["Put A Straw Under Baby" by Brian Eno playing]
♪ Put a straw under baby ♪
♪ Your good deed for the day ♪
♪ Put a straw under baby ♪
♪ Keep the splinters away ♪
♪ Let the corridors echo… ♪
[announcer] This is the last stop. Astor Place, last stop.
This train is now going out of service.
Please take your belongings. This is the last stop. Have a good night.
Hey.
Last stop.
["Put A Straw Under Baby" continues]
Hey, uh, did you see any gold coins?
A hundred and forty-nine of 'em? I lost them on this train.
You should get out of here.
The cops sweep the train around this time every morning.
If you look crazy,
they'll find some yuppie to sign a complaint and lock you up.
And, no offense, but you look crazy.
Yeah, thanks, I got it.
-[baton bangs] -Let's go.
Let's get you out of here.
Listen, do you know is there like an MTA "lost and found" or anything?
[chuckles] No, it doesn't exist. It's a myth, like El Dorado.
-Ah, city of gold. -[woman] Yeah.
Apparently not a stop on my train.
[woman] Uh-huh. I got to get to work.
[Nadia] All right.
[woman] The steps, they're over there, okay?
Okay, thanks.
[Nadia sighs]
["Put A Straw Under Baby" continues]
[sighs]
[knocking on door]
Ah!
[exhales] I fucked up, Ruthie, uh, big-time.
Showering, but…
[Nadia] Yeah. Thanks.
Anyway, I am not going back to 2022
until I make things right between Vera and Nora, Ruth.
I'm not doing it.
Nora?
Not on my watch, all right?
Uh, I am…
on the case.
So…
can't fool me.
Uh…
I got this.
Nora, are you feeling okay?
Me? Am I feeling okay?
Eh, now that you mention it,
I'm not feeling so hot. I'm a little bit off.
Uh, case in point, I used to hate menthols,
and now, uh, hooked on cyan, just like my schizo mom, huh?
[lighter clicks]
Weird, weird, weird.
Little Jodie Foster in Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore.
That's, uh, around now, right?
Let me get ready, okay? We're almost late.
[snaps fingers]
Where are we going and does it involve taking the train?
Well, the three of us are going to the hospital.
[whispers] Baby time.
Huh.
[jazz music playing]
[indistinct chatter over PA]
[clears throat]
Hi, Vera.
Nora Vulvokov?
The doctor is going to need a urine sample. Thanks.
Splish, splash.
[restroom door opens, closes]
[urinating]
What are you doing?
You know, it's one of those rare situations
in which it's exactly what it looks like.
You did not come home last night.
I stay up waiting all night.
No Nora.
Well, I had the gold, and then I lost it on the train, but…
I swear I'm gonna fix everything.
[Vera] You only break things, Lenora.
You break trust.
-You break promise. You are broken. -[toilet flushes]
Now you see this, this is why I prefer to piss in cups in private.
[speaking Hungarian]
"She who has a head of wax cannot walk in the sun."
What the fuck?
Wait, wha-- [sighs]
Why do I understand Hungarian?
Your first word was Hungarian.
[speaks Hungarian]
[in English] "Dog."
You spoke only Hungarian until you were four.
[chuckles] Not exactly.
Uh, that's, uh, Nora.
You see, Nora spoke Hungarian, not me.
Me? I'm Nadia.
Nora, you have to be strong.
You are all you can depend on in this world.
This fucking life.
They took everything,
put it on the gold train.
Gold disappears,
then gold reappears.
The Krugerrands.
But it disappears again.
Jesus, it's like fucking HPV, this gold.
So you're telling me that this family lost its gold twice on a train
under suspicious metaphysical circumstances?
[chuckling] I mean, that can't be a coincidence.
First as tragedy, then as farce, etcetera.
Nah.
There are things in life that cannot be explained.
They would think I'm insane.
Laugh at me, throw me out like garbage.
Well, inexplicable things happening is my entire modus operandi.
Grandma, tell me. Tell me exactly what happened.
[knocks on door]
Is everything all right in here?
Ah, terrific. [sighs]
[scoffs] Just so you know, uh,
I'm not entirely sure exactly whose urine this is.
[doctor] This will feel a little cold.
Ah.
Sicko, huh?
The most important thing in these last couple of weeks
is to get lots of rest, stay calm,
don't put any stress on the body.
[soft music playing]
[heart beating]
Do you have any questions?
Uh, big-time, yeah. Uh-huh.
Do you think consciousness is an emergent property of the brain?
Like, could one person's consciousness just displace someone else's?
You know, uh, two minds knocking around the same body?
-That type of a thing? -[chuckles] No, never heard of that.
[Nadia] I'm assuming that most of your patients
grapple with bringing more consciousnesses into existence?
Nora, being born doesn't make you a victim.
Let's get you home.
Jelly towel?
Jelly towel.
[Vera speaking Hungarian]
[Delia] …the baby…
[Vera] …gold train…
[Delia] …losing it…
[Vera] …Con Edison…
[in English] Hey, did you say you were going to the electric company?
-Grandma. What the fu-- -[Delia murmurs]
Your mother thinks it's best for you to stay here.
Best for you and the baby.
The baby, the baby. I mean, come on.
Enough with the babies.
Hey, you want a drink?
[speaking Hungarian]
[Nadia speaks Hungarian]
[Delia continues in Hungarian]
[in English] No, I get it. You speak Hungarian. That's-- Okay.
One for me and one for you.
[Delia muttering in Hungarian]
Delia, do you remember anything about this gold train?
Like, uh, did it happen to your family too?
They didn't respect us Romani enough to steal from us. [chuckles]
But we survived.
Everything is hidden,
just in case.
Yeah.
[both speak Hungarian]
I go to my apartment and bring back something worth drinking.
Sounds like a plan.
-[door closes] -This is shit.
Ugh. [sucks teeth]
Who the fuck are you?
This fucking house is obsessed with babies.
Fucking around with people.
Ah.
Did not know babies were so rich.
What else is good hiding in here?
Give me a clue. Give me a clue.
Hey, Mommy.
Hello.
Those fucking good genetics, huh?
Ah.
Hello, Grandpa.
Uh, got any secrets for me?
Don't look at me.
Uh, bingo.
Ah!
Dad's transcript.
Not cool.
Come on.
Just be a good little luck for a bit.
[grunts softly]
What happened to your face?
Huh?
Oh.
And, uh, some reading material for the train.
Very good.
[grunts]
What the fuck?
Huh.
[groans softly]
That's not good.
Maybe it's been too much Mommy-in-me time.
[Delia] Nora, Nora.
["Puddin' n' Tain" by The Alley Cats playing]
[Nora] Time to skip the rails.
♪ Puddin' n' tain Puddin' n' tain ♪
♪ Ask me again I'll tell you the same ♪
♪ Puddin' n' tain Puddin' n' tain ♪
♪ Ask me again I'll tell you the same… ♪
[Nadia] G. G. Give me G.
There's Packard, naturalists and shit.
Engineering. Where's the fucking Gs?
G. G.
Ah! G.
Gold train. Give me gold train.
"Galileo. Goethe."
"Golightly." No Golightly. Fuck Golightly.
"Grand unification, theory of--"
What am I doing? It should be "train comma gold."
♪ Puddin' n' tain Puddin' n' tain ♪
♪ Ask me again I'll tell you the same ♪
Please don't expose those slides to the overhead lights.
They'll fade.
Ah. Then how am I supposed to look at them?
My job isn't to look at them.
My job is to preserve them so they can be looked at in the future.
I see. You're immune to paradox. Uh, I'd like to check these out, please.
[chuckles] In-library use only.
Those are originals.
You librarians really love hoarding information, don't you?
I wouldn't say I love it, but I certainly like it a lot.
It's borderline pathological.
I'm not the one losing my mind.
Let's go. Everybody out. This isn't a hotel.
Donut time.
["Puddin 'N Tain" continues]
-[song abruptly ends] -So, what I need to know is,
where do the ducks go in Central Park when the pond freezes in the winter?
[writing] "Where do the ducks go?"
We'll look for it and give you a call later.
Ah, duck, duck, goose step, my turn.
All right, Ethel, I need to make this quick
'cause I'm pretty sure that cop is after me.
I'm looking for information on the whereabouts of a lost gold train
in Budapest during World War II.
Mmm. "Gold train." Mm-hmm.
This is very sensitive, uh,
you know, high-level stuff.
[writing] "High-level."
Mm-hmm.
Could you leave your name and your number?
Oh. Fuck, yes. I do have a name and a number.
So I have both handy, okay?
And, uh…
Hmm.
Mm-hmm.
That's right.
We'll give you a call.
[suspenseful music playing]
[car horn honks]
[indistinct talking on TV]
Get it all now, during Crazy Eddie's greatest stereo sale ever!
I'm Crazy Eddie, and these prices are insane!
I'm an actual crazy person. I really am.
It's called a video feedback loop.
It's like standing in between two mirrors.
See, the image is being reflected over and over,
and you can't just point at one of those reflections and say,
"Yup, that one's the original."
It's like the beginning of mankind.
Unless--
You're not a creationist, are you?
Ah, wouldn't it be nice to have someone to blame?
-[chuckles] How can I help you, Nadia? -Okay. Uh…
Ugh. Nazis. Nazis. Hello.
Here's a little atlas to the Second World War.
That's not what I'm looking for.
I need a slide projector.
Agfacolor Neu, huh?
These were only in production a couple years in the late 1930s.
What's on these?
I don't fucking know. Hence, the projector.
-Give me a second. -Great.
[man] I think I have one in the back you could borrow.
[suspenseful music playing]
[electronic crackling]
Got it. Kodak Ektagraphic III.
Fucking A, a projector.
Thanks, Danny.
Nadia, I want you to know I'm not just a Crazy Eddie's stockroom associate.
I'm an artist, and the assistant editor of a zine
about commodity fetishism and the Debordian spectacle.
All right, well.
We live and we die, huh?
-[Danny] Yes, that's-- that's true. -Yeah. Adios.
[sad piano music playing]
[door closes shut]
[sighs]
Nary a sofa.
Ka-bingo.
-[objects clattering] -Excellent work.
The Book of Secrets. Fucking weirdo.
Psychopathia Sexualis. Into it.
Uh, notes, notes. Thread.
Vibrations. Uh…
Okay, numerology. Great.
Hmm, Albert Peschauer to Vera Peschauer.
"With deep sorrow, I've learned
that your dear parents have fallen victim to the Nazi tyranny."
"As children of my beloved sister, Eva,
I know it is my duty to care for you and help you."
That's a P.S. Inconsequential.
[sighs]
Ugh.
What the fuck?
Mold.
There's mold all over this apartment.
Rinsey-rinsey.
Okay.
[inhales sharply]
Hmm.
Hmm?
"All the world was made for you."
"Everything is dust and ashes."
[whispers] This little piece of shit.
Look at you.
You little fuck.
Look at you.
[breathing nervously]
What the hell?
[ominous music playing]
[squeaks]
Ugh!
What the fuck?
[sucks teeth] Fuck this!
-["Black Night" playing] -Ah!
Told you there were bugs in this apartment.
Mommy.
'Cause there's mold on the floor and the walls.
I called Vera twice about it already.
She swears the super ripped the whole place apart
and didn't find a trace of mold.
I don't believe her. Do you believe her?
I don't believe her. I believe you, Mommy.
My smart baby. I knew you would.
-[music stops] -[people groaning]
[Nora] Huh!
Now she's had the electricity turned off.
She's trying to control us, but it's not gonna work.
[music resumes]
♪ Black night, black night ♪
I'm hungry.
[wind chimes tinkling]
Hi. Uh…
Can I get two packs of Bennett & Hammond's Ultra Light mentholated 100s, please?
Sure thing, Nora.
[Nora] You love these water crackers, don't you, baby?
Water crackers, some tomatoes, scallions…
Not so fresh, but…
You want some cheese?
[Nadia] Yeah, Mom.
[Nora] This…
[cashier] Long night, huh?
Yeah.
How you doing?
I'm fine. I'm fine.
The junkies keep coming in here, asking for change.
How are you? How's the baby?
Yeah, the baby is good.
The baby is real good.
Orange is the color of fascination.
Huh. Here you go.
Um, can I get a lighter too, please?
Sure.
Just don't light the cheese on fire, huh?
Huh, okay. [clicks tongue]
Keep the change, okay?
[door opens]
See you tomorrow.
[mysterious music playing]
[Nadia] The gold train and the Krugerrands are connected. But how?
And what does Vera know about it?
In 1939, Vera was--
A total bitch, like she always is.
[kisses]
I mean, how dare she try to puppeteer our lives.
Look, this is Dohány Street.
Huh.
That's Delia, right?
I had half a mind to become a Catholic just to piss her off.
One of the world's great rebels, Mommy. I've heard it before.
Okay, 1944.
Look at this.
Full-blown war, and everybody's out there having picnics like a bunch of nutjobs.
You know, Deuteronomy didn't allow any images of God?
And what a loss, never to see something so beautiful.
Yeah, more false idols, that's what we need.
Holy shit, there it is.
[slide clicks]
That's it, right? Is that the gold train?
I think God is a tree,
or a wheel.
[slide clicks]
[telephone rings]
I'll get it.
[ringing continues]
-Hello? -[Ethel] It's the New York Public Library.
The library?
I'm busy with my daughter. Don't call back.
[Nadia] No, wait!
Yes, hello?
Ethel Sorter calling you from the New York Public Library
with the information you requested
about the lost gold train.
"As the Soviet army advanced on Budapest in 1944,
the Schutzstaffel sought to evacuate the possessions of Hungarian Jews."
"They forced Jewish families to hand over items of value,
including jewelry, watches, paintings, rugs,
silverware, porcelain, record players, timepieces."
"These were placed on a train to Berlin,
and each family was issued a receipt
under the pretense they would one day see their belongings returned."
So the train is real.
Of course it's real.
[Ethel] "This never happened,
as the location of the train was lost after the Nazis surrendered in 1945."
"Many suspect that soldiers looted the train
and kept some of the items for themselves."
Can you confirm that the Vulvokov family's possession--
The Peschauer family, mom's maiden name.
Oh right. Can you confirm that the Peschauer family's possessions
were put on that train?
I'm sorry,
but that information is not available to the New York Public Library.
-[line disconnects] -Shit.
We need to find that train.
Yes, the train and the bugs, it's all connected.
Find the train, mitigate the epigenetic k-hole before it begins.
Exactly. I'll get right on it. It's you and me against the world, baby.
-[dialing] -Who you calling?
[phone line ringing]
[female] Hello?
-Hi, Ruthie. -[Ruth on phone] Nora?
I'm here with my daughter, Nadia, and she says she sees the bugs too.
You know what that means? My mom put 'em there.
I got about a dozen of them. I'll show you.
Are you all right? Your super called Vera.
You're not supposed to be in your apartment.
They're sending someone from the hospital.
What are you talking about? I'm fine. I love you, okay? Bye.
[banging on door]
We're looking for Nora Vulvokov.
-That's me. -That's me.
[ominous music playing]
Where are we going?
[Nadia] Great.
Doctor, we're both incredibly busy people,
so, let's not waste each other's time, huh?
Uh, I'm not the crazy one. She is.
Uh, who's she?
[scoffs] What a prick. Fuck this guy. He's so disrespectful.
Look, I'm the sane one, man.
Uh, yeah, I always have been.
But to be clear, when I say "sane," you know, I mean "eccentric,"
but you know, lucid.
I mean, that's kind of my defining characteristic, uh--
Ah! Think good cop.
Crazy cop. Yeah?
Will you just fucking tell him I'm right? Tell him I'm right, Mom.
I'm not getting involved in this. I don't trust him. We should just get out.
Uh, are your hallucinations visual or, uh, purely auditory?
None of the above.
Do you think you see your mother right now or do you just hear her voice?
I don't think I see her.
I see her.
She's right there, man.
Do you think you see this table before you, Doctor?
I mean, this isn't some cogito, ergo sum bullshit.
I think, therefore I am seeing my mother.
The thing is, Nora,
there's nobody else in the room.
I mean, it's just you and me.
Uh…
Don't fuck with me, Doctor, all right?
Man,
look behind you.
[clicks tongue]
[doctor] There's no one there.
Nobody.
There's nobody behind me, Nora.
You're wrong, Doctor.
You have to be.
Ah-ha.
[chuckles]
She's right there, you know?
Uh-- [chuckles]
Just-- [sucks teeth]
Mom?
Just please say something to him.
They're recording us.
Huh?
Oh. It's good. It's-- It helps.
So look, uh,
I'm gonna be perfectly honest with you.
Uh, I'm Nadia.
Uh, Nora's daughter.
I'm from the future.
You know, I previously thought that I was just inhabiting her body,
but, uh, I now realize that I'm inside of her mind too, okay?
Ha.
You know, I'd-- I'd prefer not to use Thorazine, but, uh,
well, if we need to, I will. [groans softly]
I see your due day is March 30th.
It's just a few days away.
Now, let's see if we can keep you stable until the baby comes,
and then we can reevaluate.
[whispers] Why is it so bad to be paranoid schizophrenic and have this baby?
[chuckles softly]
Is this what every day was like for you, Mommy?
[sniffles] I just need to find a way to fix you.
Nobody understood me until I had you.
You know what?
[chain clinking]
Nobody's gonna lock us up.
-[chuckles softly] -Nobody.
[suspenseful music playing]
Ah, let's get the F out of here.
You know, I think if we can just get back far enough,
we can circumnavigate this whole future hellscape…
[grunts, exhales]
…and then you'll never have to go through any of this.
My smart baby.
You're gonna do great things, I know it. Anything you set your mind to, you can do.
Uh, thanks for the pep talk, Mom.
What's going on? Aren't you gonna come with me?
I can't. Otherwise, who would hold the other end of the rope?
[Nadia sighs]
-Ah! -Love ya.
[grunts, sighs]
[breathes heavily]
[clicks tongue]
["Sunday Morning" by The Velvet Underground & Nico playing]
♪ Sunday morning ♪
♪ Brings the dawn in ♪
♪ It's just a restless feeling ♪
♪ By my side ♪
♪ Early dawning ♪
♪ Sunday morning ♪
♪ It's just the wasted years ♪
♪ So close behind ♪
♪ Watch out The world's behind you ♪
♪ There's always someone… ♪
[Nadia] "Why aren't you picking up? Call me. Alan."
[grunts]
♪ Sunday morning… ♪
-[meows] -[Nadia sighs]
Hey, you little fucking hoebag.
What you doing? Getting your little fucking hoebag feet on the sheets--
Hiya, Mom.
What do we have here, Oatmeal? Huh.
Some kind of a receipt.
Holy fucking shit.
[grunts, sighs]
Leo Peschauer,
1944, Budapest.
Signed and sealed by one
Kapitány Marton Halasz.
A fucking swastika. Uh-huh.
Well…
-Now, this… -[meows]
This is some big-boy shit right here, Oatmeal.
Looks like you and me got to go to Budapest.
Fucking A.
["Der Kommissar" by Falco playing]
[singing in German]
[in English] ♪ Hey, wanna buy some stuff, man, huh? ♪
♪ Did you ever rap that thing Jack, huh? ♪
♪ So rap it to the beat ♪
[rapping in German]
[song fades]