Chain Reaction (1996) - full transcript

Eddie Kasalivich, an undergraduate at the University of Chicago, works as a technician for a scientific team that discovers an alternative, low-cost, pollution-free fuel source. Eddie and Lilly were involved in the research that was done at this first lab. The first lab was sabotaged and it exploded. One of the chief scientists is murdered during the attack and the sabotage of the lab, Eddie and physicist Lily Sinclair are framed for it and have to flee for their lives, with the FBI, CIA and other involved parties in close pursuit. Paul Shannon, Eddies mentor, is the director of a secret CIA contractor which - unknown to Eddie - has commercial interests in the lab equipment. Eddie and Lily flee police, FBI and CIA secret contractors but Lily winds getting captured and is driven to the underground experimental lab. Eddie follows Lily to this not yet fully working lab and quickly gets it working since it needed two different frequencies for the energy to get produced and Eddie has kept that in his head. As soon as Eddie arrives at a different location but with the same lab that can geneater hydrogen energy with a safer layout than the first location, Eddie dials in those two frequencies and the clean burning fire that lights up the hydrogen coming away from the water in the tank begin's burning. There is one problem, Eddie has to find a way to share the years of research leading up to the successful discovery with thousands of scientists and get out of the underground laboratory alive. Executives of the company that is secretly working for the CIA are interested in getting those frequencies so they can eliminate Eddie and Lily because they knew too much.Eddie designed everything to happen in such a way that if the secret cia contractor would let Eddie and Lily exit freely with no executions that he would hand over the two frequencies. But if the contractor would not, the lab equipment be shut off, and the lab computers would be shut off. Things quickly escalate but Eddie and Lilly are able to stay alive through the end of the movie, but there are surprises involving several who die at the climax, and what their dying words are.

We're running out of time.

We have polluted and peopled this planet
to the brink of extinction.

We are destroying our world
at a suicidal pace.

We need a pollution revolution.

And it's not going to be easy
because the world is addicted to petroIeum.

We have limited resources
and we go to war to protect them.

We need a new technology,
and this technology can't be sold.

It must be given away - to everyone.

We are in sight of a dream.

There is a solution.

The answer is aIl around us.
It's right here.



Water. H2O.
Two parts hydrogen, one part oxygen.

There is enough energy
in this glass of water

to power the city of Chicago for weeks.

It's the hydrogen we're after.

This is what happens when we burn it.

It's perfectIy cIean.

And you can burn it when you want to,
in a car, in a turbine,

or in your own basement power supply
next to your water heater.

But what if we could release
this energy efficiently?

We will transform the world.

Maybe we start to put an end to war.

Of course, we have to make it work first.

(woman) Morning!

- Hey, James, how are you doing?
- Hey, Eddie, cold enough for you?



It's never too cold.

Hey, Lu! You want me to set up?

Yeah, right away.

- Hello, Mr Shannon.
- Mr Shannon, the big man, how are you?

- Alistair.
- Did you have a good trip?

Very good, thank you.
Hi, young feIla.

- Can I get you some coffee?
- I'm fine, thank you.

I turn on the laser here. We should
focus it in the centre of the bubbIe.

- How's it going?
- You didn't get my fax?

I did. I just didn't understand all the figures.

- (Lu) We need to control the bubble.
- The regulator still isn't working.

Eddie, did you computer-model
your work last night?

No, I was too busy building it.

We sustained fusion for 4.6 miIliseconds.

StabIe?

It's stable... for 4.6 milliseconds.

Let me show you. Come, come.

(Lu) The power input and output
is fine at this stage.

The output drops to nothing
at stage three, so what happened?

- Paul!
- Yeah, OK.

I gotta go.

Cross your fingers, everyone.

Good luck.

(Alistair) Mr Chen. Initiate laser.

(Lu) Initiate laser.

(woman) Hydrogen separation in progress.

(Lu) Initiate hydrogen burn.

(man) Two million kelvin and rising.

Shut it down!
It's unstable. Shut it down.

We learned something important today.
We found another way that didn't work.

We need to keep our minds open
and try again.

(metallic buzzing)

(buzzing stops)

(metallic buzzing)

Alistair.

- It's working.
- Is it stable?

Yeah, it's stable.

- CompIeteIy stable.
- My God!

- We go tomorrow.
- Tomorrow, Alistair.

LiIy, taIk to me.

Temperature, gas flow,
acoustic drive steadied.

- The regulator has stabilised the reaction.
- Lucasz.

My spectrometer shows
stabIe hydrogen production.

We're getting more out than we put in.

I think you'd better sell your utility stocks.

- Whoa, Mr Chidi!
- Unbelievable!

- You're going to be famous.
- Thanks for everything.

- We want more money now!
- Thanks for your trust.

(cheering)

(♪ "One Love' by Bob Marley)

- Lily, stay on beat for chrissakes.
- I got it, I got it!

Here comes crazy Eddie!

♪ One love

♪ One heart

♪ Let's get together...

Congratulations. I am quite impressed.

- Congratulations.
- Thank you.

I never agreed to keep
anything from anyone.

Mandela wiIl get this information,
China wilI find out...

Go anywhere, but don't move an inch.

- I can't tell you what could happen...
- This is no time to be serious.

- Come aIong. Everybody's waiting.
- Come on, AIistair!

OK, everybody.

Holy shit, we did it!

(all) Holy shit, we did it!

(drunkenly) ♪ One love

♪ One heart

♪ Let's get together and...

(engine turns and stops)

Your battery's dead.

(slurring)
There's ice aIl over the dashboard.

- How do I get home?
- I'll get you home.

We'll take my bike.

Oh, yes, please!

- Where do you live?
- I live in England.

(giggles)

No, sorry, I live on Kimbark and 54th.

- Kimbark and 54th?
- Mm-hm.

We can't. You'll freeze to death. Erm...

Let's take a taxi.

- Taxi, huh?
- Uh-huh.

We've got a better chance
of getting picked up by a UFO.

Mr Chen, upload everything.

I want it on the Internet tonight.

We'll wake up a lot of people.

Damn right. Really wake 'em up.

Barkley... (speaks Russian)

(speaks Russian)

(speaks Japanese)

We don't have the computer model ready.
We have the frequency.

We'll send it to you in one hour.

- Yeah, yeah, in one hour.
- (bang)

(Alistair speaks in Russian)

Where are you going?

Chen?

- Here we are.
- This is Alistair's house.

Isn't he sweet?
He lets me live on the third floor.

Mmm. This... way.

Is this... is this what drunk is?

You've never been drunk?

I've never been this.

LiIy's too serious.
She's no fun.

I think you're fun.

Good night, Lily.

Wow!

(bleeping)

(alarm buzzes)

Alistair!

Chen!

Get ready.

(rapid bleeping)

(phone rings)

- Shannon.
- Paul? Alistair's dead.

- Eddie?
- I found him on the lab floor.

- He was murdered.
- What?

(police radios)

(man) Just what caused the expIosion
Iast night is stilI unclear.

University officiaIs say
this mill site had been converted

for the experimental production
of hydrogen fuel.

They say that's not supposed
to be dangerous.

One question Iaw enforcement officials
are trying to determine

is whether foul pIay was invoIved.

As we indicate, that's unconfirmed.

But an FBI agent has said, and it was
reported by a Bureau spokesperson,

that no nuclear device went off.
There was no atomic explosion.

As far as you know,
are alI your people accounted for?

Miss Sinclair? Is this all the group?

Alistair didn't come home last night.
Lu Chen is nowhere to be found.

I phoned him and he's not anywhere.

I started CPR.
I checked for breath, there was no breath.

I checked and there was no pulse.
I continued with the CPR.

Have the locals move
the perimeter back about 1,000 ft.

- You got it.
- Find me a friendIy Federal judge.

I want wiretap orders, search warrants
on everyone that worked here.

Inspector Ford, you've taken
charge of this investigation.

Why is the FBI involved?

Eight city bIocks disappeared.
The President talked to my boss at 3am.

He wants answers.

TelI me about Eddie.
Does he drink, do drugs?

No. He's just a machinist,
an undergraduate working to get his degree.

That's the undisclosed cost
of our cheap fossil fuel.

Who'd be interested in this?

Cheap, clean, abundant energy?

Who wouldn't?

- When you left the party, who was there?
- Eddie.

So, Eddie, telI us again why you came back?

I'd come back for my bike.

You say you'd returned
from taking Miss Sinclair home.

That's right. Her car wouIdn't start,
so I took her home on the bus.

What is your relationship with Miss Sinclair?

We work together.
I'm a machinist, she's a physicist.

I was...

hired by Dr Chen.

- And who is Dr Chen?
- He was Dr Barkley's project manager.

- Why did he hire you?
- Because I'm a physicist.

GentIemen, what have we got here?
Sergeant?

I think we have Mr Chen in the wind.

Nick, what did you find?

It looks like he packed with a shoveI.
He was in a hurry.

Dr Barkley expressed interest
in a specialist in sonoluminescence.

He knew about Dr Chen.

So through some friends in the State
Department, I got him here and onto the team.

You have friends in the State Department?

- We have influential members of the board.
- Really?

- Who's on the board of your foundation?
- (phone)

- Ford.
- Various scientists...

- Yeah.
- ..and industrialists.

Your Dr Chen is missing.

Any idea where he might be?

He may be dead.

- We have no comment.
- Eddie Kasalivich! You said they killed him.

Who killed him, Eddie?

You were there before the explosion.
What happened?

- What are you looking for?
- We're examining the articles on his desk.

- How are you entitled to do that?
- Annette!

They have a search warrant,
but no respect for a man's life.

I want a full inventory. These are
very important, sensitive scientific papers.

- We'll give you copies.
- Signed, please!

For two decades, Doctor Barkley...

(Shannon) I have to speak
to the university's IegaI counseI.

Please give LiIy any help you can.

I can't stay here tonight.

(TV) Among the missing is Dr Lu Chen,
who the authorities are looking for.

He may be considered a suspect...

- This is insane.
- They're going to think he did it.

Oh, no.

- What is it?
- It's from Dr Lu Chen.

He wants me
to bring the rest of the information,

alI the data and meet him
at the rendezvous in Shanghai.

I'm being framed.

What are you talking about?

- This isn't from Chen.
- How do you know?

- He doesn't write like this.
- Then who sent it?

I don't know who sent it.

- Where's Chen?
- You don't think he did it?

Let's...

Let's get outta here, OK?

- Can I help you?
- I sure hope so.

- We're looking for Mr Paul Shannon.
- He's on the phone right now.

- Excuse me.
- You can't go in there!!

- (speakerphone) There's a lot to explain.
- I'll call you back.

- What now, Agent Ford?
- We've received Eddie Kasalivich's file.

He left coIlege for discipIinary reasons.
He bIew the heIl out of the Iab.

- This is a coincidence!
- You knew he was kicked out of school?

- He resigned.
- Under some pressure?

There was some pressure.

- He blows up a building...
- Minor structural damage.

It was an interesting experiment.
It might have worked.

Didn't you think
this information was important?

I don't see the relevance.

- You don't see a smalI connection?
- No, Agent Ford, I don't.

The CIA telIs me
Chen might be involved in espionage.

KasaIivich's past makes me nervous.

And Miss Sinclair is receiving faxes
inviting her to mainland China.

RealIy?

RealIy.

What's wrong?

That's my place.

(Eddie) Let's get outta here.

(siren)

- It's a real shithole.
- How much does this guy make?

Not much, he's a student machinist.

- Sheen, why are you outside?
- Stay warm, buddy!

Got a loft for your mother.
Very artistic.

- Who's upstairs?
- Everybody. Half the city.

- Do you want to check that cabinet?
- I got it.

Jesus, you could put together
almost anything here.

I want all this.

All right! We need a total lab workup.

It's er... a neutron cappuccino machine.

Yeah, don't touch it.

Hey, Nick! What's this?

It's a transmitter.

- It's a burst transmitter.
- What does it do?

It sends massive amounts
of information by satellite,

probabIy to China.

Nick! Doyle!

(radio) Calls flooded into
the University Of Chicago

from all over the world,
enquiring about the professor.

Concern came from
the Royal Academy in London,

from Paris, Moscow
and all parts of the compass.

But at the same time,
critics say Barkley was a Utopian dreamer.

They point out that the research
he was involved with

was far more dangerous
than he realised.

(man) Paul.

Shannon!

What's going on?

- Tell me about the money, Eddie.
- What money?

The $250,000 the FBI found in your Ioft.

- I don't know what you're talking about.
- What about the transmitter? Think hard.

Jesus...

I suppose you're not in communication
with Dr Chen in China?

It wasn't Chen.

- Do you have an attorney?
- No.

I've got a good one.

He'lI negotiate your surrender.
Come on. We'Il calI him.

- Surrender?
- They'll want to talk to you.

- I'm not going.
- What do you mean?

- We didn't do anything.
- The FBI will figure that out.

We're being set up. I'm not going
to the cops untiI I know more.

Run, and you'lI have
every gun-carrying idiot in the US after you.

Look, talk to this lawyer.

We'll go somewhere safe
and wait until you work it out.

- Where?
- Maggie's.

We'll go to Maggie's.

OK. Have you got any money?

- $40.
- All right. Here.

When you get there, stay put.
Don't use the phone. I'll call you.

(tyres screech)

Why is this happening, Paul?

It's gonna be alI right, Eddie.
I promise you.

Wait here five minutes, then leave.

- What do we know about this Shannon?
- Illinois Institute of Technology,

Kennedy School of Government.
Worked for several aerospace giants.

Three years in Washington
under Reagan...

- Oh, yeah? Doing what?
- DARPA.

Defence Advanced Research
Project Administration.

Jesus! Who the hell is this guy?

He's not just someone that runs a foundation.

There's a train at 8.40
at the Union Station to WiIliams Bay.

- That's where Maggie lives.
- You can trust her?

We lived and worked together.

(TV) This is the Channel 32 special report.

We go live to the Federal Office Building
in Chicago.

As you know, it's been
a very long and a very trying day for us all.

Material witness warrants have been issued
in IIlinois for Professor Lu Chen,

Dr Lily Sinclair, and Edward Kasalivich.

- Oh, my God!
- If anyone knows their whereabouts,

please contact the Chicago FBI office.

What are we going to do?
We can't leave here together.

Get a cab outside. Buy two tickets.
Williams Bay. I'Il meet you on the track.

- Be safe.
- You too.

Hey, Mike, did you see that guy?

Union Station, pIease.

Hey! Hey, you! Come here.

Hey! Officer!

Hey, buddy!

Hey, you!

I got him! I got him!

It makes no sense. If Kasalivich is just
a pawn, why has he got a burst transmitter?

- What?
- He's gotta be transmitting to someone.

- Unbelievable.
- What?

CPD's chasing Kasalivich
down Michigan Avenue.

Stay where you are!

He's gonna falI! Get me a boat under there!

What the hell's he doing?

He's going over!
Hey! We got guys downstairs?

- What did I tell you? He just went over.
- Stairs, over here.

- Listen. How do we get him down?
- Officer, if I move that bridge, he's gonna falI.

- Can he get out lower down?
- Leads down to the gear room.

- Bring the bridge down.
- He'll get crushed.

Ten-four. Bring it down sIow.

- Bring the bridge down now!
- Get over there!

Hey! What's happening? Why did it stop?

- Right, I want this cleared.
- Let's go! Do a search!

Move it, move it!

Go! Go! Right now!

You! Back this thing outta here. Come on!

So where the helI is he?

(announcement)
Amtrak northbound, No. 343,

now leaving on track 19
for Fox Lake, Wallburgh, Williams Bay,

Jamesfield and Madison.

- God! I didn't think I was gonna make it.
- Watch your step.

Don't worry, he'll be here.

You were right.

- What took you so long?
- The bridge was up.

All aboard!

- Here you go.
- Thanks.

Thank you.

Are you sure
she's going to be up this late?

Yeah, she's usually up all night.

- She's kinda wild.
- Oh.

- I worked up here one summer.
- Oh!

(whirring)

(Eddie) Maggie.

Maggie!

Oh, my.

- Tell me you didn't do it, Eddie!
- I didn't do it.

Oh, it's good to see you, man.

- You must be the other terrorist.
- I guess I am.

Maggie, this is LiIy.

Hi, LiIy.

- Have a nice trip, Mr Shannon.
- Thank you, Bobby.

How did you get me into this hearing?
I don't have this kind of clearance.

I know a guy that knows a guy.

- Who?
- It's a guy.

- Who's the guy?
- Doyle, it's national security. I can't tell you.

Security concerns must be given
greater importance in industrial research.

We don't know the cause of the explosion.

And we don't know the source of
the espionage, if indeed there was espionage.

But we do know that we are at risk.

Every idea that offers a competitive
advantage to Americans is subject to theft.

And that, gentlemen, couId be catastrophic.

Mr Shannon, over the past ten years,
this committee has approved

hundreds of millions of dollars
for your research projects

without having one good, goddamn idea
about where the heIl aIl the money was going.

He's talking about our tax dolIars up there.

We were under the impression, Senator,

that you passed Iegislation
to ensure that you wouIdn't know.

Or perhaps, more accurately,
that you didn't want to know.

I'm aware of the Iaw, Mr Shannon,
thank you. I wrote it.

But I don't remember,
when I drafted it, that I anticipated

a large portion
of the south side of Chicago bIown up.

What assurances can you give me
and this committee

that this event wiIl never happen again?

None, Senator.

The incident in Chicago was tragic,
to be sure.

But sometimes that is the price we must pay
to ensure our competitive edge in the future.

We didn't intend to pay for
our space exploration programme

with the Iives of ten American astronauts.
But we did.

NevertheIess,
we must not waver in our commitment

to technological and scientific
research and development.

As you gentlemen know,
there are many threats to our way of life.

And not all of them wear uniforms
and carry guns.

Mr Shannon, I want to thank you for
your appearance today before this committee.

You have spoken like a true patriot
of whom this country can be very proud.

Thank you, sir.

(typing on computer)

- I think I'm getting through.
- What about Lucasz?

He never got over
not getting his credentials.

No-one on the team couId have done this.

Whoever is doing this
knows an awful lot about us.

If I hadn't have shown up,
they wouId have thought it was an accident.

And nobody would know
what's realIy going on.

(beep)

Oh, my God.

- Welcome back, boss. We missed you.
- What about me?

SurveiIlance is up on Shannon's estate.

Cue it up, Jimmy.

Where are the files
on the Moore Foundation?

GentIemen, Shannon's moving.

(loudspeaker)
There will be an orientation meeting

in the main auditorium,
on level one, at 1400 hours.

- Is everyone here?
- Yes.

- Is it running?
- Not yet.

- Good afternoon, gentlemen.
- FBI. I'm Agent WilIiams, this is Agent Lim.

So, what kind of facility is this?

I'm sorry, sir,
we're not aIlowed to discuss this.

Good morning, Iadies and gentlemen.
Bear with me, and we'll soon get started.

Thank you.

I don't care if he's got
an appointment with Mother Teresa.

We have been waiting for him
for 35 minutes.

You're late.

- This is another one of your messes, Lyman.
- It's not the Peace Corps, Paul.

- Anyway, you said you had it under control.
- I did!

This thing's stilI not working.

You've got to call off the Bureau.
Do you understand?

I'm not sure I can do that.

There's an awfuI Iot of expIaining to do.

Where's the young man?

KasaIivich?

He's someplace safe.
I'm bringing him in today.

Paul!

If someone's going down for this,
it is not gonna be I.

Paul Shannon, please.

Maggie McDermott. We're old friends.

Washington.

Area code's Wisconsin. Checking the prefix.

Punch it up.

Maggie McDermott. She was
put through from the Chicago office.

Maggie?

Shannon, it's Eddie.

(feedback)

- It's scrambled.
- It's him, on a payphone in WilIiams Bay.

I'll get the locals.

- What are you doing?
- It's OK, it's a payphone. That phony fax...

I know about that. Wait at Maggie's.
I'll send someone for you.

LiIy tracked it to Beijing.
It routed through a Chinese company,

but it came from
the US Technological Business CounciI.

- We've gotta go.
- Heard of it?

- They'll be there in an hour.
- Now, Eddie!

- I gotta go. We'll come to you.
- No, don't.

Eddie. Eddie!

- Thanks.
- Good luck.

(siren)

Officer. Hey, hey! Andy!

You know that guy on the news?
I saw him run up there.

RealIy, Maggie?

You should have brought him in
when you had the chance.

Get a unit to the observatory, right away!

- Lily! Lily!
- Eddie, it's unbelievable.

- We've gotta go!
- Listen.

This counciI Iobbies for defence contractors...
The list goes on and on.

We've gotta go now.
The cops are here. Come on!

How did they find us?

Hey! Hold it right there.

Hey!

Hold it! Hey!

Stop!

Hold it!

Stop! HoId it right there.

Get your hands up.

Get 'em up!

Walk back slowly towards me.
Come on, do it!

Keep coming.

Good, hold it right there.

(helicopter)

This is Nemitz, on the roof of the observatory.
I've got 'em.

Aagh!

(sirens)

Go! Go, go, go, go!

Come on!

On the roof!
Get a medical team up here right away.

Suspect is armed!

Get in the boat!

- Eddie, what are you doing?
- Get in!

Eddie, what are you doing?

The best I can.

Get the boat!
He's on the ice!

- Are you OK?
- Yes!

He's out of our sight. 12 o'clock.

LiIy, the bag! Give me the bag.

Go, go!

There's nobody in there!

(TV) We need a pollution revolution.

I don't care.
Search aIl of Wisconsin if you have to.

They Iost him?

We've been to C-Systems.
We can't get any information.

It used to be a government-run facility.
Now county records say it doesn't even exist.

Maybe you weren't realIy there.

Maybe we're not realIy here.

(Lily gasps)

Eddie, I can't... feel my Iegs.

Come on.

We've got fire, we've got fire.

Why would a policeman
shoot another policeman?

Maybe they weren't police.

Why didn't they shoot at us?

I don't know.

What a dump, huh?

- But I can't do...
- Mr Shannon.

There's two gentlemen
from the FBI here to see you.

This is more important
than his afternoon tea.

Our apoIogies for interrupting
your tea, Mr Shannon.

- But what's Kasalivich doing in Wisconsin?
- Running away from you.

We understand he phoned you.

I counselled Eddie
to turn himself in to the authorities.

He and Miss SincIair
shot a Wisconsin state trooper.

- I doubt that very seriously.
- Well, the state trooper's very dead.

Mr Shannon, these are copies
of the Moore Foundation IRS fiIes.

Do you know what's in them?

Meagre tax records, I imagine.
We are a non-profit organisation.

The funding for your foundation
comes from a wide variety of sources.

Defence contractors,
teIecommunication companies, aerospace.

It's gratifying to know
our work is appreciated.

The bulk of funding seems to come
from one Cayman Islands account.

- I don't do the fundraising.
- Oh, yeah. And the account is classified.

- Who pays your salary, Mr Shannon?
- The foundation pays my salary.

CIassified accounts,
encrypted phone caIls...

A man could be forgiven for thinking
that your foundation is a front for the CIA.

In that case, there may be national security
issues here that are Iarger than alI of us.

Obstructing an FBI investigation
is a federaI crime.

- I know the law, Mr...
- Doyle.

National security does not incIude
murdering peopIe. Domestically, at least.

TelI your friends at LangIey
that domestic is our back yard.

They're not aIlowed to play here.

You can keep the returns.

Nice house.

And for dinner tonight,
we have a choice of sardines...

or sardines.

Gosh, I think I'll have... sardines.

Sardines. BeautifuI choice.

So, is this how you seduce aIl the girIs?

Only physicists with hypothermia
who are accused of being a terrorist.

Thank you.

There's a garage.
I'm going to see what's in there.

I won't be long, OK?

Your pit bull has killed
a Wisconsin state trooper.

Well, now.

Would you rather the Bureau
got the girl and Kasalivich?

First, he was a suspect.
Worst-case scenario, they arrest him.

Now he's a cop-killer.
Worst-case scenario, they kill him.

For God's sake, what possessed you
to frame him in the first pIace?

Two words.

Convenience and expedience.

He saw too much, he was talking.

The poor boy was
in the wrong pIace at the wrong time.

I need this poor boy!

This poor boy is the onIy one
who knows the frequencies!

Do you understand the concept, Lyman?

Poor impulse control?

BarkIey, Chen, the regulator.
That was supposed to be it!

That was alI of it!

I am sick to death
of cIeaning up your messes.

No, Paul, no. Yours. Not mine.

You lost it, Paul.

Lost control, perspective.

You made it personal with these peopIe.

Well, we'll find them, and when we do
and we've got this thing working,

then, my friend, then,

this young man will be a liability.

That'Il be my problem.

- Our problem.
- No, Lyman.

When the time comes,

I'll handle it.

You'd better.

(footsteps)

- So what does he want us to do?
- We find him and give him an injection.

(cocks pistol)

(creaking)

LiIy.

LiIy!

(drops tray)

Come on.

Leesburg, Virginia.
C-Systems.

- Who are they?
- Not cops.

Cops carry badges,

credit cards,
pictures of their families.

(Eddie) If it's crowded, don't go in.

OK.

Hi. Can I heIp you?

I'd like to send some fIowers
and a note to a friend in Virginia.

It's a little strange, Mr Shannon,
but these just arrived.

I'm not quite sure where they're from.
Here's a note.

May I see that?

Thank you.

Hold it right there, buddy. FBI.

Step outside the van, please.

Why don't you bring
your invoice sheet out with you?

Do you know if the order
originated at this shop?

I don't think so.
I think it was a wire from Georgetown.

- Mind if I take one of these?
- No, sure.

Have a nice day.

So, officialIy this investigation
is now code-named Steel Bomb.

We'll input the data into Rapid Start.

Look what I brought back
from the flower shop.

I think this is Kasalivich.

Spawn versus Neanderthal man, 4pm today.

- What is this, a wrestling match?
- Bad movie, video game?

Spawn, it's a comic-book character.

- The guy who comes back from the dead?
- Yeah, like Kasalivich.

Maybe Shannon is the Neanderthal man?

Very well may be.

HeIlo, Eddie.

- Glad you got the flowers.
- Very clever.

- Are you all right?
- No, not really.

I guess I can understand that.

We were at Maggie's. Caught.
We were about to be arrested.

Somebody shot the cop.
Later, two guys tried to kilI us.

I've got my car outside. FoIlow me.
We'll go somepIace we can taIk.

I found this... in one of the guy's wallets.

They weren't cops.

What do you know about C-Systems, Paul?

This is not the time or the place, Eddie.
We're being watched.

Eddie, the world isn't as simpIe
as we'd like it to be.

It just doesn't work that way.

- Shannon, who are you?
- I'm your friend, Eddie.

- I may be your onIy friend.
- Is it you, Paul?

Are you responsible for all this?

Time to go, Eddie.
You've got a job to compIete.

The experiment needs verifying.

Do your work... This will all be over.

Eddie, we're beyond that now.
Let's just get this done.

Come back to work with me.

You'll have your life back, I promise you.

You don't control our lives.

- You'll have to trust me, Eddie.
- Just like Alistair?

Eddie!

(loudspeaker) A trip that
normally takes over five hours.

But today, you'll experience the events
of that flight in just seven minutes,

from takeoff to landing.

The crew is preparing for takeoff.

Your pilot for today's flight
is Captain Dave Larsen.

Stay here.

Our co-pilot is First Officer...

Get in.

She's in the hatch.

Look out!

The crew are going through
their final pre-flight checks...

Eddie!

Eddie!
Come on, don't do anything fooIish.

Get Ford. DC police reported
a disturbance at the Science Museum,

by the NeanderthaI man exhibit.

(Eddie) CQ 493... CQ 493.

(siren)

Here you are, darling. Drink this.

You're dehydrated.
Wash it out of your system.

Mr Collier and I have a few colleagues
we'd Iike you to meet.

Dr HolIoway, Dr Hamada, and Dr Orbit.

They are very interested
to discuss your work with you.

And, of course, Dr Lu Chen.

(Lily) Lu.

(Shannon) Lily.

We would like you and Dr Chen to continue
the work you were doing with Dr BarkIey.

- You can't be serious!
- Oh, yes.

We've been impressed with your work
for a Iong time.

Do you drug and kidnap everyone
whose work you admire?

No.

Dr Barkley, we left behind.

Slay the dreamer, eh, Mr Shannon?

(man) You end up sIeeping on the street.
I can't believe you'd do that.

Don't even say that kind of stuff.

Can you spare some change?
A quarter, what's a quarter?

Can't you see me?

Can I share your grate?

(woman) You make me sick!

(siren)

(woman) We can't go in! We got kicked out!

(woman) What are all youse looking at?

Let go!

(taps keys)

(Eddie) CQ 493.

(TV) This is Eddie. I think. He does.
But he really does.

What are you watching?
Honeymooner reruns?

KasaIivich and Barkley. Look at this.

Does he look like he's about to kill this guy
and blow the pIace up?

The whoIe thing stinks.
Thanks.

We've got the ballistics report back
on that trooper killed in Wisconsin.

TefIon sniper round
went through the cop's Kevlar vest.

I don't buy it.
He's smart enough to blow up the lab,

but stupid enough to leave $250,000
where we'd be sure to find it?

Are you saying some cowboy's
gone off the reservation?

$100. The kid didn't do it.

You've got a nationwide manhunt
for an innocent man.

Make sure nobody shoots him.

(phone rings)

Next shift's going down now, OK?

Yeah, right.
HeIp me out on this, will ya?

I've got problems with the conveyor belt.

No, I'll have Jim Zinsky work on that.

(workman) OK? All right.

If you've got any probIems,
give me a caIl on channeI four.

How is our young charge?
Did she say anything?

We'll soon find out, won't we?
The young lady appears to be cooperating.

Good.

- Gentlemen, you're just in time.
- Let's get on with it.

Miss Sinclair, Mr Chen,
please, have a seat.

(loudspeaker) Attention, all personnel.

Critical path experiment
will commence in ten minutes.

Level five.

(voices)

Activate the H2 compressor.

On automatic.

Here we go.

- Lucasz, what are you reading?
- Two miIlion keIvin.

Activate the laser.

(Lucasz) Four million kelvin.

(bleeping)

You don't have it. It's unstable.

Shut it down! Shut it down!

Dammit! What a joke.

- It won't work without the right frequencies.
- (speaks Chinese)

What did he say?

He said that's what
he's been trying to teIl you for days.

Look. Let's try it again in the morning, OK?

- See you back here at 8:15 tomorrow?
- I have a feeling, Dr Sinclair,

- the solution will present itself.
- I doubt it.

It had better,
or your usefulness will soon be outlived.

Take them back to their room.

I wish you wouldn't threaten
to kilI my scientists to their faces.

It might make my job easier.

Lucasz, Hamada, seal the lab!

I want to see those printouts
first thing in the morning.

(clunking)

- It's working?
- Yes.

- How?
- Lucasz claims he figured it out.

- Lucasz?
- That's his story.

You should have seen it when I got here -
the output was going right through the roof!

Son of a bitch.

It reaIly does work. Ha!

Dr Shannon, take a look at that.

We've got it.

What did you do?

Nothing.

I couldn't sleep last night, sir.

I heard this voice saying,
"Go down and check different frequencies",

because we were trying
on 15 and 20 megahertz.

So I went down to the Iab
and ran the experiment and it all worked out.

So, here we are, sir.

- Did you document the frequencies?
- Not yet.

I'd like those on a disk. Now, sir.

None too shabby, hey, Mr Shannon?

- Doctor.
- Thank you.

- Where are you going, Paul?
- To check this against the Chicago data.

I'll try to meet you at the silo.

- Wait as long as you can.
- Yes, sir.

HeIlo, Eddie.
I figured it was you.

Nice pIace you have here, Shannon.

Ten-megajoule lasers.
ParticIe reactors.

Congress de-funded
most of the stuff down here years ago.

- They made a mistake.
- Is this part of the Moore Foundation?

In a manner of speaking.

Power and money.
Is that what this was aIl about?

I'm afraid it's more complicated than that.

He was a 60-year-oId scientist
who did nothing but good,

and they put a bag over his head.

It was a mistake.

Last thing I wanted
was for something to happen to Alistair.

But a decision had to be made. So...

Who made the decision?

- You?
- That's my job.

That's what I'm paid to do.
I'm paid to do dirty work.

The work peopIe don't want to know about.

PeopIe want to live in split-level homes,

and eat microwave dinners
and watch coIour TV.

Is that what you think?

Alistair was a dreamer.

CIean air, free energy.

Noble concepts, but we live on a planet
that is addicted to petroleum.

Now, what happens if you dump
free energy onto the worId market?

Stock markets would plummet.
Our own economy would collapse overnight.

Recession, unemployment, war.

The worId is speeding up too fast now, Eddie.

- We can barely hold on as it is.
- You're right, it's not working.

That's why
we've got to try something else.

Not bury the technology, but let it out.

You let it out, but you let it out
at a pace the world can absorb.

It can absorb it now.

- There's our boy.
- Mr Kasalivich!

How kind of you to join us.

Give us a moment, Lyman.

- Eddie and I are having a conversation.
- Please! Don't let me stop you!

Who runs this place, Shannon?
You or the guy with the guns?

Well, we are a cooperative of sorts.

Run at the behest
of the United States government.

- But without their knowledge, right?
- My, my, but your friend is sharp, Paul.

All right, Eddie.

What do you want?

There are the specs for the regulator.

You can pull the frequencies
off the computer. Now let us go.

I get it to work. You give us our lives back.

That was the deal, wasn't it?

Yeah. Yeah, that was the deal.

I'm afraid, young man,
your position is non-negotiabIe.

I see.

I want to tell you this story how I got inspired.
I had this dream...

Hold on.
I will continue.

(feedback)

What's happening?

- What did you just do?
- I just told the FBI I was willing to surrender.

Oh, and I think your experiment
just got a mind of its own.

Check the breakers.
Everybody, back to your stations!

- What the hell's going on?
- It just started, hundreds of pages.

Technical drawings,
specs for experiments, budgets,

personneI records, minutes,
mostIy marked top secret.

- Where's it coming from?
- C-Systems.

It's like they dumped their mainframe
into our computers.

- Here's a special love note just for you.
- Jesus Christ, Kasalivich.

He says he's in a bunker in Leesburg
and wants us to come and arrest him.

- Lake Geneva Radical Bomb Network?
- Sound like bullshit?

It sounds Iike you owe me $100.
Make sure that fax doesn't run out of paper.

- Hamada!
- Still off-line!

- Pressure?
- 500 psi and rising.

What the hell's going on?

We've lost control of the system, Lyman.
We can't shut it down.

- Turn it off.
- It's self-sustaining. It can't be shut down.

Al, how long before
we run out of storage capacity?

- I don't know.
- Eddie, 20 minutes before it blows?

- Maybe less.
- Is he right?

I'm afraid he is.

Well done, Eddie.
Well done.

You wouldn't blow it up
if you weren't sure you'd get out alive.

Sure I wouId.

Lyman, I think it's time
we got the heIl out of here.

- (Eddie) No!
- Chen!

- Lily!
- Chen!

For God's sake, Lyman!

Chen! Chen!

Wait!

- Jesus Christ!
- What is wrong with you?

- Turn it off!
- That was totally unnecessary.

If you haven't got the stomach for this,
stay out of the way.

I'm going to turn down the power.

- No!
- Don't touch that!

Don't!

(booming)

(loudspeaker)
Hydrogen containment failure.

Potential personnel hazard.

- The compressor's just shut down.
- Turn it back on!

- You can't.
- The computers are down.

Get out!
Get out! Everybody!

- Fix it.
- I can't now.

- Fix it!
- I can't!

- I wouldn't do that, Lyman.
- It will ignite the hydrogen.

It's over, Lyman. It's over.

- I guess it's time to go.
- Go! Go!

Give me the disk.

- You two, stay!
- No, Lyman! Let them go!

What possible difference can it make now?

- They stay!
- When does it end, Lyman?

- Never.
- Well, it's not your decision.

The decision is mine,
and I say they're coming.

You can stay with them, if you like.

We must go now!

Well, are you coming?

(loudspeaker) Warning. Warning.
Air contaminants at critical level.

(Lyman) Come on, PauI!
We've got things to do!

I'm sorry, Eddie.

- Shannon!
- Shannon!

Please!

Warning! Air contaminants at critical level.
Evacuate immediately.

All containment doors are now closed.

The tanks.

OK, here's the elevator.

There's room for everybody.

I'm looking for two men. Paul Shannon
and Lyman Collier. Hang onto them.

Follow the blue evacuation route arrows
to the elevators.

Move in an orderly fashion
quickly and quietly...

GentIemen, our friends from the FBI
wilI be here presently.

Anita, we're on our way.

You two go to the north elevator.
I'll take it from here.

Come on! Come on, Lily.

Eddie, which way?

By the way, PauI, do you have that disk?
The one with the magic frequency?

Thank you so much.

You know, Paul,
maybe it's time to caIl it a day.

Maybe we're getting too old for this.
What do you think, huh?

But then again,
what would we do?

What would we do?

(alarm)

(gunshots)

I didn't tell you, Lyman, but your retirement
had already been arranged.

Containment systems off.

Access restored to all areas.
Containment systems off.

Hey, hold on, hoId on!
Take it up, take it up!

- They got a 20 on Kasalivich?
- They found the stolen truck

at the construction site one mile to the west.

(Eddie) Hold on.

Eddie, look.

(screaming)

Get up, Reed. Come on, we've gotta go!

- (buzzer)
- You said the hole was clear!

Get back in the seat, Ernie.

Eddie.

(buzzer)

LiIy, get in the basket!

Get out of here. Go!

Eddie, come on!

Eddie!

Hold on, hold on, Eddie.

Come on, Eddie.

Aagh!

Come on, Eddie. Come on!

PuIl it up, puIl it up.

Holy... did you see that?

Whoa!

Come on, get 'em out of there.

(cheering)

- Eddie Kasalivich.
- Agent Ford. You got the message.

Yeah, we levelled a forest printing it.
What's it mean, Eddie?

- Plans for clean, cheap energy.
- Anybody else get this?

Hopefully, a few thousand top scientists.

- I knew I liked this kid.
- Yeah, right, Leon.

Come on. You've got some questions to
answer in Washington for about six weeks.

- That's OK.
- We've got a lot to talk about,

as Iong as everyone stops shooting at us.

Doyle, spilt 'em up.
I'll meet you at the office.

Ford!

Doctor Sinclair and I ride together.

All right, come on, both of you.

Anita, take a memo.

To the Director of CentraI InteIligence.

C-Systems...

no longer a viable entity.

Will be in contact.

That's it.

Whoa!