The 4400 (2004–2007): Season 4, Episode 12 - Tiny Machines - full transcript

The world will have to deal with us.

Previously on The 4400:

You belong here
in Promise City with us, Kevin.

Since when did kidnapping become
part of this new religion of yours?

Promicin compatibility test
would be death to this movement.

I wish Jordan had buried
that stuff somewhere.

Just do me a favour, okay?
Just hold off for a while.

Curtis, what about the conspiracy?

- What about the Marked?
- I just made the whole thing up.

They got you. They bought you off.

There's a good chance the director
of national intelligence is marked.



- You don't feel any different, do you?
- You mean, am I one of the Marked?

Some kind of zombie
controlled by a future human?

- You're not Tom Baldwin, are you?
- Promicin is evil.

People who use it are evil.

The goal isn't to change the world,
it is to end it.

- You can stop them.
- What do we do now, Diana?

Well, we have to find a way
to get the real Torn Baldwin back.

With Tom,
sometimes I think he knows.

Like, I could be working a case
and I'll catch him staring at me

like he's studying me
and trying to figure out if I'm onto him.

I know, and we're supposed
to be acting like nothings changed.

I've been seeing the guy. Every time
he puts a hand on me, I have to...

keep myself from shivering.

We can't keep this up forever.



Sooner or later, he's gonna figure out
we know he's marked.

We have to find a way
to get rid of that thing inside him.

All that water.

It takes some getting used to, huh?

They'll just pollute it.

They don't know what to do
with the resources they have.

Isabelle is in Promise City.

As soon as she gets
close to Collier, she'll move.

She knows not to damage him, right?
Good.

There's one other thing
I need you to take care of.

A potential loose end.

Your partner's daughter.
Maia Skouris.

If she has the wrong vision
at the wrong time...

Could complicate things.

”I handle it.

But we don't even know
how they make someone marked,

never mind how you'd get
one of those things out of somebody.

Without more information,
I don't know what we can do.

There is someone who knows
more about the Marked than we do.

Feel like a trip to Canada?

Cut. Print.

- Perfect.
- Curtis, I think we need to go again.

There was a shadow
on the dead guy...

Don't worry about it.
We'll fix it in post.

I'm gonna be in my trailer,
light the next shot.

I gotta make some tweaks
to this scene.

Phil. Great job, Phil.

Hello, Curtis.

Sit down.
We have some questions for you.

- About what?
- What camera lens you're using.

What do you think, Curtis?
We wanna talk about the Marked.

I already told you guys.
I made all that up.

The Marked aren't real.

I have to work.

If you wanna watch me,
I can get you some headphones.

You're not going back to work
anytime soon.

Now, all we need you to do is tell us
how to kill one of those things.

You guys shouldn't even be here.
It's not safe.

I'm pretty sure people
are watching me all the time.

So you do admit the Marked are real.

This is simple. Tell us what
we wanna know and we'll be gone.

Curtis, how do you get
one of those things out of somebody?

Look, I'm not even sure you can.
I burned my screenplay.

But there was
this one scene I was writing.

They were marking Matthew Ross.

They had to put some
kind of weird fluid into his spine.

I think that's how
they take people over.

The characters I was writing,

they kept talking about
these tiny machines inside the fluid.

Tiny machines?
What does that mean?

Look, I'm a filmmaker.
I'm not a scientist.

All by yourself?

Yeah. I like it here in the morning.

It is pretty.

What's your name?

Sophia.

What can you do?

What makes you special, Sophia?

You know how
we have five senses?

I can play with them.

I can make whichever ones
I want stronger or weaker.

So if you want to, you could
make someone blind or deaf?

Sophia, why don't you
come along with me?

Shawn, this is Sophia.
She's so nice.

She's going to help us out.

All right. Think you've gathered
enough people now.

You know where
they're holding Kevin?

Let's go get him
before everyone wakes up.

Ready to get out of here, Kevin?

It's good you came.

They wouldn't give me
any sunflower seeds.

I found that agitating.

- Hey, Maia.
- Hey, Torn.

- What are you doing?
- Just walking to the bus stop.

- Where's my mom?
- You know, I'm working solo today.

Diana told me she had an errand
she needed to run.

You know, I'm heading your way.
Do you want a lift?

- Sure.
- Great.

Kind of weird, huh? How we
just saw each other on the street.

Well, to be honest, Maia,
it wasn't a coincidence.

I... I wanted to talk to you
about your mom.

- Is something wrong?
- It's probably nothing.

But she's been acting funny at work.

I think she's under a lot of stress.
Have you noticed anything?

Not really.
I guess she's been working hard.

She talks to your new boss
all the time.

She even comes over here
at night sometimes.

Really?

Hey, do you think
I could have ice with this soda?

- Oh yeah, sure.
- Thanks.

What about visions, Maia?

Have you seen anything
unusual lately?

- No.
- Anything at all?

- No, just... Just little stuff.
- Yeah?

Thanks.

Cheers.

I don't remember
the last time I had a root beer.

It's good.

Well, Maia,
I guess it's probably nothing.

But do me a favour, though.

You know, don't tell your mom
we had this little talk.

I don't want her to think
that I'm all worried about her.

Okay.

- Are you feeling tired, sweetie?
- A little.

Hey, why don't you take a nap?
I can let myself out.

Okay.
Okay.

- See you.
- See you.

It's done.

I gave the girl
a massive dose of the inhibitor.

She won't be having any visions
for a couple of weeks.

I want this to be fast.

We need to be
in and out of the Centre

as quickly as Shawn
got into Promise City.

Ground floor...

in the back. There's a foyer
that opens onto the rose garden.

Both teams split up inside the foyer.
One west, one east.

What's going on? Why does he have
bodyguards around him all day?

Shawn came into Promise City
this morning with another 4400.

They took Kevin Burkhoff.

You're not gonna hurt him, are you?

Shawn needs to learn
to stay out of our way.

Things are gonna get...

crazy around here for a while.

I gotta get back in there.
I'll come find you later, okay?

Okay?

Curtis Peck dropped out of school
in 10th grade. It's safe to assume

he doesn't have much grounding
in the scientific method.

But when he talks about tiny machines
in someone's spinal fluid,

there's only one thing
Curtis could mean.

- Nanites.
- Nanotechnology.

That's right.
Machines built at the molecular level.

- Tiny machines.
- Wait a second.

So I haven't read the last
couple issues of Scientific American,

but as far as I know,
nanites are theoretical.

- They don't exist.
- Not yet.

Not that we know of, anyway.

Look, when someone's marked, one
personality takes over another, right?

So how does that happen? Nanites.

Somehow,
the personality of the future guy

is encoded
in these little machines.

They're injected
into someone's cerebrospinal fluid

and they replicate.

Once there's enough of them...

- You're marked.
- So how do you destroy nanites?

I have no idea. I mean,
officially, nobody's even built them yet,

much less worried about
how to get them out of somebody.

Tom, hey.

Hey, guys.

Garrity said you were all down here.
I figured I'd join the party.

You said you had
that real-estate thing.

- I didn't know you were back.
- Yeah, I saw the place in Lynwood.

We're just debating
the pros and cons of suburbia.

That guy looks stressed.
Guess he's a city dweller.

Yeah, they were here
when we got down here.

- Where have you been?
- Just case work.

We've been hearing rumours
about a promicin-distribution network

out at Northmount College.
Just poking around.

Well, I'd better get upstairs.

Look, it all comes down to whether you
wanna put up with the long commute.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Jordan is nothing if not persistent.

It won't be long
before he comes back on us.

Maybe we should leave.
He won't hurt Shawn if we're not here.

No, no, no.
You're not going anywhere.

Collier's proved he can find you
no matter where you are,

so this place is as good as any.

We have 44005 here
who believe in what we're doing.

Even people who have taken the shot.
They're willing to protect you.

So whatever Collier's planning,
we'll be ready for him.

- Shawn? I'm sorry to interrupt...
- It's okay.

But your brother and your mother
are waiting downstairs.

Okay, I'll be right back. Okay?

Hey, Mom. Hey, Danny.

I know we don't have
an appointment,

but I was out for coffee with your
brother and I figured we'd stop by.

Well, good. I'm glad, I...

It's good to see you guys.
It's just right now...

It's not a good time?
See, I told you.

I know I always say that.

It's just, really,
right now is a really bad time.

Okay, I get it.

I just wanted to look at you.

I will come by this weekend.
We'll have dinner.

Good. I'll have my people
call your people.

Oh, okay. All right.
I'll be waiting for that call.

I'll be there in a minute. Okay, Mom?

Joanna, could you
just give us a second?

- Sure.
- Thanks. Bye, Mom.

- So saw you on the news.
- Yeah.

You were talking about this
promicin compatibility test.

- Yeah, we're working on it.
- I wanna take it.

Shawn, I've had that shot
sitting around for months now.

I figured I'd never take it. But this test
changes everything, you know?

I could find out
whether it's safe or not.

It's... The test
isn't really ready yet, Danny.

Yeah, but it's close, right?

I'm just looking for a rough idea
of what my odds might be.

Well, no school for you tomorrow.

You have a temperature of 101.

- When did you start feeling bad?
- This afternoon.

Oh, honey.

Well, at school?

No.

On the bus ride home.

Well, here. You take these.

Then we'll take your temperature again
in the morning.

Who's that?

Hey, sorry to drop by unannounced,

but I just had a two-hour phone call
with a guy in my graduate class.

- Yeah.
- He works at JPL now.

I asked him how you'd get an infection
of nanites out of someone's body.

- Yeah.
- At first he laughed at me.

What happened
when he got serious?

He said, theoretically, it's possible.

Nanites, if they existed,
would have a molecular structure.

Which means their chemical bonds
can be broken.

- Okay, how?
- Here's where it gets a little dicey.

My friend said the only way you could
be sure all the nanites were destroyed

would be to expose someone
to a highly-radioactive substance.

Something like polonium.

How much radiation?

About 50 nanograms
would do the job.

- Tom would die.
- I know.

If we really wanna kill
that thing inside him,

we're gonna have to kill Tom too.

So Diana Skouris
was definitely a passenger

on your flight
to Vancouver yesterday.

Can you check to see if there was
a Meghan Doyle on that same flight?

She was. Thanks.

Hey, good morning.

- Good morning.
- Anything going on?

Yeah, actually.

We had a tip
on that college promicin case.

A student
named Penelope Rice called.

She said her
Peace Studies professor

had been lecturing
in favour of taking the shot.

Well, do you think
he's been supplying the students?

Well, I think it's worth taking a look.
You drive.

- Coming?
- Yeah.

- You had this CAT scan yesterday?
- Yeah.

Well, I had to drop Shawn's name to
get an appointment, but they took me.

You have a beautiful brain.

But I'm afraid you won't be able
to help me with the compatibility test.

- I don't understand. Why not?
- Doesn't matter.

He just told you
you can't take the shot.

No.
No, that's not what I said.

At this point,
the test is almost ready.

I'm just narrowing down
who would live and who wouldn't.

I can already answer that
for 90 percent of the population.

It's the middle 10 percent
that I'm focused on.

I have to find that exact dividing line
between death and survival.

You?

You're a statistical outlier.

Look for yourself.

You have a very prominent
corpus callosum.

One of the largest I've ever seen.

- So my chances of survival are good?
- Excellent.

I'd say the shot poses
virtually no risk to you at all.

I knew it.

You hear that? I've got
a very prominent corpus callosum.

I'm not stalling.

Collier's been surrounded
by bodyguards all day.

I can't get anywhere near him.

- I'm having a hard time believing that.
- It's true.

Besides, I don't even know
if I can hurt Collier,

let alone walk out of here with him.

Trust me. You can do
what you want to Collier.

If he told you otherwise,
he was bluffing.

You're forgetting
how strong you are.

Or maybe you're just dragging
your feet.

Maybe you like to pretend
you can be friends with those people.

Your time in Promise City
meant something.

- It did.
- Did it mean more to you

than your father does?

You need to get this done.
You have 24 hours.

What's up?

It's nothing important.
Just family stuff.

Your student informant was a wash.

She called NTAC
because she's mad at her professor.

He gave her a C for the semester.

We could go talk to the guy.
It wouldn't hurt to ask some questions.

Like what?
Why are you such a tough grader?

No, I think we should head back.
I have to leave a little early today.

Oh, my God.
You're one of them.

- You were marked.
- Is that what they told you?

- Is what who told me?
- Skouris. Doyle.

- I know they were here.
- I just wanna finish my movie.

If I wanted you dead,
you'd have been gone a long time ago.

We just need to go over
what they said.

Did they tell you I'm marked?

No, they didn't mention you at all.

They just asked me how to get rid
of one of those things.

If there's a way to take a Mark
out of somebody.

So they're gonna try
to save Tom Baldwin.

I don't know,
but it's got nothing to do with me.

- I didn't tell them anything.
- Hey, hey, hey.

It's okay. It's okay.

It's okay. I'm not mad, Curtis.

We just have to be thorough,
that's all.

What else did they ask you?

Nothing. That's all we talked about.

Okay. Okay.

Can I go home now?

Now, I told you, I didn't say anything.

- What are you doing?
- You're a filmmaker.

You should appreciate
what I'm about to do.

- Call it getting rid of a plot hole.
- No!

Tom, what are you doing?

You scared me, Diana.

It's after midnight.
Why are you still here?

I was just down in the Theory Room,
and now I'm on my way out.

So, what's going on?

Oh, I'm just taking some work
home with me.

- That's... That's a lot of work.
- Yeah.

Well, have a good night, honey.

You know, Tom,
I can't let you leave with those files.

Why not?

Okay, there's some sensitive stuff
in here.

But it's you and me, Diana.

We take work home all the time.
It's no big deal, right?

You know, you're just so bad at this.

I don't know what lessons you took
in bodysnatching school,

but you make a terrible Torn Baldwin.
You're so insincere.

Very funny, Diana.
I'd laugh, but it's late.

You're marked, Tom. I know it.
Meghan knows it.

Okay.

Just for a second, let's pretend I am.

Do you have any idea
how hard it would be

to pretend you're someone
from this place?

You're all weak.

- Vacillating.
- We're human beings.

And I... I don't know
how we evolved into you.

Neither do I. Neither do I.

And look at you, Diana.
You have no idea what you want.

You've driven away every man
who's ever looked at you.

Look, your daughter hand-delivered
you a fiancé by prophecy,

and you couldn't even hold on to him.

The longest relationship
you've ever had with a guy?

It's with me.

Your good old buddy, Tom Baldwin.

I am friends with him.

And I'm not even gonna ask him
to apologise

once I've burned you out of him.

You should get some rest, Diana.

- You're starting to sound delusional.
- Put the files down now, Tom.

Diana, what...?

Fine.

Isabelle, what are you doing here?

YOU never came to see me.

Oh, sorry. I got tied up with Jordan.

Are you okay?

I don't wanna be alone tonight.

Oh, it's okay. You can stay here.

And I don't wanna talk either.

Are you sure you don't want me
to call a doctor?

I'm fine, Marco.

I just got a call
from the Vancouver Police.

Curtis Peck was found murdered
a couple of hours ago.

- God.
- They're thinking it was a robbery.

I gave them no reason
to believe otherwise.

God knows
what he's gonna do next.

Hey, I don't wanna ratchet up
the pressure or anything,

but if we're gonna cure Tom,
we're gonna have to do it fast.

My guy was able to give me
a sample of polonium,

but it degrades quickly.
In a couple clays, it'll be useless.

Tom knows we're onto him. There's
no way he's coming back to NTAC.

We have to find a way
to lure him to us.

Well, I always hated needles.

Are you okay?

Yeah.

Yeah, I feel fine, actually.

Well, that doesn't mean
you're free and clear.

We gotta keep an eye on you
for a while.

Okay.

I better feel good.

You're just wondering
what ability you're gonna get.

Well, the world could always use
another healer, right?

Kyle.

Kyle, wake up.

Hey.

How did you sleep?

I've been awake all night.

I have to go.

It's time.

Time for what?

You're gonna go to sleep for a while.

And when you wake up,
everything's gonna be different.

What are you talking about?

I want you to know all the things
I've felt for you are real.

This is the only real friendship
I've ever had.

Isabelle, are you okay?

For a while there
I believed you'd changed.

So did I.

Maia.

Oh, honey, you need to get up.

How are you feeling?

- A bit better.
- Okay.

- I just don't think I can go to school.
- Oh, that's okay.

But you need to get dressed,
we need to pack you a bag

because we're going some place
for a while.

Where?

Well, just a hotel.

- What happened to your eye?
- Oh, well, it's... I'm okay.

We're just gonna go to a place
because it's not safe here.

Now, I don't wanna frighten you,
but it's... It's Tom.

He's just got something bad inside him
and he's just not himself.

All right?

So come on. I need you to get going.

I don't understand.

That's what Tom said about you.

What?

When?

A couple of days ago,
he picked me up at school.

A couple of days ago?

That was right before
you started feeling sick, right?

Wake him up.

What do you want with me?

Hello, Jordan.

Looks like you and I
will be working together after all.

It won't do you any good to kill me.

The movement's too strong.
It'll go on without me.

Who said anything
about killing you?

This is a sedative.

We're not gonna make you
a martyr to your cause, Jordan.

We're gonna make you a traitor to it.

You're gonna go to sleep for a while,

and when you wake up, there's
gonna be something inside you.

And in time, you're gonna come
to think exactly the way we do.

You'll be a brand-new Jordan Collier.

A man concerned with protecting
the future instead of destroying it.

You forget.
I've seen the world you created.

In the oceans were deserts of bone.
Fires filled the horizon.

And everywhere I walked,
there was screaming.

We inherited that world.

And we managed to survive.
And even prosper.

All you people did
was build a wall to hide behind

while the rest of the planet
died around you.

It doesn't matter what you do.

You'll never get your future back.

The world is turning positive.

You're right, Jordan. We're helpless.

But you're not.

You can take promicin
out of people.

You can turn positives
into negatives.

Your ability, Jordan.
That's how we're gonna win.

Once you're marked, you're gonna
gather all your followers around you

and then, one by one,
you're gonna take their abilities away.

And you're not gonna stop
until you rid the world of promicin.

Oh, look.
Jordan Collier has nothing to say.

You have to admire the symmetry.

You're gonna single-handedly destroy
the movement you created.

You lied to me.

You told me that we needed Isabelle.
You said she'd changed.

I said you had to bring her to Collier.
She was a part of all this, and she is.

She's doing what she has to do.
You need to do the same.

How? Jordan's gone.
Everything is falling apart.

You can't let that happen.

Somebody has to be
in charge of Promise City now.

Me?

- Hello?
- Tom, it's me, Maia.

Maia, hi.

- Is everything all right?
- I don't think so.

It's my mom. I'm worried about her.
She's acting weird.

- Weird how?
- She took me to this hotel.

She said that
there's something wrong with you.

It's not true, Maia.

I'm sorry she told you that.
What else did she say?

Nothing.

Don't get mad.

But when you came to see me,
I didn't tell the truth.

I did have a vision last week.

You and my mom were in it.
It was bad.

It's okay, Maia.
Whatever it is, it hasn't happened yet.

Just tell me what you saw.

My mom, she had a gun.
And you guys were arguing.

Then she shot you.

I didn't say anything
when you came to see me,

because I didn't think
it could come true.

But now I'm not so sure.

Where did this happen, Maia?
I need details.

I couldn't tell.

She'll be so mad
if she knew I was calling you.

Be careful, okay? And please,
don't do anything to hurt her.

Just tell me what the place
looked like. Just...

You missed lunch.

I did?

Is it still day?

It's 3:00 in the afternoon.

Kevin, I know you're busy
with your test,

but it seems, ever since Shawn
healed me, I never see you anymore.

Are you avoiding me?

Actually, yes.

- As much as possible.
- Why?

Because you're healthy now.

And you're young.

And I'm not exactly
either of those things.

You don't need me
to take care of you anymore,

so I'm trying to give you space.

Kevin, how could you be so brilliant
and so clueless?

Why would I want space?

Where am I gonna find another you?

Well, I suppose
that would be a challenge.

I'd like you
to go visit your grandniece again.

It's not safe here anymore.

I'm a target, and as long
as you're with me, you will be too.

And when this is over,

when I perfect the test,

I'll come find you.

- How do I know that you will?
- How could I not?

Where would I find another you?

Don't move, Tom.

Put the gun down, or I will shoot you.

Meghan, please.

Meghan, honey, it's me.

Please, you have to help me.

This thing inside me,
I'm trying to fight it.

But it hurts. It hurts.
Sometimes it hurts so much.

Get down on the floor
and put your hands behind your head.

Oh, God.

Tom, freeze. Freeze, Tom!

Hey, man.

Watch it.

You doing, you idiot?

Careful.

- Here you go.
- Thank you.

You're welcome.

Do you think your brother
looks a little thin? Tired?

I'm worried about him.

Mom, I didn't come here
to talk about Shawn.

There's something I wanna tell you.

I took the shot.

Mom, it worked out. I'm fine.

I was afraid you would.

As soon as I heard about that test
your brother is working on,

I knew you'd be first in line.

Mom, this is a good thing.

The world is changing.
There are miracles out there.

- I'm gonna be a part of it now.
- Just like your brother is part of it.

Yeah, I guess.

I mean, why should he have a gift
and not me, right?

Mom, you okay?

Mom? Mom what's wrong?
Mom, Mom, Mom.

Someone help, please.
Mom, Mom, no!

- Where'd he go?
- I guess he went around back.

Don't move.

Drop the gun.

Don't make me shoot you.

You gonna fix me, Diana?

Gonna get your old Tom back?

How do you think that'll help things?

I'm a better NTAC agent new
than I've ever been.

- Ever since I re-evaluated...
- Put your hands in the air.

Keep them where I can see them.

Okay, okay.

I've made more progress
against Jordan Collier and promicin

than we made in a year.

We're winning now, Di.
Isn't that what you want?

Not like this.

You killed Curtis Peck.

You put my daughter on the inhibitor.
My daughter, Tom.

You still call me by that name.

Deep down, you must know we're still
partners. That we're on the same side.

Tell you what I'm gonna do now,
Diana.

I'm gonna turn around,
gonna walk out that door,

and you're not gonna
pull that trigger.

Goddamn it, Tom. Stop.