[people cheering]
[director] Standby all cameras, please.
[assistant director] All cameras standing by.
[director] Sound rolling.
[female coordinators speaking indistinctly]
[director] Ready in five, four,
three, two, one.
[camera shutters clicking]
pensive music playing
How did we get here?
To this place.
This moment.
pensive music continues
If we could see the cosmic shape
of every choice we've made,
would it look like a straight timeline?
A staircase?
A Mobius strip?
I came here because my choice was simple.
Live... -[swift whoosh]
...or die.
dramatic music playing
I am an immigrant.
A refugee.
To survive,
I had to be...
reborn.
dramatic music continues
To evolve, I had to step
into a new skin. -[flesh squelching]
[muscles cracking]
Like Lazarus,
I had to rise from the valley of shadows
and become... -[indistinct radio chatter]
[male coordinator speaks indistinctly on radio]
[Faraday] ...something more.
[rhythmic clapping]
[audience cheering]
dramatic music continues
Which brings us to the reason you're here.
You came to answer the question
the world's been asking.
Who am I?
music dies down
Well, according to the hurricane season
of theories on the interwebs,
that gaping maw
we stuff and stuff with bits of ourselves
in the ridiculous hope that it'll give us something back,
I am the socially
and grammatically challenged recluse who snorts fire ants...
[audience laughs]
...while hallucinating with my personal army
in my desert bunker,
which is shaped like an egg.
[audience laughs]
They call me a tyrant.
A king.
A tech god. Willy Wonka.
Up to my Gobstoppers in secrets.
And it's all true.
Well,
the secrets part, anyway.
So, don't say I didn't warn you.
When people talk about my work,
I hear words like "revolution."
Well, today, this one drops the "R."
-[audience cheering] -In this box,
I hold the next step on the great timeline.
But before I show you what's inside,
I want to tell you my story.
The real story,
of how I built it, and myself, along the way.
Would you like to hear it?
[audience cheering]
Okay. Okay.
It's simple,
because of all the things I left behind.
dramatic music playing
My home.
My family.
I had to rebuild everything I lost.
music intensifying
I had to learn how to become...
a human being.
music ends in flourish
soft piano music playing
-[thunder rumbles] -[train horn tooting]
[glass shards crunching]
["Rock & Roll Band" playing on stereo]
[electricity buzzing]
[pipe rumbling]
[song continues playing] People stood in line
And didn't seem to mind
You know Everybody knew our name...
God damn!
[siren chirps]
["Here I Go Again" playing on radio]
God damn it!
[man] About fucking time. Took you guys long enough.
[chuckling] Fuck is that?
Get him off my property, Dave.
Third tweaker this month!
Andy, just put that thing down.
[Andy] Wear some goddamn pants on other people's property.
-[man] Turn around. -Can I have a soda?
He keeps them in the cooler, like, right there.
No, you cannot have a soda!
Turn around. Slow.
[Andy] Get this motherfucker out of my garage!
Dave, how many goddamn tweakers
am I gonna have to shoot
-on my property this week? -Andy!
Stow that goddamn weapon!
Aw, man. This is fucking bullshit!
Shit. I could've graduated the goddamn academy
by the time you guys showed up. I'm so goddamn...
Oh, Jesus. What the fucking fuck?
I'm gonna pull this hose out of your mouth.
You so much as blink,
Officer Haugenoe is gonna tase your ass in the head.
Do you understand your rights as I've explained them to you?
[song continues playing] Here I go again on my own
Goin' down the only road I've ever known...
What the...
fucking fuck?
Shit.
[giggling]
-Jesus Christ! -[squelching]
-Get down on your knees. -Get down on your knees.
One time, I saw a pig with a hose up its ass.
-Quiet, Alicia! -Quiet, Alicia!
-Couldn't he be drowned? -Ass. Pig. Drowned.
-Get on your fucking knees! -Resisting.
-You are resisting! -Now!
He's not armed. He's naked.
-[both] Shut up! -Shut up!
-You wanna die? -Do you wanna die?
[taser fires, crackling]
Here I go again
[taser fires, crackling]
-[hissing] -[man] Wake up. wake up!
[gasps]
up-tempo music playing
Got you some clothes from the morgue.
You're gonna be processed in a bit.
Can you try not to act like a freak?
[police radio chatter]
[woman 1] When you said that he's got a, like a square jaw...
[speaking indistinctly in distorted voices]
[conversations continuing and echoing]
[female officer] I understand, sir. Okay.
You have a good night.
[TV announcer speaking indistinctly]
-[conversations echoing] -[bell dings]
[keyboard clacking loudly]
[echoing] Do you know why you're here?
[water sloshes loudly]
Do you...
[gasps]
...know why you're here?
Hey. [snaps fingers]
-Wake up. -[noises quiet]
You were ingesting a hose in the municipality?
Nine hours' mission.
Yeah? What mission's that, hon?
28.0969
-north, minus 9... -[cell phone vibrating]
Excuse me.
-[whispering] ...5, 3... -Shh!
Shh!
Hey, hon.
[man on phone] Your goddamn sister's Hyundai
was parked outside
that asshole's house all night, Katie.
I really don't think that's right, hon.
Can I call you back?
She's still fuckin' him after the restraining order.
Jesus.
Your goddamn sister's Hyundai
was parked outside that asshole's house all night.
Katie, she's still fuckin' him after the restraining order.
[Katie] I don't know how you heard that,
but a good rule around here is to mind your own business.
[whispering] Water.
[burps loudly]
Okay, where you from?
Anthea.
Where's that?
[grunts]
[laughs quietly] Oh, yeah?
What's it like there?
[whispering] Hot.
When'd you learn to speak English?
Now.
Okeydokey. Don't tell that story to anybody else.
They'll lock you up.
Then you won't be able to complete your mission.
Okeydokey.
Fucking guy's a hundred years old
and you pull him the fuck over?
You want him to die on your fucking shift?
You know, sometimes, here on Earth,
when you tell folks you want somethin'
in a really loud voice and say "fuck" a lot, it works!
-[loudly] Fuck! -Jesus Chr...
Water!
You know, just 'cause you're an alien
doesn't mean there's an embargo
on being fuckin' polite.
Try again. Nicer.
[softer] Fuck.
Water?
Say "please."
Please.
And your name.
K. Faraday. Name.
Got anybody I can call? To come and get you?
Justin Falls.
Who's he?
[lock clicks]
[Faraday] You were all my teachers.
But the one who forced me to understand my choices,
who forced me to find
my humanity,
well...
We didn't choose each other.
[woman] I don't recognize myself either.
Every woman I know is tired.
[Faraday] She had already chosen
to strike a Devil's bargain with herself.
-[indistinct shouting] -[machinery whirring]
If every dream she had to drop along the way
just retreated and left her alone,
she promised never to aspire
to anything more than survival.
[tool clanking]
Hope is too expensive.
[Justin] All right. I'll see you later.
[woman] Okay, see you tomorrow.
Bye, honey.
Hey.
["Time Tough" playing]
[girl] "Chapter Two. So I lived there all alone
"with no one I could really talk to,
"until I had an accident in the Sahara desert."
When can I sit in the front seat?
Uh, when you're bigger.
Vomit.
Ah! [laughs]
[girl] "In the desert, six years ago,
"something broke down in the engine.
"And since there was neither..."
["Time Tough" continues playing on stereo]
Bye, Marcus. Thanks for staying late. [chuckles]
[Marcus] Thanks. See you soon. Bye.
[Justin chuckles] Good choice, Molls.
[man] Bring that here,
Miss Princess Queen Miss Kissin' Molly.
[laughs] Turn it over, read it...
Read the liners to me.
[man] "Deli..."
[Molly] "Delicacy..."
No. There's a "T" there.
"Deli-see-ay..."
[man laughing] "Deli-see-ay"?
What's a "Deli-see-ay"? Sound it out.
-"Whatever..." -Dad.
Tsk. [sighs] I'm not sick, you know.
-I know. Hmm. -Mm-hmm.
["Time Tough" continues playing]
-[Molly] "Whatever happened..." -[man] Mm-hmm.
"To..." Uh...
Mm-hmm. [continues indistinctly]
[woman on phone] Ma'am, I can't find his file.
What kind of visa was it?
Yeah. Josiah Falls came here from the Bahamas
25 years ago on an EB-1-1 visa
that designated him an alien of extraordinary ability.
But for some reason, Medicare doesn't think so,
and is going to let him spend the last year of his life
in fucking agony. [sighs]
Hello?
[automated voice] Your call is very important to us.
Please hold. -[sighs]
[Justin] So I'm good with double shifts
all next week, right?
-No. -No? We talked
about it already. Double shifts.
Now I gotta start again.
Look, my kid's school can't do lunch anymore.
-My dad's physical therapy... -All right. All right.
Look, do you want some more shifts?
-Thanks. -Tell you what.
Come here. [whispers indistinctly]
[man grunts, coughs]
You're done, bitch!
[engine roaring]
Fucker.
Ahhh! Motherfucker!
[pants]
[cell phone vibrating]
Hello.
Yes, this is she.
Uh, what?
[police siren wailing outside]
[Katie] Are you Miss Falls?
Um, yeah, I'm Justin Falls. I think...
It was me who called you. He's over there.
-Uh, who's over where? -Your friend.
[Katie] He's a little, uh...
Yeah, I have never seen that man before.
[Katie] We couldn't ID him.
He doesn't have any fingerprints.
Not burned off or anything.
He just doesn't have 'em. Adermatoglyphia.
[whispers] Adermatoglyphia.
-I googled. -Googled.
[slowed] What was he arrested for?
Ingesting a hose in the municipality.
What?
-He gave your name. -My name?
-I don't even, like... -Yeah, so I can...
-Can I release him to you? -No!
Hey, simmer down.
Look, I think this is some kind of mistake.
"July 12,
"United States Department of Energy interim report.
"This panel believes that Miss Falls' present evidence
"for the achievement of fusion is not persuasive."
Okay, bye.
"In conclusion, however,
"that is not to say it is a failure.
"Text to audio. This is a demo."
[scoffs]
Not a failure.
Your mission.
My mission.
Uh... Who are you?
"It is my belief that our ability to achieve fusion
"is only hampered by humanity's understanding
"of quantum computing."
That's... That's my, um...
You're... You're quoting m-my...
2013. Graduate thesis.
Laboratory Network.
Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
You're a science stalker.
For fuck's sake.
[in British accent] "Find Justin Falls.
"She was closer than anyone has ever come
"to achieving fusion.
"She was simply missing something
"she didn't know existed."
We're British now. Are we the Beatles?
How'd you possibly know that? Who... Who said that?
"Find her.
"She is integral to the mission,
"to the next step.
-"You cannot take it alone." -What mission?
28.096169 degrees north,
minus 95.047623 degrees west.
7.8 hours.
Cannot take it alone.
[softly] Please.
If you come anywhere near me or my family,
I'll shoot you.
[sighs]
Okay.
I don't know what's goin' on here,
but I'm gonna release you with a summons.
But if I hear you're bothering her,
you're gonna hear from me, you understand?
Now look, I'm gonna let you keep the dead guy's clothes,
and you're free to go, okay?
There's a shelter down the street that'll give you...
Good luck, buddy.
[dog barking]
upbeat music playing
-[grunts] -[ring clinking]
[gurgling]
[retches]
[radio chatter]
[rings clinking]
Five hundred ninety-eight grams,
-18 carat gold. -[mic feedback]
Well, never had much luck at the altar myself.
Hang on.
I gotta test these.
upbeat music playing
Hey! You're buying that.
[device whirring]
[rhythmic beeping]
[mic feedback]
A23. That's my favorite.
[whirring]
["Oh Girl" playing on jukebox]
Oh, girl
I'd be in trouble If you left me now
[inhales deeply, grunts]
'Cause I don't know where To look for love...
Freon.
Yum-yum.
Okay, pal. These fall off a truck or what?
A good rule around here is to mind your own business.
I'll give you ten grand for all of it.
25,000, current market rate.
-12.5. -Twenty-five thousand six...
You're not gonna get that kind...
[loudly] Fuck! Money! Now!
[static crackling]
[device beeping]
[bird screeching]
[truck horn tooting]
[truck horn blares]
[device beeping rhythmically]
[man] I said stop, stop!
[tires screeching]
[man] What the fuck, homie?
-[device continues beeping] -[thunder rumbling]
[man] Holy shit.
[lightning crackling]
-[thunder continues rumbling] -[car doors close]
[high-pitched pinging]
[device continues beeping]
eerie ethereal music playing
[rain pattering]
[bursting]
[device continues beeping]
[grunting]
[thug 1] Asshole. Roll him over.
-[thug 2] I got it. -[groaning]
["I Believe In Miracles" playing on radio]
Shit.
What the fuck?
I believe in you
I believe in miracles, baby
I believe in you
Fuck!
[grunts]
Don't do it, Justin.
Do not do it.
-[Faraday groaning] -[thug 2] Grab that.
-No. No. -[grunts]
-Fuck! -[tires screeching]
Shit.
[Faraday grunting]
-[car door slams] -Hey!
-[fires gun] -[bullet clinks]
Get away from him!
Get up.
Get the fuck out of here.
-[wind gusts] -[thugs grunt]
[all grunting]
[thug 1] Fuck! Motherfucker.
[Justin screaming]
[gun fires]
[thug 2] Come on. Let's go.
[gun fires]
[thug 1] Go!
Please! I have a daughter!
Please. Please. [gasping]
[car doors open and close]
[engine starts]
[tires squeal]
[thug 1] Fuck you, bitch.
[Justin panting] Okay.
[grunts, muttering]
[Faraday groaning]
Your finger's broken.
-[grunts] -[bones snap]
Oh, fuck.
They wanted money.
You
want money?
[sighs] You know what I want?
I want one person on this planet
to say "thank you."
Thank you.
You're welcome.
What is that?
Broken.
Six hours,
58 minutes, 14 seconds.
Intercept.
-Intercept what? -Message.
What message?
Take me.
No. I didn't stop to help you get to--
[loudly] Fuck! Take me!
Don't yell at me, motherfucker!
Who told you yelling at people was a good idea?
Lady.
Well, not this lady.
"If you tell people what you want
"in a really loud voice and say 'fuck' a lot, it works!"
If you're a sociopath.
Sociopath?
Are you?
Money.
No, I'm not taking your money.
-Money. -I can't take money
from someone who might be under some kind of delusion.
28.096169 degrees north,
minus 95.047623 degrees west.
-Must complete mission. -Stop.
Message.
Please.
pensive music playing
What is it?
-28.096919 degrees north... -[typing]
...minus 95.047623 degrees west.
Shiprock.
It's 200 miles away.
It's too far.
I can't leave my family for that long.
Six hours, 57 minutes, three seconds.
Message. Money.
Please.
Is there a nice doctor I can call
who can tell me you're not a serial killer?
No.
Why didn't you just shoot me and take my truck?
You are...
necessary.
[Faraday gasps softly]
Where is the fluid sac?
Excuse me?
I travel in a fluid sac.
Yeah.
[woman speaking indistinctly on radio]
What's your name?
[Faraday] K. Faraday.
[Justin] Faraday?
[radio tuning]
Okay, don't... Don't play with my radio.
[radio tuning]
Stop. What'd I just say?
Stop! Stop.
You stopped work.
-Why did you stop? -No.
I'm not engaging with you, okay?
Why did you stop?
Did the plasma disruptions become too substantial?
[song playing on radio]
Okay. All right. New rule.
You can play with the radio, so long as you don't talk.
Did you miscalculate the stored energy
in the plasma engine?
I didn't miscalculate.
I got it wrong.
Nothing on Earth can sustain that much energy.
Nothing on Earth.
Yeah. [scoffs]
I'm not... I'm not gonna engage with you on this.
[scoffs]
Hey.
Hey!
[whispering] Fuck me. [sighs]
[phone keys clacking]
[line ringing]
-[Josiah on phone] Juzzie. -Hey, Dad!
You all right? Huh? -No, no, I'm fine. I'm fine.
Yeah, I got something going. I can pay Marcus in cash.
[Josiah] Marcus was late.
When are you coming home? You coming home?
Look, Dad... Dad, it's gonna be okay.
I got something going. It's gonna buy us some time.
[Josiah] My hands are aching. I need my pills.
[energy hums]
[electrical crackling]
[motorcycle engine revving]
Why did you stop?
We have five hours...
For gas.
For gas?
["Calaveras County" playing on radio]
[Faraday grunting]
There's a quiet in the air
There's a breeze Off of the mountains
And there's room for a man To be his own
Ain't no strangers Here in Calaveras County...
Oh.
[grunts]
Is your friend committing suicide?
I have no idea.
If he's still alive,
will you tell him I'm getting a Snickers?
Buddy.
-[muffled] Buddy. Buddy. -[water gurgling]
[muffled] What?
["Calaveras County" continues playing]
You can't.
I'm buying that.
[dog barking]
-[cattle bells clanging] -[goats bleating]
[car horn blaring]
[horse whinnying]
[horse huffing]
pensive music
[horse whinnies]
[fly buzzes]
[horse snorting]
Hey, you wanna move away.
She's skittish, and I'm working.
[Justin] Yeah, two bottles.
-Thanks. -Welcome.
Uh, okay, Longhorn Diner?
Yeah, I can be there in about an hour.
Shit.
[slowed, heavy breathing of horse]
pensive music continues
[Faraday] Where I am from,
she was a predator.
Predator?
They're paintball practice if they ain't fast enough.
Paintball.
Yeah, man.
We let 'em run around,
then we shoot at 'em.
No.
No paintball.
That is not what she is for.
What's she for?
Soon she will remember.
Remember what?
She can kick that boy to death.
[Justin] We're, uh...
We're gonna make a quick stop, okay?
-We have three hours. -Yeah, we'll make it.
-It's okay. It's okay. -[garbled chatter on radio]
Is that your message?
Not close enough.
You know, you fell asleep
in the middle of a sentence before.
I was not asleep.
I was resting my eyes.
Yeah, men always say that. [chuckles]
[mimicking Josiah] Juzzie, Marcus was late.
When are you coming home?
Juzzie, my hands are aching. I need my pills. Juzzie.
[tires screech]
[car horn blaring]
Did you just mock him?
-Did you just mock my father? -[car horn blaring]
[man yells indistinctly]
How'd you do that?
You were asleep. How'd you hear him?
-[car horn blaring] -I was not sleeping.
[woman] Eat shit, asshole!
-[person yells indistinctly] -[honks horn]
I don't care about the money.
Apologize right now or I will lock these doors
and we will sit here in this truck
until we both wither and die.
-Three hours... -Oh, for fuck...
...28 minutes,
12 seconds, 11 seconds, ten seconds,
-nine seconds... -[Justin sighs]
...eight seconds, seven seconds...
[whispering] Oh, my God.
-...six seconds... -[sighs]
[whispering] ...five seconds, four seconds,
three seconds, two...
-My dad's sick. -...seconds,
one second.
He's fucking dying and we lost our coverage!
I get him his pills from a dealer
because that's the only way we can afford them.
That's why we're stopping.
My window of interception is shrinking.
Look, this is my mission, okay?
Keeping him comfortable,
or whatever the hell that means,
for as long as I can.
So, you can, [smacks lips] I don't know,
you know, find another ride.
Or you can choose to come with me.
-Those are your options. -[engine starts]
["Make Me Feel Alright" playing]
Stay.
[entry bell jingles]
[patrons chattering]
Hey, what are you doing? I said, stay with the truck.
[Justin sighs]
[bell dings]
Don't get all up on me like that.
You're like a baby duck. Sit.
[waitress] Hi! Coffee?
Yes, please.
Water, now.
I'm sorry. [chuckles]
Thank you.
[clock ticking]
[ambient noise's volume increases]
[bell dinging]
[man] Order up!
Their pheromones are giving me a headache.
[chuckles]
[groans]
Sorry about that. Sorry.
[sighs] Okay, listen to me.
Yeah, for right now, I need you to be less, okay?
Can you try to smile, maybe?
Oh, God. It's like something from a horror movie.
Don't do that. Don't do it. Stop.
-Listen... -He's on the spectrum.
I'm really sorry.
-Okay. -Thank you.
What is the spectrum?
It means that, you know,
you have different social and communication skills
to other people.
It means you can't connect.
Mm-mm.
Thank you.
You believe you are connected,
but you are not.
You exist only within yourselves.
And what makes you so different?
I am different because you are wasting my time.
I am not wasting your time.
When will Josiah Falls die?
Can I have two chocolate donuts,
-please? -Sure.
My dad used to do math to calm himself.
Is that what you're doing?
Thanks.
This is... This is base 60.
It's a third millennium number system.
What are you? I mean...
Are you an ancient Sumerian? I mean...
Why do you understand the value of base 60?
My adept.
You mean your teacher? Does your adept have a name?
Here, he is called
Thomas Jerome Newton.
-Thomas Jerome... -Yeah, I got it, babes.
-I got it. -...Newton.
[Justin] "Thomas Newton was the founder of World Enterprises."
That's it?
I mean, I... I heard about it.
It was a tech company, like, 40 years ago.
He is the one who sent me to you.
[scoffs]
What, this man?
You know this man?
Okay, and why would he do that?
Your work. You are vital to the mission.
Where I am from, there are two chambers.
Adepts and drones.
-One designs, one executes. -And...
Where are you from exactly?
-You used to produce more. -[entry bell jingles]
Your work now, what purpose does it serve?
It serves my purpose.
You are not utilizing your purpose.
Stay. I mean it.
You chose the correct task
but you did not have the tools.
Go outside.
-Go away, now. -The fuck you say to me?
I require her focus
and my window of interception is shrinking.
You are vital to the mission.
-Please stop talking. -You are vital.
[engine revs]
[whispering] Shit. Shit!
[breath trembling]
Shit. Fuck.
[siren wailing]
Oh, shit.
[gasps]
[sighing in relief]
You know what? I don't want this anymore.
We have to get to 28.09...
There is no "we."
My mission is your mission.
What happened to you?
I mean, you're brilliant.
How'd you get here?
With a stranger in a strange place. How?
The adept miscalculated.
Miscalculated what? Be specific.
Energy.
Energy for what?
The energy we needed to save ourselves.
Did anyone, uh...
Did anyone die?
Yes.
Do... Do you have anyone?
I mean, besides the Newton guy?
A family, who takes care of you? Children?
Yes.
How many children?
Two.
They are waiting for me to return.
If they survived.
Survived what?
When the clouds disappear,
you all disappear.
You have very little time left.
-[Faraday] There! Stop there. -What? Here?
[Faraday] We have arrived.
[Justin] This doesn't feel right.
It is right.
You are afraid, I can...
-Smell it, I know. -...smell it.
I am afraid.
But not for me.
Look, there are bad people out here.
You know, like, the guys who jumped you?
Will you let me take you to a hotel or a bus station?
It gets cold here at night.
[Faraday] I will not be here for the cold.
Please.
Will you let me take you someplace safe?
I am where I am supposed to be.
You...
are where you are supposed to be.
For what?
To ensure the survival of my species.
Which species?
I am from Anthea.
A terrestrial planet
on the border of the solar system.
I am here to receive
the next step of my instructions.
You are meant to come with me.
[chuckles]
[chuckles] Look,
I brought you here,
and that's as much as I'm gonna do.
I'm not... I'm not going anywhere with you, okay?
All right? That's it. We're done here.
[Faraday] No more waiting!
Listen, don't follow me, okay?
You're fucking crazy.
What are you... Stop!
-Come with me! -Stop!
[metal creaking, crunching]
Come with me!
Stop!
[engine starts]
[wind whistling]
Fuck.
[thunder rumbles]
Fuck.
Oh, shit.
[wind whistling]
[rumbling]
-[crashing] -[wind gusting]
Shit!
Fuck!
[tires screech]
[wind gusting violently]
Fuck. Fuck.
[honking horn]
[car horn blares]
Faraday!
Far--
Shit.
-[car rattling] -[yells]
Fuck.
Fuck. Stop!
[screaming]
[whirring]
[whirring intensifying]
[whirring stops]
[man] Open your eyes.
[insects chirping]
[indistinct voices whispering]
[gasps]
[distant voice] Open your eyes.
[insects chitter]
[echoing whisper] It's me.
Me.
It's me.
It's about fucking time. [continues echoing]
I know exactly what you're thinking.
"This is not the Anthean I remember."
Well, soon enough,
you won't be the Anthean you remember, either.
But I'm gonna make you
the god they can't ignore.
[laughing]
[continues laughing]
[Faraday] How did we get here?
To this place.
In this box,
I hold the next step on the great timeline.
I am a tyrant. I am the king! Tech god. Willy Wonka.
Up to my Gobstoppers in secrets.
And it's all true.
Well,
the secrets part, anyway.
So, don't say I didn't warn you.