01x03 - Episode 3

Episode transcripts for the TV show "Better than Us". Aired: 23 November 2018 - present.
Russian series takes place in 2029, in a world where androids serve humans in various positions, even replacing them in many menial jobs.
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01x03 - Episode 3

Post by bunniefuu »

[robotic voice]
My user needs nitroglycerin.

[whirring]

- What's going on?
- He came to buy medicine and froze.

- [woman] We're waiting for tech support.
- My user needs nitroglycerin.

So here's your Terminator?

Finally.

[clicks fingers]

[bleep]

Lyonia? Golden Years bot.
System error.

The owner? Same old. Nikolay Safronov.

I texted you the number.
Come pick it up.

[minimalist piano music playing]

[deep booming]

[electronic bleeping]

[music intensifies]

[music continues to build]

[g*nsh*t]

[splashing]

[grunts]

Alexey Stepanovitch. Greetings.

The early bird gets the worm.

But why do you care,

when I'm providing all your worms?
Right?

Why didn't you call ahead, Alexey?

- We would have prepared.
- Tea?

Thank you.

Do I have to call ahead...

every time I need
to see my own daughter?

Dad, I'm on air tonight.
I'll go get ready.

Of course. Work comes first.

Right.

She doesn't look very well.

Are you her husband or what?

Take her on vacation.

I'm doing everything I can.

Medication, therapy, daily strolls.
Everything.

Therapy!

What bullshit.

She needs a baby.

She'd get better in no time.

Anyway, what's up with your superbot?

We're working on it, figuring it out.

It should be ready in a couple of days.

Don't screw up.

Reputation is everything.

See you at the Minister's.
Be prepared.

I don't think
you'll be disappointed, Alexey.

[female voice] Good morning, Victor.
System activated.

- How can I help?
- Put me through to Maslovsky.

[dial tone]

Maslo. Where's the bot?

[ethereal music playing]

[echoing laughter]

[Sonya's voice echoes]

Sonya?

Sonya?

[Sonya] I found you! Let's count it.

[Sonya giggling]

Sonya?

[Sonya] Yes! I found it!

[Arisa] Thank you, Sonya.
It was a great game. I liked it.

Hi.

Who are you?

Dad, this is Arisa.

She's a bot.

A bot?

I didn't know Uncle Lev
and your mom had bought a bot.

They didn't. Arisa is ours.

Yours, Egor's, and mine.

No. I don't know where you got it,
but we need to give it back.

Daddy!

Why is she wearing Mom's dress?

- Take it off.
- [Arisa] As you wish, Georgy.

You should take off your coat, too.

My coat?

It has traces of nitrosolvent on it.

I'm registering toxic vapors.

OK, off you go.

And you, please, get changed.

Arisa is mine.
Why are you kicking her out?

[Georgy] Because this isn't her home.

Look at you! Bringing a bot home.

I used to bring puppies when I was a kid.

Arisa is better than a dog.
She chose me.

Sonya, it's a bot.

A pile of metal.

She can't choose anyone. Just accept it.

Egor, do you know anything
about the bot?

Good morning to you, too.

I thought you brought her.

[ringtone]

I'm telling you Arisa's mine. I love her.

Put the call on screen.

[via screen]
Bot Repairs and Disposal Service.

I'm Elena. Are you Georgy Safronov?

Yes. What's up?

We retrieved your father's bot
but can't contact Mr. Safronov Senior.

- You are listed as a contact.
- Uh-huh.

The bot is fixed. You can pick it up
at 205, Gayvoronovskaya St.

You'll have to pay for storage
if you arrive after 3 p.m.

Right.

Have a nice day.

One more question.

Can you get me the name
of a bot's owner?

- Yes. It's free. Stop by.
- Thank you.

[bleep]

Sonya, get dressed.
We're going to see Grandpa.

What? Arisa can come too.

OK.

This is all wrong.

Isn't it wrong to take your kids from you?

Alla, if you want to cut off
his parental rights,

you need to be proactive.

- Maybe there's another way.
- What way?

The kids will say,
"Daddy is nice. We love Daddy."

The cameras will show
if he loves his kids or not.

Here they come.

Who's she?

Don't!

You'll ruin everything.

He brought some girl to my kids' house!

Believe me,
the court will take that into account.

Come on.

[tense music playing]

[Georgy] Egor.

Stay safe.

I will.

[tense music playing]

[Alla] Well, I don't see
a spare toothbrush.

So she doesn't live here.

- Are you jealous?
- Me?

Why would I be? No.

Whatever.

[Sonya] Dad! Come on.

Let Arisa stay.

Sonya, we've talked about this.

No, you talked about it.

Nobody asked me.

[ringtone]

ROMAN. MORGUE

- Daddy!
- Sonya, wait.

Answer.

- [bleep]
- Yes, Olegovich?

Safronov, where are you?
We're waiting for you.

I have an emergency.
Tell them I'll be there soon.

An emergency? Turn on the news.
The morgue b*rned down.

- What do you mean?
- A frigging Liquidator!

- Get here ASAP.
- [hangs up]

g*dd*mn Liquidators.

We're closed for a private party.

I'm seeing Zhanna.

Bars?

Well?

- Thanks for last night.
- You're welcome. And?

- Well, I...
- Go away. I'm busy.

You heard him. Go.

- Hi.
- Hi.

I'm busy with this event.

I want to be there.

It's private.

Anyway, you need a bot.

I see.

Because Bars said so?

He's looking out for me.

He won't let me hang out
with just anybody.

Am I just anybody?

Great.

When does it start?

At nine.

- I'll be there.
- Egor...

I don't want you to get
into trouble again.

There will be no trouble.

I'll be there at nine. With a bot.

Cool.

[ambient music playing]

Safronov is running late.

How convenient for you.

Excuse me?

The morgue burning down...

Everything destroyed.
The body, the CCTV cameras, the bots.

What does this look like?

- A snowflake?
- Snowflake, my ass!

It looks like an arson att*ck
to destroy evidence.

Watch what you're saying.

Just look at all this!

You think I benefit from this?

Maybe not you,
but Medical Examiner Safronov might.

So talk to him!

Anyway, it's your fault.

You can't keep the Liquidators in check.

It wasn't the Liquidators.

- The Liquidators always take trophies.
- Microchips.

This is all staged.

- Volodya, get the evidence to the lab.
- OK.

[Ira] I need a large pizza.

What's with the cameras?

Nothing.

Check out the cameras
along the perimeter.

Anything you can find.
This case looks pretty serious.

Suppression of evidence.

Right, Roman?

[whirring]

[Elena] Max.

- What's this?
- Another Terminator.

It got run over. The owners are coming.

That's all we know.
This one is yours.

Hello, Georgy.

[Georgy] Hi, Alyosha. OK?

Yes, it's fine.

This bot has been going wrong
all the time lately.

Its owner is an old man
and he lives alone.

If you want a new one, get papers
and appeal to Social Services.

It's not our job.

What do I do with this one?

[bleep]

What a weird model.

It's not registered to anyone.

Where did you get it from?

It just wandered in.

I want to return it to its owner.

Get it to the cops, to the CCD.

Could you do it for me?

File a report.

You'll need to go to the precinct anyway.

- The precinct! I don't have time.
- [Max] Come on. It'll be fine.

Why don't we help him?

We'll take it without paperwork.
Don't worry. I'll deal with it.

Fine.

Great. You stay here.

Do whatever he tells you. Come on.

- [Sonya] Then I'm staying, too.
- Sonya. I'd stay, too, if I could.

But we need to go. Come on.
Alyosha, come on.

Alyosha, get in the car.

[bleeping]

[bot 1] May I offer you some tea?

[bot 2] What can I do for you?

[bot 1] May I offer you some tea?

[bot 2] What can I do for you?

Stay here.

Sonya, trust me,
Arisa will be better off here.

She just has some glitch in her software

that makes her think we're her owners.

See?

We're not her owners. We're her family.

What if Arisa's owner is a girl like you?

She must miss her.

I don't care. Arisa is mine.

Fine. We'll talk about it later.

Sonya, can you stay home on your own?

[car engine starts]

Sonya, come on!

- Arisa!
- [Georgy] Sonya!

Arisa!

Arisa! Arisa!

[horn honking]

Sonya.

Are you alright? Do you feel dizzy?

- Any pain?
- I'm fine.

Arisa saved me.

Do you need a special invitation?

[motor spluttering]

What's going on?

[Sonya giggles]

[imitates Sonya's giggle]

[Sonya and Arisa giggle]

That's a great imitation.

Excuse me, Georgy, I don't understand.

Your laugh. It sounds so real.

Arisa is real. Accept it.

- [chuckles]
- Great imitation.

[engine starts]

Damn it.

Come here.
Where do you think you're going?

With the current average
life expectancy of 70 years,

the retirement age is set at 65.

Imagine if we gave people
20 extra years of carefree life.

That's intriguing.

Well, that's the aim
of our Early Retirement Program.

We let people go at 40

and pay them benefits,

while their jobs are taken up
by a new generation of robots

whose maintenance costs
three times less

than wages and social security.

Do we have the resources
to reform the labor market like that?

Let's hear from our robotech genius,
Victor Toropov.

[bleep]

The Cronos Company presents
its new range of Arisa bots.

Arisas are able to recognize
and analyze human feelings.

It's not a dumb automaton anymore.

Bots like Arisa will be able
to replace humans

in fields such as education, medicine...

A robot able to recognize
human emotions and feelings.

It's a breakthrough, gentlemen.

Production costs
are no higher than for regular robots.

We are prepared to manufacture them
in Russia, creating new jobs.

I'd like to see the prototype.

The thing is, Arisa is developed
from Chinese technology.

It has only recently arrived at Cronos
and is currently being tested.

Testing doesn't equal results.

Fair enough.

So, when will you be able to present
your miracle robot?

We should have rescheduled
the presentation.

It's not your call.

[Alexey] Are you happy now?

What's wrong, Alexey?
They gave us an extension.

They didn't give you sh*t.

You think Garanenko was just curious?

He wants to hijack the project.

How? We're the only ones
who have the bots.

It doesn't matter.

If the Minister goes along
with the early retirement idea

the funding will follow.

Which means there will be bots,
but not necessarily yours.

Is that clear, my dear son-in-law?

Yes.

Either show your bot to the Minister
in two days, or you're out.

Take care.

- Vic, I was thinking...
- You have 24 hours.

- Me?
- Who else?

Who is Chief Tech Officer? Me or you?

I gave you everything:
the paperwork, the resources.

If I don't have Arisa in 24 hours,

you can kiss your job goodbye,
is that clear?

[yelps]

sh*t. You'll give me
a heart att*ck one day.

- Are you OK now?
- I guess.

OK, look.

A bot is missing from Cronos.

It seems the only way
it could have left was in your car.

Now, think hard.

You must have seen her somewhere.

Gleb, I've never seen her before.

Is she expensive?

She's a pain in the ass.

- OK, see you.
- Bye.

Mr. Varlamov,
the traffic police sent in the data

from the CCTV near the morgue.

- They've got something.
- [bleep]

Look.

It matches the time of the fire.

[Varlamov] Stop.

[Ira] Enlarge 200%.

What's that on his back?

[Ira] It's a popular brand.

[Varlamov] I never heard of it.

- Ira. Did you order pizza?
- No.

Somebody must have ordered it for you.

- [Vlad] Can I grab a slice?
- [Ira] Hey!

[Vlad] Bon appétit. Thanks.

I wonder who
this mysterious well-wisher could be.

Mr. Varlamov?

Plesheyeva, stay focused.

I'm going to Svetov to get a warrant.

We'll be looking for that coat.

Sonya...

I'll be right back. Eat your soup.

I want cereal.

We're out of milk. I'll get some.

Meanwhile, eat your soup.

Arisa, please make sure she finishes it.

[Arisa] I will.

OK. Bye.

Arisa? Can I ask you something?

Yes.

Is there some other little girl
waiting for you and missing you?

No.

I only know one little girl. You.

Good.

[nostalgic music playing]

[Sonya] Arisa, sit down.

Stretch your leg.
I'll have a look at your wound.

- She's a bot!
- Right.

[Sonya] Let's play doctor.

I'll bring the first aid kit.
Sit on the couch.

She's cute.

Cute?

Leaving a six-year-old with a bot!
Who does that?

We can't sue him for this.

[Marina] Enough.

Calm down.

This won't get you anywhere,
and especially not to Australia.

[Egor] Don't fall, Dimych.

Egorsky! I'll be right back.

Egorsky!

Hi.

Are we talking to each other now?

You owe me.

Will you help me?

Yeah. What do you need?

Come on.

[melodic percussion]

[whirring]

I don't know. These bots are beggars.
They work for the mob.

What mob?

Distract her. I'll do the rest.

I don't know. I'm a bit scared.

Go on, do it!

What if she takes my picture?

You'll be fine.
We'll take out her memory unit.

- Do you even know where it is?
- We'll figure it out.

What if she fights back?

I have duct tape.
We'll tie her up and tape her speakers.

- Do we have to carry her, too?
- Step it up.

[taser crackles]

Get ahead of her.

Excuse me.
Do you know what time it is?

[distorted voice] It's 3:45 p.m.

[taser crackles]

[taser crackles]

- [bot emits loud alarm]
- Come on! Run!

Dim-Dimych, wait!

[alarm continues]

Egorsky.

You chicken-sh*t. I could have got her.

I made the smart choice.
It's against the law!

- I don't want to go to jail.
- I knew it.

Are you doing this for the Liquidators?

Looking for cool new friends?

They don't need punks like you.

Piss off.

You piss off.

I'll unfriend you!

You jerk.

[doorbell]

There you are, you idiot. Come in.

You should apply for a new one.
Alyosha will fall apart soon.

Do you need me to get you
groceries or something?

No. We're good.

Why do you always reject my help?

Since when do you care?

Fine. And once again, I'm an idiot.

OK. I need to go.

Well, go on.

You prefer to live in the morgue
than at my place.

No, actually. I live with my kids now.

Alla went away and left the kids with me.

Well, she's a damn fool if she did.

Nikolay, if you like
I can make you some cocoa.

Here's my theory.

Sergey Panin was k*lled at Cronos.

Safronov wrote a fake coroner's report
at the morgue

and said the death
was from natural causes.

When he heard
I was interested in the body

he torched the morgue and made it look
like a Liquidator att*ck.

- Borisych...
- It's Safronov, I'm sure of it.

He'll lead us to the murderers at Cronos.

Borisych!
Start working on the Liquidators.

Think about it.
Who the hell are the Liquidators?

Just kids. Juvenile hooligans.

Ripped up a couple of bots. Big deal.

What about Kirill Beliaev
who's still in custody?

He stabbed a man to death to join them.

That was an accident. This is a m*rder!
And suppression of evidence.

Give me a chance to get to Safronov.

Enough.

You have no direct evidence.

You're fooling around
with your made-up investigation.

Remember why
they kicked you out of Homicide?

- Because of your deranged enthusiasm.
- Why deranged?

Because if you get thrown out of here
it will mean retirement.

- I know.
- Good.

Go down to Kirill Beliaev.
I mentioned him for a reason.

I got a call from jail.
He wants to make a statement.

Why?

Go and find out.

Well, my beauties?

The medbot is b*rned out.

We probably can't recover
any sensory information.

I'll try, but there's no guarantee.

Ira, if the media call,
feed them the information on the jacket.

- But it shouldn't come back to us.
- OK.

Go see Beliaev in jail.
He wants to tell us something.

- [Vlad] We're busy, boss. Can you do it?
- I'm going to Safronov's.

Did you get the warrant?

Back to work.

Wow!

Olegych, I'm sorry.

- I came as soon as I could.
- No rush, Georgy.

- The morgue is closed. We're all free.
- What do you mean?

Start looking for a job.

You're a renowned surgeon.

What? I don't want another job.

The investigators think it was arson,
and it wasn't the Liquidators.

And I have reason to believe
they're right.

[bleep]

VADIM: ARE YOU HOME?

[pulsing music playing]

[newsreader] New developments
regarding the Morgue 3 fire.

The culprit was spotted
by one of the CCTV cameras.

The suspect left the morgue at 2:00 a.m.

[dramatic piano chord]

[Arisa] Good job.

It's like nothing ever happened.

Thank you, Sonya.

I want to be a doctor just like Dad.

You will mend quickly.

My wounds heal quickly.

[newsreader on TV] The Liquidators
have not been tied to the fire.

It appears the criminal acted alone.

Cameras caught him leaving the scene
wearing a Falcon jacket.

How about some cereal?

We're out of milk.

I'll get some milk.

[ambient music playing]

Hello, there...

[hip-hop blasting on headphones]

[ringtone]

- [Nikolay] Hello, Egor.
- Hi, Grandpa.

I can't hear you.

Is that better?

Yes. How are you?

Great. You?

Not so good.

I sent Alyosha to the pharmacy
and he disappeared on me.

Again?

Second time today.

Grandpa, if he's gone, he's gone.
He's a broken bot.

File a request. They'll send a new one.

I don't need a new one.
Can you help me?

OK, what pharmacy was he at?

[whirring]

Hello, Egor.

Come with me, Alyosha.

[knocking at door]

- Sorry, I'm running late.
- Hi.

Everyone is late for something.
Where's Alyosha?

I couldn't find him.
I brought your meds.

You didn't find him?

He's probably wandering around.

- Did you look around?
- Yeah.

And in the courtyard?

I looked everywhere. Honest.

Call the office tomorrow and ask.
They probably took him in.

- Can you get me some water?
- Sure.

Sure.

- Here.
- Thanks.

How did you know
what medicine I needed?

- You always buy the same thing.
- And you remembered?

- Of course. Look, I have to run.
- Goodbye.

Egor, wait...

Hi, Egor.

Come on.

What? Don't bots like cereal?

Bots are discouraged from taking food.

[doorbell]

Dad's back!

Open up!

Hello.

Hi.

Are there any grown-ups at home?

[tense music playing]

Hello.

Does Georgy Safronov live here?

Yes.

Major Varlamov.
Chief of the Cyber Crime Department.

And you are?

Georgy Nikolayevich Safronov
isn't here at the moment.

[bleep]

[man] OK. Right. Tell them...

Yes.

- Bars!
- [Bars] Yeah?

[man] They just got Zhmykh.
We're one bot short.

[Bars] Are you kidding me?
What do you mean, one bot short?

Connor has no bot,
Khrushch has no bot.

Nobody has a bot.
We had it all figured out.

We only have one hour to go.

[Egor] Maybe I can help.

I have a bot.

Where did you get it?

Does it matter? It's the only one.

Alright.

Cut out its chip.

Where is the chip?

Every bot has one. Poyar?

[Bars] Stick it in...

and jack it out.

Got it?

Go ahead.

[Alyosha] Hello, Egor.

Do you want me
to make you some cocoa?

I'll make him cocoa. Go on.

[man] Hit it, you wimp!

Hit it! Come on!

[everyone] Hit it, hit it, hit it...

[whooping]

Cool.

You maniac. You're coming with us.
Pack it up.

[Bars] Jump in.

Well done.

I knew you would come.

[ambient music playing]

[man] Come on.

Come on.

[metal door slams]

Well?

I have one condition.

Put me in a solitary cell.

So, I take it jail isn't
exactly a luxury spa!

Alright. We'll get you
to a solitary cell. Spit it out.

Just don't tell them it was me.

The Liquidators
are planning something tonight.

Tell us something we don't know.

We know about it.

Surprise us.

I know where and when it will happen.

- [group yelling]
- [man] Death to the bots!

[chanting]

I don't see anyone.

[thud]

EARTH FOR HUMANS

Come on, let's play! Come on!

[raucous laughter]

- [yelling]
- [chanting]

[disguised voice] Ladies and gentlemen...

welcome to the Night of Hanging Bots.

Death to the bots! Life to the living!

[voice cackling]

Throw it!

[whooping]

["Scarborough Fair" playing]

♪ Are you going to Scarborough Fair? ♪

♪ Parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme... ♪

[fireworks booming outside]

[cheering]

[Zhanna] Give me the chip.

[crunch]

This is your first trophy.

[euphoric dream pop playing]

[whooping]

[sirens]

- Daddy!
- Honey!

I'm home. It's alright. Go to your room.

Go on.

[Varlamov] I'm glad
you finally came, Georgy.

What the hell are you doing here?

Waiting for you. To begin the search.

It's legal. We didn't start without you.

Georgy.

What's the search for?

You want this done by the book?
Well, then...

Mr. Safronov, you are under suspicion
of suppressing...

and destroying evidence pertaining

to the m*rder of Sergey Panin.

- [Arisa] Article 180 states...
- Shut up.

Are you going to arrest me?

It depends on the results of the search.

[female voice] It is forbidden
to move around during the search.

[Varlamov] Household appliances, too.

[drone whirring]

- Georgy...
- Wait.

- Safronov...
- Can't I wash my hands?

That's where we'll start.

- Step aside.
- Why?

Don't make this worse for yourself.

[tense music playing]

Major Varlamov has not presented
a search warrant.

Stop! Where is the warrant?

Your bot is wrong.

I am simply stating the situation
in accordance with Article 182.

Searching a private property
requires a court order.

You only need a court-issued warrant
for an official search.

And what's this? A friendly search?

Investigation procedure
with the suspect's willing assent.

I informed you of the situation.
You didn't object.

Get out.

Why so rude, Safronov?

Get out of my house.

[bleep]

[Marina] Finally.
Problems with the law, the police.

Tomorrow we'll file a case.

Everything will be fine.

Has Egor called?

No.

Don't worry.
They wouldn't have found anything.

What could they have found?

- The coat isn't here.
- The coat?

What do you mean?

The coat is evidence.

- And where is it?
- Look in the oven.

GAME CENTER

What is this supposed to mean?

Let's play.

[ambient music playing]

- [bleep]
- [hissing]

Well, hello...

Arisa Two.

[bleep]
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