Manhattan (2014–2015): Season 2, Episode 5 - The World of Tomorrow - full transcript
Frank tries to navigate his new place on The Hill.
Previously on "Manhattan"...
I underestimated you,
but there's a kid in there.
He doesn't know his father screwed up.
It feels like a girl.
You can sack me. Off the project.
- For what cause?
- Truancy.
Whatever insults your
daughter suffered at my hands.
Congratulations, Paul.
I've decided you will
be the Site X liaison.
What?
Ah, W.D. Lorentzen.
Oh, I see my reputation precedes me.
Liza.
Did they tell you anything about Frank?
I've been hired to write
the official chronicle
of the Manhattan Engineering District.
It wasn't just a campus you
shared with Mr. Lorentzen.
I wonder how your husband would feel
about your recent visit with an old flame.
You say you love Callie?
This is quite a way of showing it.
Crystal City, Texas.
That's where they're keeping your husband.
I can get you as far
as the Lamy train depot.
Liza.
Hi. How are you?
I have to go back to the Hill.
You just escaped from a prison.
You want to break back into one?
Frank.
They told me...
I thought you were dead.
They lied.
Everything that we've
been fighting against,
racing Heisenberg's bomb to the finish,
it's all science fiction.
What is this?
Charlie, just listen to me.
The Magpie intelligence was all fabricated
by our own government.
They stole my math, they fed it back to us.
What happened to you,
Frank? Where have you been?
None of that matters. All that matters
is that we have been chasing our own tail.
Every single testing yield,
every differential equation.
The Germans are ahead of us.
They're accelerating. Magpie showed
us designs of a working gadget.
No, God damn it. Listen.
There is no Nazi bomb.
Period.
The Army manipulated us.
And you... you and I, Charlie.
We have to stop this train.
You're not thinking straight.
I don't know what the hell happened to you,
what you heard about the Germans...
What I know about the Germans.
Dozens of sites, thousands of workers,
hundreds of millions of dollars.
You think the government's just
gonna roll up our rug and head home?
The gadget's an inevitability.
You don't even care
that we've been lied to.
Why?
Because you finally got a
seat at the grown-ups' table?
There's a war on three continents
and a madman rounding up Jews.
I saved you.
That was your choice.
Abby.
What's wrong?
Are you okay?
I... I'm not feeling very well.
I think you should leave.
Dr. Winter, come with us, sir.
There's these mice.
They have a serious problem.
This cat, see, is making
their life very difficult.
So all the mice gather together.
They're full of ideas
about how to handle the cat,
but this one mouse,
he has the answer.
Attach a bell to the cat
and they'll always know
when he's coming or going.
This is a good mouse, a smart mouse.
And his plan wins out.
He gets a ribbon and
little bell all his own.
Out he marches, hero of all mice.
What do you think happened next?
The cat ate him up.
Everyone on this hill's
gonna know about Magpie.
That name...
will never be spoken again.
And what do you think will happen
when I tell "The New York Times"
about what you put me through?
You spent the past two months
stationed at a secret location,
hard at work, no time to write.
But then, once again, you
ruffled the wrong feathers
and they showed you the door.
Boy, you are just full
of fables, aren't you?
Your wife pulled Einstein's string
and a bell rang in the White House.
Now you're in my house, and in my house
you don't violate the Espionage Act.
You know I'm not a goddamn spy.
No, you're what a judge
would call a repeat offender.
Half an hour ago, you shared
highly classified information
with another scientist.
Would you care to listen to the recording
or spare us both the embarrassment?
What makes you think Isaacs won't talk now?
Dr. Isaacs is, how would he put it,
pot-committed.
Pick a hand, Dr. Winter.
Go before a judge,
spend the rest of the war
back where you just came from,
or...
Enlistment papers.
You're gonna send me to the front.
You'll stay right here
as a private in the Army under my command.
Unless you test my patience.
Then you'll get a one-way
ride to the Pacific.
Why keep me on the Hill?
God hung the stars in the sky.
He brought us both here for a reason.
I traveled His earth for 58
years to arrive at this desk.
It's my mission.
Maybe you'll find yours digging ditches.
Now go say good-bye to your wife.
I'll be out in just a minute.
Let's get right back in
the car and get out of here.
There's an MP waiting outside
to take me to the barracks.
The barracks?
He doesn't want me to see you.
Says we're more trouble
together than we are apart.
Fine.
Fine, I'll go to Princeton
and then I can tell the world what...
Liza.
He won't let you leave either.
No.
No, you told me two days.
I am gonna figure this out.
I promise.
And how long will that take?
_
Your attention.
All maintenance personnel are
invited to join us to ring in 1945
at tonight's big New Year's Eve jamboree.
_
Thanks for coming in
to see me today, Frank.
I'm sure you have better
ways to ring in the New Year.
I didn't have a choice.
But you did choose to come
back to the Hill six months ago.
Best-educated grunt in the
history of the US military.
What do you say we unbury that lead?
Uh, excuse me.
I'm gonna need a drink.
Well, it's hard to believe
what can happen in one year.
Thin Man fizzles, implosion
becomes the mot juste,
Isaacs lands on Boardwalk.
Meanwhile, one of the brightest
scientists in the world
reemerges on the Hill,
only he's shining shoes and flying salutes.
Help me solve for X.
I was working at another site.
I pissed on the wrong pair
of loafers in Washington.
So you waltz in the gates, go to
the military office and enlist?
- Kind of hard to believe.
- It'll fit in with the rest of the
propaganda in your, um, official history.
I understand there were some
information breaches this past year.
That, um, Colonel Darrow was
brought in to lock the place down.
Is that a question?
The colonel doesn't strike me as a
man who retails in second chances.
So why would he give you one?
Did Darrow send you here to test me?
I made a request and he granted it.
So can we just start from the beginning?
Eventually, I found my way to the barracks.
_
Welcome back, sir.
I was just reading a letter from Callie.
Uh, two things...
we don't discuss my daughter
and you don't call me sir. You outrank me.
Yes, uh, Doctor, Private?
- Frank.
- Okay.
- Which rack is mine?
- I think they have you over here.
The colonel put you to work.
What did he have you doing?
Same as every other soldier here.
And what did your old group think
when they saw you back
on the Hill in uniform?
I don't get it. How'd you
wind up in the chimp suit?
They're not drafting
the rest of us, are they?
No, you all get to keep your civvies.
It's complicated, but, um,
I volunteered.
What? Why on earth would you do that?
Frank, we really need
you back in implosion.
Leadership doesn't see it that way.
Just keep your heads down,
all right? Do your work.
And you did your work.
But you're a scientist.
I mean, eventually
somebody had the novel idea
to get your hands on some science, right?
Wrestling equations with the ladies
in the computer pool?
I guess you could call it that.
Would you say you were a good soldier?
I did my job.
You follow orders?
Every soldier follows orders.
What about Private First Class Dunlavey?
Did he follow orders?
Dunlavey always followed orders.
At ease, Doctor, Private, sir.
- You smoke?
- I quit.
Ah, if at first you don't succeed...
That's a neat lighter.
It's a good luck charm.
I used it in the trenches
to read the funnies.
So you heard from Callie?
Thought we had a rule.
Ah, I can't make the rules.
You outrank me, remember?
She hasn't sent a letter in a while.
Read the last one about a billion times.
She talks all about Montreal.
She says the police ride horses.
She always wanted to live in a big city.
When I got here, I was the
loneliest guy on planet Earth.
I hated it.
The air's so dry and the people.
It's like being smothered.
But then I met your daughter.
All of a sudden the air was
the cleanest air I ever smelled.
I'd do anything to see her, sir.
But it'll be a long time
till he sees Callie again,
won't it?
Attention!
I've got happy news.
Some of you lucky soldiers are
gonna be given the opportunity
to take up arms overseas.
The following men report
to Lieutenant Dreidger
at 0800.
Private Dobbs, Sergeant Salera,
Lance Corporal Bondurant,
Private Kaposi,
and Private First Class Dunlavey.
Good luck to you, gentlemen.
You're dismissed.
They told me it would never happen.
Finally something to write Callie about.
He's in the rear command of the Pacific?
Radio ops, yeah?
Liza would know better than I would.
She's better at writing.
Dunlavey's the only
soldier he sent to Saipan.
Why do you think that is?
Frank?
Well, you're the man's
shill. Why don't you ask him?
I think we're done here.
Colonel Darrow!
Saipan?
Private Dunlavey enlisted
to serve his country, Frank, just like you.
You sent him to the bloodiest
theater in the goddamn war.
I know how fond he is of you and your wife.
I'm sure he'll write.
When I give an order, I
expect it to be followed.
No more late-night visits
to the medical clinic.
What, you...
you did this because I
went to visit my wife?
You're dismissed, Private.
And lastly, the arid climate
can be very hard on an infant,
so your baby may need
to feed more frequently.
I was told there'd be formula.
Um...
Yes, infant formula needs to
be reconstituted with water
and so I excluded it from
the packages as a precaution.
If you have any further questions?
Good afternoon, ladies.
If your infant develops
a rash or trouble feeding,
please contact a nurse.
Abby, it's been a while.
Are you here to see Dr. Adelman?
No, um,
one of the nurses told
me you were conducting
a study on pregnancy.
Looking at the health effects
of work in the tech area.
Abby, I'm very sorry for
what you've been through.
It's completely natural to want answers.
Did you look at my file?
I know there's something
they're not telling me.
There were 127 pregnancies
on the Hill last year
and only one late-term miscarriage.
I'm not saying that the work on
the Hill has no effect on pregnancy,
I'm just saying we have no evidence.
So it's...
an act of God?
There isn't always a medical
explanation in these cases.
If you need to talk to somebody...
Talking is what got me here.
What, are you allergic
to newspaper reporters?
He's not Edward R. Murrow.
He's writing the official
history of the project.
They'll probably make a movie about it.
You wanna get left on
the cutting room floor?
So you two whiz kids were members
of the original implosion team.
The only two Charlie Isaacs
anointed for his test group.
Well, Charlie's a great boss.
I mean, sure, he works us hard,
but if there's ever any
criticism, it's only constructive.
He's got great hair, too.
I wanna hear your thoughts
about another boss.
Oppenheimer. That man
has been on a real roll
since he had that second bambino.
No, I wanna talk about Frank Winter.
From my understanding,
he torched every bridge from here to D.C.
Even found time to dust off an old grudge.
You mean the thing with Charlie?
Yeah. Uh, November 17th?
Can this be off the record?
My three favorite words.
It's historic!
We could be looking at a
Browns-Cardinals showdown.
It hasn't happened since 1922.
Thank you, sir.
Watch out.
God, he almost ran me over.
I'm telling you, Browns are gonna take it.
- Smart money.
- Here's the thing.
My father's a Browns fan,
so I'd sooner root for
the Hitler Youth All Stars.
Oh, but come on, two
teams from St. Louis...
- Whoa!
- Hey!
Jesus!
Hello?
You didn't believe me, huh?
Lazar! Uh, howdy!
Uh, Fritz. Fedowitz.
Your reputation precedes you, sir.
- In a good way. It's an honor to...
- Tomorrow.
- What?
- I'm sorry?
You're late. We're gonna be
driving back on dirt roads
in the middle of the night.
Gonna get ourselves killed.
You come back tomorrow.
Frank?
Hey, you're working in Ordnance now?
How are you, Commandante?
Oh, you know, explosives, whiskey.
- Just like old times.
- Yeah. I told them to go home.
Construction starts tomorrow. We need to
confirm the spot for the derrick tonight.
Come now or I tell General Groves
that you refused the chance to weigh in.
Well, the general doesn't
want me to weigh in.
He wants me to decide.
Then decide today.
Well, it's your funeral.
It's gonna be a tight fit.
I was, uh... I was only
counting the four of us.
Well, you counted wrong.
This is where you're gonna put
the hundred-foot tower for your gadget?
It's smack in the middle of the most
exposed part of the entire valley.
It's discreet, it's accessible,
and it conforms best to our
specific technical needs.
Oh, that's very, very good.
Dear America,
we're very, very sorry, but your
bomb blew away with the wind.
But don't you worry, it conforms
best to our specific technical needs.
All right, why don't you just calm down?
- You boys look like you're lost.
- The McDonoaugh brothers.
You... you guys know each other?
Trespassing on my family's property.
This land's the property of
the United States government.
You've ignored five requests
to appear before a judge.
$2,400 is a fair price.
This desert's a spooky place.
Indian country.
Your government men disappear
around here all the time.
If I were you, I wouldn't issue threats.
If I was you, I'd adios
myself back where I came from.
And if I don't?
Gonna need a lot more ammunition than that.
You kill us, they'll
just send 10 more guys.
Kill them, they'll send a hundred.
Army doesn't give two shits about
your family's property rights.
You fellas are up against the Constitution.
You fight it, you'll just
waste a few days in court,
end up with the same $2,000
plus a stack of legal bills.
But maybe
your land here is worth
more than two grand.
Hell, it may be worth a lot more.
This canyon's part of the San Juan Basin,
which is a proven oil reserve. Silver, too.
You ever done a geologic survey?
The feds don't have time to spend
in court debating mineral rights.
What they have is money.
A tap that never runs dry.
You start saying oil and silver,
you ask for five times the price.
- You'll get double.
- Come on.
He's right, Clem.
- If you're wrong about this...
- I'm not wrong.
That's the best you'll do.
- Is that true?
- Hell, I got no idea.
Ha! He's good.
- Hey, I didn't ask for your help.
You came back to the Hill
ranting about pumping
the brakes on the project,
but here you are hitting
the gas. Why's that?
Well, we're still at
war on three continents.
- I heard that somewhere.
- No. The real reason you came back
is you can't stand the idea that the
gadget could be built without you.
You can't stand having
anyone else's name on it.
You are so good at delivering
speeches, aren't you, Charlie?
Heard you gave quite a eulogy
when I got my off-site promotion.
And it only took you, what, two
weeks to become the Army's puppet.
Hey.
Come on. Enough fun, enough fun!
I don't care what deal
you made with the colonel.
You are never stepping
foot in the tech area again!
What did Charlie mean when he
said a deal with the colonel?
Does that have to do with
Frank's enlistment at all?
I mean, sort of a quid pro quo?
I mean, if you figure
that out, let us know.
Frank's not exactly in the business
of explaining himself to us.
Or to anyone, apparently.
But Isaacs was wrong about one thing.
Frank got himself back into the
tech area after all, didn't he?
Can I have another?
Understanding the
coordination of these assets
is crucial to the fluid
progress of our mandate.
Sincerely yours, Paul Crosley.
You have it?
Any mistakes, you're back on the jitney
to whatever junior
college you crawled out of.
All right.
Hello. Oh.
A mandatory sit-down with
our resident ink-slinger.
Just before the clock strikes.
You look like you need a drink.
No, I'm back on land again.
- What can I get you?
- Seltzer and lime, please.
Really?
- How long?
- Long enough to hurt.
So, Mr. Lorentzen, you
have me for 15 minutes.
- Let's make it good.
- All right.
Well, the gun division's
humming along nicely.
You're the backup plan the general
and Oppenheimer always dreamed of.
- Yet until November...
- We were in the pig trough.
Mm.
The uranium enrichment problem
had us stalled in our tracks.
That's quite a turnaround. What's
the opening sentence to that chapter?
Well, we were at a low point.
I was at a low point.
Paul.
Paul!
_
I can't feel my arms.
Let me guess, up all night
working on the enrichment problem?
Inevitable.
Do you know, maybe I'll
get a job after the war.
Or maybe I'll settle down,
have kids, regret my decisions.
But there's one thing I know for sure...
you have no future.
You know, I understand.
- What?
- The Site X liaison job.
Getting passed over. I understand.
I sympathize.
Hallelujah.
It's a beautiful day out.
I'm gonna go find a tree.
Maybe I'll solve the uranium problem
and you'll find a way to
take that from me, too.
Hello, Crosley.
We brought detonators.
Try not to blow yourself
up until we're gone.
- Okay?
- Well, Hogarth's in his office. He has the paperwork.
Yeah.
There it is.
- Go ahead.
- Excuse me?
Go on, Frank. Give a boy an education.
Go on.
Yeah.
Gaseous diffusion, thermal diffusion,
electromagnetic separation.
Three methods for enriching uranium,
only nobody knows which one is best
or if any of them even works.
And if we can't speed up
enrichment at an exponential pace?
Gun model dies on the vine.
Or, who knows, upside could be
Hogarth shoots himself in the head.
So go on, Frank.
Dazzle us
with that patented smugness
that says you're the only one who
understands the gravity of our great war.
The kingdom, the power,
the glory right here for your taking.
I'm just trying to do my job, Paul.
Dr. Winter, sir?
- I have to ask you to come with me.
- Why?
No, he's fine. He's with me.
He's been cleared at the gate.
Supposed to call the MPs if you're not
out of the tech area in five minutes,
per Dr. Isaacs.
Who?
Dr. Isaacs?
- Never heard of him.
- It's okay.
It's okay. We were just leaving.
Good luck, Paul.
So even the great Frank Winter
couldn't solve the uranium problem.
And was that your first interaction
with Frank since he got back?
I had seen him around digging latrines,
other vital work.
Surprised to see him back on the Hill?
In a private's uniform? Yeah.
And I think it's safe to
say most of us had questions.
Get any answers?
The colonel needed another
soldier for his holy crusade.
Why all the curiosity about Frank?
Just filling in the blanks.
You devil.
First, you try to reignite your
old flame with the man's wife.
Then you tar and feather
Frank in the official history.
- Bravo.
- I'm sorry, gentlemen.
We need to clear the tables
for tonight's festivities.
Well, enough already. I have a year's
work to do before the clock strikes.
Uh, how'd you fix it?
The problem with the uranium that
was slowing down the gun model.
Oppenheimer had a eureka.
- On November 29th.
- Yeah, round about.
One day, Oppenheimer marches
into the office unannounced
and out of nowhere just
delivers a solution.
Turns out the man's a genius after all.
And what was the solution?
Well, we had been thinking of
the processes as competitors
and Oppie realized they were more
efficient when linked in tandem.
Collaborators.
Yeah, I suppose you could say that.
Well, time and tide.
Oh, this reborn gun division,
is the nickname still Thin Man?
We're calling it Little Boy.
Bet there's a story there.
I'm afraid it will probably
put your readers to sleep.
Hair of the bloodhound?
You should give my job to Helen.
She's more experienced than I am,
she's been to Site X,
and she cares.
She won't shag you
if that's what you're thinking.
Enjoy watching Frank Winter
get escorted from the building?
Americans are a funny lot.
They poke fun at cricket,
you let them play, they
have a few lucky bowls
and they act as if they
invented the damn sport.
Yeah, they are unique.
They'd be nowhere without us.
I have a healthy self-regard,
but neither one of us is getting
written into the history books.
Don't be daft.
Us.
The home team.
War is no longer a question
of artillery or trenches
or how many tank divisions you can marshal
to outflank your rival.
Information is the new gunpowder.
Information is the future.
And Britain needs a future.
You need a future.
So is this why you gave me the promotion?
The Yankees are niggardly allies.
They dine out on our science
and what do they give us in return?
Table crumbs.
So when the war's over
and the nuclear power boom begins,
they'll own the future.
We must take what we can as fast as we can.
- You want me to steal for you?
- No.
For king and country.
You know, I knew a man
who was shot for less.
Think about your country, Paul.
Everything will be different after the war.
We'll go home.
Together.
You have regrets about Lucy.
I know there are things that
you wish you could take back
that you said and did.
And so what if I do?
My daughter's a forgiving soul.
Too forgiving.
But she knows that we're here together
and she wants to mend fences.
She wants a life with you.
I never had a son, Paul.
But you do.
And he's a gem.
Lucy got him back.
My grandson.
You can leave something
behind in this world.
A legacy for Henry.
So help me, Paul.
You won't just go home a man.
You'll go home a father.
You'll go home to your little boy.
This is what we're paying you for,
rumors about Frank Winter?
I haven't seen a check in six months.
My own paper cut me off.
It's your privilege
to document the scientific
history of this project,
not editorialize about my soldiers.
It's the holiday.
This was a side project
to keep my pencil sharp.
You know, I could never get a bead
on why you let Frank back onto the Hill.
I thought it was to shut him up
or torture him.
Then suddenly, it hit me.
Oppenheimer, he's got
his head in the clouds
and his sidekick is this
28-year-old hotshot
who you don't fully believe in.
Isaacs couldn't handle the ranchers alone.
He couldn't solve the uranium problem.
And you knew that sooner or later,
this kid's gonna roll another seven.
What's your point?
You don't just keep your enemies closer.
Frank Winter invented the gadget.
You let him back on the Hill
because whatever he did
or whoever he pissed off,
you need an insurance policy.
And the way I see it,
you're not the only one.
The uranium problem...
that was Frank, wasn't it?
Oppenheimer couldn't have everyone
thinking an Army private he exiled
solved the problem that was
keeping Little Boy on the sidelines.
Now, when he saw what Frank did...
what nobody else could do...
Oppie realized the same
thing you did six months ago.
The day will come when
he's gonna need Frank again.
Give me the pages.
"From this expanse of solitude,
a great secret is soon to be revealed... "
Is there anything about
Frank Winter in here?
Of course not.
Happy New Year.
"From this expanse of solitude,
a great secret is soon to be
revealed to the whole of man.
At the dawn of 1945,
great minds toil sleeplessly.
Their tools... the very
principles of the universe.
Their aim... nothing
less than a lasting peace
for the world entire."
- Hey, how are ya?
- Good to see you, Charlie.
I know you have to go, but I... I, um...
I don't feel like celebrating 1944.
- You go.
- Abby.
- You go, go! Have fun!
- No.
"It would be a hulking task for a deity.
But these are not gods.
These are mortals.
These are men.
They have hopes and dreams,
needs and desires.
They have fears and misgivings
for what the future may hold."
"They are the makers of a coming history
we are all headed toward."
- Hey, hey, here we go!
- Whoo!
Ten, nine, eight,
seven, six, five,
four, three, two, one!
Happy New Year!
"History is too often not what happened,
but what was recorded.
A lie set down on paper with wet ink
becomes a truth when dry."
"Such is the case of this history,
here in the quiet desert.
Here we find men whose achievements
will be snatched for the glory of others,
whose sacrifices will be
forgotten as detritus."
"The cleanest telling
would draw one great man
in whom we could find
a teachable narrative,
an exemplar of what,
should we give it our
all, we could become."
"But those stories are myths.
This is, as best I
understand, that honest story.
It is not simple, and
few emerge untarnished.
It is a story of the unknowable future
and all the gnarled turns the present takes
on its journey toward
the world of tomorrow."
Too many adjectives.
You're like all the rest...
work, work, work.
Then I'll take the rest of the year off.
I need to talk to my wife.
I underestimated you,
but there's a kid in there.
He doesn't know his father screwed up.
It feels like a girl.
You can sack me. Off the project.
- For what cause?
- Truancy.
Whatever insults your
daughter suffered at my hands.
Congratulations, Paul.
I've decided you will
be the Site X liaison.
What?
Ah, W.D. Lorentzen.
Oh, I see my reputation precedes me.
Liza.
Did they tell you anything about Frank?
I've been hired to write
the official chronicle
of the Manhattan Engineering District.
It wasn't just a campus you
shared with Mr. Lorentzen.
I wonder how your husband would feel
about your recent visit with an old flame.
You say you love Callie?
This is quite a way of showing it.
Crystal City, Texas.
That's where they're keeping your husband.
I can get you as far
as the Lamy train depot.
Liza.
Hi. How are you?
I have to go back to the Hill.
You just escaped from a prison.
You want to break back into one?
Frank.
They told me...
I thought you were dead.
They lied.
Everything that we've
been fighting against,
racing Heisenberg's bomb to the finish,
it's all science fiction.
What is this?
Charlie, just listen to me.
The Magpie intelligence was all fabricated
by our own government.
They stole my math, they fed it back to us.
What happened to you,
Frank? Where have you been?
None of that matters. All that matters
is that we have been chasing our own tail.
Every single testing yield,
every differential equation.
The Germans are ahead of us.
They're accelerating. Magpie showed
us designs of a working gadget.
No, God damn it. Listen.
There is no Nazi bomb.
Period.
The Army manipulated us.
And you... you and I, Charlie.
We have to stop this train.
You're not thinking straight.
I don't know what the hell happened to you,
what you heard about the Germans...
What I know about the Germans.
Dozens of sites, thousands of workers,
hundreds of millions of dollars.
You think the government's just
gonna roll up our rug and head home?
The gadget's an inevitability.
You don't even care
that we've been lied to.
Why?
Because you finally got a
seat at the grown-ups' table?
There's a war on three continents
and a madman rounding up Jews.
I saved you.
That was your choice.
Abby.
What's wrong?
Are you okay?
I... I'm not feeling very well.
I think you should leave.
Dr. Winter, come with us, sir.
There's these mice.
They have a serious problem.
This cat, see, is making
their life very difficult.
So all the mice gather together.
They're full of ideas
about how to handle the cat,
but this one mouse,
he has the answer.
Attach a bell to the cat
and they'll always know
when he's coming or going.
This is a good mouse, a smart mouse.
And his plan wins out.
He gets a ribbon and
little bell all his own.
Out he marches, hero of all mice.
What do you think happened next?
The cat ate him up.
Everyone on this hill's
gonna know about Magpie.
That name...
will never be spoken again.
And what do you think will happen
when I tell "The New York Times"
about what you put me through?
You spent the past two months
stationed at a secret location,
hard at work, no time to write.
But then, once again, you
ruffled the wrong feathers
and they showed you the door.
Boy, you are just full
of fables, aren't you?
Your wife pulled Einstein's string
and a bell rang in the White House.
Now you're in my house, and in my house
you don't violate the Espionage Act.
You know I'm not a goddamn spy.
No, you're what a judge
would call a repeat offender.
Half an hour ago, you shared
highly classified information
with another scientist.
Would you care to listen to the recording
or spare us both the embarrassment?
What makes you think Isaacs won't talk now?
Dr. Isaacs is, how would he put it,
pot-committed.
Pick a hand, Dr. Winter.
Go before a judge,
spend the rest of the war
back where you just came from,
or...
Enlistment papers.
You're gonna send me to the front.
You'll stay right here
as a private in the Army under my command.
Unless you test my patience.
Then you'll get a one-way
ride to the Pacific.
Why keep me on the Hill?
God hung the stars in the sky.
He brought us both here for a reason.
I traveled His earth for 58
years to arrive at this desk.
It's my mission.
Maybe you'll find yours digging ditches.
Now go say good-bye to your wife.
I'll be out in just a minute.
Let's get right back in
the car and get out of here.
There's an MP waiting outside
to take me to the barracks.
The barracks?
He doesn't want me to see you.
Says we're more trouble
together than we are apart.
Fine.
Fine, I'll go to Princeton
and then I can tell the world what...
Liza.
He won't let you leave either.
No.
No, you told me two days.
I am gonna figure this out.
I promise.
And how long will that take?
_
Your attention.
All maintenance personnel are
invited to join us to ring in 1945
at tonight's big New Year's Eve jamboree.
_
Thanks for coming in
to see me today, Frank.
I'm sure you have better
ways to ring in the New Year.
I didn't have a choice.
But you did choose to come
back to the Hill six months ago.
Best-educated grunt in the
history of the US military.
What do you say we unbury that lead?
Uh, excuse me.
I'm gonna need a drink.
Well, it's hard to believe
what can happen in one year.
Thin Man fizzles, implosion
becomes the mot juste,
Isaacs lands on Boardwalk.
Meanwhile, one of the brightest
scientists in the world
reemerges on the Hill,
only he's shining shoes and flying salutes.
Help me solve for X.
I was working at another site.
I pissed on the wrong pair
of loafers in Washington.
So you waltz in the gates, go to
the military office and enlist?
- Kind of hard to believe.
- It'll fit in with the rest of the
propaganda in your, um, official history.
I understand there were some
information breaches this past year.
That, um, Colonel Darrow was
brought in to lock the place down.
Is that a question?
The colonel doesn't strike me as a
man who retails in second chances.
So why would he give you one?
Did Darrow send you here to test me?
I made a request and he granted it.
So can we just start from the beginning?
Eventually, I found my way to the barracks.
_
Welcome back, sir.
I was just reading a letter from Callie.
Uh, two things...
we don't discuss my daughter
and you don't call me sir. You outrank me.
Yes, uh, Doctor, Private?
- Frank.
- Okay.
- Which rack is mine?
- I think they have you over here.
The colonel put you to work.
What did he have you doing?
Same as every other soldier here.
And what did your old group think
when they saw you back
on the Hill in uniform?
I don't get it. How'd you
wind up in the chimp suit?
They're not drafting
the rest of us, are they?
No, you all get to keep your civvies.
It's complicated, but, um,
I volunteered.
What? Why on earth would you do that?
Frank, we really need
you back in implosion.
Leadership doesn't see it that way.
Just keep your heads down,
all right? Do your work.
And you did your work.
But you're a scientist.
I mean, eventually
somebody had the novel idea
to get your hands on some science, right?
Wrestling equations with the ladies
in the computer pool?
I guess you could call it that.
Would you say you were a good soldier?
I did my job.
You follow orders?
Every soldier follows orders.
What about Private First Class Dunlavey?
Did he follow orders?
Dunlavey always followed orders.
At ease, Doctor, Private, sir.
- You smoke?
- I quit.
Ah, if at first you don't succeed...
That's a neat lighter.
It's a good luck charm.
I used it in the trenches
to read the funnies.
So you heard from Callie?
Thought we had a rule.
Ah, I can't make the rules.
You outrank me, remember?
She hasn't sent a letter in a while.
Read the last one about a billion times.
She talks all about Montreal.
She says the police ride horses.
She always wanted to live in a big city.
When I got here, I was the
loneliest guy on planet Earth.
I hated it.
The air's so dry and the people.
It's like being smothered.
But then I met your daughter.
All of a sudden the air was
the cleanest air I ever smelled.
I'd do anything to see her, sir.
But it'll be a long time
till he sees Callie again,
won't it?
Attention!
I've got happy news.
Some of you lucky soldiers are
gonna be given the opportunity
to take up arms overseas.
The following men report
to Lieutenant Dreidger
at 0800.
Private Dobbs, Sergeant Salera,
Lance Corporal Bondurant,
Private Kaposi,
and Private First Class Dunlavey.
Good luck to you, gentlemen.
You're dismissed.
They told me it would never happen.
Finally something to write Callie about.
He's in the rear command of the Pacific?
Radio ops, yeah?
Liza would know better than I would.
She's better at writing.
Dunlavey's the only
soldier he sent to Saipan.
Why do you think that is?
Frank?
Well, you're the man's
shill. Why don't you ask him?
I think we're done here.
Colonel Darrow!
Saipan?
Private Dunlavey enlisted
to serve his country, Frank, just like you.
You sent him to the bloodiest
theater in the goddamn war.
I know how fond he is of you and your wife.
I'm sure he'll write.
When I give an order, I
expect it to be followed.
No more late-night visits
to the medical clinic.
What, you...
you did this because I
went to visit my wife?
You're dismissed, Private.
And lastly, the arid climate
can be very hard on an infant,
so your baby may need
to feed more frequently.
I was told there'd be formula.
Um...
Yes, infant formula needs to
be reconstituted with water
and so I excluded it from
the packages as a precaution.
If you have any further questions?
Good afternoon, ladies.
If your infant develops
a rash or trouble feeding,
please contact a nurse.
Abby, it's been a while.
Are you here to see Dr. Adelman?
No, um,
one of the nurses told
me you were conducting
a study on pregnancy.
Looking at the health effects
of work in the tech area.
Abby, I'm very sorry for
what you've been through.
It's completely natural to want answers.
Did you look at my file?
I know there's something
they're not telling me.
There were 127 pregnancies
on the Hill last year
and only one late-term miscarriage.
I'm not saying that the work on
the Hill has no effect on pregnancy,
I'm just saying we have no evidence.
So it's...
an act of God?
There isn't always a medical
explanation in these cases.
If you need to talk to somebody...
Talking is what got me here.
What, are you allergic
to newspaper reporters?
He's not Edward R. Murrow.
He's writing the official
history of the project.
They'll probably make a movie about it.
You wanna get left on
the cutting room floor?
So you two whiz kids were members
of the original implosion team.
The only two Charlie Isaacs
anointed for his test group.
Well, Charlie's a great boss.
I mean, sure, he works us hard,
but if there's ever any
criticism, it's only constructive.
He's got great hair, too.
I wanna hear your thoughts
about another boss.
Oppenheimer. That man
has been on a real roll
since he had that second bambino.
No, I wanna talk about Frank Winter.
From my understanding,
he torched every bridge from here to D.C.
Even found time to dust off an old grudge.
You mean the thing with Charlie?
Yeah. Uh, November 17th?
Can this be off the record?
My three favorite words.
It's historic!
We could be looking at a
Browns-Cardinals showdown.
It hasn't happened since 1922.
Thank you, sir.
Watch out.
God, he almost ran me over.
I'm telling you, Browns are gonna take it.
- Smart money.
- Here's the thing.
My father's a Browns fan,
so I'd sooner root for
the Hitler Youth All Stars.
Oh, but come on, two
teams from St. Louis...
- Whoa!
- Hey!
Jesus!
Hello?
You didn't believe me, huh?
Lazar! Uh, howdy!
Uh, Fritz. Fedowitz.
Your reputation precedes you, sir.
- In a good way. It's an honor to...
- Tomorrow.
- What?
- I'm sorry?
You're late. We're gonna be
driving back on dirt roads
in the middle of the night.
Gonna get ourselves killed.
You come back tomorrow.
Frank?
Hey, you're working in Ordnance now?
How are you, Commandante?
Oh, you know, explosives, whiskey.
- Just like old times.
- Yeah. I told them to go home.
Construction starts tomorrow. We need to
confirm the spot for the derrick tonight.
Come now or I tell General Groves
that you refused the chance to weigh in.
Well, the general doesn't
want me to weigh in.
He wants me to decide.
Then decide today.
Well, it's your funeral.
It's gonna be a tight fit.
I was, uh... I was only
counting the four of us.
Well, you counted wrong.
This is where you're gonna put
the hundred-foot tower for your gadget?
It's smack in the middle of the most
exposed part of the entire valley.
It's discreet, it's accessible,
and it conforms best to our
specific technical needs.
Oh, that's very, very good.
Dear America,
we're very, very sorry, but your
bomb blew away with the wind.
But don't you worry, it conforms
best to our specific technical needs.
All right, why don't you just calm down?
- You boys look like you're lost.
- The McDonoaugh brothers.
You... you guys know each other?
Trespassing on my family's property.
This land's the property of
the United States government.
You've ignored five requests
to appear before a judge.
$2,400 is a fair price.
This desert's a spooky place.
Indian country.
Your government men disappear
around here all the time.
If I were you, I wouldn't issue threats.
If I was you, I'd adios
myself back where I came from.
And if I don't?
Gonna need a lot more ammunition than that.
You kill us, they'll
just send 10 more guys.
Kill them, they'll send a hundred.
Army doesn't give two shits about
your family's property rights.
You fellas are up against the Constitution.
You fight it, you'll just
waste a few days in court,
end up with the same $2,000
plus a stack of legal bills.
But maybe
your land here is worth
more than two grand.
Hell, it may be worth a lot more.
This canyon's part of the San Juan Basin,
which is a proven oil reserve. Silver, too.
You ever done a geologic survey?
The feds don't have time to spend
in court debating mineral rights.
What they have is money.
A tap that never runs dry.
You start saying oil and silver,
you ask for five times the price.
- You'll get double.
- Come on.
He's right, Clem.
- If you're wrong about this...
- I'm not wrong.
That's the best you'll do.
- Is that true?
- Hell, I got no idea.
Ha! He's good.
- Hey, I didn't ask for your help.
You came back to the Hill
ranting about pumping
the brakes on the project,
but here you are hitting
the gas. Why's that?
Well, we're still at
war on three continents.
- I heard that somewhere.
- No. The real reason you came back
is you can't stand the idea that the
gadget could be built without you.
You can't stand having
anyone else's name on it.
You are so good at delivering
speeches, aren't you, Charlie?
Heard you gave quite a eulogy
when I got my off-site promotion.
And it only took you, what, two
weeks to become the Army's puppet.
Hey.
Come on. Enough fun, enough fun!
I don't care what deal
you made with the colonel.
You are never stepping
foot in the tech area again!
What did Charlie mean when he
said a deal with the colonel?
Does that have to do with
Frank's enlistment at all?
I mean, sort of a quid pro quo?
I mean, if you figure
that out, let us know.
Frank's not exactly in the business
of explaining himself to us.
Or to anyone, apparently.
But Isaacs was wrong about one thing.
Frank got himself back into the
tech area after all, didn't he?
Can I have another?
Understanding the
coordination of these assets
is crucial to the fluid
progress of our mandate.
Sincerely yours, Paul Crosley.
You have it?
Any mistakes, you're back on the jitney
to whatever junior
college you crawled out of.
All right.
Hello. Oh.
A mandatory sit-down with
our resident ink-slinger.
Just before the clock strikes.
You look like you need a drink.
No, I'm back on land again.
- What can I get you?
- Seltzer and lime, please.
Really?
- How long?
- Long enough to hurt.
So, Mr. Lorentzen, you
have me for 15 minutes.
- Let's make it good.
- All right.
Well, the gun division's
humming along nicely.
You're the backup plan the general
and Oppenheimer always dreamed of.
- Yet until November...
- We were in the pig trough.
Mm.
The uranium enrichment problem
had us stalled in our tracks.
That's quite a turnaround. What's
the opening sentence to that chapter?
Well, we were at a low point.
I was at a low point.
Paul.
Paul!
_
I can't feel my arms.
Let me guess, up all night
working on the enrichment problem?
Inevitable.
Do you know, maybe I'll
get a job after the war.
Or maybe I'll settle down,
have kids, regret my decisions.
But there's one thing I know for sure...
you have no future.
You know, I understand.
- What?
- The Site X liaison job.
Getting passed over. I understand.
I sympathize.
Hallelujah.
It's a beautiful day out.
I'm gonna go find a tree.
Maybe I'll solve the uranium problem
and you'll find a way to
take that from me, too.
Hello, Crosley.
We brought detonators.
Try not to blow yourself
up until we're gone.
- Okay?
- Well, Hogarth's in his office. He has the paperwork.
Yeah.
There it is.
- Go ahead.
- Excuse me?
Go on, Frank. Give a boy an education.
Go on.
Yeah.
Gaseous diffusion, thermal diffusion,
electromagnetic separation.
Three methods for enriching uranium,
only nobody knows which one is best
or if any of them even works.
And if we can't speed up
enrichment at an exponential pace?
Gun model dies on the vine.
Or, who knows, upside could be
Hogarth shoots himself in the head.
So go on, Frank.
Dazzle us
with that patented smugness
that says you're the only one who
understands the gravity of our great war.
The kingdom, the power,
the glory right here for your taking.
I'm just trying to do my job, Paul.
Dr. Winter, sir?
- I have to ask you to come with me.
- Why?
No, he's fine. He's with me.
He's been cleared at the gate.
Supposed to call the MPs if you're not
out of the tech area in five minutes,
per Dr. Isaacs.
Who?
Dr. Isaacs?
- Never heard of him.
- It's okay.
It's okay. We were just leaving.
Good luck, Paul.
So even the great Frank Winter
couldn't solve the uranium problem.
And was that your first interaction
with Frank since he got back?
I had seen him around digging latrines,
other vital work.
Surprised to see him back on the Hill?
In a private's uniform? Yeah.
And I think it's safe to
say most of us had questions.
Get any answers?
The colonel needed another
soldier for his holy crusade.
Why all the curiosity about Frank?
Just filling in the blanks.
You devil.
First, you try to reignite your
old flame with the man's wife.
Then you tar and feather
Frank in the official history.
- Bravo.
- I'm sorry, gentlemen.
We need to clear the tables
for tonight's festivities.
Well, enough already. I have a year's
work to do before the clock strikes.
Uh, how'd you fix it?
The problem with the uranium that
was slowing down the gun model.
Oppenheimer had a eureka.
- On November 29th.
- Yeah, round about.
One day, Oppenheimer marches
into the office unannounced
and out of nowhere just
delivers a solution.
Turns out the man's a genius after all.
And what was the solution?
Well, we had been thinking of
the processes as competitors
and Oppie realized they were more
efficient when linked in tandem.
Collaborators.
Yeah, I suppose you could say that.
Well, time and tide.
Oh, this reborn gun division,
is the nickname still Thin Man?
We're calling it Little Boy.
Bet there's a story there.
I'm afraid it will probably
put your readers to sleep.
Hair of the bloodhound?
You should give my job to Helen.
She's more experienced than I am,
she's been to Site X,
and she cares.
She won't shag you
if that's what you're thinking.
Enjoy watching Frank Winter
get escorted from the building?
Americans are a funny lot.
They poke fun at cricket,
you let them play, they
have a few lucky bowls
and they act as if they
invented the damn sport.
Yeah, they are unique.
They'd be nowhere without us.
I have a healthy self-regard,
but neither one of us is getting
written into the history books.
Don't be daft.
Us.
The home team.
War is no longer a question
of artillery or trenches
or how many tank divisions you can marshal
to outflank your rival.
Information is the new gunpowder.
Information is the future.
And Britain needs a future.
You need a future.
So is this why you gave me the promotion?
The Yankees are niggardly allies.
They dine out on our science
and what do they give us in return?
Table crumbs.
So when the war's over
and the nuclear power boom begins,
they'll own the future.
We must take what we can as fast as we can.
- You want me to steal for you?
- No.
For king and country.
You know, I knew a man
who was shot for less.
Think about your country, Paul.
Everything will be different after the war.
We'll go home.
Together.
You have regrets about Lucy.
I know there are things that
you wish you could take back
that you said and did.
And so what if I do?
My daughter's a forgiving soul.
Too forgiving.
But she knows that we're here together
and she wants to mend fences.
She wants a life with you.
I never had a son, Paul.
But you do.
And he's a gem.
Lucy got him back.
My grandson.
You can leave something
behind in this world.
A legacy for Henry.
So help me, Paul.
You won't just go home a man.
You'll go home a father.
You'll go home to your little boy.
This is what we're paying you for,
rumors about Frank Winter?
I haven't seen a check in six months.
My own paper cut me off.
It's your privilege
to document the scientific
history of this project,
not editorialize about my soldiers.
It's the holiday.
This was a side project
to keep my pencil sharp.
You know, I could never get a bead
on why you let Frank back onto the Hill.
I thought it was to shut him up
or torture him.
Then suddenly, it hit me.
Oppenheimer, he's got
his head in the clouds
and his sidekick is this
28-year-old hotshot
who you don't fully believe in.
Isaacs couldn't handle the ranchers alone.
He couldn't solve the uranium problem.
And you knew that sooner or later,
this kid's gonna roll another seven.
What's your point?
You don't just keep your enemies closer.
Frank Winter invented the gadget.
You let him back on the Hill
because whatever he did
or whoever he pissed off,
you need an insurance policy.
And the way I see it,
you're not the only one.
The uranium problem...
that was Frank, wasn't it?
Oppenheimer couldn't have everyone
thinking an Army private he exiled
solved the problem that was
keeping Little Boy on the sidelines.
Now, when he saw what Frank did...
what nobody else could do...
Oppie realized the same
thing you did six months ago.
The day will come when
he's gonna need Frank again.
Give me the pages.
"From this expanse of solitude,
a great secret is soon to be revealed... "
Is there anything about
Frank Winter in here?
Of course not.
Happy New Year.
"From this expanse of solitude,
a great secret is soon to be
revealed to the whole of man.
At the dawn of 1945,
great minds toil sleeplessly.
Their tools... the very
principles of the universe.
Their aim... nothing
less than a lasting peace
for the world entire."
- Hey, how are ya?
- Good to see you, Charlie.
I know you have to go, but I... I, um...
I don't feel like celebrating 1944.
- You go.
- Abby.
- You go, go! Have fun!
- No.
"It would be a hulking task for a deity.
But these are not gods.
These are mortals.
These are men.
They have hopes and dreams,
needs and desires.
They have fears and misgivings
for what the future may hold."
"They are the makers of a coming history
we are all headed toward."
- Hey, hey, here we go!
- Whoo!
Ten, nine, eight,
seven, six, five,
four, three, two, one!
Happy New Year!
"History is too often not what happened,
but what was recorded.
A lie set down on paper with wet ink
becomes a truth when dry."
"Such is the case of this history,
here in the quiet desert.
Here we find men whose achievements
will be snatched for the glory of others,
whose sacrifices will be
forgotten as detritus."
"The cleanest telling
would draw one great man
in whom we could find
a teachable narrative,
an exemplar of what,
should we give it our
all, we could become."
"But those stories are myths.
This is, as best I
understand, that honest story.
It is not simple, and
few emerge untarnished.
It is a story of the unknowable future
and all the gnarled turns the present takes
on its journey toward
the world of tomorrow."
Too many adjectives.
You're like all the rest...
work, work, work.
Then I'll take the rest of the year off.
I need to talk to my wife.