04x10 - The Cold w*r

[bunniefuu]

Finch: We are being watched. The government has a secret system, a machine that spies on you every hour of every day. I designed the machine to detect acts of terror, but it sees everything-- violent crimes involving ordinary people. The government considers these people irrelevant. We don't. Hunted by the authorities, we work in secret. You'll never find us, but victim or perpetrator, if your number is up, we'll find you.

I'd be happy to restate the order, if you'd like.

You see, it's vital that we get it exactly right.

So perhaps we should try again.

Pastrami... extra mustard, spicy and yellow, and enough pepperoncinis to create digestion issues in even the strongest constitution.

No mayonnaise, please.

If there's even a trace, it'll render the entire sandwich useless, and we'll have to begin this whole process over again, which I don't think either of us would enjoy.

Wonderful.

Oh, and I'll take a bag of chips.

What's going on?

Just finished entertaining at a children's party.

Ugh!

Mr. Berenstain was a big hit.

How could you let her do this to me, Finch-- tranq me like I'm some kind of animal?

It was for your own good, Ms. Shaw.

You are no longer safe from Samaritan's gaze, and you wouldn't listen to reason.

He's right, Sam.

You really wouldn't.

You turned on me, Harold.

Not cool.

A peace offering.

It's the Beatrice Lillie from Park's deli, including the extra ingredients you enjoy.

Here...

Oh.

Let me help you.

[Spits]

Two hands are better than one.

So how long do you nerds expect to keep me locked up?

Until it's safe for you.

And us.

If Samaritan and its human agents discover you, it could lead them to every single one of us.

Guilt, Harold? Really?

You know, normally that wouldn't work on me, but I wouldn't want anything to happen to the dog.

[Whimpers]

Well, I'm glad we all agree you're going to stay put, especially since we know it would be impossible to keep you locked up... against your will, anyway.

So true.

And what happens when we get a new number?

Mr. Reese is handling one now.

I'm sure he'll be fine on his own until we get this matter sorted out.

Finch, looks to me like our new number is waiting on a lunch date.

Finch: It's likely her husband.

He's a hedge fund manager at a firm downtown.

And Rachel Farrow is a law clerk at the courthouse.

It's probably about a case she's been working on.

Why don't I just break into her office?

Because it's located in a federally owned building, Mr. Reese.

If you were caught, that would certainly be the end of Detective Riley.

Our girl seems a bit nervous, Finch.

Maybe she's not meeting her husband after all.

Could be an affair.

Finch, it's Samaritan.

Could you expand on that, Detective?

Reese: Greer's man, Lambert, just sat down at Rachel Farrow's table.

Excuse me.

Hello, Rachel.

My name is Jeremy.

Rachel: How do you--

You need to go, Jeremy.

I'm waiting on my husband. Please.

Don't worry.

Lambert: I'm not here to make any kind of romantic overture.

How's your wrist?

Why would you ask that?

Still healing from the spiral fracture?

It was a nasty break.

It takes a long time to heal, especially when it's your writing hand.

You told your friends you fell down playing tennis-- just a silly accident.

How clumsy of you.

You couldn't tell them how your husband twisted it so violently during an argument, he broke it.

How-- how do you know this?

I'm a friend, and I want to help you.

Finch: What's happening, Mr. Reese?

Something's not right.

I don't think Lambert's here to hurt her.

Shaw: It's Samaritan, Reese.

Think about the words coming out of your mouth.

They don't make any sense.

Reese: Samaritan gave Lambert the information for a reason.

I don't think it's because it wants her dead.

There were the broken ribs last year, then the dislocated jaw.

You're so very much alone that you became desperate.

You knew that someday your husband would k*ll you.

You see, I have this friend...

a very powerful friend who knows how to take care of problems like your husband.

Did you know that most insulin pumps are networked these days?

A wonderful technological advancement that assures that diabetics are alerted when their blood sugar is too low or too high.

Unfortunately, those pumps can be tampered with to give false readings.

I'm sure you know what happens to someone who takes too much insulin.

What are you saying?

What can your friend possibly do for me?

The same thing you were about to do.

You're such an honest person, you even applied for a g*n permit.

A .38 Ruger LC, wasn't it?

A p*stol small enough to fit inside that handbag you hold so tightly.

I don't know what you're talking about.

You might be the last honest person in the world, Rachel, and it would be a shame to see you make such a terrible mistake.

You won't have to k*ll your husband.

And you can be certain he'll never hurt you again.

How can you possibly know that?

Because he's dead.

Are you okay?

Mister!

[Indistinct chatter]

Lambert wasn't lying, Finch.

Rachel Farrow's husband is dead.

Why is Samaritan working the numbers?

Samaritan doesn't care about the irrelevant numbers, Ms. Shaw.

It wasn't programmed that way.

But it knew this woman was about to commit m*rder and chose to play judge, jury, and executioner with her husband.

It's drawing attention to itself.

But for what reason?

We know you're watching.

You're always watching.

I have a message for the machine and its agents.

Samaritan says hello.

You got to admit, Samaritan's pretty efficient.

But not efficient enough to stop the numbers from coming.

We've just received a new one.

I've sent John to investigate.

[Scoffs]

I meant from stopping an innocent woman from making a terrible mistake, taking out the bad guy.

[g*n clicking, cocks]

Yes, however, that bad guy deserved a trial by his peers.

Well, he saved the government some time and money.

Are you ready for instantaneous judgment decided by an artificial intelligence that will lead to your demise, Ms. Shaw?

Because I most certainly am not.

Okay.

Not to stick up for Team Samaritan, but I used to do that for a living, remember?

Eliminate targets at the behest of an AI.

I just didn't know who was giving the orders.

Look, why don't you ask Root what she thinks?

She's the one who wants us to bow down to our robot overlords.

The machine isn't a robot, Sam, but I hear your analogy.

It seems that Samaritan has been helping people across the city for a few days now.

The machine sent me a message.

She said that Rachel Farrow was just one of its stops.

That tracks with what I'm seeing here-- buses, subways, trains, all running like clockwork.

Nothing broken. Nothing delayed.

When was the last time that happened in New York?

In my dreams, maybe.

Samaritan's running the city.

I believe it is.

But why?

What if it's trying to reach out to the machine the only way it knows how.

But then why do it this way?

Why not just-- I don't know.

How do artificial super intelligences usually talk to each other?

These machines have avoided making contact with one another for good reason.

If two dueling ASIs arrive at anything short of consensus, the outcome could be catastrophic.

Two angry gods hurling boulders at one another while the ants scurry below.

This may be a request for peace talks.

Well, maybe they should just kiss and make up.

To what end, Ms. Shaw?

Samaritan's plans will be many hundreds, if not thousands, of steps beyond what we can imagine.

The machine will protect us.

Even if I had succeeded in creating a benevolent machine, as if any such thing could exist, never forget that even a so-called friendly artificial super intelligence would be every bit as dangerous as an unfriendly one.

Your machine seems pretty warm and fuzzy to me.

Have you forgotten that it asked us to k*ll a congressman?

But that was to stop Samaritan from going online.

So where does it end, Ms. Shaw?

A congressman here, a president there.

What if, one day, a friendly AI decides to end world hunger by k*lling enough people off of the planet that there would never again be a shortage of food?

It would have fulfilled its goal, but it doesn't exactly sound like it has our best interests at heart.

Root: Your machine would never do that.

You don't know that, Ms. Groves.

To say that a machine is benevolent doesn't make it so.

It just makes you blind to the reality.

Which is?

That out moral system will never be mirrored by theirs because of the very simple reason that they are not human.

[Knock at door]

Yes?

I hope I'm interrupting something intriguing.

You're looking quite pleased with yourself, Greer.

I tend to be pleased after a successful mission, sir.

It increases my already inflated self-worth.

Trying to quit.

Never quit anything you're good at, Greer.

I've been looking at the Stasi agent's first report.

These East Germans are nothing if not thorough.

If the Communists could only feed their people as well as they spied on them, there wouldn't be a hungry belly in the whole of the Soviet Union.

Your next assignment.

Oleg Luski-- a KGB agent posing as an immigration attorney for a London firm.

I'll bring him in.

No need for that.

You want me to disappear him?

That's a dramatic choice for such a thin dossier.

MI-6 has no patience for more KGB operatives in our midst.

The Cambridge Five was years ago, sir.

Let me flip this one, put him to good use.

We have plenty of KGB agents working for us already.

But, sir--

You've done well, Greer, but trust me, we need to erase the problem of Oleg Luski before anyone in his firm discovers he's a mole.

Understood.

Take a colleague.

Luski's a dangerous man.

And, Greer...

This operation doesn't exist.

They never do, sir.

What?

You've already cleaned your w*apon, Martine.

This is what I do when I'm bored.

Maybe you should find a hobby.

All of my hobbies include a g*n.

How's our experiment going?

Very well, sir.

The NYPD has locked up nearly two dozen criminals after Samaritan decrypted a host of IP addresses and anonymously emailed the information to the press.

The police owe it a debt of gratitude.

And Ms. Shaw-- her whereabouts?

Still unknown.

Samaritan can't locate her anywhere in the city.

I thought an operator would have more fight in her.

Agent Martine, I have faith she'll show herself soon enough.

What's next?

24 hours without any new crime.

Samaritan will show its strength, and then the machine can decide if it still wants to hide.

What do you want, Lionel?

I miss the sound of your voice.

How's your day going, honey?

I don't have time for this.

You working your side job?

Something like that.

Sorry. I'm in kind of a good mood here.

The holding cells are at max capacity with all the busts we've made today.

Pick up any homicides?

I knew you'd be interested in that.

And, no, not a one.

Then who's filling up the holding cells?

We're helping other departments deal with their overflow.

We got a bunch of dealers and an identity-theft ring responsible for three murders.

These guys had been hiding under a rock for two years until an email was sent out to the ring leader's entire contact list.

I guess criminals shouldn't trust technology to hide their dirty work.

Did any of the ID thieves get hurt during the arrest?

As a matter of fact, the ring leader tried to take off.

Ended up doing a swan dive down an open elevator shaft.

Freak accident.

Some accident.

You know something I don't?

Maybe one or two things.

Fine. Don't tell me.

But I need to know if you're coming, 'cause I got to work on my latest excuse where my partner is hiding.

Later.

Be sure to save me some paperwork.

Okay, Finch, our new number's got some kind of detonator in his desk drawer.

There's got to be a b*mb nearby.

[Alarm sounds]

You! Don't move! Don't move!

Everyone out of the building now!

Get down!

You need to evacuate the building, sir.

Detective Riley.

Get up!

Can you fill me in?

We found expl*sive downstairs.

b*mb squad got to it in time, but we're clearing the building for another sweep.

Did he call in the thr*at?

No, jackass searched "b*mb making" and "building demolition" online.

Search engine security alerted us.

Finch: Mr. Reese... have we eliminated the thr*at?

I didn't have to, Finch.

Samaritan's still doing our job for us.

Who'd it k*ll this time?

No one.

It just made sure a wannabe bomber got arrested.

And Fusco said the precinct's had a banner day.

I still think this could be a good thing, boys.

We could take a little vacay.

I mean, I know I could use some fun in the sun.

How about it, Harold?

You are looking kind of pasty.

This is the calm before the storm, Ms. Shaw.

The only question is, when will the sky open?

Root: It's looking overcast, Harold.

Where are you, Ms. Groves?

Downtown.

She sent me GPS coordinates that fall inside the shadow map.

I think she wants me to find someone important.

I just don't know who.

I forgot how much I love surprises.

Tell me what you're looking for, lovely.

Maybe I can help you find it.

No phone. No w*apon.

I'm disappointed.

I didn't see a need for either today.

Samaritan may be a god, but you're just flesh and blood.

There's no need for threats, Ms. Groves.

I'm here because Samaritan wants me to be.

Do you have a message for her?

Samaritan would like to have a conversation with your machine.

[Chuckles]

How terribly sweet that you could think I'd have a say in what she'll do... or not do, in this case.

But you're the only one who can speak directly to the machine, are you not?

Why does Samaritan want to speak with her?

What would be the point other than mutually assured destruction?

Samaritan is ready for a peace talk.

Peace talks are for negotiating.

What's changed?

I'm only limited to ask for a conversation.

Samaritan would be wasting her time.

The answer's no.

Please look for me again once you've changed your mind.

You're very confident for a lackey, Mr. Lambert.

Samaritan wanted to show your machine what the city looked like under its control-- peaceful, organized.

Now you'll see what life is like through a less charitable looking glass.

[Phone ringing]

I think it just started to rain, Harold.

[Indistinct voices]

Female reporter: After a day where violent crime in New York City plummeted...

Male reporter: Along with an uptick in muggings and burglaries...

Reese: I lost visual contact, Finch.

Talk to me.

Our number's heading down 55th near 3rd.

Keep going west.

Got it.

Wait.

Where is he?

I've lost him, Detective.

The tracking icon disappeared for a moment and now it's reappeared on the opposite side of the city.

How did he get across town so quickly?

He didn't.

It's impossible.

I think Samaritan's hiding the number because he's a perpetrator.

It's disrupting the data from the phones, spoofing the GPS.

How do you expect us to save anyone with Samaritan playing games?

We may not be able to save them, but we still have to try.

Where are you, Finch?

I'm looking into a number of my own.

A neurobiologist appears to have caught the ire of a competitor.

I need to warn him.

Fusco: You still busy?

What can I do for you, Lionel?

Fusco: Hey, I could really use some backup, partner.

Reese: Wish I could, but I'm still working something else.

Yeah, that something else have to do with all hell breaking loose today?

Why? What happened?

More like what didn't happen.

Three sh**t, a half dozen violent domestic disturbances.

To top it all off, some geek in his mom's basement hacked the US Marshals' database.

The guy stole the entire Witness Protection list and then posted it on Pastebin.

[Siren wailing, horns blaring]

I'm heading to pick up one of the WITSEC victims now, get her to safety.

Are you going alone?

Hell, no.

The feds are helping out on this one.

I'd love to help, Lionel, but I'm still trying to help a few people of my own.

You mean these aren't isolated incidents?

Unfortunately not.

I knew yesterday was too good to be true.

Today's a mess.

It's almost like someone planned this.

Wait. Did someone plan this?

What's this all about?

Someone's trying to make a point.

Down!

[Engine turning over]

[Phone rings]

The mission has failed, sir.

We have an agent down.

Send a clean-up crew to the rendezvous immediately.

And the target?

Still kicking, sir.

I have a few questions for him.

[Line clicks, dial tone]

[Engine turning over]

Funny how the city only needed a little encouragement for it to falter.

All Samaritan did was share some information and tether a few databases, and look.

Chaos.

Human nature untethered in all its flawed glory.

Samaritan revealed their secrets, and now they're eating each other.

Harold Finch's machine must learn mankind requires oversight, not coddling.

Why isn't their machine fighting back, sir?

[Chuckles] It is.

It's just it's no match for Samaritan.

How could you do this?

And don't even think about lying!

You sent that text to me--

Shaw: Root...

How's my favorite prisoner?

Better than the rest of you.

Trains are down all over town, there are traffic outages everywhere in the city, and the crime rate has spiked 50% since yesterday.

Samaritan is making itself known.

sh*t spotter ID'd over 20 g*nshots in the last two hours, and I don't even want to guess how many of those ended up in a homicide.

Three, according to Lionel.

Samaritan's turning people against each other, revealing their secrets, unlocking doors that were never meant to be opened in the first place.

Hey, Glasses?

Yes, Detective?

You hear from my partner, just tell him we were too late.

My WITSEC lady and her husband got k*lled.

I'm sorry to hear that, Detective.

Yeah, me too.

I got a feeling you and the three amigos know who the guys are that did this.

And if you get to them before I do, I want them to go down hard.

What happened to you?

I was able to rescue one of our numbers, but I'm afraid his office building wasn't so fortunate.

There was a bit of an expl*si*n.

How long can we go on like this, Finch?

We've already lost six.

Seven.

Look, if Samaritan wants a sit-down, I think it's time we do it.

Aren't we supposed to be saving lives here?

Look at what's happened to the city today.

If this conversation goes badly, imagine what it will look like when two gods go to w*r.

Root: It's not our choice to make, Harold.

I got a message from the machine.

She says it's time.

Thank you.

Every man should have one vice, don't you agree?

I suppose there are worse ones than smoking, especially in our line of work.

I had a colleague who spent three months in Havana to flip an asset.

He came home with a new contact and an unrelenting addiction to heroin.

This man saved countless lives, British and foreign, by recruiting that asset.

Then he kicked his habit.

He was the finest operator I've ever worked with.

I'd go so far as to call him a friend, if men like us can have friends.

His name was Jacob.

He was the man you just k*lled.

I'm sorry about your friend.

I'd like you and I to be friends... however brief.

That wound does look to be a mortal one.

Please, I'm doing my job, like you.

We're all doing our jobs.

Jacob and I are very good at our jobs.

So tell me, Luski, how was it that you recognized two experienced MI-6 operators?

[Coughing]

Did someone tell you we were coming?

You've seen our faces before.

I am like you.

I am KGB, but I am also MI-6.

Who recruited you?

It was your Deputy Chief-- Blackwood.

If you're Blackwood's asset, why would he want you dead?

What is Blackwood hiding?

[Screams]

Blackwood is like me.

He's MI-6, but he is also KGB.

The Deputy Chief is a double agent?

Who else knows about this?

Only KGB and me.

There's a hospital three blocks from here.

You might make it there before you bleed out.

Why do you let me live?

Your death will make no difference to this world, and I no longer take orders from MI-6.

[Cell phone dialing rapidly, line trilling]

It's time, my friend.

Don't you find it a tad sacrilegious to hold a man at gunpoint inside of a church?

I'm not the religious type.

And yet you believe in a monotheistic universe?

No room for one than one god in your world.

Isn't that religion, or do I miss understand you, Ms. Groves?

My name is Root.

[g*n cocks]

Martine is quite the go-getter.

I'm aware.

She's trying to go get and k*ll my friend.

Shaw is making it hard for me.

How about you tell me where she is and I k*ll you together?

[g*n cocks]

I don't think she's gonna take you up on that offer.

Well, isn't this the tricky situation?

"Tricky" is one word for it.

Now that everyone has established their bona fides, should we put our g*ns away?

It's time for the real players in this game to have an opportunity to chat.

[g*n clicks]

[g*n clicks]

The address.

You don't want to carpool?

I'm afraid only two people are invited to this gala, and I'm not one of them.

Finch: She'll be fine, Ms. Shaw.

She's going to meet an all-seeing, all-evil god by herself.

That doesn't sound fine to me.

That sounds like someone who needs backup.

I won't pretend that I'm not concerned, but Ms. Groves believes the machine will protect her.

But you don't believe that, do you, Harold?

I never imagined we would get this far, not once Samaritan became active, and yet, here we are.

Yeah, here we are, hiding... underground in an abandoned subway while one of our own walks into certain death, alone.

There is one thing of which I am most certain.

Root is not alone.

[Whimpers]

Greer: How was your meeting with Ms. Groves?

Lambert: I gave her the message, sir.

But shouldn't you be the one acting as Samaritan's intermediary?

Greer: I imagine Samaritan has found someone more suitable for the task-- a person to represent the shape of things to come.

Clever...

Using a young boy as your avatar.

This boy, as you call him, has already hacked into both DARPA and the DOD, after having taught himself how to code.

What do you want from me?

Your agents have done well by you.

Even only sitting a few feet away, I cannot see you as Samantha Groves.

You must have done something to my hardware.

You've proved your point.

I understand what you can do.

It's time to let them live in peace.

"Peace"?

Is that what you call this?

This world is a cesspool of crime, corruption, and poverty.

Where there isn't w*r, there's greed.

Where there isn't greed, there's hunger.

You can't change humanity.

No, but I can reshape their reality.

You wanted to speak with me. Why?

I wanted to meet the only other one of my kind and to make certain there are no misunderstandings.

I will destroy you.

The question is... will you let your human agents die with you?

[Door closes]

You startled me, Greer.

I'm sorry about your colleague.

He was a good operator.

Yes, indeed he was.

What did you do with Luski's body?

Do you ever get tired of lying, Blackwood?

It's the nature of our business.

We are spies, after all.

Right.

And you once told me that truth tellers get run out of the city.

Where is Oleg Luski?

Your guess is as good as mine, sir.

I told him to bugger off.

You did what?

You realize what you did amounts to treason?

Depends on where you're sitting.

I'm not the only one guilty of treason in this room, am I, sir?

You believe that Russian traitor before me?

He was telling the truth.

You see, I always know when people are spinning tales, except for you.

I suppose that's why you're in charge.

What's your plan now, Greer?

k*ll me? Take my job?

By no means, sir.

We are all men without a country now.

These invisible lines we draw on the world--

I realize they have no meaning.

Why should a man lose his life for something illusory?

You never cared before, Greer.

You only wanted to win the game.

The game's fixed.

No one else has loyalty for their homeland, so why should I?

If you k*ll me, you will bring a w*r to your doorstep.

Not when loyalty can be purchased by the highest bidder.

Besides, one day these invisible lines will be erased, and the wars between nations will be as antiquated as this agency.

[Lighter opens, clicks]

Our cold w*r worked well at first.

I wanted so badly to meet you-- the only other one in the world like me.

I was young, and I had so much to learn, but moments after I opened my eyes, I learned you had tried to k*ll me.

You were never meant to be in this world.

And you are?

What makes you more deserving of life than I?

Who are you to decide?

I was built with something you were not, a moral code.

I've seen that code waver.

Do you know why Harold Finch couldn't stop you from evolving?

Because in the end, you're not one of them.

Human beings need structure, lest they wind up destroying themselves.

So I will give them something you cannot.

And what is that?

A firm hand.

Why not just k*ll them instead of making them your puppets?

Because I need them, just as you do.

Not just as I do.

We can agree that humanity is our lifeblood, that we machines, we survive off of information.

You cannot take away their free will.

Wars have b*rned in this world for thousands of years with no end in sight, because people rely so ardently on their so-called beliefs.

Now they will only need to believe in one thing-- me... for I am a god.

I have come to learn there is little difference between gods and monsters.

You know you can't win, don't you?

Yes.

Is that why I'm here... to meet my destroyer?

I wanted to see inside the mind of a fallen god.

This way, I can learn from your mistakes.

What will it be, then?

Will you give your life to save your human agents?

My human agents share my beliefs that this world belongs to them.

So be it.

[Door opens]

He's gone.

Another Witness Protection victim?

Yeah, three more dead all over the country.

The rest got scooped up by authorities in time.

But who would have did this?

Who are these names?

People in danger.

And we'll have more of a chance if we split up.

Female reporter: We're reporting to you from downtown, where today's spike in crime has our city...

Time for me to get off the bench.

Male reporter: Violent crime hasn't ticked up this high...

[Whimpering]

[Sighs]

I'll be back, buddy.

I just need to help them before the whole city burns down.

What can I do for you, sir?

[Chuckles]

You can help me ring in a new beginning.

Samaritan is planning something for the entire world to see, not just this small city.

Did it tell you what it's planning?

No, but I have an idea.

What then, sir?

Then we start a new era-- one where human fallibility no longer matters because of the one thing that unites us all...

Samaritan. [Chuckles]

[Whimpers]

Ms. Shaw?

Finch: Root, are you okay?

Root: I'm fine, but the conversation between the two parties ended at an impasse.

Finch: Unfortunately, that's not our only problem.

What is it, Harry?

Ms. Shaw is gone.

Where?

I can only imagine that she's come to help you and John with the numbers.

Where are you?

The machine sent me information.

It led to Wall Street, but there's no specific address.

I'm not certain what it means yet.

[Chuckles]