[]
ALEX:
It's all already happened.
It was over before it began.
You know, the world
could end tomorrow, but...
[CHUCKLES]
You know,
but what else is new, right?
So maybe you...
You can't change how it ends
but you sure as hell can change
how you get there.
[LOCK CLICKING]
[]
ALEX:
Shit.
- [BREATHING HEAVILY]
- [PHONE CLICKING]
Come on.
Hey.
Oh, shit.
[EXHALES HEAVILY]
Hey.
[CONTINUES BREATHING HEAVILY]
[SIGHS]
[]
Jesus. Fuck.
[PANTING]
[QUIETLY]
What the fuck?
"Watch me."
[MOUSE CLICKS]
[SIGHING]
Okay.
I know this is weird,
and you're probably
freaking the fuck out,
but just relax.
You're not dreaming.
You're not drunk,
and you're not high.
This is, um...
[BREATHES DEEPLY]
This is happening.
So if you could, uh...
You could stop your heart
from doing somersaults,
and your thoughts from drowning
in a sea of confusion, then...
Um...
Then I'll explain everything.
But, um...
you might wanna take
a shot or two of bourbon first.
What the fuck?
ALEX [ON COMPUTER]: I'm serious, man.
It's gonna help.
Yeah, um...
Yeah. I... Shit. I...
Um, I'm... I'm not
really sure how to...
explain this because it's...
It's such a
gargantuan mind-fuck,
so I'll just, um...
[SWALLOWS]
I'll start at the beginning.
[]
[DOORBELL RINGS]
[SIGHS]
[DOORBELL RINGS]
[GROANING]
[SIGHS]
[SIGHS]
[BANGING ON DOOR]
Alex Jacobs?
You a lawyer?
My name is
Rebecca Stillman.
I work for A.R.I.S.T.
May I come in?
Who the fuck is
A.R.I.S.T.?
Advanced Research Institute
of Science and Technology.
We're a private company
under contract with the NSA.
NSA...
Look, lady,
I've been cleared,
so if you wanna talk
to my lawyer...
I'm here to offer you a job.
Mmm.
That's, uh...
hefty.
That's a hell of an NDA.
Okay. So you're gonna
show up on my doorstep,
offer me a job,
but you're not gonna
tell me
what it is?
I can't divulge
any specifics
until you've signed
the non-disclosure agreement.
Yeah...
It's only a precaution.
No obligation.
Mmm.
All right.
As a gesture of
how important it is
for us that you
consider our proposal,
I'd like to offer a little
something just to hear me out.
What is this?
Sign, and it's yours.
[SCOFFS]
You're gonna pay me
just to sign the NDA?
You've got nothing to lose.
Well.
All right. Shoot.
We'd like to hire you to
decipher an encrypted message.
Okay. Why me?
Because you're arguably
one of the best
cryptographers
of your generation.
[CHUCKLES]
No, come on.
That's bullshit.
Look, I'm good,
but the best? No.
We like your work, Alex.
We were particularly impressed
with your Amber algorithm.
My Amber algorithm.
- Yes.
- [SCOFFS]
That, uh, pissed a lot
of people off, that one.
It did more than that.
Broke countless laws,
compromised
the security of hundreds
of multinational firms,
and folded the company
you worked for.
You know, I can't take
all the credit for that.
You see, the-the NSA,
they pressured us
into implementing
back doors
for the sake of
"national security."
And you do know after
that information leaked,
they turned their backs,
and they threw us
under the bus,
so thank you, Uncle Sam.
It's business.
It's conspiracy.
Come on. I signed
the NDA. What, uh...?
What ethically-ambiguous
scheme is it this time?
Two months ago,
we detected
a U.S. military satellite
in orbit.
A satellite we never sent up.
It was retrieved
and examined,
and inside, we found
an encoded message.
One that we've been
unable to decrypt.
What do you mean,
you didn't send it up?
We never sent that
satellite into orbit.
So it's not American.
It is.
It's ours.
Just not from now.
[INHALES SHARPLY]
We believe
it's from the future.
I'm sorry, uh, what?
There was a non-encrypted
message stating its origin.
Of course,
we were dubious at first,
but after undergoing
a variety of tests
we've come to
the conclusion that it was,
in fact,
sent back in time.
Okay, you're, uh...
You gotta be fucking kidding me.
It contains advanced apparati
well beyond our...
This is gonna bounce, right?
The check?
That check's gonna bounce.
That check will not bounce.
I assure you.
Alex, I'm speaking to you
with utmost sincerity.
Let me get this straight.
You're telling me
that there is a satellite
that has been
sent back in time,
and it has
an encrypted message
that you want me to decrypt.
That's what you're saying?
We'd like to bring you
to a secure laboratory
where you will have all the time
and resources you need.
[CHUCKLING]
Wait a minute. You're serious?
Very.
A secure laboratory?
In a private facility.
Yes, if you agree
to my offer,
you'll be sedated
and transported.
- [LAUGHING] What?
- As a security measure.
Sedated? No! Okay.
Look, Alex, this is
the opportunity of a lifetime.
No. The NSA sent you here
to fuck with me, didn't they?
I understand
this is hard to swallow.
Look, if you're
trying to dupe me,
maybe you should
use something more credible.
Okay. Okay.
Take out your phone.
Why?
I just had that check deposited
into your bank account.
And that was just
for signing the NDA.
[]
You sign the contract
to work for us...
Your reputation's tarnished,
Alex.
No one wants to hire
a cryptographer
who specializes in
subverted implementations.
You're scraping by, freelancing
for start-ups under an alias.
You're drowning in legal debt,
and living in
your mom and dad's old home.
You can't afford
to turn this down.
Check your phone.
You're serious.
Very.
You sign this contract,
the first half
will be transferred
into your account immediately.
The rest upon completion.
Yeah, I signed it.
I would've been crazy
not to.
It was a ridiculous
amount of money.
They came for me
the next day.
[]
[EXHALES HEAVILY]
[DOOR CLOSES]
Your arm.
Are you fucking
kidding me?
Don't get any ideas.
- [SYRINGE SHOOTS]
- Ah!
Jesus.
[]
[INHALES DEEPLY]
[]
Fuck.
- [GROANS]
- [DOOR OPENS]
How's your head?
I feel like I was roofied
and lobotomized.
That'll pass.
[SIGHS]
You ready
to see the lab?
Come on.
ALEX:
Let's do it.
Here you go.
I'm only decrypting
a message, right?
You'll find
everything you need.
If not, we'll do our best
to accommodate any requests.
Is that it?
REBECCA: Yeah. That is the
chamber that contained the key.
No fucking way.
It's a vacuum.
They used
quantum memory?
Yeah, but what we extracted
was just a lot of noise.
I'm assuming you guys tried
a dictionary attack, yeah?
REBECCA: No luck. We
think they sabotaged
the encryption algorithm.
That's your real
entry point.
They left a back door.
REBECCA: Something with which
you're uniquely qualified.
[CLICKS TONGUE]
Ai-ai-ai. Okay. Uh.
This... This could
take a little bit.
They sent it
back this way,
to this specific time,
for a reason.
They believed
we could crack it.
We've uploaded a portion of the
message onto a secure server.
That can help you
recover the key.
Any idea
what it could be?
We're all waiting
to find out.
Okay,
um...
All right. Well, I'm not
seeing a coffee pot in here.
That's gotta change.
Um, I'd also like a minifridge
filled with beer.
Not kidding.
And if you could get me
a bottle of Scotch
or bourbon.
Nothing under 20 years.
It's essential to my process.
You get me those things...
I'll get you the key.
[]
[DOOR OPENS]
Good morning.
ALEX:
Is it?
I must have
missed the sunrise.
Progress?
We know this work
can be taxing,
and this environment
claustrophobic.
We've arranged for
a weekend leave.
You keep saying "we."
Who is "we"?
It's been five weeks,
Alex.
We think it's time
you take a break.
Get outside, maybe
interact with other people.
- I don't need it.
- We think it'd be good for you.
Yeah. I don't need it.
Human interaction
is important,
and you refuse to speak
to our psychologist.
Even one conversation a day
helps keep the mind healthy.
I don't need
to hear myself talk.
I do not crave comfort
through interaction,
and I do not feel
particularly compelled
to play pedestrian psych games
with your in-house shrink.
So why don't you just
let me soak up the me time,
and get some fucking work done,
all right?
[GRUNTS]
Do you mind?
I'm on the clock,
and I'd like you
to get your money's worth.
[GRUNTS]
[DOOR CLOSES]
[]
[DOOR OPENS]
WOMAN:
I am going to assign
a one to the vertical spin,
and...
uh, let's make
the diagonal 0.
Let's try that.
[DOOR OPENS]
Holy shit.
Oh, man...
[GRUNTS]
[]
[GRUNTS]
[]
Okay.
Yes...
[KEYBOARD CLACKING]
[KEYBOARD CLACKING]
Hey.
Hey!
Assholes...
[DOOR OPENS]
What's up?
- You never told me.
- Never told you what?
I wasn't
the first person here.
You hired another
cryptographer, didn't you?
Well, I guess
I'm the guy you call
when nobody else
can get the job done.
They're blueprints.
Designs for a machine
of some sort.
Not really sure what, though.
It's incomplete.
You guys only gave me a portion
of what you found on that thing.
You read through all this?
Some of them.
Uh...
There's something else.
It's a message.
This is...
It's Navajo.
Keeping it local.
It's a... It's a warning.
[CHUCKLES]
Yeah.
Yeah, apparently, we are on
the eve of the Third World War,
and that machine,
whatever the fuck it is,
is our first line of defense.
Your service
has been appreciated.
The remainder of your fee
will be transferred.
That's it?
You'll be sedated
and escorted home.
Come on, come on.
What, no...? No champagne?
To ensure your adherence to
the terms of the contract,
you'll remain
under surveillance.
Not one word is to be spoken,
written or thought.
You're welcome.
You're welcome!
Do you have any idea?
Any idea what I did here?
- Get off me.
- [SYRINGE SHOOTS]
[]
[GROANS]
Fuck.
[GROANS]
What the fuck?
Oh...
[SIGHS]
Oh, shit.
[VOMITING]
[PILLS CLATTER]
ALEX [ON COMPUTER]: I thought,
at first, it was a, um
side effect of the sedative,
or that maybe
I was just
purging the stress
from my system.
[SIGHS]
It was about
three or four days
before I could
keep anything down.
Then it started.
[FAINT CRACKLING]
[]
[CRACKLING]
[VOICES ON RADIO TALKING,
DISTORTED]
MAN'S VOICE:
Now you see what we see.
[DOORBELL RINGS]
MAN 1:
Alex Jacobs?
Yeah.
My colleague and I would like
to ask you a few questions.
You from
A.R.I.S.T.?
May we
come in?
Sure.
[]
Okay, um...
So, uh...
what's this all about?
We're here to ask you
a few questions.
Yeah?
What, like a
customer-satisfaction survey?
[CHUCKLES]
The questions are regarding
your recent work.
The satellite.
Yes.
Uh, yeah. I can't talk about it.
I'm... I'm under contract.
We're curious
to know why you agreed
to help decipher
the code.
You're what?
We are curious.
Still can't talk about it.
These questions do not betray
the parameters of your contract.
[SCOFFS]
[SIGHS]
All right, so...
So you wanna know
why I took the job.
MAN 1:
Yes.
Yeah, I took it
because you paid me.
You did it for money?
No. I didn't do it
for money.
Look, between you and me,
I actually did it for
the year's supply of mouthwash.
Ah, yeah, yeah.
I did it for the money.
You acted in no part
out of a sense of altruism?
Altruism? No, guys,
I'm not curing cancer, okay? I...
- [HIGH-PITCHED RINGING]
- Ugh. I decrypted a message.
MAN 1: Then your decision
was purely selfish?
All right, look,
I've had the mother
of all migraines
for the past week.
I'm a little bit out of it.
I'm gonna need you guys
to help me out here.
You're in need of help?
What do you want?
MAN 2:
We are curious.
Jesus Christ.
You agreed to decipher
the code for profit.
Much like
your previous work
implementing back doors
in security programs.
The outcomes of your actions
do not concern you?
The outcomes? It's a job.
I mean, if I'm not doing it,
someone else will.
Why did they ask you?
What? What?
- Why did they ask you?
- [EXHALES]
Why did...?
[]
You know what, can I see
some, uh, identification?
Identification?
Yeah, I'd like to see some.
Will you feel
responsible
for the harm that will
come from the weapon?
We... The weapon?
Will ID make you
feel more comfortable?
The weapon that will be
constructed from the blueprints.
Will it make you
compliant?
What are you talking about?
What weapon?
The blueprints
you decrypted.
I deciphered blueprints, but...
Is it something
you base trust on?
MAN 2:
You did not know?
No, I didn't.
[SIGHS]
I did not know this.
How do you feel
now that you know?
Do you feel regret?
It was a job.
Okay? I needed the money,
so I took the job.
[SCOFFS]
There was no...
You know,
no forethought,
no ulterior motive.
It was just a fucking job.
So whatever...
I deciphered
was not my creation,
and I am not responsible
for what happens next.
Does it scare you?
Do you trust us?
[IN UNISON]
Have you thought about...
- ...your own death?
- ...the people that will die?
[BREATHING HEAVILY]
[]
No, no, all right. You guys...
You gotta go.
You got...
[GROANS]
MAN 1: We are
thankful for the time
you have taken
to answer our questions.
MAN 2:
It means a great deal to us.
[ALEX PANTING]
[GRUNTS]
[KEYBOARD CLACKING]
[]
What the...?
[KEYBOARD CLACKING]
[CELL PHONE RINGING]
REBECCA [ON PHONE]:
What are you doing?
Rebecca?
You were not authorized to
commit that message
to memory.
That is property
of the U.S. government.
Shit, are you kidding me?
You hacked into my computer?
You were informed
you'd be under surveillance.
The fuck are you...?
Are you watching me? Huh?
You're legally bound to
the terms of the contract.
This place bugged?
Don't let this happen again.
You've been warned.
Fuck. You send...
Fucking send people here.
I hope you got
a good show last night
when I was jacking off.
[EXHALES HEAVILY]
[]
[SCOFFS]
Are you fucking kidding me?
Jesus Christ. These pricks...
Cut the lights.
[WOOD CREAKS]
Shit.
[CREAKS]
[GROANING]
[PANTING]
[]
[GASPS]
[LAUGHS NERVOUSLY]
No.
[]
[PANTING]
[GROANING]
[GROANING CONTINUES]
[]
[TICKING]
[CAR ENGINE RUMBLING]
[ENGINE STOPS]
[DOORBELL RINGS]
[DOORBELL RINGS]
- REBECCA: Alex?
- ALEX: Yeah.
Alex?
ALEX:
In here.
Wait here.
Whoa.
Hey, um...
Yeah, I know this...
This looks a little,
um, ahem....
So... Right.
So I was... I was stuck on this...
On this one...
On this one... This one thing
on this one equation, right?
And-and I was thinking
to myself maybe...
Maybe it had to do
with-with quantum foam,
because of all the little
wormholes in there, or maybe...
Maybe it had something
to do with the, um...
With the holographic,
ah, principle.
Maybe it was that,
and maybe
we're in
a two-dimensional space,
because that would explain
the size difference.
Alex...
Just wait a minute.
Just wait a minute.
I realized that
I was being misdirected
and that I was too busy focusing
on what I was seeing
and not when.
What is all this?
It's the answer.
To what?
To them.
You see, if they can travel here
through space and time,
then that means that they can
probably control space and time.
Which means they can exist
in the same space as us,
just at a different time.
No, no, no.
Think about it. Think.
They could be in this room,
just not right now.
They could be six hours
into the future,
12 hours into the past.
They could be in a time
where nobody can see them,
but in a place
where they can watch.
Now here's the part
that I didn't get at first.
I didn't understand,
but they're watching us.
They're watching us
through windows in time.
They're observing us,
they're studying us,
and they are
fucking everywhere.
You need to stop this.
No, no, no,
no, no.
No, I'm not the one
that needs to stop.
You need to stop.
You need to stop building
that machine, okay?
It's not from us.
It is not from
the fucking future, okay?
It is from them.
They put those blueprints on
that satellite with that message
to start the next war,
not to prevent it.
That's their plan.
We have your medical records.
We know about the tumor.
[SCOFFS, CHUCKLES]
A.R.I.S.T. have a compensation
package for that one?
We're very sorry, Alex.
You're fucking sorry.
You put me in a room
with a satellite emitting
fucking
God-knows-how-much radiation.
That's the thing, right?
That's the thing. That's
the thing that lets me see them.
Lets me look at them
as they look at me.
- You're hallucinating.
- No, I'm not.
That's what
they want you to think.
- This won't change anything.
- Yes, it will.
You cannot build that machine.
- This is not about a machine.
- Yes, it is.
- You're sick!
- No!
[SIGHS]
I'm sorry.
Look, I know you
don't have any family,
but maybe there's
friends that you wanna...
I mean, is there
someone you wanna see,
or a place you wanna go?
We can help with that. We can.
But you have got to stop this.
Let the work
and the message you've...
I'm not dying!
[]
God, denial's a bitch, man.
[SCOFFS]
But they weren't listening
and I was adamant that there was
something sinister at play.
[SIGHS]
I mean, sure, you know,
there was a part of me
that thought that maybe I was...
losing my mind...
but then I remembered
I wasn't the only
cryptographer they hired.
[]
[BIRDS CHIRPING]
[KNOCKS]
[LOCK CLICKS]
Hi.
Um...
Beth Carter?
[SIGHS]
I'm Alex Jacobs.
I'm a... I'm a cryptographer.
W-why are you here?
A couple months ago,
I was hired by a company, um...
A.R.I.S.T.
I-I'm sorry,
I'm not feeling very well.
I know, but I need...
I need to talk...
- I have to go.
- Can I just talk to you
for one second?
It's-it's important.
Listen...
I worked on... Shit.
I worked on
the same message as you!
All right, listen to me.
You don't have to worry, okay?
I'm not with A.R.I.S.T.
I went to the library
to track you down.
They don't even know
that I'm here.
Ow! Fuck. Look.
I stayed in
the same room as you.
Okay? I saw...
I found your name etched
onto the bedpost.
The message,
it's not... It's not...
It's not what it says it is.
It's... It's...
It's not from us.
I tried to tell them,
but they won't...
They won't...
listen, and...
I'm seeing things
that I can't explain,
but no one believes me
because I'm...
[BREATHING HEAVILY]
I'm dying.
I'm dying.
They gave me six months.
I've got two left.
I still don't
accept it.
It's hard to
imagine that
four weeks
from now,
I will no longer
be able to walk.
In six weeks,
I'll be so weak, I...
won't be able to talk.
And in eight weeks,
I'll be ashes.
Was there something wrong
with my decryption?
Is that why
they brought you in?
No, no, no, no, no.
As far as I know, they...
They only brought me in
to corroborate.
Yeah.
You know it's a weapon, right?
Of course.
A warning from the future
isn't exactly gonna
show up with blueprints
for a microwave.
Yeah.
It's, uh...
It's not from the future.
I'm-I'm so sorry,
I... I didn't even
offer you something
to drink.
- Coffee?
- Um...
I'll actually
take something
a little bit harder,
if you don't mind.
BETH:
Oh. Ha.
I forgot I even had that.
- [LIQUOR POURS]
- You're not gonna have any?
No, I don't drink.
I thought about quitting...
[CHUCKLES]
but fuck it.
BETH: You know you're the first person
I've talked to in over a month?
Well,
other than doctors.
[CHUCKLES]
And Cipherman, but he's...
Do A.R.I.S.T.
still contact you?
I... I'm pretty sure
he works for them.
I mean, he must.
There's no way he'd know
what he does if he didn't.
Who is...?
I'm sorry, who's Cipherman?
The screen just went black,
and then the next thing I know,
he was communicating with me.
That was about a month ago,
and I've spoken
every day since.
He gave you problems to solve?
It was a nice distraction.
What else
do you guys talk about?
Quantum physics, mostly.
Sometimes,
it felt like he was
challenging
my understanding of it.
What, like, testing you?
I think it was
for the sake of conversation,
more than anything.
I took those screen shots
to prove to myself it was real.
[SCOFFS] After I was
diagnosed, I never could tell.
[SIGHS]
I'm still not even sure
you're real.
[GROANS]
- Hey, hey.
- Ahh...
- I... I need to lie down.
- You okay?
Okay. All right,
come here. I got you.
Thanks.
[]
[WINCES]
Want some, uh...?
Some Valium?
Oh, those don't work anymore.
I'm real.
Hmm.
- No, you're not.
- I am.
I'm here. I'm real.
I never wrote my name
in binary.
[]
[BELL PEALING]
[]
[COMPUTER TRILLS]
[]
[KEYBOARD CLACKING]
[QUIETLY] "...fast. How
are you feeling today?"
"Nauseous."
[]
Shit.
[]
Oh, my God.
[GROANS]
Hi. Oh,
you feel better?
Good. Hey, I got a...
I got a question.
I was looking around.
Ah, do you have...?
Do you have any more...?
Do you have more of
these things with the...?
With the problems
that he gave you?
- [GRUNTS]
- What did you do?
Well, it's...
It's, uh...
It's... It's a message.
Heh, heh. There's...
There's gaps in it,
there's pieces missing,
but it's...
It's a message to, um...
Have you ever put
these together before?
- Huh-uh.
- No, no, no. It's... It's pieces.
It's pieces of a puzzle,
and... And, um,
you decipher them,
you solve them independently,
and you put them together.
I think this guy's trying
to tell you something.
Did...? Did you...?
Did I...? Oh, yeah. Yeah.
Uh, he contacted me, um
last night, but I...
You talked to him?
Yeah. Well, no,
he knew I wasn't you.
No, you...
You can't talk to him.
I... I didn't talk to him, okay?
He knew that I wasn't you.
Okay, but this is mine.
Okay?
This is my computer,
these are my notes, my house.
- You can't...
- That's fine, it's fine.
Look, I don't think
he's working for A.R.I.S.T.
You can't be here.
Do you wanna know
what the difference
between me and you is?
I'm the guy
that doesn't give a shit.
Okay? The NSA, they came in
and forced the company
that I worked for
to write back doors
in our algorithms,
and I didn't think
twice about it.
I figured they were gonna
do it anyway,
I might as well
collect the check.
But you?
No, not you.
I read your bio.
You worked for Everleaf.
Okay? They told the NSA
to go fuck themselves.
Rather than compromise
the privacy of their clients,
they shut down.
You? You give a shit.
Help me stop this.
[SCOFFS]
Come with me.
June 4th.
That's the day
I accepted the job.
After that, I got sick.
I started hallucinating.
I tried to come up
with rational,
reasonable explanations,
but none of them satisfied me,
so I started thinking
about the message.
About the key
and quantum memory.
[SIGHS]
Polarized photons carrying
a message from the future.
And photons are just
packets of light, and...
light crosses the universe.
What if someone or...
something was sending messages
into the abyss?
[]
Across space.
Across time.
All we have to do
is look for them.
I started capturing photons
and deciphering codes.
I became obsessed.
I believed the dead
were speaking to me.
Calling down
from the heavens.
Then, among their voices,
I heard my own.
[CHUCKLES]
I was just talking to myself.
Neither one of us should ever
have taken this job
because it's taken
our health.
And whoever we used to be...
isn't who we are now.
You see them.
Right?
Everything you think you see
is just death.
Do you see that one
out the window there?
If I'm hallucinating,
then how are we hallucinating
the same thing?
This is real.
This is happening.
They put that message
on that satellite,
and this machine... This
is gonna tip the first domino.
We have to do something.
I just wanna die in peace.
Please...
[VOICE CRACKS]
...leave.
[SNIFFLES]
Yeah.
[SIGHS]
[SNIFFLES]
[CAR DOOR OPENS]
- REBECCA: We've warned you.
- What?
[SIGHS] Why were you in
contact with Beth Carter?
- Are you fucking serious?
- How did you find her?
I told you
to leave all this behind.
[CHUCKLES] What are you gonna do?
Kill me?
This is a matter
of national security.
You can only push so far
before it's out of our hands.
Great. Then do me a favor.
Why don't you take a gun
and shoot me
right through
this fucking tumor?
You're not alone.
I know there's not much left
in this life for you,
but if there's someplace you
wanna go or unfinished business,
- we can help.
- What about Beth?
Beth is none of your concern.
- Yeah.
- She's to be left alone.
Did you help her too?
You're not to visit
Beth again.
This is the last time
I'll be coming here.
Do you understand?
[CLICKS TONGUE]
Or what? Hm?
Or else?
You weren't the only one
exposed in that lab.
[]
Time is all we have, Alex.
Use yours wisely.
[CAR DOOR OPENS]
[DOOR SHUTS]
[WHISPERS]
What the fuck?
Oh, shit.
[PANTING]
[CHUCKLES]
[SIGHS]
Fuck.
[GROWLS]
Fuck!
[]
[]
[INAUDIBLE SCREAMING]
[]
[SIGHS]
[SIGHS]
I thought that I...
wasn't here anymore.
I thought that
I had been taken.
I was in a...
[SNIFFLES]
...glass tank somewhere.
Like ants in a colony...
going about our business.
Oblivious to the scientists
watching over us.
[CHUCKLING]
[COMPUTER BEEPS]
[BOTTLE CLUNKS]
[KEYBOARD CLACKING]
[]
[CHUCKLES]
[SCOFFS]
Mm.
[DOORBELL RINGS]
Is this real?
Oh, I fucking hope not.
You're drunk.
They took fucking everything.
Who did?
That bitch and her fucking
A.R.I.S.T. watchdogs.
Are you okay?
Yes. No.
[SCOFFS]
I'm fucking dying.
He was just here.
- One of them?
- No, not one of them.
Those assholes are always
somewhere.
I'm talking about your boy.
I'm talking about Cipherman.
He contacted you?
Mm-hm.
He told me to come here.
He gave me your address.
I think
you're right.
I think he's trying
to figure out a way
to stop the machine.
He sent me the blueprints.
[]
- [SIGHS]
- He's gotta be working on the inside
to have access to these.
- This make sense to you?
- [CHUCKLES]
A beam pipe,
a thermal shield...
a vacuum vessel.
It's...
It's all controlled by, uh...
By an air-gapped computer.
This is...
playing with existence.
He had you figuring out
algorithms, right?
Which means
he's targeting the computer,
which would mean
the machine's already built.
It doesn't make sense, though.
How is that...?
[SIGHS]
How is that even possible?
I mean,
something like this would...
Would take years, right?
I guess it's gotta be.
I mean, otherwise,
he would just...
change the blueprints
and have them build a dud.
We did this.
[SIGHS]
We didn't know.
[SCOFFS]
We knew.
We just didn't want
to acknowledge it.
You experience
the time rifts?
They're getting worse.
I don't want what I saw
to come true.
ALEX: We started
developing a virus...
to target the machine's
zero-day vulnerabilities,
with, uh...
With Cipherman's help.
We were just three people...
doing what we could.
Trying to right whatever wrongs
we felt responsible for.
Then there was this moment.
This moment
I thought to myself,
you know,
I just thought, "Fuck.
We're just
these two people dying.
Going crazy, you know?
Hiding inside each other."
We felt...
isolated from it all.
That didn't last long.
[KNOCKING ON DOOR]
Lock the door.
Good. You got them.
Hey, what are...?
What are you doing here?
A.R.I.S.T. They're on to me.
They'll be here soon.
- Are you...?
- No, but I know him.
I've been trying to stop this
from the inside.
No one can be trusted.
There is a man,
one of the founders
of A.R.I.S.T.
Here.
"Miles Driskoll."
- Cipherman.
- REBECCA: That's his address.
I couldn't get you
the schematics directly.
I used him to communicate
with you and develop a virus
to disable the machine.
I was gonna upload it myself.
Now you see what we see.
REBECCA: None of this
is what they think.
No one at A.R.I.S.T.
believes that.
They think we're hallucinating.
They're blaming the tumors.
If more than one person sees
the same thing...
REBECCA:
There's no proof.
With the military
funding the project,
there's no way
they're walking away
from the most
powerful weapon.
One message is all it took
to scare them into building it.
- The prospect of power.
- Do they know what it does?
REBECCA:
They think they do.
But what it says on the box
isn't what it really does.
- Which is what?
- God, there's no time. Please.
Pack as much as you can.
You gotta get out
before they come.
Please. Go, go.
You etched Beth's name
on the bedpost, didn't you?
I was hoping you'd
figure that out sooner. Hurry.
Hurry!
[]
They're here.
Go. Go.
Find Driskoll.
Make sure you're not followed.
They'll be looking.
Don't use your cell. Use
only cash. Don't leave a trail.
Hurry. You're running
out of time.
The closer we get
to the activation,
the worse the time ripples
will get.
BETH:
What does that mean?
Understand
they're getting stronger
with every passing minute.
They're starting to interact.
Their existence is evolving
beyond just observation.
- Go.
- What about you?
I'll buy you some time. Hurry.
Go. Now. Go!
[SIGHS]
[REBECCA WHIMPERING]
[CAR ENGINE REVVING]
[TIRES SQUEALING]
What do you think
they'll do to her?
[]
[GAS HISSING]
[GAS CONTINUES HISSING]
[CRICKETS CHIRPING]
[SIGHS]
ALEX: Must not like
people very much.
[KNOCKS]
MAN:
Yes.
- It's open.
- BETH: Hello.
Beth, so good to...
To meet you.
I've... I've so enjoyed
our conversations.
And Mr. Jacobs.
Please, come in.
So sorry about
all the clutter,
but you never know
when you might...
[SIGHS]
...need something.
[CLEARS THROAT] I am one of
the original scientists.
One of the original founders
of A.R.I.S.T.
You see,
this recent discovery
wasn't
our first encounter...
with our strange friends.
There was
another satellite.
Found many, many, many
moons ago...
orbiting Earth for,
we believe...
maybe hundreds of years
before we were capable
of retrieving it.
Which was roughly
50 years ago or so.
I'm sorry, you...? You said
there's another satellite?
Yes.
Oh, yes.
Spinning around
our little world
until we advanced
technologically
to the point where
we could retrieve it
and discover
its secrets.
- They were waiting for us.
- [SCOFFS]
In a sense. Come in.
Please, come on in.
So if this
has happened before,
then that means
it can be stopped, right?
Ooh. Ah...
[SIGHS]
Not exactly.
No, this was
a very similar
state of affairs
to what is happening now,
but not quite the same.
We retrieved the satellite.
We... We found, inside,
an encrypted message...
along with blueprints.
- Mm?
- But the purpose was different.
The purpose, I believe,
was to tether themselves to...
[SIGHS]
To our dimension.
An anchor of sorts.
Our dimension.
- You mean...?
- Yes, yes, yes.
[CHUCKLES] Yes. I mean, yes,
inter-dimensional beings.
Yes, that's what
I believe them to be.
It's wonderful, isn't it?
Although I'm not sure
that A.R.I.S.T.
shares
my enthusiasm.
When I tried to communicate
this to them,
they had me discredited,
locked up and...
[CHUCKLES] ...excommunicated
from the scientific community.
They said I was paranoid,
schizophrenic.
Not unlike what you two have
been going through, I'm sure.
I, too, developed a tumor.
A small one, non-fatal,
which I believe
enabled me to... To see them.
But they don't exist
on the same plane
of linear time as we do.
It was challenging to try
to figure out any way in which
I could make
some kind of sense of it,
which I-I'm sure you two
can relate to.
Not to mention, psychiatric
institutions in the '70s were...
Were a bit different
than they are today.
Please, sit.
Sit, sit, please.
So if they... If they
exist on another plane...
then that means their
perception of our reality
would be different.
MILES: Well, I am quite certain
that they are incapable
of perceiving things
the way we do.
We are so, so primitive.
They are so advanced.
So that means whatever
dimension they're from...
Wouldn't experience time
in linear form.
- Right.
- Yes, well, I believe that,
to them, quite possibly,
time is one moment.
[BOTH CHUCKLE]
So... Ha.
So if the, uh...
If the first machine...
[CLEARS THROAT]
...was a tether
then what does
the new machine do?
Ah, well... Ha.
I believe the new
machine will allow them,
for lack of a better word,
access...
to our dimension.
Think of it as if they are
watching a video cassette,
and we are the characters
in that story.
And we can move
from the beginning
through the middle
to the end.
We can only experience things
as such.
The first machine
was the remote,
with which they could
jump around
at any point
and watch the story.
But they couldn't affect us.
They couldn't alter,
they couldn't interact.
But I believe
this new machine...
will enable them to...
Ha.
To reach
right through the screen.
And the closer we get
to the machine's activation,
the stronger we're feeling
its effects.
They're becoming
more present.
The effects of the machine
are rippling
as soon as the machine
is activated.
Time is bleeding backwards.
[CHUCKLES] There's an
overflow of-of effects
moving out to the future
and to the past.
The closer we get
to that moment,
the more concentrated
the ripples are,
the more powerful
they become.
[SIGHS] Yeah, uh, Rebecca
tried to warn us.
Yes, well, things are
getting very strange
at A.R.I.S.T. Yes.
Very strange indeed.
Ha, ha.
Anything in close
proximity is...
Are being affected
dramatically.
People are moving
in slow motion,
looping conversations.
Can you imagine?
I-it's crazy. It's crackers.
We know nothing.
We know nothing.
We can try to reason
the rules of their existence,
but we don't even
understand our own.
My theoretical description
of their existence is just that.
It's a theory. It's just
so we can begin to understand.
But it's probably nowhere near
the actual truth.
Case in point.
When you look at them...
you perceive them as what?
As men, correct?
Yeah. Yeah.
Tall, pale, no features.
Yes, you perceive them
as humanoid
because that is the only way
your brains can process them.
But it's probably nothing
of what they actually look like.
[CHUCKLING] How can we
know what they look like?
We know nothing
of the higher dimensions.
One thing I do know for sure,
they look nothing like men.
You should see the one
in my backyard.
There's one
in your backyard?
MILES:
Oh, yes.
He's been there for,
oh, 30 years.
Hasn't moved one inch.
In the beginning,
I saw him as anthropomorphic.
But the more time passed,
the more my mind had to adjust.
And the more he changed.
He's a loyal friend.
The most loyal friend
I've ever had.
[]
ALEX:
I don't see anything.
Really?
Well, that's interesting.
What does it
look like?
Indescribable.
Quite terrifying, actually.
Everything about them's
so fascinating.
So mysterious.
Like the encryptions,
for example.
- What about them?
- Well, your solution...
to the decryption
was different to Beth's,
which was different to mine.
How can that be?
They know nothing
of our reality.
How can they encrypt something
for us to decipher?
It's... No.
They put something out there
that was different
for each of us,
yet always came
to the same result.
It's really...
It's quite embarrassing
because I can't even begin
to explain that.
That's why A.R.I.S.T. hired
multiple cryptographers.
Oh, and I have another theory,
I don't think it was radiation
that caused our little...
Our little friends here.
No, they are rather
physical side effects
of altering our perception
of reality.
[STUTTERS] Yes? Like a challenging
puzzle can cause a headache.
This puzzle caused us
a tumor.
[]
It's remarkable.
So...
we're fucked.
Yes, I suppose...
I suppose you could say that.
But we can stop this.
There's still time.
Oh, no. I don't...
I think there's...
We can actually do
anything.
You wasted our time
developing a virus
that doesn't stand
a fucking chance?
Oh, no, no, no.
Th-the virus will work.
It's just that we don't have
the luxury of time
to complete it.
I mean...
these ripples we are feeling
are likely from an event
that has already happened.
You know,
the machine's activation
may already have happened.
Some point in our future.
[SCOFFS]
We can't...
There must be something.
I mean, for all we know,
the effects may not be
from the machine's activation.
They may be from its detonation.
Jesus Christ, what the fuck?
Can we stop this thing or not?
Its detonation?
You know, there may be
another method to destroy it.
Dismantle it,
take a sledgehammer to it,
blow it up.
[CHUCKLES]
That's great. That's great.
I'm so glad
we spent all that time
developing the virus.
Ah, yes, well, you see,
the problem is A.R.I.S.T.
will most definitely
rebuild it.
No, so you have to go,
get to the server
and erase the blueprints.
But we don't even know where
the A.R.I.S.T. facility is.
MILES:
Yes, well, now you do.
You forget, I was one
of the original
founders of A.R.I.S.T. I know
this place inside and out.
You should be able
to access the facility
through the east-wing
maintenance tunnel here.
[BOOMS]
[CREAKING]
There's a hatch
about a mile down the road...
that'll take you
directly to the lab.
[BOOMS]
Oh, shit.
Oh, shit,
we gotta go.
[CREAKING CONTINUES]
[DOOR SLAMS OPEN]
[WIND WHISTLING]
Hello...
old friend.
We shouldn't have
just left him.
There's nothing we could do.
So the hatch is just a couple
miles off this back road.
If we leave first thing
in the morning,
we should be there
by evening.
[]
[BAGS ZIP]
[HATCH SQUEAKING]
[]
[DOOR CONTINUES CLOSING]
[DOOR CLOSES]
[GASPS]
[]
[BEEPING]
[GASPING]
No.
[BREATHING SHAKILY]
No.
[GRUNTING]
[PANTING]
[BEEPING FASTER]
[BEEPING INTERMITTENTLY]
[]
[BOMB CONTINUES BEEPING
INTERMITTENTLY]
[ALEX SCREAMS
DISTORTEDLY]
[SCREAMS DISTORTEDLY]
Aah!
[GROANING]
[PANTS]
Fuck.
Ugh!
[PANTING]
VOICE:
Relax.
Relax.
Where am I? Where am I?
What do you see?
ALEX:
I don't know. I don't know.
Am I dead?
Not as you
understand it.
Do you fear death?
No.
Do you fear living?
What are you?
Nothing you can understand.
What the fuck do you want?
We are very curious
about your kind
and your experience of time.
[LAUGHS]
That's all this has been?
It is a curiosity to us.
[CHUCKLING]
So... So all...
All this...
We would like to
understand.
Linear time seems so impractical
a state of being.
To learn is a tediously
slow process...
and with each generation,
it begins anew.
A laborious cycle
of empty promise.
It banishes mankind
to the torment of ignorance.
Forever a child in the dark.
How curious that nature
could punish
a creature so malevolently.
You are condemned
to relearn pain for an eternity.
How painful it must be
to possess self-awareness,
and consciousness
as you do...
trapped in a lower dimension,
such as you are.
Jesus Christ, what the fuck
do you want from me?
Why did you choose me?
"Choose"?
Yeah.
Why did you choose
to decrypt the message?
You asked me that before.
You came to my house.
We do not understand
decision.
We exist
in one single moment.
One blink of instantaneity.
We understand
everything there is
to be understood
in our world.
Therefore, causality,
probability and consequence
are a mystery to us.
It's something
that doesn't exist in your time.
If man's experience of time
was like ours...
would he remain?
Would he remain?
Would he remain?
Would he remain?
Oh, fuck.
Relax.
- [GRUNTS]
- Relax.
Fuck! Oh, fuck.
Relax.
If the cracks of time
were filled
and man had no place
left to hide...
what then?
I don't know. Oh, fuck.
I don't know. I don't even know
what the fuck you mean.
What happens
when man must wait no more?
We become you?
Is that something
you'd like?
I can't exist here.
It's making me sick.
You... You're killing me.
But there is only one
certainty for man:
Death.
[AIR WHOOSHES]
Yet man hides
from this inevitability.
Man desires more time
to distance himself from it.
However,
the more time man has...
the more it takes from him.
Prolonging your existence
comes at the cost
of unknown suffering.
Time determines all for man.
Ironic that it should be
both the gift and the thief.
What's it like?
In your world?
You cannot understand.
If you can bridge the gap
between dimensions
to communicate with me,
then you can...
Then you can fucking try.
You know things
about us...
and about our universe.
Tell me.
If you're seeking answers
to alter
your understanding
of reality...
does that not make your world
a projection
rather than
a perception?
What is the actuality?
Do you see the world
as you imagine it...
or are you observing
what is really there?
If reality is just a projection,
what happens when the source,
when consciousness,
is absent?
Even with an eternity
of self-reflection,
man cannot understand
the difference
between actuality
and illusion.
With every man born
comes a new reality...
all competing in perpetuity.
Perhaps this is why man
is so perpetually at odds.
- So conflicted.
- [GROANING]
- Stop. Stop. Stop.
- So divided.
Stop.
[PANTING]
Am I the only one
you're doing this to?
Would you feel better
if you weren't?
You don't want
to be alone.
I don't wanna suffer.
- You're in pain?
- Yes.
Yes, I'm in pain,
and now I just have to sit here
until I fucking die.
What if you could return
to a moment
in what you understand
as the past?
Before you were sick?
If I were to travel
back in time?
ALIEN:
Yes.
With the information
you now possess.
How do you think
it would alter your behavior?
What would you decide
to do differently,
if anything at all?
I would tell A.R.I.S.T.
to go fuck themselves.
You would choose differently?
ALEX:
I would stop this.
I would stop you.
- Remove us from the equation.
- I can't.
ALIEN: You would be
unable to see us.
Doesn't matter.
I would know
that you're there.
I would know that
you were watching.
The idea alone would change
your perception of reality,
and therefore
change your behavior.
Yes.
ALIEN: Why would you behave
differently if there was
nothing you could do
to alter the situation?
- I just would.
- We find this curious.
We don't choose.
We don't decide what happens.
I didn't choose to be here.
I didn't choose to get sick.
Things happen
that we have no control of.
We don't just... We don't just
look at the world...
and paint it however we want.
If you really believe that,
then you believe
you are not in control,
and you exist
at the mercy of all else.
You believe your thoughts
are of no consequence.
If you returned to a time
with knowledge you now possess,
that you did not before...
what would it matter?
What would
our existence matter?
What would
our observations matter?
If time was reset...
and you were put back...
what difference
would it make?
[]
[EXHALES]
ALEX:
Well, that's it.
So...
that's everything.
ALEX [ON COMPUTER]: I don't know
if this is all a test, or...
I do know it can't change.
But, you know, the world
could end tomorrow, but...
[CHUCKLES] Fuck. You know, what...?
What else is new, right?
It's all already happened.
Satellite's been found,
code's been cracked.
Message decrypted.
It was over before it began.
[GRUNTS]
[GROANS]
[GROANS]
So maybe you...
You can't change...
how it ends, but...
Aah!
...you can change
how you get there.
And another thing:
Warn her.
Lie to her.
Spare her from the truth,
so that she can...
She can live in peace.
And then forget.
Forget this message.
Forget what's going to happen.
Forget what's...
What's already happened.
Just...
Just forget everything.
And live.
[]
[]
[]
[]
[]