Embers (2015)

Okay, here it goes.
Things to remember.
The air in the morning
in June.
The sound of
ice cream trucks.
Emma's sleeping face.
The first time
I held Jasper.
Saturday morning cartoons
when I was a kid.
Running into the ocean.
Driving around on Saturday
nights with Frankie.
My first car,
the badger.
My mother's garden
and her hands.
She had beautiful hands.
The freckle on the back
of Emma's knee.
That's the kind of thing
to remember, that freckle.
I will remember you.
I will not forget you.
Promise.
Who are you?
I-- I woke up with you.
Uh...
-Where?
-Right here.
No, no. I mean,
where is this place?
I uh,
i don't know... i--
I was hoping you
might know that. Um...
I can't remember.
I feel like
i know you.
Yeah, I know
what you mean.
You--
I just don't
know how.
How long have
we been here?
I don't know.
It feels like
the first day.
But...
We, um... look.
We wanted
to be together.
What are you
doing out here?
What are you
trying to say?
Well, you better come
with me then.
Come on!
Come on!
This?
This...
This is a watch. Here...
It tells the time.
But it doesn't tell it.
It can't talk.
But see those numbers.
Those are the time.
And what's time?
How can I explain it?
Now. It's now.
And now, it's now. See?
Here.
And now...
It's now.
And now...
It's now.
Now is now.
And now is now.
And now is now.
So that's time.
But what about space?
Because they're always
together so now we're here.
And awhile ago...
...we were somewhere
but soon we'll be there
because now we're here.
And now, we're here.
And now, we're here.
And now, we're here.
And we will be...
...there.
And now, is here.
And now, is here.
And now, is here.
And now...
Oh!
Oh, hello there.
What are you doing out here?
Are you alone?
Well, you better come
with me then.
I'll look out for you.
Now stay close.
Quiet, aren't you?
Now, who gave you that?
That's too big for you.
Here, I'll hold on to that.
Come on.
Now, look at these.
These are...
...windows.
And they're all
broken, broken...
Look at that.
Wait here.
Oh, oh.
- Good morning, Miranda.
Ew, great.
Are you ready for
your self diagnostic
memory test?
Yes.
What is your name?
Miranda chan dowell.
Where were you born?
Singapore.
What is your birthday?
April 11.
How long have you
been in containment?
9 years, 276 days.
Thank you, Miranda.
Please pay close attention.
Here is today's scenario.
A family lives in a house
that is three storeys tall.
On the first floor
in the dining room,
the mother puts
a red rose in a vase.
On the second floor,
in his bedroom,
the son puts a green
baseball cap on his head.
On the third floor
in the library,
the daughter puts
a blue book on the shelf.
Where is the rose?
In the dining room.
What floor is the son on?
The second floor.
He's in his bedroom.
He's trying on
his stupid hat.
What color is
the daughter's book?
Blue.
Please count
backwards from 10.
10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1.
You have completed
the test successfully.
Likelihood of infection
is less than 0.12 percent.
"Memory recall
is improved
when attempted in
the same environment
as the original
memory trace."
Yeah, that's good.
How can I know
that I don't know?
Okay.
So...
Hmm. It's sweet.
Hmm. Okay.
I knew you were
gonna do that.
-Oh.
-I knew, I knew
the moment after you did it.
-What?
-That you were gonna tuck
your hair behind your ear.
-Oh.
-I knew, I knew.
I knew that you
were gonna do that.
What else do you know?
- I don't know.
-What am i
gonna do next?
I don't know but i-- i--
I know that
i know somewhere.
Afterwards,
i know that I knew.
I didn't know.
Maybe we're family.
Maybe I'm your brother.
Come.
Families look alike.
Our eyes are different.
Yeah, but our hair's
the same. Look.
Maybe... maybe
we're married.
Maybe.
Fuzzy.
Ha...
Um...
What do you think?
I'm not sure. Let's...
...try it one more time.
Hmm.
- I guess we're together.
I guess so.
I'm sorry I didn't
recognize you.
Hmm.
Hmm. I--
I woke up this morning
and I knew...
I'd messed--
i knew I loved you.
-But I was a bit confused.
-Me, too.
Me too!
We have to go home.
This...
...is home.
Hmm.
So what do you think,
how long we've been
together?
I don't know.
I don't even know
your name.
But I don't even know
my own name.
- Oh, I don't know
my name either.
- Bill.
-Bill?
- Bill. Bill.
-No, not bill.
-Bill.
-No, no, no.
- I refused to be called...
Um...
I... I love you...
...Ben!
-Ben?
-Ben.
-Ben.
-Ben.
-Hm. That's better.
-Ben.
What's my name?
Um...
Hmm.
-Jenny.
-Jenny?
-Yeah, you're Jenny.
-Jenny.
-Jenny.
-Sounds weird.
Oh, yeah, it's gonna
sound weird.
It always sounds weird
when you say your own name.
Jenny. Hmm.
Jenny.
Well, Jenny, let's
at least see who
else is here.
-No, no, no.
-Come on.
No! I don't think
we should.
-Come on!
-No.
All these doors
look the same.
We'll get lost.
No, no, no.
We'll remember.
-So says our blanket.
-No, I think we'd get lost.
Come on.
--Lets go back.
Okay.
This place feels different.
It feels
the same to me.
We should clean up.
Wait, wait, wait, wait.
This isn't
where we live.
-Why not?
-We wouldn't live here.
Look at this place.
We must on our way
to some place better.
I know that we're trying
to get somewhere else.
I can feel it.
What if there's
no place better?
I mean,
this is good. It's...
-It's safe.
-You don't...
You don't know that.
How come there's
no one else here?
I mean, there's food.
We're together.
Yeah, but there's not much.
Look, it won't last us long.
If we don't find some
place better, we'd come back.
-Okay?
-I don't know.
We found this
apartment again.
We'll remember.
-Yeah?
-Yeah.
-Mmm-hmm.
-Trust me.
-Here, hold it.
-Yeah.
Yeah.
Doesn't matter.
The longer it takes
the more time it feels.
I don't wanna be
a piece in your museum.
I don't have
anything to tell you.
I don't have anything
new to tell you.
I wish.
Do you like this?
You wanna play with it?
I have so much more
wonderful stuff inside.
Come on!
Come on,
this is my house.
You're gonna like it here.
I've always been here.
Ooh, this is mine.
And this is mine.
I was a queen.
You're gonna like it here.
Nothing bad has ever
happened to me.
You like it?
Come on!
Oh, there you go.
There you go.
Here.
Like this.
Would you like me
to tell you a story?
Once upon a time,
there was a kingdom
filled with people.
And one day,
all the people disappeared.
Except for one girl.
She searched everywhere
for the rest of the people.
She looked high and low
and in between...
And then,
she found the people
waiting for her in a house.
And everyone
was so happy.
They had a party.
And it was also
her birthday.
And everything was good
from then on.
The end.
It's nice.
- Oh yeah?
-Yeah.
Oh!
Are you coming?
Now you are coming.
Wow!
Come, it's amazing!
That was really fun!
Next song.
Next song.
Next song.
Computer, stop.
Play it back.
Who built this?
- It's beautiful.
It makes me
feel safe.
I think...
I think we've been
here before.
Maybe you're right.
It makes me feel
big inside.
The light is all different
colors in here.
--It's magic.
Oh look, it's blue.
What is that?
I don't know.
What?
Do you remember ever
going to sleep before?
No.
No one remembers
anything while they're asleep.
I know. But I mean
do you remember
going to sleep?
Do you remember
where we slept last night?
No.
Do you remember where
we slept the night before?
No. I don't know.
I don't know.
But I know that
we slept somewhere.
If we don't ever--
if we don't ever
remember going to sleep,
if we go to sleep
now, then...
We won't remember
anything when we wake up.
It'll be like we're awake
for the first time.
Yeah, and we won't...
...remember each other.
We can't ever go to sleep.
Okay, okay.
All right.
-We'll just stay up together.
-Yeah.
-And never leave here.
-Hmm-mm.
Okay.
-Stay awake with me.
-We're not gonna forget.
-Yes, we will.
-We'll remember.
-No, we won't.
-I know we will.
Yes, come on.
-Don't say that.
-How?
-We will-- we'll have
to stay awake.
-Okay.
It's okay.
Who are you?
Sticks again, mate.
Have 'em for the fire.
What do you want?
Beat it!
Go home.
Go home!
What's the problem?
Oh, you're probably hungry.
Fine!
Don't touch anything.
Hmm.
I'm having some
trouble this morning.
My mind seems
a little fuzzy.
If you ask me, do I know
how to chop wood,
I couldn't tell you.
But you put an axe
in my hand,
and I know how
to chop wood.
I don't know how I know,
but I just know.
Now, you don't touch this.
This is not for boys,
this is a man's job.
Your job is to collect
little sticks.
This size.
Don't wander too far
away from the cabin.
I don't even know
your name yet.
Me neither.
How about...
Hmm. How about...
...Mike?
No, not Mike.
Hmm... Max?
-Max?
-Yeah, Max.
That sounds right.
-Right?
-Yeah.
- Max!
-What's your name?
I don't know.
Katie.
-Katie?
-Yeah.
-Katie.
-Yeah, you gotta be Katie.
-Katie.
-Max and Katie.
-Katie.
-Max, Max.
-Max!
-Katie.
-Katie! Katie!
-Max! Max!
Ow! Ow!
- What happened?
- What happened?
- Okay, I have to pull it out.
- Okay? All right.
-No, no. Wait.
-You ready?
--Okay, it's over.
All right, okay.
- It's okay.
It's all right. It's over.
All right. Okay.
-It's okay. It's okay.
It's okay. It's okay.
-No, no. Come on.
-Let me look at it.
Let me look at it.
-It's okay, it's okay.
--All right.
It looks a little dirty.
I need to get some
water, okay?
No, wait, wait!
I wanna come!
No, no, no.
You have to stay
right here. Don't move!
--I'll be right back.
--Come on, grab him!
Get him! Get him!
Hey, come on! Come on!
-Gotcha!
-Come on. Look at him!
- No!
- No!
- Look at you. Come on!
Come on. Don't stop.
Hey!
--Hey!
Hey!
Hey!
-Dad?
-Mmm-hmm?
I don't wanna be here.
Are you asking why
we eat our meals together?
No, I mean...
I don't wanna be here
in the bunker.
I want us to leave.
You've been saying the same
thing since you were a child.
I thought that you
were all grown-up.
Dad?
Everyone left could be fine.
We wouldn't know.
--Oh.
I can show you
how to use that.
Watch me! Let's see if
i can still remember
how to do this.
Oh, my goodness!
Here we go.
Nothing to it!
Okay. Now, it's your turn.
All right.
You throw your leg
over the seat...
Attaboy!
Now, you put your
hands on the handlebars
like this, okay?
Hands on the handlebars.
There you go.
- There you go. All right.
Now, when you peddle,
you gonna wanna go
round in a circle
like this, okay?
Okay. Put your feet
on the peddles.
All right.
--Ready to go?
Here we go.
All right.
Miranda...
Now, you won't get lost.
By firing
the same assembly
of neurons
as when we first
experienced an event,
we re-experience...
This repetition of the neural
patterns strengthens
the synaptic connections
and solidifies
the memory trace.
Retrace your steps.
First step. Step one...
Re-fire the neurons.
But how?
Fire the same neurons.
How can I re-fire the neurons
in the same pattern
if I don't know
what the pattern is?
How many times
have you done this?
What is your name?
Miranda chan dowell.
Where were you born?
Earth.
Please respond again.
Where were you born?
Singapore.
What is your birthday?
April 11.
How long have you
been in containment?
I don't feel like keeping
track any more.
Thank you, Miranda.
Please pay close attention.
Here is today's scenario.
A family lives in a house
that is four storeys tall.
On the 4th floor
in the bedroom,
the mother places
a blue pillow on the bed.
On the second floor
in the bathroom,
the son picks up
a yellow washcloth
from the counter.
On the first floor
in the hallway,
the daughter takes
a pink scarf from
the coat rack.
What color is the scarf?
Yellow.
Please respond again.
What color is the scarf?
The scarf is green.
Are you sure?
Yeah. Green.
Where is the daughter?
In the kitchen.
Please respond again.
Where is the daughter?
Please respond again.
Where is the daughter?
She's gone.
Are you sure?
Yes.
Who placed the pillow
on the bed?
Please respond again.
Who placed the pillow
on the bed?
The father.
Please count backwards
from 10.
3, 4, 6, 9, 1, 2, 6, 7...
You're at serious risk
of infection.
Please consult a physician.
Or re-take the self
diagnostic test
if you believe the results
to be erroneous.
Shut up.
Pump the peddle.
Attaboy! Attaboy!
Pump the peddle.
Attaboy! You got it!
You're doing it!
Ride that bike!
All right!
Pump the peddle.
You got it! You're doing it!
Keep it going!
Keep it going!
You got it!
All right!
Attaboy!
You got it!
We have the same bracelets.