03x09 - State of Mind

[bunniefuu]

[EMCEE]

Previously on The Girlfriend Experience.

You all came here for a reason.

What makes you happy, Emcee?

I don't understand that question.

You know, my daughter, she's up in...

[SIGHS]

Up in...

Take this.

A simple saliva swab.

A single gene that's mutated and a single copy of it inherited from one parent will cause the disease.

[IRIS]

There's a clinical trial.

My father's on the wait list.

Want us to try and get him bumped up?

[IRIS]

Then we have a deal.

If we're gonna do this, it's gonna be on my terms.

The infrared cut off halfway through.

Jerry, give it a reset.

[IRIS]

And I want voice scramblers on all the audio.

- Certainly, we can do that.

- And no cameras.

I think we're on the same page.

[LINDSEY]

Teaching artificial intelligence how to interact with humans at their most impulsive.

Lindsey, I think we can do better.

We need to streamline the interactions...

[LINDSEY]

And minimize the time per setup.

[IRIS]

Yes.

Sounds like they put us here for a reason.

[CHRISTOPHE]

We are all so wildly different, and yet we are unbelievably the same...

Craving connection.

Thank you for sharing.

[WATER BUBBLING SOFTLY]

[UNSETTLING MUSIC PLAYS]

♪ [WOMAN]

My grandmother likes to watch them, too.

I think she finds it relaxing.

I bring her here three times a year to get her results.

She thinks they're happy in there in their own little world because, to them, it goes on forever.

♪ [NURSE]

Iris Stanton.

♪

[PERSON BREATHING HEAVILY]

Now talk to me.

[PANTING]

Dirty f*cking lass.

Ohh.

Ohh.

Now...

[PANTS]

Look at me.

Look at my eyes.

Oh, yeah.

Yeah.

You want me.

Yeah.

I want you so bad.

[MOANS]

No.

Eyes up here.

- Look at me.

- [BOTH PANTING]

- Yeah.

- [GRUNTS]

How does that feel?

- That feels f*cking amazing.

- [CHUCKLES]

[BOTH PANTING]

[LINDSEY]

His D-rate is spiking.

It's tied to eye contact.

See what happens if you don't break it.

- [MOANING]

- Yeah.

[BOTH PANTING]

[LINDSEY]

Reroute.

Oh, hold on, one second.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Slap my ass.

Slap my ass.

Yeah.

Yeah.

- [IRIS MOANS]

- [PANTING]

[LINDSEY]

Keep your eye contact.

[MAN]

Yeah.

[MOODY MUSIC PLAYS]

♪ [LINDSEY]

Cassie.

I think it's good.

I think it's working.

It's just...

What?

Well, let's see the full extension of you in there.

What does that mean?

Like, your EKG doesn't lie.

I don't see you actually... being in it.

Yeah, that's 'cause everything in this place is fake.

I'm gonna take a early lunch.

[WOMAN]

I need to swap your sensor

- when you've got a chance.

- Okay, let's do it now.

I just think she needs a moment.

♪ Sorry.

Popsicle fingers.

You're running a little low today.

.

degrees Celsius.

- Here.

- [IRIS SIGHS]

Got it.

Okay.

Thank you.

[IRIS EXHALES DEEPLY]

Everything okay?

Yeah.

I'm just, um...

[ASSISTANT]

You warm enough, Cassie?

Can I have five minutes, please?

[SIGHS]

You all right, love?

Yep.

Thank you.

[MOODY MUSIC PLAYS]

♪ [IRIS]

There's a world out there, the real world...

where all of our actions have...

have tangible effects on everything, you know?

f*cking butterfly wings.

There's no off button.

We can't shut it off.

[SOMBER MUSIC PLAYS]

♪ And we just... we have a tremendous responsibility to, I don't know, conduct ourselves in a way that matters because...

because there are consequences.

- Of course.

- No, but in this other world, there aren't any f*cking consequences.

And people use it to escape all of this.

But how do we know what we're getting ourselves into?

We have no f*cking way of knowing.

It's...

I think we've been working you too hard and you need a break.

[INDISTINCT CHATTER]

What the f*ck are we doing?

We are in over our heads.

But isn't that why it's important to do it?

We're here because we can be here.

You and I are the lucky ones.

Most people never have what we have.

[IRIS SCOFFS]

And what do we have?

Thirteen-pound lox bagel while people are out on the street dying of typhus, a th-century disease, like...

We are both in an interchangeable relationship of using and being used.

Everything that can exploit will be invented, and we can't invent something that we won't use.

We can't not use it.

We can't say to seven or eight billion people, "Don't open the cookie jar."

It doesn't work that way.

What, so we're doing it because we can?

That's f*cking apocalyptic.

I would like you to meet someone.

And just observe.

[IRIS SIGHS]

Someone very close to me.

Came up with the name of the company, actually...

Neuroplasticity, growth, mirroring.

NGM.

Three letters.

Until we can find the missing pieces.

ENiGMa.

Would you do that?

[EDGY MUSIC PLAYS]

♪ [HAUNTING VOCALIZATION]

♪ [VOCALIZATION]

♪ [NOT AUDIBLE]

[NOT AUDIBLE]

[DRAMATIC INSTRUMENTALS]

♪ [VOCALIZATION]

♪ [CUPS CLATTERING]

♪ - [IRIS]

Thank you.

- You're welcome.

What a lovely home.

Oh, thank you.

It's not mine, but...

surely, I enjoy living and working here.

[CHUCKLES]

You're working closely with Christophe, I understand.

Yeah, I guess I am.

What is it you're working on?

Or... are you allowed to say?

[IRIS]

Um...

[BETTINA CHUCKLES]

I understand.

Christophe is very protective.

He never sends anyone to meet Theo.

Theo?

Oh.

He's outside.

As soon as he's finished his meditation, you can join him.

Theo.

[BETTINA]

Theo.

[THEO]

Jesus f*ck.

Sorry, Theo.

[THEO]

Oh, you f*cking tosser.

[BETTINA]

Sorry.

[THEO]

f*ck off.

[BETTINA]

Please don't be angry with me, but I brought someone here

- to meet you.

- [THEO]

What?

Who?

[BETTINA]

Look for yourself.

[THEO SIGHS]

You know I don't like surprises.

[MECHANICAL WHIRRING]

Hi, I'm...

I'm Iris.

Oh, you can f-f-f*ck right off.

Nice to meet you, too.

[THEO]

You banging my baby brother?

Uh... no.

[THEO]

Why the f*ck is she here?

I'm a friend.

Well, I'm proper confused, then, because Chrissy doesn't do friendship.

[BETTINA]

Why don't the two of you get to know each other a bit?

- I'll be right inside.

- You're not a caregiver, are you?

She doesn't look like a caregiver.

[BETTINA]

You don't get rid of me that easily.

[IRIS]

I'm sorry.

What is this?

[BETTINA, SOFTLY]

Just give it a try, huh?

Okay.

Wanna make yourself useful?

Put me back under.

- What's playing?

- I don't really want to be talking to you now, do I?

Oi.

Don't!

Don't!

Think I just bought you mustard.

No, I did.

[IRIS]

What?

It's hooked up on the headrest.

I press it with my head.

I've never seen a place like this.

[THEO]

That's nice.

Now can you give it back, please?

Is it okay if I get to know you first?

What's to know?

Uh...

How good are you at cleaning human piss and sh*t?

I'm not a caregiver.

- Then what the f*ck are you?

- I told you.

I'm a friend.

[THEO]

Girlfriend for hire?

That is f*cking low.

- Even for Chrissy.

- Okay.

No one's paying me to be here.

Christophe thought that it might be nice, for whatever reason, for us to...

get to know each other.

Working an angle.

He's always working a f*ckin' angle, that one.

[INHALES DEEPLY]

[SIGHS CURTLY]

You want to play a game?

[THEO]

Not really.

Okay, well, I do.

It might be fun.

'Cause do they really deliver whatever you get on here to the house?

[THEO]

Yeah, that's the idea.

[IRIS]

Okay, you steer, all right?

I'll just...

I'll order you around a little bit.

- I don't want to play this.

- How about this.

Take me to the salt and vinegar chips.

Where are those?

[THEO]

Can you just take it off, please?

[IRIS]

I've never been in a virtual supermarket before.

[THEO]

It's so stupid.

[IRIS]

Okay, turn right.

Or left.

Yeah, left is good, too.

[FOOTSTEPS]

Okay.

[FOOTSTEPS]

[IRIS CHUCKLES]

No.

C-can we go right?

Yeah.

That's good.

[SOFT BUZZ, BEEP]

You do that from memory?

You are a f*cking mental case, you know that?

[IRIS SCOFFS]

[BETTINA]

Iris.

Would you like to join us for a late lunch?

Am I the only one who thinks this is f*cking weird?

[LIGHT RUSTLING]

[CRUNCHING]

It's nice to have company, isn't it?

Hired company.

That's selling yourself short.

[BETTINA]

Exactly.

Listen to her.

[IRIS CRUNCHING]

[THEO]

Mm.

So, uh...

what's the story with all your tattoos?

Are they...

- [SLURPING]

- Theo.

[THEO EXHALES DEEPLY]

[BELCHES LOUDLY]

[EXHALES DEEPLY]

Is that a shark tooth on your hand?

[THEO]

Yeah.

It's basically one of the most painful places...

allegedly.

[CLICKS TONGUE]

[BOTH CHUCKLE]

[THEO]

Mm...

[GRUNTS]

[BETTINA, SOFTLY]

Sorry.

[CROWD CHEERING, ANNOUNCER SPEAKING INDISTINCTLY]

[IRIS CHUCKLES]

[ANNOUNCER]

Umpire says no.

Davies bowls to Jennings.

- And would you look at that?

- [THEO]

Oh...

[ANNOUNCER ]

Well, he gets another opportunity...

- [CONTINUES INDISTINCTLY]

- [THEO MOANS, MUTTERS]

- [IRIS LAUGHS]

- [THEO GROANS]

[CROWD CHEERING]

[THEO]

Yeah...

[BETTINA]

Theo, c'est l'heure.

[ANNOUNCER ]

Taylor redeems himself.

[BETTINA]

Iris, maybe you'd like to come back another day...

[THEO]

Oh, unless you'd like to help Tina change my nappy.

- [BETTINA]

Theo.

- What?

She's my new best friend, isn't she?

Save you the backache.

Mon Dieu.

Such a mood today.

[CROWD CHEERING]

[ELECTRIC WHIRRING]

[BEEP, WHIRRING]

[BETTINA]

That's it, Iris.

That's it.

[THEO SIGHS]

Yeah.

Tina's workout routine.

What other -year-old lady do you know who's got biceps the size of milk cartons?

Go on, Tina, flex for us!

[BETTINA]

I can take it from here.

[THEO]

Tina, flex.

- [BETTINA]

Enough.

- [THEO]

What?

[BETTINA]

Enough.

Go to bed.

- [THEO SIGHS]

Whoa.

- That's enough now, okay?

You had a good day?

[THEO SPEAKS INDISTINCTLY]

[MOODY MUSIC PLAYS]

♪ Beautiful image.

Don't you think?

Why would he want to keep looking at it every day?

Theo insisted to keep this, you know, make it big.

After...

the accident...

many years, the things he'd say...

He was... he was so destroyed, you know, inside.

Tried to end it, more than once.

But...

some days now, he laughs.

[CHUCKLES]

I see him smiling, you know?

I see his mind light up.

And it's all because of the, uh, technology.

He can have a life now.

♪ [WATER BUBBLING SOFTLY]

Left the bill with Tina.

Uh, came to a little extra with the nappy situation.

Well, as long as you threw in a discount

- for hijacking the headset.

- [IRIS CHUCKLES]

Do you think it would be within your...

professional expertise to light me a f*g?

It's just...

- In here?

- In there, yeah.

[IRIS]

You know, flexibility was actually one of the key hiring attributes during my recruitment at NGM.

Was it?

You know, I had no idea.

But I'm really glad I came, because...

you're helping me see things differently about some of the...

Some of the work that we do.

[THEO]

Mm.

[INHALES SHARPLY]

Number-one fan here.

[EXHALES DEEPLY]

Forever in my brother's debt.

[LAUGHS]

I really don't know how to do this.

[THEO]

Ah, it's easy.

This morning I...

I haven't really said this out loud to anybody.

I got some bad news.

[THEO]

Why are you telling me about it?

I don't know.

Can I?

I don't even know you.

[IRIS]

Yeah, well, maybe that...

That makes it better because it won't affect you either way.

I won't have anything good to say about it.

It's fine.

Uh...

I think that I just have to say it out loud...

so that it's real.

Well, then maybe don't.

If you don't have to make it real yet, then don't.

Keep pretending.

It's all facsimile anyway...

Whole f*cking world.

Trees...

sky, people, letters on a billboard.

[LAUGHS]

Nothing authentic about any of it.

None of it f*cking matters.

I don't share that belief.

But you don't know, though, do you?

Could be true.

[SOFTLY]

You don't know.

Thank you, Theo.

Meeting you in real life wasn't half as boring.

[IRIS]

What?

I'd have you wank me in real life is what I'm saying.

[UNEASY MUSIC PLAYS]

♪ What does that mean?

Won't take long.

Don't worry.

Need to give your money's worth, so to speak.

[DARK MUSIC PLAYS]

♪ Where's your headset?

There's nothing on it.

Give it to me.

There's nothing on it.

♪ [DOOR BEEPS]

♪ [DOOR SLAMS]

♪ [MUSIC INTENSIFIES]

♪ [MAN]

Can I help you?

Uh, what is this?

Where did you get this?

[MAN]

I'm just tagging this stuff, correlating it.

- [IRIS BREATHING HEAVILY]

- [MUFFLED]

Are you okay?

[GASPS, GAGS]

[SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC PLAYS]