♪
[Light clicks]
♪
[Alarm chiming]
- [Joe groans]
[Groans, sighs]
[Sniffles]
[Chiming continues]
Okay, okay.
I'm awake.
♪
[Grunts]
[Sighs]
♪
- MEL: Good morning, Joe.
You have several items on your calendar today.
Would you like me to read them to you?
[Water running] - No. I'm good.
[Message chimes]
- You have a request from Ash's assistant.
Coffee at Old World Roasters. 9:30 a.m.
- Confirm that and send a note to Maxine.
Ask her to mine the fort till I get in.
- Reconfiguring.
All set.
[Water continues running]
♪
[Indistinct chatter]
- Man: Yeah.
[Door opens, bell jingles]
[Traffic passing]
[Indistinct conversations]
- Hm.
- First time in a bookstore?
- Yeah.
No.
Beautiful detail.
- [Chuckles]
I was joking.
[Clears throat]
[Indistinct conversations]
- I mean, personally, I prefer
what's written inside on the pages,
but, uh, you know, to each their own.
[Book thuds]
- Do you like coffee?
- Oh, everyone likes coffee.
- What's your name?
- Uh, Joe.
Yours?
[Indistinct conversations]
[Chuckles lightly]
- Coming?
- Now?
- You got a better time?
- No, uh...
[Chuckles lightly]
Oh, Maxine, are you, uh, okay if I, uh...
- Yeah.
- It's Ash, by the way.
- Ash.
Okay.
♪
[Bell jingles]
- So you've read that stuff.
- I have. Yeah.
Makes you think.
Without man in his potential for moral progress,
the whole of reality would be a mere wilderness thing,
in vain, and have no final purpose.
- Hm.
Final purpose.
I don't know about that.
Maybe we have what we have
and you do your best with it day by day.
- Yeah. Yeah, sure.
Oh, for me, it just makes things feel...
richer, somehow.
♪
- Take a picture, it'll last longer.
- Oh, that's-- that's actually a good idea.
- Hm? - This the way I'll have proof.
- Proof of what?
- Of a beautiful woman hanging out with me.
[Electronic whirring]
[Camera shutter clicks]
♪
- Okay, MEL. I'm out. [Electronic warbling]
- System is now armed.
You have 30 seconds to depart.
- Have a great day, Joe.
- You, too, pal.
♪
- My brother!
How are you this beautiful day?
- I'm doing well, Oliver. Yourself?
- Eh, no complaints. - I'm off to see Ash.
- Ah! Lucky man.
- Yeah. Don't I know it?
- There you go.
- Oh, I'm supposed to guess who.
- Mm-hmm. - Okay.
Well, it's either my beautiful girlfriend
who I'm meeting on this wonderful morning.
Or...
it's my other, sexier girlfriend
from the bad part of town. - [Laughs]
- Oh, you! Hi.
- Hmm.
- What can I get for you?
- I'll have a cappuccino, please.
- You got it.
- You have to work after?
- Yeah. - You know, I would love
to know what that is.
- You know what they say about curiosity.
- No. - Really?
Oh.
- You adore me.
- I do.
So...
...I want you to know something.
- About? - You.
About you.
♪
- [Grunts] Hey!
♪
I love you, Joe.
♪
- Hey, hey, hey, hey.
[Chuckles] Ash...
♪
Ash, you surprised me. That's all.
♪
- I need to tell you something.
- Anything.
♪
I'm not from here.
- I know. You're from Bridgewater.
- No. I mean, I'm not from... here.
♪
No.
♪
- Do you two know each other?
♪
- Don't. [Gun cocks]
♪
- [Voice breaking] No, no, no.
♪
[Siren wailing]
♪
[Alarm chiming]
- MEL, shut everything down.
- This is your second week
without leaving the apartment, Joe.
Are you unwell? Should I call for assistance?
- Can you call Ash?
- I am not currently able to do that.
- Hmm.
Well, then fuck off.
Just let me sleep.
♪
- You have a visitor.
- Don't answer.
♪
- It's Oliver.
This is the third time he's been by.
♪
- Fine.
- Joe, are you there?
- I'm here.
♪
I'm here.
- Hey, man. Uh... got the good stuff.
Let me up?
I hear it's better hot.
♪
- Good?
♪
- I can't taste anything.
♪
- What?
♪
- Taste. I can't-- I can't.
♪
- I'll get it.
♪
Where do you keep the towels?
♪
Joe?
♪
I know it doesn't feel like it, but you're gonna be okay.
♪
- She's gone.
♪
- I...
♪
Maybe she's in a better place. - Oh, don't patronize me.
Just... don't.
♪
- Well, look, you, uh...
You take mine.
Come back tomorrow with more coffee.
♪
But, uh, eat something, okay?
♪
Joe.
♪
[Sirens wailing]
♪
- Hello, Joe.
♪
- See you soon.
♪
Or I won't. Either way.
Fucking...
[Inhales sharply] [Gun clicks]
♪
[Gun clicks]
[Groans]
[Breathing heavily]
- A weapon has been discharged. Are you safe?
Please respond, Joe.
I am contacting the authorities.
- No, no, no, no! - No, no, wait, wait, wait.
It was an accident.
[Groans]
[Shouts]
- Joe!
[Wind whistling]
♪
[Glass tinkling]
♪
[Breathing heavily]
♪
[Gasping]
- Good morning, Joe.
You have a new message from Ash.
Would you like me to play it?
You have another new message from Ash, marked urgent.
Should I play it?
♪
[Lock beeps]
♪
[Cellphone beeps]
♪
- In here.
♪
- You okay, brother?
[Cellphone beeps]
- You see that, right?
♪
- Oh.
♪
Have you checked any of those?
Well, maybe it's, uh, a message for you
in case anything happened to her.
- I-I thought of that, but the screens and the, um...
- Well, what?
- You know, nothing. It's, uh...
shock, maybe.
- Look, go home.
Get some rest, and then you check the message--
messages.
You might get some closure.
- Would you mind if I checked here, actually?
I'm not sure I want to go back yet.
- Mi casa!
It's all yours.
♪
[Cellphone beeps]
♪
- Hey, Joe.
- Hey.
- If you're seeing this, something's happened to me.
And I might not see you again.
♪
For that...
I am so, so sorry.
♪
I need your help. It's important.
It might not make sense right away,
but I need you to get something for me.
Your bookstore--
there's a special order there waiting for you.
♪
Will you help?
♪
- Yes. Of course.
♪
- Thank you. Details are downloading.
I planned for this.
Not-- Not for... everything that's happened,
but for this.
Bring the package back to your place.
I'll talk to you again later.
I love you.
♪
- We have further contact.
♪
- We should leave it alone.
♪
Track him. Let me know what he does next.
- Copy.
♪
- Hey, boss, are you doing okay?
- Was something delivered for me?
- Uh, right. Yeah.
♪
This one's a prize. - Thank you.
- I'll see you tomorrow?
♪
- Uh, yeah. Yeah, I'll let you know.
♪
[Groans]
♪
[Gasps]
♪
- He has... - Something.
♪
- Take him down.
Retrieve whatever that is.
Backup incoming.
♪
- Copy.
♪
[Elevator dings]
♪
- Floor?
- Same.
♪
[Elevator dings]
♪
- What is happening?
♪
MEL, someone's trying to break in!
- Should I call the authorities?
[Gunshots]
- Knock, knock.
- Yes! - Contacting authorities now.
♪
I'm sorry, Joe. I appear to be offline.
Reattempting.
♪
[Gun cocks]
♪
- Oh. Uh, uh, uh... [Panting]
♪
Oh, fuck.
♪
- Something's wrong. Help me up.
- Who are you talking to?
- MEL.
♪
- Fuck off!
♪
- I don't understand.
- You and me both, pal.
[Lock beeps]
- Joe.
- MEL, pause Ash's message.
- I'm sorry, I don't understand.
Could you rephrase?
- Joe?
Hey.
♪
- MEL, is this real?
- I'm sorry, could you rephrase the question?
♪
- Jesus!
- I'll explain.
♪
- Where are you?
- I didn't mean to be mysterious.
It just took me a while to hack a connection.
And time works a bit differently here.
-"Here"? - Where I'm from.
There's, uh...
The technology,
it's almost impossible to get access, but I did.
- No, no, no, no, no, no. I saw you die.
I saw someone kill you. - I know.
I know, I know, I'm sorry. I'm so sorry.
♪
Oh, there's so much I have to tell you.
So much-- So much I want to say.
I just need to explain a few things first.
Is that okay?
♪
Okay.
♪
Years ago, technology made several rapid jumps--
machine learning, behavioral modeling,
artificial intelligence, ultra-realistic rendering.
A lot of it was driven by the entertainment industry.
Gaming, streaming, deep learning,
and AI brought others--
intelligence agencies, special interests.
Those interests saw where the tech could go,
recruited hungry young minds like Anthony Hunter,
a brilliant software engineer.
He worked for Sentech, one of the big firms.
His day job was data acquisition,
gathering as much information from the real world
as possible, feeding the machine,
building models to analyze process control.
On the side, he was working on his own project.
♪
From what we can piece together,
Hunter was trying to incorporate
all of this data into a true
virtualized reality, something alive,
fed by a constant stream of information.
It was too big for him to put together on his own.
He couldn't get to a stable build until...
♪
...he met someone, another coder,
apparently with similar interests.
A new mentor
who helped the final pieces fall into place.
♪
The first DU.
♪
- DU?
- Digital Universe.
♪
He made a world, a fully realized population.
The corporations had been trying for years
to harness machine learning to their advantage.
What was missing?
People-- billions of them,
with their own emotions, desires, agency.
Hunter began to use the system for advanced R&D.
He realized he could test anything on his pet universe.
High-risk surgical implants. Advanced weaponry.
Mass testing of cutting-edge pharmaceuticals.
Within an impossibly short amount of time,
he became Sentech's CEO.
Then things moved even faster.
♪
What better testbed?
What better way to prototype anything?
Human beings may be cheap,
but simulated ones were even cheaper.
He had a world of his own to play with, no consequences.
♪
He tried version...
after version...
after version.
♪
Hunter kept going.
He spent almost a decade testing,
fine-tuning, restarting.
♪
- I'm in one of those versions, aren't I?
♪
How many?
Before this, how many versions?
- 497.
♪
As far as we can tell.
♪
- So, what does that make me?
- A man.
♪
One I love.
♪
- A virtual man.
♪
[Sighs]
This is a fucking nightmare.
♪
Where are you, exactly?
♪
- Home.
I just need to show you a bit more.
♪
It got out, what Hunter and Sentech were doing.
Even if you didn't believe that the people in the DU were real,
the ethical implications were too much to ignore,
and the power that came with being able to test
any conceivable possibility on unwitting populations?
- Us. - The tech was outlawed.
The DU system was supposed to be spun down for good.
It wasn't. He just hid it,
both physically and on the network.
But I found a way in.
I found...
♪
...you.
♪
- Wait. That-- That's the man who shot you.
- Hunter.
- How come he didn't disappear,
like when you...
- When I died? - Yeah.
♪
- Okay. You needed admin-level access for that.
The control teams don't even like doing it.
It throws major checksum errors, risks corruption.
It messes with the analytics.
The more you break the physical laws
that are coded in...
- The less the system works as a tool.
- Exactly.
So, the goon that attacked you,
when you killed him, it hurt, bad.
It needs to be real for the system to function.
No cheating, or the data devalues.
- So, what is this?
- Now? Just a book, but it carried another layer of data.
Data we need to get out, soon.
- Wait.
Who's that next to Hunter?
- That is the enigmatic Oliver Cox.
After he saw what Hunter was doing,
he disappeared from public view.
He hasn't been seen in years.
- Holy shit.
♪
- What? - I know him.
- What do you mean, you know him?
- You know him! The-- The newsstand near my building.
♪
- He must be masking himself from other users of the system.
Like me.
♪
This newsstand,
it might be a kind of hidden observation post.
♪
Joe, he could help. - How?
- If there's anyone who can get me back in,
help get that data out, it's him.
I need to meet him.
- He-- He knows you're dead.
- I don't think that'll faze him.
- Wait. How did-- How did you stop me from...
♪
- I was watching you.
♪
I tried everything, Joe.
The best I could do was send messages,
hack into some displays.
Otherwise, I was locked out.
It wasn't me.
- Then who?
♪
- Erica, What can I do for you?
♪
- We need to spin it down.
♪
-"We." Huh.
Okay. Sit.
♪
- We're having masking issues.
Security holes. I can't patch in time.
- Well, I patched up one of them for you. [Chuckles]
- You shot a woman in plain view at a coffee shop.
- Yeah. Stress relief.
Besides, it's your job to make sure no one else gets in.
Right? That's-- That's you? That's your job?
- The only way to do that is to isolate it completely
from global networks. - Well, if I do that,
then I can't feed it,
and it doesn't work as effectively, so...
- It can function as a simulator.
We have excellent analytics.
♪
- It doesn't work as effectively.
♪
- We should have spun it down with the court order.
♪
We're risking exposure, Anthony.
We had another incursion.
A huge amount of data just moved around.
I'm tracking it, but-- - Okay.
♪
The world is shit.
♪
You get that, right?
Like... what are we?
Collectively, billions of idiots,
decimating the only home that we have.
But we have a way.
We have way
to run any conceivable test
to find out what happens before it happens,
before we have to hand over the keys to the environment
to the fossil fuel conglomerates,
before we go down the same path as version 16
and elect an autocratic,
malignant narcissist to high office.
Remember that fucking mess?
Him and his mob almost cost us
half the globe in seven years.
Before millions of more people die
in senseless conflict
based on primitive ideologies
born out of ancient superstitions,
mass manipulation, targeted disinformation.
The world is shit!
♪
But I'm going to fix it.
♪
I am fixing it.
♪
- You're killing people to do it.
♪
Billions of people.
♪
- Algorithmically generated population units.
♪
- The rest of the world doesn't see it like that.
Nor do the courts.
- The courts can go fuck themselves!
They will legislate us into a burning cinder.
♪
Keep it hidden. Keep it connected.
Figure it out.
♪
Erica.
♪
My globe.
♪
Um...
find that girl I shot...
♪
...here in the real world.
♪
[Computer chiming]
- What can I help you with, dead girl?
- It is you. - And you found me,
through my firewalls, no less.
Hey, talking is risky,
so I can give you another 30 seconds.
- I need to know where it is. Can you help me find it?
- Find what? - The DU.
The physical system location.
And I need a valid network key to get back in.
- It's distributed. It could be anywhere. Everywhere.
Oh, and are you out of your freaking mind?
What makes you think I can help?
Or would?
- When I first started, I was trying to get it shut down.
Now things are-- - Complicated. Yes.
Joe.
- Seems like you're using it yourself.
What are you doing in there?
- We'll be in touch.
[Beeping]
♪
- Missed her. Can't be far.
♪
Scan the place. Turn it upside down.
♪
Yeah. Requesting your support.
♪
[Chime]
- You armed?
- Nothing smart or network-connected.
Inert non-metallic nano-graphene blades.
[Beep, lock disengages]
- That isn't standard issue.
- It's personal. - Spring-loaded?
Well, it can't be legal.
Coffee.
♪
There you are.
- You like things analog. - Mm.
Well, you're welcome to borrow something if you like.
Mmm.
Ahh!
I long ago learned that I retain things better
when I read from the hard copy,
absorb works of art from the original source.
It's just-- it's less ephemeral.
Digital, it can be gone like that.
- Like you.
- What do you know about me?
- I know that you worked with Hunter.
Some kind of partnership.
You disappeared.
- Mm, it's more like a co-dependency
and not the whole story, but probably enough for now.
- He's after me.
- Did, uh, getting yourself killed give it away, did it?
- Out here, I mean.
- What were you doing in the system in the first place?
- I'm freelance. Intel for a while before that.
I'm good at tracing data,
making connections. - I've seen.
You don't just hack into proprietary systems
like this by googling.
You're impressive, Miss Solway.
- I was recruited out of college,
trained 10 years as an analyst.
I went out on my own with a small team
when all of this started with Sentech.
We were convinced Hunter wasn't following the court orders.
Sentech was growing too fast, becoming too powerful,
as were his corporate pals,
a few oligarchs he did business with.
Some fringe nations with money to burn.
- Using data from DU iterations.
- We were just trying to confirm what we already knew,
really, deal with it.
- And you just stuck around after hours?
- I saw what I saw.
What it was.
It wouldn't have been right to shut it down
or let Hunter restart it.
These...
♪
These are people.
- Just going about their lives.
♪
- So, what are you doing in there,
selling newspapers and candy?
- I knew Hunter would keep it running.
There's just too many benefits.
It's like a-a digital crystal ball.
There is so much the DU can-- can show us,
can teach us,
without outside interference.
- That's not an answer.
- It's the one I can give.
♪
- It was you, wasn't it?
Saving Joe, changing things to help him?
- [Sighs]
- I'll take that as a yes.
♪
Why?
- Maybe there's more to him than meets the eye.
I think you know that already.
- [Chuckles]
So, will you help me?
I need to get Hunter off my ass,
find somewhere safe, see Joe.
- Go back in? - Yes.
♪
Please.
♪
- You really love him.
♪
- I get that he's not... real.
- But we are way past real as an easy definition.
♪
- Are you making fun of me? - No, no, no, I'm not.
I-I'm saying there's nothing strange
about the way you're feeling.
That was the whole point of the design.
- So, you'll help me?
♪
- I will.
♪
But first things first.
I need to get you somewhere safe.
Not here.
♪
There's an autonomous hotel downtown.
I'm part owner.
You can lay low,
log in if you must.
I'll get you a network address and a new encrypted key.
Long term,
I'm not sure how to handle Hunter yet.
Never mind save this iteration of the system,
which means stealing it.
- Yeah, I have a plan for that.
♪
- But right now, I'm not on Hunter's radar.
♪
I like not being on his radar.
♪
- Hey.
♪
- You're here.
♪
- Oliver.
- Bellamy, this iteration's run its course.
Time to archive it and study it offline.
- It was killing me every day, knowing that you were in pain,
thinking that I was gone.
♪
All I wanted to do was reach out to you.
♪
And when Hunter killed me, he killed my access.
It had taken me months to find a way in the first time.
♪
I love you.
♪
- I wish I knew what to do with that.
♪
- You could tell me you love me, too.
♪
- But if I do, is that just... programming, talking?
My whole world view's kind of broken.
♪
How would you feel...
if you found out you were just a character in a game?
- It's not a game. - You sure?
♪
- It's not a game.
♪
This is as real as anything I know.
♪
Maybe my other life is a dream.
Maybe this is the one that counts.
♪
- But you have a choice.
- So do you.
- No, I don't. You can leave this.
♪
This is all I have.
I need a drink. - Joe.
Please come back. - [Scoffs]
♪
[Whoosh]
- [Gasps] - I pulled you out.
- You can do that? - Not now. Listen.
Hunter is onto you, and he's throwing a hell of a lot
of compute your way. It's time to move.
- I just need to get a message to Joe.
- Ash! Get out!
♪
- Fuck!
♪
- Oliver! - Joe! How goes the day?
- Ash-- she... - I know, I know.
- No, no. No, not-- she was here.
I was speaking with her, and she just--
she disappeared. She-- She left.
- I...
- Look, man, I don't know how this works.
Help me. Please.
♪
- Shit, shit, shit, shit, shit, shit.
♪
I don't know how to deal with this--
with anything. She's alive!
But what does that mean? Am I?
If I love her, is that even real?
Does anything I feel even-- - Joe!
- She's in trouble, isn't she?
Alright. Alright.
Then that's all that matters.
How do I help her?
- Have a seat.
This world won't be worth the risk much longer.
Understand? - He'll shut it down.
- This iteration, anyway.
He's probably already started the process.
He could just spin it back up when the heat's off.
But for you, it's the end of the line.
Everything you know, gone.
You, gone.
It's not just about you and Ash.
It's about billions of people and their right to live.
♪
- I'm just a fish in a tank.
♪
- You're so much more than that.
Get the data you're carrying out.
- How? - Years ago,
software designers used to leave stuff behind in the code.
- Easter eggs? - In a manner of speaking.
They're usually tied to a specific place
in the environment, somewhere to stock up,
get cheat codes, transfer things in and out.
Developer mode. - There's a place like that here.
How do you know? - Because I built it.
♪
- What's in it? - A way for you to upload
the data you're carrying. - Which is?
♪
- It's an instance.
A backup of the entire digital universe
from the moment you opened that book.
That's the data Ash is trying to get out.
♪
- Holy shit. - Indeed.
So, get there, upload.
- Then? - Sit tight.
- No, I can't do that.
I have to find Hunter, help Ash.
- I don't think you're stupid, Joe.
And that? That is stupid.
He can literally flick a switch, and you are gone.
Gone like you never existed. - Why hasn't he?
- Because every time he cheats, he acts in ways that don't abide
by the coded physical laws of his universe.
- Checksum errors. - Exactly.
- Ash explained.
- Errors. Inconsistencies.
Fidelity goes out the window.
- Bad data.
- Bad data has no value.
Joe, upload, then go home.
I'll try to help where I can.
♪
It's one of a kind.
Please don't lose it.
I will send the location of the room to your phone.
Load it with what you need.
Now, that is hardware decryption.
It'll open the door,
but the phone will need to trigger what happens next.
You need to find the comm panel.
If you touch it, it'll start the data upload.
Don't touch anything else while you're in there.
- Okay. What else is there?
- Find the panel. Upload.
♪
Enjoy the day, Joe.
♪
- [Gasps] God.
♪
- Hello, Joe.
♪
- Hey, MEL. I hope you're happy.
- My systems are now operating at full capacity.
♪
- Listen, if I don't see you again,
thanks for everything. - My pleasure, Joe.
Have a great day.
♪
- [Groaning]
♪
It won't work. It's keyed to me.
[Groans]
- Seems like it works okay to me.
- You're messing--
You're messing with something you shouldn't be.
- Your boss is doing that.
Where's the DU?
♪
Where?!
- You're already dead in one world.
Not long here, either.
Bitch. [Groans]
♪
- Morning.
♪
So, Ash...
♪
...what now?
- You going to kill me again?
- Not yet.
♪
- Why did you do it the first time?
- You know why.
- Because I found your private playground.
- Uh, my multi-billion-dollar analysis tool, you mean?
- You say tomato.
♪
You were supposed to stop.
♪
- You seem to be enjoying it.
♪
- You asshole.
♪
What gives you the right
to play with so many lives?
♪
- [Scoffs]
What about you, huh?
- What were you doing in that bookstore,
if not playing with lives?
Just browsing the wares yourself?
A couple of books and a boy to go?
♪
- It's different.
♪
You know it's different.
♪
- Yeah. Okay, enough of this.
I have to, uh, catch up with an old friend.
So...
You're cool to just hang here for a few minutes, right?
♪
- [Whistles]
♪
- I didn't take you for the nostalgic type.
Surprised to hear from you.
- Always good to see you, old friend.
- [Chuckles]
♪
- Why are you messing with my universe?
- Oh, see, there's your problem.
- My problem?
- Your need to possess, your possessiveness.
♪
- Fuck you, old man. - Worked on that.
- You did it to yourself.
Everything was moving along just fine.
- Well, it's a matter of perspective.
The billions of dead in your last little test
would beg to differ.
- Our test, you mean?
- I had no idea what you were planning until it was too late,
and you know that.
- [Scoffs] - Always pushing the limits.
You know, breaking things intentionally, like a child,
you know, pulling the legs off of insects
just to see what happens.
If I was being honest-- - Mm, yeah.
By all means, be honest.
- You're a psychopath, old friend.
And I think you know it.
I'm just... trying to do my own thing,
which includes staying out of your way.
- I want to believe that.
- I may have made this with you,
but it's your playground.
I am down with that.
- Whew.
I'm glad to hear that.
- Hmm.
Ow!
- Uh-oh.
♪
- No.
♪
How did-- How did you--
- Your problem, if we're being honest,
is that your curiosity or your, uh, empathy
gets a better view every time.
Once you agreed to meet, once we interacted,
I found you.
♪
- Safeguards. - Huh?
Yeah, you're dying.
Gonna be over in a couple of minutes.
Um, if you want, I can back up your avatar
for old times' sake.
♪
I, uh, wrapped up some of the loose ends.
♪
- Fancy.
♪
[Cellphone beeps]
♪
Shit.
♪
[Exhales sharply]
♪
[Beeping]
[Computer whirring]
[Groans]
[Alarms blaring]
- Some kind of transfer initiated from inside the system.
- What?
- I think your guy is transferring code out.
It's lighting up a city block.
- Stop him. Now.
♪
- [Gasping]
Shit.
[Beep]
- Hello, Joe.
Please select required options.
- Oh.
[Gun cocks]
♪
How many times do I have to kill you?
- Okay. Enough.
[Clock ticking, chimes]
♪
- Hello, Joe.
W-W-Wait. Okay. Easy, easy.
Let me just-- Let me explain.
There's only one you right now.
You-- You get that, right?
There's only one you. This one.
So if I were to, like, I don't know, shoot you...
- [Groans]
♪
- ...you'd feel it.
And if I were to kill you...
♪
...you wouldn't just wake up somewhere else.
This-- This is kind of all there is.
♪
- [Gasping]
♪
- I made you.
♪
And I unmake you.
♪
- [Groaning]
♪
- Everything you are, everything you do,
everything you love...
♪
...nothing more than digital dust, my man.
♪
Except for Ash, of course.
But, hey, don't worry about her.
She's in great hands.
♪
- [Screams]
♪
[Gunshot]
♪
- I don't like your boyfriend.
- He doesn't like you much, either.
♪
- What the hell? - Erica, stand down.
Geddes.
♪
I don't know how he's doing it.
♪
But it doesn't matter.
It's time for a reboot.
- No, please!
♪
Please.
♪
- Close the door.
♪
[Chuckles] None of this makes any difference.
♪
And you're not even a memory.
Not even a ghost.
[Laughs]
Enjoy the end, my man.
♪
- Please, at least let me say goodbye.
♪
- You actually love him.
♪
[Chuckles]
♪
And... on to the next.
♪
[Cellphone rings]
♪
- Ash. Ash! Ash, are you there?
♪
- I'm here.
♪
- Are you okay?
♪
- Yeah. I'm okay.
♪
- Good.
♪
Good. That's good. That's all that matters.
♪
Look, I don't know if I'm real.
♪
Doesn't seem like it.
♪
But I know you are.
♪
And I know what we have is.
It's the most real thing I've ever experienced.
♪
I love you, Ash.
♪
And that's not code. That's not programming.
♪
That's real.
♪
[Beep]
♪
- Well [Sighs] that was a lot.
So...
we're kind of in a sticky spot here
because, uh,
I'm just not sure I know what I'm supposed to do with you.
- Don't twirl your mustache, you piece of shit.
You know.
♪
- Fair enough.
♪
It's just it seems so valuable, you know?
Shame.
♪
- Don't do this, Hunter.
♪
- So, look.
I'm sorry.
- Go fuck yourself.
- Hey, don't be like that.
You are forcing my hand, and you know it.
I got no choice. - Don't you, old friend?
♪
- Oh.
♪
- You're dead.
- It's a matter of perspective.
- I killed you.
- You always had trouble thinking outside the box,
didn't you?
I'm sorry for that.
True disappointment.
- [Stammers] What is happening?
- Levels within levels, Anthony.
To quote a favorite from this iteration,
there are other worlds than this.
♪
- Drop it.
♪
Kick it over to me.
♪
You okay?
- Yeah.
♪
- You hurt her, no?
You destroyed everything.
♪
- Everyone.
- [Grunts]
♪
- Take him down.
♪
Erica!
♪
- I'm done.
♪
- No, no. None of that was real.
♪
- Like me.
♪
- Please.
♪
[Gunshot]
♪
- You're real.
♪
- So are you.
♪
- I don't understand.
♪
- And that makes two of us.
♪
Am I supposed to guess? - Mm-hmm.
- Ah, I'd know those hands anywhere.
You want to sit for a bit?
- Yeah.
- It's weird, right?
Meeting here.
I don't know, everything.
- I know you wanted to see.
- Yeah. Nostalgia, maybe.
- Lovebirds, good to see you.
- You too. Hey.
Here.
- So... how does it feel to save the world?
- Honestly, I'm not sure I understand.
How are you-- - Still here? Alive?
Same way you are.
- How many levels are there?
Ah.
Uh, okay.
So...
- That's supposed to be me? - No.
Well, this is your world.
Your entire universe.
Created by Hunter with more than a little help from me.
Okay?
- I'm still getting my head around it,
but yeah, following.
♪
- Okay, now the cup... - Is the real world.
- A world. Ash's world.
- Ash's?
- It's a world.
Who knows how many levels, how many universes?
There could be an infinite number.
I'm not sure it's even important.
♪
- So, Joe and I are the same?
♪
- You brought me up a level.
- From the sugar crystal to the cup.
I did, indeed.
- And you're from the saucer?
- Well, the metaphor wears thin, but, uh...
♪
...yes.
- But I still don't understand
how you did that with Joe.
- Well, not to put too fine a point on it,
but it was simply a matter of migrating code
from one system to the next.
- Ouch. - No, it's semantics.
Not a declaration of value,
but a flesh, blood code.
Code that creates flesh and blood.
Who knows? Who cares?
You're just as human as I am.
Look, we're all free to continue
to wonder about our creators.
You just happen to have an inside scoop
from a guy who's simply a level up.
You feel me? - I feel you.
♪
- Look, Ash.
Hunter was born of my hubris, my meddling.
He had all the tools to create something good,
something positive.
But he lacked the one thing I was looking for,
the one thing I was-- I was testing for.
And that emptiness, it almost destroyed everything.
- The one thing?
♪
- It's empathy.
And you showed up.
The surprise, the-- the unknown variable.
And where Hunter failed, you-- you didn't.
You stepped up. You and Joe.
You-- You restore my faith
that we can be good, caring, kind,
which is what we need to be to survive in the end.
♪
It seems the code gets there...
eventually.
♪
- That's not so bad, right?
♪
- It isn't so bad.
♪
- Look, Ash.
I created a simulation that is indistinguishable from reality.
It is your reality.
It's everything you've ever known.
And now it's yours, too, Joe.
But at some point soon,
this world will reach a high enough level of technology
that it creates its own simulation.
So, you see, it's unlikely, if not impossible,
that my own reality isn't also a simulation.
But chances are we are nowhere close to the original real.
So, enjoy each other.
Enjoy what life has to offer.
Here. Up there.
Does it matter? Really?
♪
There you go.
♪
[Clock ticking]
[Bells ringing]
♪
Ohh.
♪
[Sighs]
This, we got right.
♪