll be rewritten into something better.

Plague will never have happened.

My time will be gone.

Trust me, there's nothing there worth saving.

[Jazz music playing]

♪

Okay, we'll work our way in slow.

Price tag.

[Chuckles] Can't have that.

Keep an eye out for Goines.

Try to look like you're not keeping an eye out.

Right.

All right, if he's in there... we'll find him.

You look good.

Thanks. You, uh... you look like the women we used to see in old magazines.

Which magazines?

[Laughs]

I mean, uh... you look... clean.

I'll take it.

[Chuckles]

Thank you.

That's good!

Smiles are good. We're at a party.

Good evening. Your name, please?

Dr. Cassandra Railly.

Okay.

With my plus-one.

First name again, please?

Cassandra.

Um, it may or may not be under "doctor."

I'll find it.

Thank you.

It's a very long list.

♪

It's "Railly."

R-a-i-l-l-y.

Uh, Senator, excuse me one second.

Cassie. [Scoffs]

What are you doing here?

Wow. I'm consulting for the Markridge Group, their inoculation project.

I had no idea you would be here.

I guess I should have figured that out... movers and shakers and all. [Laughs]

Ma'am, I'm not finding it.

Oh.

No, it's fine. She's... she's with me.

Oh. I'll take your coat.

Thank you.

Oh, Aaron, this is Greg.

He's my plus-one.

Greg, hi, there.

Hello.

Nice to meet you.

Hello.

So how do you know each other?

She bought me a cheeseburger.

She...

Marker, someone I'd like you to meet.

If you'll excuse me, I've got an ass I've got to go kiss... [Laughs] but this is to be continued.

All right?

Of course.

[Chuckles]

Okay. Let's go find Goines.

♪

No.

[Background chatter]

Cole.

[Dramatic music]

♪

Sorry about that.

I know it's why you used to hate these things.

[Both chuckle]

You look good.

God, what the hell am I saying? You look great.

Honestly, Cass, it's great to see you back on your feet.

Thank you.

[Intercom radio chatter]

[Thud]

[Intercom radio chatter]

Hey, you got another one of those?

I was worried about you, Cass.

Well, you don't have to be anymore.

That's good.

Damn it, Cass, you know, you didn't have to leave.

Yes, I did.

Cassie, a man vanished before your eyes.

Look, if a patient said that to you, what diagnosis would you give?

I wasn't your patient, Aaron.

What did you want me to do?

I wanted you to believe me.

You know what?

I believe that something happened to you that night, Cassie, and I am sorry about that.

I am, but I do not believe that it was a time traveler.

Okay.

I...

You know what? I can't do this right now.

It was really good seeing you, Aaron.

Okay.

Excuse me.

Cassie...

The truth is, in the rest of the 21st century, scientists will be your rock stars, like this guy.

This is Jagger.

He may not look like him, might not sound like him, not nearly as cool as him, but what's in this... is gonna change the world.

Me, I'm just a numbers guy, but Oliver here... he's a damn Rolling Stone.

What is it that you do, Oliver?

Uh, I study viral and bacterial modalities and their interpolation relating to biochemical application.

He plays God, and quite convincingly.

[Chuckles]

No.

Cole.

No! Cole!

g*n!

[People screaming]

Cole!

[Taser clicking]

Cuff him.

[Handcuffs clicking]

[Grunts]

Get him out of here.

Are you all right?

Get on this.

[Police siren blaring, indistinct police radio chatter]

Cassie, tell me what this is.

I'm not gonna explain this to you.

You know what? You better, because you used me to get into this place, and now my ass is on the line.

I'm sorry.

Did this guy... did this Cole, did he find you, or did you find him, huh?

Is this just some kind of twisted Stockholm syndrome?

Oh, that's what it is.

Damn it.

I had him. Why'd you stop me?

I told you, you can't just k*ll someone.

He's already dead!

Don't you understand that? Everybody is already dead.

You are already dead because of him!

7 billion people dead.

I had a chance to stop him.

Something is wrong.

Hey.

Who is that?

Cole.

No, no, no!

Hey! Hey!

Cole!

Get off me! Cassie!

Her name is Cassandra Railly, was a respected neurologist from Philadelphia, left her practice last January.

What about him?

Just this... an unsolved from two years ago.

Someone apparently kidnapped Dr. Railly.

This guy's prints match those found at the scene, no I.D.

Railly said his name was Cole and that he vanished before her eyes.

Vanished.

She said he claimed to be from the future... loony tunes.

Hey.

Hey!

[Grunts] Cassie!

[Grunts]

Get him sedated and call Ollie.

I want him to run the works.

On this guy?

Get it done!

Scientifically speaking, this guy is an impossibility.

Look, this is the neural activity of a normal brain working complex mathematics.

This... that's our friend in there.

That is grand mal seizure activity without the chaos or the damage.

Hmm.

Take a look at his adrenal glands.

They're on overdrive.

Explains how he took down all that security.

Right, but nothing explains his physiology.

Look, Markridge is the cutting edge of biotechnology, but this guy?

This guy's a flesh-and-blood molecular computer.

Programmed for what?

No clue.

We'll have to ask him.

But I can tell you that this Cole person is a product of advancements way past us... by 20 years, maybe more.

[Door slams]

[Groans]

Are you all right?

I'm okay.

Look at me.

I'm okay.

Did they hurt you?

I'm okay. Listen to me.

I think I'm running out of time.

You're gonna splinter?

Good. Listen to me.

Just go back five hours, get us out of the whole thing... the party, the police.

I can't, I can't.

I can't do that. It doesn't work like that.

It doesn't work like that. It's too precise.

It's too dangerous.

I could run into another instance of myself, and it...

Give me your watch. Give me your watch.

If you're hoping to reprise your efforts from the party, you should know that these gentlemen have orders to k*ll her first.

Now, in all currently known science, time travel... is impossible.

Here's the thing, Cole...

I have something currently known science doesn't.

You ready for this?

This is crazy stuff, but it's true.

I remember meeting you in 1987...

28 years ago, and you looked exactly the same as you do today.

Don't understand? That's okay. I didn't either at first.

Told myself... here's a man who looks like someone I met a long time ago, and then I realized... he is that man.

I didn't meet you in 1987.

Not yet.

But you will.

What was it you were looking for?

Was it Horsemen of the Apocalypse or something?

No.

Army... of the 12 Monkeys.

They end the world, right?

Yeah, that was it.

And it's hard to forget.

You don't know who they are yet.

[Scoffs]

You know what this means, right?

You are evidence that at some point, somewhere, the impossible is made possible, and for some reason... it has to do with me.

So what do I do?

I mean, clearly, after today's events, you view me as some kind of adversary or an enemy.

Tell me, what do I do that is so monumental that the laws of physics are broken to send you chasing after me?

No?

All right.

[Inhales deeply]

Whatever it is, it appears it was all for nothing.

And this isn't personal, Cole. I just... got to cut you up, see what makes you tick.

I guess that means you aren't gonna be able to go back to 1987 after all.

You know what they call that?

Paradox.

Her I don't need.

Keep it clean.

Goines.

You want to see what a paradox looks like?

Okay.

[Watch ticking]

Look closely.

[Sighs]

[Soft whirring]

[Ethereal clunk]

[Power-up whine]

[Electronic sparking]

[expl*si*n]

[Panting] You okay?

What just happened?

Something comes back in time, comes in contact with itself, Mother Nature doesn't like it when you rearrange her furniture.

You can't k*ll me, Cole...

'cause that would mean you'd... you'd have no reason to come for me in the first place.

[g*nshots]

[Shell casings clatter]

He's dead.

But you're still here.

No.

No, no.

That doesn't make any sense.

That doesn't make any sense. He...

[Shouting]

How is that possible?

How is that possible?

Don't lose this.

It's gonna save our ass again a minute ago.

[Distant clatter]

Right.

Come on. Come on, we got to go.

Over here.

Right here, okay?

[Intercom chatter]

[Siren wailing]

Come on.

Come on. Over here.

Come on. Okay, all right, listen to me.

Listen to me, you got to get as far away from here as possible and stay hidden.

They're gonna be looking for you.

What about you?

I'm going back... now.

Tell them about Goines and the Army of the 12 Monkeys.

They end the world.

Will I see you again?

I don't know.

You have to go, now. Go.

Go.

Aah! Aah!

[Groaning]

[Coughs]

How you feeling, brother?

Top of the world, Ramse.

[Clears throat]

Mr. Cole, did you find him?

Yeah, I found him. [Groans]

Then you failed your mission.

[Sighs]

You were to eliminate him before he could release the plague.

Leland's dead.

I k*lled him, just like you wanted me to.

You were wrong.

k*lling him didn't change anything.

There were others.

There were always others.

[Grunts]

"Others"?

Others, who?

Mr. Cole, who?

The Army of the 12 Monkeys.

I'm here to see Goines.

There's been, uh, an accident. Your father is dead. I'm sorry.

There'll be some papers to sign.

Your father left you a great deal of money.

I know if he were here, he would tell you he always wanted you to carry on his work.

He may not have shown it, but he considered you his legacy.

[Sighs]

Jennifer, are you hearing me?

[Chuckles]

[Laughing]