(camera shutter clicking) MAN (whispering): Hey.
No flash.
Sorry.
MAN: This is it.
Locals have seen the lights twice from here, including last night.
WOMAN: Reports on ConspiracyNet say Goathart is housing a reverse-UFO technology project.
MAN: Yeah, I've also heard it's a reinvent of a n*zi superweapons program.
Others think it's ghosts -- spirits of World w*r II test pilots.
Whatever's going on, this is where it's happening.
Welcome to the new Dreamland.
The new Area 51.
4:20.
Only two more hours till sunrise.
Prime time for covert m*llitary activity.
WOMAN: I'm going to need more coffee.
(low, distant humming)
WOMAN (whispering): You hear that?
MAN: Hear what?
(low humming continues)
(whirring)
(crackling and crashing)
That.
(crackling and crashing continue)
Mother Mary of...
(whispering) Look!
(panting)
(crackling, woman screams)
(low, harmonic tones resonate)
Hey, buddy.
Death by UFO?
Should be interesting.
Yeah, we're hoping for a more terrestrial explanation.
Uh, victim here was badly b*rned, so it's going to be a while before we can identify.
What have we got here, some targets, huh?
DAVID: Yeah. Thought this base was shut down a long time ago.
Well, Goathart Air Base was officially decommissioned in 1986.
It was established in 1938 as a proving ground for new aircraft.
Taking its name from the local Goathart mountain range.
It's really just a monogenetic volcanic field created about seven and a half million years ago.
Well, 7.6. Let's be fair.
Right, and-and you are?
Oh, I'm sorry. Of course.
I'm, uh, Floyd Mayborne.
I'm from Department 44.
Department 44? Pentagon.
You got some I.D. there?
Oh, I'm afraid Department 44 personnel are not allowed to carry identification.
For reasons that cannot be specified at this time.
I can give you a number to call for verification.
What exactly is Department 44?
Oh, I'm not allowed to describe or to share our current responsibilities.
For reasons that cannot be specified at this time.
I can tell you, however, Department 44 was originally established in 1863 -- during the Civil w*r -- in response to widespread profiteering of m*llitary property.
The theft and black market sale of rations, boots, cannon wheels, that sort of thing.
So, why are you here?
Well, this incident involves m*llitary property.
I was hoping you'd be so kind as to allow me to monitor the FBI investigation.
We're going to have to get back to you on that one.
We're talking alien heat rays, or maybe ghosts.
Souls of dead pilots.
Sounds like there's no shortage of irrational theories.
Oh, in my line of work, I often find it difficult to stay strictly within the bounds of rationality.
Yeah, I bet.
NIKKI: Your weird friend was right.
The base was shuttered in 1986.
There haven't been any m*llitary operations authorized at the base the entire time.
Who were all these people?
UFO and paranormal buffs.
They've been tracking Internet reports about strange lights.
They camp out along the perimeter, hoping to collect evidence.
Of what?
Secret government UFO technology.
NIKKI: Nellis has to deal with these kinds of people all the time.
Nellis? DAVID: Air Base. Area 51.
Oh. So these are really reliable people, right?
Look, short of getting access to the X Files, we're not going with any kind of alien death ray theories, period.
COLBY: Guys.
Processed the photos and the video from these witnesses at Goathart.
Nothing Pulitzer-prize-winning, but we did get something.
What the hell was that? Let me see it again.
You were saying, Agent Mulder?
The Air Force has reverse- engineered crashed UFOs.
It's beyond imagination.
That's why they call places like Goathart and Area 51 "Dreamland."
COLBY: Okay, but why was your group out at the air base last night?
Locals been seeing strange lights out there for a week.
We'd been out twice before trying to get something on camera.
Last night, we got lucky.
NIKKI: Lucky? Someone was k*lled.
I know. It's a... tragedy.
But you got to understand.
This is the first confirmed observation of alien w*apon technology.
All right, how can you be so sure that what you saw wasn't a natural phenomenon?
Good point.
Could have been, uh, spiritual energy.
Angry ghosts of dead pilots.
It would help if you took these questions a little more seriously.
Giant balls of energy raining down from the sky?
Does that seem natural to you?
(whispering) Everything you know is wrong.
Oh, guys, wait. Here, excellent.
I want you to meet Floyd Mayborne.
He's, uh, Department 44 of the Pentagon.
Department 44?
Yeah, DC requested that, uh, Mr. Mayborne observe our investigation.
Extraordinary high-pressure day you're having here, hmm?
Weather-wise.
The buildup of air pressure in the high-altitude Great Basin between the Sierra Nevada and the Rocky Mountains, creating adiabatic winds which are propelled gravitationally toward the Southern California coastline.
NIKKI: I'm sorry, what?
Hot, dry conditions otherwise known as the Santa Anas.
Sounds like he'd enjoy talking to Charlie.
Ooh, yes, Professor Eppes. The one and only.
I would enjoy that.
I really like working with numbers.
Oh, yeah, that's a good idea, Colby.
Why don't you run him over to, uh, CalSci, would you?
Colby?
That's my grandmother's name.
Come on.
DAVID: Hey, Don. You got a second?
Yeah. What's up?
Now that I'm at a supervisory level, I... I'd love some advice on what assignments to go after.
You know, like, "Where do I go from here?" kind of thing.
You have two tracks: fieldwork and management.
Well, you've managed to keep your feet in both worlds, though.
Yeah, but, I mean, I never thought about it.
You're saying you didn't know what you wanted to do?
Nah, look, I knew I wanted to be active.
I knew I wanted to be doing things, not filing reports.
And, you know, eventually, I-I knew I wanted to run a team.
Okay... why?
(sighs) Why?
Well, look, you know what they say, right?
"Once you had a boss, you want to be a boss."
And-and, you know, like yourself, you see enough things done wrong around here -- don't say anything.
And then, they see you can manage people, and you get yourself a desk.
It's not like I... I made a decision.
I just... I kind of played the hand I was dealt, then, I mean, that's the way it worked.
You know what I'm saying?
Think so.
I mean...
I guess I didn't really have a plan.
How did that work out for you?
I'm going to have to get back to you on that one.
RIDENHOUR: We're pulling dental records, but so far, no positive I.D. match.
Can you tell us anything about the victim?
Female. Late 20s, early 30s.
Likes take-out Chinese food.
At least that was her last meal.
Bit of a weekend warrior, tennis or softball, moderate tendon strains in the knee and right elbow.
Cause of death? Coronary arrest.
From what, I'm not sure.
These massive burns indicate contact with a serious energy source.
The only time I've seen something like this was with a lightning strike.
There were no thunderstorms.
Just a shower of alien death rays.
Yeah, that or k*ller ghosts.
The only other thing of note is this.
I've indicated what looks like the burn impression of a long necklace or I.D. badge.
Where is it?
Could've just b*rned up.
Or maybe someone took it before the cops showed up.
MAN: High-density toroid?
Otto Bahnhoff.
Dr. Waldie said you were looking for an engineer with experience in plasma physics.
Yes. Thank you for coming by so quickly, Dr. Bahnhoff.
Uh, please, Otto.
My friends call me Otto-Bahn. Oh.
Ah, that's fascinating.
Uh, where's this from?
Uh, this is from the FBI.
But, uh, Dr. Waldie said you have a security clearance, right?
Oh, yes, yes. I have two current projects with Raytheon.
Now, what are the dimensions?
It's hard to judge the scale on this video.
You know, I don't have the dimensions.
I have to assume that the objects are anywhere from one to three meters in diameter.
But, uh, Otto? Otto?
Otto-Bahn?
Listen, the important thing here is that one of these things k*lled someone.
Uh-huh. Do you know the source?
No. Oh, good, good -- a mystery.
Hello. Hello.
Hi. Come in.
CHARLIE: Floyd Mayborne from the Pentagon.
This is Dr. Otto Bahnhoff.
He's CalSci's resident plasma physics expert.
Oh, the Pentagon.
I'm sure we must know some of the same people.
Actually, I'm quite sure we don't.
Uh, have you considered the possibility that this was ball lightning?
Uh, ball lightning was never definitively proven.
Tell that to Georg Wilhelm Richmann.
Yes, yes. Who?
An 18th century physicist.
While conducting experiments during a thunderstorm, he was struck in the head and k*lled by...
(speaking foreign language)
A pale blue ball of fire.
Well, witnesses described these objects as being aimed or directed at targets.
Well, there-there's a reason why it's... it's really difficult to aim lightning.
In a thundercloud, frozen raindrops bump each other, the collisions creating an electric charge.
The positive charges, protons, form at the top of the cloud, and the negative charges, electrons, form at the bottom.
And, since opposites attract, that causes a positive charge to build up on the ground beneath the cloud.
The charge coming up from these points will eventually connect with the charge reaching down from the cloud, and -- zap! -- lightning.
And so, it's like static electricity.
I could rub my feet on the carpet, but that doesn't mean I can sh**t the electrons at you.
Yeah, the trick is creating lightning that you can aim.
Exactly.
Hasn't stopped people from trying.
The Air Force's ongoing SHIVA Star program has been attempting to create plasma projectiles.
Ongoing?
Well, officially, they say they k*lled the project, but...
Please stand by.
Hmm.
I have confirmed that SHIVA Star is no longer operational.
How?
Cell phone.
MAN: I've been the caretaker here at Goathart ever since it closed.
Make weekly rounds, check locks.
Make sure nothing is vandalized or stolen.
Look around all you like, but I haven't seen anyone on the base for years.
Were you here last night when our victim was k*lled?
No reason to be out here at night.
You ever hear or see anything out of the ordinary on the base?
Like what, ghosts of dead test pilots?
(laughing)
Why do I feel like I'm in a Scooby-Doo cartoon?
Jinkies, Fred, I don't know.
MAN: Well, have at it.
I'll open up the next hangar.
(laughing)
COLBY: What's that?
Sucralfate.
Isn't that for ulcers?
Yeah. And cancer patients, when they get ulcers from radiation treatment.
Expires November 2011.
Someone was out here recently.
What does a ghost from outer space want with stomach medication?
(typing)
I didn't know the desert got so cold at night.
COLBY (over radio): Well, somebody just had to go and find evidence to warrant a stakeout, didn't they?
I'm just going to shut up and drink my coffee.
(typing)
DAVID: How about we look out for something that will justify this little field trip.
COLBY: Hold on.
NIKKI: What do you got? DAVID: Yeah, I saw it, too.
Light over the ridge.
C-34 clear.
How do we look, John?
We're good.
(low humming)
COLBY: You guys hear that?
DAVID (over radio): Yeah.
COLBY (over radio): Is there anyone inside?
NIKKI: I can't tell.
MAN (over radio): Firestrike, prepare for target acquisition.
Your skin feel weird?
Kind of tingly?
Yeah.
CQ-Conquest, this is Firestrike.
P.E.P. frontier at two, two megajoules at 150 kV.
People, we're outside the envelope.
If someone in that van could get hurt or is doing something they shouldn't, we have to go in.
MAN (over radio): Firestrike, CQ-Conquest.
Recommend evacuation of target zone.
Got it. Got it!
(humming continues, growing louder)
(engine starter cranks weakly)
Evacuate the vehicle.
(strong, deep buzz)
(expl*si*n booming)
DAVID: The M.E. has the bodies.
We're hoping to find I.D. on at least one of them.
Well, what's the problem? They're in pretty bad shape.
It's going to take some time to figure out what's flesh and what's clothes, you know.
What's in the van? Uh, it's high-tech gear.
It's all pretty fried, though.
Well, this is a strange development.
Yeah? What do you know about it?
Agent Eppes, I am as mystified as you are.
Perhaps we're looking at some form of high-energy weaponry.
Thanks for that, Floyd.
My brother could have told me that.
Charlie is an excellent resource.
I'm hoping he can tell me something about the contents of that van.
Think he's holding out on us?
I don't know what the deal is with this guy.
CHARLIE: Ooh.
Looks like diagnostic equipment.
Serious computing power.
So, what do you think, more UFO hunters?
No, no, no, this is... this is, like, special equipment.
It's very sophisticated and expensive.
Designed to do what?
I don't know. Something complex.
Oh, this is... this is some sort of viscous material here.
Charlie, yeah, actually, I think that's part of a guy.
Oh. Well, okay.
Uh, whoever was in this van had some cutting-edge equipment, and some of it's capable of, uh, monitoring and tracking.
Okay?
RIDENHOUR: We've I.D.'d all three bodies.
Each had an employee I.D. for a company --
Neox Industries.
Daniel Stymeyer, John Evans, Richard Zezwitz.
Do we know what k*lled them?
Being blown up.
There were burns -- radiation burns.
Maybe an intense X-ray exposure.
What, X-rays can cause a van to explode?
They're powerful when concentrated.
Between this and the Jane Doe that d*ed earlier, there's some intense energy source operating out there.
Well, we need to find out what kind of work Neox Industries does, and if they're missing a female employee.
DAVID: Cynthia Abbott, employee of Neox Industries, reported missing two days ago.
Her size matches the body we found at the airfield, so we just need some DNA for final confirmation.
She worked at the same company as our three toasted guys.
DAVID: All four were engineers.
Neox Industries' website says it develops "specialized preventative applications."
That sounds like weaponry to me.
I wonder why they haven't reported four missing employees.
I can't wait to ask them.
John, Dan and Rich weren't even working last night.
How can they be dead?
Well, they were identified by, uh, personal effects and their dental records.
Oh, my God, this is horrible.
I'll have to notify people -- families.
I suppose I should ask how.
Only if you don't already know.
What were your three employees working on out there?
I signed a confidentiality agreement with the government.
I can't discuss that.
Well, we have top security clearance.
That says I can't discuss our federal contracts.
Not with the FBI, not with anybody.
If I do, I'm violating national security laws.
You understand we can't walk away when four people are dead.
Four? You said three.
We found another body in a separate incident that we also believe to be one of your employees --
Cynthia Abbott.
Cynthia?
No, no, no. That's impossible.
She wasn't even working on the...
This project.
MAN: Cyndi and I have been living together for about six months.
What's happened to her?
We don't know yet.
What can you tell us about Cynthia's work at Neox Industries?
Uh, she didn't talk about it.
Only that it involved her specialty.
And what was that? Plasma physics.
She did say something about being dropped off a project, but she didn't say what it was.
And do you have a recent photo of Cynthia?
Yeah.
She volunteers as a tutor.
She donates her time to Habitat for Humanity.
She... cares about things.
I can't see why anybody would hurt her.
Does she have a computer at home?
Yeah, you need to see it?
Yeah, we do, and we also need a sample of her DNA -- a toothbrush, for instance.
Why? Did you find something?
No, it's just routine.
Well, Neox has a government defense contract, so...
Well, that explains the secrecy.
Oh!
CHARLIE: Floyd? Floyd?
I have an important question I need to ask you.
Have you had the pie at the restaurant down the street?
You mean Pie 'N' Burger?
Is that the name?
That's a good name.
Because it's astounding pie.
Yes, it is.
You came all the way out here for pie?
No, but putting all talk of pie aside for a future time, I have new information.
Due to the deaths of the engineers, I was able to get certain data released to me.
It might help you with your work.
Well, you work at the Pentagon, right?
So, Neox has a defense project.
I would think you would know what it's working on.
Department 44 is only responsible for verifying that these projects come in on time and on budget.
So, you're some sort of auditor.
Uh... some sort, Dr. Ramanujan, yes.
I'm sorry. Have... have we met?
No, but I am familiar with your work, particularly that pertaining to satellite telemetry.
Nifty stuff.
Thank you.
CHARLIE: Hey, listen, Floyd, we need to know as much as possible if we're going to get anywhere with this investigation.
At this point, all I know is that the Neox Industries contract involves "less lethal" weaponry.
As opposed to non-lethal.
Devices that frighten or disable.
CHARLIE: Less lethal would mean directed energy weapons, like microwaves, particle beams, lasers.
AMITA: Makes more sense than ETs or ghosts.
The Pentagon has no contract with aliens or with afterlife entities.
That I'm aware of.
At this time.
The FBI has located this laptop.
Belongs to Cynthia Abbott, plasma physics engineer employed by Neox.
Agent Eppes has asked that Dr. Ramanujan examine its contents.
The FBI also believes that Dr. Abbott was the first person k*lled.
Is there a problem?
Uh-uh. Working on a dead person's computer?
Hardly my first time.
No, I imagine it's not.
ALAN: I don't know, Donnie.
I'm not quite sure what you're getting at, though.
I'm just saying, the major turning points in your life -- were they actually decisions, like, planned out?
Oh.
Well, let's see. Uh...
(grunts)
I chose to go to college.
I met your mom, which I didn't choose.
I chose to marry her.
She got pregnant.
I chose to study architecture, but, uh, I needed a job, so I took a job with the city.
Well, like having two sons.
You know, I mean, you didn't choose that.
Oh, I chose to have children.
Had to take what I got, didn't I?
(laughs)
What is it, you're second-guessing about some decisions?
I don't know. I just...
It's like -- I feel, with all the big ones, really, it was by default.
FBI was just a fallback
'cause I didn't have the goods to play pro ball.
Well, maybe you have to make some plans of your own.
Yeah, well, it never really occurred to me that I-I wasn't doing that.
I'm afraid you're gonna have to ask yourself what you really want in life.
Want a lot of things, Dad.
I got into Cynthia Abbott's laptop.
There's no Neox Industries work on it, but she did send a couple e-mails that mentioned it.
She says that Neox was going to field-test a system that wasn't ready.
She knew where the test was and planned to watch.
Well, she was struck by a plasma toroid device from above, which would indicate an aircraft delivery platform.
Well, here's information about a new type of aircraft -- a small m*llitary drone capable of supporting directed-energy weaponry.
Whoa. Is this some top-secret government site you've hacked into?
No. It's "Wired" magazine online discussion board Otto IM'ed me.
What about the van with the three engineers?
What type of weapons platform was used?
I don't know, but we can find out.
CHARLIE: Well, we've got David and Colby's report, and we've got these track marks on the ground here, so I'm thinking we can use those to calculate the force that struck the vehicle and possibly the direction.
Yeah, I think we've got a good sh*t.
FLOYD: Hello. (gasps) Oh!
Floyd, you got to stop materializing like that.
Oh. Sorry.
May I inquire what you're doing out here?
Just trying to get an idea of where that energy burst came from.
Mmm.
AMITA: What are you doing here?
Oh, I thought I'd try to experience the ambiance of the scene at night.
Your idea sounds much more practical.
Can I help?
Sure. You, uh... you got a flashlight?
There's something here.
CHARLIE: It's a sheep.
AMITA: What could have done this?
FLOYD: Chupacabra?
AMITA: Legendary bloodsucking creature from South America?
Seriously?
No. I'm joking.
Much more likely explanation is that it was k*lled by some high-energy w*apon.
CHARLIE: Well, look here.
Engineering shorthand scribbled on a washing machine.
These are targeting coordinates.
Oh, yeah.
There's another one. Well, how about that?
AMITA: They were testing the w*apon against live animals and objects.
Ooh, I just saw a flash over here.
AMITA: What is that?
CHARLIE: Looks like an unmanned drone.
FLOYD: Ah, MK-15 Shadow Hawk.
National Aeronautical Dynamics.
First flight, February 2, 2008.
Principal user -- United States Air Force.
Unit cost 12.5 million U.S. dollars.
Sensors included.
AMITA: What is it doing here?
I have no idea.
CHARLIE: This is some sort of laser.
A laser-induced plasma channel.
It creates a channel in the air that allows the system to fire a bolt of electricity along it.
A bolt of lightning you can aim?
We've found our m*rder w*apon.
COLBY: Okay, so this thing k*lled four people?
And several sheep.
The question is, why would they leave it out there?
Well, maybe it malfunctioned and crashed, and whoever was operating it got scared of being caught and took off.
NIKKI: Hey, we got turned down by a federal judge for the Neox Industries subpoena.
Yeah, a Defense Department lawyer cited the project's classified status.
FLOYD: Well, that's not optimal.
Wh-what? You work for the Pentagon.
What do you mean? Oh, different department.
Although, I can understand how it looks.
DON: No, no, no, I'm tired of this.
Here's the deal -- either you fix it, or you're out of here.
Well, I guess that's a clear mandate.
What was that? I have no idea.
NIKKI: Four dead people, we can't cut any red tape.
(phone rings) This experimental weapons system must have some serious money behind it.
Ah, these government contracts usually involve billions.
Cynthia Abbott knew something was wrong at Neox.
And now she's dead. That was David.
The woman k*lled at Goathart was not Cynthia Abbott.
DNA match came up negative.
Okay, if that's not Abbott, then who is it?
And where the hell is Abbott?
And what do we really know about Mr. Department 44?
I can report some progress.
What are you doing? Uh, please stand by.
Again with the invisible cell phone.
Floyd, this better be useful.
Oh. (laughs)
Yes, it is -- very useful -- and if I may say, quite unexpected.
(pounding on door) DAVID: FBI! Open the door.
Go!
I want to see I.D.s.
Cynthia Abbott?
What if I am?
It's not illegal to stay in a hotel without telling anybody.
DAVID: How did you know she was here?
Well, she's a scientist with expertise in plasma physics, employed by a firm with government contracts for classified weaponry.
She's been implanted with a microchip so that she can be located at any time.
A microchip?
Are you serious?
Do I appear not to be serious?
If she has a locator in her, why is she trying to hide?
The microchip was implanted without her knowledge.
I wanted to watch the field test.
I didn't know they were going to k*ll somebody.
You saw the m*rder?
It was horrible.
Could you identify the body?
I was too far away to see her face.
Well, why run? Why not go to the police?
Police can't protect me.
The contract's worth billions.
And I know they can't deliver.
Did your boyfriend lie for you?
Herbie has no idea.
I figured it was safer for him that way.
What kind of w*apon is Neox developing?
It's a laser-induced plasma channel g*n.
Um... a lightning g*n.
You work for a government agency that puts microchips in people's heads.
I mean, you can understand if we think that maybe you've been holding back on us.
Well, Department 44 did not perform the actual implantation.
You know more than you're telling us.
I told you everything I knew to be true when I knew it to be true.
What does that even mean?
Have you ever heard of the Bronson Infantry Fighting Vehicle?
Yeah. The t*nk?
Well, the initial design contract was for $40 million, but after 17 years, there was no working design, and the cost hit $14 billion.
Billion? "B." Billion.
Tests were faked, results falsified -- by the contractor, but also by generals at the Pentagon who were overseeing the project.
You're saying that Pentagon officials that know about Neox aren't telling you what's going on?
We know from experience that that is the likely scenario.
Floyd, you're going to tell us everything you know.
If I know it.
Again, what does that mean?
I want a list of Neox employees, all right?!
Well, then, I shall reach out.
Hey, Amita. Hey.
Oh, thanks for coming over.
Sure. I don't have a class until 3:00.
Good. Uh, it's just that, um, I-I have something for you.
Alan, you promised -- no engagement gifts.
No, it's not a gift. It's, um... it's just something that somebody wanted me to give to you.
It was, uh, my wife, Margaret's.
Actually, it was given to her great-great-grandmother for her 21st birthday.
(sighs)
Alan, I...
Well, we never had a daughter, so Margaret wanted me to give it to our daughter-in-law.
I'm not married to Charlie yet.
You've been a member of our family for quite a while.
Um, why today?
Well, um... it's Margaret's birthday.
So, it's my present to her.
Thank you.
(computer beeps)
(computer chirping)
What's this guy up to?
List of Neox Industries' employees.
Hey, that woman k*lled at the airfield that night?
Finally got a possible I.D.
Alison Williams, vice president of Neox Industries.
Was she reported missing?
No, but I checked with her neighbors.
They heard her cat crying.
They said she would have never left it without having someone to feed it.
All right, what do they say at Neox?
That she's on leave.
She's not a scientist. She's a contract liaison.
In other words, head salesperson.
She could be the body from the field test.
One way to find out.
Let's get to her apartment, get some DNA.
ALAN: Hi, boys.
Come to witness my defeat?
I bet you wish Larry was still in town.
She's a lot harder to b*at.
Well, I enjoy the challenge.
Fleinhardt's a good man, but a mediocre chess player.
I miss Larry.
Oh, he'll be back. He always comes back.
Well, one of the nice outcomes of Larry leaving is that you and Amita seem to be spending a lot more time together.
You know one of my true regrets in life is not having a daughter.
But you know something?
Daughter-in-law is just as good.
Well, you got the daughter you always wanted, see?
So, things do work out in the end.
And with any luck, I'd have two daughters-in-law.
CHARLIE: Well, isn't the cliché that people hate their in-laws?
You get along better with her than you do with him or me.
Yeah, what's that? Just 'cause she's prettier?
Mm-hmm. (phone rings)
AMITA: Well, it's easy to like other people's parents.
It's your own parents that present the challenge.
Hey, this is Otto. He's got something. Come on.
DON: Hey, keep me posted, Aah!
Here, I'll take over.
So, Cynthia Abbott was able to provide us with files on the Neox project.
Yes, yes, I've analyzed test data from the dense plasma driver here under the magnetic coils.
A lot of problems.
It looks like it's designed to create a toroid of high-density plasma.
Yes, yes, uh, one that is supposed to shower a target with X-rays to disable electronics...
Or an electrical field that stops a person's motor controls.
CHARLIE: Yeah, well, instead, it k*lled four people.
Uh, the plasma driver adjusts itself to be way too powerful.
It adjusts itself?
It's automated, intended to identify its targets and calibrate its energy output without requiring human intervention.
Yes, yes, uh, the m*llitary developed a device for us in Iraq called a C-RAM -- a computerized counter-rocket a*tillery mortar -- to sh**t down incoming rockets that are coming too fast for humans to react.
Huh. Does it work? Well, it does now, but the first time they powered it up, it fired on an American helicopter.
Luckily, the pilot was able to evade the C-RAM.
Dr. Eppes, I've just received word of Internet chatter referencing a ghost plane sighting near Goathart Air Base.
CHARLIE: We've been out here four hours.
Internet chatter is not always reliable.
That's a bit of an understatement.
CHARLIE: You, uh... you getting another call on your invisible cell phone?
No, just listening to the sounds of the desert at night.
You hear something?
You hear it, too?
I think that's what we were hearing.
Yeah, you think?
Uh, I think it's safe to say that they've spotted us.
Is it similar to the drone we found?
I would say it's... it's quite similar.
So, there's a good chance that this one's also armed with high-energy weaponry.
(whirring)
You hear that? What is that?
If you feel a tingling sensation, that's the plasma channel opening up.
Run sideways, not backwards.
Okay, good to know.
Why are you so calm?
Panic won't do us any good.
(sighs)
(device whirring)
(phone rings)
Sinclair. CHARLIE: Hey, hey, David, we-we sighted the drone.
Can you give me a direction?
NSA has a track on it.
So, yeah, we've got an exact track.
Uh... wow, it's headed for the hangars at Goathart Air Base.
That's 21.3 miles from here.
Now, listen, you need to get there as fast as possible.
Yeah.
Gently, guys, gently.
Got it? Yeah.
(siren wailing)
Get this drone out of here, guys, gently, gently.
COLBY: Let's go. Turn around.
NIKKI: Darren Drew. FBI.
FBI. Stop.
You can keep walking all the way to Bullhead, Arizona, if you want.
But we'll have called ahead.
(panting)
I am supervising a legitimate test here.
I am not a criminal.
COLBY: Then, come on over here and get yourself handcuffed like a good person.
You know what?
You can't do this.
This is a top secret federal project.
You don't have the authority to a...
No, no, no. Hey, you cannot do this!
Look, we just need more time.
We can fix it.
This is not how it is supposed to work.
Who k*lled your three employees in that van?
It was an accident.
COLBY: Well, we've talked to people on your team.
There's a lot of finger-pointing going on.
DAVID: The engineers are blaming the programmers.
The coders are blaming the designers.
Yeah, but mostly, they're blaming you, saying you wouldn't admit that the project was in trouble.
No, that... that is not true.
We were very close. We were days away.
DAVID: Not according to your engineers.
DREW: They don't see the whole picture.
There is so much at stake.
Really?
Enough to k*ll for?
No, of course not.
DAVID: Then, why are four people dead?
Four people who were my friends.
All right?
We're a small company. We're like a family.
I don't know what happened out there, but I know none of my people did it.
It's possible he's telling the truth, that he doesn't understand what went wrong.
He knows. I mean, it's his project.
Right?
Hey. AMITA: Hey.
So, Otto's analyzing the Neox data from the field tests.
Nobody at Neox seems to know what happened.
Isn't it here in their records?
That depends on if we can interpret their data better than they could.
Yes, yes, no doubt, this could work.
It needs tweaks, for sure. NIKKI: Excuse me?
OTTO: Uh, magnetized target fusion.
Compress a smaller plasma load with imploding metal foil.
Yes, yes.
NIKKI: Uh, what's he talking about?
Hey, Otto. Huh?
What if I told you we needed a working prototype in... two weeks?
Yes, yes, uh, no problem.
Uh, large team, uh, MJ capacitor banks, new magnetic coils, some high-z metal, redo the calcs.
Uh, maybe a few risks involved.
A few? Is he serious?
He's an engineer.
Many of them are like this.
Like what? Many of us are like what?
Convinced that in two weeks, you can take a problematic, mistake-ridden, advanced technical project to a working prototype stage.
Why not?
Oh. I see your point.
You know, that's how I got my nickname, Otto-Bahn --
'cause I'm always going, like, 160 miles an hour.
FLOYD: Dr. Eppes, are you suggesting that this is a case of confidence and drive overwhelming practical judgment?
Not m*rder?
Just... the unrestrained ambitions of brilliant engineers.
But unrestrained ambitions are the only way to accomplish anything truly challenging, right?
Oh, dear.
I see your point.
Oh, it's almost like...
I did it.
Not you, but... people like you.
Your engineers were working too fast.
They took too many chances.
Which is why everybody got k*lled.
We needed more time, but the Feds got impatient, so Ali... Alison Williams, your Pentagon liaison.
Ali wanted a live human test.
DAVID: Because it was supposed to be non-lethal.
It was supposed to be safe.
She figured, if we could do that, we'd get more funding and more time.
She volunteered to be the test subject.
So, why the cover-up?
Because, if anybody found out what we were doing, we'd get shut down.
I took the I.D. off her body.
I figured... that would keep it a mystery just long enough to...
Alison believed in this project.
Okay? I don't want to let her down.
DON: And the engineers?
They went out to test on their own.
They didn't tell me. They thought I would say no.
Would you have? No, probably not.
I believed in this project, damn it. I still do.
(exhales)
Well, that's what they told me.
Field supervisor, inspections, two-year stint in DC.
L.A. isn't big enough?
Hey, if you want management, you got to go to DC.
All right, thanks.
Appreciate you talking to the assistant director for me.
Okay, so if you were me, what would you do next?
What do you keep asking me this stuff for?
Well, come on, man, you're like a mentor, and, you know, you're a good agent, so...
Look...
I made my share of mistakes, and you, of all people, know that, you know.
I mean, I've taken the wrong jobs, I've-I've quit the right ones.
I've broken rules I've regretted, and I've followed rules I should have ignored.
Even when I'm doing what I should be doing, sometimes it feels like it's for the wrong reasons.
You know what I'm saying?
I think I do.
I don't even know if I should be in the field anymore.
Ah, don't start talking crazy.
Right.
Well, let me give you some advice.
Stop being so hard on yourself.
Seriously.
For a Jewish guy, you sure like getting up on the cross.
(laughing) Yeah?
Yeah, you know, I haven't seen this thing in years?
(chuckles)
Floyd.
Why do you keep doing that? Doing what?
Materializing out of empty space.
I cannot do that.
However, there are contractors who have been developing an incredible s...
Sorry.
Not really supposed to talk about that.
Uh, I just wanted to let you know that Department 44 really appreciated your help on the Neox case.
I convey to you the thanks of a grateful nation.
You speak on behalf of the whole nation?
A project that wastes national resources damages national security.
You know, Neox could have spent billions more without solving the underlying problems in its systems.
Neox was backed by Pentagon procurement and m*llitary officials and a system built on denial and greed.
And they would have gotten away with it, too, if it weren't for you meddling kids.