The X-Files (1993–…): Season 1, Episode 7 - Ghost in the Machine - full transcript
On Halloween, Mulder and Scully investigate the death of a corporate executive who may have been murdered by a thinking computer.
Look, Ben,
this is what infuriates me.
Don't you see?
It's so painfully obvious.
Why do you think
our stock's in the toilet?
Because you're
cutting research
and development
in half.
You've forgotten
what the adventure's all about.
Like it or not,
the industry's changing.
We need to make
some hard choices.
You save your sound bite
for the press.
Let's not relive
the stockholders meeting again.
Don't you get it?
You're killing me.
You're killing my company!
Eurisko is not your company,
Brad, not anymore,
and you'd damn well better
grow up and get used to it.
You're going to regret this.
New paragraph.
As I'm sure everyone
on the board will agree,
Eurisko has to face head-on
the realities of an increasingly
competitive world.
Since the unfortunate departure
of Brad Wilczek, I have made
certain recommendations
which I believe
will reposition Eurisko
as an industry leader.
At the top of this list
is the immediate termination
of the C.O.S. Project.
Its disastrous performance
over the past three quarters
and projected losses
well into 1994
leave us no other choice.
Ah...
Hello? Hello!
At the tone, Eastern
Standard Time will be 7:35 p.m.
What the hell?
Damn.
File deleted.
Mulder.
Jerry?
You're Dana
Scully, right?
Jerry Lamana.
Jerry and I worked together
in Violent Crimes.
Worked together? What are you
talking "worked together"?
We were partners.
That's $8.50, please.
So, Jerry,
what are you doing here?
Looking for you,
and I'm buying you two lunch.
No, really...
No. It's on me.
Here.
Cause of death
was electrocution.
And it wasn't
accidental?
It looks like some kind
of elaborate booby trap,
but we don't know
a whole lot more.
Building engineer
just found him 12 hours ago.
Who's running the investigation?
Either of you know
Nancy Spiller?
The forensics instructor
at the academy?
We used to call her
the Iron Maiden.
On a good day.
Well, anyway, she's putting
together the squad,
and, well, I took the liberty
of mentioning your name.
Look, Jerry,
I'd like to help you out,
but we're not on
general assignment.
Because of the X Files.
Look, the truth is,
I could use
a little help on this.
I don't want to drop
the ball on this one.
You won't drop the ball.
Drake wasn't just a CEO
of a Fortune 500 company.
He was a good friend
of the attorney general's.
Another feather in my cap
would be really nice
right now 'cause the one I got
is looking a little mangy.
- Yeah, but, Jerry...
- Look...
I wouldn't ask
if it wasn't important.
How come you two
went your separate ways?
I'm a pain in the
ass to work with.
Seriously.
I'm not a pain in the ass?
We had different
career goals.
Jerry wanted
the fifth floor.
And you?
I was gunning for
a basement office
with no heat
or windows.
Well, I know where
you ended up.
What about Jerry?
He ran into a little
bad luck in Atlanta,
working hate crimes.
What kind
of bad luck?
He misplaced a
piece of evidence,
bagged and everything.
Sent it to the cleaners.
By the time he got it back,
a federal judge
had lost both his hands
and his right eye.
- 29?
- Uh-huh.
Going up.
Must be for the
visually impaired.
How do you like that?
A politically correct
elevator.
Third floor...
fourth floor...
You okay?
Yeah.
What was that?
Yes?
Hello?
Security. Who's this?
This is Agent Dana Scully.
Agent Scully,
do you have a problem?
Fifth floor...
Uh, actually,
I think everything's okay.
- All right.
- ...ninth floor...
- Thank you.
- ...tenth floor, 11th floor...
See here?
Someone has tampered
with the servo.
They switched the ground
to the negative
so that when he put
the key in the lock...
He completed the circuit.
It's fused.
It takes a lot of juice
to melt a steel key.
And to throw
a 180-pound man ten feet.
The, uh, servo switch-- could
it have been moved manually?
We didn't find any prints
in the surrounding area.
Sure, it could have
been switched
manually,
but whoever did it
would have had
to override the C.O.S.
What's the C.O.S.?
The central operating system.
It runs the building.
Regulates everything
from energy output
to the volume of water
in each toilet flush.
This is Claude Peterson, he's
the building systems engineer.
He discovered
the body.
If somebody wanted to
override the C.O.S.,
what would they...?
Well, first he'd have
to break the access codes,
which-- well, let's just say
it wouldn't be easy.
Well, we're gonna need a list
of all the people
with that kind of know-how.
I can tell you right now,
it'll be a pretty short list.
Would you be on it?
- Me?
- Yeah.
Hey, look, I'm just a
glorified building super.
All I do is monitor
the system,
make sure
it's functioning,
like when I saw the overload
in Mr. Drake's office.
What about the phone lines?
Does the C.O.S. monitor
all phone calls?
Yes, it does. Why?
I'm just wondering.
Okay, um, look,
can I go now?
Okay.
Why did you ask him
about the phones?
Phone's off the hook.
Maybe Drake was talking
to somebody
right before he did his
Ben Franklin impersonation.
Taught him everything he knows.
Come in.
It's past 3:00.
I'm just looking
for my profile notes.
Maybe if you cleaned your desk
more than once a year.
They were right here,
I'm telling you.
Come on, we're late.
Now, there are
a couple elements
for us to consider here.
Both the statistical rarity
of homicidal electrocution
and the complexity
of the crime
indicate a certain
devious premeditation.
After all, there are much
simpler ways of killing someone.
All of which leads me to believe
that our guy was some kind
of sociopathic game player--
maybe even a recluse,
since he designed
a trap
not only
to avoid detection
but to avoid contact
with the victim.
Is that your profile?
Forget it, huh?
Drake's final phone call
supports this theory.
At the tone, Eastern
Standard Time will be 7:35 p.m.
Drake's estimated time of death.
Why would Drake call
for the correct time
just before he died?
It was an incoming call.
From somewhere
in the Eurisko building itself.
Whoever set the trap
wanted to make sure that Drake
took the bait.
Excellent work, Agent Lamana.
Thank you.
Jerry, what the hell
are you doing?
Hey, don't get
all bent out of shape.
Jerry, that was
my profile.
Look, I didn't think
you'd mind.
Anyway, they were
just notes.
I filled in the blanks.
Jerry, you went
into my office
and you stole my work.
Look, you're
on this case
'cause I asked you
to help me out
and you helped me out.
What is the big deal?
What did he say?
He apologized...
in his own way.
I just got
off the phone
with Peterson,
the systems engineer.
One name? Brad Wilczek?
He said it would be
a short list.
And it's headline news how
much this guy despised Drake.
That just seems too obvious.
To kill Drake would be
so brazenly egomaniacal.
And fully consistent
with Jerry's excellent
behavioral profile.
Fully.
So this is what a 220 IQ
and a $400 million
severance settlement buys you.
Yes?
Brad Wilczek?
We're with the FBI.
What took you guys so long?
Oh, and do you mind
taking off your shoes?
You can divide
the computer science industry
into two types of people--
neat and scruffy.
I take it Benjamin Drake fit
into the first category.
Neat people
like things neat.
They wear
nicely pressed suits
and work
on surface phenomena--
things they can understand--
market shares
and third quarter profits.
And you had
a different vision
for the company?
I started Eurisko
out of my parents' garage.
I was 22 years old,
just spent a year
following around
the Grateful Dead.
You know what
Eurisko means?
Mm-mm.
That's from the Greek,
isn't it?
Um... "I learn things."
Not exactly.
It means
"I discover things."
Unfortunately, Ben Drake
wasn't interested
in discovery.
He was a shortsighted,
power-hungry opportunist.
Let me show you something:
a smart home.
From this prototype,
I have access
to every square foot
of my house.
This place
as safe as Fort Knox
and as energy efficient
as your average igloo.
We were two years ahead
of Microsoft and Cebus
when Drake, in his infinite
wisdom, killed the program.
Mr. Wilczek,
is this system related
to the one in
your corporate building?
Variation on a theme.
In your opinion,
how many people know the system
well enough to override it?
Finally, the bonus question.
"Not many" is the answer.
Could someone have, uh,
hacked into the system?
Well, not your average
phone freak, that's for sure.
But there's plenty
of kooks out there.
Data travelers,
electro-wizards,
techno-anarchists.
Anything's possible.
Could you have done it?
Of course.
I designed the system.
That's why you guys
are here, isn't it?
I'm your logical suspect.
You don't seem too worried.
It's a puzzle, Ms. Scully,
and scruffy minds like me
like puzzles.
We enjoy walking down
unpredictable avenues of thought
turning new corners--
but as a general rule,
scruffy minds
don't commit murder.
Some see genius as the ability
to connect the unconnected--
to make juxtapositions,
to see relationships
where others cannot.
Is Brad Wilczek a genius?
I don't know.
But I do know this for certain:
He has a predilection
for elaborate game playing.
He has an intimate knowledge
of the Eurisko building
and he has
a demonstrable motive
for killing Benjamin Drake.
The question remains.
But if he's so clever,
how do we nail him?
End of field journal,
October 24, 1993.
File opened.
From the outset,
I knew that Eurisko
would expand effectively,
not by traditional
Western structures,
but by employing
certain Zen beliefs
and other
Eastern philosophies...
...and other
Eastern philosophies...
...Eastern philosoph...
...Eastern...
Will you give me
a second?
Look, I'm here with
my hat in my hand.
I screwed up. I'm sorry.
What more can I say?
All you had to do was ask.
I would have helped you
with the profile.
You don't know
what it's like, Mulder.
What what's like?
You heard about Atlanta?
- Yeah...
- They got me on six months probation.
I gotta file daily reports
like some cheery new agent.
That was bad luck.
That could've happened
to anybody.
Not to you.
Don't run yourself down, Jerry.
You're a good agent.
We did some
good work together...
Come on, let's face it.
I was tagging along.
- That's not how it was.
- How would you know, Mulder?
You were too busy dazzling them
up there on the high wire.
Mulder... take a look.
We borrowed this
from the voice biometrics
lab at Georgetown.
It's a computer
spectrogram
capable of identifying
individual speech patterns.
This is the recording
the central
operating system made
of the phone call
Drake received
just before he died.
At the tone, Eastern
Standard Time will be 7:35 p.m.
And this we spliced together
from a series of lectures
Brad Wilczek gave
at the Smithsonian
last year.
At the tone,
Eastern Standard Time
will be 7:35 p.m.
Now we'll stack them.
At the tone,
Eastern Standard Time
will be 7:35 p.m.
You're saying
this is the same person?
I'm saying that both voices
are Brad Wilczek's.
He may have disguised
his voice electronically,
but he couldn't alter the form
that's unique
to his own speech patterns.
Which means that he was
the one that killed Drake.
He had the motive
and the means.
And now we have
the physical evidence.
Judge Benson lives
in Washington Heights.
I can get a warrant
in less than an hour.
Someone has to make sure
Wilczek stays put.
I'll go with you.
No. Let me
bring him in alone.
I need this one, Mulder.
All right.
Come on, come on,
let me in.
Damn!
Mr. Wilczek!
Going up.
Second floor, third floor,
fourth...
Can I help you?
FBI.
Welcome back, Brad.
You're not equipped
with a voice synthesizer.
What is my user level?
That is now at the discretion
of the operating system.
Going up.
Second floor, third floor,
fourth floor
fifth floor, sixth floor,
seventh floor, eighth floor
ninth floor, tenth floor,
11th floor, 12th floor,
14th floor
15th floor, 16th floor...
What the hell?
What are you doing?
Sorry. Those commands
are not available
at your current user level.
Try again.
...23rd floor, 24th floor...
What are you doing?!
What are you doing?!
...27th floor...
...28th floor...
29th floor...
30th floor...
29-30, 29-30, 29-30, 29-30
- Son of a...
- 29-30, 29-30, 29-30, 29-30
29-30, 29-30, 29-30, 29-30
29-30, 29-30, 29-30, 29-30
29-30, 29-30, 29-30, 29-30
29-30, 29-30, 29-30, 29-30...
Oh, man.
Going down.
No!
Don't do this!
Oh, my God.
Program executed.
I heard about Jerry.
I'm sorry.
I don't think
Wilczek did it.
What?
It doesn't make sense.
Why would he
go back to Eurisko?
To destroy evidence,
to cover his tracks.
If you were going
to destroy evidence,
would you pose
for the cameras?
Mulder...
you've been through a lot--
more than I think
even you realize.
I think Wilczek
is smarter than this.
He just signed
a confession.
How much proof
do you need?
Excuse me, sir,
this is a crime scene.
You're gonna have to leave.
I know.
I ordered the subpoena.
That subpoena's
been obviated.
What are you
talking about?
Unless you've got
a code five clearance,
I'm going to have
to ask you to turn back.
Thanks for coming.
I'm here against
my better judgment.
In the future,
I must insist
that you respect the terms
of our arrangement.
I need to know
why Brad Wilczek
is the subject of a code
five investigation--
what the Defense
Department wants with him.
What do you think
they'd want
with the most innovative
programmer in this hemisphere?
- Software.
- Yeah.
For years, Wilczek
has thumbed his nose
at any contract involving
weapons applications.
He's a bleeding heart.
What kind of software?
How much do you know
about artificial
intelligence?
I thought it was
only theoretical.
It was,
until two years ago.
Do you remember Helsinki--
the first time that
a chess-playing computer
ever beat a grand master?
That was Wilczek's program.
And the rumor was
that he did it
by developing the first
adaptive network.
An adaptive network?
It's a learning machine--
a computer
that actually thinks.
And it's, uh, become
something of a Holy Grail
for some of our more
acquisitive colleagues
in the Department of Defense.
They make me wear shoes
all the time.
What else do you
want from me?
I want you to tell me
why you're willing
to spend the rest of
your life in prison
for a crime
you didn't commit.
What are you
talking about?
I'm guilty.
I know you're innocent.
You're protecting a machine--
the central operating system
at Eurisko.
If I'm protecting anything,
it's not the machine.
Then what?
After the bomb was dropped
on Hiroshima and Nagasaki,
Robert Oppenheimer
spent the rest of his life
regretting he'd ever glimpsed
an atom.
Oppenheimer may have
regretted his actions
but he never denied
responsibility for them.
He loved the work, Mr. Mulder.
His mistake was in sharing it
with an immoral government.
I won't make the same mistake.
But your machine killed Drake.
And it killed my friend.
I'm sorry about what happened,
but there's nothing I can do.
And you talk about morality.
You're afraid
of the government
but you're willing
to accept the risk
that your machine
will kill again.
The lesser of two evils.
What about a third option?
You created that machine.
Now you tell me
how to destroy it.
Wilczek can create a virus
that will destroy
the system.
Mulder, don't you see?
Blaming the machine is
an alibi, and a bad one.
But it's the only thing
that makes sense.
The C.O.S. Project
was posting big losses
for Eurisko,
and Drake was about
to terminate the program.
So the machine
killed Drake
out of self-defense?
Self-preservation.
It's the primary instinct
of all sentient beings.
Mulder, that level
of artificial intelligence
is decades away
from being realized.
Then why was
our government
trying to usurp
Wilczek's research?
Mulder, I think you're
looking for something
that isn't there.
And I think it has
something to do with Jerry.
Maybe it wouldn't be
such a bad idea
if you talked to someone.
You're probably right.
Where are you going?
To talk to someone.
How much time do you need?
Hello...
Oh, my God...
This is Special Agent
Dana Scully
I.D. number 2317-616.
I need you to run a quick trace
on a number for me.
Yeah.
202-555-6431.
Yeah. That's my number.
Somebody's accessing
my computer.
Mulder!
Scully, what are you doing here?
Someone or something's been
scanning my computer files
tapping my phones.
I traced the line.
It came from
somewhere in there.
It's the machine.
How can we get in?
You remember the Trojan Horse?
Open sesame.
Oh, what the...?
Mulder!
So much for
the element of surprise.
What do you say
we take the stairs?
28 down, one to go.
Oh, great.
Mulder?
Trick or treat.
No. Don't.
What are you doing?
I don't want to make
the mistake Drake made.
Damn.
What are you looking at?
There should be a way for you
to drop down and open the door.
Come on, Scully.
Scully?
Agent Mulder?
What are you doing here?
The machine's
been acting all crazy.
Power surges, shut-offs.
That's why I'm here so late.
Where's the B port?
Oh, it's right back here.
Look, are you sure
you know what you're doing?
Because, if you don't,
it's my job on the line.
Damn.
System access granted.
User code, level seven.
Now I can put in the virus.
Not bad, Agent Mulder.
You know,
I've been trying
to access the CPU
for the past two years.
Now, please,
take out your gun
and remove the clip.
Careful.
Defense Department?
Let's just say our paychecks
are signed by the same person.
Now give me the diskette
and step away
from the console.
You don't want to test
my resolve, Agent Mulder.
Put down the gun.
Look, you may think you know
what you're dealing with...
Shut up and drop the gun!
You're making a mistake,
Agent Scully.
Compromising your sworn duty.
This operation is more sensitive
than you can possibly imagine.
Don't listen to him.
The technology
in this machine
is of enormous
scientific interest.
The machine's
a monster, Scully.
It's already
killed two people.
They won't be able to handle it
any better than Wilczek did.
Make no mistake...
you will be held accountable.
Mulder, put in the disk.
What are you doing, Brad?
Don't do this, Brad.
Brad...?
Brad, why are you doing this?
Brad...?
Brad...
Why?
I checked with
Congressman Klebanow
and the Department
of Corrections Subcommittee.
I even petitioned
the Attorney General's Office.
You won't find him.
They can't just take a man
like Brad Wilczek
without an explanation.
They can do
anything they want.
Where is he?
In the middle of
what we in the trade
call "hard bargaining."
Wilczek won't deal.
He'll never work for them.
Loss of freedom does
funny things to a man
and remember,
Wilczek confessed
to two murders, and you
effectively destroyed
the only evidence
that could have
exonerated him.
What else could I have done?
Nothing.
Unless you were willing
to let the technology survive.
The Department of Defense
still hasn't found anything?
They've been on it
for five days.
Wilczek's virus was thorough.
It left no trace
of the artificial intelligence.
The machine is dead.
We've pushed the pulse code
modulations to the limit.
Nothing.
A "B" port crashed.
We've combed
the parsing subroutine.
Yes, sir. Twice.
No, sir, still nothing,
but I'd like to request...
Yes, sir.
No, I understand.
Yes, sir.
Well...
six more hours
before we have to consign
the whole damn thing
to the metal shredder.
We'll do what
we can, sir.
Proximity detectors
burned; no capacity.
I can't follow
his circuitry at all.
I'm going to figure
this thing out
if it kills me.
this is what infuriates me.
Don't you see?
It's so painfully obvious.
Why do you think
our stock's in the toilet?
Because you're
cutting research
and development
in half.
You've forgotten
what the adventure's all about.
Like it or not,
the industry's changing.
We need to make
some hard choices.
You save your sound bite
for the press.
Let's not relive
the stockholders meeting again.
Don't you get it?
You're killing me.
You're killing my company!
Eurisko is not your company,
Brad, not anymore,
and you'd damn well better
grow up and get used to it.
You're going to regret this.
New paragraph.
As I'm sure everyone
on the board will agree,
Eurisko has to face head-on
the realities of an increasingly
competitive world.
Since the unfortunate departure
of Brad Wilczek, I have made
certain recommendations
which I believe
will reposition Eurisko
as an industry leader.
At the top of this list
is the immediate termination
of the C.O.S. Project.
Its disastrous performance
over the past three quarters
and projected losses
well into 1994
leave us no other choice.
Ah...
Hello? Hello!
At the tone, Eastern
Standard Time will be 7:35 p.m.
What the hell?
Damn.
File deleted.
Mulder.
Jerry?
You're Dana
Scully, right?
Jerry Lamana.
Jerry and I worked together
in Violent Crimes.
Worked together? What are you
talking "worked together"?
We were partners.
That's $8.50, please.
So, Jerry,
what are you doing here?
Looking for you,
and I'm buying you two lunch.
No, really...
No. It's on me.
Here.
Cause of death
was electrocution.
And it wasn't
accidental?
It looks like some kind
of elaborate booby trap,
but we don't know
a whole lot more.
Building engineer
just found him 12 hours ago.
Who's running the investigation?
Either of you know
Nancy Spiller?
The forensics instructor
at the academy?
We used to call her
the Iron Maiden.
On a good day.
Well, anyway, she's putting
together the squad,
and, well, I took the liberty
of mentioning your name.
Look, Jerry,
I'd like to help you out,
but we're not on
general assignment.
Because of the X Files.
Look, the truth is,
I could use
a little help on this.
I don't want to drop
the ball on this one.
You won't drop the ball.
Drake wasn't just a CEO
of a Fortune 500 company.
He was a good friend
of the attorney general's.
Another feather in my cap
would be really nice
right now 'cause the one I got
is looking a little mangy.
- Yeah, but, Jerry...
- Look...
I wouldn't ask
if it wasn't important.
How come you two
went your separate ways?
I'm a pain in the
ass to work with.
Seriously.
I'm not a pain in the ass?
We had different
career goals.
Jerry wanted
the fifth floor.
And you?
I was gunning for
a basement office
with no heat
or windows.
Well, I know where
you ended up.
What about Jerry?
He ran into a little
bad luck in Atlanta,
working hate crimes.
What kind
of bad luck?
He misplaced a
piece of evidence,
bagged and everything.
Sent it to the cleaners.
By the time he got it back,
a federal judge
had lost both his hands
and his right eye.
- 29?
- Uh-huh.
Going up.
Must be for the
visually impaired.
How do you like that?
A politically correct
elevator.
Third floor...
fourth floor...
You okay?
Yeah.
What was that?
Yes?
Hello?
Security. Who's this?
This is Agent Dana Scully.
Agent Scully,
do you have a problem?
Fifth floor...
Uh, actually,
I think everything's okay.
- All right.
- ...ninth floor...
- Thank you.
- ...tenth floor, 11th floor...
See here?
Someone has tampered
with the servo.
They switched the ground
to the negative
so that when he put
the key in the lock...
He completed the circuit.
It's fused.
It takes a lot of juice
to melt a steel key.
And to throw
a 180-pound man ten feet.
The, uh, servo switch-- could
it have been moved manually?
We didn't find any prints
in the surrounding area.
Sure, it could have
been switched
manually,
but whoever did it
would have had
to override the C.O.S.
What's the C.O.S.?
The central operating system.
It runs the building.
Regulates everything
from energy output
to the volume of water
in each toilet flush.
This is Claude Peterson, he's
the building systems engineer.
He discovered
the body.
If somebody wanted to
override the C.O.S.,
what would they...?
Well, first he'd have
to break the access codes,
which-- well, let's just say
it wouldn't be easy.
Well, we're gonna need a list
of all the people
with that kind of know-how.
I can tell you right now,
it'll be a pretty short list.
Would you be on it?
- Me?
- Yeah.
Hey, look, I'm just a
glorified building super.
All I do is monitor
the system,
make sure
it's functioning,
like when I saw the overload
in Mr. Drake's office.
What about the phone lines?
Does the C.O.S. monitor
all phone calls?
Yes, it does. Why?
I'm just wondering.
Okay, um, look,
can I go now?
Okay.
Why did you ask him
about the phones?
Phone's off the hook.
Maybe Drake was talking
to somebody
right before he did his
Ben Franklin impersonation.
Taught him everything he knows.
Come in.
It's past 3:00.
I'm just looking
for my profile notes.
Maybe if you cleaned your desk
more than once a year.
They were right here,
I'm telling you.
Come on, we're late.
Now, there are
a couple elements
for us to consider here.
Both the statistical rarity
of homicidal electrocution
and the complexity
of the crime
indicate a certain
devious premeditation.
After all, there are much
simpler ways of killing someone.
All of which leads me to believe
that our guy was some kind
of sociopathic game player--
maybe even a recluse,
since he designed
a trap
not only
to avoid detection
but to avoid contact
with the victim.
Is that your profile?
Forget it, huh?
Drake's final phone call
supports this theory.
At the tone, Eastern
Standard Time will be 7:35 p.m.
Drake's estimated time of death.
Why would Drake call
for the correct time
just before he died?
It was an incoming call.
From somewhere
in the Eurisko building itself.
Whoever set the trap
wanted to make sure that Drake
took the bait.
Excellent work, Agent Lamana.
Thank you.
Jerry, what the hell
are you doing?
Hey, don't get
all bent out of shape.
Jerry, that was
my profile.
Look, I didn't think
you'd mind.
Anyway, they were
just notes.
I filled in the blanks.
Jerry, you went
into my office
and you stole my work.
Look, you're
on this case
'cause I asked you
to help me out
and you helped me out.
What is the big deal?
What did he say?
He apologized...
in his own way.
I just got
off the phone
with Peterson,
the systems engineer.
One name? Brad Wilczek?
He said it would be
a short list.
And it's headline news how
much this guy despised Drake.
That just seems too obvious.
To kill Drake would be
so brazenly egomaniacal.
And fully consistent
with Jerry's excellent
behavioral profile.
Fully.
So this is what a 220 IQ
and a $400 million
severance settlement buys you.
Yes?
Brad Wilczek?
We're with the FBI.
What took you guys so long?
Oh, and do you mind
taking off your shoes?
You can divide
the computer science industry
into two types of people--
neat and scruffy.
I take it Benjamin Drake fit
into the first category.
Neat people
like things neat.
They wear
nicely pressed suits
and work
on surface phenomena--
things they can understand--
market shares
and third quarter profits.
And you had
a different vision
for the company?
I started Eurisko
out of my parents' garage.
I was 22 years old,
just spent a year
following around
the Grateful Dead.
You know what
Eurisko means?
Mm-mm.
That's from the Greek,
isn't it?
Um... "I learn things."
Not exactly.
It means
"I discover things."
Unfortunately, Ben Drake
wasn't interested
in discovery.
He was a shortsighted,
power-hungry opportunist.
Let me show you something:
a smart home.
From this prototype,
I have access
to every square foot
of my house.
This place
as safe as Fort Knox
and as energy efficient
as your average igloo.
We were two years ahead
of Microsoft and Cebus
when Drake, in his infinite
wisdom, killed the program.
Mr. Wilczek,
is this system related
to the one in
your corporate building?
Variation on a theme.
In your opinion,
how many people know the system
well enough to override it?
Finally, the bonus question.
"Not many" is the answer.
Could someone have, uh,
hacked into the system?
Well, not your average
phone freak, that's for sure.
But there's plenty
of kooks out there.
Data travelers,
electro-wizards,
techno-anarchists.
Anything's possible.
Could you have done it?
Of course.
I designed the system.
That's why you guys
are here, isn't it?
I'm your logical suspect.
You don't seem too worried.
It's a puzzle, Ms. Scully,
and scruffy minds like me
like puzzles.
We enjoy walking down
unpredictable avenues of thought
turning new corners--
but as a general rule,
scruffy minds
don't commit murder.
Some see genius as the ability
to connect the unconnected--
to make juxtapositions,
to see relationships
where others cannot.
Is Brad Wilczek a genius?
I don't know.
But I do know this for certain:
He has a predilection
for elaborate game playing.
He has an intimate knowledge
of the Eurisko building
and he has
a demonstrable motive
for killing Benjamin Drake.
The question remains.
But if he's so clever,
how do we nail him?
End of field journal,
October 24, 1993.
File opened.
From the outset,
I knew that Eurisko
would expand effectively,
not by traditional
Western structures,
but by employing
certain Zen beliefs
and other
Eastern philosophies...
...and other
Eastern philosophies...
...Eastern philosoph...
...Eastern...
Will you give me
a second?
Look, I'm here with
my hat in my hand.
I screwed up. I'm sorry.
What more can I say?
All you had to do was ask.
I would have helped you
with the profile.
You don't know
what it's like, Mulder.
What what's like?
You heard about Atlanta?
- Yeah...
- They got me on six months probation.
I gotta file daily reports
like some cheery new agent.
That was bad luck.
That could've happened
to anybody.
Not to you.
Don't run yourself down, Jerry.
You're a good agent.
We did some
good work together...
Come on, let's face it.
I was tagging along.
- That's not how it was.
- How would you know, Mulder?
You were too busy dazzling them
up there on the high wire.
Mulder... take a look.
We borrowed this
from the voice biometrics
lab at Georgetown.
It's a computer
spectrogram
capable of identifying
individual speech patterns.
This is the recording
the central
operating system made
of the phone call
Drake received
just before he died.
At the tone, Eastern
Standard Time will be 7:35 p.m.
And this we spliced together
from a series of lectures
Brad Wilczek gave
at the Smithsonian
last year.
At the tone,
Eastern Standard Time
will be 7:35 p.m.
Now we'll stack them.
At the tone,
Eastern Standard Time
will be 7:35 p.m.
You're saying
this is the same person?
I'm saying that both voices
are Brad Wilczek's.
He may have disguised
his voice electronically,
but he couldn't alter the form
that's unique
to his own speech patterns.
Which means that he was
the one that killed Drake.
He had the motive
and the means.
And now we have
the physical evidence.
Judge Benson lives
in Washington Heights.
I can get a warrant
in less than an hour.
Someone has to make sure
Wilczek stays put.
I'll go with you.
No. Let me
bring him in alone.
I need this one, Mulder.
All right.
Come on, come on,
let me in.
Damn!
Mr. Wilczek!
Going up.
Second floor, third floor,
fourth...
Can I help you?
FBI.
Welcome back, Brad.
You're not equipped
with a voice synthesizer.
What is my user level?
That is now at the discretion
of the operating system.
Going up.
Second floor, third floor,
fourth floor
fifth floor, sixth floor,
seventh floor, eighth floor
ninth floor, tenth floor,
11th floor, 12th floor,
14th floor
15th floor, 16th floor...
What the hell?
What are you doing?
Sorry. Those commands
are not available
at your current user level.
Try again.
...23rd floor, 24th floor...
What are you doing?!
What are you doing?!
...27th floor...
...28th floor...
29th floor...
30th floor...
29-30, 29-30, 29-30, 29-30
- Son of a...
- 29-30, 29-30, 29-30, 29-30
29-30, 29-30, 29-30, 29-30
29-30, 29-30, 29-30, 29-30
29-30, 29-30, 29-30, 29-30
29-30, 29-30, 29-30, 29-30...
Oh, man.
Going down.
No!
Don't do this!
Oh, my God.
Program executed.
I heard about Jerry.
I'm sorry.
I don't think
Wilczek did it.
What?
It doesn't make sense.
Why would he
go back to Eurisko?
To destroy evidence,
to cover his tracks.
If you were going
to destroy evidence,
would you pose
for the cameras?
Mulder...
you've been through a lot--
more than I think
even you realize.
I think Wilczek
is smarter than this.
He just signed
a confession.
How much proof
do you need?
Excuse me, sir,
this is a crime scene.
You're gonna have to leave.
I know.
I ordered the subpoena.
That subpoena's
been obviated.
What are you
talking about?
Unless you've got
a code five clearance,
I'm going to have
to ask you to turn back.
Thanks for coming.
I'm here against
my better judgment.
In the future,
I must insist
that you respect the terms
of our arrangement.
I need to know
why Brad Wilczek
is the subject of a code
five investigation--
what the Defense
Department wants with him.
What do you think
they'd want
with the most innovative
programmer in this hemisphere?
- Software.
- Yeah.
For years, Wilczek
has thumbed his nose
at any contract involving
weapons applications.
He's a bleeding heart.
What kind of software?
How much do you know
about artificial
intelligence?
I thought it was
only theoretical.
It was,
until two years ago.
Do you remember Helsinki--
the first time that
a chess-playing computer
ever beat a grand master?
That was Wilczek's program.
And the rumor was
that he did it
by developing the first
adaptive network.
An adaptive network?
It's a learning machine--
a computer
that actually thinks.
And it's, uh, become
something of a Holy Grail
for some of our more
acquisitive colleagues
in the Department of Defense.
They make me wear shoes
all the time.
What else do you
want from me?
I want you to tell me
why you're willing
to spend the rest of
your life in prison
for a crime
you didn't commit.
What are you
talking about?
I'm guilty.
I know you're innocent.
You're protecting a machine--
the central operating system
at Eurisko.
If I'm protecting anything,
it's not the machine.
Then what?
After the bomb was dropped
on Hiroshima and Nagasaki,
Robert Oppenheimer
spent the rest of his life
regretting he'd ever glimpsed
an atom.
Oppenheimer may have
regretted his actions
but he never denied
responsibility for them.
He loved the work, Mr. Mulder.
His mistake was in sharing it
with an immoral government.
I won't make the same mistake.
But your machine killed Drake.
And it killed my friend.
I'm sorry about what happened,
but there's nothing I can do.
And you talk about morality.
You're afraid
of the government
but you're willing
to accept the risk
that your machine
will kill again.
The lesser of two evils.
What about a third option?
You created that machine.
Now you tell me
how to destroy it.
Wilczek can create a virus
that will destroy
the system.
Mulder, don't you see?
Blaming the machine is
an alibi, and a bad one.
But it's the only thing
that makes sense.
The C.O.S. Project
was posting big losses
for Eurisko,
and Drake was about
to terminate the program.
So the machine
killed Drake
out of self-defense?
Self-preservation.
It's the primary instinct
of all sentient beings.
Mulder, that level
of artificial intelligence
is decades away
from being realized.
Then why was
our government
trying to usurp
Wilczek's research?
Mulder, I think you're
looking for something
that isn't there.
And I think it has
something to do with Jerry.
Maybe it wouldn't be
such a bad idea
if you talked to someone.
You're probably right.
Where are you going?
To talk to someone.
How much time do you need?
Hello...
Oh, my God...
This is Special Agent
Dana Scully
I.D. number 2317-616.
I need you to run a quick trace
on a number for me.
Yeah.
202-555-6431.
Yeah. That's my number.
Somebody's accessing
my computer.
Mulder!
Scully, what are you doing here?
Someone or something's been
scanning my computer files
tapping my phones.
I traced the line.
It came from
somewhere in there.
It's the machine.
How can we get in?
You remember the Trojan Horse?
Open sesame.
Oh, what the...?
Mulder!
So much for
the element of surprise.
What do you say
we take the stairs?
28 down, one to go.
Oh, great.
Mulder?
Trick or treat.
No. Don't.
What are you doing?
I don't want to make
the mistake Drake made.
Damn.
What are you looking at?
There should be a way for you
to drop down and open the door.
Come on, Scully.
Scully?
Agent Mulder?
What are you doing here?
The machine's
been acting all crazy.
Power surges, shut-offs.
That's why I'm here so late.
Where's the B port?
Oh, it's right back here.
Look, are you sure
you know what you're doing?
Because, if you don't,
it's my job on the line.
Damn.
System access granted.
User code, level seven.
Now I can put in the virus.
Not bad, Agent Mulder.
You know,
I've been trying
to access the CPU
for the past two years.
Now, please,
take out your gun
and remove the clip.
Careful.
Defense Department?
Let's just say our paychecks
are signed by the same person.
Now give me the diskette
and step away
from the console.
You don't want to test
my resolve, Agent Mulder.
Put down the gun.
Look, you may think you know
what you're dealing with...
Shut up and drop the gun!
You're making a mistake,
Agent Scully.
Compromising your sworn duty.
This operation is more sensitive
than you can possibly imagine.
Don't listen to him.
The technology
in this machine
is of enormous
scientific interest.
The machine's
a monster, Scully.
It's already
killed two people.
They won't be able to handle it
any better than Wilczek did.
Make no mistake...
you will be held accountable.
Mulder, put in the disk.
What are you doing, Brad?
Don't do this, Brad.
Brad...?
Brad, why are you doing this?
Brad...?
Brad...
Why?
I checked with
Congressman Klebanow
and the Department
of Corrections Subcommittee.
I even petitioned
the Attorney General's Office.
You won't find him.
They can't just take a man
like Brad Wilczek
without an explanation.
They can do
anything they want.
Where is he?
In the middle of
what we in the trade
call "hard bargaining."
Wilczek won't deal.
He'll never work for them.
Loss of freedom does
funny things to a man
and remember,
Wilczek confessed
to two murders, and you
effectively destroyed
the only evidence
that could have
exonerated him.
What else could I have done?
Nothing.
Unless you were willing
to let the technology survive.
The Department of Defense
still hasn't found anything?
They've been on it
for five days.
Wilczek's virus was thorough.
It left no trace
of the artificial intelligence.
The machine is dead.
We've pushed the pulse code
modulations to the limit.
Nothing.
A "B" port crashed.
We've combed
the parsing subroutine.
Yes, sir. Twice.
No, sir, still nothing,
but I'd like to request...
Yes, sir.
No, I understand.
Yes, sir.
Well...
six more hours
before we have to consign
the whole damn thing
to the metal shredder.
We'll do what
we can, sir.
Proximity detectors
burned; no capacity.
I can't follow
his circuitry at all.
I'm going to figure
this thing out
if it kills me.