02x03 - Brain Drain

[bunniefuu]

♪ Put a straw under baby ♪

♪ Your good deed for the day ♪

♪ Put a straw under baby ♪

♪ Keep the splinters away ♪

♪ Let the corridors echo... ♪

This is the last stop.
Astor Place, last stop.

This train is now going out of service.

Please take your belongings.
This is the last stop. Have a good night.

Hey.

Last stop.

Last stop.

Hey, uh, did you see any gold coins?

A hundred and forty-nine of 'em?
I lost them on this train.

You should get out of here.

The cops sweep the train
around this time every morning.

If you look crazy,

they'll find some yuppie
to sign a complaint and lock you up.

And, no offense, but you look crazy.

Yeah, thanks, I got it.

Let's go.

Let's get you out of here.

Listen, do you know is there like
an MTA "lost and found" or anything?

No, it doesn't exist.
It's a myth, like El Dorado.

- Ah, city of gold.
- Yeah.

Apparently not a stop on my train.

Uh-huh. I got to get to work.

All right.

The steps,
they're over there, okay?

Okay, thanks.

Ah!

I f*cked up, Ruthie,
uh, big-time.

Showering, but...

Yeah. Thanks.

Anyway, I am not going back to 2022

until I make things right
between Vera and Nora, Ruth.

I'm not doing it.

Nora?

Not on my watch, all right?

Uh, I am...

on the case.

So...

can't fool me.

Uh...

I got this.

Nora, are you feeling okay?

Me? Am I feeling okay?

Eh, now that you mention it,

I'm not feeling so hot.
I'm a little bit off.

Uh, case in point,
I used to hate menthols,

and now, uh, hooked on cyan,
just like my schizo mom, huh?

Weird, weird, weird.

Little Jodie Foster
in Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore.

That's, uh, around now, right?

Let me get ready, okay? We're almost late.

Where are we going
and does it involve taking the train?

Well, the three of us
are going to the hospital.

Baby time.

Huh.

Hi, Vera.

Nora Vulvokov?

The doctor is going to need
a urine sample. Thanks.

Splish, splash.

What are you doing?

You know,
it's one of those rare situations

in which it's exactly what it looks like.

You did not come home last night.

I stay up waiting all night.

No Nora.

Well, I had the gold,
and then I lost it on the train, but...

I swear I'm gonna fix everything.

You only break things, Lenora.

You break trust.

You break promise. You are broken.

Now you see this, this is why I prefer
to piss in cups in private.

"She who has a head of wax
cannot walk in the sun."

What the f*ck?

Wait, wha...

Why do I understand Hungarian?

Your first word was Hungarian.

"Dog."

You spoke only Hungarian
until you were four.

Not exactly.

Uh, that's, uh, Nora.

You see, Nora spoke Hungarian, not me.

Me? I'm Nadia.

Nora, you have to be strong.

You are all you can depend on
in this world.

This f*cking life.

They took everything,

put it on the gold train.

Gold disappears,

then gold reappears.

The Krugerrands.

But it disappears again.

Jesus, it's like f*cking HPV, this gold.

So you're telling me that this family
lost its gold twice on a train

under suspicious
metaphysical circumstances?

I mean,
that can't be a coincidence.

First as tragedy, then as farce, etcetera.

Nah.

There are things in life
that cannot be explained.

They would think I'm insane.

Laugh at me, throw me out like garbage.

Well, inexplicable things happening
is my entire modus operandi.

Grandma, tell me.
Tell me exactly what happened.

Is everything all right in here?

Ah, terrific.

Just so you know, uh,

I'm not entirely sure
exactly whose urine this is.

This will feel a little cold.

Ah.

Sicko, huh?

The most important thing
in these last couple of weeks

is to get lots of rest, stay calm,

don't put any stress on the body.

Do you have any questions?

Uh, big-time, yeah. Uh-huh.

Do you think consciousness
is an emergent property of the brain?

Like, could one person's consciousness
just displace someone else's?

You know, uh, two minds
knocking around the same body?

- That type of a thing?
- No, never heard of that.

I'm assuming that
most of your patients

grapple with bringing
more consciousnesses into existence?

Nora, being born
doesn't make you a victim.

Let's get you home.

Jelly towel?

Jelly towel.

...the baby...

...gold train...

...losing it...

...Con Edison...

Hey, did you say
you were going to the electric company?

Grandma. What the fu...

Your mother thinks
it's best for you to stay here.

Best for you and the baby.

The baby, the baby. I mean, come on.

Enough with the babies.

Hey, you want a drink?

No, I get it.
You speak Hungarian. That's... Okay.

One for me and one for you.

Delia, do you remember anything
about this gold train?

Like, uh, did it happen
to your family too?

They didn't respect us Romani enough
to steal from us.

But we survived.

Everything is hidden,

just in case.

Yeah.

I go to my apartment
and bring back something worth drinking.

Sounds like a plan.

This is sh*t.

Ugh.

Who the f*ck are you?

This f*cking house
is obsessed with babies.

f*cking around with people.

Ah.

Did not know babies were so rich.

What else is good hiding in here?

Give me a clue. Give me a clue.

Hey, Mommy.

Hello.

Those f*cking good genetics, huh?

Ah.

Hello, Grandpa.

Uh, got any secrets for me?

Don't look at me.

Uh, bingo.

Ah!

Dad's transcript.

Not cool.

Come on.

Just be a good little luck for a bit.

What happened to your face?

Huh?

Oh.

And, uh,
some reading material for the train.

Very good.

What the f*ck?

Huh.

That's not good.

Maybe it's been too much Mommy-in-me time.

Nora, Nora.

Time to skip the rails.

♪ Puddin' n' tain
Puddin' n' tain ♪

♪ Ask me again
I'll tell you the same ♪

♪ Puddin' n' tain
Puddin' n' tain ♪

♪ Ask me again
I'll tell you the same... ♪

G. G. Give me G.

There's Packard, naturalists and sh*t.

Engineering. Where's the f*cking Gs?

G. G.

G. G.

Ah! G.

Gold train. Give me gold train.

"Galileo. Goethe."

"Golightly." No Golightly. f*ck Golightly.

"Grand unification, theory of..."

What am I doing?
It should be "train comma gold."

♪ Puddin' n' tain
Puddin' n' tain ♪

♪ Ask me again
I'll tell you the same ♪

Please don't expose those slides
to the overhead lights.

They'll fade.

Ah. Then how am I supposed
to look at them?

My job isn't to look at them.

My job is to preserve them
so they can be looked at in the future.

I see. You're immune to paradox.
Uh, I'd like to check these out, please.

In-library use only.

Those are originals.

You librarians really love
hoarding information, don't you?

I wouldn't say I love it,
but I certainly like it a lot.

It's borderline pathological.

I'm not the one losing my mind.

Let's go. Everybody out.
This isn't a hotel.

Donut time.

So, what I need to know is,

where do the ducks go in Central Park
when the pond freezes in the winter?

"Where do the ducks go?"

We'll look for it
and give you a call later.

Ah, duck, duck, goose step, my turn.

All right, Ethel,
I need to make this quick

'cause I'm pretty sure
that cop is after me.

I'm looking for information
on the whereabouts of a lost gold train

in Budapest during World w*r II.

Mmm. "Gold train." Mm-hmm.

This is very sensitive, uh,

you know, high-level stuff.

"High-level."

Mm-hmm.

Could you leave your name and your number?

Oh. f*ck, yes.
I do have a name and a number.

So I have both handy, okay?

And, uh...

Hmm.

Hmm.

Mm-hmm.

That's right.

We'll give you a call.

Get it all now, during Crazy Eddie's
greatest stereo sale ever!

I'm Crazy Eddie,
and these prices are insane!

I'm Crazy Eddie,
and these prices are insane!

I'm an actual crazy person. I really am.

It's called a video feedback loop.

It's like standing in between two mirrors.

See, the image is being reflected
over and over,

and you can't just point
at one of those reflections and say,

"Yup, that one's the original."

It's like the beginning of mankind.

Unless...

You're not a creationist, are you?

Ah, wouldn't it be nice
to have someone to blame?

- How can I help you, Nadia?
- Okay. Uh...

Ugh. Nazis. Nazis. Hello.

Here's a little atlas
to the Second World w*r.

That's not what I'm looking for.

I need a slide projector.

Agfacolor Neu, huh?

These were only in production
a couple years in the late 1930s.

What's on these?

I don't f*cking know.
Hence, the projector.

- Give me a second.
- Great.

I think I have one in the back
you could borrow.

Got it. Kodak Ektagraphic III.

f*cking A, a projector.

Thanks, Danny.

Nadia, I want you to know I'm not just
a Crazy Eddie's stockroom associate.

I'm an artist,
and the assistant editor of a zine

about commodity fetishism
and the Debordian spectacle.

All right, well.

We live and we die, huh?

- Yes, that's... that's true.
- Yeah. Adios.

Nary a sofa.

Ka-bingo.

Excellent work.

The Book of Secrets. f*cking weirdo.

Psychopathia Sexualis. Into it.

Uh, notes, notes. Thread.

Vibrations. Uh...

Okay, numerology. Great.

Hmm, Albert Peschauer to Vera Peschauer.

"With deep sorrow, I've learned

that your dear parents
have fallen victim to the n*zi tyranny."

"As children of my beloved sister, Eva,

I know it is my duty to care for you
and help you."

That's a P.S. Inconsequential.

Ugh.

What the f*ck?

Mold.

There's mold all over this apartment.

Rinsey-rinsey.

Okay.

Hmm.

Hmm?

"All the world was made for you."

"Everything is dust and ashes."

This little piece of sh*t.

Look at you.

You little f*ck.

You little f*ck.

Look at you.

What the hell?

Ugh!

Ugh!

What the f*ck?

f*ck this!

Ah!

Told you there were bugs
in this apartment.

Mommy.

'Cause there's mold on the floor
and the walls.

I called Vera twice about it already.

She swears the super
ripped the whole place apart

and didn't find a trace of mold.

I don't believe her. Do you believe her?

I don't believe her. I believe you, Mommy.

My smart baby. I knew you would.

Huh!

Now she's had the electricity turned off.

She's trying to control us,
but it's not gonna work.

♪ Black night, black night ♪

I'm hungry.

Hi. Uh...

Can I get two packs of Bennett & Hammond's
Ultra Light mentholated 100s, please?

Sure thing, Nora.

You love these water crackers,
don't you, baby?

Water crackers, some tomatoes, scallions...

Not so fresh, but...

You want some cheese?

Yeah, Mom.

This...

Long night, huh?

Yeah.

How you doing?

I'm fine. I'm fine.

The junkies keep coming in here,
asking for change.

How are you? How's the baby?

Yeah, the baby is good.

The baby is real good.

Orange is the color of fascination.

Huh. Here you go.

Um, can I get a lighter too, please?

Sure.

Just don't light the cheese on fire, huh?

Huh, okay.

Keep the change, okay?

See you tomorrow.

The gold train and the Krugerrands
are connected. But how?

And what does Vera know about it?

In 1939, Vera was...

A total bitch, like she always is.

I mean, how dare she try
to puppeteer our lives.

Look, this is Dohány Street.

Huh.

That's Delia, right?

I had half a mind to become a Catholic
just to piss her off.

One of the world's great rebels, Mommy.
I've heard it before.

Okay, 1944.

Look at this.

Full-blown w*r, and everybody's out there
having picnics like a bunch of nutjobs.

You know, Deuteronomy
didn't allow any images of God?

And what a loss,
never to see something so beautiful.

Yeah, more false idols,
that's what we need.

Holy sh*t, there it is.

That's it, right? Is that the gold train?

I think God is a tree,

or a wheel.

I'll get it.

- Hello?
- It's the New York Public Library.

The library?

I'm busy with my daughter.
Don't call back.

No, wait!

Yes, hello?

Ethel Sorter calling you
from the New York Public Library

with the information you requested

about the lost gold train.

"As the Soviet army
advanced on Budapest in 1944,

the Schutzstaffel sought to evacuate
the possessions of Hungarian Jews."

"They forced Jewish families
to hand over items of value,

including jewelry,
watches, paintings, rugs,

silverware, porcelain,
record players, timepieces."

"These were placed on a train to Berlin,

and each family was issued a receipt

under the pretense they would one day
see their belongings returned."

So the train is real.

Of course it's real.

"This never happened,

as the location of the train was lost
after the Nazis surrendered in 1945."

"Many suspect
that soldiers looted the train

and kept some of the items
for themselves."

Can you confirm
that the Vulvokov family's possession...

The Peschauer family, mom's maiden name.

Oh right. Can you confirm
that the Peschauer family's possessions

were put on that train?

I'm sorry,

but that information is not available
to the New York Public Library.

sh*t.

We need to find that train.

Yes, the train and the bugs,
it's all connected.

Find the train, mitigate
the epigenetic k-hole before it begins.

Exactly. I'll get right on it.
It's you and me against the world, baby.

Who you calling?

Hello?

- Hi, Ruthie.
- Nora?

I'm here with my daughter, Nadia,
and she says she sees the bugs too.

You know what that means?
My mom put 'em there.

I got about a dozen of them.
I'll show you.

Are you all right? Your super called Vera.

You're not supposed to be
in your apartment.

They're sending someone from the hospital.

What are you talking about? I'm fine.
I love you, okay? Bye.

We're looking for Nora Vulvokov.

- That's me.
- That's me.

Where are we going?

Great.

Doctor, we're both incredibly busy people,

so, let's not
waste each other's time, huh?

Uh, I'm not the crazy one. She is.

Uh, who's she?

What a prick.
f*ck this guy. He's so disrespectful.

Look, I'm the sane one, man.

Uh, yeah, I always have been.

But to be clear, when I say "sane,"
you know, I mean "eccentric,"

but you know, lucid.

I mean, that's kind of
my defining characteristic, uh...

Ah! Think good cop.

Crazy cop. Yeah?

Will you just f*cking tell him I'm right?
Tell him I'm right, Mom.

I'm not getting involved in this.
I don't trust him. We should just get out.

Uh, are your hallucinations visual
or, uh, purely auditory?

None of the above.

Do you think you see your mother right now
or do you just hear her voice?

I don't think I see her.

I see her.

She's right there, man.

Do you think
you see this table before you, Doctor?

I mean, this isn't
some cogito, ergo sum bullshit.

I think, therefore I am seeing my mother.

The thing is, Nora,

there's nobody else in the room.

I mean, it's just you and me.

Uh...

Don't f*ck with me, Doctor, all right?

Man,

look behind you.

There's no one there.

Nobody.

There's nobody behind me, Nora.

You're wrong, Doctor.

You have to be.

Ah-ha.

She's right there, you know?

Uh...

Just...

Mom?

Just please say something to him.

They're recording us.

Huh?

Oh. It's good. It's... It helps.

So look, uh,

I'm gonna be perfectly honest with you.

Uh, I'm Nadia.

Uh, Nora's daughter.

I'm from the future.

You know, I previously thought
that I was just inhabiting her body,

but, uh, I now realize
that I'm inside of her mind too, okay?

Ha.

You know, I'd... I'd prefer not
to use Thorazine, but, uh,

well, if we need to,
I will.

I see your due day is March 30th.

It's just a few days away.

Now, let's see if we can keep you stable
until the baby comes,

and then we can reevaluate.

Why is it so bad to be
paranoid schizophrenic and have this baby?

Is this what every day
was like for you, Mommy?

I just need
to find a way to fix you.

Nobody understood me until I had you.

You know what?

Nobody's gonna lock us up.

Nobody.

Ah, let's get the F out of here.

You know, I think if we can just
get back far enough,

we can circumnavigate
this whole future hellscape...

...and then you'll never
have to go through any of this.

My smart baby.

You're gonna do great things, I know it.
Anything you set your mind to, you can do.

Uh, thanks for the pep talk, Mom.

What's going on?
Aren't you gonna come with me?

I can't. Otherwise, who would hold
the other end of the rope?

- Ah!
- Love ya.

♪ Sunday morning ♪

♪ Brings the dawn in ♪

♪ It's just a restless feeling ♪

♪ By my side ♪

♪ Early dawning ♪

♪ Sunday morning ♪

♪ It's just the wasted years ♪

♪ So close behind ♪

♪ Watch out
The world's behind you ♪

♪ There's always someone... ♪

"Why aren't you picking up?
Call me. Alan."

♪ Sunday morning... ♪

Hey, you little f*cking hoebag.

What you doing? Getting your little
f*cking hoebag feet on the sheets...

Hiya, Mom.

What do we have here, Oatmeal? Huh.

Some kind of a receipt.

Holy f*cking sh*t.

Leo Peschauer,

1944, Budapest.

Signed and sealed by one

Kapitány Marton Halasz.

A f*cking swastika. Uh-huh.

Well...

Now, this...

This is some big-boy sh*t
right here, Oatmeal.

Looks like you and me
got to go to Budapest.

f*cking A.

♪ Hey, wanna buy some stuff, man, huh? ♪

♪ Did you ever rap that thing Jack, huh? ♪

♪ So rap it to the b*at ♪