Sliders (1995–2000): Season 3, Episode 11 - State of the A.R.T. - full transcript

[silence]

[whooshing]

[Wade screaming]

[all groaning]

[Quinn grunts]

I hate to say it, guys...

(men)
But I have a strange feelin'
about this place.

Well, I do.

As we all should,
Miss Wells,

especially when we land
on a world

(Professor)
seemingly devoid of humans.



Especially when the sky's
a funky color.

(Quinn)
Everything
seems to be kept up.

Yes, but for whom?

Right now,
I'd rather know
by whom.

Me, too.

What the devil
is that?

What remains of a robot.

[vehicle approaching]

Do you hear that?

Yeah. It sounds like a motor.

[tires screeching]

Don't tell me that
that's the neighborhood
welcoming committee.

Let's not wait around
to find out.

We'll never outrun them.



Evasive action!

Q-Ball!
- Quinn!

Wait!

[brakes screeching]

(Quinn)
What if you found a portal
to a parallel universe?

What if you could slide
into a thousand
different worlds,

where it's the same year,
and you're the same person,

but everything else
is different?

And what if you
can't find your way home?

(voice)
Sliders

[sensor bleeping]

[bleeping continues]

Seems to be checking
for life signs.

[panting]
Is he breathing?
I can't tell.

Why didn't he come
after us?

I don't know.

He didn't seem
to detect our presence,

[jeep leaving]
which may mean--

Q-Ball's okay.

Hey, fella, how you doing?
Are you okay?

[panting]
Fine.

I feel like
I just put my tongue
in a light socket.

Who's got the timer?

I do. We've got three days
and then some.

Come on, let's find a place
to stay out of
the line of fire.

[grunting]
Good idea.

Up you come, Mr. Mallory.

What about them?

Wild.

They're robots.

(Professor)
That's why we
weren't detected.

He was looking for signs
of electronic life.

[buzzing]

Help me.

He's still alive.

Lots of wires in there.

How can you be sure

that you hooked up
the right ones?

We're doing
a lot of guessing.

Actually, it's not
entirely guessing.

You see this--this
bundle of wires

that runs down
the spine here?

[crackling]
(Quinn)
Yeah.

That's essentially
his central nervous system.

And, uh,
these metal plates here

are analogous
to our vertebrae.

His internals
are very much modeled
on the human form.

Well, the last time I checked,
we didn't have any of
that green gel floating in us.

That green gel is supposed to
conduct electricity

to the areas
that aren't hard-wired.

(Professor)
All right.

[buzzing]

That should do it.

Oh, I think I may know
what happened here.

These are brochures from
Aldohn Robotic Technologies

hawking the wonderful benefits
of a robotic workforce.

(Wade)
Leaving humans free

to enjoy the pleasures
of everyday living.

[buzzing]

Hey, he moved.
What did you do?

He stimulated
my tricordial neuroglia

sending an impulse
to my upper dextral appendage.

One moment please,
while I reset
my vision parameters.

[sighs]

He's so real.

Do you have a name?
Something people call you by?

I'm an Aldohn D .063,
but I'm called Deric,
which is an acronym

for the Delta model
of the Emotional Response
Intelligence Chip unit.

(Deric)
What models are you?

I'm not familiar
with your designs.

Actually, we're not robots.

You are human.

How fascinating.

The fascination
is mutual,

believe me.

You who repaired me,
did I sustain injury
to my power supply?

Your power unit's fine.

You just had
a couple of burnt wires.

That must be
why I shut down.

And why the RPP didn't detect
my energy output.

RPP, does that refer
to the person chasing you?

He's
a Recall Patrol Paul unit.

And he's not a man.

Is my friend in
the adjoining workroom?

You were the only one
working, so, uh--

You left him out there?

I must get to him.

(Deric)
Despite Father's genius

in programming
robotics technology,

some of the ERI models
had programming problems

and did not perform
as expected.

Father attempted
to recall us,

but many did not
voluntarily return.

Who's Father?

James Aldohn.

Aldohn Robotic Technologies.

He's our creator.
The factory is our origin.

Just for the record,
what kind of problems
are we talkin' about here?

ERIs are programmed
for emotions.

The alpha and beta units
suffered intensity problems

when emotions
conflicted with logic.

Oftentimes
a malfunction would occur.

Human fatalities
were not uncommon.

(Deric)
You do not have to fear me.

I've adjusted
my programming accordingly.

You have the ability
to reprogram yourself?

I'm a fourth gen.

An advancement to my model
was a learn mode.

Self-programming
was an unintended
byproduct of the LM.

So that's why Father ordered
all of you recalled.

He couldn't predict
how you might behave.

Father doesn't much like
what he can't control.

At one time,
there were 2,916 ERI units.

Now, only a handful are left.

The Pauls' main directive
is to destroy us.

No! Leave him alone!

If we knew this would happen,
we wouldn't have left him.

There's no way
you could have known.

Maybe we can put him
back together.

No.

Usable parts are rare
outside the factory.
There's nothing we can do.

Guys,

RPP, 10 o'clock.

Split up!

Back here in 20!

(Deric)
In here.

[brakes screeching]

[grunts]

I'm sorry. I'm sorry.

[screaming]

[grunts]

Should we deactivate them?

No.

These we take back
to the factory.

If they've been captured,
where would they
have been taken?

The factory.

(Wade)
Take us there.

The perimeter
is highly guarded.

It's dangerous to approach
the factory on foot.

What if we had
one of their vehicles,
could we get in that way?

In order to operate
a patrol vehicle,

you must have
a chip in your hand.

The chip activates
the ignition system
and factory entry.

Now, this chip,

presumably
only the RPPs have them?

Not necessarily.

I have a friend,
an early model.

She's navigational.

Does she have
a vehicle?

No.

That we'll have
to steal.

I like the way he thinks.

(female electronic voice)
Spectra imaging
process successful.

Data stored.

Hey...

twin-bots.
You guys are Pauls, right?

Nice talkin' to you.
You, what's your name?

Aldohn E .075.

I'm a technical
engineering device

equipped with
the most current memory
and micro-circuitry upgrades.

I'm very happy for you.
How about unstrapping me?

No.

Where's my friend?
Is he all right?

Father is anxious
to meet you.

[pneumatic door hissing]

Q-Ball, you okay?

Yeah.

They do that scanning thing
to you, too?

Yeah. What was that
all about?

I am not sure.

Check these out.

(Aldohn)
Sort of adds
a whole new meaning

to livening up the room,
doesn't it?

Welcome to
Aldohn Robotic Technologies.

You must be Father.

[Aldohn snickers]

Oh, only to the machines.

I'm James Aldohn.

Quinn Mallory.

Rembrandt Brown.

You'll, uh,

have to excuse this, uh,

industrial accident.

(Rembrandt)
You're him. Matt.

(Aldohn)
Very perceptive.

Me at 23.

Matt.

(Aldohn)
I was a handsome devil,
wasn't I?

Well, I can't tell you
how good it is

to see faces
that I didn't create
with my own hands.

You're the only one left?

The last human?

Well, I thought I was.

But now that you two
have shown up,
I'm clearly not.

But I--I--I must tell you,

I am rather pleased
to have the company.

[birds chirping]

[sighs]

You should have told us
that Erica was
this badly damaged.

I'm not sure
that I can fix her.

I'm not an engineering unit.

I tried, but was unable
to rewire her power supply.

If you can't, she will be
permanently inactive.

Don't worry, Deric.
The Professor's good at this.

If it's possible,
he can do it.

Yes, if it's possible.

What you're doing there
will not work.

Please. I think
I can make it work.

But your pattern
of wire relays
is not consistent.

It's called improvising.

Circuits are
so badly burned

the only way
to re-power her

is to work around
the damaged areas.

Will improvising work?

I don't know.

But if you
would shut up,

I could finish the job
and then we could both
find out.

I'm sorry
if I was bothering you.

I'll wait upstairs.

[crackling]

[sighs]

(Wade)
Why do you do that?

Mmm? What?

Just run all over
people's feelings

like nothing else
matters but you?

Uh, to begin with,
I don't, and secondly,
he's not a person.

Well, he has feelings.

Miss Wells,
he's a machine.

You really think that,
don't you?

Miss Wells, I don't want
to get into this now.

You know,

I guess you're right,
I mean, he--he is a machine.

That thing that
powers him, his battery,

that--that would be right
around here, right?

You're right.
- Right.

And whenever
he goes to take a step

or he reaches out
to catch a raindrop
in the palm of his hand,

he's just reacting
to an electrical impulse

sent from, what?
Right about here, right?

Right.

Right, yeah.
I--I guess he is a machine.

But guess what?

We may run on different oils,
but we're machines, too.

And if you consider
how you've just behaved,

you'd realize that
that machine upstairs

has just acted
a whole lot more human
than you have.

Just a minute, young lady.

You and I are not machines
and he, by definition,
is not human.

Now, I don't care
how creative he is,

whether he can
compose a symphony
or write a sonnet.

He cannot experience
the joy of creativity

nor can he experience
the pain of failure.

Now, what's the difference
between us and them?

It's the ability
to tell the difference
between right and wrong.

It's our capacity
for moral growth.

It's our capacity for love,

truthfulness, charity,

and an ability
to put up with friends

when they drive us
to the point of distraction.

When I see those
characteristics in him,

then I'll reconsider
the question.

Till then, he's just
a damn walking calculator!

[crackling]

Where I come from,
the sky is blue,

sunset's orange.

This is
an interesting change.

Sky coloration
is the result of light waves
entering the atmosphere.

On your world,
particles and gases
in your atmosphere

capture the blue waves
and scatter them.

Here, our particles
must be smaller,
allowing the blue to pass

but capturing the violet,
causing our sky
to appear lilac.

Oh, that sort of takes
all the mystery out of it,
doesn't it?

Have I ruined it for you?

No.

It's still really beautiful.

You look somewhat sad.

[birds chirping]

Maybe I am, a little.

Why?

I guess,

sometimes I just
feel a little lonely

even when
I'm with my friends.

It's like I'm,

I'm just traveling
through these worlds

and I--I don't have
any grounding.

There's nothing
that connects me
to anybody or anything.

And when I see something
as beautiful as this,
it just...

It reminds me that
I'm pretty much
moving through life alone.

You are not alone, Wade.

I am here with you.

That was nice.

Uh, Deric...

I'm--I'm sorry. This...

This just isn't right.

(Aldohn)
Eventually,

my robots comprised
the entire work force.

Of course,
when people realized

that they had abdicated
their very usefulness,
they got scared.

They thought
if they destroyed the robots,

then everything
would return to the way
it had been.

[scoffs]

Very foolish.
Very foolish, indeed.

The clock can
never be turned back.

The robots just
wouldn't go away,
would they?

They fought
for survival.

No, no, no, no.

Not all of them.
Only the ERI models.

You see,
what the people forgot was

that survival
is one of the strongest drives
we humans have.

Well, the ERIs are programmed
for survival.

There must be
some more people
out there.

Your robots wouldn't
have killed them all.

As far as I know,

no man survived,
except me.

Of course, they,

they couldn't very well
kill the creator now,
could they?

It's true.
A Paul just informed me.

Where did they come from?

According to them,
another dimension.

(Shauna)
Passing between dimensions
is highly possible.

It would require
opening an energy passage
of identical polarity,

and identifying
parallel coordinates
for exit and entry.

The calculations involved
in determining those factors

would be
impossible for a human
to reach on their own.

I used a computer.

Yes. You'd have to.

Another one
of your creations, huh?

When my wife, Shauna, died,
I couldn't bear
the loneliness.

So I simply
recreated the woman
I fell in love with.

She is an Erica model,
but with my
constant tinkering,

I've managed to keep her
working just fine.

The perfect wife and lover.

You look shocked.

I--I just
wouldn't have thought
that was possible.

Well, as I told you before,

the ERIs replicated
the most basic of
human functions.

[inaudible]

Hmm.

Paul has just told me
that, uh, he and the others

have prepared a splendid meal
in your honor.

I'm sorry.
We already told you,
we have friends outside.

We've already stayed
too long.

James was so hoping
you would stay,

if only for
a game of Monopoly.

We can't. Thank you
for the tour, though.

(Aldohn)
Oh, I missed that, too.

The unsurpassed arrogance
of the individual.

Especially when
he feels mistreated.

Or is about to be.

Sorry, gentlemen,
but you left me no choice.
You will be staying the night.

Now, let's see
what the robots
have cooked up, hmm?

[doors hissing]

The Pauls are programmable
to almost any task.

Mmm.

Truly an extraordinary unit.

They were modeled
after my son.

He was killed in an accident
when a non-visual
automaton crushed him.

(Aldohn)
Fortunately for Shauna,

she's been programmed
not to remember him.

She's been spared
that pain entirely.

(Rembrandt)
Lucky her.

Who'd want to
remember anything
about their own kid?

Not to your liking?

I had enough
of this kind of meal
when I was in the service.

We used to call it SOS,

which in this case,

is more of a compliment.

Trust me,
you don't wanna know.

I'll--I'll have them
fix you something else.

How about just letting us go?

I'm sorry. I, uh,
can't do that.

(Rembrandt)
I'll tell you
what you can't do.

You can' t force us
to stay here
and keep you company.

You really think
this is about my desire
for human company?

I could build robots for that,

and they'd be more pleasant
to spend time with
than either of you.

Fine, then why don't you
build yourself

a couple little playmates
and let us go?

[Aldohn sighs]

You have something I need.
Something that

I can't yet build.

The only thing that we have
that you can't build

is our minds.

Yes.

The human mind

is the last great mystery
of our existence.

And I,

I have found a way
to duplicate it.

To actually download
a living mind

into a mechanical
substructure.

And you want
to practice on us?

(Aldohn)
Yes.

And you two will be
my first guinea pigs.

[door opening]

(Aldohn)
Gentlemen,

meet the next generation
of your existence.

Great.

They cut the power off
to the door.

Try the window.

It's gonna need
some help opening.

Please tell me
you got some kind of idea
about how to get out of here.

I do. Through that door.

I'm gonna have to
slave the power

from this light
to try and open it.

Just hope
there's enough slack
in this wiring to do this.

That is amazing.

That brain of yours
just keeps working overtime.

I mean, when I look up there,
all I see is
recessed lighting,

you--you see the wires,
electricity,
a way out of here.

Look, man, I'm sorry
if I'm not carrying
my weight sometimes.

What're you talkin' about?
You always
carry your weight.

They've been so many times
where if you hadn't
been there,

I don't know
if I'd be here today.

[scoffs]
Yeah, sure.

I'm serious, man.

We've been in some
pretty hairy situations,

and I thought for sure
we'd bought it

and then, bang!
[snapping finger]

Remmy pops out.

Maybe you don't realize
how lucky we are

to have you along
for this ride

but I do, and I know
the others do, too.

Thanks, man.

[grunting]
Right.
Well done, Professor.

That only took
16 hours and 2 minutes.

16 hours and two minutes?

My word!

If I had known
it would take that long,
I wouldn't have bothered.

I could have created
one from scratch
in half the time.

I find that
highly improbable.

He was joking.

Right. Let's see
what Dr. Frankenstein

has accomplished then,
shall we?

[buzzing]

[Erica crashing]

(Wade)
Did you cross a wire
or something?

(Deric)
She's supposed to do this.

She's re-setting
her spatial orientation
coordinates.

Deric.

[exclaims]

Erica, this is Wade
and Professor.

They helped reactivate you.

Thank you.

(both)
You're welcome.

It wasn't exactly
a selfless act, though.

We need your help.

I have the chip.

You can't engage
the ignition system
without it.

Deric told us
already.

Why do you have it?
What is your
primary function?

Ericas are ERI
companion units.

My primary function
was companionship.

Along with that,
she was designed
to make life easier.

That included
running errands
and maintenance schedules.

The chip allowed her
to re-enter the factory.

If I were Aldohn,
the first model I'd recall

would be the one
with a built-in key.

Actually, Ericas were
the first to be recalled.

Sorry.

How did you avoid
being recalled?

My human companion
shielded me from the Pauls.

And what became of
your human companion?

They do foot patrols
in these buildings
every 22 minutes.

(Deric)
One should arrive soon.

Erica or I
will jump the Paul.

We can match his strength
for a short period.

One of you
must open his panel
and pull his spinal bundle.

Don't stop
until you hear the snap.

Only then
will he be disabled.

Right. I suggest
we divide our forces in two.

I will go with Deric.

Very well. Miss Wells and I
will take the south side.

Did you miss me
while I was out?

Yes.

Even though you
had her for company?

I only just met them.

She's small.

[chuckling]
A lot of humans were.

Do you think
she's pretty?

Yes,

but no prettier
than you.

Miss Wells,
I want to apologize about

that little discussion
we had this morning.

I was anxious about
Quinn and Rembrandt,
and, uh,

I suppose I took it out
on the robot.

That's okay.

I hadn't really
thought about it like you,

but what you said
was right.

Deric definitely
isn't human.

We kissed.

I know, it--it was...
It was weird.

It wasn't a bad kiss exactly,
it just...

It d-didn't feel real.

Look, I'm--I'm sorry
if I came down on you
like I did.

It's just, you know,
sometimes you say things,

it just really pushes
my buttons, you know?

Miss Wells, the four of us
have become
an extended family

and like all families,
I'm afraid we know

how to press
each other's buttons.

Well, in case
you didn't realize it,

our friendship
is very important to me,

and I would never let anybody
or anything come between that.

It means
a great deal to me, too.

And I promise you,
nothing shall ever come
between us.

And confidentially,
I adore you.

[jeep approaching]

[grunts]

(Professor)
Hold him!

[spinal bundle snaps]

Are you all right?

It felt an awful lot
like murder.

(Professor)
Let's press on.

7 more inches.

7 more inches where?
We've already hooked up
every conductor in the room.

Not every conductor.

You could always
hold the wires together.

Wait a minute.

Water.

The perfect conductor
for electricity.

Fire it up.

[switchboard crackling]

[door opens]

What was that
about not carrying
your weight?

[whispers]
It's all clear.

You know what, Q-Ball,

if there aren't
any humans left,

why are they still
makin' these things?

These bots are drones,
programmed to do a task.

They don't care if
there are any people left.

They just do their jobs,
which is make more.

[brakes squeal]

(Professor)
Come on.

All right. Deric,
you and I will go ahead
and see if it's safe.

You two stay here.
If there's any trouble,
get out.

Okay.

Q-Ball!

Do it!

I'll fry you!

Do it!

[panting]

I'm gonna need
a pacemaker
after this slide.

(Erica)
Why are you like that
with him?

You treat him
as if he's human.

I'm just trying to be nice.

Nice.

That can mean many things.

You're-- you're
an ERI, right?

You're not by chance
an early model, are you?

I'm an Aldohn A .01.

You're an alpha model?

Where are you going?

I-I-I'm just gonna go see
where they--they went.

Deric said to stay here.

You're hurting me!

Erica!

What are you doing?

I think I just experienced
the ERI chip
intensity problem

up close and personal.

There they are.

Quinn! Rembrandt! Over here!

They look strange.

Yeah.

It's not exactly
a great fashion choice
for either of them.

No, I don't mean that.

Those are not your friends.

Run! Run!

Nice timing.

Glad you could make it.

[buzzing]

Who's she?

Uh, a friend of Deric's.
Her name's Erica.

All right,
come on, people.
Let's move.

I'm so pleased.

Your friends have
decided to join us.

Well, now there's
no reason to leave,
is there?

I could definitely
think of one.

Remarkable.

ERIs.

Delta .063 and, uh,

Alpha .01.

Oh, how have you
managed to survive
all this time?

You programmed us well.

Yes, I did, didn't I?

[chuckles]

Take them to the task room.

What're you gonna do
with them?

Dismantle them.
Use them for scrap.

You, you're lucky.

You're lucky your duplicate
is in no condition
for this experiment.

(Aldohn)
But you,
you're less fortunate.

Prepare this one
for immediate download.

[door opening]

Don't do this, Aldohn.

You can't play God
with people.

[Aldohn laughing]

Look around you.

Haven't I already, hmm?

I can't wait to see
if this procedure works.

I assure you, Father,
it will.

If it does,
prepare the duplicate
for me immediately.

Don't you realize
what I'm giving you, hmm?

Eternal life.

You could be a god yourself.

I'd rather die as a man
than live forever

as some plastic toy
who thinks it's a god.

[sighs]

Well, depending upon
how this little
experiment goes,

you might just get your wish.

Prep him.

I'll be right back.

I don't want
to be deactivated.

I can't stop them, Erica.

Father made us,

and now
he will destroy us.

Oh, how touching.

Well, chivalry, too.

Fascinating
what your learn mode
has done for you.

(Erica)
Deric.

[spinal bundle snapping]

[Erica grunting]

[Erica thudding]

Afraid to die, Deric?

"Science says:
'We must live,'

"and seeks the means
of prolonging life.

"Wisdom says:
'We must die,'

and seeks
how to make us die well."

Quoting man
doesn't make you one.

[sparks]

One thing you can say
about the bots,
they pick up quick.

This time
they cut off the power
to the entire room.

What about
the windows?

Already been tried.
They don't break.

We'll have to get
to Q-Ball

before they start
that downloading thing.

Downloading?

Would that by
any chance refer to
the--the transferring

of a human mind into
a mechanical robot?

That's exactly how
Aldohn explained it.

Then we better move quickly.
My guess is,
after such an experiment,

there would only be
one viable brain,

and it would not be
in the human.

I don't think knocking's
gonna help, sweetheart.

I'm looking
for the wall stud.

My dad once told me
and Kelley,

if we ever got
caught in a fire

and couldn't get out
the door,

to kick through
the sheet rock

and climb through
to the next room.

Here.

All right. Step back.

It worked!

(Wade)
Deric and Erica
have been deactivated.

There's nothing
we can do for them now,
sweetheart. Let's go.

No matter what you get,
Aldohn, it won't be me.

(Quinn)
♪ I've got tears

♪ In my 'fro

♪ 'Cause I'm sending

♪ Got a long way to go

He's overloading the sensors.

The duplicate
can't process this much
at one time.

♪[Quinn continues singing]

We may have underestimated
his strength.

[bleeping]

Okay, experiment's over.
Put it down.

I didn't mind killing him.

I might have a twinge of guilt
about killing you,

but then again, maybe not.

You'll never get
off this compound.

We'll find a way.

How's he look?

Wasted.

How many fingers
am I holding up?

Seven.

(Wade)
Close enough.

All right,
come on, science boy.

[grunts]

[wires snapping]

Well, sorry to be so brutal,

but we need your chip
to get out of the compound.

(Quinn-bot)
♪ I've got tears in my 'fro

♪ from loving you so

It was the only song
I could think of.

[continues singing]
♪ I've got tears

(Quinn)
I swear
I wasn't that off-key.

♪ From loving you so

[gasping]

(Quinn)
I figured

if I stimulated my brain
in enough places at once,

they couldn't get
a clean duplicate.

(Rembrandt)
That's brilliant.
Just might have saved you.

Coming from you, Rembrandt,
that means a lot.

[gun fires]

Over here!

(Professor)
Mr. Brown!

Hey, Scarface! Over here!

James.

I'm one of them?

You didn't know?

Shauna?

How?

Your experiment.

It worked.

(Shauna)
Paul downloaded you.

How long
have I been like this?

Seven years.

It works.

Actually works.

[chuckling]

[electronic buzzing]

(Shauna)
He would've died
in the accident.

Paul saved him
with the download.

If he was a robot,
why couldn't he walk?

The robot body
would have walked,

but James' mind
lost its locomotive skills
in the accident.

Almost everything
else transferred, though,
except for some memories

and maybe some
of his compassion.

[sensor bleeping]
So he wasn't
always like that?

Harsh, you mean?

He only became like that
after the experiment.

We're not gonna be here
much longer.

Maybe Quinn could
leave instructions

for the others
to put your husband back,

you know,
in one form or another.

James had
a favorite expression:

"You can't turn
back the clock."

We missed that point
the first time.

I think now,

we'll just let him move on.

How's he running?

Oh, considering
I only spent 10 hours
putting him back together,

remarkably well.

What about
the girl Erica?

Well, I talked with Deric
how to reattach the bundle.
He'll do fine.

What did Mrs. Aldohn decide?

She's gonna leave
Aldohn deactivated.

Very wise.
Aldohn, all done.

[laughs]

Who will be
the father, then?

Why not you, Deric?
You seem up to it.

I think you're a little young
to be a father,

but I'm sure you'd
be a great leader.

I will do what I can.

Well, that's all
a man can do, huh?

[sighs]

I'll think of you
whenever the particles
in the atmosphere

catch the light waves
and scatter them.

Good.

Then you will never be alone.

Bye.
- Bye.

[electronic beeping]

[wormhole whooshing]

Last man out!