Fringe (2008–2013): Season 4, Episode 5 - Novation - full transcript

The first attacks
were three days ago.

All we know is
their heart stopped.

Previously on Fringe:

Does this remind you of anything?
Biological and chemical hybrid.

These are different. They're human.
And for whatever reason, they don't work.

Walter?

It's all right. The area
is completely numb.

- What are you seeing?
- A person. A young man.

Does he look like this?

A father and son pulled a man
from the middle of Reiden Lake.

Whoever he is knows a
lot of classified information.



Things no one outside this
division could possibly know.

Olivia. Thank God you're here.

Who are you?

Walter?

Astrid?

Walter?

Walter.

Walter.

- What the hell are you doing?
- Sleeping.

One syringe has
sodium thiopental.

- Well, that sounds...
- It's a barbiturate, yes.

I was going to say dangerous.

Nonsense. And I have the
adrenalin to wake me up.

Who sleeps like this?



Well, what choice do I have?

I've been haunted for weeks
by visions of a strange man.

And now the stranger
is here, in the flesh...

in our midst, and no one will
let me examine him or see him.

I'm kept in the dark,
knowing nothing.

How is a man supposed to get
some rest with all these uncertainties?

- Is he talking?
- No.

He stopped cooperating
with us at the hospital.

Broyles moved him to a holding
facility in the Federal Building.

He says that you're the
only one he'll speak to.

Me?

He's saying that his
name is Peter Bishop.

He says he's your son.

Hello.

Hi.

Thought you said
you hated that sweater.

I thought I'd give
it a second chance.

What's all this?

Looks like a cyclone
went through here.

I can't find the electric bill.

You okay?

Yeah.

You're probably hungry.
I should start dinner.

I'll be right down.

Karen?

What are you doing?

Your face.

Are you sick? What's
wrong with your skin?

Karen, what's...?

- Your files, are they in the safe?
- What?

Your files, where are they?

Karen!

Dear God.

What the hell are you?

I'm only going to ask this once.

Tell me where the files are.

I don't know what
you're talking about.

What makes you think
there's any basis to his claims?

We were able to obtain a DNA
sample from his IV at the hospital.

There's a 99.7 percent probability
that this man is, in fact, related to you.

We've discovered
another universe...

there's no reason that there shouldn't
be more out there we're yet to find.

Logic would dictate that this man
could be another version of my s...

Another version of Peter from a third
universe where he didn't die as a boy.

People from other universes
don't show up in your dreams.

He asked for my theory.

I never claimed it was flawless.

In any case, how
did he get here?

The only way to
find out is to ask him.

My thoughts precisely.

We've prepared
a list of questions.

This man possesses
classified information...

about our division
and all of us.

I wanna know how he got it.

Look, I'm fairly sure I'm not
the one best suited for this.

You will be fine, Walter.

We'll be listening
on the intercom.

If at any point you wanna
leave, you just have to say so.

Hello, Walter.

You don't know who I am, do you?

I know this must
be confusing for you.

But something's happened.

And you're the only
person who can help me.

- What do you want?
- Help me figure out...

why no one remembers me.

Why you don't remember me.

I'll try.

There are two universes...

ours over here and another one that's
just like it, just slightly different.

The other universe is dying.

Because they're interconnected,
ours is dying as well.

- How does he know all this?
- You built a machine to save us.

To form a bridge between the worlds
so we could work together to heal them.

And you created it so that
I was the power source.

Only I could activate it.
You told me when I did...

- there'd be consequences.
- There is a machine.

But I didn't build it.

I don't know who you
are, what your agenda is...

or why you claim to be my son.

Do you have a son, Walter?

You and Elizabeth,
did you have a son?

Yes.

He died.

A long time ago,
when he was just a boy.

And then you found another
version of him in the other universe.

And he was dying too.

So you crossed over to save him.

Yes. But I couldn't.

What do you mean you couldn't?

The lake where we
crossed over was frozen.

The ice broke, we fell through.

I tried to hold onto him...

but he drowned.

The Observer didn't pull
us out of the lake that night?

That must be it, Walter.

- What's an Observer?
- It all makes sense now.

That has to be what happened.

I was supposed to die
that night, in both universes.

But when I didn't, I became a
paradox. Now for the two worlds to heal...

I had to be deleted.

But if I'm already dead in both universes,
then why am I here? How am I back?

Something's gone wrong.
Something's happened.

We're finished here. Take me back
to my lab. Please. I'd like to go now.

No. Please. I need your help.
- I want to leave.

Help me figure out
what went wrong.

If I'm not supposed to be
here, then how am I back?

Dunham.

Where are you?

Wanna tell me why you dragged
me to a robbery/homicide?

Victim's skin is translucent.

Since Robert's murder, I've been
keeping up with police bulletins...

looking for anything
with a similar MO.

I thought we killed the last of
these things at the train yards.

Apparently not. Her heart was
stopped. Same as the others.

I think the shapeshifter took on the
wife's form to get access to the home.

I ran background on the victims.

You are standing in the home of
Dr. Malcolm Truss, a research scientist.

He worked at Massive Dynamic,
in their biotech department.

Left the company 10 years ago.
- Huh.

Interesting. He was tortured.

So he must have known
something the shapeshifter wanted.

- There's grease under his finger...
- Fingernails. Yeah, I know.

Not too many bioscientists
work at garages.

So this is...?

Mrs. Truss' unlucky
boyfriend, Donald Kellen.

Dr. Truss doesn't live here.

They separated a few years ago,
but the house is still in his name.

The shapeshifter came here
for Truss, didn't find him...

- which means it's still looking.
- Problem is, we can't find him either.

After they separated, uh,
Dr. Truss went off the grid.

We're still trying
to pull an address.

Well, we should hurry on that.

Sebastian.

Malcolm Truss?

You're Dr. Malcolm Truss? You
worked at Massive Dynamic, correct?

Okay, look, I don't know
who you are, young lady.

But I suggest you leave.
You're trespassing on priv...

I'm gonna need your help.

Hey, Olivia, this photo, the girl
with the riding ribbon, is that you?

- Yeah.
- Okay.

You're gonna have
to do better than that.

Why does Nina Sharp
have your photo in her office?

After our mother died, my sister and I
were due to go into the foster system.

Instead, Nina pulled some
strings and we went to live with her.

So the acting CEO of one of the
richest companies in the world...

was your nanny?

Something like that.

Sorry to keep you waiting. Nina
Sharp. You must be Agent Lee.

Phillip tells me you're a
welcome addition to our team.

Lincoln. It's nice to meet you.

Phillip also told me about the
man claiming to be Peter Bishop.

- How's Walter handling it?
- Not very well.

Well, that's unfortunate. Is
there anything I can do to help?

I don't think so.

Uh, we're here on a
different matter, though.

Dr. Malcolm Truss.

He used to work for Massive Dynamic,
but he left the company 10 years ago.

Name doesn't ring a bell.
Let's see what we can find.

Ah, I remember Dr. Truss.
Graduated MIT in '82...

came to work for us
in 1993, left in 2001.

- What projects was he working on?
- Well, several.

If you told me why you're interested
in him, I might be a better help.

Uh, he was abducted from his
house in Vermont this morning.

We think a shapeshifter
was responsible.

A shapeshifter.

But what would a shapeshifter
want with Malcolm Truss?

We were hoping
you could tell us.

There was one project
Malcolm was working on.

Cellular replication.

It was designed to help patients
with extensive tissue damage.

Burn victims, cancer
patients, amputees.

It copied the genetic data of
the healthy cells of the patient...

and used it to replace
the damaged ones.

Malcolm was in charge of it.

Did it work?

No, he never had
a chance to find out.

William shut the project
down, citing ethical concerns.

Ethical concerns.

Yes.

I only bring it up because the project
was based on copying human tissue.

Kind of like shapeshifting.

Mm.

There are people who think
very highly of your work, and you.

- What people?
- You don't know them...

but they know you.

They share your vision. They will
pay you to continue your research.

You always bring a gun
to a business proposal?

I couldn't take the
chance you'd say no.

- We need your help.
- Help with what?

I don't know what you're
hoping to find in those files.

That work never went
anywhere. It's useless.

I was terminally ill...

stage IV melanoma,
when they came to me.

Cellular replication?
They did it?

The cancer went into
complete remission.

It was a miracle.
At least for a while.

But the procedure
didn't fully take.

The cells, they aren't stable. My
cancer's gone, but I'm still dying.

There are no files.

- What?
- It's all up here.

I'll do it, Nadine.

I'll help you.

But just so you know, I don't
do my best work at gunpoint.

Walter said the shapeshifters that
we encountered at the train yards...

weren't able to complete their
shifts. That they were flawed.

And this has to do
with Dr. Truss, how?

Uh, well, the, uh, cellular
replication project he was working on.

They might require
his expertise.

Truss was kidnapped so the
shapeshifter could perfect itself.

If the shapeshifter needs
Malcolm to fix itself...

they need equipment, medical
supplies. They're on the move.

Malcolm's car was
missing from his home.

We put the, uh, plates and
car's make out to local P.D.

Well, if the shapeshifter's flawed, it
might have something to do with the tech...

Dr. Bishop pulled from
inside the two we killed.

- Maybe that's what's malfunctioning.
- I checked with Tech Services.

They don't know what the
device is, the purpose it serves...

They're memory discs.

I've seen them before.

Those devices you're talking
about, they're memory discs.

- What do you know about shapeshifters?
- Quite a lot, actually.

Enlighten me.

- Well, I know they bleed mercury.
- Those were the old ones.

What about the new ones?
The human shapeshifters?

- The what?
- The prototypes. Human hybrids.

Tell us about the memory discs.

Well, they're a lot
more than that, actually.

The discs are divided
into three partitions.

Cognitive functions, biochemical
functions and mission objective.

And you know all this, how?

Because I've decrypted
a couple of them myself.

- You think you could do it again?
- I'll ask the questions, Agent Lee.

We've been sitting
on this tech for weeks.

What's the harm
in letting him try?

You about done?

Lincoln has a point. What
is the harm in letting me try?

What is it that you're after?

You're not doing this out of
the goodness of your heart.

- So, what is it that you want?
- I wanna talk to Walter again.

We tried that already. In case
you didn't notice, it didn't go so well.

I don't see the point
in letting you upset him.

I'm sorry about that.

I was talking to him like he was the
man I knew. He's not. He's different.

Just like you are. But I need
his help and you need mine.

Anyone have a better idea?

I'll see what I can do.

I hope you have money.

You're bleeding.

You should wash
up. I'll take care of this.

I told you I would help
you, Nadine. I meant it.

She's adorable. Is
that your little girl?

Yes.

My daughter, Hayley.

That's a pretty name.

Karen, my wife, she
always wanted kids.

I was too busy with work.

When that ended, I guess I was just
too angry to think about what she wanted.

Still, I guess I'm
hoping that one day...

she'll let me be a
part of her life again.

Dispatch, this is
Sierra-Two-Four.

I think I've got a visual on that
stolen plate they put the BOLO out on.

Go ahead, Sierra-Two-Four.

Plate reads
Five-Lima-Tango-Three-One-Six. Over.

Yeah, that's the plate. Be advised,
the suspect is armed and dangerous.

Stand down and
wait for backup, over.

Roger that, waiting for
backup. Sierra-Two-Four out.

And, uh, 20 on Pump 2.

- Ready?
- Yep.

Okay, our mystery
man is all set up...

with the device we got
off the shapeshifter...

and I requisitioned all of
the equipment he asked for.

Think he's confident he
can do something with it?

He seems pretty
confident in general.

Olivia. I may have only
met you a few weeks ago...

but I know you well enough to
know that this guy's gotten to you.

You didn't ask me to take him that tech
because you had a dentist appointment.

He was in my dreams
and now he's here.

I can maybe understand why
he would be in Walter's head...

if he's some iteration of
his son, but why mine?

We got a hit on Truss'
plates. Two hours from here.

Rutland, Vermont.

Truss comes in at 11:53 a.m.

- Pays for his gas in cash, alone.
- Not the behavior of someone...

being held against their will.
Seems more like an accomplice.

Unless he doesn't know
he's with a shapeshifter.

People I work
for built this lab...

according to the
specifications in your file.

Automated tissue microarrayer,
blood gas analyzer, centrifuges.

I think you'll find we've
everything you'll need.

This is amazing.

The artificial tissue has
adapted remarkably well.

Considering the extent of the grafting,
it's lucky your body didn't reject it.

The fact that you're even alive
is nothing short of a miracle.

Then I suppose that would
make you a miracle worker.

After all, the grafts were
based on your research.

I never thought I'd say this...

but I wish William
Bell were alive.

Just so he could see you.

I truly believed that the
work that we were doing...

was going to change the world.

And just like that, Bell
shut down the project.

And all he could say was:

"Some things are not
ours to tamper with.

Some things are God's."

One man shouldn't stand
in the way of progress.

Not even William Bell.

Well, the good news is
I've found the source...

of the cellular degeneration.

Your genome isn't fully propagating
through the artificial tissues.

Can you fix it?

I had hoped this day would come.

Yes, I can.

Hello, Walter.

Nina.

I'm probably the last person in
the world you want to see right now.

But Olivia said you
weren't doing so well.

This man claiming to
be your son, Walter...

If there was ever a time
to get past our differences...

it seemed like now.

I'm fine. The man is a
scientific anomaly. Nothing more.

Walter, you're making
Peter's favorite dessert.

I find that baking
custard calms me.

Seeing this man has brought
up many things I've tried to forget.

That night at the lake, you
begged me to stop but I couldn't.

I couldn't watch
Peter die. Not again.

I couldn't stand
by and do nothing.

- Walter...
- I've hated you.

For 25 years, I hated you.
Had you not been there...

the vial wouldn't have broken, I would
have healed Peter on the other side...

he wouldn't have
fallen through the ice.

I blamed you for
the death of my son.

I blamed you.

I couldn't live with myself.

Because you were
right. I'd crossed the line.

For the sake of one life...

I destroyed two worlds.

Over the years, I've come to terms with
the fact that I deserve to be punished.

- To suffer.
- No.

Walter, you're not
that man anymore.

I've watched you.

Working with Fringe Division...

you've done everything in
your power to heal the damage.

I saw him, Nina.

The man.

I saw my boy in that man's eyes.

The way he looked
that night in the ice...

floating away from me.

God help me, I saw the eyes
of my boy in a man's face.

And it filled me with
indescribable joy.

But I don't deserve joy.

For anyone else, this would
be received as a miracle...

to get a glimpse
of their dead son...

but why should I be
rewarded for what I've done?

Because maybe you've suffered
enough. No, I can't explain it, Walter.

I don't know why he's here, I
don't know where he came from...

but maybe you've just
been given a second chance.

I was told you found something.

- It's a DNA sequence.
- Meaning what, exactly?

Meaning I found six
distinct genetic profiles...

on that memory from
the shapeshifter tech.

These things are able to switch between
every single identity they've ever taken.

That's going to
make it more difficult.

It's gonna make them
impossible to find.

New models do a lot more than take
on the appearance of another person.

They replicate their victims
to the molecular level.

Including every
last strand of DNA.

You're saying these shapeshifters
will be completely indistinguishable...

- from whoever they're impersonating?
- They're the perfect infiltrators.

By transforming their DNA,
they can become anyone.

If they perfect this technology
and they can get close to us...

they can replace any one of us.

And short of performing surgery
to find those memory discs...

you would have absolutely
no way of knowing.

Okay.

You should lie back.

You may feel a little nauseous.

Nadine?

Okay.

What the hell?

What is it?

Why do you look like my wife?

You said you were
going to help me, Malcolm.

And you will.

Get me Broyles. Now.

- Progress?
- This thing is broadcasting...

- some kind of signal.
- To whom?

That's the problem. Can't
break the encryption without...

- a significant increase in CPU cycles.
- Meaning?

I need a bigger computer.

Just like old times. Sort of.

How long is this gonna take?

Not long at all.

- Those are coordinates.
- To what?

Could you pull me
up a map of the city?

What do luxury cars and
shapeshifters have in common?

They both have LoJack
systems, apparently.

You saying these things
have tracking devices?

Whoever's in charge wants
to keep an eye on his agents.

That's the one that you guys
have, the one that we hooked up.

There are two different sets
of coordinates being broadcast.

- That's by the port.
- Think you found our shapeshifter.

For the time being.
Whoever's monitoring...

they're gonna know I
breached. They could shut down.

We should move.

How did you do that?

Why did you look like my wife?

My offer was sincere...

to continue your research with
people who'd provide the resources...

- to complete you work.
- What people?

- Why did you look like my wife?
- Malcolm.

- It's not important now.
- Why did you look like my wife?

Malcolm.

Great progress
requires great sacrifice.

Your work created me.

Malcolm, you need to step back and
see things objectively as a scientist.

You let go of Karen long
ago for a greater purpose.

Don't let that all
be for nothing.

I'm offering you
something precious.

An opportunity to take back
what William Bell took from you.

Your legacy.

It may be possible...

to alter the compound...

to accommodate...

multiple genomes.

How?

We need to induce a state of
permanent hyper-replication.

- What are you doing?
- I'm...

adding a bonding agent.

I'm familiar enough with biochemistry
to know that restriction enzymes...

would fragment my DNA and
trigger a massive internal hemorrhage.

Aah!

Finish what you
started. I won't ask again.

Okay, we'll take front.
You go on my signal.

How much longer?

Five minutes for the
centrifugation process...

and then we'll know if
the serum's complete.

Team one in position. MAN:
Team two in position. On your go.

I got her.

Oh, my God.

She's headed for the roof.

Uh, this is Agent Dunham.

Agent Warrick is down, we
need paramedic on the roof now.

She jumped.

Mr. Truss?

Agent Olivia Dunham.

Uh, I understand that
it's been a long day.

We're just gonna need
a statement from you...

and then an agent
will take you home.

What that...

thing said about Karen...

it's true, isn't it?

She's dead.

H.P.D. found your wife
in her home this morning.

I'm so sorry.

It's my fault.

"Some things are not
ours to tamper with."

Excuse me?

It's something someone
said to me once.

I didn't understand
it at the time...

but I do now.

Dunham.

Excuse me.

The dive team, they
just found a body.

That's not our shapeshifter.

That's Agent Warrick.

Get dispatch on the line.

We need all available
units on that ambulance now.

Agent Dunham. I have
those hourlies you asked for.

Thank you, Jill.

I sent the reports to Broyles,
so all the paperwork is done.

Thanks.

We're gonna find her, Lincoln.

I mean, look at how much more we
know now than we did this morning.

Yeah.

Do you wanna go get a
bite to eat or something?

No. Uh, thank you. I, um...

I'm gonna head
back to the hotel.

- Good night.
- Night.

Agent Dunham. I have those
hourlies that you asked for.

Uh, didn't we already do this?

- I'm sorry? OLIVIA: You
already gave me the...

- Agent Dunham, are you all right?
- Yeah. Ha, ha.

Just a little tired, I
think. Thank you.

- Are they feeding you?
- Yeah.

Walter, I know how
strange this all is.

How hard it must be for you.

But I don't know what to do.

Nobody remembers me here.

Olivia looks at me like I'm a
stranger. Like she's afraid of me.

I know what you're capable of.

I need your help, Walter.

To fix this.

Every day...

for the past 25 years...

I've tried to imagined what
you would look like as a man.

My son.

But I don't deserve
this. I don't deserve you.

I realize now. This
was my punishment.

You were sent to tempt me.

To see if I would repeat
the mistakes of the past.

- You shouldn't be here.
- Walter, no.

Wherever you came from, however
you got here, it doesn't matter.

- I can't help you.
- Walter, you don't understand.

I tried to help a boy, a version
of my son, 25 years ago.

But that boy was never my son.

And neither are you.