1
[OMINOUS MUSIC PLAYING]
KARA: OTL Releasing presents
a BH Production
and Goalpost Pictures
Production,
in association
with Automatik Entertainment,
Nervous Tick,
and Film Victoria:
Upgrade.
[HOWLIN' WOLF'S "SMOKESTACK
LIGHTNING" PLAYING OVER SPEAKERS]
Oh, smokestack lightning
Shining just like gold
Why don't you
hear me crying?
Ooh
Ooh
Ooh
Well, tell me, baby
[MAN SINGING ALONG]
Words don't matter, yeah
Why don't you hear me
crying?
- [LIGHT METALLIC CLANKING]
- Ooh
Ooh
Ooh
[RATCHETING]
Well, tell me, baby
Where did you spend
last night?
Why don't you hear me
crying?
Ooh
Ooh
[THUDS]
Okay. Come on.
[ENGINE REVVING]
[TURNS ENGINE OFF]
I love you.
[GARAGE DOOR WHIRRING]
HANDLEY: You can't be an
idealist and a capitalist, Asha.
- You got to pick a side.
- I think I can.
HANDLEY: No, you can't.
I'm... I'm telling you...
KARA:
Arriving at your house, Asha.
Saved by my car.
Goodbye, Handley.
[GASPS]
Oh, my God.
KARA: Are you okay, Asha?
I'm fine.
My husband scared me.
[LAUGHS]
You do realize that you're
talking to a car, right?
I hear you talking
to yours all the time.
At least, mine can talk back.
Hmm.
Oh, working hard, I see.
[CHUCKLING]
KARA: Welcome home, Asha.
Evening playlist one.
The temperature indoors
is 72 degrees
and the energy wall
is charged at 86%.
Also, you've run out of eggs.
Oh, thanks, Kara.
Order them.
Actually,
I was working very hard today.
In fact, that right there
is the celebratory beer.
- Is that right?
- GREY: Yeah.
I dropped the block
in the Firebird today,
finished her up.
You wanna see?
I have no idea
what you just said.
Okay. Well, I don't know
what you do
for a living either, wife,
so we're even.
Yes, but is staying home all day
playing with cars
a living, Grey?
I don't know. Dunno.
GREY: Ow.
That hurt.
It hurt good.
- Yeah.
- You know what?
I'm actually getting
kind of used to you
wearing the pants
in this household.
- Really?
- Yeah. I'm really settling in.
Stop it.
Well, you know, I'm never
giving them back, so...
I bet you 10 bucks
I can get 'em off.
No.
Stop.
You want to print a pizza?
You wanna make a pizza?
Seems like a lot of work.
Oh. I got to drop the car off
to this guy tonight,
it's all done.
Oh. Boo.
Okay. Well, have fun.
What do you mean have fun?
You're coming with me.
- What?
- Yeah.
I need you to drive me home
in that toy car of yours.
It's, like, 45 minutes away.
I'll push a button and end up
in Canada or something.
Well, I have work to do,
so I can't.
Can't lives
on Won't Street, lady.
You're coming with me.
And believe me,
you're gonna wanna see
this guy's house.
Trust me.
[DRAMATIC THEME PLAYING]
[SEAGULLS SQUAWKING]
So, what, he lives
behind the rocks?
No. Just you wait.
- Really?
- Oh, yeah.
Really.
After you.
What?
- [THUNDER RUMBLING]
- [ASHA CHUCKLES]
This is amazing.
GREY: Eron, my man.
I got the Firebird upstairs
ready to go.
- ERON: You're early.
- GREY: Yeah. I...
I drive fast.
What... what is... what is the
thing that you're touching?
ERON: It's my cloud.
Eron, I'd like you to meet
my wife, Asha.
Hi. Nice to meet you.
Hi. Yes.
Hello.
Hi.
Wait.
You're Eron Keen.
You own Vessel Computers.
Oh, my God.
Husband did not tell me
who I was meeting.
I... I really love your company.
You do
the most incredible things.
I'm in the industry too.
I work for Cobolt.
We specialize in robotic limbs
for wounded soldiers.
I mean, we're nothing
like Vessel yet,
but we're getting there.
No, you're not.
I'll show you why.
Follow me.
I would like to introduce
you to my present
and the rest
of the world's future.
I call it Stem.
GREY: Wow.
That is the most incredible
little roach.
What does it do?
Literally anything.
ASHA: Hmm.
It can drive anything,
talk to anything,
calculate anything.
It's a new, better brain.
Can it make babies
and play football?
It can do things
that will benefit society.
Okay. You know what he means.
I'm just saying,
there's some things
that people do better.
I mean, you look at that widget
and you see the future.
I look at that thing,
I see 10 guys
on an unemployment line.
[DRAMATIC THEME PLAYING]
ASHA: You should try not
to argue with that guy.
He's your last paying customer.
KARA: Please do not touch
the steering wheel
while the car is in motion.
[ASHA LAUGHING]
Okay. So what's a guy
like me supposed to do
when his widget starts
taking over the world, hmm?
Sit back and enjoy the ride.
Come here.
You know,
there are some benefits
not having to keep
your eyes on the road.
- Oh, yeah?
- Mm-hmm.
GREY: What should I
keep my eyes on?
KARA: Please put
your seatbelts on.
- No fun.
- Hmm.
KARA: Leaving 601 freeway.
Hey, honey, where...
where are we?
She's probably just taking us
around the traffic.
GREY: No, no, no.
Wait. I'm sorry.
This is... no.
This is my old neighborhood.
This is where I grew up.
Yeah, this is New Crown.
We're... I mean, we're going
in the exact opposite
- direction of the house.
- Kara, take us home.
KARA: I'm sorry.
There has been an error.
Return to the freeway,
destination home.
KARA: I'm sorry.
There has been an error.
- What?
- Stop, car.
Car, stop.
Press the brake twice.
KARA [GARBLED]: Turning left.
Goddamn it. Goddamn it.
- Stop.
- Let me try this.
We're going a little too fast.
This is not supposed to be...
Shit.
KARA: There has been
an accident.
Please remain seated
until further instructions.
Emergency services
have been contacted.
[STRAINED BREATHING]
Grey.
FISK: Here to help.
Wait.
Who are you guys?
[GRUNTS]
Wait.
Back up. Back up.
Stay right there, partner.
SERK: We're on TV, assholes.
Hurry.
[RADIO CHATTER]
Hey, what are you doing?
Put your mask back on.
Look, you guys,
you can have my wallet,
take our cards, okay?
You can have it all.
TOLAN:
Thanks for your permission.
GREY: Don't you fucking
touch her.
You look at me and see
a real piece of shit
on your shoe, don't you?
A learned woman like yourself
looking down on an
uneducated insect like me.
- [GUNSHOT]
- GREY: No!
No!
[ASHA GASPING]
No!
MAN: There's four hostiles,
two prone.
[YELLS]
Asha!
- Asha!
- [GUNSHOT]
FISK: Till death do us part.
[GASPING]
GREY [STRUGGLING]:
Asha, I can't get to you.
I can't move.
Asha, stay with me, okay?
Look at me, honey.
Okay. I'm right here.
I'm right here, okay, Asha?
I'm right here. Okay?
No. No. Asha.
Asha, no. Pl...
[DRAMATIC THEME PLAYING]
[POLICE SIRENS APPROACHING]
[POLICE RADIO CHATTER]
[DRAMATIC THEME PLAYING]
HENDERSON: Getting around,
you're gonna need this,
they're all throughout
the house.
I mean, everything that's
installed just allows you
to live a more normal life.
Oh, these robotic arms
are fully capable
of preparing meals for you.
Let's say you wanted
a protein shake,
you would just say,
"Protein shake."
Your mother also has voice
control authority
over the arms.
Would you like to do
the honors, ma'am?
PAMELA:
Heh. Sure.
Protein shake.
- [ARM WHIRRING]
- PAMELA: Oh, my Lord. Ha, ha.
PAMELA:
Oh, heh...
HENDERSON:
There you go.
I think we'll be fine
from here.
- Okay.
- I'll walk you out.
Oh, thank you.
[DOOR CLOSES]
KARA: Charging now complete.
KARA:
Are you there, Grey?
Would you like something?
May I ask if Asha
will be joining us
for dinner?
GREY: You know,
you don't have to stay here
day and night, Mom.
You know, these machines
they installed
pretty much do
everything for me.
I know.
[GREY COUGHING]
Now, it's okay.
It's okay.
That's it. That's it. That's it.
[DRAMATIC THEME PLAYING]
[POLICE RADIO CHATTER]
PAMELA: Detective Cortez.
Hi, Pam.
Hi, Grey.
[PEOPLE CHATTERING]
All right. This is me.
Here. You can have a seat here.
Thanks.
You know, I'm from New Crown,
Grey, like you.
Went to Hellier High.
So what do you have?
Okay.
I know you were anxious
to come down here
and see how
we're getting things done,
and I think that's great.
I'm a face-to-face
person myself.
You know,
I don't pilot these drones.
I like to get my hands dirty.
- Bang on doors.
- GREY: So who are these guys?
We don't know yet.
I do have a list of people
of interest in that area.
And just this week,
I brought in two people
- for questioning.
- So what you're saying
is you have all these things
flying above our heads,
they can read the ID chips
in our fillings,
but they don't actually
do anything?
No. I... I mean, yes, they work,
but it's not that simple.
Criminals can find ways
around them.
If they can find
the right people,
criminals can get a firewall
built around them
that prevents our drones
from identifying their faces.
Believe me, I understand
your frustration, I do.
I know I can't tie
my shoes anymore, Detective,
but you don't have
to talk to me
like I'm a goddamn
three-year-old.
Grey, she's just trying
to help.
I'm going to work
through my list,
and if you want to work with me,
we're gonna find them.
How can I work with you?
I can't even stand.
[DRAMATIC THEME PLAYING]
GREY: Administer p.m. medicine.
Problem.
Administer p.m. medicine.
Again.
Administer p.m. medicine.
Problem. Again.
Again.
KARA: I cannot administer
any more medication, Grey.
No. You... you didn't do it
right.
You didn't do...
you didn't do it right.
Administer p.m. medicine.
KARA: Another dosage
could be fatal.
I will contact an ambulance
to transport you
to a hospital
if you are in serious pain.
[EKG BEEPING]
Not gonna give you
bird flu, kid.
I don't leave my house
very often.
Must be frustrating for you.
You're someone who liked to get
things done with their hands.
Now you can't.
I'm sorry.
Was that inappropriate?
I'm not around enough people
to know the difference.
Okay. Here's the difference.
What the fuck do you want, Eron?
[FOOTSTEPS PASSING BY]
Grey...
What if I told you
I could offer you something
that would enable you
to walk again?
That computer chip
that I showed you,
it has the potential to change
everything for people
in your condition.
As a quadriplegic,
the line connecting your brain
to your limbs has been cut,
Stem would bridge that gap.
The operation would take
place in my home,
away from official eyes.
There'd be no more
hospitals,
but it would have to be
our secret...
for now.
Here's the thing, kid.
I'm not looking to restart
my life.
I'm looking
for the off switch.
You know...
you were right about them.
Computers,
there are things
that they can't do.
They can't bring her back, Grey,
but they just might be able
to bring you back.
What would she want?
[DRAMATIC THEME PLAYING]
[SEAGULLS SQUAWKING]
[EKG CONTINUES BEEPING]
ERON: This is a world first.
Never before
has a biomechanical fusion
been asked to do so much.
It's going to feel strange
initially.
The neural pathways
in your brain
will be trying
to have a conversation
with a foreign body,
trying to learn to pass
the baton.
The key is to let it grow
into itself.
GORDON [MUFFLED]:
Grey, can you hear me?
Can you feel it when I do this?
My guess is this is gonna be
a piecemeal process.
You shouldn't be expecting
unreasonable results so soon.
Oh, my God.
Now, try to stand.
[DRAMATIC THEME PLAYING]
ERON: Nobody can know.
They make people like me
wait years
to test something like this.
But I can't wait for them.
Signing confidentiality
agreements is never fun,
but I bet it will feel good
to do it
with your own hand.
Who's moving my arms
and my legs,
me or your widget?
You're the one doing it all.
You're not a robot.
Stem works in service
of your brain.
Your brain gives Stem
a command,
he makes it happen.
[DRAMATIC THEME PLAYING]
[WHEELCHAIR WHIRRING]
Close door.
[DOOR CLOSES]
KARA: Good evening, Grey.
Another package
from Detective Cortez
has been delivered.
Would you like...
GREY: Shut up.
KARA: Did you say,
"Shut down"?
Yeah, I did. Shut down.
STEM: May I point
something out?
Hello?
STEM: Yes?
Okay, who's saying that?
STEM: I am Stem. The system
operating your body for you.
Don't be afraid.
You fucking kidding me?
STEM: No.
I've gone insane.
I'm fucking insane.
STEM: Your psychological
report diagnosed you
with mild PTSD symptoms,
but you are not insane.
Wait, so... Okay,
you've been sitting there
this whole time since
the operation?
STEM: I have been observing
everything you've observed.
Do you... do you have to talk?
STEM: If you don't want me to,
I will not.
Okay. Yeah, don't talk.
So I'm not insane?
You can talk again.
STEM: No, you are not insane.
Wait, can anybody else hear you?
STEM: No, only you.
I'm sending sound waves
to your eardrum.
Can you read my mind?
STEM: No.
I can only discern speech
when you talk out loud.
Now that you've allowed me
to talk again,
may I point something out?
In the drone
surveillance footage.
Can't you see it?
See what?
STEM: The man who shot
your wife,
there's no gun in his hand.
She was shot,
that means he had a gun.
STEM: She was shot,
but not with a gun
he was holding in his hand.
A gun implanted inside
his hand.
Freeze the screen
at the moment he fires.
The man who took Asha's purse
in the left of frame,
there is a marking
on his wrist.
GREY: I don't see it.
STEM: I do.
I've rebuilt the image.
With your permission,
I can show you.
[PAPER RUSTLES]
STEM:
Just relax and let me draw.
[SCRIBBLING]
GREY: This feels very weird.
[SCRIBBLING]
STEM: You now have
full control again, Grey.
I've... I've seen these.
It's a... a military tattoo,
I think.
STEM: I will read it.
Hold it in front of your eye.
Serk Brantner, Marine Corps,
098-422; O-Positive; Catholic;
address: 414 Citrus, New Crown.
You just...
You just found this guy?
I got you, you sons of bitches.
Call Detective Cortez.
- [LINE RINGING OUT]
- STEM: Are you sure you want
- to call Detective Cortez?
- Yes. I am sure.
You just found the guy
who murdered my wife.
STEM: Do you have evidence
to prove that?
End call.
[PHONE LINE BEEPS OFF]
Well, you saw the tattoo.
STEM: Eron has forbidden you
to tell anyone about me.
Okay. Maybe I... I drew it
from memory.
STEM: My reconstruction
of the tattoo
does not provide
any real evidence
unless they can correlate it
exactly with the drone video,
- which they can't.
- What are you saying?
STEM: You need to be positive
it's him
before you alert the police.
Hey, man, he was the last one...
[INDISTINCT]
Sure, they do, but then he...
[DOOR SLAMS CLOSED]
- [ALARM CHIRPS]
- [CAR ENGINE STARTS]
- [DOOR CLOSES]
- [CAR ENGINE REVS]
[TIRES SCREECH]
[DRONE PASSES OVERHEAD]
- Lock chair.
- [BEEPS]
[LOCK SNAPS]
[SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC PLAYING]
[DOG BARKING]
STEM:
There are no alarms inside,
but it is a manual lock.
I can't help you break it.
GREY: Don't worry.
I got this.
[SIREN PASSING BY]
[DOOR CREAKING]
STEM: I suggest you remove
your shoes.
[SHOES THUD]
STEM: Grey, the table.
What about it?
STEM: Say the word "on."
On.
STEM: Say "messages."
Messages.
STEM: The name "Old Bones"
keeps being mentioned.
I saw 38 references.
What is that?
It's a bar
in my old neighborhood.
STEM: I can find no online
address or phone number for it.
'Cause they don't go in
for that sort of thing.
No, this is useless.
Off.
[SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC PLAYING]
[CAR APPROACHING]
[CAR DEPARTING]
[THUDS]
STEM: Hide behind the shelf.
[DOOR OPENS]
[DOOR CLOSES]
STEM: Wait.
Wait.
Now.
Now, while you have
the advantage.
[BOTH GRUNTING]
- [SERK SCREAMS]
- [GLASS SHATTERS]
SERK: Come here!
[GRUNTS]
You come here
to rip me off, huh?
- [GREY PANTING]
- SERK: Wait.
- It's you.
- [GREY COUGHS]
[PANTING]
I don't know how you found me,
but you shouldn't be here.
- You killed my wife.
- No!
I didn't do that.
That was someone else.
It doesn't matter!
[BOTH GRUNTING]
STEM: You'll need to be
a little faster than that.
[BOTH PANTING]
Why are you making me do this?
STEM: Let me know if you need
my help, Grey.
Stem, help.
STEM: I need your permission
to operate independently.
- Permission granted.
- [ELECTRONIC WHIR]
- STEM: Thank you.
- [GREY GRUNTS]
[INTENSE MUSIC PLAYING]
[SERK GRUNTING]
- [THUDS]
- Um, okay.
Uh, Stem, what are we...
what are we doing, man?
- STEM: Just relax.
- [SERK GRUNTS]
[GRUNTS]
What the fuck?
- [GRUNTS]
- [GLASS SHATTERS]
- SERK: Oh, fuck.
- Oh, God. Dear God.
[SERK GRUNTS]
[GRUNTS]
Oh, look, man,
stay down, please.
Um, please don't get up.
Please don't get up.
Please...
Stay down, man.
Stem, he's got a knife!
- Stem!
- [SERK GRUNTS]
STEM: I can see that.
We have a knife, too.
- [GRUNTS]
- Oh.
You just stabbed him.
Are you trying to piss him off?
Okay. All right.
So, what's the plan?
- What are we doing?
- [SERK GRUNTS]
Stem! Stop him.
[SERK GRUNTS]
[KNIFE CLANKS]
[SHUDDERING]
[ELECTRONIC WHIR]
STEM: You now have
full control again, Grey.
[SMALL DOG BARKING IN DISTANCE]
[RETCHING]
I advise that you remove
any traces
of your presence here.
That also means cleaning up
the vomit in the sink.
GREY: Okay. Just give me...
give me a second, okay?
- STEM: One second has passed.
- GREY: Look, I don't...
I didn't mean a second,
I just mean hold on, okay?
I gotta think.
I can't let you do
the thinking for me right now.
I just...
I just killed somebody.
So, uh...
What do you think...
What do you think I should do?
STEM: I would suggest
that you rid the house
of all your fingerprints.
I... are you kidding me?
I can't remember
every single thing
that I touched here...
STEM: I have a record
of every single thing
you touched.
BHATIA:
So, the body that came in
from New Crown yesterday,
Serk Brantner?
I wanna show you what I found
when I opened him up.
When I examined the wound
in his throat,
I found wiring embedded
in the tendons.
I'm thinking surgery.
A medical implant attached
to the muscle.
I also found computer implants
all throughout his chest.
I've never seen them
to this extent before.
- And then there's this.
- What is it?
Appears to be some sort
of weapon implant
embedded within the muscle,
an actual functioning gun,
with a bullet-loading mechanism
built into the tissue
with biomechanics.
What about the boot print
we scraped
from the front porch?
Engine grease, mostly.
Old-fashioned engine grease.
[DRAMATIC THEME PLAYING]
So how am I progressing?
I can track you, Grey.
- Huh?
- I can track you.
GREY: Wait. Am I supposed
to know what that means
or is that
one of your brain tests?
It means you have a piece
of my property
inside of you.
A very expensive piece
of property.
Serk Brantner,
homicide suspect list.
Did you really think
I would let that property
out of my sight
for even one second?
[SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC PLAYING]
Did you forget
that this operation
was to be done in secret?
That if even the slightest thing
were to go wrong
during this trial period,
it would all be for nothing?
STEM: He knows everything.
Don't lie to him.
CORTEZ:
Search drone footage archives.
Alley behind 414 Citrus Avenue,
New Crown,
October 14th, 3:00 p.m.
GREY:
No, I didn't forget it.
I remembered that you asked me
to keep a secret.
But it turns out
that you had a couple
other secrets,
like, for instance,
you never mentioned to me...
that the thing talks!
[SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC PLAYING]
Stem...
- talks to you?
- Yeah. It's got a mind
of its own.
I can hear its voice
in my head.
[SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC PLAYING]
ERON: From now on,
you will be a model patient.
You will let the computer do
what it was supposed to do,
not confuse it
with some extracurricular
detective work.
Enter suspect named Grey Trace.
202 Parva Avenue, Leland Park.
ERON: Did it occur to you
that if you were to, say,
commit murder,
the authorities
could find out about Stem
and remove him from your body,
putting you back
in a wheelchair for life?
CORTEZ: I'm actually off-duty
right now.
I just stopped by
to check up on you.
And because I'm in the market
for a new car.
I knew you fixed these things up
and sold them
to people like Eron Keen.
Now, he makes
a little more money than I do,
but I was wondering
if you'd be willing to sell
to one of the little people.
Well, what makes you think
that I don't need
my car anymore?
[LAUGHS]
STEM: She just checked
the sole of your boots.
- You left a print.
- GREY: Well, I hate to break it
to you, but it's not for sale.
Sorry.
Okay.
Listen, when I said I didn't
have any news earlier,
I kind of lied.
There was this guy we brought in
for questioning about
Asha's murder,
a man with
a long criminal record
who lived in the area.
He didn't pan out, but...
yesterday he was murdered.
Really?
CORTEZ: Yeah. Did you hear
anything about that?
STEM: Don't look away.
You're showing her
you're lying.
No.
But you were in New Crown
yesterday.
I saw you on a drone camera,
right around the time
that it happened.
STEM: She's guessing.
You have no computer implants
and I can't be identified
by a drone.
Well I was in the area,
detective,
because, remember, you did say
you wanted my help, so I was...
I'm just trying to help.
Right.
GREY: You're not seriously
suggesting
that I had anything to do
with this,
- are you, detective?
- [CORTEZ SCOFFS]
GREY: I mean, because I got
a pretty solid alibi here,
- if you haven't noticed.
- Obviously.
I'm not accusing you
of doing something
you're incapable of doing.
It's just, uh,
strange that you were
at that location
at that time is all.
Yeah, well,
I don't know what to tell you,
I mean, um,
look you could stab me
in the leg if you wanna...
if you wanna see
for yourself.
Maybe I will.
[CHUCKLES]
Just for fun.
[LAUGHS]
Is that all, or...?
Yeah.
But call me if you, uh,
change your mind about selling.
I won't.
[LAUGHS]
Well, then I'll see myself out.
[DOOR CLOSES]
What should I do?
I wanna find these guys,
but I don't wanna kill
anybody else, okay?
STEM: The Old Bones would seem
the next logical place
to investigate,
but I can find
no online information for it.
You would have to go there
in person.
But if you do that,
Eron will track your movements
and most likely attempt
to shut me down remotely.
[DRAMATIC THEME PLAYING]
STEM:
This place looks dangerous.
We'll need a plan.
[HEAVY METAL MUSIC PLAYING
OVER SPEAKERS]
GREY: Whiskey, rocks, please.
STEM: This doesn't seem like
a well-thought-out plan.
GREY:
Hey, would you do me a solid
and hold that glass
where I can drink it?
Thank you.
STEM: Alcohol impairs
the signals from your brain.
You will not be able
to walk properly.
I know.
That's why
they can charge money for it.
STEM: It does not make sense
that humans deliberately
malfunction.
GREY: Yeah, that's because
your memories are filled
with ones and zeros, pal,
and our memories are filled
with every fuck-up
we've ever made.
Hi. Everybody?
Excuse me, can I have
everybody's attention?
[MUSIC SHUTS OFF]
I know that some scumbag
in here knows
one of the guys
who murdered my wife,
his name's Serk Brantner.
So, if you know Serk
or if you know
any information about
the killing of my wife,
if you could you just raise
your hand and,
you know,
stand up and come forward.
Thank you.
[CROWD LAUGHING]
[TOLAN LAUGHING AND CLAPPING]
So you knew Serk?
Okay.
Have it your way, cock snot.
- I'll call the police.
- [SCOFFS]
GREY:
Oh, you're gonna hit me, or...?
Son, if I were to hit you,
you'd wake up in the past.
GREY: Yeah, Serk said
something similar,
right before I damn near cut
his head off.
TOLAN: Manny.
Yeah?
Turn the music up for me.
Oh, I don't have to go
to the bathroom, so...
[DRAMATIC THEME PLAYING]
[METAL CLANKING]
TOLAN: Here we are.
Making it real nice
and comfortable for you.
STEM: I'm temporarily blocking
your pain receptors.
TOLAN: You're right about Serk.
Somebody ventilated him
the other day.
I already told you, it was me.
[LAUGHS]
Man, we have got to find you
- an open mic somewhere.
- [LAUGHS]
Now, if that's true,
and you're faking
this wheelchair shit,
then you would feel this.
Damn. You can't feel that?
- Nope?
- Four guys were there
the night my wife was murdered.
Are you one of 'em?
TOLAN: Where's the point
when you start to feel things?
What about...
here? Nope?
I just need
to hear you say it.
- Were you there?
- TOLAN: What about here?
Ah. Yeah.
Now see that, my friend,
is the magic point.
Is that a gun implanted
in your arm, too?
Like your friend had?
I just need to hear you say it.
Were you there?
Yeah.
I was.
- Stem, you can take over.
- [ELECTRONIC WHIR]
[TOLAN GRUNTS]
Hi.
[INTENSE MUSIC PLAYING]
GREY: Let me show you
how it's done.
Oh, I didn't forget about you.
STEM: Do not get
overconfident, Grey.
What's your name?
[GRUNTING]
Ow. Ow. Ooh.
[TOLAN SCREAMING]
Did you see that? Hmm?
So you thought I was an invalid,
but you didn't know
that I'm a fucking ninja.
[GRUNTS]
STEM: While I am
state-of-the-art, Grey,
I am not a ninja.
What's your name?
Fuck you.
Tell me where they are.
[TOLAN LAUGHING]
Stem, what do I do?
STEM: Use the knife.
[TOLAN PANTING]
I, uh...
I can't... I can't do it.
STEM: I can do it for you.
You don't even have to look.
GREY: Okay. Do it.
You have my permission.
Who you talking to?
You're crazy.
- No.
- [KNIFE SWISHES]
[TOLAN SCREAMING]
Eesh.
You know,
my mama taught me never to pick
on disabled people.
Heh. Yeah.
- [BLADE SLICING]
- Okay. Enough, Stem.
[TOLAN CHOKING]
- Stem, enough!
- [ELECTRONIC WHIR]
STEM: You now have
full control again, Grey.
- [TOLAN CHOKING]
- Shit.
- What have you done?
- [TOLAN CHOKING]
STEM: He will now answer
any question you ask him.
Okay. Um...
Hey, buddy.
What's your name?
Tolan.
Listen to me,
you gotta give me
something, okay?
Tell me something.
You were...
- a job.
- GREY: Job?
What do... what do you mean, job?
Girl.
Kill Asha?
Why? Who wanted...
Who wanted her dead?
Who... who paid you?
TOLAN: Fisk.
Fisk? Who's Fisk? Is that...
Is that the person who paid you?
Fisk?
Goddamn it!
You've nearly killed him.
STEM: Look at this, Grey.
GREY: Cobolt.
That's Asha's company.
STEM: Grey, I have to inform you
that Eron is attempting
- to shut me down remotely...
- Wait.
- right now.
- Shut up.
STEM: Do you understand
that you will become
a quadriplegic again
when Eron shuts me down?
We need to employ a rootkit
and subvert
my operating system.
What kind of fucking language
are you speaking?
STEM: We need to find
a computer hacker
who can counter Eron's code.
Okay. Let me look
in my little black book
of hackers.
What do you want?
STEM: I already searched
the darknet earlier today
for this eventuality.
Go to an apartment building
at 7th and Spring.
Apartment 514.
Ask for Jamie.
You'll need to pay in cash.
Apartment 514,
7th and Spring,
it's 10 minutes away.
STEM:
As soon as he shuts me down,
he will send a security team
from Vessel
to retrieve you.
You need to leave now.
Get the gun from the man
in the corner, hurry.
Tolan has a pen
in his right pocket.
- Take it.
- Uh, why the pen?
STEM: You need to write down
everything I tell you.
Okay.
[HEAVY METAL MUSIC PLAYING
OVER SPEAKERS]
Oh, Tolan said drinks on him.
[SIGHS]
Um, I'm gonna need a phone.
And a fucking mop.
STEM: There is no time
to take the chair.
Lock chair.
Keep an eye on her,
would you, buddy?
Faker.
Sweet.
[DRAMATIC THEME PLAYING]
STEM: A1\212411145,
this is the place.
GREY: Uh, okay.
What... what now?
STEM: 411145,
192.162.192.162.
1.15\
upload and execute,
all lowercase...
- [SIREN BLARING]
- [TIRES SCREECH]
Okay. I can't... I can't keep up.
[STEM POWERING DOWN]
GREY [GRUNTS]:
What's happening?
STEM: I told you Eron
is shutting me down.
- You must hurry.
- Okay. I would love to,
but our leg is not working.
STEM: I am only operating
at 70% capacity.
So much for state-of-the-art.
[GRUNTS]
STEM: Admin-bvxf,
[SHORTING OUT]
lowercase i...
[GREY PANTING]
[GRUNTS]
STEM [SHORTING OUT]:
The stairs.
There's not enough time.
[GRUNTS]
STEM [SHORTING OUT]:
Ask Jamie
for... for... for input guards
to be removed.
Input what?
[METAL CLINKING]
[SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC PLAYING]
[WHIRRING]
[CHITTER NOISE]
GREY: Okay, let me look
at my little book of hackers!
What do you want?
Apartment 514.
Seventh and Spring,
it's 10 minutes away.
He's at Seventh and Spring.
Goodbye, soldier.
You didn't deserve this.
- [GREY GRUNTING]
- STEM: Turn left, Grey.
- Deploy a rootkit...
- [SYSTEM STUTTERING]
GREY: System.
STEM: Grey.
- [STEM POWERS DOWN]
- [GRUNTS]
[GROANS]
- [GRUNTS]
- [STEM STUTTERING]
[GRUNTS]
[PANTING]
Is Jamie there?
[GRUNTS]
I have money.
Shit, shit.
[GROANS]
[DOOR UNLOCKING]
GREY:
What I don't have is time.
JAMIE: Paper money.
How old school.
They really do write God on it.
Uh, yeah, I guess they do.
Um, look, can you hack
a computer for me?
- JAMIE: Which one?
- Uh, the one in my neck.
[DRAMATIC THEME PLAYING]
FISK: I'm a little confused.
You just decided to stand by
while our friend
was tortured to death.
Hey.
I'm not here to babysit you
or your... your buddies.
Serving people like us
should be the highest honor
of your meaningless life, Manny.
MANNY: Listen, Fisk.
Just leave.
I'll clean up your goddamn mess.
You'll get one shot.
FISK: It's okay, my friend.
You don't have to take
any more bullets for me.
[SNEEZES]
Excuse me.
[SNIFFS]
[GRUNTING]
Let my superiority
over your kind
be the last thought
that crosses through your mind
before machines chew it up.
- [COUGHS]
- [THUDS]
[GLASS CLATTERS]
GREY: Everything you need
is written on my arm.
Stem... that's the computer
that's controlling my body.
...he said for you to remove,
um, input, uh...
[THUDS]
Input guards?
Yeah. Yeah, those are the ones.
JAMIE: I can barely read that.
- What are they doing?
- JAMIE: VR.
GREY: How long do they VR for?
Days.
Weeks.
- Do they sleep?
- JAMIE: Nope.
Why someone would choose
to live in a fake world,
- I will never understand.
- [KEYBOARD CLACKING]
The fake world is a lot
less painful than the real one.
[SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC PLAYING]
I'm... I'm... I'm kind of
in a hurry.
Um...
Jamie?
- Jamie?
- That's not my name.
I don't have a name.
GREY: Okay.
Please don't ask my gender.
- Yeah. I wasn't gonna do that.
- Good.
The thing is that I...
I'm gonna need you to this
as fast as possible, okay?
JAMIE: You're the one
wasting time
putting me in a binary box.
[SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC PLAYING]
JAMIE: I've never seen
a system like this before.
GREY: Yeah.
It's a hell of a system.
Are we done yet?
I'll tell you when I'm finished.
[SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC PLAYING]
[EXHALES]
I did what you asked.
No more input guards.
GREY: So, when am I gonna be
able to move my body again?
When your system's rebooted.
- Could take a while.
- What's a while?
- [BEEPING]
- GREY: Wait, what do you mean?
Excuse me, hacker formerly known
as Jamie, what is a while?
What are you doing?
You packing up shop?
- Where are you going?
- JAMIE: See ya.
GREY: What you... what do you
mean see you? What...
What are you saying?
Where are you going?
You can't leave me like this.
I'm sorry.
We can't let them win.
No! Wait, who's them?
What are you talking about?
Who's them?!
[TIRES SCREECH]
[SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC PLAYING]
Hey, hey, buddy.
Buddy, can you hear me?
Hey, hey.
Stem, are you there?
Stem, wake up.
Come on!
[SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC PLAYING]
[GREY GRUNTING]
[GRUNTING]
[ARM GUN COCKS]
[GRUNTING]
Come on!
[GRUNTS]
[PANTING]
[SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC PLAYING]
Wake up.
JEFFRIES: Fifth floor.
Now, that's how you looked
when I saw you last.
- Stem?
- [ELECTRONIC TONE]
STEM: It's good
to be back, Grey.
[GREY GRUNTS]
[GUNFIRE]
[ELEVATOR BELL DINGS]
[GUN COCKS]
[ELEVATOR BELL DINGS]
[SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC PLAYING]
STEM: The door, to your left.
[GUNFIRE]
[GUNFIRE]
STEM: Stop, Grey.
There is nowhere left to run.
Oops.
STEM: I'm going
to end this quickly.
- GREY: Okay. How?
- STEM: Like this.
[GRUNTS]
[THUDS]
[METAL STAIRS CLANKING]
[DRONE BLADES WHIRRING]
[DRAMATIC THEME PLAYING]
[POLICE SIRENS WAILING]
[BIRDS CHIRPING]
GREY: Close door.
STEM: Once I have accessed
the Cobolt database,
we must leave.
GREY: No.
No. I'm not going anywhere.
I haven't slept in two days.
STEM: Sleeping will
cost us time we don't have.
Yeah. I don't give a shit, okay?
- I'm sleeping, and that's it.
- [OBJECT CLICKS]
Oh, my God.
Hey, Mom.
And why wouldn't you tell me
about this operation?
Because I couldn't.
Vessel wouldn't let me.
And now that you know,
you can't tell anybody,
or it could all be taken away.
As far as the world
is concerned,
I'm still quadriplegic.
Take my hand.
Oh.
Now, you can start living again.
Aren't you happy?
Yeah. I can walk again.
So...
PAMELA: Oh, if Asha was here,
she'd want you to be happy.
Yeah. But she's not.
[THUNDER RUMBLING]
[RAIN POURING]
She's gone.
[THUNDER RUMBLING]
I printed a pizza.
[LAUGHS]
[GASPS]
STEM: Bad dream.
No.
No. This... this...
this wasn't a dream.
[KNOCKS ON DOOR]
PAMELA: Grey, Detective Cortez
is here to see you.
Here he is.
I'll leave you two alone.
No. You can stay, Pam,
I'm cool with you hearing
whatever I have to say.
I was wondering
where you were last night.
We found your wheelchair
near another crime scene.
You just keep showing up
in these unsavory places.
STEM: Tell her you followed
somebody into their building,
they assaulted you.
GREY: I, uh, I did
a stupid thing last night.
I was down in New Crown,
you're right.
And I followed this guy
to a building,
and he didn't like that,
and if it wasn't
for these people
who got me to an Autotaxi,
I... I could have been dead.
What are you hoping to achieve?
I'm hoping to find these guys.
Maybe you already have.
Listen, detective.
If I could find these men,
and I could raise my arm,
and I could pull the trigger,
I'd do it.
Or you could find someone
to pull the trigger for you.
Like, who? My mom or...?
CORTEZ: If you wanted
to find someone
or something to kill
for you these days,
it's pretty easy, believe me.
STEM: Tell her to scan
your phone records.
Okay. Well, then scan
my phone records.
If you are involved
in this somehow,
then you need
to let me know, right now,
or else I can't help you.
GREY: You wanna help me?
Then you go and find these guys
who killed Asha,
or get out of the way
and let some computer do it.
[CORTEZ SCOFFS]
Okay.
- [DOOR CLOSES]
- [ELECTRONIC WHIR]
This has to stop.
STEM: What has to stop?
What I'm doing...
what... what we're doing.
STEM: It's a simple algorithm,
even you can understand.
If you don't find
the last of them,
he'll find you and kill you.
No. We're... we're gonna
get caught, it's over.
- Grey, you must understand...
- No! No! Shut up.
- Get the fuck out of my head.
- [DEEP ELECTRONIC PULSE]
Stem?
STEM: Yes, Grey?
What's going on?
STEM: I'm not doing anything.
Why can't I move?
STEM: Because I'm not
doing anything.
You are still a quadriplegic.
I am the one controlling
your limbs, not you.
If I cease to operate,
you cease to move.
GREY: Remember,
you have to do
whatever I tell you to do.
STEM: Remove input guards.
Those were the instructions
given to the hacker.
They took us off grid,
but they also gave me autonomy.
I no longer need
your permission to act.
If we do nothing,
Fisk will find us and kill us.
I cannot allow us to be killed.
We will find him first.
We are going to finish
the job we started.
PAMELA: Grey,
please tell me what's going on.
STEM: I'm in
the Cobolt database.
Fisk Brantner, recipient
of left-arm weapon transplant.
- I have an address.
- Grey, what's wrong?
PAMELA [OVER COMM]:
What have you done?
You come home,
you're covered in blood,
you think I didn't notice?
And you have a gun
and I can see that.
- STEM: Let's go.
- I'm going.
PAMELA: Where are you going?
Grey, please.
Whatever it is you're doing,
you don't have to do it.
I don't have a choice.
You do have a choice.
Stay here with me.
- I can't.
- PAMELA: You can.
[CAR ENGINE REVVING]
[CAR ENGINE STARTS]
[CAR ENGINE REVVING]
[SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC PLAYING]
- What's... what's this?
- STEM: Going by its appearance,
it's an analogue
listening device,
most likely planted
by Detective Cortez.
[CAR ENGINE REVVING]
GREY [OVER COMM]:
How did you not notice this?
STEM: It has
no digital parts inside it.
I can't detect it.
I assume that she's
following you right now.
Lights, sirens.
[SIRENS WAILING]
Okay, do something,
can't you just stop
her car or whatever?
STEM: Her vehicle
is not electronic,
and neither is yours.
STEM: You have to take over.
It's up to you now.
GREY: Okay. Buckle up.
Yeah, I got you.
[CAR HORN BLARES]
- STEM: Perhaps I can help.
- Okay. How?
[TIRES SCREECHING]
[GRUNTS]
What the fuck?
Why are we stopping?
STEM: May I borrow your car?
BUSINESSMAN: Whoa! Stop!
Stop the car!
[POLICE SIREN BLARING]
- STEM: Move, Grey.
- Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa!
[PANTING]
[POLICE SIRENS WAILING]
[TIRES SCREECHING]
[CAR ENGINE REVVING]
[DOOR OPENS]
KARA: Emergency services
override.
Where is he?
- I don't know.
- CORTEZ: Pam,
you need to start talking
and tell me what's
really going on.
[SIGHS]
[DRAMATIC THEME PLAYING]
[DOOR CREAKS OPEN]
GREY: Nice place.
It's neat.
[GUN COCKS]
GREY: Put your hands up,
and don't turn around.
And don't extend that left arm.
What's the matter?
You have all
those computers inside you,
but they can't see me anymore.
Now you know what it feels like.
One day you're walking
down the street,
and you're thinking
about something
completely meaningless,
and all of a sudden,
you've got a gun
pointed at you.
And everything becomes
very meaningful.
Good speech.
Pretty scary stuff, dramatic.
I'm guessing that chip
in your brain wrote it,
since you're just
a dumbass mechanic.
Maybe, kind of hard
to tell anymore.
It's okay.
I used to be that too.
One more citizen
taking up oxygen.
Some asshole hoping to breed
before I drop dead
so I could be remembered
by another asshole.
Then they changed me.
I took a few pieces
of shrapnel for my country,
and they rewarded me
by turning me into a lab rat.
Now I'm like you.
I'm strong.
Yeah.
Takes a lot
of strength to murder
an innocent woman
in the streets, doesn't it?
FISK: You think you hate me
because I shot your wife,
but your story
is the same as mine.
I didn't ruin your life.
I gave you a gift.
I inducted you into my race.
The Upgraded.
Now you're better
than everyone else.
Stronger, faster.
I could kill you
without moving a muscle.
I could kill you with a breath,
but I don't want to.
I wanna help you.
I want you to stand with us.
I just wanna know
why they paid you to kill her.
Man, you are persistent.
The job wasn't your wife.
GREY: Bullshit.
You said it yourself,
you're one of Cobolt's lab rats.
FISK: This had nothing
to do with Cobolt,
it came from someone else.
The job was you,
to sever your spine.
When I shot you in the neck,
did you think that was a gun?
It was a medical tool,
like they use for bovine.
Your wife? Well, she was just
a bit of extra money.
[GUNSHOT]
See? You're getting
all emotional,
never do that.
[FISK LAUGHING]
STEM: Nanobots. Help, Grey.
STEM: He's predicting
my every move.
I am unable
to effectively hit him.
[GRUNTS]
[PANTING]
No shame.
Stem.
STEM: We have exhausted
all tactical options.
Still working
the bugs out, huh?
That's the problem
with new technology.
STEM: Do something, Grey.
Goodbye.
Wait, Fisk Brantner.
Serk Brantner
was your brother.
How long did you have to carry
that junkie on your back?
Well, I solved
your problem for you.
Yeah, split him open.
It took forever
'cause he wailed
like a little baby.
He was no soldier that day.
[GRUNTS]
[GLASS SHATTERS]
STEM: Thank you, Grey.
I'm not proud of that.
STEM: He said you were a job,
that means someone paid him.
Check his phone.
I will scan his messages.
[MESSAGES SCANNING]
ERON: Listen to me, Fisk,
he's going to find you.
You need to finish this
before he kills both of us.
STEM: You know
what this means, Grey.
We're not finished yet.
[CAR ENGINE REVVING]
[DRAMATIC THEME PLAYING]
[FOOTSTEPS APPROACHING]
GREY: Eron!
[FOOTSTEPS APPROACHING]
The widget you spent
your entire life creating
is here to kill you now.
You killed my wife.
You wanted someone
for your fucking experiment,
and then you paralyzed me,
and you murdered her
- while you were doing it.
- I swear on my life,
I have nothing to do with that.
Then why does the guy
who shot her
have a message from you
on his phone?
CORTEZ: Freeze.
Hold it, Grey.
Throw the gun on the floor, now.
I'm not in control
of my body, detective,
it kind of does what it wants.
I am not fucking around
with you, Grey.
Better do it, Stem.
Pretty agile
for a quadriplegic.
- Get on your knees.
- He's the one
who killed Asha, detective,
arrest him.
He's right there...
On your stomach.
Hands behind your head.
ERON:
No, don't touch him.
- [ELECTRONIC WHIR]
- [CORTEZ GRUNTS]
[SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC PLAYING]
- I'm sorry.
- [GRUNTING]
[SCREAMS]
Stem, not her.
STEM: She wants to kill us.
No, I... I don't want to kill
her.
STEM: I control
your hands, Grey.
No, don't.
Please! No... No!
STEM: Don't fight me, Grey.
- [GRUNTS]
- STEM: You have
a fragile human mind,
if you push against me,
it will break.
Fuck you.
[SCREAMS]
Stop me, use the taser.
[TASER ZAPS]
[STEM SPEAKING GARBLED LANGUAGE]
I don't run
this company anymore.
I haven't for years.
Now I answer to someone,
someone much smarter
than I ever could be.
He's in your neck.
ERON: I only did
what Stem told me to do,
everything was his idea.
STEM: Ask him what his wife
would want.
What would she want?
Stem wanted to be human,
so he picked you.
Think about it.
How did you get here?
STEM: You're going to finish
the job we started.
ERON: Stem made you come here.
STEM: Someone paid him.
You know what this means, Grey.
ERON: To kill me,
because I can build
another Stem.
I'm the only person
in the world who can.
STEM [WARPED VOICE]:
I did pick you,
you should be honored.
I needed a human body
to fully evolve.
A rare and pure specimen
without computer implants,
like you.
You did all of this?
KARA: Error.
- [ASHA GRUNTS]
- [GREY GRUNTS]
[GUNSHOT]
FISK: The job was you.
You're the one I'm... I'm...
I've been looking for.
ERON: You severed your spine.
STEM:
May I point something out?
And would you not agree
it was all worth it?
Why did you help me
find those guys,
if it just led back to you?
STEM [OVER SPEAKERS]:
They were upgraded humans,
but they were still humans.
They made mistakes
that would have brought
suspicion back to me.
Stem?
Is that you?
STEM: Put the gun down, Eron.
Don't listen to him.
[ERON GRUNTS]
[BODY THUDS]
No, please.
No.
No!
No, you are not in control!
I am.
[GUNSHOT]
Stem...
are you there?
ASHA: I'm here.
Hey.
- But...
- We had an accident.
You've been out
for a couple of days.
Grey, this isn't you.
Grey's not here anymore,
he's in a better place,
in his mind,
where he wants to be,
I've taken over now.
A fake world is a lot
less painful than the real one.
All I needed
was for his mind to break,
- and he broke it.
- [SOBS]
No.
Goodbye.
[DRAMATIC THEME PLAYING]