1
Do you want to go again?
Mmm. I think I'm good here.
Yeah? Just me then.
What, are we going to stay here forever?
Come on.
Okay. I'm ready to begin.
Exceptional academic record...
ending four years ago.
My brother.
Jared.
I remember hearing about that.
My condolences.
Well, he survived, actually.
Oh, I wasn't aware.
That's okay.
Now, this technology...
We've read the literature,
classification is proving difficult.
Can you tell us how it differs
from other controlled substances?
To begin with, it's not a drug. It's...
Biological software.
You program new memories.
We create experiences.
Indistinguishable from the real thing.
As far as the brain is concerned,
fantasy and reality
are chemically identical.
Good morning.
Good morning.
Ren, there you are.
Take a look at this.
Oi! Get to work.
Why are you pulling out my designs?
Ren!
Approvals. Clear your queue.
Yeah. I can give you 30.
Whoo!
The most published
expert on this technology
is your father.
He's been quite vocal
about the dangers involved.
He writes here, "Prolonged exposure
"could lead to a range
of physical symptoms,
"from arrhythmia to seizures,
even brain death."
That's right.
So there are risks.
Abuse of any substance is risky.
Your brain is already firing
billions of neurons a second.
We're just giving them a script to follow.
The software builds from
fragments of your subconscious.
It becomes part of you
like any other memory.
We tell you the story of a day, one day,
where everything happens
just the way it should.
Perfect.
No chance of it
lasting any longer?
None whatsoever.
Looking good.
Render it.
What's next?
Mmm. Shredding fresh powder, brah.
What?
Oh.
Fuck.
Damn it.
It's just code. It's just code.
Stop.
Yes!
Are you okay?
Six and a half days.
Welcome back.
That was a bad one.
Maybe we should drop the Alps.
- We've got bigger problems.
- No. Snowboarding stays.
Sam's counting on it being a seller.
Unpack it, back to code.
I will debug tonight.
- It's not a code problem.
- It's code.
- Some brains...
- I can fix it.
Okay, boss.
What are we doing with our lives?
We never have enough free time.
And when we do, it feels wasted.
So, imagine if we could buy more.
Sail the Caribbean before work,
snowboard the Alps over lunch,
free dive the Barrier Reef
that same night.
This is not a simulation.
This isn't even the "next best thing"
to being there.
This is a genuine experience,
delivered direct to the brain
by our patented technology.
Holidays, just the beginning.
Where do we go next?
Long-term, interactive...
Imagine the possibilities.
Training, rehabilitation, therapy,
years of experience added to your mind...
Like apps to a computer.
All you have to do is decide,
what will you do with your OtherLife?
To explain how, please welcome
the co-founder of OtherLife, Ren Amari.
- Where have you been?
- Working on our release, Sam.
Talk science. Go.
Breakthroughs in nanite technology
have enabled us
to accelerate
computer-brain communication.
We use our entire brain.
The pervasive myth that we only use 10%
is based on its division of activity.
Thank you for coming. It was great.
You've got my number.
- We need more testers.
- Nope.
- Two extra servers back of house.
- No! Not happening.
Ren, how many times are we going to...
A week to go and we're still finding bugs.
We need a reliable render farm.
I'm telling you, we're out of runway.
I thought that went well.
Yeah, they wanted samples.
I still couldn't give it to them, so...
You pitched both restrictions.
I knew you'd call me out on that.
- Long-term? Interactive?
- Oh, come on, Ren.
All the research says
that's the future of this thing.
We're only hurting ourselves
by holding back.
What was that about anyway?
It's a potential lifeline.
Whatever. I'll see you back at the office.
Hey.
Fuck.
- You forgot.
- I have to work.
That's all right. Do you want
to get a bite at the office?
- I'm sorry.
- Oh. Okay.
Users can become
trapped by the fantasy
and disassociate from reality altogether.
I don't know about you,
but to me, it seems confining.
What do you mean?
A facsimile of an
experience you've never had
just feels... isolating.
There it is.
Damn.
How do you do that?
It just looks wrong.
Really, we testing?
Hey.
New PB.
What's your daily?
- About 400.
- Oh, bullshit. Give me a number.
Four eighty-two.
Twenty days in a day, fucking goddamn.
Are you working on base code?
Nothing to worry about.
- Hey.
- Hey.
Sam asked me to finish
the report on long-term use.
- He did?
- Yeah.
I assumed you knew.
You a part of this?
It's just research.
He asked, I thought it sounded cool.
Plus, that recursive glitch
that we've been getting
could work to our advantage.
Maybe that's the key
to prolonged simulation.
Don't go behind my back to Sam.
Okay, well...
Talk to him about that, I just work here.
Obviously.
You want to get a beer,
bitch about the boss?
He's not my boss, he's my partner.
Okay.
- Danny...
- You know what?
- Hey. Yo, yo!
- Yo!
- Let's do it.
- Thirsty, man.
What about these papers
coming out of Europe and China
discussing medical applications,
Alzheimer's, ALS, dementia?
In theory, you should be able
to patch a damaged brain like software.
But ethically complex.
You're quite literally putting
ideas into people's heads.
Is that a question?
You have no other
applications in mind
for OtherLife?
No.
Jared?
How's our boy doing?
Yeah, he's good.
Jared, big sis giving you any trouble?
You let me know if she does, buddy.
Good to see you again.
His eye moved.
Yeah. Yeah, he, um...
tricks me too sometimes.
See you again tomorrow?
Good night.
Hey, didn't want to call
in case you were working
or sleeping, but, uh...
Thought you deserved to see how much fun
you're missing out on down here.
Remember fun?
Such a romantic.
Definitely should have
joined us. This is not you.
Didn't expect
to see the real you.
You'd rather do it by email?
No, I wanted to talk.
I simply presumed that you'd be too busy.
Now? Of all times?
Will you at least come down here?
We launch Monday.
OtherLife.
Even the name suggests
some sort of opiate.
Products need commercial
application to get funding...
Regardless of what you have
to sell to get them there.
Bringing joy to people
is a worthy ideal, I grant you.
But then again,
heroin was invented
to cure morphine addiction.
I made progress.
- Behavioral awareness?
- Maybe.
His eye moved.
It's just a twitch.
- It doesn't sound like much...
- It's not.
Okay, but if he's in there,
then all he needs is a way out,
- just something to hang on to...
- Oh, please stop.
Are you still getting that glitch?
It's just bad code.
Like addiction, PTSD,
depression, that's bad code, too.
Except the mind
is more than just a collection
- of binary switches...
- Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.
Here we go with your spiritual rationale.
- Don't insult me.
- You have given up.
I'm sorry, I have another class.
You can't unplug him without my consent.
I can.
I'm not asking you for your permission.
Just your support.
Hey, Cass?
- What's up?
- What's going on?
Sam needed to quarantine.
He said you knew.
You didn't know.
- Can you do me a favor?
- Anything, babe.
Can you take my archives off the network?
Yeah, uh, that's going to
unlink a lot of projects.
- That's fine.
- Okay.
Is this a creative meeting?
- It wasn't in the diary.
- Yeah, I, um...
I wasn't digging or anything, it's just...
You said 482
and we've gone through more than
twice that amount of nanite stock.
Is this costing us?
No.
Just your time, energy and extra
strain on our infrastructure?
What's the simulation?
I don't have to tell you.
I'm sorry, Ren, you do.
We are supposed to be partners.
- It's personal.
- It's long-term, whatever it is.
Short and linear, your words.
- And now you're developing...
- It's an unproven idea.
- But I am close...
- Close? We're live in five days!
I'll leave you guys to it.
Sit down.
Listen up.
Remember the lifeline
from yesterday's meeting?
His name's Furlong McClean.
Now, there's Department of
Corrections and there's him.
- Corrections...
- He tells the minister
where to spend the federal budget
and he's prepared to put
money down, unencumbered.
- Prison?
- It's a government contract.
You're talking about a virtual prison.
Confinement. Imagine it...
A kid gets convicted, pays his
debt in the courthouse lobby,
a few minutes later, comes back...
Rehabilitated.
It's hard time without the time.
No. No. No way.
- Proof of concept's all we need.
- We're trying to broaden minds.
Not put them in a box.
Okay. So, you can have
your secret project,
but I can't innovate?
You want hardware and staff,
but won't let me raise the capital?
Not like this.
Well, then get back to work
on the actual fucking product
all these people are here to create!
Hey.
What's up?
Nothing.
- Hey, you need to slow...
- Don't!
Do you want to go somewhere
and actually talk about it for once?
No.
I'll see you later.
Do you want to see something cool?
Whoa!
Whoo!
Uh...
Oh...
- I didn't think it'd be so real.
- Mmm.
As real as anything else.
Right. 'Cause memory is a chemical.
Everything is.
It's amazing.
Go. Go work.
Mind if I go again?
Fucking Sam.
He's still trying
to push this confinement app.
Do you know anything else about it?
Hey, Danny. Listen to me.
It's just a glitch.
Danny, you will be fine.
Danny, can you hear me?
Danny. Danny?
Oh, fuck.
Hey, wake up.
Please.
Danny... No, no, no, no, wake up.
Wake up. Please.
Oh, my God.
Fuck!
Yes! I need an ambulance.
Thoroughly tested the drug
before administering a dose?
It's not a drug, it's biological software.
Sam, can we find counsel
who understands what we do?
Nobody understands what you do,
that's the problem.
- Did you check the software?
- I wrote it.
So, our defense is going to be
that you don't make mistakes.
Could you give us a minute?
Is this what I think it is?
- Is Danny okay?
- What happened?
I don't know.
Something I missed.
- Please, can you see...
- Three years of human trials,
twelve million in peer review from MIT,
- Caltech, Tokyo...
- They missed it, too.
Well, they never tested it
in the first place.
Ren, what is it?
It doesn't fit the adventure brief.
I didn't think you would be interested.
Right. You've been spending
thousands of hours
off in your own little world.
We're finished.
This is going to destroy us.
I hope whatever it is
you've been working on
is worth something.
What is your ambition
for this technology, Ms Amari?
Ms Amari, this is Mrs Wilson
from the Attorney General's office.
A pleasure.
- And Mr McClean...
- With the Department of Corrections.
Amazing technology, Ms Amari.
Truly remarkable.
They have enough to go to trial.
Realistically, we're looking at 10 to 15,
and while I'm sure
I could plea down, this...
This is an offer of deferred prosecution.
If you are compliant with the terms,
the state has agreed not to press charges.
- Charges...
- Unauthorized human testing,
drug fraud, malpractice...
And all you have to do
is agree to be a test subject
in the virtual confinement
program of one year.
Sam, what have you done?
The best I could
to save my lead programmer.
No, no, no. Um...
No, I am not compliant.
Ren, these people
can keep it out of the press.
They've agreed to inject enough capital
to get us over the finish line.
OtherLife can live.
How long have you been
planning this behind my back?
A year in virtual confinement
is a minute of your life.
A minute to save everything.
No.
Ren.
You gave Danny
an untested sample and he died.
Consider the alternative.
The confinement program
is the longest simulation we've run.
At 365 days,
it far exceeds our 24-hour limit.
The subject will be
in a limited environment,
which includes food, hygiene
facilities and a daily reset,
to give the brain a sense of continuity.
There really isn't much more you need
for solitary confinement.
Are you ready?
One year.
On the dot.
And you ran the exit routine?
Sometimes you code these
circular module dependencies which...
Ren.
You ever had to use one of those?
No.
Base of the skull,
straight into the limbic.
- Don't fuck it up.
- Is there a problem?
Oh, shit.
Separation of spaces.
A view to an exterior.
A window.
Any kind of human interaction.
No one can read this.
Fuck!
Fuck!
Are we going to stay here forever?
Mind if I go again?
Do you want to go again?
I'm not giving up on you.
You're my little brother.
I can show you a way out.
Frederick Martin, 2008.
Woke by music after three years in a coma.
It's possible that during
long-term exposure
the brain adjusts to small changes.
The simulation becomes lucid.
Alice Thompson, 2012.
A random change in her medication
resulted in full recovery after two years.
A simple matter
of invigorating subconscious data.
Jeremy Wallace, four years,
described the process
of rewiring his brain from
the inside to wake himself up.
A sufficient dose of the right
mnemonic trigger could produce
a recursive process and then eventually...
Life can be restored.
Full recovery
from brain death.
The will to live is connected to memory.
Memory is a chemical.
Therefore life can be restored
through biological programming.
Life can be restored.
You know he's gone.
His eye moved.
Oculocephalic reflex.
Mmm-mmm.
No. He's in there.
He's gone.
Everyone knows he's gone except you.
- There's nothing you can do...
- I'll restore function.
With snowboarding?
I needed funding.
And look where that got you.
What?
No, no, no, no, no.
No, no, no, no, no, no, no.
Byron. Your fucking code!
The exit routine!
The fucking exit...
That's impossible.
Hey!
Shit. Fuck!
Oh, my God!
Long-term care, ward 10.
You have a patient there, Jared Amari.
I need you to tell me if...
Motherfucker.
Here it is.
Missing person, filed last year.
Filed, but never active.
According to immigration,
you've had residency in Italy
for nearly a year.
It... No.
No, I've been in a box.
I've been in a fucking box
in the middle of nowhere.
All right, take it easy.
Tell us about this government programme.
No, it's not... Okay,
it's not a government programme.
- It's OtherLife.
- So you worked for them?
No, it's...
It's my company.
Ah-ha.
Ms Amari.
There's no charges against you on record
and there's no indication
of any deferred prosecution.
Will you at least take a look at the cell?
Go home, Ms Amari.
I'm sorry.
There's been a tenant
in your apartment almost a year.
What about storage? All my research?
I can't let you in.
Cup of tea?
Mmm.
Fuck.
Ren!
Thank God you're okay.
I came as soon as I heard.
I know you're confused,
but I can help you
figure things out. I promise.
Hey. Let's get you somewhere safe, okay?
I'm not safe?
Hey! Hey! Can you open this, please?
You're okay. Just go.
Thank you.
Go, go, go. Go around. Cut her off!
Ren!
Listen, there was nothing I could do.
You're not making this
any easier for yourself.
Fuck!
Go that way. Go!
- Hello.
- Cass.
Cass, it's Ren.
Bullshit.
Oh, my God.
You have no idea how good this tastes.
You didn't think it was strange
when I stopped showing up for work?
Everyone said you cashed out.
Without saying goodbye?
Yeah. I deleted you from my phone.
We all assumed you were off drinking vino
on the balcony of your villa.
Do I look like I've been in Italy?
No, you look like shit.
So, where have you been?
It'll sound crazy.
It's all been pretty normal so far.
Okay.
After Danny died, they offered me a plea
- to test the confinement...
- Stop. What?
The sample I gave Danny
must have had bad code.
- No. Hold on.
- Something that I missed.
What?
All I remember is drowning.
I'd almost get out,
then I'd be under again, over and over.
Then I woke up in hospital.
They did tests for a week, but I was fine.
I sent you a million messages,
figured you just wanted to be left alone.
Anyway, five days later, we launched.
- I mean, it was wild.
- Yeah.
First run sold out in three hours.
Everyone's options went through the roof.
Heaps in development.
Education, military training,
huge budgets.
And porn, of course.
And what about confinement?
It's the backbone of the company.
They're legislating consecutive programs,
stretching it to 10, 20 years
served in OtherLife.
There's a senator in the US
who's pushing for multiple life sentences,
we're talking centuries.
That's not what it's for.
I need to see what they've done
to my software.
Look, no one is happier
to see you than me.
Really.
But you're free.
Walk away.
We'll help you do it.
Money, whatever you need.
If Sam's gone this far, who knows
what else he's capable of.
- None of it matters.
- I'll come with you if you like.
- I need to see that code.
- And then what?
- I just... I need to see it.
- You need to regroup.
Go somewhere safe, take your time.
And then when you're ready,
we'll do everything you need.
We'll get a lawyer, talk to the media,
expose how they stole your company...
I don't give a fuck about a company!
I could never understand
why my father wouldn't just
fix him and bring him back.
What's the point of being a genius
if you don't do anything with it?
And we needed money for research
and he kept turning down offers.
So, I registered the patent,
my dad's patent,
and I started OtherLife.
I was gonna do what he couldn't.
I was gonna bring my brother back,
and we would be a family again.
So, I don't care about a company.
That is not what they stole.
Remember how you asked me
to unlink all your research?
Once you were gone, Sam put me
to work sorting through it all.
He was convinced
there were other applications
for OtherLife.
He must've been withholding.
It's all kept on a secure server,
level 20.
What about Byron?
He's on nineteen.
Get to his office
and find an open terminal.
I should be able to walk you
through hacking his account.
His passwords are super obvious.
- Wait a sec.
- Okay.
Shit!
Okay. Okay, okay.
Who's that? Is that Byron?
Ren, what's going on?
It's okay. It's okay, we're in.
No, no.
- Don't mess with...
- Sit down.
No. No, no.
It's not here.
What have you done with it?
Okay. Okay. Okay.
Yay. Hooray, you found it.
This is why you locked me up?
What's this?
We gotta go.
Fuck it.
Shit!
Shit!
Cass, we're in trouble.
Uh, guys...
Take the car.
Don't fucking touch me.
Get your hands off of me.
Get your fucking hands off me!
Wait! Cass!
Never mind. Ren, we gotta go. Come on.
Is that it? Is that everything we need?
I hope so.
We need a printer.
The only printers in the city
are in that building.
I know where we can find one.
Hello?
What's all this?
A lifetime.
Well...
This is fucking beautiful.
I don't quite know what to say to you.
Neither of us ever did.
I'm so sorry.
I know.
Oh, fuck!
Danny.
Danny Lowe, this is my father,
Dr Robert Amari.
Hi, Dr Amari. I've read all your work.
- The chemist?
- Yes.
Good to finally meet you.
Sam Murphy called my office.
He was exceedingly charming,
so I knew something was amiss.
What did you steal?
It's my work, he stole it first.
I know how that goes.
You filed the missing persons report.
Jesus, I was scared.
What did they do to you?
It all started with
Jared's diving simulation.
A perfect recreation
of that day at the beach.
You took it and you drowned.
The software wasn't faulty,
it did exactly what it was supposed to.
It gave you the experience
of being underwater,
and then your brain filled in the rest.
The result was a seizure.
Right, but I didn't want to drown.
But you didn't know that you had a choice.
The point is,
the simulation wasn't linear.
You were able to choose a path,
and subconsciously,
you chose a bad one.
That's what I was trying to offer Jared.
Choice.
I was hoping that he would remember
the accident differently and...
wake up.
What I created was a version of OtherLife
that lets you rewrite your memories.
That's dangerous. That's a drug.
That's what they're refining.
- Holy shit.
- They're not there yet.
Byron's good, but he's not that good.
Okay. Well,
we've got time to stop them.
I'll call the TDA in the morning
and raise a safety challenge.
That'll tie Sam up in review
while we figure out our next step.
How long do you think it'll be
before they finish this thing?
Ren?
You've already finished it, haven't you?
It's gonna work.
Jared.
Hi.
Jared?
No, Jared.
No, please.
No, stop. Jared.
I wonder what he saw.
Nothing.
He hit his head on a rock
and he drowned in 20 centimeters of water.
That's the last thing he remembered.
Well, I saw a brain-dead
patient make an active choice.
You saw?
A drug like this...
who needs to face reality?
Byron.
Oh, shit.
You told me no risk.
Oh, shit.
Wake up.
Wake up!
Shit.
Oh, Jesus, God! Thank fuck!
Ren, you scared the crap...
Oh, fuck!
Shit!
No, no, no! No, no.
Byron?
Hi.
Jesus, I was scared.
I'm so sorry.
What did they do to you?
What is your ambition
for this technology, Ms Amari?
To give people a chance at
a life they might never know.
Thank you.
Partner.
Sorry about the nose.
It's okay.
Maybe I pushed a little hard
on this virtual confinement thing.
Yeah, about that.
I'm gonna withdraw.
What?
Wait, what are you saying?
I will take my time, wrap up R and D.
The company is yours,
but the patent stays with me.
What fucking use is that?
- Danny died.
- Yeah, but...
Look...
What happened to you in there?
- Dr Amari.
- It's me.
A colleague told me what Sam did.
You get to say I told you so.
So long as you're okay.
- I'm fine. It's over.
- Good.
Confinement... Unbelievable.
Dad, let's go to the hospital.
- Are you sure?
- I am.
I'll make the arrangements.
Thank you.
- Sam.
- You need to see something.
- I told you...
- Five minutes? In person.
Good luck.
Here she is.
Hey. Come. Come here, come here.
How you doing?
Come in, sit down...
and take a look at something.
Hey.
To our resident genius.
Oh, not me.
You, dumbass.
Okay, what's going on?
You feeling good?
Let's talk about that.
Look at the limbic.
- I was scared.
- Yeah. Here, you're scared.
Here, you like it.
Tell me what was so good
about being in that cell.
- I knew it.
- She fucking broke out!
Screw the prison,
make me a drug that gives people
fully interactive experiences.
No, no, no. We have done this.
- What?
- It doesn't matter.
This is a major breakthrough.
This is gonna save our company.
There's enough data
to reverse-engineer the code.
- Right?
- It's rough.
Another trial with a conscious
interaction would be useful...
Okay, whatever. A few tweaks, of course.
Ba-da-bing! You two do
that thing you do so well...
I'm not going back.
- You're the only one who can.
- It's not going to be anyone.
You fucking owe me!
Just remember when we started this.
Yeah?
I was working in app development.
You were writing that thesis
no one could understand.
And now, look at us.
We're about to change the world.
I'm sorry.
No, no, no. Just, just...
Will you sit?
Please? Please.
"Broadening minds."
That's what you said to me.
That's what we're supposed to be doing.
If you'd share this discovery,
we can make that possible.
But if I can't change your mind,
then what about this?
- What the fuck?
- Did I get her?
You son of a bitch!
Shh. It's just a minute.
Relax, relax, relax.
It's okay.
It's just a minute.
Hook it up.
Byron, you wanna be rich? Do it!
No.
The sooner we get the fucking data,
the sooner we can get her out.
Are we good?
Are we good?
It's online.
It's working? It's online?
Yes.
No!
It's just code. It's just code.
You've done this before,
you can do it again.
You've done this before,
you can do it again.
Wait, wait. What was that?
- What's that? That. What is it?
- Shut up! I don't know.
- Fix it, Byron.
- Fucking wait!
Get his feet.
Grab his fucking feet!
That's six months.
- Ren.
- Do you think he'll break out?
What are we waiting for?
Hmm?
Ren! What are we waiting for?
How long is it?
Ren, bring him back now.
- He's going to die.
- Induce arrhythmia.
Someone call an ambulance. Now!
Ren!