The Discovery (2017) - full transcript

[woman] Dr. Harber, before we're live,

I just wanted to say thank you
for choosing me.

Peter Piper picked
a peck of pickled peppers.

[woman] The rich history you have
with other journalists...

[Harber] I chose you precisely
because we don't have a history.

Now, don't fuck it up.

[woman 2] Fifteen seconds.

People trust you...
for decades have valued you.

I think that's because
people value the truth.

Right, but don't you think
your discovery was just... too dangerous

to share with the world?



Look, this has been my life's work
for over 40 years.

There's nothing willy-nilly here.

After much discussion, much debate,
we all came to the same conclusion.

-Which is?
-Which is, once you explore

all scientific possibilities,
and you come to a consensus,

how can you keep a discovery
so vital to our existence a secret?

And that discovery...

You proved the existence of an afterlife.

I prefer to call it
a new plane of existence.

I can't comment on terminology
like "soul" and "heaven" and "afterlife,"

but what I can say with scientific
certainty is that once the body dies,

some part of our consciousness
leaves us and travels to a new plane.

Your machine was able
to capture brain wavelengths

on a subatomic level,
leaving the body after death.



-Is that...?
-That's correct.

Where do those wavelengths go?

My point is,
a new plane of existence is out there.

Yes, that is no longer in dispute.

But you can't tell us
what that is exactly.

When you see a train leave the station...

do you need to know where it's going
to understand that you saw it leave?

It's a tough pill to swallow.

At one point,
so was the Earth being round.

But, Dr. Harber, why did it take you
six months to address us?

Where have you been?

It seems to me
that I invited you here, to my home.

Yes, you did. Thank you.

But... we only received that invitation

after the suicide toll
had rapidly reached a million.

And during that time,
celebrities, athletes,

even a close colleague of yours,
all ended their lives.

Which is why I agreed to sit with you
and try to calm the waters.

Okay.

I wanna ask you the question

that everybody watching right now
is probably wondering.

Do you feel responsible
for all those people killing themselves?

No.

-That's it?
-That's it.

[man] Thank you, Dr. Harber...
for my fresh start.

[woman 1] Andy, no!

Andy!

-Andy!
-[woman 2] Oh, no.

[woman 1] Oh, God!

-Why would you do that?
-[woman 2] Somebody call 911.

[woman 1] Help! Some....

Call help, please.

Right now. Get someone here.

My God!

Why would you do that?

Oh, God.

Turn those cameras off.

[man] Welcome back to our coverage of
the two-year anniversary of the Discovery.

We'll be revisiting the touchstone moments
of the past two years,

with retrospectives all weekend long.

Hard to believe that
it's been a year and a half

since Thomas Harber's first
and only post-Discovery interview

ended suddenly with an on-air suicide.

Since then, the worldwide suicide toll
has skyrocketed to staggering levels.

Over four million people
have taken their lives,

attempting to "get there."

As for Dr. Thomas Harber,
he has not made a public appearance

since that infamous
post-Discovery interview.

Completely off the grid--

[woman] I was listening to that.

I was listening to that.

I'm sorry, I thought--
I thought that I was alone.

It's off-season. Why the fuck
are you going to this dreary island?

Well, you're going there.

[moans]

Hi.

Hi.

Are you one of those lunatics

who just sits next to a complete stranger
in an empty movie theater?

You look so familiar to me.

It's possible we've met,

but you don't have
a memorable face.

Okay. [chuckles]

I'm sorry. I don't know why I said that.
I didn't mean that. I just...

The water. I'm just a little seasick.

That's weird. It's your lucky day.
I don't normally carry these around.

Um...

-Vertigo.
-I'm not dizzy.

You can't treat vertigo, just the effects.
That's for nausea.

Do I look like the kind of girl who's just
gonna take a pill from some strange guy?

Fair enough.

Isla. My name's Isla.

I don't look like an Isla, though.

Your first three years,

you look like whatever name you're given,

then by four, you either settle
into your name or you just...

-What about you?
-What?

What's your name?

Oh, uh, Will Stevenson.

[mouths] Will.

What?

I'm just trying to see
if you look like your name.

-What's the verdict there?
-I don't know.

It's too early to tell.

You know,
Will is just such a, like, "Will" name.

[chuckles]

You're really something.

Happy second Discovery anniversary, Will.

They said on the news they're expecting
like a whole slew of suicides today.

People trying to get there
for the anniversary.

I heard something about that.

Did you see that video
of those dumb cheerleaders

taking pills on the 50-yard line?

I just can't get behind the concept
of suicide groups.

It's so... disingenuous, you know?
It just feels so weak.

-You don't believe in the Discovery?
-No, I don't believe in suicide groups.

The Discovery is--
I mean, the proof is overwhelming.

Proof shouldn't be overwhelming.
Proof should be definitive.

So, you don't believe.

I don't believe the way
everybody else does. No, I don't.

-And how's that?
-I'm a neurologist.

Three months ago,
I had a patient, really young,

found out that she had brain cancer.
Very sad.

She reacted to that diagnosis

as though I'd handed her
a fucking winning lottery ticket.

It wasn't because she hoped that
maybe she was going someplace better.

It was because the Discovery
made her think that it was guaranteed.

Well, yeah. Death used to be something
we just had to live with,

and now it's a convenient way
to escape pain. That's okay.

That's okay?
Another plane of existence, maybe.

Who knows? But I look around, I see
a lot of people jumping out of planes

hoping they're gonna grow wings.

Reality and fantasy
are mutually exclusive.

They don't exist in the same space.

[car engine revving]

What?

When I was five, I had an accident,
and I died for about a minute.

When I was resuscitated,
I told my parents that I saw something.

Flashes. A little boy.

Me, maybe, or my brother.

I felt stranded...

Stranded where?

This empty beach.
It doesn't matter. It was a dream.

It was a dream that I embellished
after I woke up.

[vehicle approaching]

Why would you make all that up?

I think it's our instinct
to search for meaning,

and when there is none,
it's our instinct to create meaning

and we just... lie. We lie to ourselves.

You are so annoying.
Has anyone ever told you that?

Yeah, they have.

Ugh. Thank God we only have
a minute left together

before we're strangers again.

You think it's gonna be a minute
this time of year? You're crazy.

[vehicle approaching]

Crazy, but right.

That's the attractive-girl component
and I didn't factor that in.

[Isla] You'd better work on your math.

Hey!

For whatever it's worth,
I think you do look like an Isla.

How many of us have you met?

[Isla chuckles]

[door closes]

[horn honking]

[country music playing over stereo]

-I got it.
-No, I got it, man.

Well, I don't want to die
before we get there, Toby.

-What's going on over here?
-Eddie.

-Wait, Eddie Iodice? Eddie died?
-Mm-hmm. Yeah, just to get there.

Just to fucking get there.

Guy pulled a Marilyn Monroe,

downed a whole bottle of pills right there
in his bedroom.

[chuckles]

Good dude, too.

-Real pity.
-You didn't wanna go to the service?

Go to the...? I would rather stick
my dick in a wood chipper

-than go to another fucking funeral.
-Got it.

You know, I'm not as stupid
as you might think.

When you called the other day
and I told you

that Dad had built something new...

after that conversation...

suddenly you wanted to come home.

-You're sounding just as paranoid as him.
-[chuckles]

[Toby] Dad said he needed
to change things up.

People knowing our address
was too dangerous.

I'm sorry I couldn't tell you
on the phone,

but we don't trust phones now.

Here we are.

Off to see the wizard.

[Will] What the fuck is this place?

Uh, it used to be a summer camp
for "troubled youths."

Which I never really understood,
because if they're bad kids,

why would they deserve a fun summer?
You know?

But then it shut down
and Dad bought it.

What do you think?

[Will] I think it's completely insane.

Well, the truth is we just needed
a lot more space to house things.

House what things?

[Toby] These people were all affected
by the Discovery.

Some of them arrived here after two
or three failed suicide attempts.

We gave them a home,

something to live for in this life,
a reason to contribute.

Oh, uh, real quick.

Just FYI, FBI-type thing,
protocol is no cell phones.

-Yeah, okay. Let's go.
-Yeah.

Hey, don't worry.

[beeping]

[equipment beeping]

[man] This is truly thrilling.

I can only compare it
to the model train set

you let me assemble by myself
on my birthday.

[woman] Cutting it a little close.

[Toby] Oh, well, you know me.
Pins and needles, needles and pins.

These goddamn machines.

-Who the hell's that?
-His other son just returned.

Surprisingly taller than I remember.

Good to see you again, Cooper.

Will, Lacey. Lacey...

That went well.

Where's Dad?

-Is he dead?
-No, of course not.

He is now.

-[Lacey] Fifteen seconds.
-Dad?

[alarm beeping]

Take it easy.
They're just running some tests.

-It's all routine.
-Ten seconds.

Paddles charged... and ready.

[defibrillator shocks]

See, they're recharging the body
to reboot the brain.

The longest he's ever officially under is,
like, 60 seconds.

[exhales]

-[high-pitched tone]
-[muffled chatter]

[door opens and closes]

So, Dad is now killing himself
and electroshocking back to life.

No.

Kind of.

But you're...
You're looking at this all wrong.

You're wearing whatever the opposite of...
What is it? Rose-colored glasses.

That's what you're wearing.

Shit-colored glasses.

Anyway, you shouldn't worry,

because all of this is being
closely monitored and controlled.

And we both know you've always been
slightly skeptical of everything.

Dad started a cult.

-No.
-Can you not see that? This is a cult.

All the way down to these followers
in different-colored jumpsuits.

No, no, no.
There's no hierarchy here, Will.

Dad calls it... distinctions in clearance.

-That's all. It's not a cult.
-It should be different. Straitjackets.

You're the one
that wanted to come back here

for whatever reason. Right?

Now, that, right there,
is the million-dollar question.

Welcome back, Will.

[clears throat]

-[Will groans]
-[Harber sighs]

You mind telling me something?

What are you doing back here?

I'm here because I want you to stop it.

I'm asking you
just to put an end to all this.

How would I do that?

Say that you were wrong.

Take it all back.

I can't take it back, Will,
because it's the truth.

Who knows better than you?

You were the inspiration for this.
Aren't you curious?

Please, don't say that. That's not...

-I wasn't.
-Ah, but you were. Hang on.

"Therefore, it is my belief

consciousness should be considered
as another state of matter."

-Please don't.
-Hang on.

I'd like to get to this other part.
It gets good.

"Properties of consciousness arise
from the physical laws

that govern our universe."

[sighs]

-I was wrong.
-You don't believe that.

We were wrong, Dad.

We were wrong
because a lot of people died.

And a whole lot more people
are gonna kill themselves...

while you experiment here
in this ridiculous fortress.

So, just slamming on the brakes
of 40 years' work?

I'd be saying I'm responsible.

Maybe you are.

So, you think I've gone too far?

Well, I don't think I've gone far enough.

We opened the door for these people, Will.

They know it's there.

Now we have to show them what's behind it.

[door closes]

-[high-pitched tone]
-[muffled chatter]

Isla!

Isla!

Isla!

[muffled shout]

Isla!

[Will yells]

[Will] Oh, fuck!

-What are you doing?
-What's your problem?

[groans]

Come on. Stand up. Get up.

-[Will] Why are you doing this?
-[Isla] None of your fucking business.

You sat there on that fucking ferry
and had a conversation with me,

knowing you were gonna do this.

You were supposed to be
the last person I ever spoke to.

You don't get to just change that!

Ah. You're not even emotional about dying.

I'm not emotional about anything.

[Toby] I'm just concerned...

that this will all be perceived
unfavorably by some.

[Will] She was going
to catch pneumonia, Toby.

[Toby] I still don't know
what you want me to do with her.

[Will] You told me that you take in people
who need help. She needs help.

She still can't just stay here.
We have rules.

Then can we make an exception...
in her case, please?

We're talking about somebody's life.

We have no idea
if she will attempt or try to...

Kill myself again?

You can say it. I know what happened.
I was there when you ruined it.

She and I have been getting along great.

We still have rules.

She has to talk to Dad,
and she has to take the questionnaire.

What's the questionnaire?

-Um...
-Can we be...?

Will, you have a visitor.

Your dad is Thomas Harber?

[Harber] So, nobody but the conductor,

which is me,
is gonna know your answers.

Everything is completely discreet here.

And now Lacey will be giving us
some privacy.

It used to be about global exploration,
you know, discovering new land,

and then it was space travel.

Shining a light on the dark corners
of the universe.

And now it's exploring
what comes after this life.

Seeing what's next. How old are you?

[man on recording]
You are all part of the same thing.

Cells in a body.

Waves in the ocean.

The soul isn't young or old.

[Harber] Do you accept the fact that time
is a nonlinear illusion created by man?

Pass. I don't know what that means.

There are no right or wrong answers
to this questionnaire.

-Then why do you bother giving it?
-That's a good response.

[Harber] Okay, greatest ability...
and most disappointing weakness.

[Isla] I guess I'm good at seeing
what makes somebody tick.

Understanding who they really are.

[Harber] Weakness?

I'm able to understand them,
but I'm not able to care about them.

If somebody mentions "subconscious"
to you, what do you think?

-Memory.
-Dig deeper.

-Hidden memory.
-Would you say that you suppress emotions?

I don't really like talking
about myself like this.

You don't have to like it.
We think about ourselves every day.

Everything is from our own perspective.
So, as much as you may not want

to indulge yourself in looking
at your most inner thoughts,

they're there.
Make no mistake. They are there.

[Harber] Do you believe in a soul?
If not, close your eyes.

Great. Let's just say a soul does exist.
Where in the body do you think it'd be?

I think if there's a soul,
it would belong in the brain.

[machine beeps]

[Harber] Wow.

Now, that's interesting.
Most people say the stomach.

But I like that you didn't.

[Harber]
Have you ever experienced sudden loss?

Yes.

And what aspect of regaining normalcy
after losing someone...

was the most difficult?

Inanimate objects, maybe? Like...

my coffee table. I've had it for years

and I've probably looked at it
a million times, but after he--

Familiar objects just became
distorted and unfamiliar.

I started to hate my ceiling fan,
my cereal bowl, my tea kettle.

[Harber] Okay, last question.

Are you legitimately suicidal?

If you knew what came after...
this life...

do you think it would affect
your decision-making

or maybe even make you change
your mind?

Maybe. Knowing could change things.

How'd you know
this is where you'd be staying?

I found our old bed.

Yeah, I see that.

And you should thank me...
by the way, because

[grunts]

I fought long and hard
to keep old faithful here.

How's Isla?

Oh... That's actually why I'm here.
Will, she's dead.

No, she's not. She's not dead.
That was a bad joke.

Um... But the questionnaire is
all wrapped up.

She can stay.

Yeah, good. She needs to be looked after.
She could try again.

I don't think
that's going to happen, Will.

[sighs]

Because tonight...

everything changes.

We finally unveil it.

What is "it," Toby?

Dad wanted me to invite you
to a little gathering tonight,

just a select group.

Boy, this is nothing
like our old house, huh?

It sounds to me
a lot like you're advocating murder.

I'm not advocating murder.
I'm just pointing out that most people

don't look at ending somebody else's life
the way they do their own.

[sighing] Where is he?

It's about to happen.

I can't tell when you're talking to me
or that. It's really annoying.

Anyways, what I'm saying is, people are
killing themselves to get there.

At a certain point, they'll use
the same logic to kill somebody else,

'cause they're just sending them
somewhere else, right?

Finally, he's here.

And he is not wearing
the temp jumpsuit I had left for him.

We're programmed
to process our experiences

as having a beginning and an end,
when, in reality... doesn't exist.

It's just one long, drawn-out middle.

Some of you are newer than others,

but I wanted to create a select group
that could see what it is that I built.

But before we do that,
I'd like to take a moment

and have you join me
in... bowing our heads...

And let your subconscious...
take you somewhere else.

I'm sort of amazed that you get
swept up in this, this easily.

You don't strike me
as a say-your-prayers type.

Just because somebody doesn't believe
in God doesn't mean they can't pray.

What kind of an atheist talks to God?

[opera music playing over speakers]

Why did you give me
a phony, bullshit last name?

It wasn't phony.
It was my mother's maiden name.

Where is she?

She's dead.

How did she die?

Because of my dad.

Let us come back into this moment.

I now offer you the opportunity...

to see the afterlife.

I can now record where we go.

[Cooper] Please, uh...
get these back to us

at your earliest convenience.

And again, these living quarters
are just temporary

until we can find you
a more suitable room.

When I first moved here,
I slept on a cot in the kitchen.

-Glamorous.
-[chuckles]

I'm supposed to be at the bottom
of the ocean, so this should be fine.

Can I have a pen?

Nondisclosure agreement.

Well, considering the sensitivity,
it's a fairly standard document.

Could we have the room for a second,
please?

[Cooper] You remember that awful week
when we slept on the cot by the fridge?

My back sure hasn't forgotten.

-[Will] Hey.
-Mm.

So... I know that
that device is very compelling. Um...

-Can we talk about it for a second?
-I'm not allowed to talk about it,

'cause I just signed
a nondisclosure agreement.

[snickers]

[sighs]

So, your dad's a little weird.
Who cares? It doesn't make him wrong.

I mean, Poe fucked his cousin.
It didn't make him any less a writer.

I wanna see if that machine does
what he thinks it does.

Well, what if it did?

How would that change things?

You don't go on vacation
without looking at the brochure first.

Hey. Uh... I'm sorry. Were you sleeping?

I'm standing.

Well, yeah.

That's just something
you're supposed to say, I guess.

Um...

Since you're up, mind coming downstairs
and taking a look at something for me?

Yeah, sure.

[sighs]

[woman on recording] Those that
we have lost are not lost at all...

-[Isla] Where are you guys going?
-It's nothing. Don't worry about it.

...then it's us who are lost.

When he flatlines, think of it
as a light bulb turned off by a switch.

Flip it on, flip it off.

But going under,
hooked up to the new device,

you're not just flipping a light switch.

You're essentially detaching
the entire bulb.

So, I'd say that if you go under again...

you're coming back
with next to no brain functionality.

I'm sort of surprised
it hasn't happened already.

I know you wanted to be first, but if you
don't come back, what's the point?

We just go back
to the drawing board. Right?

I mean, it could still work,
we just need to find a new way to...

We need a cadaver.

Okay. Uh, I'm sorry to interrupt.

Where do you guys plan
on getting a corpse?

I have a corpse idea.

[rock music playing over earbuds]

-Am I being rude?
-Huh?

-Am I being rude?
-No.

-Care to... listen?
-Sure.

Crunchy groovy grooves.
Serene nights.

-Can I ask you something?
-Mm-hmm.

Will mentioned what happened
to your mom earlier.

That she killed herself?

Not exactly.

So, she was trying to get there?

No, that was a good couple years
before the Discovery.

Huh.

[bell rings]

Yeah.

[door buzzes]

How you doing?

In the midst of life, I am in death.

That was weird. I was just wondering
if you could help me out.

My, uh, cousin, Billy...

he's gone missing.

And it being the two-year anniversary
of the Discovery,

we're all just a little worried.

Really worried.

We got three John Does in this week.
How long has he been missing?

Nope. No. No Billy here.

Bummer.

Would have made my life
a hell of a lot easier.

Sorry, that was insensitive.

They just got me running rampant here.
I'm doing the job of five people.

Off-season cutbacks and whatnot? Yeah.

Can I give you a description... of Billy?

That way if he does... come in,
you can keep an eye out for him.

Of course.

Let's go to my office.

[Toby] Hey, so, just curious...

[chuckles]

I'd like to point out you're reading off
a laundry list of corpse requirements.

Aneurysm, that won't work.

It'd be nice if you could help me,
seeing as we're breaking and entering.

Like a real, like, pouty-type face.

And then, um...

he's got a birthmark on, uh...

Let's see. On his right elbow.
You're not writing any of this down.

Well, I think I've got more
than I need to go on here, so...

But we... We haven't even gotten
to the lower half of his body.

Don't you think it's weird how
these people were alive a few hours ago?

They had fears and desires,
they could exercise?

I don't think it's weird.
I think it's fucking sad.

-Maybe they went someplace better.
-Maybe they went someplace worse.

Maybe they went someplace
that we can't even begin to comprehend.

All the more reason to see
what your dad's machine shows us.

Shit.

What?

"Fifty-two, massive coronary."

Will...

meet Pat Phillips.

Pat Phillips, this is Will.

I don't like that creepy room
Cooper put me in.

I'm gonna sleep in your room tonight.

Top or bottom?

We could talk, you know.

When I'm nervous,
I talk too much or not at all.

Well, you're safe here.

I mean... nothing leaves the bunk beds.

When I first got here
and they gave me that jumpsuit,

it had a V etched on it.
I wonder what that stood for.

"Visitor," maybe?

Is that a guess?

That was a pretty good guess.

It's like one of those
really obvious answers

that only seems obvious
after you find out about it.

Were you really smart growing up?
I bet you were.

I was told that I demonstrated an early
ability to recognize spatial patterns,

whatever that means.

I always took it as one of those things
a teacher tells to a parent

to make them feel better
about their shitty kid.

Like, "Gordon is very good
at drawing circles.

Gordon draws circles at a more
advanced level than the other children."

These bunk beds really worked out well,

'cause they spared me the awkwardness of
having to tell you I'm not gonna fuck you.

Sorry, all I heard was something
about circles and not fucking me.

I don't wanna be the only fucked up person
on this bunk bed, Will.

Maybe... tell me about your mom now.

There's not much to tell.
She killed herself.

On their anniversary.

How did she do it?

She made them dinner,

and... my dad didn't
even come out of his office.

If he'd even just hinted
that he gave a shit, I mean, who knows?

But he couldn't be bothered.
So, she went upstairs...

took a bath instead and, uh...

Yeah, the next morning
I found her in the tub.

And so, you left?

Yeah, I had to.
I couldn't be around it. I knew.

It's like everything that was recognizable
sort of instantly became unrecognizable.

Sometimes I feel like I'm taking
someone else's spot and then I feel sad.

How do you mean?

Like, being here alive is a waste

because... I don't enjoy it,
I'm not happy or grateful...

and I'm taking a spot away
from someone who

maybe would've gotten
something more out of it.

Yeah.

I guess I don't think it works that way.

Here's something I haven't heard
anyone talk about.

Do animals have an afterlife?

Bunnies, kittens, pigs, monkeys.
What happens to them after they die?

I mean, I feel like they really deserve
an afterlife.

Do they have their own animal afterlife?

And if they do,
is it subdivided by species?

Because it feels like something
as profound as an afterlife

shouldn't practice segregation.

[Will chuckles]

And what happens to a child?

Hold hands till we fall asleep?

This doesn't seem entirely fair.

Shh.

Yeah, okay.

[speaking indistinctly]

Lacey?

Okay, Toby?

[machine beeps, then whirs]

Did you hit...? Hit it again.

[beeps, then whirs]

Again.

[beeping and whirring continue]

Hit it again.

I'm hitting it.

Hit it again.

-You're gonna fry the body.
-Toby, hit it again.

Again.

Hit it again.

Again. Hit it again.

[door closes]

Is this just a setback or...?

I'm really not sure.

[keypad beeping]

[door opens]

[door closes]

Are you gonna see him?

Or are you just gonna continue
to ignore it?

[Pat] I'm sorry... I can't.

[woman] Of course you can't.
Story of your fucking life.

Just run away
and leave me to deal with the mess.

-Hey.
-Hey.

What are you doing with my body?

Your body, uh, is to be cremated at noon,
so, I'm getting it ready.

We do still have a little time
to prep a redo.

Redo? Guys, come on.
You almost fried the body.

You do this redo,
you're gonna cremate him early. All right?

Toby, rustle up a van. Will's right.

It's good.

Seeing you back in the labs again,
it's good.

It's where you belong.

-[sighs]
-[door closes]

[inaudible dialogue]

Toby, I want you to locate me
a new corpse, immediately.

Hey. Can I ask you something?

-Okay.
-How'd you end up here?

Why?

I came home and found my dad
and my sister hanging in my living room.

To get there.

I'm sorry.

It's okay. They didn't want me to come.

Can you imagine feeling abandoned

'cause your dad left you out
of the family suicide?

What's wrong with you?

Oh.

Nothing, I'm just... I'm processing.

[groans]

I mean, do you ever get out of your head
even for one minute?

Let's do an experiment.

Look at me and tell me
the first thing that comes to your mind.

I'm driving.

Okay.

I don't know you very well.

I think you're beautiful, and alive,
and if you killed yourself,

it wouldn't just be sad,
it would be a tragedy.

Shut up.

-You want the head or the feet?
-Head.

Okay.

"Oh, hey, Isla. What are you up to?"

"Oh, nothing much, Jim.

I'm just... lugging a corpse
through a parking lot."

-Why'd you go with "Jim"?
-Don't be jealous of hypothetical Jim.

Believe me, if hypothetical Jim
makes you not wanna kill yourself,

I can be supportive.

Do we just leave it here?

Believe it or not, it's my first time
returning a corpse, so... I'm improvising.

Hi, yeah, um, I was just driving by
and this is kind of weird,

but there seems to be, like,
a dead body laying in your parking lot.

-That was pretty good.
-Shut up. Get out.

-I'm saying you're doing a good job. Fine.
-Stop it. Sorry. Yeah, no, bad...

Bad reception on the island. Um...

Yeah, the body seems to be abandoned,
and... I don't know.

Unless, of course, you guys are playing
some sort of fucked-up scavenger hunt.

Okay. Yes, thank you. Bye.

-How'd that go?
-It went really well.

Okay. You're, like, weirdly good at that.

-Oh.
-Here they are.

-[Isla chuckles]
-They're pretty confused.

What do you think they're thinking?

I don't know, but I think Pat Phillips
has had a really tough few days.

We're both going to hell.

Yeah. Whatever the afterlife is, I guess.

I don't know. Just stupid.

[sighs]

[engine starts]

Are you gonna see him?

Or are you just gonna continue
to ignore it?

[Pat] I'm sorry... I can't.

[woman] Of course you can't.
Story of your fucking life.

Just run away
and leave me to deal with the mess.

[woman on recording]
What if this life is just a dream?

Can I borrow your truck? Just for...
I have to go get some stuff.

[woman] As far as our records indicate,

we've had 23 patients
with the name Phillips on file.

-How accurate are your records?
-Accurate.

I would love to see that list.

Mm. I'm sure you would.

What the fuck?

Are you looking for something?

Maybe you can help me. Um...

-Did there used to be a hallway here?
-Used to.

They did a little remodeling.

Took their sweet-ass time with it, too.

I'm sorry, how long ago was that remodel?

About a decade ago.

[electric guitar playing gently]

[Isla] Hey.

-Hey.
-Where have you been?

This is, uh... This is interesting.

Okay, thank you, Toby.

Thank you, my boy.

Well, hello to you all.

As always, it's a pleasure.

When you all first got here, you...

You used this, uh, piece of equipment.

The questionnaire.

And your answers are
what allowed you to stay here,

so, basically... a trust was built.

But lately, I'm beginning to wonder

if perhaps we're getting
just a little too comfortable here.

There's a lot of loose talk going on.

And it makes me think that
we just might be losing a little focus.

Lacey, would you join me, please?

-What's going on?
-It's okay. Relax.

Would you like to tell us
how long you've been here?

Um... just over a year.

Just over a year.
You were one of the first.

How have you been treated?
Have you been treated well?

-Have I been good to you?
-You've been wonderful.

-Why are you talking to me like this?
-I've been wonderful.

If I've been wonderful, then why are you
telling your peers about the device,

and particularly...
why are you saying it failed?

Speak up.

Um...

It's okay.

I just told one person.

It slipped out when I had mentioned
how the new girl was invited.

[Harber] You mean Isla.

You were displeased
when I invited her here, weren't you?

It's just that some people who have been
here much longer weren't asked.

Tell everyone where I found you.

Thomas.

It's okay.

This is a safe place.

In the woods.

Go on.

I had a gun.

And where was that gun aimed?

At my chest.

Right next to your heart.

Usually, it's the head...
or the barrel goes into the mouth.

I don't know that I've ever seen it
done that way before.

I'm sorry.

Please don't lose faith in me.

"Faith."

Oh, God.
I have such contempt for that word.

Show me someone who relies on faith

and I'll show you someone
who's given up control

over whatever it is they believe.

Sorry, there's nothing more
I can do for you.

Thomas, please.

Pack up your belongings.
Say your goodbyes.

That was a hell of a show out there.

Come on, Will.

You think I don't know a lot
of this is bullshit?

You give meaning to people who think
they have no more reason to live.

The jumpsuit, the chain of command,
the theatrics.

It gives them purpose.
And I care about them.

Yeah. Someone should tell that to Lacey.

You... You can pretend all you want

that the reason you left was
because you stopped approving of my work.

Work, by the way, that we did together.

But I think we both know this was never
about the Discovery for you.

-It was always about your mother.
-Yes, of course it was about Mom for me.

Just because you wanna pretend
like Mom did not happen...

doesn't mean that I'm going to.

[door closes]

[indistinct chatter]

-Hey. Can I show you something?
-What?

-Just come with me. Please.
-Sorry.

[Isla] Wait.

-What is this?
-That's what I'm trying to figure out.

-You were gonna keep this from me?
-No, I'm... I'm showing you now.

And I was afraid of what you might do.

All right, so, the afterlife...
This is the afterlife?

How can it be the afterlife if we're
in the same parking lot in that recording?

Then what is it?

My theory is that my father invented
something that records memory.

You've heard him go on and on
about the subconscious.

I understand that you wanted this
to be something different.

The proof is overwhelming
that that's a Pat Phillips memory.

Proof shouldn't be overwhelming.
It should be definitive.

[beeps]

Where the fuck are we going?

[Will] If what we're seeing
on that video happened in real life,

I'm gonna find out exactly when.

Since this hospital opened, there have
been 23 patients named Phillips.

But based on the model of his truck,

I can eliminate any Phillips
from before the year 2000.

Yeah, but even after 2000,
doesn't that leave a lot of names?

That hospital room doesn't exist anymore,

so, we can also cross off
any Phillips from the past decade.

That leaves us with one.

"Connor Phillips"?

That's him.

That's Pat Phillips' dad.

He died here 13 years ago.

So, it does just record a memory?

[Will] It's pretty fucked up
what happened today, huh? With Lacey?

She spoke out of turn.

And she knew the rules.
She basically helped write them.

It's just you and me talking.

You don't believe that.

Stop telling me what I believe, Will.

Proving the existence of an afterlife
destroyed Dad's own life.

That's what I believe.

Yeah... everybody else's, too.

Dad has no intention...

of showing anything the machine records
with the outside world.

That's why he lost it
when Lacey told people.

If he has no intention
of showing what it does to anybody,

why is he doing it, huh? What's the point?

"Why is he doing it?"

[chuckles]

"Why is he doing it?"

Let's see.

Well...

he'll tell you
about the millions of people who died,

and he'll tell you about
finishing his work to honor them.

I heard that yesterday.

I've been hearing that
for the past two years now.

[Toby chuckles]

And I just... smile and nod and agree...

like the idiot son,
but I do understand things.

I know Mom died...

Not died. She killed herself.

She killed herself.

And when you look...

at what Dad spent his life working on,

and when you look at the way
Mom killed herself, how she did it...

how would Dad not feel a little anger
on top of his guilt?

Hmm?

Dad does need... to know.

He needs to know
that she made it somewhere.

He overreacted, that's all.

He'll come to his senses,
and, uh, Lacey will be back by tomorrow.

Dad always comes to his senses.

It's not a memory, Will.

What?

[Isla] On his left arm in that exact spot,
there was a different tattoo.

-[Will] How is that possible?
-I don't know, but in the lab, I saw it.

It wasn't a lighthouse.
It was waves on his arm.

-Are you sure?
-Yes.

It's not a memory.
This is something else.

If it's not a memory, then what is it?

Everything we've seen
doesn't exist anymore.

I mean, the hospital room's gone,
Pat Phillips, obviously gone.

We need to find something in this video
that still exists.

The... The woman. There's a...

Her.

We have Connor Phillips' address
on his death certificate.

So, I say that we go
down there tomorrow...

and we see if somebody
can help us track her down.

Will, why are we back here?

I don't know what's waiting for us
at that house, and I...

Do you remember I told you
about my accident when I was a kid?

Yeah, when you lied to your mom
about what you saw.

I didn't lie.

I didn't lie.

[sighs]

This is where I saw whatever...

Whatever it is that I saw.
This is the beach.

I used to come here when I was a kid,
like... I was drawn to it.

Or it made me feel better.

Anyway... Um...

when I saw you walking into the water
the other day, that's...

That's why I was here.

What?

I had a son...

and he was five years old.

And I fell asleep...

just for a second.

And when I woke up, he was gone.

At first I thought I wasn't supposed
to meet you... or feel anything.

But maybe I was wrong.

[Will sighs]

Um, hi. Is this the Phillips residence?

Connor... Did you know Connor Phillips?

Pat Phillips? Can you speak English?

Okay.

Okay, well, that's clearly not the woman
from the video.

Maybe they moved or something.

Should we see
if they have the new address?

I don't know. I don't know.

Can I help you?

I haven't seen my brother in years.

I'd call it more of a loss for her
than for me.

Alzheimer's.

She deteriorated after Dad died.

-Connor?
-You knew my father, too?

You know, actually, Pat mentioned him.
That he went to see him before he died.

Well, anyway, Dad died and...

Mom, she started going downhill
real fast after that.

My husband and I, we own the house now.

Is there gonna be a service or anything,
um, for Pat?

I wouldn't know.

I'm sorry, if you don't mind me saying,

you don't seem that upset
about your brother's death.

[sighing] Look...

it seems as though you liked him.
You found something in him...

so, I'm sorry.

But to the rest of us...
he was a piece of shit

who left his sister
with a cancer-ridden father

and a mother
who lost every marble she ever had.

I'm sorry. So... [clears throat]
is the last time that you saw Pat

when he went to visit
your Dad in the hospital?

I don't know what bullshit
he hauled your way,

but he never visited my father
in the hospital.

If he told you that, it's a lie.

He called and said he was gonna visit him,
but he never showed up.

This is gonna sound really strange,
but did Pat have a tattoo?

He told you about that?

Well...

When he turned 18,
we got matching waves.

We were really close then.

So, the machine doesn't record a memory.
It wasn't a bad theory.

People are just gonna
keep killing themselves.

You know, sooner or later,
you're gonna have to forgive your dad.

I've been thinking a lot
about the difference between...

what something is
and what something means.

And I don't know what any of this is...

but I do think
if there's a meaning to any of it,

it has something to do
with not pressing the reset button,

even if things get really rough.

We're a bunch of people running around,
making the same mistakes over and over.

And I don't know why we think
it'll be different somewhere else...

unless we learn what we're supposed to
while we're here.

[Isla sighs]

What was your son's name?

Oliver.

I was dreaming.

When he was in the water,
I was dreaming.

What about?

I don't know.

I can't remember.

It was one of those times where you know
for sure you're dreaming, but you don't...

don't know what about.

I wish I knew.

You don't have to do this alone anymore
if you don't want to.

[Toby] Will!

Fuck! Fuck, Will!

Get up. It's Dad.
What the fuck are you doing?

What about Dad?

-It's dad. Get the fuck up.
-Okay. All right. I'm coming.

I didn't know, so, I couldn't stop it.

Slow down
and tell me exactly what happened.

He hooked himself up to the device.
He wanted to prove that it works.

-Dad's hooked up right now?
-Yes.

[Isla] We need to tell him that it works.

What?

What works?

-What are you doing?
-He demanded.

-Why aren't you bringing him back?
-He's too far along.

We already know that it records something.

Cooper...

it works, okay?

Dad?

Dad?

[woman] Time to pull yourself away.

Come back to reality. Come home.

-Is that Mom?
-It's Mom.

[Harber] What I'm doing is reality.

I need to finish.
It's important. Do you understand?

-Their anniversary.
-Yeah.

[woman] I'm going upstairs.

[Harber] Now, don't be dramatic.
I'll be done soon. And we can have dinner.

[Harber] Honey, wait.

Maybe work can wait.
So, what do you say we have some dinner?

She's not taking the bath.

-That's not what happened.
-I know.

We can bring him back.

Cooper, just... wait.
We have to see what happens.

[Cooper] We've got to do it now,
or it'll be too late.

Will, come on.

Toby, I'm sorry. Cooper, now!

-Dad? Dad, listen to me.
-[defibrillator shocks]

Dad, please. Listen to my voice.

-Is he gonna be brain...?
-I don't know. I don't know.

Cooper, hit it again!

[defibrillator shocks]

Dad?

[machine beeping]

What happened?

I knew I saw her.

Like a dream that you can't remember.

I can't figure out what this is, Dad.

I never left my study.
Never stopped her on the stairs.

-And she drew a bath.
-[Will] I know.

And in the Pat Phillips recording,
he has a different tattoo on his arm.

[Harber] I always said the afterlife
was a different plane of existence.

But...

what if it's a different plane...
of this existence?

Alternate realities?

No, our reality...
with differences and variations.

Stepping out of a truck...
to visit a dying parent.

Random, like different tattoos.

Stopping someone from going upstairs
to end their life.

When we die, what if we travel
to an alternate version of our own life?

A second chance?

Then we wouldn't... just have to accept
our biggest regret.

In the afterlife, we could change it.

At the risk of stating
the super fucking obvious...

if you are right
and word of this got out--

We have to destroy the machine.

[Cooper] Hey, Thomas.

Everyone wants to know what's going on.

Welcome, everybody.
Nice to have you all here.

I asked you to gather here today because
I thought that we should be honest.

-Hi.
-Honest with ourselves,

honest with each other.

-You got to see your mom again.
-[Harber] I see you as family...

and I think you see me
in the same way.

And as family...

I think sometimes
we get so absorbed with...

what we're doing individually,
we go off on our own track and so forth,

we lose the fact
that how important family is.

-[gunshot]
-[all gasp]

Lacey?

Lacey.

Lacey, it's okay. Put the...
Put the gun down.

Lacey, I was wrong.
You do not need to do this.

I didn't kill her.

I just relocated her.

[Will] Isla?

Isla?

Isla. Oh, it's okay.

Isla? Dad! Oh, God.

Dad, please! I need your help!

[woman] Somebody go get help.

[panting] I just wanted my spot back.

Okay. Okay.

[Will] Isla. Dad, please help her.

Don't talk. Just breathe.

I don't wanna die anymore.

[muffled] You're okay.
I just need you to stay with me.

[boy] Yeah. Ha!

[Will mutters]

Isla?

Isla?

[Toby] They were asking, the cops,
who to contact for Isla.

-Next-of-kin deal.
-[Harber] I'll have Cooper look into it.

[Toby] Okay.

I don't wanna overwhelm him
with questions right now, okay?

Okay. Yeah, that's probably a good idea.

Yeah.

-Maybe I should go in and check on him--
-No, no, no. Don't.

He needs rest.

He needs to process, okay?

-All right.
-You can check on him after dinner.

And then we'll finish breaking down
the machine tonight.

[Toby] Okay.

But...

we haven't come close...

to figuring this all out yet,
or what it all means.

Like, if it really is another version
of our own life,

then what happens when we die again?

[Harber] Toby.

-Toby.
-What?

[Harber] We've got to let it go
for a while.

We've just got to.

[grunting]

[Harber] Completely dismantled.

-All traces need to be gone.
-Thomas, I hear you.

[panting]

[grunts]

[Harber] William?

Let us in, don't do this.

William.

[machine beeping]

He's on the ferry headed here?

-Not the same here.
-What?

I don't understand. How are we watching
this right now if he's not dead?

[man on TV] ...since Thomas Harber's first
and only post-Discovery interview ended

with an on-air suicide.

Since then,
the worldwide suicide toll has sky--

[Isla] I was watching that.

Isla?

-Isla?
-[Isla] It's off-season.

-Why are you going to this dreary island?
-Isla?

-I have to stop your shooting, Isla.
-Sit down.

I need you to come with me right now.

Sit down, Will. This is just your memory.
I'm a part of you. Sit down.

What are we doing back on this ferry?
What the fuck is going on?

You were never able to stop me
from killing myself until this life.

"This life"? What do you...?
What do you mean, "this life"?

You always start back on the ferry.

[Will] Reality and fantasy
are mutually exclusive.

They don't exist in the same space.

Well, it looks like we're here.

You know what? I changed my mind.
I don't know what I was thinking.

[Isla] The first time,
you never got off the ferry.

Then the next day you read that
a woman named Isla had drowned herself.

You went on and lived your life,

but the thought that you could've done
something never left. It was always there.

[brakes squeak]

[Isla] And then one day,
just like everybody else...

I died.

And then you came back here.

How long have I been stuck living
in this loop?

How many times have we met
on this ferry?

Your death brings you back here.

You keep coming back
over and over again and again.

I don't remember any of it.
I don't remember these other lives.

Nobody can remember them directly.

But sometimes certain memories
do have a way of sticking out.

[Will] You look so familiar to me.
You look so familiar to me.

It's your lucky day.
I don't normally carry these around.

-This is where I saw whatever...
-[Will] This is the beach.

[Toby] How'd you know this is
where you were gonna be staying?

[Will] We're a bunch of people
running around

making the same mistakes
over and over.

And I just don't know why we think
it's gonna be different someplace else.

What am I supposed to change?

You already changed it.
You kept coming back until you saved me.

I didn't save you, you died.

There's more than one way
to save somebody, Will.

[Harber] Cooper, ready on our end.
We need to bring him back.

How can I hear my dad?
He's in a different place.

Two separate parts in the same place.

[Toby] Okay, Dad, defibrillator's charged.

No, no, no. I'm not ready to go back yet.
I need more time with you.

Toby, please wait! Not yet!

[Cooper] His vitals are concerning me.

If we pull him now, we might lose him.

Isla. Isla, please.
I'm not ready to leave you.

-What's happening to me?
-You're about to die.

[Cooper] His heart's stopped, Thomas.
Organs are shutting down.

They're trying to bring you back.

That's okay.
If I die, I'll just come back here to you.

No, not this time.

You don't have to come back anymore.

You helped me get to where I needed to be
and now you'll go someplace else.

When I get there,
will I be able to remember you?

I hope so.

[Toby] Dad, everything is shutting down.

His brain's showing barely
any activity.

You're leaving now. This is it.

[Harber] I'm not leaving this room
until we revive my son.

When I get there...
I'm going to remember you.

[Harber] We've gotta pull him out
right now.

One... two... three.

[monitor flatlines]

[boy chuckles]

Oh, hey. Look. You okay?

-Yeah.
-Hey, come here.

Let me help you.
Come here, come here. Oh!

I got you.

Whoa!

Whoa!

[boy laughing]

You okay?

-Holy cow.
-Give me that pail.

-You went down pretty good, huh?
-Yeah.

Yep. You okay? I got you.

Whoa! [grunts]

Where's your mom and dad?

Oliver!

Oliver!

Hi.

It's okay. He's all right. He just...

-Okay.
-I told you, you can't--

You can't just run off on me like that,
okay? I've told you.

He was... He was just... He's all right.

He was struggling a little bit
in the water.

I wanted to make sure he got back to you.

-Are you okay?
-Yeah.

-Thank you.
-Yeah.

He's a good kid.

-You're okay.
-Thanks.

[Will chuckles]

[Isla] You can't do that. You scared me.

Okay? Can you walk a little bit?

♪ As she submarines
The rope loops round her feeble feet ♪

♪ Before the dawn
Breaks on her sorry grasp ♪

♪ In a blink and in one motion ♪

♪ Rope constricts
Rips her towards the ocean ♪

♪ She never finds her bearings ♪

♪ Sucking splash into her lungs ♪

[man vocalizing]

♪ Though I cannot see, I can hear ♪

♪ Her smile as she sinks ♪

♪ Though I cannot see, I can hear ♪

♪ Her smile as she sinks ♪

[man vocalizing]

[playing notes]