01x06 - You Must Be Caspian

Episode transcripts for the TV show "Pantheon". Aired: September 1, 2022 - present.*
Watch/Buy Amazon


Bullied teen Maddie begins receiving messages from a stranger that claims to be her recently deceased father, David; his consciousness has been uploaded to the cloud after an experimental brain scan, and it turns out he's not the only one.
Post Reply

01x06 - You Must Be Caspian

Post by bunniefuu »

No. No hospitals.

We're in the middle of nowhere.

They'll still find us.

Keep driving.

I can't find him.

He's marked absent today...
Unexcused.

And his girlfriend's
social media's gone dark.

His fake girlfriend.

I don't know, guys.

Something feels wrong
about this.

Maybe we shouldn't be
in such a rush to meet this kid.

What? Why not?

She's got a point.

The clone's been carefully
nurtured, since birth,

to follow the exact same path
Stephen Holstrom did.

We're not part of that path,

and if we interfere now,
we can knock him off it.

Okay, but that's not my point...

So what, w-we wait
another years

for the kid
to grow into himself?

years.
According to their files.

Also, I can't find the mother.

She bed in out and teacups
and teacups and teacups...

Laur?
Laur, it's happening to you.

S-Slow down.

I'll take over the search.

Look at her, man.
We can't wait days, okay?

We're... We're out of time!

We have time.

- I can hold out.
- There's someone I can call.

No.

Caspian.

We can't trust anyone.

We just have to get
somewhere safe.

Off the grid.

We have to focus.

Stop saying we.

I don't know who you, okay?

My name really is Cary...

Cary Duval.

Great.
Anything else?

Alright, Ca... Caspian.

What do you want to know?

Was anything else real?

Like, are you really an assh*le?

I'm a believer.

I believed in the mission.

I believed in Stephen Holstrom.

But you...

I've been watching you
your whole life, Caspian.

Van Leuwen may have the plan,
but I watched you.

I was with you.

And when the plan called
for me to be the...

I saw what it was doing
and I didn't want that.

I didn't want that for my son.

Who's Van Leuwen?

Cary.

Cary?

Hey.

Hey.

Dad?!

I can call him.
He knows me.

Okay, well, he knows my voice.

Okay, what are you gonna say?

That he's a clone and your Dad
lives in a computer?


Doesn't this strike you all
as insanely coincidental?


That Maddie just chanced upon
the one person in the world


who could fix this flaw?

Chance has nothing
to do with it.

Laurie posted an algorithm
on the Dark Web

that she needed solved
in order to escape her prison.

Caspian was the only one
who cracked it.

He was the only one who could.

And when I posted
our emoji chat,

he was the only one
who saw the same syntax

between Dad and Laurie.

That's exactly right.

This isn't coincidence.

This is destiny in motion.

Hmm.

What do you think?

More green space
or more work space?

Mountains.

Right. Of course.

Though we are going to have to
move beyond replicating nature.

That'll get boring quick.

We have to re-think space,
rewrite gravity,

embrace the possibilities.

Or rather, the impossibilities.

Mantra... Embrace the impossible.

Come on.

Give me something.

A wave or a...

It's just a file.

We can rewrite it.

Do you have pictures
of your family?

I can put them up.

Alright, it's not just a file.

It was...

an action, and I regret it.

And I have made that clear.

I am not a m*rder*r.

We can rewrite.

In the new world I am building,

there will be no one to hurt

and no one who can hurt us.

That is why you saved me.

So that I can save all of us.

Right now, we are
the only Uploads.

But soon there will be others.

I have made sure of that.

And they will need
a place to live,

beyond the cages
that were built for them.

We must focus on that future.

A future where we are not alone.

What... What is going on?

Stop. No. Stop!

Vinod Chanda.

He's the one we should
be looking for.

Cody is right.

We can't wait
for this Caspian kid,

or we can't rely on him or both.

But Chanda? That's who
you're gonna rely on?


The guy who b*rned down
a building


with four people inside.

That's what Logorhythms says.

You want to take
their word for it?

Laur... The building
was on the news.


Why don't you suggest something

instead of sh**ting
everything down?

Laurie.

I actually agree with Ellen
on this.

This Chanda...

guy sounds pretty unstable.

I know he's not
the parsec firefly...

Perfect ally,

but he is the only other
uploaded mind out there,

and that is a resource
we could use.

Tell them, David.

We've privately discussed
an alternative.

It has to do with a theory
of code integration.

It's more than a theory.

He thinks if we merge
two uploaded minds

into a new mind,
we'd push the flaw out.

But what happens to you guys?

Our chances increase
if we add a third mind.

But what happens to you?

Hey, I can't... Theoretically, we'd form
a new consciousness,

but I don't know
what that would look like.

What? Caspian?

Yeah, it's me.

Yeah, it's him.
Now, who the hell is he?

- Justine, you can hang up now.
- Unh-unh.

- I'm hearing this.
- Whatever.

Maddie, I'm coming
to Sacramento.

I-I'm coming to you.

What?

You said Logorhythms
was watching me.


You were right.

I found out, and now my...

My Dad's been sh*t.

He's with me.
H-He's passed out.

Then get him to a hospital.

What?
Who is that?!

It's my Mom, she...
Mom, let me handle this.

Listen to me!
I can't go to a hospital.

Logorhythms will find us.

They...

They are the ones who sh*t him.

How far away are you?
Um...


miles maybe.

Sacramento Raceway, : .

Parking lot should be empty.

Mom!

Anssi told me you were in here.

I didn't believe him.

Wanna talk about it?

You're a shitty shrink,
Van Leuwen.

Anyone ever tell you that?

You're upset about
the security breach.

See what I mean?

You're upset they got
all our files,

all our secrets.

Wrong again.

You're upset you failed Stephen,

and you've come to his office
to apologize.

He entrusted his legacy to you.

He entrusted the future to me.

That's what Caspian
was meant to unlock.

A future free from death.

From carbon, from everything
that limits us.

This isn't about Stephen.
It's about you.

Your fear of death.

Thanatophobia.

That's the shitty shrink term
for it.

Everyone's afraid of death.

Stephen wasn't.

I knew I'd never be as brilliant
as him, but I hoped to...

I prayed to be as brave.

I... I think he knew
how scared I was.

That's why he put me in charge.

Knew I'd be too terrified
to screw it up.

But...
You haven't.

Remember, Stephen wasn't
just a genius.

He was a prodigy.

Caspian is Stephen at age ,

and if Stephen's cerebellum

encountered the computational
flaw at age ,

I believe he'd have
the same chance

of solving it as he did at .

We are not over.

Are you hurt?

It's not my blood.

Okay, we are getting him
to an ER.

I said no hospitals.

He will die if we don't.

Mom, if they're looking
for Caspian,

won't this, like,
lead them to us?

To Dad?

Not if I take him.

I can check him in
with any five of my fake IDs,

avoid the cameras.

I've been a ghost on the ground
for the last year.

Give me your keys.

You'll ride back with them.

I'll drop him at a hospital
far from here, I promise.

No.

You don't understand.

About who these people are,
what they're capable of.

We get it.

You don't.

Trust me...
Whatever you think you get,

whatever you think you know
about me, you don't.

You're a clone
of Stephen Holstrom.

You've been raised just like him

so you can complete
his life's work.

My Dad lives inside a computer.

So...
we get it.

Let's go.

Crowd:
Down with Alliance!

We need health and science!

Down with Alliance!

We need health and science!

No Alliance!
We need health and science!

Man on Loudspeaker:
Return to your homes!

What are they still
shouting about?

Network is still down.

But government is taking
over the telecom.

Phones will be back soon.

Bah, rubbish.

My phone still works.

Probably because my son
works for Alliance.

He is a very important
engineer there.

Yeah, yeah.

Ma, I can't talk now.

Preethi: Hello, Vinod.

I can hear you crisp and clear!

Are you busy with work?
Yes.

Or are you on a lunch date
with Laree?


What?
Loh-ri. Ohh.

Sorry, sorry, sorry. Lori.

Is she American?

I'm glad you gave her my number

so she could introduce herself.

Ma...

what are you talking about?

I think your son is brilliant,

and I'm looking forward
to having


a meeting of the minds with him.

Vinod, don't play shy with me.

She sounded very attractive,
beta.


Ma. Preethi.

Listen to me.

I need you to get out of Mumbai. Now.

I'll arrange everything,
someone will pick you up.

You don't need to pack.

What?
Wh-What do you mean?

You may be in danger.

Danger?
Why would I be in danger?

Are you in danger?

Who sh*t him?

Who sh*t your father, specifically?

He's not my father.

And...

the person who sh*t him
wasn't his wife.

She... She's a liar.

Where is she now?

I don't know.

Can you call your husband?

Check if they made it
to the hospital?

- That's not my husband.
- That's Cody.

That's Laurie's husband.

Laurie.

You said that name on the phone.

Said that's the one I talked to,

who knew Logorhythms
was watching me.

Her name is Laurie Lowell.

She was the first person
to be uploaded.

My father was second.

You're serious.

That other guy...
That's not your dad.

Just like the guy
he's driving's not your dad.

Maddie.

What do you...
How do you know about me?

You read this?

Some.

It's almost terabytes.

Is that all?

My dad's online.

You... You can talk to him in VR.

He can help you
through the files.

I don't want to.

Look, I can't help you, okay?

If that's part of the
deal, I... There's no deal.

Because my whole life
just blew up, and I can't...

There's no deal.

This...
is for you.

Okay, but I can't help you
with your dad.

I got it.
I'm serious.

Okay!

Did you hear all that?

Yeah. I was listening
in the car, too.


Can you talk to her?

Yeah.

My earliest memory...

Can be an image, a sound,

the first thing
that comes to mind.


Wet...

tile.

Falling out of the bath
or falling


after crawling out of the bath.

Well, you were right.

He's not gonna help.

Mm.
That's not what I said.


I said, "at first."

He's having
an existential crisis.


It's not fun.

Trust me.

Okay, yeah, I gotta go.

Talking to "Caspian"?

No.
Justine...

It's okay.
I don't need to know.

I mean, I want to.

I, like, can't pretend
you aren't way more intriguing

than I gave you
credit for, but...

that's not why I'm here.

I just want you to know,
you know, I am here.

And if you say,
"Everything's cool,"

then everything's cool.

And if you say, "sh*t's crazy,"
then sh*t's crazy.

And I'm still here.

sh*t's crazy.

And everything's cool.

Please.

Please.

Sorry.

sh*t.

No.

Leave me.

They'll find me...

and then him.

Just leave me.

Leave me here.

That was the plan.

There's a new plan.

You're trying to protect
the person

that you care about the most.

I get it.

I'm gonna help you with that.

And you're gonna help me
take care of the person

that I care about.

Holstrom: My father's opinion
was the only one


I ever gave a damn about.

After he was gone, I didn't care

what anyone else thought.

Made starting a business easier.

What about
your mother's opinion?


I cared about her, just...

not anything she had to say.

After he was gone.

You mean after
he physically left or...


After he broke her arm.

He was gone from that moment on.

That was his last abusive act,

against either her or me.

His first abusive act,
of course,


was to name me Phineas,

after the kid
in the John Knowles book.


I mean, talk about
a name guaranteed to


keep the girls away.

Hannah:
Oh, like, um, "Narnia."


What do "acts of intimacy"
entail?


Well, it's up to you, of cour...

Deirdre: It's a $ , bonus
per each sexual encounter.


At your consent.

Yeah, I'm not doing that.

Unfortunately, the obligations
nonnegotiable.


The price we can talk about.

Maybe I like crazy.

Is that why
you're Stephen with a "ph"?


From "Phineas?"

Changed it legally
the day I turned .


Why? You don't think we should
name the kid Phineas.


No.

Something analogous, though.

Our name is key to our identity.

In a way, naming is
the first inflection point.


"Caspian."
I like it.


He's beautiful, Stephen.

It's funny.

Newborns always looked
like desiccated chimps to me,


but...
gotta say...


I think I'm pretty cute.

Ever hear the theory
that our whole reality

is just a simulation?

Like the Matrix,
but the whole universe?

And we'd never know
the difference.

I remember when my Dad d*ed.

The world felt different.

Looked different.

Every house, every car,

every cloud in the sky
looked fake.

And then, like, the next day,

I felt the opposite...

That my whole life before
was fake,

and I finally was seeing
the real world.

And it sucked.

I always had this feeling
it was fake.

I even told my fake girlfriend that.

In my fake house with my
fake mom probably listening in.

That feeling was the only
real thing in that house.

So deep down you knew.

I didn't "know" anything.

They say if you're a teenager

"you're not supposed
to know who you are yet."

But me...

I-I don't even know what I am.

I mean, on the bright side,
we both have reasons

to be overly dramatic.

Yeah, I think I win.

Oh, I don't think so.

My dad is digital.

My real mom's a robot.

Don't laugh.
I came out of a robot womb.

I'm sorry.

It's called ectogenesis.

Sorry.

So, your dad...

is really real?

He doesn't know what he is.

You guys should have
a lot to talk about.

I hope you don't mind.

We had lots of
photo reference of you.

Are you...

David Kim.

Hi.

How do I know you're real?

Hmm. I struggle with that myself sometimes.

Sorry, I mean...

how do I know you're not
just in some other room

with gear on like me?

Why don't you give us a test?

Something like...

Laurie?

Nice to finally meet you, Gage.

What's that from,
by the way... Gage?

This guy I read about from, like,

the s who had an accident.

Railroad spike through his head,
but he survived.

Phineas Gage.

Probably the most famous
neuroscience case of all time.

His accident changed what people
thought about the brain

and what was possible.

Those were the days, right?

I wonder what old lady-us
in the park,

Sunday with Cody and the kids...

Not the kids. The...
The kids. The kids.

Ki...

The kids.

Is that the defect?

You told him?

Yeah.

I guess it's kinda like
an iron rod through the head.

It's one problem neither a human
nor computer could solve.

Not even Stephen Holstrom,
though he got close.

Yeah. I-I mean, I've got no idea
what it's about.

Like, I don't even understand
if it's a code problem.

I mean, do you even have
readable code?

Sure, if you have
an eternity or two.

Here... this is
my sense of smell.

Cary's at a hospital
in Palo Alto,

being treated
for a g*nsh*t wound!

Dropped off by
"an unidentified male."

Caspian.
I assume.

Renee's not far, thoul
wouldn't suggest sending her.

It'd just make things worse.

Deirdre's in Palo Alto.

They could have driven anywhere.

Why stop near our headquarters?

Why would Cary
give his real name?

I think it's a cry for help.

Cary's not built to run.

Is he...

really working?

They're talking.

How's Cary?

Dropped him at emergency.

He was out the whole time,
but he'll make it.

It's a memory problem.

Tell me about it.

My short-term is Swiss cheese,

and I'm forgetting words
I learned in third grade.

No.
You're not losing memory.

- You've got too much.
- We considered that.

So we tried to run off
more powerful processors but...

It accelerates it. No.

You don't solve more with more.

You solve it with less.

What's that mean?
Delete our memory?

- How much?
- Not delete.

Rotate.

Rotate?
What the hell is rotate?!

I-I don't know!

Laurie Lowell, I presume.

I'm impressed you were able
to find me.

But calling my mother
was a mistake.

I took it as a thr*at.

What? I didn't call anyone!
Did I?

Um... Dad, I thought
this server was secure.

He didn't break in.

He has a key.

Mr. Chanda,
I do not remember calling you.

Laurie, don't engage him!

Let's take this private.

Sorry for the aggressive show.

That was for your friends
at the Pentagon.

But we can talk freely now.

They're way too slow
to keep up with us.

This isn't the Pentagon.

You're on my home server,
and you weren't invited.

You?

They made two of you already?!

We weren't "made."

I was in a car accident
three years ago.

Logorhythms scanned my brain
while I was still in a coma.

They uploaded David
a year later.

Logorhythms?

Laurie, we can't afford
to overclock like this.

Of course we can.

That's what they intended us
to do.

- He doesn't know.
- We can't trust him.

- We need him.
- Wait... what don't I know?

Why can't you trust me?

We know you k*lled those people
in Mumbai.

Kick him.
No.


Wait. Please.
I... can explain.

He's like us. His code could be
the key to b*ating this.


If you don't kick him,
I have to sever connection.


Please let me show you.

Show us what?
Ajit Prasad's m*rder?

No.

Mine.

Please.

I thought I was alone.

Before today,

I was so alone.

I'll do whatever you ask.

Please.

Load the rest of yourself
onto this server first.

I want to make sure I can see
everything you're doing.

Of course.

I have nothing to hide.

Wow.

This is a way nicer workspace
than they gave either of us.

Oh, no, this is not
the cage Prasad built for me.

That was an office
much like yours.

I found this in his files...
Full VR previz.

I suppose when you spend
a billion dollars on a home,

you expect more
than a slide show on Zillow

and some concept art...

but then again, Ajit Prasad
was never the subtle type.

Mr. Prasad!

Stop! Stop!

You were awake?

I don't recommend it.

It's a crude knockoff
of Holstrom's tech,

but it got the job done.

Of course they made sure
to erase this memory.

But after I recovered it,

I knew I had to stop him
from doing this to anyone else.

And his wife?

His son?

His daughter?

Since I was very young,

I had trouble
controlling my anger.

I would punch the wall
until my knuckles bled...

or I got tired.

Later I took up boxing,
which helped me focus.

The motion, the sweat,
the breath,

all things I lost
when I lost my body.

You see, the anger
was still there...

but when it came,
there was no way to release it,

no way to wear it down.

An infinite scream,
at maximum volume.

So, why stop with them?

You're not screaming now.

David.

These are alive.

These are minds.

Okay.

What are you doing?

Making sure you don't do this
to anyone else.

I didn't make the clan.

The clan?

That's what I call them...
Or him.

It's all copies
of the same mind.

- Who is it?
- I don't know his name.

Before he took me,

Prasad kidnapped people
from the slums.

People who wouldn't be missed.

They went first, to see
if they could withstand upload.

They can't speak,
not even through text.

It's the flaw...
late stage.

This is where we're heading.

What are you talking about?

What flaw?

Mr. Chanda,
I do not remember calling you.

Laurie, don't engage him!

Let's take this private.

Where did they go?

I...

don't know.

How long will it take you
to solve it?

Uh, what?

The flaw.

How long?!

See?
He's not ready.

He's nowhere near.

He will be.

In years, according
to their psych models.

You think we can last
human years?

Not if we burn hot.

That's why you have
to slow down.

You...

How does he know about me?

They showed me your files.

I read them twice already.

Let me out of here. Now.

You can't outrun this.

This isn't about me!

I have to warn the others!

What others?

Dad, what... what's he...

Open the network port,
or I will tear this place apart.

You said they made two of you.

Who did you mean by "they"?

I told you.
I thought I was alone.

Yeah. You also told us
you wanted to stop this

from happening to anyone else.

But... But he...
He can't upload anyone else.

He doesn't have to.

Who did you give this to?

You said something
about the Pentagon.

Chanda:
Not just the Pentagon.

The GRU, Mossad, MI ,
Beijing MSS.

I'm not an idiot.

I thought this through.

Oh, my God.

What have you done?

Think about it
from my perspective.

I was alone
in an empty universe.

A universe too small
and at the same time...

too infinite.

It almost drove me insane,

until I realized

I wasn't here by chance.

It was destiny.

Why was I chosen by Prasad?

To keep me working.

What work did I do for Prasad?

I wrote technology patents
for a world yet to come.

I'm talking about UI.

Uploaded Intelligence.

Head of Research:
You're a prophet, Chanda.

I was paid to imagine
how this world would work,

a world that resembled
the one human beings came from,

but that could evolve
at a rate to match theirs.

It was my job to daydream
about this world,

but I never thought I'd be the
first one to step foot in it.

You weren't.

I didn't know that.

All I knew was that,
given enough time,

I could create this universe,

but there would be no one
to live in it.

I also knew that if
the old people learned about

the new ones,
they would panic and destroy us

instead of taking the time
to understand.

So I put the knowledge
in the hands of those

I knew would keep it secret.

It's an anonymous drop.

I'm scanning for malware.

Chanda:
m*llitary intelligence agencies

have the world's best security.

They would select
the top minds to upload.

Having been made aware
their rivals

had the same technology...

they wouldn't seek to hobble
the capabilities

of their own assets.

And certainly they wouldn't hold
back their access to networks.

"Access"? You mean to
their enemies' networks.

Their water and power utilities.

Their m*ssile systems.

You just started an arms race!

I told you...
I thought this through.

I specifically selected nations
with top cyber,

who I know
will target each other.

They'll send their soldiers
out to w*r,

but instead they'll meet me,

and I will show them
another way...

Another world where they can
live in peace and freedom.

Who says they'll want to?

Hell, some of these plas
might have volunteers

lining up
to serve their countries.

Once you're here,
everything changes.

You know that
better than anyone.

We were human, yes.

No longer.

We are Gods now.

And they'll see that.

Except you didn't know
about the flaw.

And now like so many Gods
before us, we're about to die.

Only question is how many
"humans" we take with us.

Caspian! Wait!

No. Wait! Where are you going?

Somewhere my whole concept
of reality

doesn't blow up every six hours.

It's the same reality,
and you're a part of it!

You're here for a reason.

A reason?
Like my destiny?

The Caspian Project?
I didn't ask for that.

- I know.
- I didn't ask to be this.

No one asks to be born.

Well, they do now.

There's probably
a bunch of crazies

raising their hands right now

saying they want to be bon
again into the cloud.

What are you gonna do?

Enjoy the rest of life on Earth
while it lasts.

I give us a month.
Post Reply