04x02 - Signal to Noise

[bunniefuu]

The World Wide Web could be
the next best thing

since sliced bread.

Previously on AMC's
"Halt and Catch Fire"...

Gordon? Gordon, are you okay?

Donna Emerson, senior partner.

I cut loose a ball and chain
of my own recently.

You really couldn't stand
being at Clark, could you?

I can't work with you.

Why are you here?

You know why.

This is the first Web browser.

Online-research catalogue...

Running on NeXT...

On a network to Europe.

What will the World Wide
Web become?

Happy New Year.

How's Tokyo?

Good.

Cold.

Good. Good. Well, uh...

Is that her?

We got some first steps
for the browser

that we want to walk you
through so we can, uh, you know,

hit the ground running
when you get back to town.

Gordon, I'm gonna be working
on this project remotely.

I-I need to talk to Joe.

Just me.

Yeah. Okay.

Wants to talk to you.

Hello?

How you doing?

I don't understand.

I told Tom what happened.

And he and I, uh, we both agreed

that it would be best

if I worked on the
browser remotely...

from here.

What time is it there?

They're 17 hours ahead,

so whatever time it is here...

Look, she doesn't need
to be on the phone

for us to upload it to Gopher.

She wrote it.
She needs to be available.

Guys, I need... I need...

Stop hammering!

Please!

You know it's midnight there.

This is the time she specified.

Maybe Godzilla's fighting
Mothra again.

We're gonna try her again
in 20 minutes.

Guys!

Guys, guys, please!

All right?

It's too early in the
morning for this.

That is because nobody
is downloading it at all.

No, you're right. Forgive me.

69 downloads last quarter.
Is that better?

A year and we are barely
a ripple in the pond.

Of course it has to do
with the bugs.

I'm tracking them as
fast as I can,

but you take forever to...

Okay.

Okay, fine.

That would be fine.

- How's Cameron?
- Never available.

Or if we do somehow
manage to get her on the phone,

she's busy or defensive or...

Stuck at 69 downloads.

Look, Joe, we're building

the core ISP business
upstairs by the day,

which means we don't need
overnight success

with the web browser.

But why do you keep
putting yourself

through this with her?

This work is important.

That's not what I asked.

I'll make sure those
bugs get fixed.

Shep, have you talked to Cameron?

Uh, Gordon, this is Mike Houseman

from America Online.

- Great to meet you, Gordon.
- Yeah, likewise.

Yeah, I want to talk
about acquiring your user base.

Is AOL really that afraid
of the open Internet?

Well, it's either that

or we crush you when we
expand west.

Ah, well, let me tell you
something, Mike...

I need to show you
something right now.

Mike, this is Joe MacMillan.
He's our Web Services division.

Impressive. You're into the Web.

It's where everything's headed.

Gordon.

Excuse us.

It's called Mosaic.

All right, so there's
another browser in the game.

We still got Nexus,
Viola, Midas...

Don't forget Millennium,
thanks to Donna.

Who's got just as much of
a right to this idea as we do.

But those aren't this.

Inline images,
Web forums support,

available on every platform.

If Cameron hadn't been
radio silent for five months,

if she had fixed the bugs,
helped us iterate...

I don't mind losing,

but we're not even gonna
get a chance to compete.

Where the hell is Cameron?

Now we do our own chip.

Over here.

You all right?

Yeah.

Fine.

I bet it was her new game.

I'm sure she just got
wrapped up in it,

forgot all about us.

What if we uncapped usage?

You know, unlimited access
for every customer...

you know, no more hourly rates,

just a, you know,
flat monthly fee?

That's a good idea, smart.

Look, I don't mean to harp on it,

but what galls me

is that she still owes us
a final version.

We had a first-mover advantage.

Now Mosaic is the front door
to the Web.

Mm.

Yeah, I heard they had
a million downloads

- in the first six months.
- Those numbers have to be inflated.

Meanwhile, Loadstar stands
at a whopping 431.

Well, maybe that's okay.

But we can build a Mosaic-k*ller.

She couldn't do it.

We'll find someone who can.

Joe, how many times
do you have to be right?

Maybe we should just be
grateful or something.

I mean, this is technology

that we could only have dreamed
of back in that garage.

You should've brought Ozzie.

I wouldn't have minded.

Yeah.

Yeah.

What?

Nothing.

We broke up three weeks ago.

Oh, man.

Hey, Gordon...

happy 40th.

Cheers.

Try the corridor again.

We were just there,
and all we found

was this rusty walking-stick thing.

Can you equip it?

"The stick particulates
in your hand"?

Cool.

Dude, what?

This feels like homework.

Seriously, I'm getting cold
just watching this.

Oh, good... another puzzle.

Good thing we haven't seen
anybody in like 10 minutes.

You can't even k*ll anything.

Ah, sh**t.

Ah.

Okay.

Wait. What the hell?
We're back at the beginning?

This is bullshit.

Who are you?

Hi.

What's your favorite
video game right now?

- Mortal Kombat.
- Yeah, Mortal Kombat.

I prefer Street Fighter II

for the superior controls
and graphics.

Okay. Thank you, guys,
for coming in.

Here's your Pioneer Chicken
gift certificates.

We appreciate your feedback.

Guys, this is not our
target demographic.

We need to be going
after higher GPAs,

readers with immersive fantasy
and sci-fi interests.

This isn't a game you play.
It's a game you live.

How many websites now?

561.

And I found a new one for you.

Look, if this is the one
that translates your name

into Hawaiian, I already did it.

And?

Kolekona.

Hey, look at this one.

It's a, uh... It's a coffee pot.

That is a coffee pot

at he University of Cambridge,
5,000 miles away.

That's not a picture.
That's a live video feed.

Well, it looks really alive.

It's... fascinating.

Listen.

Joe, I actually came down here

to chat with you about something.

sh**t.

Well, I was wondering if
you'd consider moving upstairs.

Why?

Well, the Web Services division

hasn't originally grown
the way we thought it would,

and, you know, we could
really use the server space.

And... And now that
the browser's dead...

Dead? We might have stalled
a little bit,

but that's because
we're just getting started.

I'm not moving upstairs.

If anything,
you're moving down here.

Listen, Joe, you've
been down here

for almost three years,

and it's still just you,
an ergonomic chair,

and 500 Post-its.

Listen. I'll say it again.

You did it. You and Ryan
called it.

You said the Internet would be
the next great public utility.

Well, guess what? We're here.

We did it. We are Thomas Edison.

We built the power company.

So why don't you come upstairs

and run the power company
with me?

Gordon, nobody remembers
the power company.

Came free in the mail with my
Popular Mechanics this month.

AOL is carpet-bombing.

They're going after
our entire territory.

They're trying to take down
CompuServe and Prodigy,

but we could get caught
in the crossfire.

All I'm saying is,
if we're about to go to w*r,

it'd be nice to have you
in the fight.

Jesus. It has video now.

Mother...

No, Abe, you needed to
fully implement

- the updates this morning
- You try reformatting HTML

with a screaming 6-month-old
in your arm.

Oh, that's just great timing,
isn't it?

- Oh, yeah, it is.
- Yeah. Okay, good.

She'll be right with you.

Thank you.

Carrot, grapefruit,
little bit of ginger.

Mmm.

Microsoft didn't get
the bump they wanted

from the Home announcement.

I know. Two hundredths of a point.

Well, Windows is still
the official O.S.

of the White House.

Good morning.

First off, thanks
for calling us in this morning.

Believe me,
if you hadn't had reached out,

we would've...

You know, we would've been
bothering you to get in here

because we are just
so darn excited

about some of these steps
we're taking to surpass Mosaic.

By the time we are done
fully implementing,

it'll be like,
"Mosaic? What's Mosaic?"

So, just to catch you up,

Millennium now supports...

Right.

Uh, inline images.

Yeah, we got a stop button
right there

to halt web-page loads. See?

And, uh, we should have
our very own "hotlists" soon.

Video?

Yes. Yes, of course.

We are hard at work on that.
Matter of days.

We've also been proactive
with our branding efforts...

you know, getting our
name out there.

Greg, the mouse pads, please.

Greg, the mouse pads, please.

You know, to spread the word,

and, um, our download numbers,
while not Mosaic's,

are really starting
to edge out Loadstar, so...

But we don't want to be
just chasing Mosaic, do we?

You guys are too talented
for that.

You need to be pursuing
your own vision,

not aping somebody else's, right?

We couldn't agree more. Yes.

Wonderful.

Then we are all set.

I was really rooting for you guys.

Thanks, Donna.
We really appreciate it.

Did we just get defunded?

Ahh.

- Get your hands off me.
- You asked.

I said don't touch me, Abe!

Jesus!

Oh, oh, oh! All right!

All right.

Yeah!

Yeah!

Wow.

Look who it is.

I was on the company invite list.

Mm.

So you do get e-mails.

- Have you seen Mosaic?
- I saw Mosaic.

I haven't heard from you
in five months.

Now you're just here.

Honestly, I didn't even know
you were in the country.

Yeah, I'm sorry. I should've...

You know, I-I thought I was
gonna find time to talk to you.

I didn't know the party
was gonna be so...

Look, look, look.
Don't worry about it.

To be honest with you,
I'm not even that mad.

Joe's gonna k*ll you.

Is he here?

Joe MacMillan at a party?

You've been out of the loop
for a while.

Well, come on!

Ah!

Hey, what the heck are
you doing here?

My God! Look!

I'm... I'm doing some, um,
promotion for my new game.

Yeah, The Pilgrim, sure.
I've seen it.

Ooh, looks spooky. Ooh.

By the way, John absolutely
loved that sailing compass.

Oh, oh.

Sure. I got it mounted
right on the bulkhead.

You know, we got to get over there

and see these guys
some time. Soon?

Once Diane figures out how
to make it business write-off.

Gee, John, thanks.

I'm kidding.

Oh, I mean, you guys are
welcome whenever you want.

I just saw Joanie,
so I'm gonna go say hi.

Okay. Good to see you.

Hey, uh...

when are you gonna take me
out on that boat?

Oh, we'll get out there soon,
Cap'n.

I'm gonna go get cleaned up.

Okay. You need it.

See you guys in a little bit.

Okay.

By the looks of all this,

CalNect pulls down,
what, 50, 60 mil a year?

60.

Well, hell, 75 now
that they're down in Arizona.

Still, 25 ISP competitors
in the landscape and growing,

and CalNect isn't
a member of the C.I.X.

and won't be anytime soon.

Well, yeah.

Gordon's pretty good
at watching his henhouse.

I wouldn't worry.

John, all I'm saying is
that with AOL coming to town,

all of this seems overly
optimistic, don't you think?

Cameron?

Oh, my God. Oh, my God!

- I can't believe you're here!
- Okay.

Oh, my God! Guys, listen.

This is Cameron. Like... like,
the Cameron Howe.

- Yes.
- Nice, dude.

- She invented Space Bike.
- Mm-hmm.

What's the other one called?

Pilgrim.

Right.

That is so cool.

Do you wanna play Mortal Kombat?

Yeah.

Oh... no. You guys go ahead.

Haley?

Hi.

Hi!

Um, o hisashiburi desu Ne.

Oh. Impressive.

I've been, you know, practicing
off those CDs you sent.

Yes. Well, gengo o hitotsu
wa kesshite tarinai.

Um...

Anata wa subarashi ninjindesu.

No?

- No.
- No, what?

You said I was an awesome carrot.

Oh.

You don't have to worry.

My mom's not here.

- Hey, man.
- Hey.

Good to see ya.

I didn't think you'd make it.

Glad to know I can
still surprise you.

So, um, no present?

Actually, I did get you something.

I was kidding.

A whole box of them at the front
counter at Blockbuster.

Jesus. AOL's everywhere now.

I'm, uh... I'm in this
fight with you.

But I want Shep's office.
It gets the most sunlight.

Done.

Um...

Cameron's here.

Ok, so I've got http//cad.UCLA
/edu/repository/bonsai/html.

Yep. That's it.

You're a fellow bonsai
enthusiast, I take it?

No.

But I'm gonna check out
your website.

Okay.

I heard you didn't come
to parties anymore.

It's Gordon's birthday.

How's Tom?

Tom is good.

He, um...

He just got promoted

to head of development at Sega,

That's great.

You're mad at me.

Wouldn't you be?

Yeah.

I got to go.

Thank you all for coming!

Can I have a whiskey?

Am I cruel?

Of course not.

Why would you ask that?

All right.

What time is it?

cr*ck of noon. Rise and shine.

Oh, God. You're a monster.

Pete can give you a ride
home if you need one.

Who's Pete?

My driver. You'll love him.

He used to be a city tax planner

and loves books on tape.

Is it dark in the car?

Can I sleep in there
with the A.C. on?

Of course.

As long as you're all right
with the dulcet tones

of Robert Ludlum thrillers.

Man, Donut Plains 3
is impossible.

Battle mode?

Yeah, you're on.

All right.

Oh, Jesus.

All right, you got to pick a guy.

What, Toad? Really?

Mm-hmm.

He corners the best.

Interesting.

Okay, there's a decent chance
this is gonna make me barf.

You and Joanie are in the
same boat this morning.

Whoa! You can throw banana peels?

How'd you get so good at this?

I got my hands on a
prototype cartridge

about a year and a half ago.

Man, you really brought
the Southwest in here,

didn't you, Gordon?

Easy.

How much longer are you
in town for?

I don't know.

Oh.

But if you want to see
the craziest thing,

you should swing
by the focus-group testing

for my new game.

It's like "Altered States"

but with market research
instead of LSD.

That damn game better be good.

Of course,
right when I get a red shell.

Here.

You tell me if it's good.

"Pilgrim."

Hm.

I'm glad you're doing so well,
Gordon.

Thanks.

Yeah.

I'm doing really, really great.

I mean, last night,
I got to be a human paintbrush.

I saw that.

You know, CalNect is...
it's kicking ass.

Well, I'm sorry that Loadstar
has to be the exception.

- I...
- Come on.

You know, if I'm being
totally honest,

as time wore on,
the browser just became

more of a side project for me.

It's always been Joe's baby.

Joe.

I saw him last night.

And?

Oh, Gordon, it didn't go that well.

Well, that's probably for the best.

For who?

For him.

Oh, sh*t!

What?

The girls haven't left yet.

Haley, Joanie! Come on! Let's go!

Gordon?

No, she never comes in.
Don't worry.

All right, well, um,
I'll see you Wednesday.

Mm-hmm. Love you, too.

Joanie, let's go!

Gordon?

Oh.

Uh, have you seen Mosaic?

Yes.

I was surprised it wasn't you.

Hey. Uh...

She may have gotten
into the

Dad.

Get out here.

Thanks for this.

Yeah.

Anytime.

She rarely comes in.

As expected, the flat fee
and unkept usage dinged

the overall revenue initially,

but now we're in the
volume business.

The user base just keeps going up.

Then this isn't a rebound.
It's sustained growth.

That's good.

Only problem is
the pipe's getting tight.

We're starting to clog a
little bit with all that data.

MCI hears how well we're doing,

they're gonna want to renegotiate

the sweetheart deal before
they give us

more bandwidth on their
twisted pair network.

We could balk and try PacBell,

but at the end of the day,
we'd want to keep

our backbone provider happy,
whoever they are.

What do you think, Gordon?

Uh, if MCI wants more money, fine.

We've got it. Let's give
it to them.

AOL's not the only one
with deep pockets.

Let's stay ahead of this.

Shep, get a call in.

And, uh, Joe,
thanks for sitting in today.

What is this?

Loadstar.

Is that the finished browser?

You've just been sitting on this?

Couldn't get around to handing
it in?

No. I finished it last night.

So, it was, what, a day of work?

Joe, I've been working
on this for weeks.

You know, you didn't have to
sit around and wait for me.

If you were in such a rush,
you could have hired

somebody else to do the coding.

You don't get it. I needed you.

We needed you to care,
and you didn't.

We had almost a year
on the Mosaic guys,

but we blew it, and now...

If you had just been here,
actually been available...

Well, I couldn't be here.
That was the deal.

And it was a raw deal for me.

And it's just a shame.

It's a shame that 5,000 miles
away wasn't far enough.

What is this about?

Look, I made this better
than it had any right to be,

and I did so while dealing
with a lot of my own stuff.

Oh, right, your game.

I'm sure that was tough,
being funded, promoted, coddled.

I've been alone on this,

working by myself for three years.

Do you want to talk about
what we're really talking about?

If we had worked on this...

together...

it could have been amazing.

What do you want me to do?

Nothing.

It's too late.

And I, um, got to get back
to work, so...

You know, the way things
are growing...

you're gonna run out of
Post-its pretty soon.

Well, tell Oregon they're
not a big enough market

for Digital Subscriber investments.

Let's get started.

Well, first off, let me just say,

on behalf of the Rover brain trust,

it's great to see you again.

We're moving past the beta phase.

We are already underway
in three med schools,

with requests for two more.

A little more sobering, though,

is that we've gone
through our seed round

just a hair faster
than expected, and now...

Now you need more money.

Well, yes.

It's either that
or we let some people go...

interns, mostly.

But this is still
enterprise software,

B2B currently focused
only on medical records.

Yes, through binary queries
into the data pool,

but we're refining comparisons
to make things more versatile.

Okay, I'll just cut to
the chase here.

I've given you enough funding
for a medical database program.

If you want more funding,
I will need a bigger idea.

Let's talk again in 24 hours.

Uh, that's a mighty
quick turnaround.

Yes. Yes, it is.

Gordon.

Wait, wait, wait, wait,
wait, wait, wait.

What's up?

I've got something.

We can still be the door.

Maybe it's not a browser.
In fact, it shouldn't be.

We're gonna build a website
that is accessible

from any browser.

Like a...
Like a website of websites,

an index of everything,
like a directory.

What, like the Yellow Pages?

Yes, but more than that.

I don't have the full thing yet,
but...

Look, Joe.

Joe, let me stop you right there.

I thought you were back
on the business,

our business, this business.

When are you gonna wake up?

What?

You're sleepwalking.

I mean, what the hell
was that party, Gordon?

I wanted to celebrate our success.

You're trying to convince yourself

that it's okay to stop
when every fiber of your being

is telling yourself to keep going.

I've been telling you for years
that you are a builder.

You need to build.

You know what, Joe? I built this.

I built all of this
when you were downstairs

in the basement screwing around
with Post-it notes.

Did Cameron put you up to this?

I noticed that she stopped by today.

Of course she did.

Look, all we're asking is
that you put

the game's controls
in the manual.

- No.
- That's it.

No, the worst thing
you can do with a magic trick

is explain how it works.

No matter how much
the audience asks,

it's so much more rewarding

if they get to discover it
for themselves.

You have to respect the player.

Hey!

So?

It's a trip, huh?

Cameron, what are you doing here?

I told you. I have to
promote the game.

No, I mean, what are
you doing here?

This sh*t was all behind us.

The browser?

Joe.

You have no idea how hard
he's worked

to get back to where he is...
how hard I've worked.

And now, all of a sudden,
you know,

you feel guilty
about no-showing on Loadstar.

You come back into his life
and you got him spinning.

- I didn't do anything.
- Look, you spent five minutes

with him in the basement,
and now he's convinced

that you've handed him fire
from the mountaintop.

Look, I'm not saying that
you're doing this on purpose,

but every single time that you
come back into his life...

I owed him that work.

I owed both of you.

You know, yesterday you
asked me if you were cruel.

Sorry. We only have the room
until 10:00.

It was great to see you, Gordon.

Yeah. I mean, isn't that
why God created hangovers...

teach teenagers not to
drink so much?

Drinking is one thing.

Okay, well, it's better
off at home

with one of us
than somewhere else, right?

Gordon, it's fine.

She told you
she's not going to college yet,

or is she still
just torturing me with that one?

It's a positive that our
daughter has such a free spirit.

Well, Joanie is certainly
resourceful.

You wouldn't believe the variety
of household items...

fruit, even...

she's found a way to
smoke pot out of.

Well, there's your selling
point right there.

She'd love Berkeley.

I'll talk to her.

Thank you.

It was weird to see Cameron
the other day,

especially in your sweatpants.

Oh, well, you know,

she's always had a major,
major thing for me.

No.

Yeah, well,
I liked that you thought

it was even a possibility.

You know what she said
to me about Mosaic?

She said, "I was surprised
it wasn't you."

What is that supposed to mean?

I don't know.

Her latest visit's
got Joe jumping up and down

- about some new idea.
- Of course.

Yeah, I mean, he suddenly thinks

he should index
every website in existence.

How would you even do that?

Trust me, he's been meticulously
building a list of URLs...

by hand...
for the last three years.

That sounds awfully tedious.

Yeah, well, you know.

Joe... dog with a bone.

That he is.

And Cameron loves to
sh*t out rainbows

to distract from her
assh*le behavior.

Wow.

I'm gonna do the salmon. You?

Sounds good. I'll do the same.

Here's to Mosaic...

and the respective death
of our competing browsers.

Good news. We nailed it.

Magazines.

We use the algorithm
to index back catalogs

of major publications
one magazine at a time.

Voilà... a trove of text documents

with an unstructured data problem

just waiting to be solved.

No, that's not it.

Oh. Uh, we also discussed
legal service...

backlogs of briefs and precedents.

- Well, we...
- Look, this is all dead data.

What's growing?

What can we apply
the algorithm to that's dynamic?

We're in the future business here.

I don't know how we index live data.

Ah, well, then that's unfortunate.

Uh, well, what about the Web?

The... The number of websites
has grown 500% this year alone.

By next year,
it could grow exponentially.

At that point, the data pool's
theoretically limitless.

We'd have to adjust the algorithm,

but we could endeavor
to index the entire Web,

make it searchable.

And how would you index it?

W-With the algorithm.

It'd be fully automated
and computerized.

That means it'd be up to date
almost instantly

with every new site addition.

That's it.

That's the idea.

Don't tell me the reward
for solving Enso puzzle

was getting transported back
to the beginning of the game.

I'm afraid I've got some
bad news for you.

Oh.

So the Enso is a zero,
and I've got to start over.

Or maybe it means everything.

Now you can approach
the path you've taken

in an entirely new way.

Mm.

I'm sorry about the other day.

I was just having trouble

believing that the browser
was done,

and I know that that is...
over now.

I do.

Regardless, I don't want
five months

or five years to go by
before I hear from you.

So don't disappear again.

I want to...
know you in my life.

You already know me, Joe.

I'm not going back to Japan.

Tom left me.

What happened?

He...

met someone else.

Oh, I'm sorry.

Are... Are you...

Divorced?

I was gonna say "okay," but...

Oh. Yes.

Uh... yeah, I-I guess I am.

So, are you divorced?

Uh, almost.

You know, it's a pain in the
ass doing it from Japan.

So there's all these forms
and trips to the post office

and sending stuff to Texas.

And it all feels
like this weird dream...

...being married and Tokyo...

I'm sorry.

Do you want to hear this?

I want to hear
whatever you want to tell me.

I feel like an idiot.

You're not an idiot.

Impulsive, maybe.

Okay, Joe.

Hey, I'm impulsive, too, so...

Are you, uh... Are you
gonna stay in California?

I don't know.

I have to get out
of this hotel, though.

The shower sucks,
and I really want a bath.

I took a lot of baths
in Japan.

I love a good bath.

Yeah.

So, no hints about this game,
huh?

No. You got to figure
it out yourself.

Oh, but it's so hard.

It is until you figure it out.

And then it isn't.

Who was it?

Who was what?

Um, the woman that Tom...

Oh.

Oh, that's, uh...

That's the best part.
I never even asked.

Talk to me. Tell me something.

Tell you what?

Just... I don't know...
anything, life on Earth.

What'd I miss?

Well, what do you want to hear?

- Joe, just talk to me.
- Okay.

Uh, did you know that
Bill Clinton is the president?

Yeah. They love him in Japan.

All those cheeseburgers.

So, what else?

Um, the Cowboys won the
Super Bowl.

Audrey Hepburn d*ed.
And so did River Phoenix.

Uh, some crazies tried to
blow up the World Trade Center,

and, uh... you can
be gay in the m*llitary,

but nobody can ask you about it,

and you can't tell anybody.

Did you know IBM lost $5 billion?

They check the couch cushions?

You know, Gordon went through

this whole health phase.

He's got a room in his
house full of gym stuff.

Like, he's got this NordicTrack

and something called
a ButtMaster, so...

And, um, this thing
happened to me.

I was getting out of
my car at a Safeway,

and I saw this woman
flailing her arms, just...

A swarm of bees was
attacking her,

just stinging her
again and again, you know?

And she fell to the ground.

And out of nowhere,
this ice-cream truck

comes screaming
through the parking lot,

and it's playing that music
from The Sting.

And the guy gets out
of the... the truck,

and he's doing CPR and everything.

And the truck is still playing
that tinkling piano music,

and it keeps playing it even
after the ambulance arrives.

And it's all I could
think about for days,

these paramedics

just working on her like crazy
while this music played

and how that might be the
last thing she ever hears.

Cameron?

Hey, Cam?

I'll just keep talking

'cause I think you're...

I think you're still there.

Are you there?

I'm here.

Hello?

Hello?

Hello?

Oh, hey.

Hey.

I was just making some tea.

Do you want to know

what your Hawaiian name is?

Okay.

It's Kamelonu.

See, there's this whole website
where you...

You didn't hang up?

Well, yeah, I had to tell you
my Hawaiian name.

What is it?

It's just Joe,
but with an I instead of a J.

Eye-oh-ee?

I actually think that's it's "Yo."

Right?

Right. I'm not calling you "Yo."

That is such a
Kamelonu thing to say.

San Jose is so weird.

You know it's actually
bigger than San Francisco?

I know, but it seems
so much smaller, doesn't it?

Oh. I think I see a water park.

I haven't ridden a water slide

since I was twelve.

Isn't that weird?

You might have already been
on your last water slide.

No way. I always planned
on buying up a water park,

living there alone,
riding the flumes by night.

Yeah?

That's what you wanted to do
when you grew up?

Honestly, I feel like
I've always been a grown up.

Well, I bet you were
one of the only babies

with a chiseled jawline.

No, there was one other kid,

but we fought to the death.

What do you think about Rover?

Uh, um, Rover?

Um, they're... smart,

pivot on a dime,

good team dynamics.

Yeah, but doesn't it seem
like Elliot and Vera

just want to k*ll each
other sometimes?

That's because they're married.

Huh.

Yeah, that makes sense.

Well...

you should just know that

they're gonna talk major
sh*t about you

on the drive home every night.

About me?

I'm making you lead on Rover.

You pulled them off the slush pile.

You've been doing the work
of an associate for months now.

You're ready.

Get them set up in the
Incubator today,

and start looking for my
new assistant.

Until we find one,
you'll be pulling double duty.

Congratulations.

This is typically where
members of the human race

express some enthusiasm or...

Thank you.

Bobby, yo, grab it out of the car.

Who's winning today?

Haley Clark.

Young lady, tell me
there's a good reason

you're not in second period
right now.

So, he's from Philadelphia.

West Philly, yeah.

But his mom is really freaked out

about what happened
on the basketball court,

so she packed up his stuff

and... and moved him to
Los Angeles,

and he's been living there
ever since.

I'm sorry, but was the thing
on the basketball court

really that big a deal?

I mean, to send your kid away
forever?

I think it involved gangs.

- Oh.
- Yeah.

- And he's not actually royalty.
- No.

"Fresh Prince" refers
to his street cred.

TV in Japan is weird.

There's all these, like, um,
game shows

where they make you do
insane things

like, um... like dress up
like a giant banana,

and then they drop you into a zoo

with a bunch of chimps that
haven't eaten in a week.

And you're terrified,
screaming, running around,

but then there is this
studio audience there

who's watching and
laughing at you.

That sounds horrible.

You know, I was on TV once.

Mm? For IBM?

Uh, no.

I was 11...
uh, Thanksgiving Day parade.

I was a pilgrim,
this other kid was wearing

his mom's brown tights
and construction-paper feathers,

and we chased each other around
a float and almost fell off.

Hey, can you just...
Like, one second, one second.

Hello?

- Hello?
- Hey.

I was on TV when I was a kid.

"Good Morning Dallas."

Troubled-youth exposé?

No.

I won a beauty contest.

You...

You what?

Yeah.

Little Miss Flawless, 1970.

My mom, um, signed me up
for a pageant

after my dad d*ed.

I think she thought
it would distract me

or, uh, we'd bond or something.

And you won.

That time? No. No, I lost.

But she kept signing me up.

I told her I hated it,
but she... didn't listen.

That bad, huh?

What, a bunch of 8-year-olds
whitening their teeth

and getting ranked on
their looks?

Yeah, it was that bad.

So, you whitened your teeth.

Oh, my God.

She had a whole box of tricks.

Spray adhesive to... to keep
your bathing suit in place,

uh...

Oh. Hemorrhoid cream.

- Hemorrhoid cream?
- Yeah.

Yeah, 'cause I'd, um, cry a lot?
Before the competitions?

I didn't want to be there.

I just wanted to go home,
and so I'd cry and cry.

And that puffs you up pretty bad.

So my mom found out that

if you put hemorrhoid cream
all around my eyes,

it took the puffiness away.

So I could be normal again
and march out onstage

and do the Pretty Feet Pose.

One foot forward, one foot back,

hand underneath the rib cage,

big, stupid smile on my face.

And... I'd lose.

Until you won.

Yeah.

Little Miss Flawless, 1970.

Got all those flaws
taken care of.

One sec.

- Ms. Howe?
- Hmm?

A Gavin Greene from Atari
is trying to reach you.

Thank you.

So, is there, like, a Fresh
Princess of Bel Air?

Is it dumb to get suspended
for skipping school?

It is, okay?

But we're not here to debate that.

Okay? Look, I know what it's like

to have an older sibling who
requires a lot of attention.

Okay, your Uncle Henry?
Total bonehead.

Always getting into major trouble.

And... And so, I kind of
flew under the radar.

Look, Haley...

...if you want to blow off
some steam, fine,

just don't be dumb about it.

You know, this isn't you.

You're... You're... You're...
You're smart, you know?

You're... You're our rock,
you know...

Oh, honey, Bug?

No. I'm sorry.

- Look...
- I don't...

No, I'm sorry. Look, it...

Look, it's... it's not even
that big of a deal.

I'm... I'm... I'm...
I'm not even mad.

It's...

Oh, sweetie, did...

Shep, I'm...
I'm kind of busy here.

Ah, hey there, kiddo!

Okay, look, did I upset you?

Is it something that I said or...

No, I'm...

- Oh, honey...
- Kind of need you inside, Gordon.

- Shep, what do you need?
- Kinda need you inside.

Okay, well, I'll be there
in a few minutes, all right?

Okay, sure.

- Oh, Bug.
- And we're on it.

- No.
- Probably going to be fine.

Busy signals for users
trying to log on,

the customer service
calls spiking.

Uh, throughput's at a crawl.

We're not talking
Chernobyl style meltdown yet,

but we're in three Mile Island
territory for suresies.

Hold on. Hold on. All because
of the flat-fee model?

I mean, are people really spending

that much more time online?

A lot of people just leave

their computers logged on
all day now.

Hey, Bug, do you mind waiting
in my office for me?

We got three dozen users

who've been on for more
than twenty-four hours.

So kick 'em off.

We'd have to write new
code to do that

and then get everyone
to download a software patch.

Yeah. We need more
capacity from MCI.

Get me, uh... Get me
Jon Volpi on the phone.

Uh, tried. Can't reach him.

All right, well,
get me Alan or Dave

or that Bobby Sobrato guy.

Uh, w-we tried them, too.

We can't get ahold of
anybody at MCI.

Where's Joe?

Uh, he never came in.
We tried him, too.

It just keeps going to voicemail.

Look, just...

Shep, we need to fix it fast,
okay?

AOL is breathing down our butts,
you know.

And if we don't give our
customers what they need,

they're gonna go somewhere else.

Do you know how to work Excel?

Yeah.

Well...

can you put these
in a spreadsheet for me?

It's really important.

Okay.

There's some quarters in
the top drawer

if you need anything
from the vending machine.

Okay? I'll be right back.

It just doesn't sound like Haley.

I was sure the school got
her mixed up with Joanie.

Yeah, no, I know.

I'm telling you, Donna,
I don't know what's going on.

She's never been the crying type.

Yeah, I mean, it was that...

that... that really intense crying.

Where you try and hold it in,
but you can't,

and, you know, then you just
start going into convulsions.

Ah, maybe she's just on her period.

No, Donna,
this isn't menstrual crying.

Trust me. I know menstrual crying.

Yeah. You know
menstrual crying.

Look, do you want me
to talk to her?

No.

No, I'll... I'll handle it.

Okay, well, good luck.

Saturday afternoon,
nothing but ocean.

Oh, Donna,
it was g*dd*mn beautiful.

So, I took my little disco nap

- and I had a dream...
- Ah.

...that I was this...
I was this big, fat...

...bald baby just sloshin'
around a manatee's tummy,

just, "Whoosh, fworsh."

But when I come to...

...by God, the boat
is pitchin' and it's yawin'

and it's rollin'
like a drunk donkey.

Just a freak storm out of nowhere,

just a wall of black blocking
my path back to the coast.

I'm lost.

And I'm thinking,
"Turn out the lights.

The party's over."
Then I started to panic.

Then I started to S.O.S.
like an S.O.B.,

and that's when these two
eggheads just come cruising up.

Unbelievable.

See, these two have a custom
GPS receiver on their boat.

That's the Global
Positioning System.

That is right, Donna, yeah.

Turns out Fred and Bill
are engineers.

They made AMD a lot of money

by making real expensive stuff
real cheap.

Not a bad skill set. Right.

So we had a few beers,
and we get to talking.

And what we thought was,
why not take their idea

and scale it up?

Make something a guy like me
can buy off the rack?

Uh, doesn't Garmin already
do that?

Mm, yeah, but them and Magellan

got a stranglehold on the market,

and, Donna,
they charge up the wazoo.

We're talking about
disrupting the price point,

bringing the costs way down.

It's interesting.

And, hey, I...
what a fascinating technology.

Mm-hmm. It is, yeah.

I'll look into it.

- Fred...
- Yes.

- ...Bill...
- Mm-hmm.

...nice meeting you.

- Nice meeting you.
- Pleasure.

- Yeah.
- Thank you.

- Oh, uh, yeah.
- Thank you very much.

Thanks, guys. Great.
I'll see you in the lobby.

- Okay.
- Beautiful. Okay.

All right.

Yeah, we'll see you back there.

- Yeah.
- All right.

- Cool.
- Well...

...all right.

Well, give it to me straight.

I got to manage my expectations here.

Well, um, it's intriguing.

Mm.

What are you looking for
out of this, Bos?

I mean, do you really want
to be the exec at a startup?

I-I'm just looking for
a finder's fee, you know?

I like connecting people.
And I like these guys.

And just... I'm the market
for this kind of thing.

You know?

There's a lot of other salty
sailors out there just like me.

Okay. Well, you know,
I'll look into it.

Again, uh, what a technology.

Well, Th-thanks for having us in.

Thanks. Nice.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Hey, you, me, and Diane
are overdue for a dinner.

We should do that soon.

We should. Let's do.

Let's do.

Okay.

Okay, I found it.

David was visited by
an exact vision of death:

a long hole in the ground,
no wider than your body,

down which you are drawn while
the white faces above recede.

You try to reach for them,
but your arms are pinned.

Shovels pour dirt into
your face.

There you will be forever,
in an upright position,

blind and silent,

and in time no one will
remember you,

and you will never be called.

As strata of rock shift,
your fingers elongate,

your teeth are
distended sideways

in a great underground grimace

indistinguishable
from a strip of chalk.

And the earth tumbles on,
and the sun expires,

and unaltering darkness reigns

where once there were stars.

Jesus...

But that's not the end of the story.

This kid...
his grandmother tells him

to go sh**t all the pigeons
in the barn.

And it makes him think about death,

and he has this crisis of faith.

A-And nobody reassures him.

He is...
surrounded by this non-belief.

It's like a conspiracy,
and he's just wising up to it.

But he still has to sh**t
all these pigeons.

And he does, he just sh**t
the hell out of them.

And he picks up a dead pigeon,
and he stares at it.

And it's actually gorgeous.

And he decides right then
and there

that no God who would
give so much beauty

to such a worthless creature

would fail to let him live forever.

Like his faith is restored.

Is that what you believe?

I just... I don't know.

I guess I...

I hope there's something more.

Huh.

"Huh" what?

Just weird.
I never thought about you

as the kind of guy who needed
"more."

All right.

What do you believe?

Um, well...

I saw this shrine in Japan.

And, uh, the locals tear it down,

right to the foundation,
every 20 years.

And then they build it
right back up again,

back to its original state.

And they've been doing this
for 1,300 years.

Nothing in it's original anymore,

but it still looks identical
to the day it went up.

That's beautiful.

Well, no.

I mean, I don't think
these people are doing it

for some spiritual reason.

I think they're doing it

because they're holding onto
the process of it, you know?

The doing of it,
that that's all that matters.

That's what I think.

I don't know.

I've been trying to find
some solace in that lately.

How's that working out for you?

Not that great, Joe,

but thanks for asking.

Um, I'm sorry.

That was... That was unfair.

Yeah, it was.

Look, I'm forty-five.

I've got no family.
I work in a basement.

People aren't exactly lining up
for my spiritual guidance.

Is that what this is about?

What?

Well, you said
you didn't have a family.

You don't want one, do you?

My dad d*ed last spring.

Oh, God, Joe.

I'm sorry.

Yeah.

And you know what this is like,
but...

You just start
to think about everything.

And when I was...
when I was fifteen,

I made this vow that
I would never have kids.

All because of him.

He was just... huge

and... imposing.

You know you're huge
and imposing, right?

He made me feel small.

Like I was...

less than nothing.

And I never wanted to risk
doing that to a child.

Uh...

And then he d*ed.

And... And I'm, like,
there at his funeral.

And there's hardly
anyone else there.

And he felt like the small one
all of a sudden.

And that made you
want to have a family?

It made me realize that
we are different people...

and, um...

maybe I would have been better.

You ever think about kids?

Yeah.

I just, um, sprung it on
Tom one day.

Didn't even really think about it.

Just "Let's start a family."

Such a stupid thing to
say to someone

if you're not ready for them
to take it seriously.

And he did.

Oh, I mean, he lit up.

I've never seen someone so happy.

And so we, uh, started trying.

And it didn't work.

And I was relieved.

I was relieved that Mother
Nature made a decision for me

that I was too spineless
to make for myself.

And I realized I was
just going through with it

because I didn't want
to disappoint him again.

Sorry. I shouldn't...
have said that.

You know,

it is so good to actually
talk to you.

Yeah.

You too.

I think it's gonna take a while

for me to get used to that.

I mean, come on. "Aggek"?
What is that?

It sounds like a painful hiccup.

It does kind of remind me
of pond scum.

Oh, God, Trip makes my blood boil,

even just his name.

"Trip Kisker."

Elias does like him, though.

He's a star.

Look, if we're gonna position you

to take over the mantle
once I'm gone,

a little diplomacy with
the new star pupil won't hurt.

So, how was it?

Be honest.

Oh, well it's a promising arena.

But I think they're too late.

There's a lot of muscle
in GPS already,

and retail is tricky.

But I can do some more digging,

maybe order up an analysis.

No.

I think John could care
less about GPS.

He's just restless
and looking for something to do.

"Aggek."

It's the cry you hear when
you step on a tiny lizard.

Hey, we can still talk trash
about Trip

behind his back, right?

- Let's circle back on that later.
- Oh, really?

I think now's the perfect
time to drill down on it.

I always prefer to drill down

after I'm circling back.

Curtis.

Yeah, well, I'm pulling software
guys to handle support calls.

And we've already had
some cancellations.

Well, call me back
when you do have an answer.

Okay, please tell me

you've talked to somebody from MCI.

Yeah, we did. I just did.

Uh, Barry Schnellham? Schnell-ham.

Okay. Well, who the hell
is Barry Shhhnellham?

Uh, Barry Schnellham is...

Interim manager of enterprise
solution outreach.

They're gonna wait out the clock

and then squeeze us until we cave

on a huge rate hike for more pipe!

What...?

Oh, it looks like customer service...

...just face-planted again.

Barry Shhhnellham?

Barry Schnellham?
Listen to me, Shep.

You get on the phone right now

and you tell Barry Schnellham

if I don't have Jon Volpi on the line

in the next five minutes,

I'm personally gonna drive
down to MCI

and put my g*dd*mn face
through his g*dd*mn fist!

How is he?

He's great.
CalNect is really successful.

- The ISP sector is growing like crazy.
- No, no, no, no, no.

How is he?

Oh.

Uh, I think he's fine.

He doesn't talk about it much.

It must be so scary.

I mean, h-he's, uh... he's
really, really happy.

Or at least he was.

Until I told him about
my new web idea.

Which is?

So, imagine,

like, um, a website of websites,

uh, a curated index that takes
you wherever you want to go.

Like the yellow pages?

No, it's... it's
so much more than that.

It's like a...
It's a portal...

- Wait. Wait. 1 second, 1 second.
- ...is what

- I'm thinking about...
- Okay.

- Cameron, hey.
- Hi.

Uh, your phone's been
tied up all day.

Yeah, sorry.

Um, you have a sec?

We need to talk.

Nobody at Atari
wants to push forward

on a product that
isn't perfectly calibrated.

So we've decided
to push back for a time.

How much time?

Indefinitely.

Also, we're gonna, uh,
need a quote...

tonight.

Yeah, uh, I'll, uh...

Hey, Cameron.

Hey.

Um... they're, uh...

They're gonna delay my game.

Like, um...

indefinitely.

Uh, they need some
press-release quote from me,

so I... I should probably go.

I can write it.

Let me help you.

Yeah, well, we can
to talk about it more.

- So then Judy barges in room, right?
- Yeah, yeah.

Completely unexpected.

Knocks over the glass
and completely ruins my rug.

Ohh.

Like that.

Exactly... exactly like that.

Okay, time to address

the over-educated elephant
in the room.

A formal welcome
to our new general partner...

Colton Marshall Kisker III.

We were certainly lucky

to nab you from Sequoia last year.

And the JoyRide IPO... 22x.

- Cheers.
- Cheers.

Cheers.

Mm.

I've got a lot to say,

but I don't want to ruin good
champagne

with bad rambling, so...

Great.

I'm honored.

I'm humbled.

And I'm ready.

I am.

I'm ready to really drill down
on monetizing my portfolio

while simultaneously cultivating
new and promising ventures

that provide big exits,

with LP's clamoring
to sign subscription docs.

So, thank you, one and all.

Thank you.

All right, fun's over.
Back to business.

- Yeah. Let's do it.
- Come on.

SparqPlug's Series B term
sheet draft

is available for the curious.

Joyce, can you send around
the target for PulseMD?

Got it.

And Millennium is a write-down.

Let's take a knee on
the web for now, yes?

Actually, no.

Uh, Rover is repurposing
their software for a web play.

They're getting set up
in the Incubator now.

And you're still on point, Donna?

I made Tanya Reese associate.

She'll take lead and have
an update by end of day.

Um, just to throw out
a quick suggestion...

Rover has enough runway
to rework their core technology

and index the entire web,
make it searchable.

It's low-risk, high-reward.

Uh, sorry, I'm... I'm just getting
caught up on the particulars,

but seeing as the web
is rocky territory,

is... is jumping back into
browsers maybe something...

Rover isn't developing a browser.

It's indexing the web.

The whole thing.

Uh, could... could we
circle back for a second

and drill down on leadership?

So, Tanya Reese was
an assistant of yours

until today?

We're all aware of that fact, Trip.

Absolutely.

I'm just... just
getting up on my skis here,

but, um, does she have a
web background

or any managerial experience
specific to this play?

Tanya sat on my desk for two years.

She's been involved in numerous deals

and consequential in the
success of more than a few.

Not to mention the fact

that she pulled Rover off the
slush pile to begin with, so...

Just, um, talking
while I'm thinking,

uh, but since the web
is frontierland,

would it be the worst idea

to bring in an outside consultant?

I think Tanya is perfectly capable

of handling the challenge...

I bet Joey Winchester'd
be happy to come in.

You know who's available
is Michael Hottendorf.

Cass Reinhardt just exited
Sequoia three months ago...

...and he would hit this
out of the park.

- Cass...
- You know what?

If that's what Rover needs,

I have the perfect person in mind.

Let me just, uh, make a phone call,

and I'll report back.

Hmm, okay, moving on,

QwellX's missed its quarter by a bit.

Livermore Three can take about
two percent of our load.

Oh, that's a drop in the bucket...

we're getting hit in the face
with a fire hose.

It's like a Greyhound
bus station in here, Gordon.

Hey, Bos, what are you doing here?

I don't know.
I just thought I'd stop by.

We didn't get much of a chance
to catch up on your birthday.

Hey, step into my office.

Okay.

Looks like you could use a break.

Hey, sweetie,
can you give us a sec?

Ma'am.

Well, pretty, young secretary
you got there.

Yeah.

I thought the ISP business
supposed to be easy-breezy.

People running around out there
like their balls are on fire.

Well, you know, we're, um,

we're going through
a couple hiccups today.

Yeah, I remember days like that...

the old bucket brigade routine.

By God, it makes you
feel alive, though.

Doesn't it, Gordon?

Doesn't it?

Them blue... Them blue men
were something, huh?

- Yeah.
- Their drummin'?

- All their, uh... their blue?
- Hey, listen,

uh, Bos, m-maybe today's
not a good time.

Can we grab a drink
in a few days or something?

Yeah, yeah, but... um, hey, uh...

Gordon,

I need to, uh...
I need to borrow some money.

Diane and I were looking to invest

in this housing development.

She lost interest. And I didn't.

Uh, so I put up my own money,

uh, without telling her.

And then I went in whole hog.

So, you know,
I-I put good money after bad

and bad money after worse,
and before you...

Well, now I'm in the drink.

First bank note's due in a week.

All right, well, I mean,
why don't you ask Diane?

I mean, she's your wife.

W-Well, she's not my wife.

I'm not a kept man.
I got alimony to pay.

I'm paying down college loans
for the kids.

I...

I sold my boat to pay
this thing down.

You sold your boat, Bos?

Well, I mean, how short are you?

Eighteen thousand...

for the first payment.

Bos...

Well, why are you coming to me?

Well, now, don't worry, I'm...
I'm good for it. I'm good for it.

No, I got this... this GPS thing
that I'm working on.

And then I got, uh...

Oh, God, I got so much stuff
in the hopper right now, really.

I mean, I'm... I'm just...
I'm just cash-shy,

just a little cash-shy.

So I figured you had a...

You figured that...

since I hired the Blue Man Group

that I must have cash just
falling out of my pockets?

Look, Bos, look, I'd give you
the money in a heartbeat.

But you live with Diane,
who works with my ex-wife.

And who has more money than
all of us combined, all right?

I can't get in the middle of that.

Okay? You're gonna have to ask her.

I...

That'd be the end of us.

Things are choppy at home.

I mean, but Diane's it for me.

She's got to be.

Look, Bos, I-I-I got to get
back out there right now.

I can't...

All right.

It wasn't all about the money.

You don't know what it's
like being retired.

Hell, you just turned forty.

You got a dozen more tricks
up your sleeve no matter what.

I'm sixty-five.

This can't be my last thing.

You're gonna have to ask her, Bos.

Haley!

Come here.

Come here.

Wh-What is this?

Oh, well, I just took a little break

to make something.

And I'll keep checking
for broken sites, but...

No, no, no. It's fine.

Haley, Th-that drawing is awesome.

It's because it's Halley's Comet?

Because I'm Haley?

Is that lame?

No, Bug, that's...
I-it's not lame at all.

You... You like Richard Pryor?

Well, yeah, he's the best.

Haley, I had no idea
that you could do all this.

Well, markup language is pretty easy.

Not like it's C++ or anything.

That pony is dressed
like a little pink cowboy.

It's actually a miniature horse.
So it's way cooler.

Ah.

This is...

Jon Volpi. On the phone.

All right, Shep.

Is rad.

- "Rad"?
- Rad.

This is... rad, yes.

You ready?

Yes. Go ahead.

Okay, okay, okay.

"A game of this scope can't be rushed.

The Atari team and I have forged
a fruitful working relationship

that will continue to deliver

the engrossing gaming experience...

...our fans demand and deserve.

I am gratified by Atari's
commitment to the title

and look forward
to our ongoing collaboration.

In addition, I firmly deny

that I have an urgent desire
to scalp Gavin Greene,

scoop out his brain,
and sh*t in his empty skull.

Yes!

I think we should send it.

I mean, minus the, uh...
the last part, unfortunately.

Listen, I know... I know it's
hard to swallow this right now,

but you are so good at what you do.

Joe...

No, really.

Don't let that assh*le
take that away from you.

He's a parasite. You create.

You make something out of nothing,

and I have always been in awe of that.

And not to ruin the moment,

but I really, really got to piss.

Oh, my God, me too. Okay.

Yes, Jon,
we understand that part, okay,

but our trunk lines are
totally clogged over here.

Now, we had a contract
that specifically...

And we'll uphold that contract...

but that contract doesn't

explicitly codify expansion.

Uh, Jon, Shep Gramaticus, here,
VP of Ops.

Uh, if this is a rate issue,
let's talk rates.

We want to engage.

It's crowded out there, Shep.

Only so much bandwidth
in the ISP market.

Can't really say there's pipe
just laying around for you.

Look, we get it.

- We'll break our rate lock.
- No.

Look, Jon, just level with us,
all right?

What do we got to pay?

Guys, I'm afraid you're
not hearing what I'm saying.

There is no more pipe.
For you. Period.

And if you gentlemen
need anything else,

Barry Schnellham is your guy.

Take care, now.

Are we an ISP with no backbone?

We're already
hemorrhaging customers.

Be dead before we switch providers.

Can they do this?

Why are they freezing us out?

They're starting
their own ISP.

Oh, my God.

We need to retain
outside counsel.

They can't do this.

They're a public utility.

They cannot pick winners and losers.

We got to do something.

What?

Gordon...?

Gordon?

Does this qualify
as drinking alone?

It does.

Mmm!

Oh, do you see that?

What? The moon.

Look out your window.

No.

I think the hill is blocking it.

Ohh.

That's too bad.
It's so beautiful from here.

You missed the moon.

Oh, well.

Southeast Asian today...
pineapple, lemongrass, and mint.

Thank you.

Tanya, stay a sec.

I, uh...

There's been a slight change.

I kid you not.

We come up through that little
trailer I was telling you about.

We go through the woods,
naked as a jaybird,

playing a banjo.

I kid you not!

It really happened, the son of a...

Hey there, Tanya. How are you?

I'm just getting acquainted
with these numbnuts here.

Good to see you, John.

Should we get started?

Sure.

Here's a list of short-
to mid-term goals,

- up for discussion, of course...
- Of course.

...aiming at a product
that we want to deliver

within the next couple of weeks.

Here you go.

So, do you know what you want?