02x03 - Chicken or Egg?

[bunniefuu]

["Dancing to the b*at"
by Clarence Murray playing]

[vocalizing]

♪ Dancing to the music
Dancing to the b*at... ♪

[woman] Our fascination with longevity
has been with us since the Greeks.

[passerby] Morning!

[woman] Herodotus wrote about
the myth of the Hyperboreans

who lived to be , years old.

Thank you.

I doubt if any of us
want to live that long,

but the question
I've dedicated my life and work to is,

"What would it be like
to age without disease?"

Can we, through science, create
a disease-free path to modern longevity?

Can we eradicate the diseases
that plague our genetics?

- Morning, everyone.
- [doctors] Morning.

Morning, eggs.

Tantamount to our research at Fort Smith,

my team at Project Midnight Sun
stumbled upon the discovery of a lifetime.

Dr. Miller, is the unit stable?

- [Dr. Miller] Yes, absolutely.
- Thank you.

[portentous music playing]

[tech] Sound is good.

Okay.

Let's bring in the big sh*ts.

[narrator] Gillian Washington
had a curious mind.

She often wondered, "How did we get here?"

"Where did we come from?"

"What came first, the chicken or the egg?"

How far would she go
before curiosity got the best of her?

Who's this?

[Gus] That's Bear.

You're friends with a bear?

She's not a bear.
She's a human, but her name is Bear.

She's , wears a bear mask,
fights real good, and kills Last Men.

Oh, and I forgot, she has
a real pet tiger named Daisy.

She has a real pet tiger? Cool.

You guys wanna hear the epic tale of Bear?

- Yes.
- Yeah!

[Gus] Okay.

Once upon a time,

she was the legendary leader
of the Animal Army.

[Army shouting]

[Gus] Defenders of hybrids.

Never left an animal behind.

She had to cut through the heart
of a Last Man to save my life.

She'll help us find your mom and Big Man,

and then we'll all head north to Wyoming

until we reach the most magical forest
you could ever imagine.

[Earl] Yellowstone.

Yep, and it'll be our home,
and we'll be safe.

All of us.

[door creaking]

[guard] Oh, deer boy.

[foreboding music plays]

Come out to play.

Remember what we talked about?
We need something to pry those bars open.

I'll find it.

[mouthing] I promise.

[Bobby quavering nervously]

[door locks]

Gus is our friend. We can trust him.

But what if he just escapes like Roy?

[delicate, unsettling music playing]

[Rani] You didn't come to bed last night.

- [Dr. Singh] Work.
- [sighs]

I need to get
an early start to Fort Smith.

I'll be gone all day.

Sorry, where?

There's a project called Midnight Sun,
somehow connected to all of this.

Isn't Fort Smith
where the Sick originated?

Maybe. Maybe that's
where we need to be looking.

- For what?
- For anything that leads to a cure.

We're not gonna find it at the zoo.

Absolutely not.
No way, it's too dangerous.

It's long abandoned.

I'm in more danger here, trust me.

Send someone else.
You've been k*lling yourself for us.

Why is it you always
put yourself in danger?

I'm the only one with even
the slightest chance of ending this.

The only one!

I... If I can save us,
I have to turn every stone,

and with any luck, today will be fruitful,

and I won't need to pull
another one from the Kennels.

I've been thinking about the hybrids.

Why would you do that?

One can talk. You said so yourself.

That must mean

they think and... feel.

They have scales and tails, Rani.

They're not like us.

[restrained, sorrowful music playing]

Do you ever think about karma?

All the time.

What kind of karma must they have...

to have been born like that,

and to be separated from their parents
and imprisoned by these tyrants. It's...

We are imprisoned.

What about our karma?

That's just it, Adi.

I think about what was done to them

to keep me alive.

How many lives for mine?

Will we reap what we sow?

I love you.

I'll see you tonight.

Yeah.

Kick your ass in Scrabble
when you get back.

Promise.

[footsteps receding]

[Aimee] Where are these friends of yours?

[Jepp] Factory Town.

It's a free city,
which means it's off-limits for Abbot.

[Aimee] I like it already.

[spirited, adventurous music playing]

[attendant] Pinkies.

What are those?

[Jepp] Oh, quarantine pods,

for those with the Sick
to live out their last days.

Damn.

Can we find pain meds for you here?

[Jepp] We can do better than that.

They got moonshine up at the cantina.

We got to find the Hickey Brothers.

The who?

These badasses I ran with a few years ago.

They fight dirty and they gamble clean.

Eight tough-as-nails nut busters.

If you want to rain hell down
on Abbot's army, you call these dudes.

You're talking about
the Hickeys and the Garcias?

You know where to find 'em?

Just past the cantina. Can't miss 'em.

[tense, grim music playing]

Doomsday got them. My condolences.

I need a drink.

[bold, folksy music playing]

[horse whickers]

So, who were you with?

Before you stowed away with us.

Well, at first I was
with a bunch of friends,

but we fell out, so I ditched them.

And then I met new friends,
a man and his son.

But I lost them.

I'm sorry to hear that.

My mom got the Sick five years ago.

The fourth variant?

Whatever it was called.

My parents both d*ed from the first one.

Now we got that Doomsday one
we're trying to outrun.

What about your dad?

He was a Last Man.

He was k*lled by the Animal Army.

[tense, uneasy music building]

Sorry to hear that.

Not your fault.

Anyway, word has it the Last Men
have claimed new territory this direction.

So, if the rumors are true,

me and some of the others
are gonna enlist.

Why?

You seem like you have it good
with your grandparents.

If I enlist,
I can get them everything they need.

Well, you know what Last Men do, right?
They kidnap hybrids and worse.

My dad never did any of that.

But some of them do.

Are you okay with that?

Listen, I'm not for or against anyone.

[low rumbling approaching]

[train horn blaring]

What's happening?

Let's go.

[loud clattering]

[bright, hopeful music playing]

[horn blares]

[excited laughter]

I can't believe we scored all this.

You must be my lucky charm.

- [woman] Nice!
- [boy ] I call Choc-O-Rockets.

[boy ] See what I mean?

They're helping people.

[music intensifies]

Hey. Antlers.

Say something.

I heard you can talk, so come on,

say something.

[enunciating sarcastically]
Are we there yet?

God, that's creepy.

[somber, thoughtful music playing]

What do you think you're gonna find?

This place has been swept clean already.

[Dr. Singh] Whoever swept this place
didn't have Gus with them.

I want to know
what they were working on in there.

[Dr. Singh sighs]

Do you believe in destiny?

Never mind.

Abbot wants me to find a cure.
That's why I'm here, why you're here.

That's why Gus is here too.

With any luck, we'll all play a part
in saving humanity, huh?

[suspenseful music intensifying]

[windmill gears grinding]

[soulful funk music playing in bar]

Wanna talk about it?

I wanna drink about it.

If you talked about it...

it might help.

What's there to talk about?

People die.

You ever heard of survivor's guilt?

Do you ever wonder why you're still here
and your loved ones are gone?

I don't want to talk about it.

Let's talk about you.

What makes someone hide
behind a concrete wall for ten years?

Human beings.

In case you haven't noticed,

there aren't many of them left.

Well, it only takes
one bad person and one bad day.

Last time I took my kids
outside the zoo, I paid for it.

I lost two kids outside the walls.

They were sheep hybrids.

They played hide and seek.

Took my eyes off them for one second,
and they vanished.

Somebody took them.

Never got them back,
and I never got over it.

I told myself I'd never
let that happen again, and now...

here we are.

So...

excuse me if I keep
my distance from people.

Maybe we could make a trade.

Last Men are always looking for something.

[Aimee] No way.

I don't negotiate with assholes.

I just drink with them.

[ship horn blares]

Excuse me.

- Does that phone work?
- [bartender ] Yes.

I know people we could trade with.

It's a long sh*t,

but if I could reach them...

Can they fight?

I've only talked to them on the radio.

They do drop-offs.

They helped me spread the word
about the Preserve in the early days.

So, great, you got me,
a zookeeper, and some delivery drivers

against Abbot's entire army.

They're not drivers.

This is the part where I ask you
if you have a better option.

Trust me.

[patron] You can't use that phone.

Excuse me?

[patron] No one can use that phone.

My wife, Vanessa, is about to call me.

- [bartender ] Ingrid.
- She can't use the g*dd*mn phone!

Vanessa calls, and you hold up the line,

and I don't get to talk to her,
that would be very bad.

She needs to know that I'm here,
and that I'm okay and safe.

So you can't use the phone. That's it.

[Ingrid grunts]

[softly] Oh.

How long's it been
since you heard from Vanessa?

Nine years.

That's a long time.

She was visiting her mother
in Kansas City.

She said if the cell towers go down,
she would call me here.

She promised to call.
I promised to wait for her call.

I have to keep my promise.

Don't look at me like I'm crazy.

We don't think you're crazy.

You're not crazy.

You miss your wife.

You know what? I think...

I think you're brave for talking about it.

You know, I made a promise too.

A promise to get back to someone.

[gentle, emotional music playing]

I need to know he's okay.

This lady has so many kids.

She needs to know they're okay.

This call would really help us.

So can we please use your phone?

Uh, all right. Just make it quick.

Quarters are on top.

[line ringing]

[line beeps]

This is an old friend from Essex City.

I'm in the wind.

I need your help.

[Dr. Singh] Welcome home, Gus.

[eerie, unsettling music playing]

How does it feel?

This isn't my home.

I don't feel anything.

Do you recall
where Project Midnight Sun might be?

[music intensifies]

[music trails off]

No idea.

Gus, this is, uh, very important.

You need to help me.

I'm trying,
but what are we even looking for?

Anything that could spark a latent memory.

A nursery, a lab.

Hey.

Maybe we find that incubator of yours.

I'm giving us an hour in here.

[Hulk] Stay close.

[tense music playing]

[fluorescent lights buzzing]

Whoa.

How did that...

Which one of you did that?

No one.

Some of the fort
is still on its own grid of solar panels.

These are smart lights.

They turn on when they sense our movement.

[mysterious music playing]

Quit messing around.

Get back here.

[high-pitched ringing]

[chilling music playing]

We're not alone.

[sudden clattering]

[Hulk cocks g*n]

[chilling music builds]

[faint clattering]

[Gus breathes shakily]

[rhythmic clanging]

[chilling music intensifies]

[chicken clucking]

What's it doing here?

Go on, shoo!

[Dr. Singh] This place is abandoned.

I'm gonna have a look around.

Be quick.

Yeah.

[low, distressful music playing]

[music swells, trails off]

What's this lady's deal?

She's, um, observing them.

To help her husband. With science.

She ain't afraid of them?

No. She's one tough cookie.

[gentle, pensive music playing]

[kids muttering anxiously]

I heard some of you can indeed talk.

Is that true?

Well, if it is,

and you're hiding it,

then you're smarter than I thought.

Wendy?

Is that your name?

Could you come here, please?

I won't hurt you.

Please.

Hurry.

Come here, love.

It's okay.

[gentle music continuing]

[guard] That's enough!

[Johnny] Come on, I'll take you back.

[Rani] Thank you, Johnny.

[door locks]

["I'll Never Grow Old"
by the Maytals playing]

♪ And I walk, and I walk ♪

[Gus laughing]

♪ And I talk ♪

♪ And I talk ♪

Whoo!

♪ I search ♪

♪ Until I found my love ♪

♪ I will never ♪

♪ I'll never, never, never, never ♪

♪ Never, never, never, never
Never, never, never, never, never ♪

[vocalizing]

♪ I will never ♪

♪ I will never ♪

[Gus laughing]

♪ I will never, I will never, never ♪

[song stops abruptly]

[Hulk] Sit still! Don't move.

Where'd you go, Doc?

[footsteps receding]

[restrained, inquisitive music playing]

Pubba.

You were here.

[gentle, emotional music playing]

[ominous music builds]

[distant banging]

[music swells]

- Dr. Singh?
- [gasps]

[music trails off]

[Dr. Singh] Can't find anything.

We came all this way for nothing.

Can't even get a measly candy bar.

[indistinct radio chatter]

Time's up, Doc.

Not yet. There's still places
we haven't searched.

We've searched enough.

Take your candy bar
and let's get out of here.

[music intensifies]

[Gus] Watch out!

[Hulk struggling]

[bone crunches]

[creature snarling]

- Run!
- Run!

- [Hulk] I need backup, now!
- [Last Man over radio] Say again.

[Hulk] We are under att*ck!

[Dr. Singh whimpering, panting]

[suspenseful music playing]

[Last Man yelping]

[panicked screaming]

Stop!

Please! Let him go!

[low growling]

You're a hybrid kid.

I am too.

So I know that
you can understand me a little.

I know that you're really, really scared.

Have you been alone for a really long time
with no one to talk to?

Well... you can talk to me.

Hi, I'm Gus.

What's your name?

[snarling]

[sustained guttural rasping]

[haltingly] Peter.

Peter?

[wondrous music playing]

Nice to meet you, Peter.

[suspenseful music intensifies rapidly]

Get down!

[g*nsh*t]

Bad men! Run!

No! No, don't sh**t!

We need him alive.

Come on.

[panicked rasping]

[tranq dart whistling]

[Peter whimpering]

No! Let him go!

Leave him alone!

- Take him back to the Preserve.
- [Gus] Please.

He didn't mean to hurt anybody.

Damn. It tore my hand off.

They're monsters. All of 'em.

Come on.

Sorry.

Peter.

[distressed, sorrowful music playing]

Peter, sorry.

We're here.

[Oma] We met in college.

We've been together years now.

And it's a wonder we made it this long.

We've seen it all.

We saw entire cities being built
and then just... disappear overnight.

[Oma] We've lived through wars,
bad presidents.

We had three babies,

eight grand-babies.

We loved them

and lost them.

All except Jordan.

But we keep their memories alive.
You saw on the van.

[Opa] I worked the same job
for nearly four decades.

I thought we'd reached our golden years.

We could retire, and see the world.

["No Hard Feelings" by Wolf Alice playing]

Oma and Opa are sweet.

I never knew my grandparents.

♪ Losing your love has been hard enough ♪

Think we'll make it as long as them?

♪ Life can be short ♪

Chances aren't great for us, are they?

♪ But life can be sweet ♪

Everyone in our generation.

We missed out on so much.

We'll never go to college,

or have jobs,

or dream of retirement.

[Jordan] True.

You know, maybe what's important
is what they're doing right now.

Staying together.

Let's go.

Hey, you ever think about
how we're the last humans on Earth?

There won't be
another generation after us.

Ah, but there is.

The hybrids.

Thank you.

[classic rock playing over bar speakers]

You know, staring at it
won't make it ring.

Patience isn't one of my virtues anymore.

Me neither,
but we're fresh out of options,

so we better hope
your friends get back to us.

[vehicle approaching, slowing]

Don't look.

My twelve o'clock. Last Men.

I thought you said
there were no Last Men here.

[foreboding music playing]

Let's go. Exit door.

[bartender ] Hey, everyone.

These Last Men would like us outside
for an announcement.

[strident, martial music playing]

[tinny siren droning]

[siren continuing]

[martial music continuing]

The hell is he doing here?

Where the hell are we?

Factory Town.

Hold this.

Factory Town!

I've always been a fan.

You've got hometown pride.

You b*at the Great Crumble.

You are survivors.

- [crowd mutters approvingly]
- All of ya.

But...

I don't want you to merely survive.

- I want you to live!
- [crowd agreeing]

To thrive!

[crowd] Yeah!

This last decade
has been rough on all of us.

The hybrids wiped us out.

These...

abominations.

Yeah!

But it's time to turn the tide.

Factory Town,

it is time for a cure.

- A cure?
- Nah.

[Abbot] Now this poor man...

one of your own,

he contracted the Doomsday strain
and was left to die.

Alone.

Like an animal.

You abandoned your friend.

But,

what choice did you have, really?

Until now.

I offer you hope.

I offer you salvation!

He's using our kids to make that.

[agitated murmuring]

[Abbot] Behold, Factory Town!

The cure,

ladies and gentlemen!

[excited murmuring]

Finally, a return to pre-Crumble life!

[crowd cheers]

- Normalcy!
- Yes!

A return to humanity.

Spread the word.

Tell one, tell all,

General Abbot has the cure!

This is just the beginning.

Spread the word.

Let's save humanity.

[crowd cheering, whooping]

[lieutenant] Take him to the truck.

[man] Where are we going?

[Last Man] Humanity first!

He's gone.

[plucky, determined music playing]

[metallic scraping]

Is it working?

[intent vocalizing]

[distressed vocalizing]

What happened?

[outer door creaking]

[clanging]

[guard] What are you up to,
you little naughties?

Know what happens to naughty kids?

They get taken to Dr. Singh.

They call him the butcher.

Trust me.

Don't wanna end up on the butcher block
like that lizard freak friend of yours,

do you?

So knock it off.

[tense, uneasy music building]

[Earl] Wendy?

Where's Roy?

Okay, I need to tell you something.

[music trails off]

[Gus] This is it.

[door creaks]

[tense music playing]

[chirping]

Project Midnight Sun.

We found it, but what's...
what's all this doing in here?

Oh. Okay.

...for life-extending remedies,
which is what's led me here to Fort...

[tape rewinding]

Dr. James Thacker
was a scientist from the UK

who suffered from
a muscular degenerative disorder.

In an attempt to cure himself,
he set sail for the Arctic in ,

to explore a village where people
were rumored to be free of disease

and lived way past .

[bright, portentous music playing]

Which is what led me here to Fort Smith,

to build a team that could investigate
why these villagers lived

such a long and healthy life.

Allow me to introduce to you
my lead scientist.

You're going to want to hear
what she has to say.

Dr. Gertrude Miller.

[music swells]

Thank you, Gillian.

- Our team wanted to understand...
- That's her.

That's my mom.

...sustained in longevity.

We collected water,
plant, and animal samples

that you'll see in the literature.

We excavated ice cores

and found living matter
unlike anything else on Earth.

Microbes that could,

with the right modifications,
supercharge the immune system.

Our early experiments introducing
those modifications to chickens

were very promising.

Thus, we concluded that

the same experiments could be applied
to cure human diseases.

But the reason you all are here

is because those eggs, those experiments,

led to something incredible.

Something that surprised even us.

[mysterious music playing]

Something that could change
our very understanding of life itself.

[wondrous music plays]

- Hello!
- [happy cooing]

Yes!

It's a boy.

And he's beautiful.

Aren't you?

I call him Gus.

Genetic Unit Series .

[pauses video]

Holy sh*t.

[VCR clicks, whirs]

It's okay, buddy.
I'm here. I'm here. Yeah.

Gus is a miracle, and he can
help us understand so, so much...

We need to take all this
back to the Preserve.

Even the chickens, every single one.

Can we stay a bit longer?

Can you say hello?

[emotional, sweeping music playing]

A fine evening, sir.

The Three won't be able
to ignore me after this.

['Shambala" by Three Dog Night
playing over stereo]

Turn that up. Turn this up.

[volume increases]

[singing along] ♪ Wash away my troubles
Wash away my pain ♪

♪ With the rain in Shambala ♪

You know, the marvel
to be alive another day.

[stereo] ♪ With the rain in Shambala ♪

Let's do this.

Let's do it right here.

Let's take care of our friend right here.

[vocalizing]

♪ Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah ♪

♪ Everyone is helpful, everyone is kind ♪

- [man] But I'm cured, aren't I?
- ♪ I'm on the road to Shambala! ♪

[g*nsh*t]

♪ Everyone is lucky, everyone is so kind ♪

[lieutenant] Dump him in the quarry.

♪ I'm on the road to Shambala ♪

[vocalizing]

♪ Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah ♪

[vocalizing]

♪ Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah ♪

♪ How does your light shine
In the halls of Shambala ♪

♪ How does your light shine
In the halls of Shambala ♪

[singer vocalizing]

♪ On the road to Shambala ♪

[song trails off]

[tense music playing]

[narrator] While Gus got to walk
in the footsteps

of the woman
who brought him into this world,

Dr. Singh got one step closer to finding
the answers he so desperately craved.

Thank you, Gus.

You helped me a great deal today.

If you hurt Peter,
I'm never helping you again.

[somber, uneasy music playing]

A deal's a deal.

[music intensifies, trails off]

- [Opa] Be careful, Jordan.
- [Jordan] Love you.

Will you make sure
he doesn't do anything stupid?

I will.

Countin' on you.

I just talked to Moses.

Turns out the rumors were true.

Last Men are in Essex City.

How do you know they'll even take you?

Oh wow. [wry chuckle]

You know, I think they'll take anyone.

I mean, they have
a whole zoo to look after now.

What do you mean?

They took over Essex City Zoo.

Why would they take over the zoo?

I think that's where
he's keeping the hybrids.

I mean, it was the Preserve,

and now it's Abbot's.

Gus.

Come on!

[bright, hopeful music playing]

- [group whooping, hollering]
- [Jordan] Where are we going?

[dark, sinister music playing]

Wendy, I got something that'll help us.
It was Pubba's.

[affronted grunt]

[Gus] Whoa, slow down.

- What's wrong?
- You lied to us about Roy.

He's dead.

Sorry, Gus, I had to tell them the truth.

[grouses]

[Birdie] We collected water...

If we ever do find a cure, it will be
thanks to one Dr. Gertrude Miller,

and the work that she left behind.

These "Miller chickens" appear
to have been bred for animal trials.

With any luck, I can use their eggs
to incubate the antigens.

...with introducing the modifications
to chickens were promising.

What happened to you, Dr. Miller?

Where did you go?

[mysterious, inscrutable music playing]

I'll pick up where you left off.
I'll finish your work.

This is my purpose.

My destiny.

Your turn.

I am no good at word games.

What do you mean? You're k*lling it.

Gobbling up all the triple word squares.

[suspenseful music builds, trails off]

[indistinct camp, PA chatter]

I don't think
they're letting civilians in.

Then I'm enlisting too.

[Last Man] Sign here.

[Last Man] If you have specialty skills,
come see... [continues indistinctly over PA]

If not, that's fine.

[music intensifies]

[indistinct chatter]

- [passerby ] All right, don't forget now.
- [passerby ] No, I won't. I promise.

[rotary phone ringing]

Hello?

[tense music playing]

It's for you.

[music intensifies]

[music trails off]

[spirited, folksy outro music playing]