Person of Interest (2011–2016): Season 3, Episode 23 - Deus Ex Machina - full transcript

MALE NEWSCASTER: Two hours have
passed since the city of New York

plunged into darkness.

FEMALE NEWSCASTER: Authorities
have not yet ruled out

the possibility
of a terrorist attack.

NEWSCASTER: A press conference
has been scheduled...

Welcome to your trial,
ladies and gentlemen,

and welcome to the trial

of the United States government.

Court is now in session.

Anyone else want
to shoot this guy?

Little bit.



That's an old courthouse?

Where is that?

Someone'll recognize it.

Half the city
is out in the streets.

(METALLIC CLANK)

(GUNSHOTS)

(DECIMA OPERATIVES GRUNTING)

What?

Well, I guess we're not
gonna question them.

They're Decima.

They'll go out a window
before they'll talk.

Let's get out of here
before anymore of 'em show up.

We got to stop that trial.

You stand accused of betraying



your fellow citizens,

of trading in our democracy

for a police state,

and we've taken great pains
to give you a fair trial.

To honor your right to counsel,
we've brought in

the best defense attorney
in town.

To ensure
an equitable verdict...

Right here.

We've selected a jury
of your peers...

and since a free press is vital

in every democracy,
we've invited the media...

(DOOR CREAKING)

- Keep moving.
- Come on, sit down.

And opened up
these proceedings

to observers around the world.

How's that signal down there?

Satellite uplink is good.

We're streaming live
all over the world,

12 million viewers
and counting.

Now, the charges
against you are grave...

313 million counts

of illegal wiretapping,
plus conspiracy,

espionage, and treason.

The last two
are punishable by death.

Some of you,

we have dead to rights;

Others, the facts
are less clear.

So anyone who's willing
to confess their crimes

and testify against
their co-conspirators

will be granted leniency.

The choice is yours.

The prosecution
calls Manuel Rivera.

(ALL MURMURING)

As your attorney, I...

Don't worry, Harold,
your secret's safe with me.

Not so sure about her.

HERSH: Must have shown the
photo to a dozen people.

Nobody seems to recognize
the courthouse.

Well, we need a lead fast.

With Vigilance
playing judge and jury,

executioner won't be far behind.

(PHONE RINGS)

ROOT: Be at the intersection

of 5th and 23rd in 15 minutes.

Good-bye, Shaw.

Wait, Root, is that all?
Where are you?

Right where I'm supposed to be.

SHAW: You found it, didn't you.

Samaritan.

ROOT: Maybe.

Did you find Harold?

She's worried about him.

So am I.

SHAW: We're working on it,

but seriously,
are you about to kamikaze

into a Decima fortress
with a bunch of nerds?

Didn't know you cared, Shaw,
and it's just me now.

SHAW: But the machine
has your back, right?

Right?

23rd and 5th.

12 minutes.
Tick-tock.

So we're going to
23rd and 5th because?

- It's complicated.
- It's complicated.

Root's gonna
get herself killed.

Go, we'll find Harold.

Go how?

(GUNSHOTS)

(YELPS)

Gonna need to borrow this.

Fine, just... just take it.

You know how to ride
one of these things?

You got a way about you, Hersh.

Be good, Shaw.

Ten minutes, let's move.

Mr. Rivera,
what is Northern Lights?

I had nothing to do with that.

Really?

The Intelligence Advisor
to the President

had nothing to do with
a secret intelligence program?

People would like to submit
exhibits A1 through A46,

classified documents
detailing the secret operations

of Northern Lights.

Care to guess
how many of these documents

bear your signature?

Who do you think you are?

Are you or are you not

part of a vast sustained
criminal conspiracy...

Who the hell are you?

To spy on every woman, man,
and child in the US...

MADISON: Order! Order! Order!

You have no power,

and the only criminal here
is you...

- since 2005!
- Order!

And your terrorist
organization!

(GUNSHOT)
(ONLOOKERS SCREAM)

(DRAMATIC MUSIC)

So who's ready to tell the truth
and nothing but the truth?

My brother wasn't a terrorist.

- We had evidence...
- You had nothing!

Locked him up
under some loophole

until it destroyed him!

(CELL PHONE VIBRATING)

(TIRES SQUEAL)

Hey, man, what are you...
Stop! Help!

(TENSE MUSIC)

Come on...

Hello?

What is this?

Where am I?

What?

What do you know about me?

Oh, what are you, government?

FBI, CIA?

Action against...

People, huh?

Who are you?

Vigilance?

What do you want from me?

Collier.

You Peter Collier?

Yes.

Yes, I am.

These are the times
that try men's souls.

All we need is a name.

Who among you is most
directly responsible

for Northern Lights?

Whoever offers up
that name will live.

What about you, sir?

Who can tell me
about Harold here?

Objection.

Is this a trial,

or just a long-winded execution?

COLLIER: Well, it looks like we have

another legal practitioner
among us.

You don't get to cherry-pick
the law, Counselor.

The Sixth Amendment
guarantees people like Harold

the right to know the specific
charges against them.

I am acutely aware
of the bill of rights.

You want the appearance
of a fair trial?

Bottle the histrionics.

Present your case.

People call
Senator Ross Garrison.

That's 23rd and 5th up ahead.

Root sent us here for bikes?

(SIREN WARBLING)

MAN: NYPD. Drop your weapons.

Hands where I can see them.

(DOG BARKING)

Get off, Bear.

What the hell are you doing?

Some nutjob just
jacked a kid on a bike.

I thought you were looters.

- Nice ride, Lionel.
- You know this guy?

I haven't seen you
since the blackout.

How'd you find us?

Dog showed up at the precinct
with a message from Cuckoo Clock

to meet at this intersection.

Didn't know she meant
you and this guy.

Vigilance caused the blackout.

They set up a kangaroo court

to go after anyone
tied to the machine.

What machine?

We got to go find Harold.

They're streaming the trial.

NYPD know where from?

What trial?

We're kind of busy
with the blackout.

We got a bunch of guys
smashing up

5th Avenue, looting.

What guys?

Bunch of jackasses

running around in masks.

Diversion tactic, Vigilance.

Why don't you take a lap
around the block, Lionel?

What, why?

'Cause we're gonna
need some gear

from that sporting goods store
up the street.

It'd probably be best
if the NYPD

isn't around when we smash in
the front door.

Got seven more servers for you.

Let's get them scanned.

(SCANNER WHIRRING, BEEPS)

This shipment's two days late.

Where the hell have you been?

Honestly?

Planning this.

(DART GUN PINGS)

Hey!

(BOTH GRUNTING)

Looks like someone
crawled in under the fence.

Admit it,
you were worried about me.

I'm worried about the mission.

Reese and Hersh
are trying to save Finch,

but that won't matter
if Samaritan kills us all.

Then let's get to work.
(RAZOR BLADE CLICKING)

Oh, it's gonna be
that kind of party, huh?

Decima tags its people.

Anyone who doesn't
have an RFID chip

will stick out
like a sore thumb.

Ready for your shot?

Senator, you've denied
any knowledge

of Northern Lights,
yet your name

appears in these documents
some 37 times.

Now, how do you explain that?

Maybe you shouldn't
believe everything

you read on the internet.

Exhibit D7.

GARRISON: They find out we're
spying on the American people,

we all go to jail.

Deny, shred, burn anything
related to Northern Lights.

It doesn't exist.

You care to rephrase
your answer, Senator?

GARRISON: Those comments
were taken out of context.

Thank you for protecting me,

although I'm baffled as to why.

The same reason
I've done everything, Harold,

for my country.

And you can't help me
if you're dead.

GARRISON: I told you,

I had nothing to do

with the development
of Northern Lights.

Damn thing was up and running
when I was read in.

I just got stuck
with cleaning up the mess.

Hardly seems fair
that your life

should be in danger
for someone else's misdeeds.

So if you're not the guy,
who is?

(TENSE MUSIC)

It never was a guy
that was in control, was it?

You may step down, Senator.

You care to join us, ma'am?

Well, this should be fun.

ADAMS: One street view cam.

Well, it's not
viewing streets anymore.

(LAUGHS)

The look on that driver's face
was priceless.

Got to be 100 grand worth
of hardware in this thing.

It's getting to be
you can't tell

a search engine from the NSA.

- Don't be evil, my ass.
- (LAUGHS)

(CELL PHONE VIBRATES)

Take it apart.

ADAMS: Yeah!

- I have a family!
- (LAUGHS)

(CELL PHONE VIBRATES)

ADAMS: Hey, toss me one.

MADISON: You don't think
he saw our faces, do you?

ADAMS: Let's do something.

MADISON: We could dox someone.
I brought my laptop.

Tonight,
we got one off the streets.

Tomorrow, they build 100 more.

It's not enough.

We got the hard drive.

Could write a virus,
infect the whole fleet.

No, they'll just look
for a patch.

Doesn't put a dent

in data mining,
domain awareness.

We need to adjust our sights.

Our sights?

This is an information war.

We need to go after
the people who control it,

abuse it,
destroy people's lives,

and answer to no one.

Now you're talking.

What do you have in mind?

A statement.

Someone who represents

everything that's wrong

with an unchecked
Orwellian state.

And we put them
in the crosshairs,

and we teach them a lesson
no one will forget.

Can you identify these documents
for the court?

Well, let's start
with something simpler.

What is Research?

I have here more than 300 pages
documenting illegal wiretaps,

interrogations,
and assassinations carried out

by Northern Lights
all using information

from something called Research,
and all from

one two-week period.

Now, no bureaucracy
moves that fast,

so let me rephrase
the question.

Is Research
an automated system?

Is it a machine?

As a sworn officer
of the US government,

I can neither confirm nor deny

anything pertaining
to this matter,

and I will say
the same damn thing

to every other question

until the moment
you put that gun to my head

and pull the trigger.

As soon as this is over,
I'm cutting

this stupid chip out of my arm.

I'll do yours if you do mine.

Ready for the moment of truth...

or lies really?

(SCANNER BEEPS)

(SCANNER BUZZES)

Damn it.

(SCANNER BUZZES)

(APPROACHING FOOTSTEPS)

(SCANNER BEEPS)

Computers can bite me.

(GLASS SHATTERING)

Whoo-hoo-hoo-hoo!

(DOG BARKING)

(SCREAMING)

I think he likes you.

(GROANING)

(IN DUTCH)
Sit.

What are you doing?

What's with
the friendly fire, yo?

You're off the map, dumb-ass.

Collier sent us here
to rein you in

before you screw up the plan.

Courthouse is here.

You're supposed to be here

drawing the cops away
from the trial.

No, man, courthouse is there.

I just delivered
the gennies this morning,

so I'd know, wouldn't I?

Guess you would.

Thanks.

Been looking for
this little bastard all night.

He's all yours.
We're due in court.

You have seen the proof
that the woman before you

was the ringleader of
a criminal organization

called Northern Lights.

We've implicated her
in the summary execution

of 17 American citizens,
and those are just the ones

we know about.

And through it all,

she shows no remorse,

and I think her silence
speaks volumes.

MADISON: Since we don't
have time for deliberation,

we'll put it to a vote.

The defendant is
presumed innocent.

Who among you find her guilty?

(TENSE MUSIC)

Jury finds
the defendant guilty.

Sentence to be carried out
immediately.

(GAVEL BANGS)

Come on, let's go.

Where were you
when Flight 77 hit the Pentagon?

Because I was inside it.

I carried out the wounded.

I covered up bodies.

And I have spent every day since

putting bullets
in the people responsible

and in anyone else
who even thinks

that they can do that
to our country again.

You want to shoot me

because I had to tap
a few phone calls,

read a few e-mails,

then you go right ahead.

But you better turn

that gun on yourself next,

Mr. Collier,
because you have broken

just as many laws,

and the only difference is,

I didn't wrap myself up
in the American flag

and try to convince people
that I was a hero.

I believe you love
your country.

I believe that
when you started,

people thought
what you were doing

made a lot of sense.

But it's gone too far,

and it has to stop.

Please,

who built the machine?

How does it work?

Where is it located?

Honestly?

I don't know.

You don't know?

The woman in charge of it all
doesn't know.

Well, if you don't know,
who does?

The people have spoken.

(TENSE MUSIC)

(GUN COCKS)

Stop.

I can help you.

The questions you're asking,
I know the answers.

Really?

How do you know?

Because I built it.

Everyone needs
to turn in their phone.

We're switching up
communication.

It's no longer safe for us
to meet here as a group.

What's going on, Peter?

Security measure.

From now on, storage units

will only be used
as message centers.

ADAMS: Wait a second.

I thought this was a democracy.

Why don't we...

Want to put it
to a vote, Adams?

I want to know
what the hell we're doing,

instead of just doxing
another politician,

another DDoS attack
on some intel site.

Well, what do you suggest?

Blow something up,
take someone out.

You wanted to make a statement?

Well, let's do it.

Violence.

We are not terrorists.

We target specific violators,
no collateral damage.

Who do you suggest we go after?

People who destroy lives,
like they did to your brother.

All right,
let's put it to a vote.

Wait a minute.

But I say we name the target,
and I have an idea.

The kind of person
who went after my brother.

It's recording.

Knew you wouldn't be dumb
enough to wear a wire.

What is going on here?

COLLIER: It's all in the file.

Or why don't
you just tell her, Adams?

My God, it's you.
You're FBI.

First he went after my brother,
now they're after me.

I guess I don't need to wear
the mask anymore, huh?

Where did you get this?
This is a bunch of nonsense.

Tyranny like hell
is not easily conquered.

The harder the conflict,
the more glorious the triumph.

What we obtain too cheap,
we esteem too lightly.

It is dearness only
that gives everything value.

(GUNSHOT)

Especially life.

How's that for a statement?

Anybody else want
to put it to a vote?

Phones in the bucket,

and take out this garbage.

We've got a lot of work to do.

MAN: It's the largest blackout
the United States has seen

since the Northeast blackout
of 2003.

WOMAN: Department is doing
everything in its power

to assure the safety
of our citizens

and their property.

COLLIER: You built it?

One man is responsible

for the most invasive
surveillance technology

in the world?

I'm good with computers.

I had a feeling there was

something special
about you, Harold.

I'm willing to tell you
whatever you want to know,

but only if you agree
to spare the lives

of everyone else
in this courtroom.

(TENSE MUSIC)

Well,
before we release anybody,

we need to hear
your testimony first.

On September the 12th, 2001,
I began coding

in a complex surveillance system
that would be known

by many code names
over the years,

although I always just called it
the machine.

SHAW: So this is Samaritan's brain?

Part of it.

So what's the deal,
you just plug 'em in,

then it's lights out,
Samaritan?

Something like that.

These two rows didn't light up.

It didn't work?

Those lights staying dark
is a good thing.

Samaritan's AI
won't get switched on

until Greer gets
the government feeds.

Those lights turn blue...

We're screwed.

We're inside
a sleeping giant, Shaw.

Try not to wake it up.

That van's some type
of guard post.

Looks like we're getting warm.

Vigilance, all six dead.

Guess we're not the only ones
these guys have pissed off.

COLLIER: How does it work?

Who do you think
beat us to the punch?

FINCH: February of 2005,

the machine's information
was provided...

HERSH: They were
watching the trial.

FINCH: Although the
servers remained at IFT.

Oh, no, Finch.

By the time we turned it over
to the government in 2009,

the machine had helped stop
54 terrorist attacks,

saving an estimated
4,000 lives.

I don't know how many
it's saved since.

So even though Northern Lights
was shut down,

your machine was
still operational.

Where is it now?

I'm afraid
not even I know that.

Do you have access to it?
Can we turn it off?

You have nothing to fear
from my system,

Mr. Collier, I assure you.

You'll forgive me if I don't
take you at your word.

The machine's only output
is a number.

That's all the government
ever gets,

just a nudge to say,

there's something
you should look at here,

and that's up to us
to figure that out.

So it brands people as suspects,
guilty until proven innocent.

No, not my intention.

That's what happened.

It had to be a closed system.

It was the only way
to protect people's rights.

You expect us to believe
you gave one thought

about people's rights
as you were building

the government
a weapon of mass surveillance?

Not a weapon.

What else would you call it?

I would call it
the best I could do.

And it never occurred to you

the damage this thing could do,

the lives it could destroy?

It occurred to me on day one,

Mr. Collier,
and every day since.

If you're asking me
if I feel at ease

with what I've created,
or whether it was

the right or the wrong thing
to do, I honestly don't know.

But I designed the machine

in part because I was worried,

and I remain worried, about
what someone else might build...

someone who wasn't worried.

Nothing wrong
with a dictatorship,

so long as you're the dictator.

I rest my case.

Shall we put it to a vote?

MAN: Command, one of our guard posts

has been hit.

No survivors,
repeat, no survivors.

Looks like we'll need
a change of venue.

Defendants to
the backup location.

The rest stay here.

Hold them off
as long as you can,

and one way or another,
justice will be served.

(GUN COCKS)
Let's go.

(TENSE MUSIC)

Easy.

All right, stop right here.

Line 'em up,
facing the courthouse.

Abandoned post office,
this must be it.

Big place.

Spread out, sweeping clear.

Give me a call
if you get in over your head.

Next time I see you,
I'll probably have to kill you.

Well, you're welcome to try.

COLLIER: Since we appear
to be out of time,

we'll have to forego
the jury verdict

and issue a summary judgment.

(GUN COCKS)

I've upheld my end of
our bargain, Mr. Collier.

I confessed, guilty as charged.

If your revolution
requires blood, take mine.

Just please let
everyone else go.

(GUNSHOTS)

MAN: Take cover!

Decima! Return fire!

(GUNFIRE)

(GUNSHOTS)

(GRUNTS)

(GRUNTS)

(GRUNTS)

We're clearing
an extraction route, sir.

We should move quickly.

Noble attempt at
self-sacrifice, Harold,

but experience has taught me

never to negotiate
with terrorists.

My private forces
will see you safely

back to Washington.

Let's go.

You two, I'm afraid,

will be here for the brief
remainder of your lives.

FINCH: He's no longer a threat.

Please, he doesn't have to die.

Oh, but I'm afraid he does.

Why?

Because of you, Harold.

Because of what you built.

(TENSE MUSIC)

Looks like somebody
already took out

these Vigilance guys.

Oh, dear.

I think I might
be in over my head.

(GUNSHOTS)

I'm a little busy myself.

(GRUNTS)

Unless you're looking at
a big-ass bomb

wired to blow
when the power comes back on,

I think I win.

What a piece of work
is your machine, Harold.

In action, how like an angel.

In apprehension,
how like a god.

In 20 years time, life on Earth
will come to resemble

the myths
of the Ancient Greeks.

A pantheon of
super intelligent beings

will watch over us

using human agents
to meddle in our affairs.

Or they may simply
destroy us all.

One could argue we've done
a fair job of that ourselves.

Besides, someone has to be
in charge, but as you well know,

gods are not easily born.

In order to bring mine
into being,

I needed a devil.

Vigilance.

Go ahead and kill me.

Damage is already done.

Everyone in the world
heard the testimony

in that courtroom tonight.

Mr. Collier, who do you think

makes the equipment
that you used to transmit?

Your trial was broadcast
to a single office

on the other side of town
where a handful

of computers led you to believe

that the whole world
was watching.

It's high time you and I
had a talk

about the true nature
of Vigilance.

You don't know anything
about us.

Oh, I know a great deal
more than you think.

After all, tyranny, like hell,

is not easily conquered.

You didn't really believe
this was a democracy, did you?

Your grassroots movement
has been meticulously planned

from the beginning.

In fact,
I recruited you myself.

Decima created Vigilance?
Why?

Your machine did its job
too well.

I had remind Senator Garrison
and his ilk

of just how bad things could be.

And what better way
to remind them

than a fresh atrocity
on American soil?

COLLIER: What atrocity?

In all our dealings,

we never killed
one innocent person.

Not until now.

(GUNSHOTS)

(GRUNTS)

All right, Hersh,
I'm on my way.

REESE: What's your 20?

Never mind.

Just get your boss and get out.

Hersh?

(GUNSHOT)

(GRUNTING)

You're too late.

(GRUNTS)

(GRUNTS)

(TENSE MUSIC)

(GUNSHOTS)

GREER: Here come the policemen.

Their poor families.

What a loss.

Whatever you're planning,
please.

It's not me.

It's Mr. Collier, isn't it?

In a last desperate act,
your young misguided lot

decided to go out with a bang,

along with a whole host
of police,

reporters,
and innocent civilians.

Or at least that's how history
will remember it.

NYPD.
Down on the ground.

(GUNSHOTS)

(CROWD YELLING)

(BOTH GRUNTING)

REESE: Power's coming back on.

I can get it.

REESE: Hersh, get out of there now.

I can get it.

(EXPLOSION BOOMING)

Sooner or later,
the truth will come out.

To quote Benjamin Franklin...

We may keep a secret,
as long as two of them are dead.

(GUNSHOTS)

I'm glad
that you've lived long enough

to see the dawn
of the new world

you created, Harold,

but the time has come
for your god and mine

to do battle, and regrettably,

our paths diverge here.

(GUNSHOTS)

(GRUNTS)

(DOG BARKING, GROWLING)

We'll retrieve them at once.

No need.

We'll find them all
soon enough.

(PHONE RINGS)

I'm sorry we were unable
to prevent Vigilance

from this terrible act.

If only we'd had more warning,

perhaps we could have been there
in time.

How quickly can you bring
Samaritan online?

Immediately.

The government feeds
are all we require.

You'll have them
within the hour.

(DRAMATIC MUSIC)

Last one.

Want to get out of here?

Not without an insurance policy

in case your way doesn't work.

Just tell me
where to put this thing...

This facility is 1 of 100
just like it all over the world.

It would take years
to destroy them all,

and Decima would only
rebuild them.

Well, then your magic boxes
better shut this thing down.

Shaw, this was never
about turning it off.

Well, then what the hell
have we been doing?

I hear you.
We need to go.

She says we're in danger.

Receiving the government feeds
now, sir.

Then by all means,
let there be life.

That's good enough for now.

Have Shaw take a look at it
when she gets back.

First time's the worst, huh?

Why would you ever choose
a career

where this was
an occupational hazard?

Well, I tried to quit,

but some jackass told me
I needed a purpose.

(PHONE RINGS)

ROOT: Get out of the library, now.

It isn't safe there anymore,
Harold.

Miss Groves?

Are you and Miss Shaw...

Card catalog by the window,
top drawer on the right.

ROOT: Hurry.

FINCH: What's going on?

ROOT: Your new identities are inside.

Destroy everything else.

I take it your plan to stop
Samaritan was unsuccessful.

Any chance we had
of stopping it

ended when we didn't kill
the Congressman.

This was never about winning.

It's just about surviving.

(RADIOHEAD'S
EXIT MUSIC (FOR A FILM) playing)

Higher functions online, sir.

Searching for targets now.

Good.

Eliminate them all.

Yes, sir.

ROOT: The machine and I
couldn't save the world.

We had to settle for protecting
the seven people

who might be able
to take it back,

so we gave Samaritan
a blind spot.

Seven key servers
that hard-codes it

to ignore seven carefully
crafted new identities.

? Today we escape?

? We escape?

? Pack and get dressed?

ROOT: When the whole world is watched,

filed, indexed, numbered,

the only way to disappear
is to appear,

hiding our true identities

inside
a seemingly ordinary life.

? Before?

? All hell?

? Breaks loose?

You're not a free man
anymore, Harold.

You're just a number.

? Breathe?

ROOT: We have to become
these people now,

and if we don't,
they'll find us,

and they'll kill us.

I'm sorry, Harold.

I know it's not enough.

? Breathe?

A lot of people
are going to die.

? Keep breathing?

? I can't do this?

? Alone?

ROOT: People who might
have been able to help.

Everything is changing.

I don't know
if it will ever get better...

but it's going to get worse.

? A song to keep us warm?

But the machine asked me
to tell you something

before we part.

You once told John
the whole point of Pandora's Box

is that once you've opened it,
you can't close it again.

? And you can laugh?

ROOT: She wanted me to remind
you of how the story ends.

When everything is over,
and the worst has happened,

there's still one thing left
in Pandora's Box...

hope.

? Wisdom choke you?

? Now?

? We are one?

? In everlasting peace?

Good morning.

I assure you, it's quite
the other way around.

The question is, what,
my dear Samaritan,

are your commands for us?

? We hope?

? That you choke?

? That you choke?