Extant (2014–2015): Season 1, Episode 13 - Ascension - full transcript

MOLLY: I went to space on
a 13-month solo mission.

I didn't come home alone.

My husband created a lifelike
android called a Humanich.

His name is Ethan. He's the prototype.

This is a story about Earth.

Ethan!

A story about family.

A story about surviving.

Previously on Extant...

I'm gonna have to turn down your warmers

so you can get past the sensors.



I know how to turn them on myself.

Hey, little guy.

I'm running low on power.

CHARLIE: Did you see the gap?

87 minutes.

He was with Odin at John's house.

CHARLIE: If I'm watching a
one-of-a-kind sentient android,

I might mention if I
let him run out of power.

This is Commander Pierre
Lyon of the Triomphe.

We have returned to them this woman.

MOLLY: But she's on the Seraphim.

She was alive this whole time.

The Seraphim is falling out of its orbit.

It's coming back to
Earth. It'll disintegrate



as soon as it hits the atmosphere.

Geez!

No! No!

- It's okay.
- ODIN: If John...

takes you to the lab and you think

they're gonna do something radical,

I want you to get in touch with me.

- How?
- This is a very special phone.

Press this button and
I'm gonna know it's you,

and I'm gonna come straightaway.

Patient's name is Odin James.

Are you sure you have the right number?

The explosion at Yasumoto
Towers was a terrorist attack,

planned and executed by a machine.

Gina! Lock the door!

Ethan! What did you do?!

Hey.

I'm sorry, Ethan.

I... shouldn't have yelled at you.

I was trying to protect you.

I-I know.

But he just wanted to talk to me.

And when you threw the
ball, well, it kind of...

well, it really hurt him.

Why do you care about him so much?

Because he's my child.

I thought that I was your child.

You are.

Then why is it different with him?

JOHN: He's having trouble processing it.

It's hard enough for a
human to deal with rejection.

For a machine, it's...

Well, I didn't reject him.

He doesn't know that.

He's in uncharted territory right now.

And so are we.

Okay.

What are we gonna do about Ethan?

I'm gonna take him back to the lab.

Try to find out exactly
what Odin did to him.

But if Julie's right, if there
is a bomb, I... I don't know

what to do after that. I mean,
I-I want to be at the launch,

- but, uh, it's too dangerous with him.
- I know.

It's okay, don't worry.

What about this... other child?

I mean, what makes you think

that he won't try to stop you
now that you're going back up?

Well, they're doing everything

in their power to secure the building.

He still wants to bring the Seraphim down.

So I can't imagine he's gonna stop now.

(sighs)

How did we get here?

I'm sorry, just...

I'm so worried.

Me, too.

(sighs)

Come back to me, please.

I will.

I promise.

JACKSON: At this time,

we have no way of knowing if Sean Glass

and Katie Sparks are still alive.

If they're alive, Molly
will bring them home.

But before she does, she's
gonna redirect the Seraphim

away from Earth's orbit.
From the time she gets there,

she'll have just under two hours

to seal it up and send it packing.

Any longer than that, it'll be too late.

Dr. Woods?

Uh, if I should miss the
opportunity to coordinate the move

with mission control, I
will go to Plan B on my own.

I'll transfer fuel from the reserves
and I'll use the station's thrusters

to redirect the Seraphim manually.

JACKSON: It's a less desirable option,

but it's better than the alternative.

She's gonna bring detonators to blow

the separation bolts for
emergency decommission.

It's an extreme measure, but considering

what else is on board, it's necessary.

Phillips?

We know this being

or beings, what we're calling "the spores,"

can somehow access our
minds via proximity contact.

They can make us see and do
things beyond our control.

We're giving you the
best defense we have...

the Orphial 2nd-skin
prototype, designed to withstand

the radiation and electromagnetic fields

of the Beyond Mars missions.

We don't know how effective
it will be, but it's

our best bet at reducing
the margins of uncertainty.

Your helmet has been retrofitted

with a specialized filter using

the algorithm developed by your colleague.

Algorithm Danny 5 will allow you

to essentially distinguish
illusion from reality

by showing these spores in their true form.

This mission goes well beyond
the bounds of acceptable risk.

But these are extraordinary times,

and they call for extraordinary courage.

When this is over, we can

sit back and reflect on these events.

But right now, this is a
threat that must be contained.

If the Seraphim burns up on reentry,

these spores could scatter

through the atmosphere
and lead to mass infection.

And this isn't just
about Molly or Sean Glass

or Katie Sparks;

it's about all nine billion of us.

If you're the praying type,

say a prayer for Dr. Woods.

If you're superstitious,
cross your fingers,

throw a pinch of salt.

If you don't believe in anything,

believe in her.

Ben?

Hello, Molly.

Hey, buddy. Did you miss me?

I've been running a probability analysis

- based on the mission briefing.
- Don't want to hear that right now.

There appears to be a very slim margin

for success and a high degree of risk...

You're skating on thin ice here, buddy.

MAN: Launch
control to Odessa...

time to fly.

Roger that.

(beeping)

Stand by to initiate launch sequence.

Standing by.

T-minus 15 seconds.

14...

13...

12...

11...

ten...

nine...

eight...

seven...

six...

five...

four...

three...

two... one...

zero... launch!

Ben?

Any luck?

Sorry, Molly.

I tried each sector of the Seraphim.

Still no answer from Sean or Katie.

Keep trying.

And set the clock for 97 minutes.

(thumping nearby)

GLASS: Hey! Let me out of here!

Hey!

Hey! Hey!

Sean!

Molly!

- We got to get your electrolytes up.
- Aw, God!

Katie, the real Katie,
she's been dead for a while.

It looks like something tore
its way right out of her stomach.

And the thing, the-the whatever it is,

sabotaged my communication,
locked me in the Aruna pod.

Molly! We need to go right now.

We are going to as soon as we fix

the com system and turn the station around.

Why don't we just let it burn up?

If the Seraphim burns up on reentry,

those spores on the condensers

can very well make their way to Earth.

Right now, you and I

are the only two people that can stop it.

I don't want to die up here, Molly.

We are not gonna die up here.

I've got a family to get home to.

All we have to do

is fix the comm system and
make contact with the ground.

And they'll take it from there.

And if they don't, we'll
use the fuel reserves,

move it with the thrusters
and be out of here.

Okay, what's first?

What happened to the comms?

She fried the power module to the antenna.

- Is there a spare in the shed?
- At least one.

That's Plan A.

ODIN: The explosion at Yasumoto Towers

that destroyed the Humanichs
Corporation laboratory

was a terrorist attack,

planned and executed
not by our human enemies,

but by a machine.

Well, I don't think it
could've been any clearer.

He's talking about a future attack.

That doesn't mean he
already planted the bomb.

What do you think he did
when he shut him down?

Maybe he made some changes in his program.

He's neural net is untouched.

We can't even get in
there, and we're not talking

about a computer genius here.

Okay, I want to open him up.

- John, that's a bad idea.
- Do you have a better one?

Yes! Call the bomb squad!
Put him in a shelter!

Do you know what the bomb squad will do?

They'll take him and they'll
do a controlled explosion!

- They'll kill him!
- We don't know that.

When he disappeared on the island,

the sheriff acted like I lost a toy!

Other people don't see him like we do.

It's too dangerous to do it here, John!

All I'm saying is let's be 100% sure.

Let's shut him down, open
him up and see for ourselves

before we get anyone else involved.

Julie, tell him this is a bad idea.

John, I know how you feel.

He's your son.

We love him, too, but you're putting

other people's lives at risk!

I'm putting people's lives at risk?

Wait a second... who
brought Odin here?

Who let him get close to Ethan?

- You!
- Wait, come on, man! That's not fair.

You can't put this on her.

JOHN: If you want to call
the police, be my guest.

If you want to go, go.

But I'm opening him up.

(Charlie sighs)

♪

♪

- No!
- Ethan, just for a bit.

We have to shut you down to
see what Odin did to you.

We think he did something really bad.

- He's my friend.
- He's not your friend, Rabbit.

- He was using us.
- That's not true.

He made a video saying
that you wanted to hurt

- a lot of people.
- We could show it to you.

- Why would we lie to you, hmm?
- Because you want to shut me down

for good and never wake me
up, exactly like he told me.

- I don't want to shut you down for good.
- Yes, you do.

You're afraid of what's happening to me.

And Mom doesn't love me.

Your mom loves you. We-we both do.

I'm not like you. I'm like Odin.

That's why we have to stick together.

JOHN: You know who sticks together?

Family, Ethan.

And you are my family.

To-to shut you down for good? My God, no.

The-the whole point of bringing you home

was so we could give
you the human experience.

I-I would never do that to a human child,

and I-I would never do that to you.

I don't believe you.

Ethan, come on. Just stop this...

Ethan, where... where'd you get that?

Odin gave it to me.

He told me to call him if
you were gonna shut me down.

That he'd come get me.

Ethan, give me that phone.

- No!
- (phone beeps)

Hey, I just want to see it.

You don't want me to call him.

JOHN: You're right.

I-I don't.

Because I think if you
push that button,

you're going to blow the bomb

and you're gonna disappear forever.

And not just you, but me,
Julie and Charlie, too.

You're going to kill us.

Is that what you want?

No.

Give me the phone.

Please, buddy.

Come on, Rabbit. Don't do this.

I don't know what I'm supposed to do.

Hey, I understand.

I-I'm asking you to do something
you're not designed to do.

I'm asking you to do the worst
thing possible for a machine,

to be shut down.

But you're not... you're
not just a machine.

You're capable of so much more.

You have to see yourself
as human as I see you.

You have to take a leap of faith.

Ethan, I swear to you, on my life,

whatever happens, I'll
be right beside you.

I will wake you up.

Hey.

Just give me the phone.

♪

Sean, I found the spare module.

Headed back now.

Molly?

Sean and I were just talking.

We're so surprised to see you here.

I know you're not her.

What do you mean?

You're not Katie Sparks.

I'm confused.

Of course I am.

The real Katie was a good person.

She wouldn't hurt anybody.

So if you're her, you're gonna
let me through that door.

Okay.

I know there's a part of you

saying that you have to do this,

but she's a part of you, too.

Just like my son is a part of me.

Now, let me through that door.

I can't do that.

(laughs)

(grunting)

(panting)

Help me!

Katie locked me in here
and I can't get out!

- Help!
- Molly?

MOLLY (over earpiece): I'm
here. Let me out of here!

Sean!

Let me out of here!

What's your 20?

MOLLY: N-channel power bus.

About to swap the module.

- Where are you?
- Sean...

- Looking at you.
- Look at me.

It's Molly.

In the shed.

I need you to believe me.

MOLLY: Do not go near that door.

I locked Katie in there.

Do you hear me?

Let me out.

Sean...

she's making herself look like me.

- Let me out!
- But it's not me.

Don't worry.

I'll meet you at the hoses.

(electronic humming)

(humming slows)

(sighs) Ready.

What the hell is that?

JACKSON: Stand by GTCs.

If she's on schedule, we could
see her any minute now.

Sir?

It's the same in every sector.

Security feed must be frozen.

It's him.

It's the Offspring.

Everybody listen up.

Building's compromised.

- Switching to IMP.
- Going to lockdown.

What about Molly? We're
going to miss our window.

She'll go to Plan B.
If it's in the building,

we can't trust ourselves
to help her anyway.

Let's go, people! Report to
Incident Management Teams.

Clear out and fall back to the perimeter.

Where is it now?

Moving toward Sector 7, stairwell D.

Prepare for lockdown, on my go.

(tone sounds, door slams)

(alarm blaring)

Swapping out now, Ben.

BEN: Roger.

Powering up new ones.

BEN: Antenna up.

T-Coms full power.

(exhales)

That's it, Ben.

Phone home.

BEN: Molly?

Yeah?

I'm receiving an automated
Incident Management Protocol

response from Mission Control.

They evacuated the building?

That is the standard course of action.

All right. Glass, did you hear that?

Sean?

Ben, a little help here?

Could you use the transponder
in his earpiece, please?

BEN: I've located him
near the transfer hoses.

Sean, whatever it is you're
seeing, it's not real.

Fight it! It's happening to me, too.

Sean... I've been exposed, too.

We're just gonna have to push through it.

Ben...

we got a change of plan.

BEN: What happened?

He cut the line to the
fuel transfer hoses.

We're going to Plan C.

The probability of success

- for an explosive decommission...
- Ben, I swear to God,

if you don't shut up with that...

I'm getting a distress signal.

Has something happened to your helmet?

Yeah.

I took it off.

It doesn't matter.

My hand's already been exposed.

Are you able to complete the mission?

Yeah.

I'm gonna find Glass, sedate him

and bring him back to the cockpit.

KERN: It's called a honey
bomb. They're designed

to fix themselves
permanently to their targets.

Permanently?

They are incredibly unstable.

If we try and dislodge
it, tamper with a trigger,

a violent shake, anything could set it off.

We shouldn't even be standing here.

We should be calling in the bomb squad.

No, we're not doing that.

He's worried they're gonna blow him up.

KERN: It would only be his body, right?

Isn't his program backed up somewhere?

We can't back him up.

Something happened to his program;

his growth just outpaced our technology.

We're not even close to catching up.

Well, we're out of time.

We need to get somewhere safe,

then we can decide what to do.

- I'm not leaving him.
- John.

Look, I promised him I'd be here.

I-I-I swore
I'd wake him up.

If John's not leaving, I'm not leaving.

Not gonna happen, dude.

KERN: Then let's at least
clear the building.

We'll minimize the risk to the civilians.

You two, come with me.

(monitor steadily beeping)

(electronic trilling)

You woke me up.

(sighs)

Yeah.

(wry laugh)

(laughs) I promised I would.

(chuckles)

What is it?

I have something to tell you.

It's not easy to say, but...

I want you to know the truth.

We were right to be worried.

Odin put something inside
of you that could...

explode and hurt a lot of people.

Did you take it out?

No, we can't.

If... we, uh...

tried to move it, we might set it off,

so the best thing we could do is...

keep you safe until we figure out a way

to back up your program.

I thought that we couldn't
back up my program.

Well, we'll figure something out.

I thought that he was my friend.

That's the other part of trust.

You know...

sometimes people are gonna let you down.

Every now and then, you're
gonna be disappointed.

Just like you were disappointed

in your mom for yelling at you.

I was trying to protect her.

I know.

Is she gonna die?

No!

Am I?

(panting) Come on.

Sean!

I need to see you!

(panting)

Sean!

(vial rattles to the floor)

(beeps)

(door opens)

No. No. No. No.

Sean.

Don't do this!

(whooshes)

(grunts)

So... she's just on her own?

JACKSON: She may have
the other two astronauts.

We just... don't know.

I'll update you as soon as I hear anything.

(wry laugh)

(phone beeps)

Why isn't anyone helping her?

They can't get into the ISEA.

Because he's in there?

Yeah. He can, uh...

get into people's minds

and make them do things
they don't want to do.

How?

Well, he has special powers.

He does something to our
brains that we can't understand.

(John sighs)

Not mine.

BEN (over P.A.): This doesn't seem like

a prudent course of action, considering.

(panting): We're not leaving him.

You said Sean was exposed to the spores.

How do you know he won't
contaminate the capsule?

I don't.

Ben, we are not gonna leave him.

I was contaminated and I fought it.

You just need to let me
know when he wakes up.

(sighs) Ben?

Yes.

Okay, I'm gonna set the detonators

on high-shear sep-bolts;
put a timer on them.

And when I get back, we're only gonna have

a couple of minutes before it goes off.

So, we're gonna have to launch the Odessa

as soon as possible.

I'll set the prelaunch protocol.

You only have 23 minutes.

Okay, well, wish me luck.

I'll apply the rules of probability.

Oh, God, forget it.

JOHN: How much time does she have?

If she went to Plan B, she could have
already sent the Seraphim packing.

She could be on her way
home now with Sean and Katie.

There's just no way for us to know.

Until Ethan gets inside.

- John...
- Hey.

I'm almost done with the upload.

I don't think it's safe to send him in.

Look, the other child can't affect him.

It manipulates other
people via their biology.

Ethan doesn't have a biology.

He's still a threat.

Look.

Doesn't matter who you call...

SWAT team, Army, police.

Uh, they-they're useless.

It's gonna turn them against each other.

Ethan is the only one who
can help her right now.

You have to get him in.

(deeply sighs)

Okay.

On the condition that you
stay where it's safe.

(sighs)

Ethan.

Mr. Jackson gave us building schematics,

access codes; everything you need.

I uploaded your neural net. Okay?

JACKSON: Since you're not in the system,

you'll need to manually enter the codes

on the keypads as you go.

No, I won't.

He can wirelessly communicate
with the ISEA system.

JACKSON: Once you're inside...

make your way to the Mission Status Room...

and try to reestablish
contact with your mom.

Remember... once you lift that lock,

the Offspring's going to be
running loose on the inside.

(sighs) You just need to be careful.

I know.

Come here.

(deeply inhales)

You sure you're going to be okay?

Dad...

trust me.

Just...

Mr. Jackson's gonna take you.

JACKSON: The HAZMAT truck can only

get you so close...
you'll have to

go the rest of the way on foot.

Wait.

(alarm buzzing)

♪

(trilling)

(clicks)

(rumbling, rattling)

BEN (over P.A.): 15 minutes until reentry.

One more charge to go on the joint bolts.

I'm about to set the timer,

head back to the cockpit. (grunts)

(beeps)

What's the status on Glass?

Unconscious.

(beeps)

Ben, initiate launch sequence.

It's time to go.

- (beeps)
- Ben?

Ben?

(beeping)

Ben?!

Yes, Molly?

Initiate launch sequence, please.

(beeping, trilling)

I'm afraid I can't do that.

What do you mean, you can't do that?

I've run the probability analysis

of returning with victims of infection.

Well, he's not infected!

It's not just him; it's you, too.

Okay, look, we don't
have time for this, Ben.

Initiate launch sequence
right now! That's an order.

We can't accept the risk
that you were contaminated.

- I urge you to reconsider.
- Manual override.

- Access denied.
- Ben, they're gonna kill us

if you don't launch this capsule right now!

That is within the
bounds of acceptable loss:

- two lives to save billions.
- No. No, no, no.

Ben! Ben!

- Ben! Don't do this!
- (alarm beeping)

Please, don't do it!

(high-pitched beeping)

(door opens)

- Ben?
- (beeping)

(beeps twice)

Mom?

Are you there?

(static, trilling, beeping)

Ethan?

Ethan?

What are you doing here?

Everyone else had to go outside.

So Mr. Jackson let me in to help you.

"Had to go outside."

Why?

He got into the building.

He's trying to stop you.

I'm sorry I was mad before you left.

Oh, I'm sorry, too, Ethan.

I wish we would have had
more time to talk, honey.

Dad says that when you get
home, we'll have another chance.

I would love that.

I would really, really love that.

But right now I have some bad news, Ethan.

I'm having a little bit
of trouble launching.

What kind of trouble?

I'm having a little technical problem.

And it seems like it's
something I can't fix right now.

Ethan, can you do something for me?

What?

I need you to take care of Dad.

Okay?

And I need you to tell him

that I love him very, very much.

Can you do that?

- Dad?
- Ethan? Hey.

- Is everything all right?
- MOLLY: John?

ETHAN: Mom wanted to tell you
something, so I connected you.

Molly?

I can't launch.

Ben won't disengage from the Seraphim.

What happened?

He locked me out of the program!

And I already set the timers

for detonation. I know I told you I was

coming home, sweetheart, but...

it doesn't look like I'm going to.

I'm sorry.

I can help.

I can control the whole system.

I can control Ben!

You need a person to be with you.

Why?

Because the manual override uses
a biometric authentication.

It needs a-a heat signature

like a human hand to reboot
the system to get past Ben.

It's a fail-safe for a viral attack.

Molly, we can get somebody in!

There's not enough time!

I can do it. I can use my warmers.

I can raise my temperature to 98.6 degrees.

No, Ethan, you can't do that.

Yes, I can.

No, your system is not designed

to withstand a temperature
like that for a long time.

You can develop an internal
fire and trigger the explosive!

MOLLY: Ethan?

- Listen to your dad.
- Ethan?

MOLLY: Ethan!

Don't do it!

I think that this is my purpose.

The other boy's here now.

He wants to stop me.

I know he's your son.

I won't hurt him again.

MOLLY: Ethan, listen to me.

You're my son, too, and
I don't want anything

to happen to you.

So turn off your warmers, and
get out of there right now!

Ethan, Ethan, you can't hold
the temperature for much longer!

Ethan!

What's going on?

You okay?

Mom, go!

(timer beeping)

What's happening to his code?

Ethan!

You should really run now.

Run!

CHARLIE: We're losing him.

No.

John?

Ethan?

Ethan?!

Ethan?

SAM: Ethan did tell him to run.

And there's no evidence that
he died in the explosion.

Maybe he made it.

I'm sure he did.

How do you know?

I just know.

No one could explain how it happened.

John set out to create a
more human machine, but...

in the end, what he created was much more

than that.

In those final moments,

Ethan taught us something
about what it means

to be human... how our
connection to each other

and our ability to love and sacrifice

transcends our physical forms.

I've never been a big believer in miracles,

but there is one I've come to embrace.

Something time and space

have revealed to me over and over again.

Whether by divine creation
or cosmic accident,

we made it here.

We exist... and that's a gift.

Rare and beautiful.

♪

(computer beeping, whirring)

Ethan?

ETHAN: Mom?

John?

(computer beeping, whirring)

John?

John!

Ethan?

Where are you?

I'm here.

I'm everywhere.

(quiet laugh)

(both laughing)

You all right, son?

(car door opens)

It's pretty cold outside.
You must be freezing.

Can we give you a ride home?

We aren't gonna hurt you.

It's okay.

Are you hurt, sweetheart?