02x01 - When the Leaves Began to Turn

[bunniefuu]

You know, at the time,
I thought the other me

was being figurative
when he said...

"k*ll these copies."

No.
He was being literal.

It was only a matter of time
before the Union developed

tech you had already built,
Dr. Weller...

the ability to make copies of me.

But unlike you,

the Union had no moral problem
churning them out

and tossing them at us
like grenades.

The first time they unleashed
a pack of Nemesii on us,

it was eight against five.

And they had smoke.

[Nemesii shriek]

Next fight, it was copies.

And then ...

barely surviving every fight...

bearing witness to every kind

of environmental
collapse possible.

Not to mention acid rain,

eating through the metal skin
on the only body I have left.

And that wasn't even
the worst of it...

k*lling yourself again

and again and again.

That, I don't even know
what to do with that.

[jazzy music]

But I won't give in
to hopelessness nor fear.

'Cause I remember my father's song.

♪ Let the good times roll ♪

It's my mantra.
It's gonna get me through.

♪ Let the good times roll ♪

They're back already?
That's not good.

No, it's not.
But they're alive.

And I guess that's the best
we can hope for.

I honestly do not know
why I fight sober anymore.

We did what we could.
Be proud.

Kazu, not this again.

Please, we just barely
survived a fight.

We don't need
to start another one.

Special move?

You just saw what happened
in the valley.

We can't win with mind-sharing,

and you keep treating this
like a f*cking game.

Grow up, Kazu.

The Union is coming, and unless

you can pull an army
out of your ass, we're f*cked.

My sister is dead.
My Mom, dead.

All I have left
is a few pieces of my past

I can still tell are mine.

I'm not losing them
to mind-sharing.

It's good to see you
all alive and in one piece.

And the Union?

Check the valley off
the No Man's Land list.

It's Union territory now.

Next time, the line moves.

That'll be the end of the line.

[soft dramatic music]

♪ ♪

I know our fight against
the Union in the States

has met with great loss,

but unlike the Union
with their lunatic babble

about a fictional afterlife,

the Polity believes in science
and ensuring humanity

won't just survive
climate collapse, but thrive.

Our Martian Utopia is % complete,

and big enough for every man,

woman and child in the Polity.

[puppy barks]
Oh! Okay, fine.

Dogs can come too, Pugsy.

Make SkyChariots out of LA free!

We're gonna die here!

We're gonna burn!

When the Martian city
is complete,

people like him will be
brought along as workers.

No one will be left behind.

Would that we were
finished now,

so we could save him.

Our spy tells us the Union

will att*ck Los Angeles
within hours.

I did not need intel to know that.

I cannot win a showdown
if I don't have the g*ns.

You have to win, General. Listen.

We potentially have an upgrade
for the Anvil Hammer system

that could theoretically
nullify the Union's nanotech.

If you can cut me a path
to the Anvil, we can test...

Get your head out of the clouds.

I'm going to lose Los Angeles
in two days.

Any other plan beyond that
is a dream.

I don't share your fatalism.

I've seen your back against
the wall enough times to know

that's when
you shine the brightest.

The well-heeled flee
Los Angeles on your orders,

while I order my soldiers
to face off against

flesh-eating nanotech.

Fatima is the failure here.

The Union only has
one broken copy of Chase,

which they have used to build
their so-called Nemesis army...

an army, by the way,
we cannot hope to b*at.

I have copies
of all our team members.

If I could utilize them, I
could crush the Nemesis horde.

Yet Fatima can't figure out

how to get gen:LOCK
copies into our Holons

to give me the numbers
I need to win.

General, we're here for our debrief.

Weller's dead.
Fatima is what she is.

But you're the engine
of my w*r machine.

Save Los Angeles.
Get me to the Anvil.

Or go down with the ship.

[sighs]

Our spy confirms Brother Tate

will as*ault Los Angeles in hours.

Every Nemesis he has
will fall upon us.

And we have the five of you.

We stand ready to defend the
Polity to our last dying, uh...

Well, get what rest you can.
We don't have long.

General, we do not need rest.

We can help with
whatever you need until...

You already help me
bear the weight.

I thank you for that.
If... when we survive,

I swear I will give you
so much R&R,

you'll all start hating vacations.

[squeals, laughs]

This is the first purely
benevolent fiction that we...

Selling a fictional city on Mars
to half the human population?

Is manufacturing hope.
We're not lying.

We're buying time until
RTASA can unlock gen:LOCK.

Hmm.
My spy brings me proof.

Holcroft's Martian salvation is
nothing but smoke and mirrors.

Proof so damning,
it paradoxically has no value.

For it would simply be discounted
as a digitally altered lie

were I to disseminate it
to the Polity citizens.

But, sir, the people must
know the Polity's lies.

This could be exactly
what we need

to snuff out the heretics
once and for all.

[sighs]
What ought we do, Mr. Cook?

[burps]

[chuckles]

You are right, old friend.

One should always find
the silver lining.

The Polity's grand gluttony
may have consumed the planet,

but we are winning the w*r.

Ascension tethers man
to an existence so much sweeter

than this earthly coil ever was.

Flow, some eucalyptus for Mr. Cook.

Whether the citizens of
Los Angeles are ready or not,

the Polity has no idea
what's coming for them.

Months searching for
Dr. Weller's backup persona

compels me to once again
point out our Union minds

are every match for
his sacrilegious anti-wisdom.

Progress on TWILIGHT
has been made.

What we could do
with a mind like his.

Ah, well.

Likely you are correct,
Brother Sugiyama.

For if Dr. Weller had left
some storehouse

of all he knew behind, we would
surely have found it by now.

What it's like in there, Dr. Weller?

To be alive in the digital sea,

as they, is to be awake in a dream.

- What the hell does that mean?
- No idea, honestly.

I was just... programmed
to like sounding smart.

[device chirping]

The customizability
your Hub upgrade gave us

continues to amaze.

Being in our Hubs was like
floating in cold, blue nothingness.

At least now
I get to be surrounded

by that which gives me pleasure
inside my own mind,

while the world burns.

Jesus, you fucks have gotten bleak.
Here, take a rabbit.

I made a patch that increased
their softness %.

Cammie, can't you drop
the happy act

and be depressed and terrified
with the rest of us?

[sighs]
Growin' up, havin' no money,

things were hard
some of the time.

Harder the rest.

But no matter how broken
my Dad was after work,

he'd always bring me
a flower home and he'd say,

"When the sh*t piles high, girl,
try always to remember

that sh*t's where
flowers come from."

Privacy isn't selfish.
It's human.

Chase, you aren't the only
one scared of losing

yourself to the mind-sharing
side effect...

having each other's memories
leak into our minds

every time we share,
to have no control

over what memories
we leak into each other.

More and more I find myself
startled awake by nightmares.

I'm not even sure they're mine.

Guys, look on the bright side
of mind-sharing.

It's why we all know Japanese.

- Thanks, Kazu.
- [grumbles]

And I can sharpshoot
'cause now I have

Val's memories of training
literally inside me.

Mind-sharing doesn't have
to muddle who we are.

It just makes us
more a part of each other.

This is all besides the point.
We lost.

Tomorrow is our last stand.
We all know it.

Kazu thinks he's yelling at me

'cause I'm not living up
to his "warrior spirit,"

but that's bullshit.

The real reason he's concentrating
on me not mind-sharing

is 'cause he doesn't want
to think about how most,

or all of us
won't live through tomorrow.

I know I'm a g*dd*mn warrior

because I'll go down fighting.

But I'm also gonna go down
remembering who I am.

And you're not taking that
away from me.

So stop the guilt trip
and go get some g*dd*mn sleep.

'Cause we're gonna need it.

I hate being alone in a storm.

[gentle guitar music playing]

# #

[upbeat music playing]

[grunts, sighs]

[gasps]

[sighs]

[grunts]

[yelps]

Ugh, I hate you so much.

Mind-sharing...
[scoffs]

Hey, Dri?
Play Dad's song.

♪ Let the good times roll ♪

[jazzy music playing]

[knocking on door]

Baby, can you get the door?

Dri, louder please.

♪ Don't care if you
young or old ♪

[audio glitching]
Baby, can you get the door?

Louder, Driana.

[glitching rapidly]
Baby, can you get the door?

[pounding at the door]

[soft dramatic music]

[laughs]

[thunder booming]

♪ ♪

You know, unlocking gen:LOCK

- was Weller's greatest dream.
- We'll cr*ck it.

And that isn't
just arrogance talking.

It is both confidence
and arrogance talking.

[laughs] If we do, I hope Leon
wakes one day to know his mind

was responsible
for saving humanity.

General Marin requests
your presence, Dr. Jha.

[machine beeping]

[soft suspenseful music]

I gave you five hard drives

with copies of our gen:LOCK team.

You have an empty
Holon army in RTASA.

Weller gen:LOCKed our
Chase copy without trouble,

yet while North America
falls to the Union,

I watch you fail miserably
to do the same.

Again, the gen:LOCK process is complex.

And that is not even getting
into the moral quagmire.

The Polity terraformed Mars
to save the human race

from a climate apocalypse,

and because of your ineptitude,

a continent will not have access
to that salvation.

Yet you speak to me of my morality.

- I... I'm doing the best I can.
- RTASA will relocate without you.

You will go down with this ship
or deliver my Holon army.

Dismissed.

Fatima's moral qualms
make me worry her conscience

is getting
in the way of her pragmatism.

Get access to her station.
Be covert.

God, I miss being able to dream.

Dear Chase,
stop being so effing guarded.

We ain't built to shoulder
their sh*t alone.

That's what friends are for.
Sincerely, Cammie.

You're right.
I do need help.

If I'd have known
framing sh*t in a letter would

get you opening up, I'd have
talked like that ages ago.

I need you to get me
into Caliban's mind drive

where Weller hid his secrets.

What?
But I can't do that.

Well, I mean, I can, I think.

But Dr. Weller, he asked us
to respect his privacy.

Please.
I need to ask him about me.

This battle really might be our last.

And if I'm gonna die, I...
[alarm blaring]

Gen:LOCK team,
to your battle stations.

The Union is here.

Our Holons aren't repaired.

Then we fight with what we have.

[dramatic music]

RTASA, be prepared to burrow if...

What the hell?
Where did the Nemesii go?

[ominous music]

[Nemesii shrieking]

♪ ♪

[all scream, groan]

[dramatic music]

♪ ♪

We gotta mind-share.
Whatever this is, it's so bad.

♪ ♪

[banging on door]

Chase, please.

[groans]

I cannot b*at
a Nemesis onslaught

without an onslaught of my own.

Fatima has been sabotaging
the gen:LOCK process

with your copies for months.

A simple program,
but well hidden...

a digital gate keeping copies
from entering the Holon frames.

I deleted it,
and we can ready Holon frames

to gen:LOCK with copies now.

Fatima's fairytale morality
has doomed the world.

Bring her to me!

There are ghost imprints
all over my private... oh, no.

Who deleted my programs?

[monitor beeping rapidly]

I think Leon just d*ed.
[monitor flatlining]

[device chirping]

[gasps]

[grunts]

[dramatic music]

♪ ♪

[grunts]

[screams]

[growls]

Ha!

[gasps]

♪ ♪

Chase, mind-share.
For Kazu.

[gasps, groans]

♪ ♪

[shouts]

Giga...

Mega...

- Ultra Move...
- [grunts]

- Zero GT...
- [shouts]

Turbo Edition.

[speaks Japanese]

♪ ♪

Damn, that was deep.

[thunder booms]

Incredible.

Together, there is nothing
they cannot destroy.

Tell Henry I have an idea
for the copies that may give us

a fighting chance
to be implemented now.

[grunting]

[shouting]

Gen:LOCK team,
they'll melt the shield.

If RTASA falls, we fall.

- General's orders.
- You cannot do that to the copies.

What, did everyone catch
Fatima's childish moralizing?

I am a pragmatist,
not a moralist, General.

What am I saying is you have
a very high likelihood

of ruining your only copies
of very rare, plastic minds.

The only other option is death.

Come with us, Dr. Jha.

[grunts]

♪ ♪

Do not upload those copies!

Please, we don't wanna
have to get physical.

♪ ♪

[grunts]

Who's piloting those?

Are they su1c1de bombing
the f*ckers?

Ask later.
They need our help.

Uh, do they, though?

[soft dramatic music]

♪ ♪

Your copies didn't blink
before blowing themselves to hell.

Whatever you did to make them
so patriotic, keep it up.

You think your new army
can get us to the Anvil?

- Sure. On it.
- You take her back for us,

and I'll pull out your seat

at the big boy table
in Geneva personally.

I want my house back, Tate.

We all owe you guys
a tremendous debt.

Who in the hell are in those things?

You'd have to be nuts
to be willing

to blow yourself up like that.

I have nothing to take from him.

For he has already
given everything.

[stirring dramatic music]

♪ ♪

[soft music]

♪ ♪

[device chirping]

Friends! I didn't know
you were allowed inside me.

Technically, they are not.

- Whoa.
- What the hell is he?

That delightful young program
is Caliban,

whose body Dr. Weller borrowed
to hide me inside of.

- Oh.
- [laughs]

Caliban has his own
consciousness?

Then what the hell are you?

I am Weller's knowledge, aka,

that which talks to you
from inside this body.

Okay, well, I have things
I need to ask him.

You. Please.

♪ ♪

[giggles]

In my mind, Dr. Weller,

there's this pounding,
I can't get rid of it.

I can't turn myself off or sleep.

- I can't dream.
- Nor cry. Nor sweat.

Nor defecate.

You are now a machine, after all.

But this pounding
you speak of...

On a floating door
that shouldn't be there.

Doc, please, am I gonna
go crazy like Nemesis?

Do I have it in me
to be a monster?

Likelihood of mental collapse

under these conditions
is . %.

Sorry I couldn't
be more precise.

You were supposed to protect us.

Dr. Weller was clear
there would always be risks

to a human mind when ripped
into an inhuman body.

Sorry.

♪ ♪

Dr. Weller was always a bit more
analytic than he was empathic.

Things have just been so hard...

ever since I lost mom and Driana,

since the battle of New York,

the day this stupid w*r went hot.

The Battle of New York
was not when the w*r went hot.

Contrary to popular belief,

the first strike was struck
by the Polity days prior.

Wait, so if New York
wasn't the first strike,

then what was?