1 (2009) - full transcript
A bookshop renowned for its rare works is mysteriously and completely filled with copies of a book entitled 1, which doesn't appear to have a publisher or author. The strange almanac describes what happens to the whole of humanity in the space of a minute. A police investigation begins and the bookshop staff are placed in solitary confinement by the Bureau for Paranormal Research (RDI Reality Defense Institute). As the investigation progresses, the situation becomes more complex and the book increasingly well known, raising numerous controversies (political, scientific, religious and artistic). Plagued by doubts, the protagonist has to face facts: reality only exists in the imagination of individuals.
This book is no joke.
We could be outraged by it
and see it as slander
that insults the whole of mankind.
However,
we might seek comfort
from the fact that no one
could make it into a film.
Now everyone wants to know
who wrote it.
Was it a man or a woman
or were there more of them?
It's odd that it never occurred
to anyone up until now.
The thought virtually offered itself
up after the "Book of World Records".
Especially because
it was such a bestseller.
And nowadays, publishers and authors
find nothing more tempting
than a book that everyone buys
but no one needs to read.
The idea was lying there
in the street
waiting for someone to bend
and pick it up.
The waxwork museum of records
had one major flaw:
it was instantly out of date!
Shortly after a man pushed
a billiard ball
up to the top of a mountain
pass with his nose in a week,
a fellow appeared who did the same
with a nutmeg and in just three days.
But he died of blood poisoning
contracted through
the wound on his nose
that gave the record
a certain poignant piquancy.
So, the whole thing is a little vague.
Whatever the case, the not yet extinct
survivors of a refined intelligentsia
rejected the deluge of records,
cheap sensations, and pulp fiction.
And with an eye for what was being
read by the more superior reader,
a few opened elite bookshops.
Please, don't wrap the storybook!
I want Valery to read from it
to me tonight!
I'm so very frightened of the storm.
- It's no wonder.
- Thank you, Maya my dear.
Thank you for your custom,
Mrs Keylock.
Goodness me!
Leave it open, Valery,
I'll see to it.
Are you bored?
So a book had to be created
that closely resembled the "Book
of World Records" but was serious.
Something that couldn't simply be
shrugged off.
It's common knowledge that
book publishers dislike nothing more
than publishing books.
Because here the rule is that
no one reads;
if they read, they don't understand;
if they understand,
they forget in the blink of an eye!
It was with this in mind that everyone
longed for a book that looked at
what everyone is doing
at a single point in time.
So we wouldn't think we were
cramming stupidity into our heads
while the important stuff
was really happening elsewhere.
So then, a book like this,
which speaks about everything at the
same time as blurring everything else,
appeared as something
of an impossibility.
Until now, that is!
What the eyes sees
and what I see in the eye
is identical...
Sir!?
Sir, can I help you?
Do you really want to help me, miss?
No.
Generally no, but...
I have been told
that the question suits me.
Whoever said it spoke the truth.
Sir!
He said it...
Apologies.
Miss Satin didn't realise that you
were in the shop after she closed.
We don't intend to imprison
our customers.
I'll let you out right away.
This way please!
Vitruvius...
- Vitruvius' "Ten Books"...
- I beg your pardon?
Vitruvius... It used to be here
by architecture. Have you sold it?
No. I'm not aware.
But it was here. I clearly recall it
being opposite graphology.
It was moved
to the rare books section...
six weeks ago when we heard
that it wouldn't be reissued.
Has he been here before?
Oh... only in my dreams!
I have been to many beautiful places
in my dreams but...
this place...
particularly appeals.
Thank you.
So... can we be of any assistance?
Well, I'm not sure...
Where do you keep the rare books?
We don't normally allow customers
in here. You are the first.
The exception weakens the rule and
only where the boundary is rigid.
Yes...
Something isn't right.
What's this shit?
Maya!
Maya!
What in God's name is this? What?
- Who packed here?
- Have you gone mad?
Will someone tell me what all
this shit is? What is this?
Fucking hell! You...
You... You let...
- Who did you allow in?
- Oh, God!
Who put this here?
What's this "1"?
Maya, what 1? What 1?
Why 1?
Fuck me!
Maya! Call the police!
I won't tell you again
not to mess with the evidence!
Oh... the evidence.
I'm afraid I forgot.
Everything must be proved
that isn't, because what is...
- is beyond proof...
- I'll have you handcuffed!
We don't appear to be
helping each other here!
Perhaps it's because we aren't.
When are you going to let us go?
Our medics will soon be finished
with the kid.
Wonderful!
I've had enough.
I'd like to make a phone call.
When can I use a telephone?
I've said that you can't for now.
Oh, just one minute!
I can see that you haven't fully
understood
that this
is a reality defence matter.
The law states that until
we have a definitive situation,
you can be segregated.
Or, until there is evidence,
I will be the one to say who has
the right to do what! Is that clear?!
You can't even complain.
- We might.
- You most certainly might not!
I am here to ensure no outbreak
of panic.
We will sit here and enjoy
another coffee in peace and quiet.
Peace and quiet!
Is that clear?
My colleague will shortly...
You are procrastinating...
rather than accepting what is.
Don't deceive yourself!
Don't worry about me. I have cleared
up bigger shit than this before.
So you should be able
to sense the difference.
Everything is suspended from above
and depends on what is beneath it.
There are no exceptions.
Miss Satin, please calm down.
No one has come to any harm
and you are safe now.
We weren't in danger before.
Let's just wait for the results.
Okay?
Don't.
- This is a joke!
- No, your story is.
No one saw anything
and no one knows anything
and yet these are still lying
all over the place!
If we don't lift it up,
it will bear down on us all!
Why don't you investigate this clown?!
We know our own job, Mr Eveson!
We will investigate
everyone, including your good self!
- We have nothing to investigate
but ourselves! - Mr Tamel...
Come back down to earth, okay?
I am not interested in your dreams.
You can tell them
to our psychologist.
- You might take a look inside
the book. - It's just a book.
It is written in human language
and contains data.
Tomorrow, I'll know
where the data comes from
and where the books come from.
Then we will get to those
who brought them here,
they will show us
where the stolen books are,
and we will get them to tell us
how they did it.
Then they can marvel their way
straight to the cells.
I'm not even going to ask them
why they did it.
Someone who knows what will happen,
conducts a flawed investigation!
Don't let them touch the books!
I'll be quick because I can see
you're uncomfortable.
No sign of forced entry
and the roof's clear.
- Then check the ventilation!
- No eyewitnesses either.
All four security cameras
pointed at the counter.
And it was all too bright
from 8.00.
Passers-by only saw the one car
that left around 7.50.
I checked it out. It was Mrs Emilie
Keylock, a prim old lady.
She employs coloured menservants...
We know she is a regular
customer.
The other four employees
were allowed home at 7.30.
Their alibis are perfect but
I can work on them if you like.
- There were two who weren't at work
yesterday but... - No.
Fingerprints?
- What?
- Fingerprints!
Nothing on the first 57 books.
This is a tough nut, Pitch.
I selected them at random but there
are thousands on the bookshelves.
We found strands of hair so I have
asked for more staff at that lab.
It won't go any quicker...
It'll be weeks!
What about the quartet? Eveson?
Nothing. Eveson doesn't
appear to have an angle.
He's a millionaire son,
is well connected, no corruption.
A respected snob
and a sponsor of the arts!
His only enemy might be his wife
who insisted that we meet in person.
Eveson ignored her
and the kids.
I wish was ignored by him.
There is one interesting detail...
They opened the shop
exactly a year today.
Everyone was there.
I want an exact list
with exact alibis!
Maya Satin. Worked here from day one
and she's Eveson's right hand.
Wife says they're screwing.
The odd thing is
that the girl is now the youngest
in the famous Satin dynasty.
Her parents and her little sister
died in a lift accident.
- They plummeted to their deaths.
- In a lift?
Yes...
- Claude! Footprints?
- Pitch, the boy washed the floor so
the floor is theoretically a map
but for the time being
we only have them and the police.
I don't believe it.
Are you sure they aren't lying?
- Thanks!
- 111 is wanted in the car park!
And the boy?
Agnus Andersen.
He grew up in a children's
home and still lives there.
I spoke to the director on the phone
and although he was half asleep,
he said the boy's not mute but
he doesn't talk to everyone.
He was attached to a carer
but the guy disappeared.
And since then...
and I quote: "He has not been
verbally communicative."
Super! Sherlock Holmes
would be delighted...
What does the doc say?
The boy isn't in it.
Don't know
what he saw but he's in shock.
I injected him.
He's sleeping.
I think we should take him in!
I've got a few ideas.
Dr Anselm! You should recall
that smoking is prohibited
while the forensics team
are still working.
Know anything yet?
Yes.
I prefer to have a victim.
Have you seen
the Jimmy Palmer film?
They rob a bank...
with a chimpanzee.
We meet again tomorrow!
Continue!
We haven't found out
much about Swan Tamel yet.
He really is a citizen of the Vatican,
but we don't know what he does.
He has diplomatic status and
probably legal immunity.
- He didn't mention it.
- His past is murky
but we know he visited four
continents in recent months.
He claims to be doing research...
Yes, but it is still not clear
into what.
Find out for tomorrow!
He arrived from Sri Lanka
and his plane landed at 6.51.
Customs spotted him because
he came alone and with no baggage.
We don't know
how, but he came straight here.
I have a feeling that he is our man!
The analyser and behaviour
analyst are waiting.
They want to ask
for more time too!
- Sir, the press have arrived.
- Hurray!
- Now what? - Are you going out?
- No.
You're going out and lying...
- ...a lot.
- Me?
- What do you think this is?
- A fucking farce. It always is.
Where is he?
- In the toilet.
- Then why are you here?
Why are you guarding us?
What are you doing? Open up!
What are you doing? Open up!
I said, open up!
Open this door at once!
Every evening, the electrons
sent to lick our TV screens
compress the whole world
into the late news bulletin.
So we are left believing
that we have learnt of
all that has happened to the world
in a brief 15 minutes.
This, of course, is not true.
Reporters' cameras
sift their way around the globe
and just happen to stop...
where an important politician
is stepping from an aeroplane
and, with false sincerity,
shaking hands with other
important politicians.
Only the extraordinary...
where the carriages
are smashed to shreds
and from where they carry
people out in bits.
Because we all have an ample supply
of less spectacular mishaps.
That is why the following
question arises:
Good evening.
Late last night,
the stock from Al F. Eveson's
world-famous rare-book dealership
mysteriously disappeared.
All the books were replaced
by one book
written by an unknown
author and with no publisher.
We have also learnt that
at the same time,
the press received an anonymous call
inviting them to attend the
"most spectacular book launch
of the century" to be held at 1 am.
The media and the police
were surprised to meet
at an impromptu news conference
given by Detective Richard Lance.
At the time of the crime,
several members of staff
were working in the storeroom
but witnessed nothing suspicious.
No one was injured and nothing of
value was removed from the premises.
This is all I have for now.
Please now leave
the scene. Organise it!
- Mr Lance! Mr Lance!
- And the book?
Something about the book!
Book? What book?
I'm sorry!
Are you an actor?
I have no information
on the book.
Then why did you call us here?
Aren't they going to launch it?
The police ordered a news blackout
throughout the investigation.
The whole area has been sealed off.
At the time of the crime,
the owner, Al F. Eveson,
and the manageress, Maya Satin...
It is now certain
that two further unidentified
individuals were present in the shop.
Although the police have denied
any injuries occurred,
a young man was carried
out on a stretcher.
So the question is who wrote it?
This is of interest
to the Reality Defence Institute.
You will remember
Special Agent Phil Pitch.
The Kennedy Twins' secret language
and the "Church of Judgement"
mystery,
to mention his
two most infamous cases.
He's been quiet for a while.
But I caught up with him
at the crime scene last night!
I'm just overseeing the investigation.
There is no need to get carried away!
Everything is much simpler
than you think!
Move back!
You have no right to block
the cameras!
- Mr Pitch! Wait!
- Where are you taking them?
So many children were born
between me taking two breaths
and a good many people died as well.
It's a tricky one.
I myself am quite aware that knowledge
such as this is equal to zero.
One could write around it with
words but it cannot be experienced.
Therefore, the author of the book
set himself an unsolvable problem.
And whoever
didn't actually handle this book up
knew only that it contained
few words but many more numbers,
and came to the blind conclusion that
it was a miscalculated undertaking.
In fact, they saw it as insanity
because what could anyone do with
page after page of numbers?
If the book didn't exist and I wasn't
holding it my hand as I speak,
perhaps I too would see it
as an unfeasible idea.
The telephone book hardly makes
easy reading
and tells us nothing about
the inhabitants of a given town.
The boundless soul
of which we justly boast
is what we believe differentiates us
from the animals.
But our consciousness is also finite
whilst our problems with the world
are much greater than those of a dog.
A dog lacks the ability to reflect
and is unaware that it knows
practically nothing.
This is in contrast to us,
as we know this.
It would be a lie to deny it
because we could perhaps pity
a handful of people
but it is impossible
to empathise with 800,000.
So what are we to do
with our limited consciousness
that it might comprehend
that which is incomprehensible?
What has to be done
in order for us to see a single
moment in the life of humanity?
Well, the answer has been born
and here it is!
- I thought you'd never make it!
- Me neither. Get me coffee.
I haven't slept.
The pressure's heavy.
Outside too?
- Reassure me!
- We're living on coffee too.
- It's good you're here.
- Don't say they're fine.
What should I say?
The mute is still mute.
The doctor says the lack
of stimulus will work.
- The girl's improved.
- Improved?
If she has anything to say,
she's going to say it!
She could speak before
or did you silence her?
She went into a rage and couldn't
stop crying so we tranquilised her.
They've promised they'll
break Eveson by tonight!
- Tonight? Great.
Is he ranting? - Not now.
- Then what is he doing?
- Nothing. He's very quiet.
He wants to see the girl
and he has offered money.
- Money? How much?
- Don't know.
Would he like a honeymoon suite?
They are testing them very rigorously.
- It's their job.
- Maybe there'll be trouble
because if none of them are in...
There is no "maybe" and no "if"!
Not even for me!
Why have you left the old boy
to last?
They're not really getting anywhere
with Tamel. He's got us all.
What did I ask you for?
I'm just a police officer
but the doc likes him.
The Vatican is on us.
Don't you watch TV?
- He's making exceptions for him
while we... - You're doing jack shit!
I want cigarettes!
Five a day!
I asked for a coffee
if it isn't too much!
And matches!
I can see that
you're hardly killing yourself!
Pitch, they are telling the truth.
Someone is lying!
Not them.
Not them?
Doc!
I've lived in a car for a week.
I eat at work
and sleep in car parks.
I shit, wash,
and dress in gas stations.
I've gone through
about 100 people,
I'm keeping my back to the media
thanks to our friend Lance, and
the Pope is sending me personal
messages and none of them too polite.
You sit watching films and
all you can say is "not them"?
That's right.
Because we've been busy too.
I've pushed them through the full
array of psychotropic tests.
But they're the only ones
we've got left!
Everything I do turns up a blank.
Their neuropsychological
maps show that
not one of them is lying.
If the boy had seen something,
the drugs would have brought it out.
I have gone further with the others...
I tried a few things from
Ricardo Sai's
"Inquisitor" on them which has...
made them all rather unstable.
It seems to make Tamel quite happy!
Swan? He's not happy because of that.
He's happy because he never lies.
You don't need to lie if you've got
the Vatican on your side.
If I did the
insinuation-factor analysis on you,
you wouldn't even have God
on your side!
I used the same technique
on astronauts for four years!
And not one could hide a thing.
So just try to forget
that these lot are in on it.
Because what we are doing
is slowly becoming illegal.
You can have me audited
if you like.
I won't get upset.
I'm more than ready.
But you know exactly
why you work with me.
That's why I'm surprised
to hear you're giving up.
I'm not giving up.
I also watch the news and
I know how deep the shit is.
Where is my watch?
This stuff belongs to the little lady.
It's a fucking pricy watch!
There'd be no problem here
if everybody could keep
what they needed.
This is a fragment of burnt plastic
we found stuck under the toilet rim.
It's just like the plastic
we use to pack the books...
I pulled the bars down and,
"hey presto",
there were paper fibres stuck to it
in four places.
Tamel!
- Why wasn't it missing from
the inventory? - It was but...
we thought you had it!
We even felt jealous.
The behavioural researchers
only let us take samples.
The book is surrounded in secrecy.
Why are they shitting themselves?
Listen hard,
because what I am about to say
is even hard to comprehend within
the boundaries of the paranormal.
We've made little progress.
But we can now assume
that thousands of data points
are based on precise calculations.
We've only verified
the very simplest ones.
That's why the book's contents must
be taken more seriously
than we thought.
Do you consider a book to be serious
that describes in numbers
how many men in the world cheat
on their wives in a minute?
I have to admit to being scared
in this case.
Everything in this book is original.
Nothing has ever been
published before.
Statistics use average numbers
where as this book presents
the broadest spectrum of human life
circumstance in arithmological form.
So the amount
of numbers holds quality.
These are qualities that distil the
multifaceted nature of the human fate
and in an astounding manner.
I can see that you are astounded but
I didn't ask for a literary critique.
I want a report on who has set
this loose on us and why!
Might I know why the evaluation
didn't begin on time?
- It did but you were late.
- The exact time...
The exact time
is the time my watch shows!
Let's continue!
The book is definitely the work
of more than one individual.
You don't say! Really?
I managed to work that out on day one.
The book's appearance
was quite unique.
The press were invited...
They wanted to make a splash...
a surprise, a mystery, a marvel!
They wanted sure-fire success
and they got it!
Seriously?
If it wasn't obvious, I have been
working on ruining their success!
The book was developed by
an apparatus over a period of years.
The compilation of such information
requires the most modern
and most expensive
data-processing computers.
It requires experts to compile
and count.
The content alone
would have cost a fortune.
And that's not to mention
the printing costs.
It didn't happen
at a registered site.
The font may be simple
but it is also unique
and was probably specially designed.
The folks in the lab
have been trying to identify
the components of the paper
for a week.
Claude has asked for more time.
Let's move on!
The most disturbing thing is that
the book still has a personal element.
Its title... Its absurdity...
Its humour...
And so many other things.
These are all messages
from a strong intellect.
Someone who not only wants
to feel superior
but who actually is superior
at this moment in time.
I can't send reinforcements because
of the commotion in the canteen.
The old folks have gone mad.
Take her back somehow!
Oh, sweetheart!
Can an animal attendant come
to the dolphinarium with a stun-gun?
She disappeared from
telekinesis...
Repeat. Animal attendant with
tranquiliser gun to the dolphins!
What's going on?
Whose interest does this serve and
why? Could the Vatican be connected?
We don't know.
Obviously,
the motivation and the manpower
point to a strong interest group
but we are going to have to call
in specialist help.
Whatever the case, contact should be
established with national security.
The book is terribly dangerous.
Now you are joking, hey?
Three of us started to read the book.
Of the three, Tod our lexicographer
is resting on the fourth.
He's tied to his bed raging on
about Satan.
If people get hold of this book,
the consequences
will be impossible to predict.
They already have!
You like everyone but I...
...I don't.
I don't even like you.
I don't like any of you and
you should bear that in mind.
You'll remind me of that later anyway.
And you could look after yourself
better.
Love is the measure of normality.
You think that you can play
with us because
the priesthood protects you?
You feel immensely powerful.
Am I right?
I will make you realise
who the true rulers really are!
If the soul does not rule, whoever
it may be is simply a usurper.
- What is that idiot playing at?
- That's why I told you to come.
You'll soon be begging.
You won't get lunch from today!
We'll see how long you keep smiling.
Okay, I'm going in!
Bring the others here!
If it makes you happy,
I will willingly fast!
Ah... Pitch! Glad you're here!
We have just been discussing
the gentleman's diet.
I'll leave you here with him
because I've got a report to file.
I don't remember you getting
permission to interview!
Perhaps because you forgot
to come in for a week.
You should sleep.
One gets tired without dreams.
Then you still must dream a lot.
Never enough. But...
always something significant.
I'm sorry but
I have alarming news for you!
You are now an official suspect.
We have material evidence.
I don't understand how you thought
I wouldn't realise.
I would never have guessed.
But I was starting to worry
after a week.
Don't blame yourself!
Often the most obvious
is the least suspicious.
- Can I take that as a confession?
- Why should I deny what happened?
- Because it's punishable by law.
- The law?
What I refer to
as the law is vigilance!
Why did you smuggle the book out?
Because people need to confront
themselves.
They need to confront reality.
If it is sufficient for reality
to exist,
why do you want to defend it
at all costs?
It's my job.
I'm just doing my job.
And marvel gets in the way
of your work?
I'm the one asking questions here!
Reality is a matter of subjectivity.
You'll soon see!
Tell me more about the Vatican!
Two kinds of people
live on the earth:
the guilty who think
they are genuine,
and the genuine
who know they are guilty.
That's quite alright.
The one you seek
is so very much here
that he falls outside
the sensory field.
Now you listen! I'm
very fucking tired of you!
If you are in this, you'll
suffocate because I'll smother you!
Mr Lance must be your pupil.
Please give him back
his magnetic card
otherwise he won't be able
to leave the building.
Have you ever seen anything
like this before?
Sit down!
Look. The law is the law.
The tests are in your own interest.
And although your accounts of events
concur, they are anti-reality.
What you claim could not have
actually occurred.
- What happens is always true!
- Would you just shut up?
I've grown to like this man!
Tell me how you managed it!
In my dreams.
- He contacted me.
- Are you starting now?
And at exactly the right time.
This place... and its methods...
Who the hell knows?
I might actually need them...
Coming back to the case in hand,
I stand by my account.
I'm not bothered by what you think
should have happened and what not.
I was there...
I was part of the marvel.
The marvel?
- Aren't you worried that your books
disappeared? - They didn't disappear.
They transformed.
They transformed...
The situation creates itself.
You have fallen into your own trap!
Just like me.
We fall into it... and then we no
longer recall who we built it for.
We build from traps!
Questions for Eveson?!
That's me.
Give it here!
"Eveson and Maya Satin?"
Why is there a question mark here?
Why?
You tell me!
Trap!
I have got a disgusting amount
of money.
An inconceivably large amount.
It would only cost me
a phone call and a trifling fee
to stop your stupid questions.
I own a bookshop
renowned throughout the world.
I have no idea why.
I have always hated reading.
I have got two children
but I don't know their birthdays.
I have an ex-wife
whose name I could forget.
I only travel in a leased vehicle
whether that be a bus,
a plane, or a boat.
My elder brother hates me.
He thinks I squander our father's
fortune and I live too freely.
I have dined alone for two years
without tasting a thing.
And now I'm locked up here?
I could get out.
I could get out but I don't.
I still don't.
They pushed too far.
- Too far!
- Relax and sit down!
I would pay anything to see her
every day as I have until now.
She loves books
and books love her in return!
Whereas books don't love me
and she never has!
They've been pulverised!
What the fuck did you do to them?
Get everyone here!
Do you need him too?
Idiot! Idiot!
Sir, the chaos
is getting increasingly worse.
I think that Agent Pitch's role
in the investigation
is not at all straightforward.
Yes. He wants to do everything alone
and it makes working impossible.
Pitch is either on a false trail
or hiding something and
so doing significant damage...
Sir...
Sir! If he would inform as he should
then this wouldn't happen.
Yes...
Yes. I agree, sir.
And I can ensure you that...
I'll do all I can to protect
the prestige of the bureau.
I am in full agreement with you,
sir...
I'll contact you again today.
Of course. I make the time
to be 4.07. In which case...
Sir!
Sir?!
At last, a professional.
Doc!
Doc, come because
he's ranting and raving!
Don't you understand?
It's obvious that they know nothing.
Or have I missed something?
Mr Pitch...
Why are you so sad?
Everything is going to plan,
isn't it?
Or am I mistaken?
I sometimes am.
But you... bright boys.
It is going to work for you,
just don't give up!
People give up so easily.
I won't do that,
don't worry, Miss Satin!
I am sure women adore you!
They're crazy about you.
Am I right?
- Do you have a wife?
- Yes. I did have.
Maya, stop this!
And money? Have you got money?
Buy yourself a woman!
Maya!
Why?
Not all women cost
as much as a bookshop.
Do you know what?
Buy her a prison!
Or you could bring her here
so you could see her every day.
This place is so entertaining.
Wonderful! Everyone is feeling great.
That is progress!
I'm not interested!
I'm not interested!
You asked for a week!
I don't know what you've done
but they are better than ever!
They couldn't walk earlier.
They are laughing in our faces!
Check the drug supplies,
especially the mood enhancers!
Where are the pears from?
Don't know.
- Where are they from? - They
don't appear on their diet sheets.
I asked for 24-hour surveillance!
Go and check in the kitchens!
Get going!
I will be very angry if I find out
that they are from outside!
You can go too, boys.
They were communicating
somehow, that's for sure!
That's impossible! They only left
their rooms for tests.
They were separated all the while!
It's recorded.
You can watch it if you like!
Something else has happened
and you have to accept it!
Accept it! Accept it!
But what? This?! This?!
Don't you ever dream, Doc?
Don't you happen to meet up
with Tamel?
Lance is on you!
I guessed he was.
And if it's down to you
then he will have his way!
The paper is unknown.
The components can't be located
anywhere.
And several of them
don't even exist in time either.
The glue in the spines
is "tetralon".
It was used until the end
of the last century.
It can be
manufactured,
but that won't take us closer.
Where's that from?
This? I found it on my desk.
Is it yours?
Hey!
Hey! Hey, you little shit!
Hey! Stop that!
- I'm going to kill you! What are
you doing? - Hey! Stop that!
What the fuck are you doing?
I'm going to kill you!
Give her some! Hit her, hit her!
Don't just shake her, hit her!
Give it to her!
Smash her face in!
Let her have it!
The presentation of 60 seconds in the
life of every single living person
had to be calculated
like a massive military campaign.
The original concept may be important
but it doesn't guarantee success.
A good strategist is not one who knows
that the secret of victory is surprise
but the one who knows how to surprise.
So, people,
we are going to crown you now!
You're not allowed to take these
off though you couldn't anyway.
But they are no less comfortable
than a hat.
Do you want to get inside
our brains?
It's not dangerous.
Unless you are hiding something.
Thanks to Mr Tamel, our little
publication has found its way
out onto the streets. Soon
half the world will have read it.
So I thought you, of all people,
shouldn't be left out.
Of course, the reader cannot know
everything at one go.
But anyone who dipped
into the book,
was confronted
with breathtaking data.
It was like seeing
a snapshot of the landscape
but not with hills, rivers and meadows
but billions of human bodies.
Like lightning tearing through
the sky on a stormy night
and we see endless space in all
directions for a split second.
And then the land
is drenched in darkness once more
but the image remains engraved
on our minds.
Good evening.
9 people have died...
Good evening.
90 people have died...
Good evening.
900 people...
Considering that the population
of the earth is around 6 billion,
it is hardly sensational news that
thousands of people die every minute.
I met this kind of statistic
with an inflexible mind
because I was incapable of sensing
its significance.
At least not until the numbers
became concrete.
The whole of death is first seen
in this chapter
through a weak microscope.
Then stronger lenses take us closer
and closer to the details.
The chapter on death
begins with natural demise,
followed by catastrophes,
and finally forms of death
caused by our fellow man.
You read about the distribution
of torture occurring in one minute
accompanied by its geographical
spread.
You get to know that
while you are walking your dog,
looking for your slippers,
chatting with your wife,
reading the paper, falling asleep...
that every year, every month,
every week,
every night, every day
every minute,
every second of the day,
crowds of thousands are screaming
in the final throws of death.
Hello?
Are you still there?
Of course, cancer and
heart disease were not ignored
along with AIDS and numerous
other modern plagues
covering the mass
victims of medical progress
and the 400 most important
illnesses.
Then there were those who met
their end in the form of
a speeding car, collapsing wall,
plummeting roof tile,
train...
Wonderful! Everyone is here.
Please, take a seat.
I will introduce him to you
all shortly.
Before I do,
let's watch this film.
Okay?
The book devotes a separate section
to our disposal of the dead.
Many an infant ends up in the belly
of a rat in poor countries.
The related statistics
can be found on another page.
To ensure the reader
doesn't miss this,
it is detailed in a footnote.
In order to pinpoint
the precise cause of death,
they used
cross-control
in conjunction
with the diagonal method.
One table lists groups of causes
of death
while the other gives the precise
cause, such as electrocution.
Thanks to this particular method,
we are presented with death
in all its glorious forms.
Based on the letter signed
by all the members of the sect,
it is evident that the chapter
dealing with death
is what drove them
all to mass suicide.
Experts say that the wave of suicides
may grow as the book spreads.
Humanist movements have called on
the nations of the world to boycott.
Doc! Doc! Come on! Hurry!
- What is it? Not another power cut?
- Bring them back!
Not now. I'll do it tomorrow.
I'd have to wake...
Fucking hell!
Chew it well and swallow it!
Don't ask for more if you want it!
Make sure all is neat and tidy!
Be free from Monday through to Friday!
Only speak when you're spoken to!
And try to live
the whole year through!
Treasure what is near and dear!
And don't forget to give a cheer!
Wake up one day!
Fall asleep every day!
Wake up every day!
Fall asleep one day!
We are in.
Yes we are.
Do you think they suspect?
We've been given a day off.
Slowly everyone will realise.
Do you want out?
I don't want to fall asleep again.
But you have to.
It's my only chance to find you.
I still want to see you.
See me?
You can only see a bookshop.
- And you can only see books.
- No.
There are no books now,
just a bookshop.
There never was a bookshop!
It was just you and me...
It's just the two of us.
Two of us?
Okay, attention please!
We are about to start!
When Pitch arrives,
the show can start.
It's 10.30 now. Satin and Eveson
fall asleep by 11.30.
The boy might be awake until
midnight.
Tamel never sleeps before 1 am.
Whatever happens,
when they all reach paradox sleep
we'll measure
the elongation reference.
And this will need
five-minute summaries.
I don't believe it!
That's impossible!
I'm sorry boys...
I kept this till last,
but those without an Oscar are
- the ones pleased to receive it.
- Sexy uniform!
Have you cleaned yourself up?
Did he have a shower here?
This is me, Doc, not you.
No! This isn't you. It's Grady
Granros from "Rainbow Eye".
I haven't seen it.
He owns my favourite video store.
He's queer.
So, enough of the fun.
Stop this and start to prepare.
You still have time for testing.
No one should
be fooled if they see neo-ataxia.
I put anti-tranquilizers
in their supper.
What was in their supper?
Some stuff to make them recite
the ABC backwards in their sleep.
We've spent more money than Juliano
Riberio in "The Sons of Light".
The headband also measures
the bulbus olfactorius.
What's that?
The nasal gland!
There is no point in so many of us
if everyone feels somehow
insufficient when alone.
The idea of there being a lot of
us is a relative consideration.
The chapter on life tells us
how many people or rather
how many bodies exist
in any one of the 525,600 minutes
that make up a year.
How many bodies,
how much muscle, bone,
gall, blood, saliva,
cerebral spinal fluid,
faeces exists.
24.9 billion litres of blood could be
drained from the whole of humanity.
That seems a lot, but
if it was poured into the oceans,
the sea level would only rise
by a hundredth of a millimetre.
It is worth reflecting that
with this minuscule splash,
we would all disappear from the face
of the planet in one go.
They are down.
Show me a thalamus!
Satin's showing 5-7!
5-6! 5-5!
Eveson, 5-6, the same.
Same here...
In every moment of every day
there are 34.2 million men and women
having intercourse.
Only 5.7% will lead to fertilisation
but 43 tonnes of seminal fluid
a minute,
give or take a drop,
contains 1,990,000,000 individual
sperm.
They don't want to have bad dreams.
Here it is...
Here's the fifth!
It's coming from outside.
We could try to localise it!
What is it, Doc?
- Intelligence.
- I can't handle the numbers!
- Metastasis! With all of them!
- Let's save the eidetic frequency!
Got it! It's searching!
It's coming from the bookshop.
- What's going on?
- You're disturbing us!
From now
on you will be disturbing me.
And that is only if I ask for it.
Very clever!
I'll congratulate you later,
Special Agent Lance!
Dr Anselm,
give me an update!
Lance, this test is expensive.
Then stop it!
Wake up one day!
Fall asleep every day!
Wake up every day!
Fall asleep one day!
Let's not waste electricity,
gentlemen!
We might need it to light
our way out of the darkness.
The investigation will be simple
and straightforward from now on!
Well, if we are all together then we
could manage a little mental puzzler.
You are the ones responsible
for all this waste.
So we didn't manage
to get any closer
to the anonymous caller
who invited the press.
It was impossible
because there was a resistance
filter on the call
and the data was lost for ever.
And?
And so that means that
even I could have phoned
if I had been given agent status
earlier.
Of course, I have never longed
for the media spotlight!
You're sick!
Your first good decision.
And sadly your last.
Your first bad decision
and sadly not your last.
As this is a reality defence matter,
and the situation is not yet
definitive, I am segregating you!
You won't even need to change!
I'm sorry, but the law is the law!
Search him
and you can take him away!
- Sir, this is yours.
- Physical evidence.
Thanks for the help.
Is there anything else?
Let's not rob him of his lunch
if he has packed it so nicely,
and he can keep his spiritual
nourishment. He's worked hard.
Take him away!
Bon appetite.
Give me a cigarette!
Give me a fucking cigarette!
Bastards!
Being human is not simply
a case of anatomy
that can be added,
multiplied and divided.
It is also spiritual being.
Spiritual
being cannot be measured
and cannot be statistically
processed
so the author might as well
abandon his plan
to paint a picture of humanity
because however many chapters
there may be in the book,
you'll never find one with
the title of "Human Dignity".
We have been waiting for you.
Sit down... Pitch...
the special agent!
I hope you will be able to eat.
This is our farewell supper!
Try it! It will work.
I am happy
that you are sleeping at last
because you have to close
your eyes to see.
Can I give you any more?
What?
He spoke! He spoke!
Eat before it goes cold.
We're not getting anywhere with him!
That's not fair,
it wasn't easy for you either.
It was easier for me than you...
Really?
I thought you'd never get here.
Well, here I am...
Aren't I?
The whole comes sooner
than its parts.
We all came through different chapters
but have arrived at the same place.
We are here now and
that is all that matters.
We will only make it to the end
if everyone dares do everything!
I don't understand...
We have come full circle.
And now it depends on you
if we keep circling
or quit the game...
Enough.
Stop it!
Try it! Have a bite!
Go on! Imagine!
Imagine anything you would
like to eat.
We'll be putting this
in our report, Dr Anselm.
Sorry.
Can I call you "Doc"?
Are we done?
I have.
You still have a small job to do
before your room appears
on the monitor!
This is the headquarters
of the Reality Defence Institute
and not a cheap cinema.
I want everything out of here
in precisely 10 minutes
that is "a figment
of someone's imagination"!
Let me start.
If someone comes in here,
I want them to understand
what reality is!
All that remains of the uncertain
is that which we hope for.
- I want to wake up!
- Go on then!
Now you are afraid
because you're on your own.
- It's difficult not to be afraid...
- Difficult?!
It's difficult like everything
that is simple and natural.
I want these in uniform
from tomorrow and to quit smoking!
Starting in 60 minutes.
Prepare the truth serum
and we'll need shock treatment!
Shock treatment?!
I hate to see a woman cry.
The book is original because it
doesn't contain balanced statistics
and doesn't chronicle
completed events.
This book is synchronised
with human life.
It's not the majority of voters
who decide the truth.
Majority simply means that there are
more people who have been tricked.
And the book?
Is he asking me?
Power can be conquered
but weakness never!
I asked for them all at once!
We have been trying
to wake them up for hours.
It's impossible.
- Sir, we really have tried
everything! - Everything?
Perhaps it is you who are incapable?
Perhaps we need the doc.
Pitch, old mate!
Had a good rest?
You look better.
I feel better!
I've never felt better in my life!
I hope I can make
you feel better still!
For weeks, the world is no longer
a place but has become a state.
We are held in the grip of terror
by a book
and the whole
Al F. Eveson book scandal.
A mentally disturbed group
of individuals
has been spying on every moment
of our lives from birth to death
and degraded it all down
into statistical data.
We have been turned
into numbers along
with our relationships,
our thoughts, and our deeds.
If we fail to uncover the identity
of those behind this book,
it is possible that they will soon
start to creep into our dreams.
Good evening.
Sondra Dolphin here.
And, as ever,
"on the side of truth".
The spirit of things
is on their surface.
The Reality Defence Institute
has just announced that,
beyond the four segregated suspects,
a fifth individual is also
suspected of authoring the book.
Phil Pitch has been suspended
and...
Like that, "Mr No.1"?
... is now the prime suspect.
We've been working on this
for a long time.
Don't go anywhere!
I'll be right back!
We act and move in relativity.
We don't know it,
we just know of it.
We never reach it,
but search after it.
We are only witnesses.
Witnesses always interpret.
You have to keep going back
to the scene.
Didn't they teach you that?
Fuck the lot of you!
What are you talking about?
Wait until the end!
Stay tuned
for a very special show
with Special Agent Richard Lance
from the Reality Defence Institute
in the studio who promises to put
an end to speculation live on air.
Live on air?
But the real surprise
is still to come! Don't go away!
So are you a recording?
Good evening.
Congratulations on your appointment.
Can you tell us where the case stands?
We know that Al F. Eveson,
Maya Satin, Swan Tamel,
and Agnus Andersen
are responsible for the hysteria
that the book has caused
throughout the world.
The evidence
is not public information
for reasons of national security.
How will it be secret?
We have been pulling the case
together
based on confessions provided,
but we ran
into internal resistance.
That is why we had to order
a news blackout.
Do you mean within
the Reality Defence Institute?
I suspended Special Agent
Phil Pitch
because he couldn't see the map
for the landscape.
Could you explain?
We can't see either the landscape
or the map!
Pitch hasn't dealt with
a significant case in years.
Eveson is extremely rich.
The others are mentally ill.
What is the connection?
Are you asking me?
A promotional stunt like this
is long-term investment.
Why would they need to promote
themselves?
If it was meant to promote them,
it has gone very wrong.
People are angry.
- They want to find the culprit.
- Exactly.
They tried to use
psychological terror.
It might have worked.
The world might be outraged
but it recognises the book's
creation as a major achievement.
Pitch exploited the capacity
of the Reality Defence Institute,
and its secret investigative methods
and prestige
in an attempt to stage a series
of terrorist acts
and shaken
the world's faith in reality!
You have to understand that
these people are criminals!
And they overstepped the boundaries
of the law with their thoughts!
Our civilisation, which measures,
calculates, and evaluates everything
but ignores all orders and bans,
and wants to know everything
while its suffering grows,
is becoming increasingly opaque
even to itself.
It is therefore no wonder that
it wanted a portrait of itself
that is infinitely lifelike
and objective.
But did it really get what it wanted?
Is it possible to see things
impersonally?
My conscience says...
that what the eyes sees...
and what I see in the eye...
is the same.
Let's start the interrogation!
Let's close it instead!
It was me. I did it.
What?
- Everything.
- What do you mean, "everything"?
- I don't know. Everything.
- What do you mean?
- I mean I don't know.
- That's impossible.
- It's possible.
- How possible?
- It's just possible.
- It's just possible?
- It's not?
- It is!
- It's not possible!
- What?
- It's not possible?
- No!
- It's possible.
- How?
It's not possible.
- Is it possible?
- Possibly.
What the hell are you doing?
What's going on here?
Everything that we experienced here
or that we saw outside
is born here.
Everything is a question in itself...
to which everything together
is the answer!
Well...
I don't believe it!
Shit! Don't do that!
Is it yours?
It looks like it but
it could be yours as well.
It's very friendly. It's been
following me since yesterday.
While it's yours, that's yours too!
Chew it well and swallow it!
Don't ask for more if you want it!
Make sure all is neat and tidy!
Be free from Monday through to Friday!
Only speak when you're spoken to!
And try to live
the whole year through!
Treasure what is near and dear!
And don't forget to give a cheer!
Chew it well and swallow it!
Don't ask for more if you want it.
Make sure all is neat and tidy!
Be free from Monday through to Friday!
Only speak when you're spoken to!
And try to live
the whole year through!
Treasure what is near and dear!
And don't forget to give a cheer!
Wake up one day!
Fall asleep every day!
Wake up every day!
Fall asleep one day!
We could be outraged by it
and see it as slander
that insults the whole of mankind.
However,
we might seek comfort
from the fact that no one
could make it into a film.
Now everyone wants to know
who wrote it.
Was it a man or a woman
or were there more of them?
It's odd that it never occurred
to anyone up until now.
The thought virtually offered itself
up after the "Book of World Records".
Especially because
it was such a bestseller.
And nowadays, publishers and authors
find nothing more tempting
than a book that everyone buys
but no one needs to read.
The idea was lying there
in the street
waiting for someone to bend
and pick it up.
The waxwork museum of records
had one major flaw:
it was instantly out of date!
Shortly after a man pushed
a billiard ball
up to the top of a mountain
pass with his nose in a week,
a fellow appeared who did the same
with a nutmeg and in just three days.
But he died of blood poisoning
contracted through
the wound on his nose
that gave the record
a certain poignant piquancy.
So, the whole thing is a little vague.
Whatever the case, the not yet extinct
survivors of a refined intelligentsia
rejected the deluge of records,
cheap sensations, and pulp fiction.
And with an eye for what was being
read by the more superior reader,
a few opened elite bookshops.
Please, don't wrap the storybook!
I want Valery to read from it
to me tonight!
I'm so very frightened of the storm.
- It's no wonder.
- Thank you, Maya my dear.
Thank you for your custom,
Mrs Keylock.
Goodness me!
Leave it open, Valery,
I'll see to it.
Are you bored?
So a book had to be created
that closely resembled the "Book
of World Records" but was serious.
Something that couldn't simply be
shrugged off.
It's common knowledge that
book publishers dislike nothing more
than publishing books.
Because here the rule is that
no one reads;
if they read, they don't understand;
if they understand,
they forget in the blink of an eye!
It was with this in mind that everyone
longed for a book that looked at
what everyone is doing
at a single point in time.
So we wouldn't think we were
cramming stupidity into our heads
while the important stuff
was really happening elsewhere.
So then, a book like this,
which speaks about everything at the
same time as blurring everything else,
appeared as something
of an impossibility.
Until now, that is!
What the eyes sees
and what I see in the eye
is identical...
Sir!?
Sir, can I help you?
Do you really want to help me, miss?
No.
Generally no, but...
I have been told
that the question suits me.
Whoever said it spoke the truth.
Sir!
He said it...
Apologies.
Miss Satin didn't realise that you
were in the shop after she closed.
We don't intend to imprison
our customers.
I'll let you out right away.
This way please!
Vitruvius...
- Vitruvius' "Ten Books"...
- I beg your pardon?
Vitruvius... It used to be here
by architecture. Have you sold it?
No. I'm not aware.
But it was here. I clearly recall it
being opposite graphology.
It was moved
to the rare books section...
six weeks ago when we heard
that it wouldn't be reissued.
Has he been here before?
Oh... only in my dreams!
I have been to many beautiful places
in my dreams but...
this place...
particularly appeals.
Thank you.
So... can we be of any assistance?
Well, I'm not sure...
Where do you keep the rare books?
We don't normally allow customers
in here. You are the first.
The exception weakens the rule and
only where the boundary is rigid.
Yes...
Something isn't right.
What's this shit?
Maya!
Maya!
What in God's name is this? What?
- Who packed here?
- Have you gone mad?
Will someone tell me what all
this shit is? What is this?
Fucking hell! You...
You... You let...
- Who did you allow in?
- Oh, God!
Who put this here?
What's this "1"?
Maya, what 1? What 1?
Why 1?
Fuck me!
Maya! Call the police!
I won't tell you again
not to mess with the evidence!
Oh... the evidence.
I'm afraid I forgot.
Everything must be proved
that isn't, because what is...
- is beyond proof...
- I'll have you handcuffed!
We don't appear to be
helping each other here!
Perhaps it's because we aren't.
When are you going to let us go?
Our medics will soon be finished
with the kid.
Wonderful!
I've had enough.
I'd like to make a phone call.
When can I use a telephone?
I've said that you can't for now.
Oh, just one minute!
I can see that you haven't fully
understood
that this
is a reality defence matter.
The law states that until
we have a definitive situation,
you can be segregated.
Or, until there is evidence,
I will be the one to say who has
the right to do what! Is that clear?!
You can't even complain.
- We might.
- You most certainly might not!
I am here to ensure no outbreak
of panic.
We will sit here and enjoy
another coffee in peace and quiet.
Peace and quiet!
Is that clear?
My colleague will shortly...
You are procrastinating...
rather than accepting what is.
Don't deceive yourself!
Don't worry about me. I have cleared
up bigger shit than this before.
So you should be able
to sense the difference.
Everything is suspended from above
and depends on what is beneath it.
There are no exceptions.
Miss Satin, please calm down.
No one has come to any harm
and you are safe now.
We weren't in danger before.
Let's just wait for the results.
Okay?
Don't.
- This is a joke!
- No, your story is.
No one saw anything
and no one knows anything
and yet these are still lying
all over the place!
If we don't lift it up,
it will bear down on us all!
Why don't you investigate this clown?!
We know our own job, Mr Eveson!
We will investigate
everyone, including your good self!
- We have nothing to investigate
but ourselves! - Mr Tamel...
Come back down to earth, okay?
I am not interested in your dreams.
You can tell them
to our psychologist.
- You might take a look inside
the book. - It's just a book.
It is written in human language
and contains data.
Tomorrow, I'll know
where the data comes from
and where the books come from.
Then we will get to those
who brought them here,
they will show us
where the stolen books are,
and we will get them to tell us
how they did it.
Then they can marvel their way
straight to the cells.
I'm not even going to ask them
why they did it.
Someone who knows what will happen,
conducts a flawed investigation!
Don't let them touch the books!
I'll be quick because I can see
you're uncomfortable.
No sign of forced entry
and the roof's clear.
- Then check the ventilation!
- No eyewitnesses either.
All four security cameras
pointed at the counter.
And it was all too bright
from 8.00.
Passers-by only saw the one car
that left around 7.50.
I checked it out. It was Mrs Emilie
Keylock, a prim old lady.
She employs coloured menservants...
We know she is a regular
customer.
The other four employees
were allowed home at 7.30.
Their alibis are perfect but
I can work on them if you like.
- There were two who weren't at work
yesterday but... - No.
Fingerprints?
- What?
- Fingerprints!
Nothing on the first 57 books.
This is a tough nut, Pitch.
I selected them at random but there
are thousands on the bookshelves.
We found strands of hair so I have
asked for more staff at that lab.
It won't go any quicker...
It'll be weeks!
What about the quartet? Eveson?
Nothing. Eveson doesn't
appear to have an angle.
He's a millionaire son,
is well connected, no corruption.
A respected snob
and a sponsor of the arts!
His only enemy might be his wife
who insisted that we meet in person.
Eveson ignored her
and the kids.
I wish was ignored by him.
There is one interesting detail...
They opened the shop
exactly a year today.
Everyone was there.
I want an exact list
with exact alibis!
Maya Satin. Worked here from day one
and she's Eveson's right hand.
Wife says they're screwing.
The odd thing is
that the girl is now the youngest
in the famous Satin dynasty.
Her parents and her little sister
died in a lift accident.
- They plummeted to their deaths.
- In a lift?
Yes...
- Claude! Footprints?
- Pitch, the boy washed the floor so
the floor is theoretically a map
but for the time being
we only have them and the police.
I don't believe it.
Are you sure they aren't lying?
- Thanks!
- 111 is wanted in the car park!
And the boy?
Agnus Andersen.
He grew up in a children's
home and still lives there.
I spoke to the director on the phone
and although he was half asleep,
he said the boy's not mute but
he doesn't talk to everyone.
He was attached to a carer
but the guy disappeared.
And since then...
and I quote: "He has not been
verbally communicative."
Super! Sherlock Holmes
would be delighted...
What does the doc say?
The boy isn't in it.
Don't know
what he saw but he's in shock.
I injected him.
He's sleeping.
I think we should take him in!
I've got a few ideas.
Dr Anselm! You should recall
that smoking is prohibited
while the forensics team
are still working.
Know anything yet?
Yes.
I prefer to have a victim.
Have you seen
the Jimmy Palmer film?
They rob a bank...
with a chimpanzee.
We meet again tomorrow!
Continue!
We haven't found out
much about Swan Tamel yet.
He really is a citizen of the Vatican,
but we don't know what he does.
He has diplomatic status and
probably legal immunity.
- He didn't mention it.
- His past is murky
but we know he visited four
continents in recent months.
He claims to be doing research...
Yes, but it is still not clear
into what.
Find out for tomorrow!
He arrived from Sri Lanka
and his plane landed at 6.51.
Customs spotted him because
he came alone and with no baggage.
We don't know
how, but he came straight here.
I have a feeling that he is our man!
The analyser and behaviour
analyst are waiting.
They want to ask
for more time too!
- Sir, the press have arrived.
- Hurray!
- Now what? - Are you going out?
- No.
You're going out and lying...
- ...a lot.
- Me?
- What do you think this is?
- A fucking farce. It always is.
Where is he?
- In the toilet.
- Then why are you here?
Why are you guarding us?
What are you doing? Open up!
What are you doing? Open up!
I said, open up!
Open this door at once!
Every evening, the electrons
sent to lick our TV screens
compress the whole world
into the late news bulletin.
So we are left believing
that we have learnt of
all that has happened to the world
in a brief 15 minutes.
This, of course, is not true.
Reporters' cameras
sift their way around the globe
and just happen to stop...
where an important politician
is stepping from an aeroplane
and, with false sincerity,
shaking hands with other
important politicians.
Only the extraordinary...
where the carriages
are smashed to shreds
and from where they carry
people out in bits.
Because we all have an ample supply
of less spectacular mishaps.
That is why the following
question arises:
Good evening.
Late last night,
the stock from Al F. Eveson's
world-famous rare-book dealership
mysteriously disappeared.
All the books were replaced
by one book
written by an unknown
author and with no publisher.
We have also learnt that
at the same time,
the press received an anonymous call
inviting them to attend the
"most spectacular book launch
of the century" to be held at 1 am.
The media and the police
were surprised to meet
at an impromptu news conference
given by Detective Richard Lance.
At the time of the crime,
several members of staff
were working in the storeroom
but witnessed nothing suspicious.
No one was injured and nothing of
value was removed from the premises.
This is all I have for now.
Please now leave
the scene. Organise it!
- Mr Lance! Mr Lance!
- And the book?
Something about the book!
Book? What book?
I'm sorry!
Are you an actor?
I have no information
on the book.
Then why did you call us here?
Aren't they going to launch it?
The police ordered a news blackout
throughout the investigation.
The whole area has been sealed off.
At the time of the crime,
the owner, Al F. Eveson,
and the manageress, Maya Satin...
It is now certain
that two further unidentified
individuals were present in the shop.
Although the police have denied
any injuries occurred,
a young man was carried
out on a stretcher.
So the question is who wrote it?
This is of interest
to the Reality Defence Institute.
You will remember
Special Agent Phil Pitch.
The Kennedy Twins' secret language
and the "Church of Judgement"
mystery,
to mention his
two most infamous cases.
He's been quiet for a while.
But I caught up with him
at the crime scene last night!
I'm just overseeing the investigation.
There is no need to get carried away!
Everything is much simpler
than you think!
Move back!
You have no right to block
the cameras!
- Mr Pitch! Wait!
- Where are you taking them?
So many children were born
between me taking two breaths
and a good many people died as well.
It's a tricky one.
I myself am quite aware that knowledge
such as this is equal to zero.
One could write around it with
words but it cannot be experienced.
Therefore, the author of the book
set himself an unsolvable problem.
And whoever
didn't actually handle this book up
knew only that it contained
few words but many more numbers,
and came to the blind conclusion that
it was a miscalculated undertaking.
In fact, they saw it as insanity
because what could anyone do with
page after page of numbers?
If the book didn't exist and I wasn't
holding it my hand as I speak,
perhaps I too would see it
as an unfeasible idea.
The telephone book hardly makes
easy reading
and tells us nothing about
the inhabitants of a given town.
The boundless soul
of which we justly boast
is what we believe differentiates us
from the animals.
But our consciousness is also finite
whilst our problems with the world
are much greater than those of a dog.
A dog lacks the ability to reflect
and is unaware that it knows
practically nothing.
This is in contrast to us,
as we know this.
It would be a lie to deny it
because we could perhaps pity
a handful of people
but it is impossible
to empathise with 800,000.
So what are we to do
with our limited consciousness
that it might comprehend
that which is incomprehensible?
What has to be done
in order for us to see a single
moment in the life of humanity?
Well, the answer has been born
and here it is!
- I thought you'd never make it!
- Me neither. Get me coffee.
I haven't slept.
The pressure's heavy.
Outside too?
- Reassure me!
- We're living on coffee too.
- It's good you're here.
- Don't say they're fine.
What should I say?
The mute is still mute.
The doctor says the lack
of stimulus will work.
- The girl's improved.
- Improved?
If she has anything to say,
she's going to say it!
She could speak before
or did you silence her?
She went into a rage and couldn't
stop crying so we tranquilised her.
They've promised they'll
break Eveson by tonight!
- Tonight? Great.
Is he ranting? - Not now.
- Then what is he doing?
- Nothing. He's very quiet.
He wants to see the girl
and he has offered money.
- Money? How much?
- Don't know.
Would he like a honeymoon suite?
They are testing them very rigorously.
- It's their job.
- Maybe there'll be trouble
because if none of them are in...
There is no "maybe" and no "if"!
Not even for me!
Why have you left the old boy
to last?
They're not really getting anywhere
with Tamel. He's got us all.
What did I ask you for?
I'm just a police officer
but the doc likes him.
The Vatican is on us.
Don't you watch TV?
- He's making exceptions for him
while we... - You're doing jack shit!
I want cigarettes!
Five a day!
I asked for a coffee
if it isn't too much!
And matches!
I can see that
you're hardly killing yourself!
Pitch, they are telling the truth.
Someone is lying!
Not them.
Not them?
Doc!
I've lived in a car for a week.
I eat at work
and sleep in car parks.
I shit, wash,
and dress in gas stations.
I've gone through
about 100 people,
I'm keeping my back to the media
thanks to our friend Lance, and
the Pope is sending me personal
messages and none of them too polite.
You sit watching films and
all you can say is "not them"?
That's right.
Because we've been busy too.
I've pushed them through the full
array of psychotropic tests.
But they're the only ones
we've got left!
Everything I do turns up a blank.
Their neuropsychological
maps show that
not one of them is lying.
If the boy had seen something,
the drugs would have brought it out.
I have gone further with the others...
I tried a few things from
Ricardo Sai's
"Inquisitor" on them which has...
made them all rather unstable.
It seems to make Tamel quite happy!
Swan? He's not happy because of that.
He's happy because he never lies.
You don't need to lie if you've got
the Vatican on your side.
If I did the
insinuation-factor analysis on you,
you wouldn't even have God
on your side!
I used the same technique
on astronauts for four years!
And not one could hide a thing.
So just try to forget
that these lot are in on it.
Because what we are doing
is slowly becoming illegal.
You can have me audited
if you like.
I won't get upset.
I'm more than ready.
But you know exactly
why you work with me.
That's why I'm surprised
to hear you're giving up.
I'm not giving up.
I also watch the news and
I know how deep the shit is.
Where is my watch?
This stuff belongs to the little lady.
It's a fucking pricy watch!
There'd be no problem here
if everybody could keep
what they needed.
This is a fragment of burnt plastic
we found stuck under the toilet rim.
It's just like the plastic
we use to pack the books...
I pulled the bars down and,
"hey presto",
there were paper fibres stuck to it
in four places.
Tamel!
- Why wasn't it missing from
the inventory? - It was but...
we thought you had it!
We even felt jealous.
The behavioural researchers
only let us take samples.
The book is surrounded in secrecy.
Why are they shitting themselves?
Listen hard,
because what I am about to say
is even hard to comprehend within
the boundaries of the paranormal.
We've made little progress.
But we can now assume
that thousands of data points
are based on precise calculations.
We've only verified
the very simplest ones.
That's why the book's contents must
be taken more seriously
than we thought.
Do you consider a book to be serious
that describes in numbers
how many men in the world cheat
on their wives in a minute?
I have to admit to being scared
in this case.
Everything in this book is original.
Nothing has ever been
published before.
Statistics use average numbers
where as this book presents
the broadest spectrum of human life
circumstance in arithmological form.
So the amount
of numbers holds quality.
These are qualities that distil the
multifaceted nature of the human fate
and in an astounding manner.
I can see that you are astounded but
I didn't ask for a literary critique.
I want a report on who has set
this loose on us and why!
Might I know why the evaluation
didn't begin on time?
- It did but you were late.
- The exact time...
The exact time
is the time my watch shows!
Let's continue!
The book is definitely the work
of more than one individual.
You don't say! Really?
I managed to work that out on day one.
The book's appearance
was quite unique.
The press were invited...
They wanted to make a splash...
a surprise, a mystery, a marvel!
They wanted sure-fire success
and they got it!
Seriously?
If it wasn't obvious, I have been
working on ruining their success!
The book was developed by
an apparatus over a period of years.
The compilation of such information
requires the most modern
and most expensive
data-processing computers.
It requires experts to compile
and count.
The content alone
would have cost a fortune.
And that's not to mention
the printing costs.
It didn't happen
at a registered site.
The font may be simple
but it is also unique
and was probably specially designed.
The folks in the lab
have been trying to identify
the components of the paper
for a week.
Claude has asked for more time.
Let's move on!
The most disturbing thing is that
the book still has a personal element.
Its title... Its absurdity...
Its humour...
And so many other things.
These are all messages
from a strong intellect.
Someone who not only wants
to feel superior
but who actually is superior
at this moment in time.
I can't send reinforcements because
of the commotion in the canteen.
The old folks have gone mad.
Take her back somehow!
Oh, sweetheart!
Can an animal attendant come
to the dolphinarium with a stun-gun?
She disappeared from
telekinesis...
Repeat. Animal attendant with
tranquiliser gun to the dolphins!
What's going on?
Whose interest does this serve and
why? Could the Vatican be connected?
We don't know.
Obviously,
the motivation and the manpower
point to a strong interest group
but we are going to have to call
in specialist help.
Whatever the case, contact should be
established with national security.
The book is terribly dangerous.
Now you are joking, hey?
Three of us started to read the book.
Of the three, Tod our lexicographer
is resting on the fourth.
He's tied to his bed raging on
about Satan.
If people get hold of this book,
the consequences
will be impossible to predict.
They already have!
You like everyone but I...
...I don't.
I don't even like you.
I don't like any of you and
you should bear that in mind.
You'll remind me of that later anyway.
And you could look after yourself
better.
Love is the measure of normality.
You think that you can play
with us because
the priesthood protects you?
You feel immensely powerful.
Am I right?
I will make you realise
who the true rulers really are!
If the soul does not rule, whoever
it may be is simply a usurper.
- What is that idiot playing at?
- That's why I told you to come.
You'll soon be begging.
You won't get lunch from today!
We'll see how long you keep smiling.
Okay, I'm going in!
Bring the others here!
If it makes you happy,
I will willingly fast!
Ah... Pitch! Glad you're here!
We have just been discussing
the gentleman's diet.
I'll leave you here with him
because I've got a report to file.
I don't remember you getting
permission to interview!
Perhaps because you forgot
to come in for a week.
You should sleep.
One gets tired without dreams.
Then you still must dream a lot.
Never enough. But...
always something significant.
I'm sorry but
I have alarming news for you!
You are now an official suspect.
We have material evidence.
I don't understand how you thought
I wouldn't realise.
I would never have guessed.
But I was starting to worry
after a week.
Don't blame yourself!
Often the most obvious
is the least suspicious.
- Can I take that as a confession?
- Why should I deny what happened?
- Because it's punishable by law.
- The law?
What I refer to
as the law is vigilance!
Why did you smuggle the book out?
Because people need to confront
themselves.
They need to confront reality.
If it is sufficient for reality
to exist,
why do you want to defend it
at all costs?
It's my job.
I'm just doing my job.
And marvel gets in the way
of your work?
I'm the one asking questions here!
Reality is a matter of subjectivity.
You'll soon see!
Tell me more about the Vatican!
Two kinds of people
live on the earth:
the guilty who think
they are genuine,
and the genuine
who know they are guilty.
That's quite alright.
The one you seek
is so very much here
that he falls outside
the sensory field.
Now you listen! I'm
very fucking tired of you!
If you are in this, you'll
suffocate because I'll smother you!
Mr Lance must be your pupil.
Please give him back
his magnetic card
otherwise he won't be able
to leave the building.
Have you ever seen anything
like this before?
Sit down!
Look. The law is the law.
The tests are in your own interest.
And although your accounts of events
concur, they are anti-reality.
What you claim could not have
actually occurred.
- What happens is always true!
- Would you just shut up?
I've grown to like this man!
Tell me how you managed it!
In my dreams.
- He contacted me.
- Are you starting now?
And at exactly the right time.
This place... and its methods...
Who the hell knows?
I might actually need them...
Coming back to the case in hand,
I stand by my account.
I'm not bothered by what you think
should have happened and what not.
I was there...
I was part of the marvel.
The marvel?
- Aren't you worried that your books
disappeared? - They didn't disappear.
They transformed.
They transformed...
The situation creates itself.
You have fallen into your own trap!
Just like me.
We fall into it... and then we no
longer recall who we built it for.
We build from traps!
Questions for Eveson?!
That's me.
Give it here!
"Eveson and Maya Satin?"
Why is there a question mark here?
Why?
You tell me!
Trap!
I have got a disgusting amount
of money.
An inconceivably large amount.
It would only cost me
a phone call and a trifling fee
to stop your stupid questions.
I own a bookshop
renowned throughout the world.
I have no idea why.
I have always hated reading.
I have got two children
but I don't know their birthdays.
I have an ex-wife
whose name I could forget.
I only travel in a leased vehicle
whether that be a bus,
a plane, or a boat.
My elder brother hates me.
He thinks I squander our father's
fortune and I live too freely.
I have dined alone for two years
without tasting a thing.
And now I'm locked up here?
I could get out.
I could get out but I don't.
I still don't.
They pushed too far.
- Too far!
- Relax and sit down!
I would pay anything to see her
every day as I have until now.
She loves books
and books love her in return!
Whereas books don't love me
and she never has!
They've been pulverised!
What the fuck did you do to them?
Get everyone here!
Do you need him too?
Idiot! Idiot!
Sir, the chaos
is getting increasingly worse.
I think that Agent Pitch's role
in the investigation
is not at all straightforward.
Yes. He wants to do everything alone
and it makes working impossible.
Pitch is either on a false trail
or hiding something and
so doing significant damage...
Sir...
Sir! If he would inform as he should
then this wouldn't happen.
Yes...
Yes. I agree, sir.
And I can ensure you that...
I'll do all I can to protect
the prestige of the bureau.
I am in full agreement with you,
sir...
I'll contact you again today.
Of course. I make the time
to be 4.07. In which case...
Sir!
Sir?!
At last, a professional.
Doc!
Doc, come because
he's ranting and raving!
Don't you understand?
It's obvious that they know nothing.
Or have I missed something?
Mr Pitch...
Why are you so sad?
Everything is going to plan,
isn't it?
Or am I mistaken?
I sometimes am.
But you... bright boys.
It is going to work for you,
just don't give up!
People give up so easily.
I won't do that,
don't worry, Miss Satin!
I am sure women adore you!
They're crazy about you.
Am I right?
- Do you have a wife?
- Yes. I did have.
Maya, stop this!
And money? Have you got money?
Buy yourself a woman!
Maya!
Why?
Not all women cost
as much as a bookshop.
Do you know what?
Buy her a prison!
Or you could bring her here
so you could see her every day.
This place is so entertaining.
Wonderful! Everyone is feeling great.
That is progress!
I'm not interested!
I'm not interested!
You asked for a week!
I don't know what you've done
but they are better than ever!
They couldn't walk earlier.
They are laughing in our faces!
Check the drug supplies,
especially the mood enhancers!
Where are the pears from?
Don't know.
- Where are they from? - They
don't appear on their diet sheets.
I asked for 24-hour surveillance!
Go and check in the kitchens!
Get going!
I will be very angry if I find out
that they are from outside!
You can go too, boys.
They were communicating
somehow, that's for sure!
That's impossible! They only left
their rooms for tests.
They were separated all the while!
It's recorded.
You can watch it if you like!
Something else has happened
and you have to accept it!
Accept it! Accept it!
But what? This?! This?!
Don't you ever dream, Doc?
Don't you happen to meet up
with Tamel?
Lance is on you!
I guessed he was.
And if it's down to you
then he will have his way!
The paper is unknown.
The components can't be located
anywhere.
And several of them
don't even exist in time either.
The glue in the spines
is "tetralon".
It was used until the end
of the last century.
It can be
manufactured,
but that won't take us closer.
Where's that from?
This? I found it on my desk.
Is it yours?
Hey!
Hey! Hey, you little shit!
Hey! Stop that!
- I'm going to kill you! What are
you doing? - Hey! Stop that!
What the fuck are you doing?
I'm going to kill you!
Give her some! Hit her, hit her!
Don't just shake her, hit her!
Give it to her!
Smash her face in!
Let her have it!
The presentation of 60 seconds in the
life of every single living person
had to be calculated
like a massive military campaign.
The original concept may be important
but it doesn't guarantee success.
A good strategist is not one who knows
that the secret of victory is surprise
but the one who knows how to surprise.
So, people,
we are going to crown you now!
You're not allowed to take these
off though you couldn't anyway.
But they are no less comfortable
than a hat.
Do you want to get inside
our brains?
It's not dangerous.
Unless you are hiding something.
Thanks to Mr Tamel, our little
publication has found its way
out onto the streets. Soon
half the world will have read it.
So I thought you, of all people,
shouldn't be left out.
Of course, the reader cannot know
everything at one go.
But anyone who dipped
into the book,
was confronted
with breathtaking data.
It was like seeing
a snapshot of the landscape
but not with hills, rivers and meadows
but billions of human bodies.
Like lightning tearing through
the sky on a stormy night
and we see endless space in all
directions for a split second.
And then the land
is drenched in darkness once more
but the image remains engraved
on our minds.
Good evening.
9 people have died...
Good evening.
90 people have died...
Good evening.
900 people...
Considering that the population
of the earth is around 6 billion,
it is hardly sensational news that
thousands of people die every minute.
I met this kind of statistic
with an inflexible mind
because I was incapable of sensing
its significance.
At least not until the numbers
became concrete.
The whole of death is first seen
in this chapter
through a weak microscope.
Then stronger lenses take us closer
and closer to the details.
The chapter on death
begins with natural demise,
followed by catastrophes,
and finally forms of death
caused by our fellow man.
You read about the distribution
of torture occurring in one minute
accompanied by its geographical
spread.
You get to know that
while you are walking your dog,
looking for your slippers,
chatting with your wife,
reading the paper, falling asleep...
that every year, every month,
every week,
every night, every day
every minute,
every second of the day,
crowds of thousands are screaming
in the final throws of death.
Hello?
Are you still there?
Of course, cancer and
heart disease were not ignored
along with AIDS and numerous
other modern plagues
covering the mass
victims of medical progress
and the 400 most important
illnesses.
Then there were those who met
their end in the form of
a speeding car, collapsing wall,
plummeting roof tile,
train...
Wonderful! Everyone is here.
Please, take a seat.
I will introduce him to you
all shortly.
Before I do,
let's watch this film.
Okay?
The book devotes a separate section
to our disposal of the dead.
Many an infant ends up in the belly
of a rat in poor countries.
The related statistics
can be found on another page.
To ensure the reader
doesn't miss this,
it is detailed in a footnote.
In order to pinpoint
the precise cause of death,
they used
cross-control
in conjunction
with the diagonal method.
One table lists groups of causes
of death
while the other gives the precise
cause, such as electrocution.
Thanks to this particular method,
we are presented with death
in all its glorious forms.
Based on the letter signed
by all the members of the sect,
it is evident that the chapter
dealing with death
is what drove them
all to mass suicide.
Experts say that the wave of suicides
may grow as the book spreads.
Humanist movements have called on
the nations of the world to boycott.
Doc! Doc! Come on! Hurry!
- What is it? Not another power cut?
- Bring them back!
Not now. I'll do it tomorrow.
I'd have to wake...
Fucking hell!
Chew it well and swallow it!
Don't ask for more if you want it!
Make sure all is neat and tidy!
Be free from Monday through to Friday!
Only speak when you're spoken to!
And try to live
the whole year through!
Treasure what is near and dear!
And don't forget to give a cheer!
Wake up one day!
Fall asleep every day!
Wake up every day!
Fall asleep one day!
We are in.
Yes we are.
Do you think they suspect?
We've been given a day off.
Slowly everyone will realise.
Do you want out?
I don't want to fall asleep again.
But you have to.
It's my only chance to find you.
I still want to see you.
See me?
You can only see a bookshop.
- And you can only see books.
- No.
There are no books now,
just a bookshop.
There never was a bookshop!
It was just you and me...
It's just the two of us.
Two of us?
Okay, attention please!
We are about to start!
When Pitch arrives,
the show can start.
It's 10.30 now. Satin and Eveson
fall asleep by 11.30.
The boy might be awake until
midnight.
Tamel never sleeps before 1 am.
Whatever happens,
when they all reach paradox sleep
we'll measure
the elongation reference.
And this will need
five-minute summaries.
I don't believe it!
That's impossible!
I'm sorry boys...
I kept this till last,
but those without an Oscar are
- the ones pleased to receive it.
- Sexy uniform!
Have you cleaned yourself up?
Did he have a shower here?
This is me, Doc, not you.
No! This isn't you. It's Grady
Granros from "Rainbow Eye".
I haven't seen it.
He owns my favourite video store.
He's queer.
So, enough of the fun.
Stop this and start to prepare.
You still have time for testing.
No one should
be fooled if they see neo-ataxia.
I put anti-tranquilizers
in their supper.
What was in their supper?
Some stuff to make them recite
the ABC backwards in their sleep.
We've spent more money than Juliano
Riberio in "The Sons of Light".
The headband also measures
the bulbus olfactorius.
What's that?
The nasal gland!
There is no point in so many of us
if everyone feels somehow
insufficient when alone.
The idea of there being a lot of
us is a relative consideration.
The chapter on life tells us
how many people or rather
how many bodies exist
in any one of the 525,600 minutes
that make up a year.
How many bodies,
how much muscle, bone,
gall, blood, saliva,
cerebral spinal fluid,
faeces exists.
24.9 billion litres of blood could be
drained from the whole of humanity.
That seems a lot, but
if it was poured into the oceans,
the sea level would only rise
by a hundredth of a millimetre.
It is worth reflecting that
with this minuscule splash,
we would all disappear from the face
of the planet in one go.
They are down.
Show me a thalamus!
Satin's showing 5-7!
5-6! 5-5!
Eveson, 5-6, the same.
Same here...
In every moment of every day
there are 34.2 million men and women
having intercourse.
Only 5.7% will lead to fertilisation
but 43 tonnes of seminal fluid
a minute,
give or take a drop,
contains 1,990,000,000 individual
sperm.
They don't want to have bad dreams.
Here it is...
Here's the fifth!
It's coming from outside.
We could try to localise it!
What is it, Doc?
- Intelligence.
- I can't handle the numbers!
- Metastasis! With all of them!
- Let's save the eidetic frequency!
Got it! It's searching!
It's coming from the bookshop.
- What's going on?
- You're disturbing us!
From now
on you will be disturbing me.
And that is only if I ask for it.
Very clever!
I'll congratulate you later,
Special Agent Lance!
Dr Anselm,
give me an update!
Lance, this test is expensive.
Then stop it!
Wake up one day!
Fall asleep every day!
Wake up every day!
Fall asleep one day!
Let's not waste electricity,
gentlemen!
We might need it to light
our way out of the darkness.
The investigation will be simple
and straightforward from now on!
Well, if we are all together then we
could manage a little mental puzzler.
You are the ones responsible
for all this waste.
So we didn't manage
to get any closer
to the anonymous caller
who invited the press.
It was impossible
because there was a resistance
filter on the call
and the data was lost for ever.
And?
And so that means that
even I could have phoned
if I had been given agent status
earlier.
Of course, I have never longed
for the media spotlight!
You're sick!
Your first good decision.
And sadly your last.
Your first bad decision
and sadly not your last.
As this is a reality defence matter,
and the situation is not yet
definitive, I am segregating you!
You won't even need to change!
I'm sorry, but the law is the law!
Search him
and you can take him away!
- Sir, this is yours.
- Physical evidence.
Thanks for the help.
Is there anything else?
Let's not rob him of his lunch
if he has packed it so nicely,
and he can keep his spiritual
nourishment. He's worked hard.
Take him away!
Bon appetite.
Give me a cigarette!
Give me a fucking cigarette!
Bastards!
Being human is not simply
a case of anatomy
that can be added,
multiplied and divided.
It is also spiritual being.
Spiritual
being cannot be measured
and cannot be statistically
processed
so the author might as well
abandon his plan
to paint a picture of humanity
because however many chapters
there may be in the book,
you'll never find one with
the title of "Human Dignity".
We have been waiting for you.
Sit down... Pitch...
the special agent!
I hope you will be able to eat.
This is our farewell supper!
Try it! It will work.
I am happy
that you are sleeping at last
because you have to close
your eyes to see.
Can I give you any more?
What?
He spoke! He spoke!
Eat before it goes cold.
We're not getting anywhere with him!
That's not fair,
it wasn't easy for you either.
It was easier for me than you...
Really?
I thought you'd never get here.
Well, here I am...
Aren't I?
The whole comes sooner
than its parts.
We all came through different chapters
but have arrived at the same place.
We are here now and
that is all that matters.
We will only make it to the end
if everyone dares do everything!
I don't understand...
We have come full circle.
And now it depends on you
if we keep circling
or quit the game...
Enough.
Stop it!
Try it! Have a bite!
Go on! Imagine!
Imagine anything you would
like to eat.
We'll be putting this
in our report, Dr Anselm.
Sorry.
Can I call you "Doc"?
Are we done?
I have.
You still have a small job to do
before your room appears
on the monitor!
This is the headquarters
of the Reality Defence Institute
and not a cheap cinema.
I want everything out of here
in precisely 10 minutes
that is "a figment
of someone's imagination"!
Let me start.
If someone comes in here,
I want them to understand
what reality is!
All that remains of the uncertain
is that which we hope for.
- I want to wake up!
- Go on then!
Now you are afraid
because you're on your own.
- It's difficult not to be afraid...
- Difficult?!
It's difficult like everything
that is simple and natural.
I want these in uniform
from tomorrow and to quit smoking!
Starting in 60 minutes.
Prepare the truth serum
and we'll need shock treatment!
Shock treatment?!
I hate to see a woman cry.
The book is original because it
doesn't contain balanced statistics
and doesn't chronicle
completed events.
This book is synchronised
with human life.
It's not the majority of voters
who decide the truth.
Majority simply means that there are
more people who have been tricked.
And the book?
Is he asking me?
Power can be conquered
but weakness never!
I asked for them all at once!
We have been trying
to wake them up for hours.
It's impossible.
- Sir, we really have tried
everything! - Everything?
Perhaps it is you who are incapable?
Perhaps we need the doc.
Pitch, old mate!
Had a good rest?
You look better.
I feel better!
I've never felt better in my life!
I hope I can make
you feel better still!
For weeks, the world is no longer
a place but has become a state.
We are held in the grip of terror
by a book
and the whole
Al F. Eveson book scandal.
A mentally disturbed group
of individuals
has been spying on every moment
of our lives from birth to death
and degraded it all down
into statistical data.
We have been turned
into numbers along
with our relationships,
our thoughts, and our deeds.
If we fail to uncover the identity
of those behind this book,
it is possible that they will soon
start to creep into our dreams.
Good evening.
Sondra Dolphin here.
And, as ever,
"on the side of truth".
The spirit of things
is on their surface.
The Reality Defence Institute
has just announced that,
beyond the four segregated suspects,
a fifth individual is also
suspected of authoring the book.
Phil Pitch has been suspended
and...
Like that, "Mr No.1"?
... is now the prime suspect.
We've been working on this
for a long time.
Don't go anywhere!
I'll be right back!
We act and move in relativity.
We don't know it,
we just know of it.
We never reach it,
but search after it.
We are only witnesses.
Witnesses always interpret.
You have to keep going back
to the scene.
Didn't they teach you that?
Fuck the lot of you!
What are you talking about?
Wait until the end!
Stay tuned
for a very special show
with Special Agent Richard Lance
from the Reality Defence Institute
in the studio who promises to put
an end to speculation live on air.
Live on air?
But the real surprise
is still to come! Don't go away!
So are you a recording?
Good evening.
Congratulations on your appointment.
Can you tell us where the case stands?
We know that Al F. Eveson,
Maya Satin, Swan Tamel,
and Agnus Andersen
are responsible for the hysteria
that the book has caused
throughout the world.
The evidence
is not public information
for reasons of national security.
How will it be secret?
We have been pulling the case
together
based on confessions provided,
but we ran
into internal resistance.
That is why we had to order
a news blackout.
Do you mean within
the Reality Defence Institute?
I suspended Special Agent
Phil Pitch
because he couldn't see the map
for the landscape.
Could you explain?
We can't see either the landscape
or the map!
Pitch hasn't dealt with
a significant case in years.
Eveson is extremely rich.
The others are mentally ill.
What is the connection?
Are you asking me?
A promotional stunt like this
is long-term investment.
Why would they need to promote
themselves?
If it was meant to promote them,
it has gone very wrong.
People are angry.
- They want to find the culprit.
- Exactly.
They tried to use
psychological terror.
It might have worked.
The world might be outraged
but it recognises the book's
creation as a major achievement.
Pitch exploited the capacity
of the Reality Defence Institute,
and its secret investigative methods
and prestige
in an attempt to stage a series
of terrorist acts
and shaken
the world's faith in reality!
You have to understand that
these people are criminals!
And they overstepped the boundaries
of the law with their thoughts!
Our civilisation, which measures,
calculates, and evaluates everything
but ignores all orders and bans,
and wants to know everything
while its suffering grows,
is becoming increasingly opaque
even to itself.
It is therefore no wonder that
it wanted a portrait of itself
that is infinitely lifelike
and objective.
But did it really get what it wanted?
Is it possible to see things
impersonally?
My conscience says...
that what the eyes sees...
and what I see in the eye...
is the same.
Let's start the interrogation!
Let's close it instead!
It was me. I did it.
What?
- Everything.
- What do you mean, "everything"?
- I don't know. Everything.
- What do you mean?
- I mean I don't know.
- That's impossible.
- It's possible.
- How possible?
- It's just possible.
- It's just possible?
- It's not?
- It is!
- It's not possible!
- What?
- It's not possible?
- No!
- It's possible.
- How?
It's not possible.
- Is it possible?
- Possibly.
What the hell are you doing?
What's going on here?
Everything that we experienced here
or that we saw outside
is born here.
Everything is a question in itself...
to which everything together
is the answer!
Well...
I don't believe it!
Shit! Don't do that!
Is it yours?
It looks like it but
it could be yours as well.
It's very friendly. It's been
following me since yesterday.
While it's yours, that's yours too!
Chew it well and swallow it!
Don't ask for more if you want it!
Make sure all is neat and tidy!
Be free from Monday through to Friday!
Only speak when you're spoken to!
And try to live
the whole year through!
Treasure what is near and dear!
And don't forget to give a cheer!
Chew it well and swallow it!
Don't ask for more if you want it.
Make sure all is neat and tidy!
Be free from Monday through to Friday!
Only speak when you're spoken to!
And try to live
the whole year through!
Treasure what is near and dear!
And don't forget to give a cheer!
Wake up one day!
Fall asleep every day!
Wake up every day!
Fall asleep one day!