Electric Dreams (2017–…): Season 1, Episode 5 - Real Life - full transcript

I'm just sayin'.

Can't believe that Harris and
Bakshi would be stupid enough

to set foot in the States again.
I mean, why take the chance?

They're gonna be permanent
residents in Jakarta or Singapore

or wherever the fuck they are by now.

Are you gonna eat those fingers?

Hey. Sarah.

What?

Your fingers, are you gonna... eat 'em?

They're called fries.

Look, I hate to say this, Chief,



but I think we're really
chasing our tails here.

I keep telling you they're here.

They're gonna lead us back to Colin.

Sorry.

You need a break.

I'm fine.

Bill.

Well, I guess we're leaving.

Cruising speed back to the precinct.

You know, Sarah, you're
not alone in this.

The massacre affected
the entire department.

Three of the guys were in
my class at the Academy.

I want to find Colin and the
guys that did this too.

How many was that?



More than two.

Less than ten.

Come on.

They keep telling me
to let it go, but...

Every time I close my eyes,
I'm right back there.

In the street.

Hearing the gunshots.

It's like it's happening all over again.

It's not.

It's over. It's in the past.

Not for me.

Part of me's still there.

Still lying in a pool of blood.

Waiting for it to be my turn.

What is that?

A vacation.

I'm not into the whole virtual
tropical beach thing.

No? No, I didn't know that.

No, it's not just another simulation.

- It's another life.
- A life?

You know how, when you're in a dream,

you're still yourself,

but it's not exactly
this version of you?

Sorta.

Well, when you're in a dream,

you're essentially living another life.

Right? You're in another world
with another set of rules

that you accept as reality.

That's what this is.

It's another life that you
will accept as reality

just as firmly as you accept this one.

You're not just gonna be somewhere else.

You're gonna be someone else.

Who will I be?

I don't know.

Every user's experience is different.

But it will be someone

based on your own thoughts and dreams

drawn directly from
your own subconscious.

It's a vacation from your life.

That does sound pretty fucking
great right about now.

How long is it?

Just a couple hours to start.

See if you like it.

Okay? If you don't, I'll
send it back to development

with a "dissatisfied customer" tag.

I think your head and your
heart could really use a break

from being you.

You're too good to me.

I don't deserve you.

Just have a great vacation.

George. George, what're you doing, man?

We gotta move.

Come on. Holy shit.

You're bleeding, man. Are you okay?

Okay.

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

I can't really think straight.

You're good. You're good.

Okay. Let's go.

Wh... where are we?

Haha, very funny,
man. Look, stay sharp.

- All right, here we go.
- What the fuck are you doing?

- What the fuck are you...
- Don't move!

Let's go.

Stay right there.

You must think I'm pretty stupid.

- Yeah, we do.
- Sorry, what was that?

- Well, I do.
- Yeah, I fucking heard you

the first time, you fucking twat.

What're you doing?

You want to get his weapon?

Just fucking pull it
out, for fuck's sake.

Hey, George. George.

What're you doing, man?

You thought you'd just drop
in and... and do me in?

All of this was just...

was just avoidable.

Unnecessary.

You just had to do what I asked.

That's all.

But now...

Aah!

You know, I, um...

I once cut a man's finger off,

and I made his mate eat
it while he watched.

- Okay, what?
- It was disgusting.

Okay. No.

The only thing that's worse than that...

is to cut off his own finger
and make him eat it himself.

Okay, what the fuck is wrong with you?

I'm seeing if you're hungry, mate.

Don't move!

Don't move. Don't move.

George, Colin's getting away.

He's running. Come on.

Fuck!

We've got to get out of here
before the cops get here.

Come on, George!

Where we goin'?

C'mon!

Take us home. Best speed.

George, what're you doin', man?

I don't know. Everything's still fuzzy.

Maybe you should drive.

How'd you do that?

How you doing over there,
George, are you okay?

I don't know.

I'm not sure yet.

You should really get that looked at.

Should I call Paula?

Who?

Paula. You know Paula.

You don't remember Paula.
Do you remember me?

Yeah, you're... you're Chris.

Chr... Chris Ginsburg.

We've been friends...

for a long time.

Right, okay, so I think...

think you might have a
concussion, all right, just...

we're gonna get you home, and
then I'm gonna call Paula.

It's just a superficial laceration.

- You don't need stitches.
- Good.

Chances are, you might
have a concussion.

Don't go to bed for the next six hours,

and stay away from drugs and alcohol.

You think you can handle that?

Sure.

I mean it, George.

I heard you.

How's your memory?

I mean, fuzzy, but it's coming back.

What's your name?

George Miller.

Social security?

What's your social security number?

Well, who do you work for?

I don't know.

I run AvaCom Data Systems.

It's... my company.

I built it... in 2012.

Net worth?

3, 4, billion.

Close enough.

After all,

what's a billion or two between friends?

George, do you want me to stay?

No, I'm... I'm good.

Thank you.

Hey, man.

So, the police found the bodies.

No sign of Colin.

- Of course.
- Colin...

Are you okay?

George?

Listen, I'm gonna go
get Paula back in here...

No, no, no, it's not physical.

It's, um... it's more mental.

Feels like I want to... I want to cry.

I just gotta pull myself together.

Listen, buddy, um...

what happened...

it's not gonna be an
easy thing to get over.

You need to get some sleep.

I can't, I can't, um...

the doctor said I have to stay
up for the next six hours,

so that's what I'm doing.

I'm, I'm up.

Maybe you need a vacation.

What?

Well, you know, the... vacation.

"Take a vacation without
ever leaving the house."

That still the terrible ad
copy that you're gonna use?

My question is, when
do I get to try it?

I mean, I know it's a prototype,
but I could use a vacation too.

This wouldn't work for you.

Each headset has an individual...

neuronic pulse map that
is uniquely designed

for the prefrontal cortex.

All you would see is a white light.

- I've said this before.
- Yep.

- Your sales pitch.
- Hey.

Thank you, Chris.

Really appreciate that today.

You got it, jefe.

Say you're right, they
never left the state.

Four of the most wanted men

in the Northern Hemisphere.

Do you really think they're
gonna risk hanging around?

Even Colin hasn't been
seen in Chicago since...

Does this food taste right to you?

What?

Yeah. Same crap as always.

It seems... flat.

Like it suddenly has no taste.

Wait, are you listening to me at all?

Sorry.

Feels like I'm somewhere else still.

You mean like on vacation?

Wow, that must have
really been something.

Never seen you this distracted.

It was different.

Gonna eat those fingers?

Okay, fries.

Different how?

Like... a coherent dream.

Stable. Rational.

The longer I was there, the
more familiar it became.

I remembered it. I
remembered my life there.

That was the eerie part, like...

I was remembering my real
life for the first time.

"A vacation from your life."

They're gonna make a fortune.

So does Katie have a piece
of the profits or what?

Shit, I'll be damned.

- What?
- You were right.

They never left Chicago.

Dumb fucks got picked up on
an FBI surveillance scan.

Looks like they're setting a meeting.

Yeah, setting up a meeting for tonight.

That's beautiful. Beautiful.

I know exactly where this place is.

What?

It's just... so easy.

They're just falling
right into our laps.

Shit, I'm not complaining.

Come on, Sarah, come on.

All right.

I know this place.

He's late.

How come he's late,
He's never late.

Shut up and wait. He'll be here.

Well, we've got a lot to discuss...

- before the next job...
- Next job?

What the fuck are you talking about?

The people I represent
would like to make

an even bigger statement this time.

Something guaranteed to rock
the political foundations

of the entire city.

What'd you have in mind?

Burning down City Hall?

Try nuking City Hall.

Shit. You're serious?

I'm calling for backup.

We should discuss this in here.

Please?

Can't get a signal.

You keep an eye on him.
I'll be right back.

Mr. Miller?

Mr. Miller?

George, hey.

Somebody call 911!

I'm... I'm okay.

Just need some water.

Breathe, pal, breathe.

Listen, we should cancel.

You don't cancel on the
Justice Department.

Well, we could say that he
had a heart attack or...

'Cause that won't look suspicious.

Okay, I'm fine.

I just was a little dizzy.

Come on.

Mr. Miller, where were you
on the night of the 23rd?

I was at home, watching TV.

And what were you watching?

Nothing in particular.

Mostly just surfin'.

Well, we'd like to see your DVR log

to corroborate that.

- Bet you would, but you won't.
- The federal courthouse

is just 20 minutes from here

if we need to get a written consent...

Let's get to the real question.

Mr. Miller, why are you
running around the city

like some reallife Bruce Wayne?

What?

I thought this was a serious meeting.

Over the last three months,

your client's been on a
personal vigilante mission,

which has endangered the
public on numerous occasions,

the gunfight in a warehouse district

just being the most recent.

Which my client had nothing to do with.

Mr. Miller is still recovering

from having his wife's
murder go viral...

While the Justice Department

stood by and did nothing.

I can assure you that we're mobilizing

all our resources in an
effort to find the animals...

Maybe you should concentrate
on finding the killers

instead of harassing one of the victims.

- Mr. Miller!
- George.

I think it's pretty clear you've
suffered a severe concussion,

more than I first realized,

and it's affected your memory centers.

Will it get better?

There are instances where
serious head trauma

has resulted in permanent amnesia.

In most cases like this,

the lack of cognitive
recall is temporary.

I don't... think I want
to remember everything.

Me neither.

It's just, I don't remember her.

At all. My wife.

Just... flashes of that video.

I don't know how getting
hit in the head...

can erase her completely from my memory.

Well, that has less to
do with your injury

than your unconscious mind
trying to protect you

from a deeply traumatic memory.

Why aren't there any pictures of her?

Of us? Together?

The wedding, for Christ's sakes?

Well, you... you had them put away

after she was killed.

You know, I... I
probably still have a...

a picture of Katie here somewhere.

Katie?

Is that her name?

- Yeah...
- Can I see her?

There.

There's two of them.

There's two of them.

There's a theory...

that what we call déjà vu

is actually a delay in
realtime information

being transmitted from one hemisphere
of the brain to the other.

That lag is only microseconds,

but when it's received in
the second hemisphere,

it creates a small, momentary
dissonance in perception,

Now, that dissonance is misinterpreted

by the cerebral cortex as memory,

so the mind believes that normal events

have been experienced twice.

Yeah, but this isn't déjà vu.

It's like the memories
have been there all along.

Well, they are memories,

but they're memories
of simulated events,

events from your VR program.

I think your brain's having trouble

processing these simulated events,

and it's creating a dissonance
in your cerebral cortex,

just like déjà vu.

I tell you it feels much
more real than that.

I keep having these flashes
of that life, and...

I swear, it feels right.

Feels true.

But it's not. Trust me.

You're not really a lesbian
supercop in the future

in a flying car.

This is real.

I'm telling you, don't let
some digital delusion

start to loosen your grip on reality.

Otherwise, you're gonna go down a road

- you don't want to go down.
- I don't know.

Something's not right.

I keep feeling like...

there is a much deeper,
deeper truth here, Paula.

Jesus Christ, George,
listen to yourself.

In my professional opinion,

these virtual experiences
are interfering

with your recovery.

You could end up with permanent
if not severe brain damage.

Do you understand that?

Okay.

You convinced me. You win.

No more VR.

You promise?

Promise.

Okay.

Paula, thank you.

I'll see you tomorrow, all right?

Welcome back.

- Hey.
- Hey.

You had us worried there for a while.

What happened?

We won.

Bakshi and Harris are sitting in a
cell downtown at this very moment,

awaiting trial for the
murder of 15 cops.

How?

Well, after you decided to go supercop,

I called for backup.

They caught Bakshi and Harris
before they made it into orbit.

What about Colin?

He's three flights down
on the security level.

Yeah, your friend here
put him in a coma.

Nobody fucks with my partner.

I'm really back?

I'm really here?

Yeah, you're really here, sweetie.

Hey.

Everything's gonna be okay.

It's like a dream.

Bet you didn't have anything
like that on vacation.

No, definitely not.

But I know you.

So you did have sex, right?

Come on.

It's not cheating. You can tell me.

No. There was no sex.

Seriously?

No sex on the unforgettable vacation

that was "so real"?

- No.
- How boring.

I was a man.

More interesting.

Gay? Straight? Bi? Trans?

Straight.

Even in your fantasies,
you only like girls.

So there wasn't even one woman

that vaguely captured your interest

on your entire vacation?

No one special at all?

Hey.

What is it?

I was a widower.

My wife had been murdered.

And I was devastated.

And doing everything I
could to find her killer.

Tale of heartbreak and revenge.

I love it.

Did you ever find your wife's killer?

No. He got away.

It's still real to you, isn't it?

It's hard to shake.

Especially when I look at you.

Why when you look at me?

'Cause it reminds me of the other Katie.

My murdered wife.

You named her Katie?

I didn't name her anything.
That's just the way it was.

Her name was Katie, and
she looked just like you.

This is getting weird.

Well, that's what I kept
trying to tell you.

You're her, and she's you, and...

there's all these other common things

like... Colin's in both worlds,

and there's a virtual reality
program in both worlds...

Please stop saying both worlds.
There's only one world, Sarah.

To me, there's two.

The only difference is
that when I'm here,

I remember everything that's happened,

and when I'm there, it's
foggy and confusing.

Well, doesn't that tell you
something right there?

This is reality.

That's why you remember everything.

That makes sense, but...

- But?
- But it's all too perfect.

- What is?
- My life here.

I mean, think about it.

Doesn't it seem like some
kind of ancient male fantasy?

What they used to call science fiction?

I literally have a flying car.

I'm a lesbian with a gorgeous wife

who wants to have sex all the time.

I mean, can't you see
how perfect it all is?

Doesn't it seem like somebody
else's fucking fantasy?

What have I done to
deserve a life like this?

- You don't deserve me.
- Yes.

Wait, what?

That's what you said a
couple of days ago,

right before you started the program.

- I thought you were kidding.
- I was kidding.

Well, maybe your subconscious wasn't.

What the hell does that mean?

The program is designed
to generate a scenario

based on the hidden desires and dreams

in a user's subconscious

in order to create a
completely new life.

You have been racked with
guilt over the massacre

for over a year,

and the last thing you said
before you started the program

was that your wife is too good for you.

Sarah, don't you see?

The program created a world
where I'm dead and you're...

tortured with guilt because
that's what it thinks

you really want deep down.

Here's what we're gonna do.

Tomorrow, we're gonna go
back to the medical bay,

and we'll wipe any trace of the program

from your implants...

if we have to, we'll
fucking rip them out

and get you new ones.

I don't know about that.

You have to trust me.

Do you trust me?

Yes.

I... yes, I trust you.

Welcome back, Mr. Miller.

- The usual?
- What?

Do you want the usual?

What you normally get?

I've been here before.

You know that.

What's going on here?

This guy messing with you?

You fuck with my friend, Vic?

No, um, a little.

Jesus Christ.

Couple of Cold War Combos, okay?

- You got it.
- I got some news.

So Malia tells me that the
feds don't have enough

to press charges.

So good news on that front.

Yeah. That's good.

Ready for the bad news?

Colin left the country. He's gone.

He's probably in, I don't
know, Jakarta or...

Jakarta or, um... Singapore.

I guess.

Did you spit in this one?

Enjoy.

Hello, I'd like to pick
up a number three combo.

Excuse me.

They're fries... not fingers.

What the hell are you talking about?

I've been here before.

Yeah, you have. We come
here all the time.

I remember, I... I remember everything.

Hey, George. George.

I know what's going on.

I know what's going on.

Where're you going, George?

George?

How did I know you would
be standing right there

waiting for me when I got home?

Chris called.

He's worried about you.

Bet he is.

That's all right.

You don't have to worry about
me for too much longer.

You either, actually.

What's that supposed to mean?

Nothing.

I'm selling the company, okay?

What? To who?

Doesn't matter. To whomever.

We can sell all the assets,

give the money to charity.

I don't really care.

Are you crazy?

It all depends on how you define crazy.

Okay.

Where is it?

Where's what?

You know what. Where is it?

I thought you weren't
gonna do that anymore.

Well, I changed my mind.

Why don't we just sit
down and talk about this?

No, you're not my therapist, remember?

No. I'm your friend.

I don't need a friend, Paula.

I need my headset.

Why?

Because it's the easiest way for
me to get out of this world

and get back to my real life.

I mean, vacation's over, Paula.

I just need to get back
to the real world...

This is the real world, George.

I cannot believe I'm sitting here

having an argument with a fantasy.

Just tell me where my headset
is so I can go home, please.

You want to go home? To your wife?

To the one place in the entire world

where your Katie is still alive?
Where's my fucking headset?

Your cerebral cortex will
be permanently damaged.

You might never wake up.

That's all right. 'Cause guess what?

It turns out I've got a
pretty damn good life there.

Little too good, isn't it, George?

Little too perfect?

That's funny.

I said the same exact words to Katie,

but she was the real Katie.

If she's so real, why do you need

a pretend headset to get back to her?

Why don't you just click your
heels together or something?

I don't know.

Maybe something's wrong
with the simulation.

Katie said it wasn't ready
for the market yet,

but all I know is I put this thing on,

here, and when I wake up,
I'm in the real world.

Well, it lets you escape
the real world, George.

You're a simulation.

You're never coming back, right?

Even you admit that once
you press that button,

you're never coming back.

You're damn right.

Then before you do something
that we both know

will be a permanent choice,
you need to hear me out

one last time, for old time's sake.

You and me...

we've got a history in this world.

We were having an affair
when Katie disappeared.

We were gonna end it, we
kept telling each other.

I think we might have meant it.

You loved your wife,

and I didn't want to be the other woman.

But before we had a chance to act

on that one small bit of moral courage,

she vanished.

Colin or whatever his name is,

he wanted the software you
developed for the NSA.

Software...

The most powerful software
decryption ever developed.

And Colin knew if he
got his hands on it,

he could do almost anything.

Hack the entire U.S.
intelligence community.

Maybe even get his hands on the
U.S. nuclear launch codes.

You understood the stakes, so
you wouldn't let him have it.

You offered him billions
to let Katie go.

But he didn't want money.

He wanted to show you
he couldn't be bought.

That's when you started
developing the headset.

No, no...

That's when you started talking
about needing a vacation.

No, no, no, no, this isn't real.

- No.
- This isn't real.

Think about this for a moment.
Really, really think about this.

You're a fantasy. You're a fantasy.

Okay, one of these worlds is a fantasy

drawn from your own mind.
Which is more likely, George?

A fantasy where you're heartbroken

because your wife has
been brutally murdered,

or a fantasy where you're happy
and everything is perfect

because your wife is still alive?

This is not... this isn't right.

This... this isn't real.

Okay, fine, it's your choice.

I'm not gonna stop you.

You put that thing on,

and you could end up
in a permanent coma.

Hey, at least you'll be
having hot lesbian sex

in some scifi paradise.

Or you can stay here with me,

and we can face the pain
and the horror of this

in the real world together.

No, I'm not really selling this, am I?

Maybe that's why I went into
medicine and not marketing.

I... don't... deserve that life.

I never did.

Neither of us do.

This is what we deserve, to live here.

Punishment for our sins.

Sarah!

Sarah?

Sarah.

Sarah!

Sarah, I'm right here, baby.

I am right here, so you
come back to me, okay?

Sarah, I'm right here.

I'm right here, baby.

Don't you dare fucking leave me here.

Her neuronal pathways have shut down.

I'm sorry. There's nothing we can do.

Why would she choose that life?

She wanted to be punished.

For her sins.

Real and imagined.

Surviving.

Being happy.

Being happy is not a sin.

We're all sinners.

And we all think we need to be punished.

Even if our sins don't exist.