The Outer Limits (1995–2002): Season 3, Episode 2 - Second Thoughts - full transcript

"Karl

"is a good

"B-O-Y,"

"Boy,"

Very nice, Karl,

But, remember how
we make our "b's",

It's a straight line down,
and a circle to the right,

See? There you go,

Looky here, Rose,

You finished the whole page!

That's very good, Willy,



She liked mine better!

Willy,
Don't pay him no mind, Karl,

He's just a big show-off,

That's my ride,

Hey, Rose,

I made this,

It's for you,

Thank you,

That's so sweet,

Thank you, Karl,

Okay,

I've got to go,
See you tomorrow?

Come on, Karl,

You're gonna be late for work,



Put the mop away, Karl,

You don't have to
clean up today,

Listen to me carefully,

I'm going to give you
something today, Karl,

Something wonderful,

I'm going to give you

a new mind,

You'll still be Karl,

but better,

You'll be able to do things
you've only dreamed of,

It'll be like having
an extra mind,

My mind,

Don't you need it?

No,

The truth is I don't,

I'm dying, Karl,

But I don't want all
this to die with me,

I don't want you to die,

Then help me, Karl,

Help me to live on, through you,

This is good, Karl,

Believe me,

You want to be smart, don't you?

Rose likes someone who's smart,

All right,

Just watch how I
put on the machine,

When I'm done, you'll put it on

and press the green button,

No, Will it hurt?

It won't hurt you, Karl,
I promise,

Remember, Karl,
no matter what happens to me,

and how bad it looks,

you've got to put on the
machine and press
the green button,

You remember that, Karl,

Press the button,

Goodbye, my friend,

Dr, Valerian?

Dr, Valerian!
No!

No!

Press
the button...

There is nothing wrong
with your television,

Do not attempt
to adjust the picture,

We are now controlling
the transmission,

We control the horizontal
and the vertical,

We can deluge you
with a thousand channels

or expand one single image
to crystal clarity

and beyond,

We can shape your vision

to anything our imagination
can conceive,

For the next hour,

we will control
all that you see and hear,

You are about to experience
the awe and mystery

which reaches from
the deepest inner mind

to The Outer Limits.

It is only human to
dream of rising above
one's limitations,

But what if we had the power
to instantly acquire the

qualities that we
envy in others?

Would it bring real fulfillment,

or a hunger that can
never be filled?

- Two pin-sized burn marks,
one on each temple,
- Yeah,

You want my guess?

I'd say the man fried his brain,

Let me see if I got this,

You arrive after 4:00,

and he's already dead?

I poked him and he didn't
move, so I called 9-1-1,

Can you think of any reason
why he would use this
machine on himself?

Maybe because he
knew he was dying,

He told you he was dying?

Pancreatic cancer,
heavily metastasized,

Um...

Check, Check with his doctor,

You know, at the hospital,

Rose,

I gotta talk to you,

What is it, Louise?

Karl, he's acting real funny,

You hear that?
How do you mean?

It's beautiful,

It's Bach, if I'm not mistaken,

It's Karl, Rose,

If it's bothering you,
just have him turn
down the radio,

Karl's playing that music
on some kind of a keyboard,

God,

I had no idea our Karl
was a savant,

Hello, Miss Rose,

Hi, Karl,

Your music was lovely,

Yeah,

No, I thought it sucked eggs,

That's not nice, Willy,

He's just jealous,

I am not!

Calm down, Willy!

Am not!

It's okay,

Pretty ring, is it new?

It's from my fiancee,

I bet he's rich,

Must have cost like
five zillion dollars,

Are you getting married?

That's the rumor,

Come on, why don't we get
started on our lessons?

Come on,

Who the hell are you?

I'm Karl, I work
for Dr, Valerian,

Valerian's dead,

I know that,

I'm William Talbot,

I know that too,

What are you doing
with those papers?

I'm just taking
what belongs to me,

To you?

Who do you think
paid for all this?

I poured close to half a
million into the ravings
of that lunatic,

the least I can do is salvage
the wreckage,

Maybe you can help me, Karl,

I just clean up,

Your boss, he was working
on an electronic device,

a smaller version of this
prototype here,

He showed it to me once,
It fit in a small case, maybe
20 inches wide,

I'm just the janitor,

Idiot,

It's gotta be here somewhere,

It's all he ever talked about,

You shouldn't be doing that,

There it is!

Yes,

Maybe this won't be
a total loss after all,

I'll send my people
over for the rest of it,

No! No! No!

Hey! Get out of my way!
Get out of my way!

Damn it!
No!

No! Stop it!
That's Dr, Valerian's!

Rot in hell,

I'm gonna tell!
I'm gonna tell!

You can't take that!
You can't take it,

Screw off, moron!

You can't take it!

No! No!

I didn't...

I didn't mean to...

I didn't...

It's okay,

It's okay, Karl,

It's not your fault,

It's not your fault,

Maybe... Maybe
it was meant to be,

Okay.

Hi...

Yep,

Yes, this is Karl Durand,

and I'd like to open
up a trading account,

Stocks, commodities, options
mostly, Out of the money
calls and puts?

And I'll be funding those with
municipal bearer bonds,

$100,000 to start off with,

Okay, I want to buy
500 contracts,
Oscillator Technologies,

Oscillator, that trades on
CBOE, right?

Exercise price of $60,
expiring next month,

I'll send my man by this
afternoon with the bonds,

Let's make some money, shall we?

Okay, bye.

You're not really reading that,

Yeah, right!

You don't have
a brain in your head,

I have three,

One, two, three,

Karl,

this just came for
you in the mail,

Is it porno?

Hello, Karl,

If all has gone well,

you'll be watching this with
part of me inside you,

I pray that I haven't
saddled you with too
great a responsibility,

But if my theories were correct,

we'll both have made history,

When the time is right,

we'll share our triumph
with the world,

I'm counting on you, Karl,

to continue recording

the progress of our experiment,

If I'm right, you took the
video equipment home with you,

What do you know,

Experiment log, day three,

It would be incredible
enough only to document
that the mind transport

device has proven
itself a success,

But something has happened

which makes the experiment
all the more remarkable,

Sorry, Dr, V, but I...

I took on a new consciousness,

I assimilated someone else,

Somebody... Somebody you know,

William Talbot,

Self-loathing has never had
a more literal meaning,

The feelings are mutual,
Ha, ha, ha!

That was him,
if you hadn't guessed,

As you can see,
it's not just his brain power
that I've absorbed,

Talbot himself surfaces
every so often, the
same as with you, Dr, V,

The amazing thing is his
brain was subsumed

in the minutes after his
accidental death...

Accident, my ass!

You just wanted to use
your machine on me,

The ability of the device to
transfer the mind's contents

postmortem, in the few
minutes that the brain
cells are still alive

is something that
you had theorized,

but now we proved it,

Now we proved it,

We're now three individuals
living in a single body,

We share knowledge, memories
both long and short-term,

and motor skills, and most
of the time I'm in charge,

Pretty neat?

This all falls well within the
bounds of the experiment's
predicted results,

Well done, Karl, Rest now,

I feel you slipping away,
Dr, Valerian,

Hey, what do you say we hit
the Castaway for a drink,
take in a strip show and

plan my next stock manipulation,

This is too perfect,

I can break the law
and hide out in the
body of an imbecile,

No! None of that!

All I want is Rose,

Karl loves Rose,

Who's there?

Karl, this is Detective Landers

Just a minute,

Detective,

Yeah, just a couple of
questions have come up,

Is now a good time?

Okay, I guess,

Does the name William Talbot
mean anything to you?

I heard something about it,

It's that businessman that
you found in the trunk?

I... I read... I saw it on the
Channel 6 News,

Live... Live Five,

"All news, every morning,"

Yeah, That's right, exactly,

You see, he died in
exactly the same way
as Dr, Valerian did,

Did the... Did the
doctor know him?

No, not that I'm aware of,

Karl?

We found this notebook,

In the alley outside the lab,

Is this yours?

Yeah, Mine?

Are you kidding? No,

Are you sure?
No,

Were there any kids there,
at the lab? Did you see
anybody in the alley

with their grand kids,
at the doctor?

Maybe a neighborhood kid?

Yeah, a neighborhood
kid I was helping with
his homework,

He forgot it,

Neighborhood kids,

Is there anything else
you want to tell me, Karl?

No,

No,

If I have any more questions?

I can come back, right?

Yeah, I guess,

Thanks,

These emerald pendants
are very popular,

Rose would like that,
It's pretty,

Can I ask what you were
thinking of spending
for this gift?

Money,

What are you doing here?

I brought you some
cool presents,

You shouldn't do that,

Did Louise tell you
where I live?

I... I looked in the office,

Aren't you gonna open them?

God,

Where did you get this?

I bought it,
I got earrings, too,

Real diamonds,

You don't have
the money for this,

Yes, I do,

Isolator Technology just split
two for one, I cashed out,

Listen, Karl, I don't know
who put you up to this,
but you gotta take it back,

But I bought it for you, Rose,

I love you,

I have a boyfriend,

I'm gonna get married,

He says what you feel for me
isn't love, it's gratitude,

It's infatuation,

I'm not... I'm not
good enough, right?

No, that's not
what this is about,

You tell me what you
want, I can be anything
that you want me to be,

Okay, listen to me...

I could change!

I could be as good as he is,
I could...

Stop it, Stop it,

I don't know where you got
these things, but the last
thing that I want is for you

to get in trouble because of me,

I can't... I can't live
without you, Rose,

I can't stop thinking about you,

You need help,

I'm gonna get somebody
to see you,

No, it's not what you think,

I do not have bipolar
disorder, my serotonin
levels are stable,

I'm gonna call Louise,
I want you to go back to the
Claymore house right now,

When will I see you?

Goodbye,

Now, we're almost done,
just a few more questions,

That's a very interesting
construction, Karl,

What do you call it?

2- Methyl-hexahydroxy-p,

Phone call for you, Karl,

Who is it?

It's your broker, Again,

Thank you, Karl, that
should be it for today,

It's my broker,

I'd like to check
in on him in a few days,

and in the meantime I'll be
talking to my colleagues

and, um, looking at the
appropriate literature,

Thank you,

Thank you,

Well?

She wants us to keep a close
eye on Karl, let her know if
anything dramatic happens,

More dramatic than his reading
level going from grade school
to graduate school overnight?

Or him showing up on my
doorstep with thousands
of dollars of jewelery?

I didn't mention that,

Louise,

He has no family and no money,

They had to be stolen,

I don't think you
can assume that,

He's been getting calls from a
broker, Maybe he's turned into
a financial whiz, too,

I like Karl as much as you do,

But I gotta tell you,

He's beginning to scare me,

Experiment log, day five,

I have to fight now to keep
Dr, Valerian present,

The migraines

are continuing, sometimes it
feels like my head's
gonna explode,

I find... I find myself

obsessed with learning
everything I can about the man
Rose is gonna marry,

His name is Thomas
Langley Russell,

He's a prize-winning poet,

I always wanted to write,

Jealousy, you
green-eyed monster,

It seems to be devouring me,

What does she want?

Slow down, Karl,

What does she want?
The words keep ringing
in my ears!

Slow down, Karl,

Slow down,

If you love her, or you
don't want to scare her away,

Shut up, old man!
This is all your fault!

Dr, Valerian began
this experiment

believing that I would be
the perfect subject

because portions of my brain

are supposedly dormant,

Now, I wonder

if it was ever vacant at all,

Maybe... Maybe I've
inadvertently found the
seat of conscience,

Maybe even the soul,

How else could
I have sunk to such depths?

What is it?

Deep poet ruminations?

If you must know,

I was thinking of this,

That's deep,

A dirty mind is a terrible
thing to waste,

How long has he been
a boarder here?

After his aunt died, three
years ago, he became
a ward of the state,

At first he was
institutionalized, Then they
realized he was ready for

a transitional facility and he
came here to Claymore House,

Yes!
Do you recognize this?

It's Karl's workbook,

Although, to tell
you the truth,
I think he's outgrown it,

You think Karl's capable of
taking care of himself?

I know that's
what he wants,

He talks about moving soon,
getting a place of his own,

Can he afford that?

Actually, Karl's doing really
well for himself,

Has his own stockbroker
and everything,

Really?

He's onto us, Karl,

This isn't working for me,
because you're giving me the

same information that
I got yesterday,

I need more information,

No, this is not good,
Hold on a second,

The captain wants to know if
we made any progress
on the Valerian murders,

Tell him we're working on it,
we'll have something
for him tomorrow,

Lieutenant, phone call for you
on line two,

Guy says he's got information
on the Talbot case,

I gotta go, Landers,

Wanna know how Talbot died?

Meet me in the alley behind
the Castaway bar, 11:30,

Hello?

What do I... What do I do?

What do I do?

My father always said,
"Know your enemy,"

"Bereft of all remembering,

"the sound of breaking glass,
jagged shards of memory,

"dissolving dreams in silence,

"Cascading into dark,
strung like paper lanterns
across the void,

"Gasping, spilling hot breath
from open mouth to open mouth,

"Succor and warmth, with the
turning cries of last love,

"everlasting love,

"sharp dominion... "

Garbage!

It's beautiful,
How can you say that?

How can you trust a critic
who's buffing the artist?

I am such a fool,

Forgive me?

You are so delicious,

When are we gonna
make it official?

How official do you want it?

I'm serious, Tom,

Book tour's next month,

You mean it?
As soon as it's over?

It may be the only
thing I do mean,

Why do I feel so worried?

Think I'll backslide?

I couldn't go through
that again,

Finish your wine,

She loves me,

She loves me not,

She loves me not,

She loves Tom!

Give it up, you moron!

My head,

It's getting too crowded
in here, just let me think!

Notes, Tom, The experiment!

Experiment log, day eight,

Anxiety, stress overload,

Third assimilated brain,

What does that make,
three and a half?

You blew it big time,
you killed a cop,
you half-wit!

You know what they do to cop
killers? You're gonna get us
all put away!

Some of us should be,
by the way,

We're gonna make the best of
it, all right?

We're alive right now, that's
all that really matters,

Survival, Karl,

Problems come up,
you deal with it!

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

He's a liar, Karl, don't
listen to anything he says,

I should lock the
both of you up,

I just want Rose to kiss me
the way she kisses him,

Forget Rose!
She loves you not, remember?

Besides, women like that
are a dime a dozen!

Don't listen to him,
Karl would kill for
a woman like that,

He already did,

It's your life, Your life,

You took our lives,
you pathetic piece of crap!

Problem comes up,
you deal with it,

Experiment log, day eight...

That's bull, who gives a damn?
That's bull, who gives a damn?

The experiment!

Just relax, Karl, just relax,
One thought at a time,

Just one thought
at a time, okay,

If a problem comes up,
you deal with it,

You deal with it,

What's the problem?
What's the problem?

What's the problem, Karl?

What the hell's
the problem, Karl?

What's the problem?

Thomas!

Thomas,

Thomas,

Thomas Langley Russell,

The man Rose loves,

She'll never love anyone else,

It's not... It's not
Tom she loves,

It's the way he is with her,

It's his poetry,

It's his mind,

- Thomas Russell?
- Hello?

This is the police, Yep?

Lieutenant Landers,
There's been an accident,
a girl named Rose Ciotti,

she asked me to call you,

My God, is she all right?

There's an ambulance on the
way, She says you're not far,
you should be able to be here

before they are,

It's the corner of 4th and
Pomerantz, in the parking lot
of the plating plant,

Tell her to hold on, I'll...

Rose?

Damn,

Whoa!

God forgive us all,

A signal between serifs,

clumped in innocence,
a whispered trail of glory,

Violence, pale, blush,
careening through
seven dawns,

A single, fearsome twilight,
all of it speaking
a single name,

Your name, Rose,

Thomas, Thomas!

"Rising spires
of fractured light,

"lingering whole... "

"Water-color bleeding,
reflections of a tender heart,

"perfect heart,
Your heart, Rose,

"You're the sadness, the
prophet,

"the listless gatekeeper,

"Teeming raptures
of heart and soul,
unspoken vigils of desire,

"An icy hollow that
cannot be filled,

"but for a perfect love,
your love, Rose,"

Marry me, my Rose,

Karl, this is crazy!

What do you mean?
You don't like my poem?

This is not your poem!
This is Thomas' poem!

You don't understand,
I wrote that...

Stop it, Karl!

... every word of that,

I did write that!

Don't you think I know
Thomas' writing?

For god's sakes, it's
even his handwriting, He left
the poem, you found it!

No, that's not what happened!

You have gone too far,

If you ever come
back here again,
I am going to call the police!

I want you to go!

And I want you to marry me!

I'm gonna change!
I'm gonna change, I'm gonna...

You can love me, Rose,
if you would just take
the time to find out!

Find out what!

To find out who we...

Who I am,

Get out!

I want you to go!

For God's sakes, get out!

I'll go,

I'll go now, Rose,

Karl, listen to me,

I never meant to hurt you,

I can forgive you for this,
I can help you, if you let me,

Was gonna help me,
was gonna help me,

She said she can love me,
She can,

Drumbeats,
pounding relentlessly,

Nowhere for you to go,

Pounding relentlessly!

Rose Ciotti?

Yes?

Police, Lieutenant
Krakowiak,

What is it?

I'm afraid I've got
some bad news,

You hurt her, Thomas,

She said she was gonna help me,

and you closed the door,
dimmed the light,

Stop whining!

We don't need Rose,
we don't need anybody!

We have it all,
money, power,
strength in numbers,

There's always hope,
One day at a time,

Take it easy, Karl,

Focus, Focus,

She can love you, Karl,

Destroy the machine,
It was never
intended for this,

Save yourself, life is a gift,

It's a precious gift,
It's a curse!

Dark, Comfortless,

Dark! Comfortless!

A smothering eternal night,

A smothering eternal night,

She's dimmed the light,

Closed the door,

... dimmed the light!

She's closed the door,

I'm sorry, ma'am, he's been
dead at least 12 hours,

The coroner thinks he might
have hit the abutment
on the way down,

He jumped?

That's what we're going on,

The body was only 100
yards from the bridge,

God, Thomas,

Thomas,

No!

No,

No, No,

I don't wanna die,

We can work it out,

There's always...

No! Please,

Please! Please!

I really flattered myself,

I thought I could save him,

I thought marriage would
turn everything around,

I wanna live,

I wanna live,

Had he threatened something
like this before?

Didn't you see the
scars on his wrist?

- Do it, Karl,
- He'd attempted
suicide before,

Three times, Goodbye,

In the last year alone,

Goodbye, my love,

How easily we scorn what
fate has dealt us

and dream of what it has not,

Before we cast aside our lots,
it would be wise to remember

that dreams have a way of
turning into nightmares.