3 Body Problem
Season 1 – Episode 1
Episode title: Countdown
Original release date: March 21, 2024
Plot: 1960s China timeline: Ye Wenjie witnesses her father’s humiliation and death in a struggle session. Later, at a work camp, she’s given a copy of Silent Spring. It is discovered, but she does not betray the one who gave it to her. After nearly dying in prison, she is taken to a station with a large radar-like dish to serve the rest of her sentence. She figures out its purpose before she is told.
Modern timeline: A group of researchers talk about how modern work has stopped making sense and that several scientists are committing suicide. Da Shi, an investigator is trying to link multiple scientist suicides and notices a headpiece that looks like a helmet in common. Augustina “Auggie” Salazar starts seeing a countdown timer in front of her eyes all the time. A woman she doesn’t know says “don’t let it get to zero” and tells her to watch the sky at midnight the next day. She brings a friend to look with her and witnesses all the stars flashing in the same pattern as her countdown timer.
* * *
[crowd shouting]
[in Mandarin] Root out the bugs!
Sweep away all monsters and demons!
[fervent chanting continues]
Yes! I am a counterrevolutionary!
[crying] I beg you
to rehabilitate me!
[crowd] Strike down the counterrevolutionary!
[Red Guard 1] Bring out the next one.
[shouting of slogans grows louder]
[spectator whistling]
Rebellion is just!
Revolution is righteous!
[crowd] Rebellion is just!
Revolution is righteous!
[rallying cries continue]
Father…
Ye Zhetai.
Aren’t you a professor of physics?
[calmly] You should know.
You were my student.
Behave yourself!
[crowd shouts]
[Red Guard 1] Ye Zhetai.
In your physics course, did you teach the theory of relativity?
Relativity is one of the fundamental theories of physics.
How can a basic survey course not teach it?
You lie!
Einstein went to the American Imperialists
and helped them build the atomic bomb!
[excited commotion]
Bring up his wife!
She is a genuine physicist! She knows the truth!
[crowd roars]
Mother!
[shakily] Ye Zhetai!
With the help of the revolutionary youth,
it has become clear to me.
I want to stand on the side of the people!
[public cheers]
[Red Guard 1] Bow your head, Ye Zhetai!
Bow your head!
Bow!
[grunts]
Ye Zhetai. You cannot deny
you lectured on the counterrevolutionary Big Bang theory.
It is the most plausible explanation for the origin of the universe.
Lies!
The theory claims to know when time began.
Time began?
What came before time?
It leaves open a place to be filled by God.
[shocked murmuring]
Are you suggesting God exists?
Science has given no evidence either way.
[outraged clamoring]
[Zhetai groans]
Down with Ye Zhetai!
Down with academic authorities!
[crowd] Down with academic authorities!
Rebellion is just!
Revolution is righteous!
[chanting intensifies]
[ominous orchestral music playing]
[groans]
[screams]
[Zhetai moaning]
[belt buckles clanging]
[sobbing]
[Zhetai cries out]
[crowd cheers]
[groans]
[daughter screams]
[cheering dies down]
[gasps]
[ominous music subsides]
[stunned silence falls]
[panting]
[whimpers softly]
[flags fluttering in breeze]
[Red Guard 2 breathing shakily]
[murmurs quietly]
Let me go.
Let me go! [crying]
[weeping]
[agonized sobs]
[wind picks up]
[somber instrumental music playing]
[somber music building]
[Red Guard 2] Ye Wenjie.
[ominous strings grow to a crescendo]
[music ends abruptly]
[futuristic piano theme playing]
[theme song fades]
[siren wailing]
[tense music pulsing]
[indistinct chatter in distance]
[sirens approaching]
[radio beeps]
[officers speaking indistinctly]
Scotland Yard have been helpful for a change.
I told them we need to be involved.
[camera shutter clicks]
Dr. Sadiq Mohammed. Born in Karachi.
Studied cosmology and theoretical physics at MIT.
[flashlight clicks on]
[investigator 1] Strange suicide note.
[investigator 2] Another countdown.
[investigator 1] One of the betting sites had him as a favorite
for the next Nobel Prize in physics.
You can bet on that?
You can bet on anything, boss.
[tense music building]
History of mental illness,
previous suicide attempts, anything like that?
Nothing. Just like the others.
[camera shutter clicks]
[takes a deep breath]
[quietly] Christ.
[tense music swells]
[music fades out]
[birds singing in distance]
[machinery humming]
[key card reader buzzes]
[rapid typing]
[humming continues, muffled]
I knew you’d be the last one here.
Here till the lights go out, boss.
I keep thinking if I just stare at the screen long enough,
something will come to me.
They’ve shut the project down.
Mm-hmm.
But the power’s on till midnight, so…
You told us, “It doesn’t matter how beautiful your theory is.”
“If it doesn’t agree with experiment, it’s wrong.”
I think that was Feynman. But yeah.
According to the experiments, all of our theories are wrong.
All of them.
All of the physics of the past 60 years is wrong.
Science is broken.
[exhales sharply]
[takes a deep breath]
You were just a baby.
You’re not throwing this away, are you?
[gently] Oh, Saul. You mustn’t.
You still demonstrate great potential for future scientific accomplishment.
Missed my window.
“A person who has not made
his great contribution to science before the age of 30 will never do so.”
How old are you? Thirty-one?
Thirty-two.
Einstein wasn’t right about everything.
[softly] Hmm.
If anyone can figure this out, it’s you.
Saul.
Yeah?
[haunting orchestral music playing]
Do you believe in God?
Is that what it’s come to?
No. I don’t.
I accept that this defies all known laws of physics,
but… I don’t think that’s an argument for God.
So, what’s left?
[haunting strings building]
[door opens]
[sensors humming]
[door closes]
[mechanical droning reverberates]
[inhales sharply]
[music builds to a terrifying crescendo]
[“I Kissed a Girl” playing]
♪ I kissed a girl, and I liked it ♪
♪ The taste of her cherry ChapStick I kissed… ♪
[quietly] Wow.
Confidence.
You know you’re carrying me home, right?
I’ve done it before.
[both] Salud.
[mouthing] Thank you.
[out of tune] ♪ I kissed a girl, and I liked it… ♪
It’s possible our bar has gone to shit.
Second law of thermodynamics. Eventually, everything turns to shit.
Physics is turning to shit. Bars can’t be far behind.
Explain to me what’s going on.
Okay…
So, you ladies are gonna sing a song?
No.
[man] No? What do you mean, no?
You’re not… not singers?
No.
[man chuckles] All right.
What do you do, then? Hmm?
Wait. Hold on. Don’t tell me. Let me guess. You probably…
I design self-assembling, synthetic polymer nanofibers.
I started a company that manufactures them
for a variety of potential medical, energy, and materials applications.
And you?
I’m a senior researcher in the Theoretical Physics group
at Imperial College.
I’m doing a metastudy analyzing the results
of particle accelerator experiments around the world.
Nice one. Yeah.
[MC] Rufus, you’re up!
[Rufus] Yeah, all right. That’s me!
Yeah, enjoy it. Bye.
Okay, why is everyone freaking out?
[sighs]
About a month ago,
all the major accelerators started generating results
that make no fucking sense.
♪ It’s nine o’clock on a Saturday ♪
[crowd cheers]
♪ And the regular crowd shuffles in ♪
♪ There’s an old man sitting next to me ♪
♪ Making love to his tonic and gin ♪
[vocalizing]
Go on, you know it!
Come have a smoke with me.
That shit’ll kill you.
Yeah. So will this.
[Rufus] ♪ Play me a memory? ♪
[“Take on Me” playing]
♪ I don’t know what I’m to say ♪
♪ I’ll say it anyway… ♪
Wow.
[Jin] Mm.
Saul sent that one just last week from Oxford.
It’s been a while since Particle Physics, but, I mean, this can’t…
Nope. It can’t.
Well, then, maybe it’s a hack.
[scoffs]
In every accelerator on the planet?
I went through the CERN code, line by line. Nothing.
The code for the centralized software? How many lines is that?
It’s a lot, Auggie. It’s a lot of fucking lines.
Okay, so it’s a hardware issue.
Dipole magnets, muon chambers, calorimeters,
every component checked four times over in every collider from here to Beijing.
Okay, so what does Saul say?
He says it’s impossible.
What about you?
[sighs] These experiments teach us how the universe works.
And that?
That’s fucking Alice in Wonderland. [clicks tongue]
[cell phone ringing]
Now he calls.
I texted him to come three times, and he wouldn’t even text me back.
[scoffs]
[energy thrumming]
See how you like it.
You guys are like 14-year-olds.
[sighs]
[cell phone beeps]
[Auggie chuckles]
Take it. He’s probably high as fuck.
It’s fine. Take it.
[Jin] Hey.
[exhales deeply]
[tense music playing]
[lighter clicks]
Hey.
Oh. Hey, hi.
[softly] Do you see that?
See what?
That.
Huh?
[gasps softly]
[Rufus] You all right, love?
[inhales sharply]
[energy thrumming]
[breathing shakily]
[Jin] Auggie?
[gasps]
Vera Ye just killed herself.
[cap snaps on marker]
[birds singing]
[indistinct chatter outside]
[water running]
Excited to see Jin?
Well, it’s not exactly ideal circumstances, is it?
How long has it been?
Don’t know.
I’ll bet you do. I bet you remember to the day.
It’s been a while.
Fuck. I did not sleep at all last night.
Why not?
[inhales sharply]
I don’t know, Jack. Maybe it’s, uh…
Maybe it’s because Vera’s killed herself.
[Jack sighs]
[unscrews cap]
To Vera.
[gulps]
[flask clatters]
[rustling]
Jesus.
Hm?
[scoffs]
Hides the tequila smell.
Want one?
No.
Have one.
I don’t want one.
It’s my most popular flavor.
Third highest-selling crisps in the UK
after Walkers Cheese and Onion and Monster Munch Beef.
Congratulations.
Mm-hmm. Suck a dick, Pringles.
[chuckles]
[Jack sniffles]
[fastens flask cap]
Have you heard that Jin’s got a new boyfriend?
Don’t worry.
I bet he’s a total squid.
[church bells tolling]
You okay?
[crows cawing in distance]
[Jin chuckles] Fuckin’ Saul.
Come say hi.
[Jin] So sorry.
[Saul] Yeah. Me too.
So, this is Prithviraj.
Just Raj, mate.
Nice to meet you. [clears throat]
[Jin] What is goin’ on here?
I was trying to figure it out on YouTube.
Winner of the Apker Award. Can’t tie a tie.
Well, Lord Kelvin thought that atoms were knotted vortices in the ether.
Ah, did he?
He also thought that there are… [coughs]
Thank you.
[Jin] Is Auggie here yet?
[Saul] She said she’s running late.
[train clattering on tracks]
[horn blares]
[indistinct chatter]
[woman on PA] This service is now approaching Oxford,
where this train will terminate.
Please make sure you have all your belongings with you
before you leave the train.
[breathing shakily]
[gasps]
[energy thrumming]
[inhales sharply]
[takes a deep breath]
[thrumming intensifies]
[glowing numbers sizzling]
[thrumming fades]
[monks chanting]
[Jin] So sorry for your loss. We all loved your daughter very much.
Thank you for coming.
[chanting continues]
[Vera’s mom] You’ve all been so kind.
Jin’s looking good.
Phwoar. He’s looking good as well.
What?
Fuck off.
[Jin sighs]
[Jack chuckles softly]
[door opens]
[both] Hey.
[sighs] How are you doing?
Yeah, you know…
[sighs softly, sniffles]
[Raj mouthing]
[Auggie] Hey.
[inhales sharply]
[whispers] Did you see the neurologist?
[quietly] Yeah.
What’d he say?
She.
She. Oh. Jesus.
She has no clue why it’s happening.
Well, still. It’s still happening?
[door opens]
Like, right now?
Like, all the fucking time.
[door closes]
[sighs]
[footsteps approach]
[tense instrumental music playing]
[chanting intensifies]
[temple block tapping]
[mala beads rattling]
[breathing shakily]
[sounds distort]
[energy thrumming]
[menacing music playing]
[music cuts out]
[man] You drove, right?
[indistinct chatter]
[camera shutter clicking rapidly]
[tense, energetic music playing]
[lens whirs]
[shutter clicking rapidly]
[brakes squeak]
[tense music building]
[engine revs]
[tires squeal]
[lens whirs]
[camera shutter clicking rapidly]
[investigator exhales]
[whirring of blades fades into distance]
[Jin] What does that even mean?
“Do you believe in God?” Strange question, don’t you think?
Yeah. Not as strange as jumping into a Cherenkov tank, but sure.
Was she acting weird, or…
I don’t know. Uh, yes? But everything has been weird lately.
[Jin] That project was her baby. When it was shut down, it was like…
[Jack] It was shut down?
Can’t justify using enough electricity to power a small town
when you’re getting nonsense results.
Yeah. Not just Oxford. Every major accelerator on the planet.
[Will] She must’ve been depressed about that.
[Saul] Yeah. But to kill yourself?
She was a bit of a killjoy, if we’re being honest.
Don’t be a dick, Jack.
Ah. No. Listen to him. You were her favorite.
She’d have happily kept you on as a research assistant till the end of time.
But the rest of us, good luck.
That’s fucking rich, considering you’re the one who quit.
And trust me, all of you fucking noble academics,
you’ll be coming to me and Auggie for loans in a few years.
Oh, fuck off.
[sighs]
Isn’t that right, Auggie? When your…
When your company goes public?
[“The Killing Moon” by Echo & the Bunnymen playing]
Auggie!
[Auggie sighs]
♪ Nights I saw you… ♪
We’re just saying that… What did you call your company?
Uh, the Nanotechnology Research Center.
That’s probably the most boring name I’ve ever heard.
[Jin] Oh! Says the guy who named his company “Jack’s Snacks.”
[Auggie] Yeah.
Don’t be a dick.
Will, how’s, uh… How’s teaching going?
[hesitates] Uh, I don’t know. Like, I have about, um…
one kid in every class who actually listens to what I’m saying.
And the rest are just there for their mandatory science course.
[Jin] Oh.
We were all that one kid.
Yeah, that’s true. [sighs]
Are you two fighting right now?
Or fucking?
[group murmurs]
[Saul chuckles]
[Auggie clears throat]
Oh! Fighting and fucking.
[Auggie] Jack!
Stop.
Shut your mouth. You wanna know as well.
Jack, I love you, but I swear, if you don’t shut the fuck up,
I’m gonna punch a hole straight through your head.
[“The Killing Moon” continues]
I’m just gonna grab a cigarette.
[excited chatter]
[panting]
[dogs barking in distance]
[truck engine putters by]
[quietly] Oh shit.
[sighs]
[wind whistling]
[flip-top lighter clicks]
[woman] Need a little help?
[Auggie] Thank you.
[exhales]
[woman sighs]
May I?
[Auggie] Hmm.
[exhales]
It’s a clear night.
[energy thrumming]
[woman] You can see the stars.
Where I grew up, you could see the stars every night.
It’s not easy, is it?
Being a person in this fucked world.
I understand what you’re going through.
[sighs]
[scoffs] I doubt it.
It’s not hopeless, though.
[Auggie sighs]
Really.
[clears throat]
The Lord has a better way.
[sighs] Listen, you seem like a very nice person.
I’m just not interested, okay?
How far has it got?
Your countdown?
[unsettling string music playing]
How much time do you have left?
[gasps]
Less than two days?
Yeah?
That’s not much.
It’s easy to make it stop.
You put an end to your work.
No more nanofibers.
You shut down the lab.
Simple.
Who are you?
I’d be suspicious as well.
Tell you what.
Tomorrow, at midnight,
at exactly midnight,
go outside and look up at the sky.
Has the universe ever winked at you?
[ominous tone resonates]
[woman] Tomorrow at midnight.
You don’t want it to get to zero.
Nothing good ever happens at zero.
[footsteps fade]
[Auggie] Hey!
[ominous tones building]
[energy thrumming]
[tones fade]
[wood creaking]
[bird calls]
[trunk strains]
[men grunting]
[indistinct chatter]
[somber music playing]
[workers panting]
[foreman shouting orders in Mandarin]
[all groaning]
[Ye Wenjie grunts]
[foreman shouting]
[indistinct chatter]
[man in Mandarin] How old?
Between three and four hundred, I assume.
[man] That tree saw the Ming emperors.
You must have considered the consequences of all this destruction.
These thoughts are dangerous.
I have nothing to say to the Great Production News.
I’m not asking on behalf of the paper.
I’m just Bai Mulin,
fellow comrade.
[alarm blaring above]
[dish whirs]
I’ve climbed up there. No one knows what goes on behind those gates.
Things get odder the closer you get.
The soldiers working there have lost their hair.
Clear weather turns stormy.
The animals make strange sounds.
[wind picks up]
[softly] You read English, don’t you?
Silent Spring.
This book was very influential in the West.
It’s about how people are poisoning the world.
It’s like reading into the future if we persist with this destruction.
[melancholic piano music playing]
[in English] “Here again, we are reminded that in nature, nothing exists alone.”
[in Mandarin] Keep it for now if you want to read it.
But be careful.
Don’t let anyone see.
[wind gusting]
[thunder rumbling]
[worker coughing]
[rain pattering on roof]
[tools clanging]
[indistinct chatter]
[gentle orchestral music playing]
[branches creaking in breeze]
[guards chatting in distance]
[both breathing heavily]
[Ye Wenjie grunts]
[gentle music swells]
[tools clanging in distance]
[gentle music fades]
[music grows tense]
[gasps]
[music fades out]
[panting]
[inhales sharply]
Commander Song. Forgive me.
I didn’t see where I was going.
[tense music playing]
[wind whistling]
Have you lost this?
How did you get this toxic propaganda?
It isn’t mine.
It’s in English.
You speak English. Who else’s could it be?
A truthful response is in your best interest.
I forget.
[Song] You will pay the price
if you are protecting someone.
Someone must have given it to you!
Take her to Division Headquarters.
[somber music playing]
[engine running]
[wind whistling]
[woman] I am Teng Lihua of the Intermediate People’s Court.
How long have they made you wait?
[Teng Lihua] Boy.
How long has this stove been out?
Little Wenjie will freeze to death! Fetch some coal.
[footsteps fade]
I asked to see you. Do you know why?
[door closes]
Because not only are you the daughter of the disgraced Ye Zhetai,
but his star pupil as well.
In the eyes of many in the Party,
this makes you irredeemable.
But I don’t see it that way.
I know of your own accomplishments as a scholar.
I don’t want your talent to go to waste.
All you need to do is sign this paper, take a political class,
and you’ll be approved to rejoin the Construction Corps.
I’d like to read it, please.
[sighs, takes a deep breath]
You can trust me on this.
This document has nothing to do with the Imperialist book.
[breathing shakily]
My father is dead.
But there are others in his field
still spreading dangerous ideas.
We lack evidence against them.
I’ve never seen my father with any of these people.
The statements are all true.
Even your mother has signed.
See.
I cannot sign this.
I cannot testify.
If you fail to sign,
the Military Control Commission will prosecute you.
At that stage,
I will be powerless to help.
[tense music playing]
[papers rustle]
I cannot sign this.
I cannot testify.
[shivering]
[bucket clatters]
[under breath] Stubborn little bitch.
[cell door slams]
[haunting orchestral music playing]
[rattling]
[speaking softly in Mandarin]
[music fades]
[birds singing]
[wind gusting]
Ye Wenjie.
I am Lei Zhicheng, Political Commissar of Red Coast Base.
This is Yang Weining, Chief Engineer of Red Coast Base.
Ye Wenjie, you are credited as the author of this article.
Yes.
[in English] “The Possible Extenses of…”
“The Possible Existence of Phase Boundaries
within the Solar Radiation Zone and Their Reflective Characteristics.”
[in Mandarin] Yes. I wrote it.
We have a need for your specific talents.
The Commission has decided to give you a chance.
Rehabilitate yourself here rather than prison.
This is a military base.
The research here is of the highest security classification.
And given your status,
if you stay,
you will never leave.
I want to go in.
[tense music playing]
I will stay here for the rest of my life.
[doors close heavily]
[birds calling]
[car horn honks in distance]
[takes a deep breath]
[cell phone vibrating]
[sighs]
Yep.
[Wade on speakerphone] Any progress?
More than you think. Less than you want.
Anything happening with the Oxford five?
Maybe. Some strange CCTV footage
on Salazar the night of Vera Ye’s funeral.
What about Evans?
[clicks tongue] Rarely seen in public since 1984.
Next to nothing written about him for 42 years
since he took over daddy’s oil company.
Where’d he go in that helicopter?
We lost him over the Atlantic. Satellite malfunction.
My satellites don’t malfunction.
All right. Now, what about that thing in Tehran?
The shiny bicycle helmet?
Whatever it is, we can’t get our hands on it.
Are we sure it was another suicide?
I wouldn’t say “sure.”
The Iranians have been less than completely helpful.
Clarence, you’ve been fired from Scotland Yard, MI5, and OSCT.
That must be some kind of record.
I’ve got a knack for failing upwards.
You don’t fail any higher than this.
This is your last-chance saloon.
Don’t fuck it up.
No smoking in here.
[soothing piano music playing]
[birds singing outside]
[Vera’s mom speaking Mandarin]
Take it. She would want you to have it.
[Jin] I don’t understand it.
I’ve tried.
But I just can’t wrap my head around it, why she would do that.
That wasn’t Vera.
Her work… Things weren’t going well.
I know. It’s the same for all of us.
I’m sorry to ask, but did she leave a note or any explanation?
[softly] Nothing.
She asked Saul about God.
Did she ever ask you?
About God?
We’re not believers in this house. We’re scientists.
Did she say anything strange to you?
Did she do anything strange?
Video games.
She was playing a video game.
Vera?
Yes, quite a lot.
Hmm.
Where is it?
Oh.
[ominous music playing]
That’s a video game?
Where’s the rest of it?
That’s it.
[Jin] What kind of game is this?
[quietly] I don’t know. [chuckles]
I played Pong.
[both chuckle softly]
Can I have it?
Of course.
[music fades]
Is that you?
In another life. My first job.
You’re beautiful.
I was.
Time is a motherfucker.
[suspenseful music playing]
[machinery whirring]
[Lei in Mandarin] Only three months,
and you get to see your first test.
You’re lucky.
Most people have to wait longer.
What are we testing?
Missiles?
Everybody has missiles.
[man on PA] Target Coordinates: BN20197F,
checked and confirmed.
Test transmission in ten.
Nine.
Eight.
Seven.
Six.
Five.
Four.
Three.
Two.
One.
Begin transmission.
[static crackling]
[high-pitched ringing]
[wings fluttering]
[birds calling frantically]
[birds slamming against satellite dish]
[panicked chirping intensifies]
[ringing fades]
[flapping dies down]
[man on PA] Transmission complete.
[softly] BN20197F.
[somber music playing]
Those were the coordinates for the target.
You have a good memory.
What is the target?
[wind gusting]
[music fades]
[ominous music playing]
[sounds distort]
[muffled echoing]
[Jin gasps]
[woman] Level one.
[wind gusting]
[static crackles]
[Jin gasps]
[exhales sharply]
[sighs]
[ominous music playing]
[wind picks up]
[Jin grunting]
[screams]
[static crackles]
[breathing shakily]
What the fuck?
[Clarence] Wade really wants one of these helmets.
Thinks they’re highly relevant.
We ever seen one over here?
No, not yet.
What else is relevant?
Mike Evans.
That bicycle helmet looks expensive.
Evans is rich.
What about the countdowns?
Yes, if they happen to scientists.
Suicides, if they happen to scientists.
Anything strange happening to scientists is relevant.
Anyone connected to anything strange happening to scientists is relevant.
Who decides what’s relevant?
Wade.
Who decides he decides?
Governments.
[investigator] Which ones?
Most.
They’re not too keen on the notion of science being broken.
I don’t really understand the science that’s broken, to be honest.
I don’t understand it either, but it’s not good.
[elevator bell chimes]
Just be glad you’re not a scientist.
Shit time to be a scientist.
[crickets chirping]
[Auggie] You’re smoking a lot of weed.
Yep. Is that why we’re here? This an intervention?
[Auggie] No.
Well, what are we doing here?
Not what you’re thinking.
I don’t think anything.
Yeah, you are. And it’s not that.
You asked me to come, here I am,
on this moonless night, in this beautiful place.
[in Spanish] You with all those curves and me with no brakes.
[groans]
[exhales, in English] What did that weird chick say to you again?
“Has the universe ever winked at you?”
She said to look at the sky at midnight and gave me this.
[decoder clicks]
[Auggie] It came out of a breakfast cereal. I looked it up.
They haven’t made it since 1963.
What’s going on with you, though?
I don’t want you to know.
No confirmation bias.
Just watch, and let me know what you observe, if you observe anything.
Science, dude. That’s why you’re here, okay?
I understand my role. [clears throat]
Thank you for being here.
[Saul clears throat]
[clicking]
[Saul] It looks like Morse code, but it’s not.
You know Morse code?
I know all kind of shit.
Toasty-O-Sters.
I mean, it’s not a very good name. I could think of a better name.
I’d have to taste it first.
The name should reflect and support what it feels like to eat the cereal.
It’s toasted. Like, we know that much…
Shut up and observe.
Two minutes to midnight. [sighs]
[tense music playing]
[machinery whirring]
[in Mandarin] Sit.
Not everyone here agrees with what is about to be done.
Given your political status.
On Chief Engineer Yang’s recommendation,
we have decided
to inform you of the true nature of the Red Coast Project.
[grunts] Stars are so bright tonight.
You’re so high.
Yeah, but still,
they’re pretty bright.
[Auggie gasps]
[bell tolling the hour]
[ominous orchestral music playing]
Saul.
[breathing shakily]
[quietly] Oh my God.
[in Mandarin] Red Coast is not an experimental weapons program.
Go on.
The emissions from the system are modulated.
Frequency modulation is not necessary for weapons systems.
You are correct.
It is not necessary for weaponization.
But it is necessary for communication.
[bell continues tolling the hour]
[ominous music building]
[low rumbling]
[Saul] I observe the universe winking.
How can it be happening?
It can’t.
[panting]
Shit. It’s a code.
What?
[decoder clicking]
[Auggie] What does it say?
What does it say?
[in Mandarin] Communication…
with whom?
With whomever is out there.
[Clarence] What is that? [sighs]
That, Clarence, is our enemy.
It’s not letters. It’s just numbers.
Which numbers?
[Saul] Ten, thirty-four, zero, six,
five, four, three,
two, one.
[ominous music fades]
[tense music playing]
[clock ticking]
[Clarence] Don’t you want to know why the stars flickered for you?
[Jin] This is what Vera was playing before she killed herself.
[man] Your mission is to solve the riddle of this world.
If one of us survives,
we all survive.
[blows gently]
[Wade] There’s someone behind everything.
You just have to dig.
[speaking inaudibly]
My Lord, we can help you.
[tense music building]
[Jin] I think they’re real.
And they’re coming.
[music swells]
[explosion blasts]
[somber closing theme playing]
[closing theme fades]
