The Expanse (2015–…): Season 2, Episode 6 - Paradigm Shift - full transcript

Shit.
"Protomolecule."

They gave the
goddamn thing a name.

HOLDEN: What are we going
to do with it?

AMOS: Stick it on the end of a
torpedo, and we fire it into the sun.

That is too important
to destroy right now.

We'll hide it.
HOLDEN: Where?

NAOMI: Out here.
It'll be safe.

Jules, you need me.

You need my government's
resources and my protection.

I need a patron
who understands

the historic importance
of what's happening.



The Deep Radar Station
on Deimos.

It's mostly automated,
minimal personnel.

SOUTHER: You want us to
attack a Martian moon?

That's a declaration of war.

SUNNY: We trained
all our lives for this.

The sooner we have it out
with Earth, the better.

Well, I'm sorry
to disappoint you.

We're not going to Earth.

We've been ordered
to Ganymede Station.

Farm patrol?
We're Marines...

And we serve where
we are ordered to serve.

What's happening?

Eros has changed
trajectory again.

It's now on a direct
collision course with Earth.



SADAVIR: There's only
one option left.

A massive missile launch
at Eros.

UN ADVISOR: Our missiles have
lost their target locks.

Fred Johnson
is honorable.

Give him access
to your missiles,

and my crew and I
will guide them in.

DRUMMER: 150 live thermonuclear
missiles under your control.

I believe that makes you the most
powerful man in the system right now.

I know you can
steer this ship.

What happens to us now?

MILLER: Whatever happens,
happens to both of us.

(THEME MUSIC PLAYING)

SOLOMON: Mars had been
a colony for a long time,

and it was filled
with the best

scientists and technologists
humanity had to offer.

We were ready
to govern ourselves

and start a new nation
of our own,

but everything we built,
or mined or made,

was still the property
of old Mother Earth.

I was a fusion-drive
engineer.

My wife, Caty, wanted
to start having babies,

like all good Martians do,
but I convinced her

that we should buy
a secondhand yacht

for me to tinker
around with instead.

She liked to indulge me.

I'd been modifying the engine
to boost fuel efficiency.

I wasn't expecting much,
maybe 4% better,

tops, and I was taking
it out for a test run.

Commence pre-flight check.

Commence pre-flight check!

The voice interface had been
problematic from the start.

(COMPUTER SPEAKING CHINESE)

The original owner
was Chinese,

so I turned
the damn thing off.

(BEEPS)

The rest, I guess,
is history.

(BEEPS)

Okay-

Let's see what you can do.

(WHIRRING)
(GRUNTS)

(RAPID BEEPING)

(CHUCKLES)

My name's Solomon Epstein.

And I changed everything.

JANUS: The consensus,
is that Eros was a test

of a new Martian
zero-inertia drive.

They've been pumping R&D

into that project
for over a decade.

It's the single
most plausible explanation.

It is, of course, possible
that it was something else.

Like a massive relativistic
field generator, or...

Or some other bunch of science
words you string together?

JANUS: The one thing
we do understand

is that Eros
was a wake-up call.

Whatever it was,

it's clearly the greatest
technological leap

since the Epstein Drive.
(DOOR OPENS)

And if it is a weapon,

given the depleted
state of our missiles,

it's a weapon
that will conclusively

tilt the balance of power
in favor of Mars.

Dr. lturbi.
You're late.

I can't have missed
very much.

The Rocinante was closest
to Eros than anyone.

They might have
more insight...

The Rocinante and James
Holden have gone silent.

Along with Fred Johnson,
and the Martian government.

So we'll just have to be
insightful on our own.

SADAVIR: Where are we
on the impact site mission?

JANUS: We've commandeered
a civilian survey vessel

and are refitting it with
our best sensors and probes.

We're also reinforcing
the hull

to allow us to get closer
to the surface.

If there's anything left
of Eros down there,

We'll find it.

We'll be on our way
to Venus in a week.

I'll expect regular updates
from you personally.

Understood, sir.

Next on our list of shit,
we need to clean up.

150 missiles we launched.

So far, sir, we've confirmed
abort on 121 missiles.

Tracking has been
very difficult,

but we're confident
we'll be able to account for

all the rest
in short order.

HOLDEN: So, I don't know
what you've heard,

or if you're even
going to get this.

The UN will be monitoring
your messages,

so there's some things
I can't talk about.

But I just wanted to
let you know that I'm okay.

And that this time,
I didn't run from the fight.

The people on this ship,
my friends...

They helped avert
a catastrophe.

Helped save Earth.

I hope you get to
meet them someday.

One in particular.

Love you, Mom.
(PHONE BEEPS)

How come you don't say
"Love you, Mom,

"and Mom and Dad,
and Mom and Dad and Dad."

(SIGHS)
It's understood.

(SIGHS)

Can you imagine what it must
have been like on Earth,

watching Eros coming at you
with no way to stop it?

I'm amazed Earth and Mars
didn't blow each other up

out of sheer panic.
Hmm.

There's still time for that.

The protomolecule
turned an asteroid

into a spaceship.

Nobody knows how or why.

We'll figure out
how it works.

Sooner or later.

It's not a biotoxin, or...

Some genetic toolkit.
It's alien.

You still want to
destroy our sample?

Yeah.

Now more than ever.

Miller wanted to destroy it,
too, you know.

Miller told me he trusted us
to do the right thing.

And we did.

Hmm.

I wonder if he knew

that his trip to Eros
would be one-way.

I think part of him never left
that terrible little room

where we found Julie.

I don't think Miller
wanted to be saved.

Hmm.

When I said we had
to keep following Eros,

I was ordering you, and Amos
and Alex to your deaths.

None of you even
questioned it

It was
the right thing to do.

We all felt the same.

I don't want to be the one who
says who lives and who dies.

Whether you like it or not,

you are the captain
of this ship.

(INHALES)

HOLDEN: So in the interests of the
smooth operations of this vessel,

and the morale of this crew,

I just wanted
to let you know,

that Naomi and I
are together.

Sleeping together.

When did it start?

Just after
we got out of Eros.

(BREATHES DEEPLY)

I knew it.

(LAUGHS) God damn it!
Son of a bitch!

It doesn't make no sense!

I told you. Eros.
Didn't I say?

You lost the bet, man.
Give me that arm.

ALEX: I can't believe
I agreed to this.

All right, go ahead,
take your shot.

What the hell was that?

That's 'cause
I like you, brother.

ALEX: You said
it was a punch.

Asked, answered.

Hey...

I'm glad that me and Naomi
being together

isn't an issue for you.

Oh, no. She's a good
person and I like her.

But she's like
a sister to me.

Right.

I mean, don't get me wrong,
I'd do her if she'd let me.

I'm glad we had this talk.

It was supposed
to be a punch.

Hey, Chief, you got a second?
Yeah.

I gotta show you something.

This is all the telemetry
on the nukes

the UN launched
against Eros.

They detonated them
after they lost target lock.

That makes sense. That's what
the abort codes are for.

Yeah, except...
(SNIFFLES)

(RAPID BEEPING)

Nearly 30 of them
kept on going,

long after
all the others aborted.

Where are they now?

That's the million-dollar
question.

Well, I got no clue.

Roci lost track of them
when we were chasing Eros.

On...
Right?

Megatons of thermonuclear
ordinance,

state-of-the-art guidance
systems, and somehow,

30 of them didn't get
that self-destruct message.

They just
kept on going.

Who knows where.

Kind of an unsettling
thought, don't you think?

Yeah, it is.

SOLOMON: My drive
was working better.

Way better
than I ever expected.

Fuel efficiency
was through the roof.

A hundred times better than

anyone had even
thought possible.

A once-in-a-generation
breakthrough.

And that was
the whole problem.

See, a high-G burn
hurts like hell.

I felt like someone
was standing on my chest.

It was getting harder
for me to breathe or talk.

(GRUNTS)

(GASPING) Shut down...
Main... Drive.

(RAPID BEEPING)

Not that talking would have
made any difference.

(PANTING, STRAINING)

The acceleration was making
my body so damn heavy,

it was getting hard
to even move.

(STRAINING)

(GROANS)

Oh, that was bad enough,

but it wasn't
the worst part.

Because the most
dangerous thing

about being
in a high-G burn

is that if it goes on
too long, it'll kill you.

So, how is Arjun?

He's fine.

I hear he's been away,
on Luna.

For quite some time.

This is not a date.
It's not?

Those days are gone.
(CHUCKLES)

Don't be cross with me
for trying.

I asked you to that meeting
to hear your opinion.

You barely said a word.

In that room, my opinion
would have only made me

less popular
than I already am.

You have a different
theory about Eros?

Different, yeah.
More like radical.

This is not a time to keep
these things to yourself.

The problem
with Colonel Janus,

as a scientist, I mean,

his personality disorders
are obvious,

but his problem is that
he lacks imagination.

(CHUCKLES) It's true. He can
only conceive the world

in terms of things
he's already seen.

His job is to explain
science to politicians.

In that regard,
it's a useful skill.

But it's of no use here.

Eros Station
was under quarantine,

the result of a mysterious
bio-weapon unleashed by Mars,

which Mars believes
was unleashed by us,

which we did not...

Did we?

We did not.

Ah, I never doubted that
for a moment.

Suddenly, Eros, the
entire asteroid, moves...

In a way
that practically defies

every single
known law of physics.

Now, Janus thinks that means
there's a new Martian weapon,

some staggering breakthrough
on an incredible scale

of a technology
they've been pursuing

utterly unsuccessfully
for years.

But ask yourself
this question...

Does it make any sense at all
that Mars would want to

test their groundbreaking
technology

in a biohazard zone,

that they themselves created?

I suppose not.

So what if this bio-weapon
isn't a bio-weapon after all?

What if it is responsible
in some way

we can't yet
fully understand,

for Eros moving?

I believe Eros was infected

by an entirely new order
of technology,

something from
somewhere else,

somewhere beyond
the reach of our species.

I believe the Eros incident

was our first contact
with alien life.

I have a file with
900 pages of analysis,

and contingency plans
for war with Mars,

including 14 different
scenarios about what to do,

if they develop
an unexpected new technology.

My file for what to do

if an advanced alien species
comes calling?

It's three pages long,

and it begins with,
"Step one, find God."

I need to get to Venus.

You can pull the strings
and get me on that ship.

I will be your eyes
and your ears,

I'll be your own private back
channel to everything we find,

unfiltered by Janus
and Errinwright.

Please, let me
prove I'm right.

MEN: (SHOUTING)
The heroes of Eros!

(CROWD CHEERING)

Oh, Jesus!

Hey, nice.
How you doin'?

ALEX: Hey, good to see you.
Thank you.

Thank you so much.
Great.

(CROWD CHEERING)

We'll catch up
with you later!

Easy, easy, easy. There's
plenty of me to go around.

DIOGO: Josephus Miller,
with his final word,

he said to me,
"You are the future, Diogo."

"You must continue
to fight for the Belt!

"You must live.

"Just live!"
Whoo!

(CROWD CHEERING)

FRED: You'd think
helping to save Earth

would balance things out,

but the Mormons
don't think like that.

They've filed a lawsuit
over the Nauvoo

against the Tycho Corporation
and myself.

Basically,
I'm in some deep shit.

Well, we have one more thing
for you to worry about.

These aren't rock hopper
mining nukes.

These are planet busters.

Designed to evade
the best defense systems.

If the wrong person
picks 'em up,

it could be a problem.

Especially if they're
smart enough

to remove
the countermeasures.

The missiles could be
re-targeted,

and sent right back
at the loners.

Or anyone else in the
system, for that matter.

This doesn't seem to be
bothering you. Why is that?

Because I've got
the missiles.

DRUMMER: After the UN
gave us guidance control,

our techs were able to lock
out some of the abort codes

and override the drives.

We scooped 'em up and
brought 'em back to Tycho,

inside gas freighters
and ore ships.

We could use some help
removing the countermeasures.

HOLDEN: What are you
planning on doing with them?

Nothing. Sometimes that's
the best plan of action.

The only thing those weapons
are good for is first strike.

Hell, they're good
for a lot of things.

They can be used
as deterrents,

or a bargaining chip.

Earth and Mars
are still in the dark

about the protomolecule.

We need to tell them
everything we know about it.

We need to tell everyone.

And exactly what
should we tell them?

That it's alien technology
that we barely comprehend?

That would cause
a system-wide panic.

Until we get
more information,

we need to keep this
under wraps.

Eros changed everything.

Earth and Mars are scared.

And whenever that happens,
Belters always lose.

Our first priority
is to protect ourselves.

And that means,

we're gonna take advantage
of every edge we've got.

Miller, I do this for you.

I tell you, girls, when you're
out there in the black,

burning hard 20 Gs,

and the whole boat is
vibrating underneath you,

about to
shake herself apart...

Hell, if I had
flown any faster,

I would have caught up
with yesterday.

(ALL LAUGH)

Then all the blood
leaves your brain

and everything goes dim
and... Barn!

A pump of that juice
hits you

like an ice cold bullet
in the spine,

and you're out there flying,
just on pure instinct.

No time to think.
'Cause if you think...

You're dead.

You need better things
for think about.

Oh, yeah? Like what?

(MAN SPEAKING IN
BELTER CREOLE)

(SPEAKING IN
BELTER CREOLE)

Hey,hey,hey!
Hold on there, partner!

Back off and settle down,
ya hear?

(GROANS)
(GLASS SHATTERING)

(WOMEN SCREAM)

AMOS: What the hell?

Amos? Jesus Christ! Amos!

(GROANS)

What the...
You okay?

What the hell are you
doing here?

You live here or something?

Yeah, I got a flop
next door.

Next door's a brothel.

Yeah.

Hey-

Oh, no, no.

You two enjoy yourselves.

It's okay.

All right, darlin'.
It's all right.

What do you want?

(SIGHS)

I want to know
where you and I stand.

I would've thought that
was pretty clear by now.

It isn't.

Now, I've been straight with
you since the first time

I approached you
after the Donnager.

I have done exactly
what I said I was gonna do.

But now I'm getting
the feeling

that you're not being
straight with me.

Well, I understand paranoia
is a natural state of mind

for a soldier.

After you left Eros, with
Miller, the first time...

On your way back, you out
thrust for nearly five hours.

What for?

You've been poking
through our nav logs?

Yeah. You got me curious.

On the way out,

Amos was forced to kill
a friend of Miller's.

They needed some time
to work through that.

And then Miller wanted
to give his friend

a proper burial at sea.

Which means that it's none
of your goddamn business.

We want the same thing,
you know.

We're on the same team.

That's the thing
with all of you.

Earth, Mars, the Belt,
the OPA. It's all bullshit.

There shouldn't be
any teams.

That's a beautiful dream,
son.

And I hope I'm around
to see it come true.

But in this world
that we live in,

in order to survive,
you have to pick a side.

SOLOMON: At the rate
my drive was burning,

my fuel was going
to last for weeks.

Which I have to say
was amazing.

(RAPID BEEPING)

Aside from the fact that I'd
be dead long before then.

(MONITOR BEEPING)

The only thing I could do was
to try to signal for help.

Even though
I couldn't talk,

Caty would realize
that I was in trouble.

She'd figure out
a way to help me.

(PHONE RINGING)

It was my only hope.

(RINGING CONTINUES)
My last chance.

(RAPID BEEPING)

(GROANS)
(SMASHES)

(PANTS)

(GROANS)

(GRUNTS)

And I blew it.

(KNOCK ON DOOR)

Got a minute?

What's on your mind?

I think we should
let people know

about Miller and Julie Mao.
Not all the details,

nothing about
the protomolecule,

just about them.

A Belter and an Earther
who was an OPA member,

that sacrificed themselves

to save the cradle
of humanity.

The loners need to
hear that.

You're going to turn them
into a story.

A love story.

Might help cool things
down a bit.

Because narrowly avoiding
an extinction-level event,

apparently wasn't enough.

I want people
to know about Miller.

He was a good man.

He was a pain-in-the-ass,
suicidal ex-cop,

who got the job done.

Okay, I'll do it.
(PHONE RINGING)

Gotta go.

(EXHALES) Thank you.

(DOOR OPENS)

HOLDEN: Fred saw what the
protomolecule did to Eros,

and now he's going
to squeeze every ounce

of information out of
Cortazar's head

to figure out
how it works.

He wants to control it.

Fred's trying to
protect the Belt.

Or so he claims.

It's too dangerous to leave
our sample out there anymore.

We have to destroy it.

ALEX:
There is another option.

We can give
our sample to Mars.

What?

Think about it. They're the only
players in this whole goddamn game

that didn't do
any of the bad stuff.

They nuked Phoebe.

No. They saw something real
nasty going on down there,

and they just wanted to
keep Earth out of it.

Or keep what they found
there a secret.

You don't know what the hell
you're talking about, as usual.

Anyways, Mars has the best
scientists in the system.

If anyone can think of
something good to do

with that shit,
it's them.

Since when has
Mars done anything

that wasn't in
the interests of Mars?

ALEX: They saved our lives,
for starters.

If any side believes they
have a strategic advantage

by using the protomolecule,

then eventually
someone will.

And then we're going to have
another Eros or worse.

The only way to prevent that
is to destroy it.

All of it.
While we still can.

Dresden wasn't
working alone.

Do you seriously believe

we've got the only remaining
sample in the system?

We just might.

When Dresden's people
lost the Anubis,

it stopped the project
dead in its tracks.

Which tells me,

protomolecule samples
aren't easy to come by.

We vaporized the Anubis.

Phoebe, the original
source, was destroyed.

We broke Dresden's station
down to the bolts,

nothing was there.

And Eros burned up
in Venus.

We are this close to getting
rid of it, once and for all.

We should kill it. Drive
it into the goddamn sun.

(SIGHS)

It's the only way.

Yep-

Yeah.

(BEEPING)

Everything ready?

(CLEARS THROAT)

I'm right about this.

(BEEPING CONTINUES)

HOLDEN: It's done.

Yeah... It's done.

(ENGINE SHUTS OFF)

SOLOMON: Sooner or later,
it happens to us all.

Me, you,
everyone we love.

Maybe you see it coming.

Maybe it surprises you.

But in a sustained
high-G burn,

what usually kills you
is a stroke.

(RASPY BREATHING)

Lying there,
on my deathbed,

all I could think about was,

"What happens next?"

I'd never give Caty a child.

But she had the plans
for my drive.

They'd make her rich
for the rest of her life.

Because with my drive,
the Epstein Drive,

Mars would be able
to move outward.

Mine the asteroids.

Colonize the Belt.

And remake the Solar System.

My drive would give us
the edge we needed

to finally break free
from Earth.

And build a new world
for ourselves.

That's the wonderful
and terrible thing

about technology.

It changes everything.

(BEEPING)

(SIGNAL BEEPING)

(WHIRRING)
(BEEPING CONTINUES)

Those UN grunts are
definitely loaded for bear.

You really believe Earth is going
to try to take this station?

Why else would we be here?

GUNNY: To guard
soy beans, apparently.

SUTTON: You wanted
action, Stickman.

You got it.

Is this what passes for action
with you Navy types, sir?

Look on the bright side,
Marine.

At least you're finally
off the bus.

HILLMAN: You know, I really
hope Eros was our tech.

Be nice to have something
in our back pocket

to turn Earth to slag
if need be.

Well, fortunately
for our species,

no human being is dumb enough
to put you in charge, Hillman.

(LAUGHS)

SUTTON:
Stow the speculation.

Everyone's jumpy enough
as it is.

May we shoot
the soy beans, sir?

Only if they shoot first.

(SIGNAL BEEPING)

Stickman, you're getting a
little close to the UN line.

Back off, maintain two
klicks minimum separation.

Understood, Overwatch.
Stickman-One out.

SA'lD: Backing off.

Don't want to make
the Blues nervous.

(BEEPING)

Boom.

(DOOR OPENS)

You in the mood to talk?

What about?

About the friends
we choose to keep.

Like Jules-Pierre Mao.

He's a good man, Chrisjen.

Maybe he was once.

But it's quite clear now that
he was involved with Eros.

We have no proof
that that's the case.

His own daughter was working
with the OPA to stop him.

So you really believe that he was trying
to destroy the Earth? Is that right?

He was playing with powers
he couldn't control.

Have you had any
contact with him?

No, I have no idea
where he is.

We need to know
what he knows.

You should convince him
to come in from the cold.

How am I supposed
to do that?

He trusts you.

And if he helps us,

he can keep a semblance of
the life he's always known.

(SIGHS)

You're really willing
to cut him a deal?

Yes.

And for anyone who could
help us understand

what we're dealing with.

We both know
how the world works.

When the stakes
are this high,

many things are possible.

I can reach out
to his family.

He has two sons, and another
daughter that he adores.

They'll be able
to reach him.

Maybe they can help him
turn himself in.

Good.

And please let them know
that if they can't,

I will rain hellfire
down on them all.

I will freeze their assets.
Cancel their contracts.

Cripple their business.

And I have the power
to do it,

because I am
the fucking hero

who helped save
Mother Earth

from the cataclysm that
Jules-Pierre Mao unleashed.

Tell his children

that government is more
powerful than any corporation.

And the only reason they
think it tilts the other way

is because we poor,
public servants

are always looking
for some fat,

private-sectors
payoff down the road.

But I'm not looking.

And by the time they can pull
the strings to force me out,

it'll be too late.

Their family will be ruined.

Their mother, the children,
their children,

all of them, pariahs.
Outlaws.

Hunted and on the run
for the rest of their days

until we find them,

and nail each and every
last one to the wall.

Make sure
you tell them that.

Hey, Alex.

What the hell
are you doing?

Fixing the Martian flag.

You're defacing it,
Picasso.

I'm making it accurate.

Deimos ain't a moon anymore.
It's just a bunch of rock.

That is not funny.

(CHUCKLES) I disagree.

It makes me smile
every time I walk past it.

That's because you are
an ignorant asshole.

17 Martians
died in that attack!

Do you want to do
something about it?

Go ahead.
Take a shot.

(SCOFFS)

Hold on a second.

Is this your messed-up way
of telling me you're sorry?

Was it messed up?

Jesus Christ. You don't even
know why I'm mad at you, do you?

Yeah, 'cause I took care
of that guy

who was kicking your ass,
and I made you look weak.

Is that what you think?

The way I see it,
there's only three kinds

of people in this world,

bad ones, ones you follow,
and ones you need to protect.

What, so I'm the one you need to protect?
Is that right?

Yeah, there's nothing
to be ashamed of.

I let a breaching pod with 25
people get blown to pieces

in order to protect you.
I'm a big boy, Amos.

I can fight
my own battles.

(WOMAN SPEAKING IN DISTANCE)

NAOMI: I'd suggest
discharging the gyros first.

A lot of missiles'
countermeasures

trickle backup power
from the guidance systems.

(BEEPING)
Okay. Thanks.

I wasn't expecting
your help.

Belters have to
help each other.

No one else will.

(SPEAKING IN
BELTER CREOLE)

(SPEAKING IN
BELTER CREOLE)

(BEEPING)

SUTTON: Stickman,
this is Overwatch.

We're heading into
Ganymede's shadow.

We'll be in visual blackout
for the next 48 minutes.

Continue patrol and do not
linger on the border.

This is Stickman-One.
Understood.

HILLMAN:
What do we have here?

It's not one of ours.

(RAPID BEEPING)

And it's definitely unarmed.

Probably just
an unlicensed ag-drone

from one of the greenhouses.
G U N NY: Copy that.

(SIGNAL BEEPING)

Overwatch,
this is Stickman,

we are registering movement
on the UN line.

Six Marines about 2.3 klicks
out on foot, closing fast.

They appear to be
charging us.

(HIGH-PITCH WHIRRING)
(ALL GROAN)

GUNNY:
They're jamming us!

Overwatch,
are you there?

Hillman, Travis, Sa'id.
Marines, do you copy?

SUTTON: Stickman,
are you under attack?

(INDISTINCT VOICES)

Come again, Stickman.
(STATIC)

Their comms are being jammed
from the surface.

We need to
boost our signal!

Sorry, sir, we're still
in blackout. One minute out.

God damn it, I need
a surface visual now!

They are engaging in orbit!

Who fired?
Not our problem!

Spread out. Make a line.
Free fire at 500 meters.

500 meters? We don't have
permission to engage.

If they cross that line,
you will fire!

Do you understand, Marine?

Aye-aye, Gunny!
Go!

(GUNNY PANTING)

I can't believe
we're doing this.

(GROANS)

(GRUNTS)
(ALARM BLARING)

(WOMAN SPEAKING
INDISTINCTLY OVER PA)

(GASPS)

(WHIMPERS)

(SNARLING)