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3 Body Problem – S01E05 – Judgment Day | Transcript

As threat levels rise, a secret mission to retrieve enemy intel ventures into dangerous territory. An ominous message reaches Earth.
3 Body Problem - S01E05 - Judgment Day

3 Body Problem
Season 1 – Episode 5
Episode title: Judgment Day
Original release date: March 21, 2024

Plot: As threat levels rise, a secret mission to retrieve enemy intel ventures into dangerous territory. An ominous message reaches Earth.

* * *

[ship horn blares in distance]

[gulls calling]

Commodore William said I’d find you here.

Is there a problem, sir?

Is this your first command?

May I ask what this is about?

Oh, let me rephrase. This is your first command.

Top man in your class at the Royal Naval College,

top man of the last ten years.

According to Admiral Cannon, you’re the belle of the ball.

Sir, if you’re headhunting for MI5…

I don’t work for MI5. So, what do you think?

What do I think about what, sir?

That.

[Raj] Fastest destroyer on the water, Sea Viper air defense,

best-in-class radar system.

I’m not asking for the press release. I’m asking what you think.

I think you’re not my superior officer, sir.

I think I don’t have to answer your questions, sir.

Ask yourself why I’d come all the way to fucking Govan to find you.

Why would I, and I’m the busiest man you ever met,

spend hours talking to your commanding officers,

your college instructors,

and every other boat cunt you met along the way?

I’m flattered, sir.

But I don’t discuss highly sensitive naval operations with strangers.

Well, you could ask to see my ID.

That’d tell you who I am and where I work.

But if you ask to see my ID,

I’ll know you’re a sackless wonder like every other top Navy man I ever met.

May I see your ID, sir?

[sighs]

This ship was designed for 20th century conflict, Mr. Wade.

It’s too expensive for asymmetric encounters with non-state actors.

It’s too vulnerable to cheap munitions,

and it burns 4,000 liters of diesel an hour.

If you gave me a billion pounds for naval defense,

I’d spend it on a few thousand aerial drones instead of that.

[dramatic orchestral music playing]

Why did you join the Navy?

To defend my country.

What I need you for is far more important.

[futuristic piano theme playing]

[theme song fades]

You said they weren’t coming for over 400 years.

So how do you know they’re gonna be nice?

Nice?

Usually, when people with more advanced technology

encounter people with more primitive technology,

doesn’t work out well for the primitives.

[tense music playing]

You’re the good cop?

Depends who you ask.

Where’s the bad cop?

Watching.

So, 15th of August 1977, E.T. phoned home.

You got a reply from the aliens?

[Ye Wenjie] Yes.

From the San-Ti listener who received my message.

The San-Ti, he… it told you, “Don’t do this.”

“This will be bad for your people.” But you did it anyway.

I did.

Why?

Because our civilization is no longer capable of solving its own problems.

[birds singing]

[tense music fades]

They’ve got at least ten undercover cops guarding us.

That’s not enough.

[Auggie] You think they’re still after us?

I led the cops right to them.

So… yeah.

[inhales sharply]

[Auggie] Are you sure you wanna be taking all those?

They’re for anxiety.

I know.

[Jin] I have anxiety.

I know.

People are trying to kill us. And maybe aliens are.

I know, but I’m sure they’re not meant to be popped like candy.

Auggie, I love you, but can you fuck off?

Now I remember why we stopped living together.

Just let me have my pills and my shitty muesli, bitch.

Why is Raj not here, protecting us in his hot little uniform?

[scoffs] He’s on some secret mission.

I see him one day a week.

I don’t really know what’s goin’ on with him.

I thought I knew Vera’s mum.

You know, she used to make me gan guo potatoes at Oxford

when I was feeling homesick.

She was like my sweet, old auntie.

[softly] Fuck, man.

She’s known us forever.

Yep.

They’re moving us around like… like, with strings, um…

What’s the…

Puppets?

[Auggie] Puppets! How do I forget that word?

[sighs] I’m not gonna be a fucking puppet anymore.

So, um, we’re gonna defeat the aliens?

Well, of course it sounds stupid when you say it like that. [sighs]

How long do you think they’re gonna keep us here?

Don’t know. [sighs]

Until it’s safe, I guess.

[Auggie] And when is that gonna be?

No, I don’t know.

For a genius, you don’t know much.

[laughs]

More time with the good cop?

Tea? Coffee?

[recorder beeps]

Well, everything you told me checks out.

You’ve been very cooperative.

Why?

The Lord allowed you to capture me.

Which means I’m no longer valuable,

which means… what I know is not a threat.

Does that bother you?

Do I want to believe in my own importance? Of course.

I have my vanity. I’m sure you do too.

Maybe not in your appearance.

But I don’t matter anymore.

You don’t matter.

The people watching don’t matter.

All that matters is this.

They are coming.

What about Evans?

Does he still matter to your Lord?

[Ye Wenjie] I don’t know.

We’re right in assuming he’s Vera’s father?

Only in the biological sense.

You hid the truth from her.

[Ye Wenjie] I did.

Why?

Because she wasn’t strong enough.

So you tried to protect her, but it didn’t work out, did it?

Maybe you’re not the good cop after all.

Maybe Evans told her.

She never met him.

The first time he ever looked at her, she was in her coffin.

I thought I was a shit dad.

I’m sure you are.

When you gave Jin Cheng the VR headset, you said it belonged to Vera.

I lied.

Why recruit Jin Cheng?

She could be the most capable physicist of her generation.

[Clarence] Even better than you?

No.

[Clarence chuckles]

There is one thing we can’t figure out.

Just one thing?

It takes four years for a radio signal

to get from our planet to their planet, correct?

And another four to get a response.

But from what we can tell, Evans spends most of his life on a ship,

Judgment Day.

So, what’s he doing?

Waiting eight years for a callback?

Now, I’m an idiot, never went to uni, but I can’t make sense of that.

Unless…

Unless?

There is a faster way to communicate.

But faster-than-light communication’s impossible.

Impossible for us.

[sinister instrumental music playing]

I wish I could show you what the future looks like.

Twenty quid it won’t be as glorious as you’re thinking.

[Wade] Would you consider yourself a student of history?

[Clarence] Uh, it’s not my best subject.

Not that I had one.

[Wade] Ever have a DNA test? Check your heritage?

I have.

You know what I am?

Half jackal?

European mutt. Boring as fuck.

Except for this bit. I’m 1% Mongolian.

We’re practically brothers.

[Wade] You know what these are, Clarence? Iron stirrups.

Almost 1,000 years old.

Take a look.

Genghis Khan’s army used metal stirrups before anyone else.

They fought better on horseback than the enemy.

They conquered the world. They fucked everybody.

That’s why I’m 1% Mongolian.

How much do 1,000-year-old stirrups go for?

I don’t know. They were a gift from a Chinese friend.

A more successful Chinese friend.

Obviously. [sighs]

You did a good job with the old girl.

She’s not hiding anything.

In her mind, it doesn’t matter anymore.

She underestimates us.

Either that, or we’re fucked.

If you’re right about Evans keeping a record

of his communications with the San-Ti…

He kept it. It’s like the word of the Lord.

It’s like the Bible to them.

We need that Bible.

We need to find out everything we can about these cunts.

We’ve got 400 years to come up with a plan,

but we can’t plan without intelligence.

We need to find out what kind of stirrups they got.

[Wade] Correct.

It’s a hostage operation, except the hostage is a hard drive,

or whatever they put their records on.

It’s somewhere on Judgment Day. That’s the only safe place to keep it.

We need to get our hands on it.

It’s a tough nut.

We don’t know how many people are onboard. Could be over 1,000.

[Wade] Traitors to humanity.

Including kids.

Yeah, it’s a shame their parents betrayed their own species.

But there it is.

How do we neutralize everyone aboard the ship

without damaging the data?

If you’re thinkin’ Special Forces,

it’ll be a fucking bloodbath on both sides.

And they’ll probably have time to destroy the drive

or whatever before our lads will get it.

Yeah, it’s a nonstarter.

Missile strike could end up blowing the bit that we need.

You could try some type of gas, but a ship’s got far too many air vents.

You’re giving me your shite ideas.

Oh, I’m sorry. Did you want a good idea?

Fun fact, did you know that Judgment Day just booked a slot

at the Panama Canal Authority for next month?

[wind gusting]

[excited chatter]

Morale seems good, all things considered.

Everyone puts on a brave face when you’re around.

People are worried.

Of course they are.

Some of them have got loved ones in prison. Some are missing.

[Evans] A moment like this is a great test of faith.

Has your faith been tested?

We always thought the Lord was watching over us.

[chuckles] Unlike the mythical gods our species has conjured up,

our Lord truly watches over us.

But the raid in England…

I don’t understand.

You have a cat, don’t you?

Does your cat understand why we’re sailing across the Atlantic?

Forgive me. I…

The Lord speaks with me every day.

This raid was no surprise.

Do you think they would have allowed it to happen

if they did not want it to happen?

No.

If our comrades in England were captured or killed,

that is all part of the Lord’s plan.

Yes. Yes, of course.

I’ll see you later for dinner.

[Evans] My Lord?

I understand if silence is part of the plan,

but I continue to serve you.

We continue to serve you.

[ominous music playing]

We never lied to you, Lord.

Never.

Please.

Please speak to us again.

Please, my Lord.

Well, it’s absolutely bang on for dating the object.

Some of the best things from Fabergé are made in the 20th century…

Right.

The age of the motorcar, telephone.

Even of electricity.

And here, we have something. This sort of red…

Good one, this one.

Fuck! Holy shit.

Why would you sneak up on me like that?

[Clarence] Million pound, that.

Spoiler.

Stopped at Marks and Sparks on the way.

Figured they gave you shit to eat.

[sighs] Did you find the bitch who killed Jack?

[Clarence] No. Not yet.

Her people keep their secrets locked away on a big ship.

If we’re gonna get our hands on those secrets,

we need you to resume production on the nanofibers.

What?

Do you want justice for Jack?

Yes, and it’s your job to get it.

I’m just asking you to go back to work.

Oh, that’s easy for you to say. They didn’t plant a bomb in your brain.

You’re scared. I get it.

You’re right to be scared,

but we have got one shot to stop these fuckers,

and I need your help.

Why? What are my nanofibers gonna do against them?

I can’t tell you that.

So you just want me to trust you?

[softly] Yes.

[tense music playing]

[Clarence] You want a smoke?

You can’t smoke in here.

Damn, I’ll get in trouble.

That’s not gonna help.

And those cops outside aren’t gonna help either.

You know that, right?

There are things more than four light-years away

that can imprint images on my retinas, so men with guns are not gonna protect me.

Aliens didn’t kill Jack.

Oh my God. I need a drink.

Wow.

Old school.

That’s me.

What is it?

Whiskey.

[coughs]

It’s nasty.

Can’t afford the good shit.

[coughs]

[fastens cap]

[sniffles]

[exhales shakily]

[ominous instrumental music playing]

[typing]

[ominous music building]

[machinery whirring]

[music grows to a crescendo]

[ominous music fades]

[gasps softly]

[sighs]

[gentle orchestral music playing]

[exhales]

[crying softly]

[grunts]

The numbers.

Why didn’t they come back?

I think the Lord’s stopped protecting his flock.

You men and women have been handpicked by Commander Varma.

You’re the finest engineers in the Royal Navy,

which doesn’t mean shit to me.

You’re probably wondering why you’re taking orders from a Dubliner in civvies.

That must be a first, huh?

You have six days to complete an engineering project.

When you’ve succeeded, there will be no medals, no public recognition,

no glory.

But the next six days are the most important ones of your lives.

Do not fuck it up.

He’s a real prick, isn’t he?

Who says he’s real?

[Wade] Grab your bags. We’re gone.

You don’t think it’s weird that he chose Jin’s boyfriend to lead the mission?

Everything he does is weird.

[soldier shouts indistinctly]

[Auggie] How come you don’t have to go?

Not my skill set.

Oh, you have a skill set?

[chewing loudly] Mm-hmm.

A while back, I was, uh, lead detective on a murder case.

Yeah, a Mexican bloke pushed his wife off a cliff.

Know why he did it?

[in low voice] Tequila.

[Auggie sighs]

Oh. Hey, Saul. Hey, strange person.

Hey, bud.

How you doin’?

Yeah, good.

Good.

Uh, Mr. Pugh. He gave me a ride down here.

Mr. Downing. I’m Selwin Pugh, solicitor to the estate of Jack Rooney.

I’m sorry to bother you on holiday.

It’s just that it’s rather urgent, given the scale of the bequeathment.

[chuckles] Is that a real word?

It is, yes.

Sorry. I’m super high.

My client, the late Mr. Rooney, has left you half of his estate,

which after taxes, amounts to almost 20 million pounds.

Once the forms are signed and sent back,

we’ll just need your guidance about where to deposit the funds.

I’ll make sure he signs everything.

Thank you.

I’ll be on my way, then.

[Saul] Thanks.

[Saul exhales]

[laughs]

Shit. [sighs]

[papers rustle]

You want it?

I think you know what Jack would’ve wanted.

Find the best oncologist on the planet, find the latest treatments…

Too late for that.

Give yourself a shot. How do you know?

I got a second opinion, Saul. I’m not a fucking idiot.

It’s spread too far.

The time I’ve got left, I don’t wanna just fucking fly around,

getting jabbed and prodded and scanned.

I just wanna, like, look at the sky, you know?

Eat some good food.

Have a few really good weeks before it all gets too rough.

I get it.

I’d do the same thing.

[Will] Are you hungry?

I’m starving.

[exhales sharply]

You know, there’s a Cornish pasty shop, just down the road.

I love Cornish pasties.

We could buy five million if you want.

[both chuckle]

[birds singing]

[man on radio] Topside, this is diver one.

Side winches in place, starboard winches being installed.

Roger. Portside pillar is on-site.

Connection of portside fibers commencing in ten minutes.

[excited chatter]

[machinery whirring]

[indistinct radio chatter]

[Auggie] Once fibers are at full tension, we can retract the sheets. Be careful.

[Raj] We need to age it before we add the nanofiber apparatus.

Another layer of rust. Make it look like it’s 30 years old. Yeah?

All on track?

[Raj] Yes, sir.

Twenty-six hours till Judgment Day.

[Wade] You good?

[Auggie] I’m fine.

I’m not sure this is Commander Varma’s forte.

Double-check his work.

How many people are on board?

[Wade] We don’t know.

Anybody from the Canal Authority?

The pilot.

He’s required to accompany the ship all the way to the Pacific.

[Auggie] Can’t we…

Is there any way that we can warn him?

You know how many people died building this canal?

Nobody does.

Best estimates are between five and 20,000.

Malaria and yellow fever got most of them.

But there were landslides, dynamite accidents, and drownings.

It was a real shit show, but those poor fucks

kept digging until it was done.

Which do you think is more important to the human race,

a canal or defeating an enemy coming to our world to take it for themselves?

I don’t trust her. Triple-check all her work.

[tropical birds calling]

[leaves rustling in breeze]

How many people are on that ship?

I don’t know.

You’re a naval guy.

You know what type of ship, how big the crew is. Right?

It’s not a naval ship. It’s a converted oil tanker.

If the systems are fully automated, it could be a pretty small crew.

[Auggie] Just give me a guess.

I don’t know.

Well, maybe it won’t work.

Why wouldn’t it work?

Because we’ve never made fibers this long before.

We’ve never tested underwater. We don’t know if the supports will hold…

The supports will hold.

You want it to work.

Of course I want it to work.

Even though you don’t know how many people we’re going to kill?

You don’t know anything about them. who they are,

what their names are, or why they deserve to die.

But I know it’s important.

They wouldn’t have sent us…

They? Who’s they?

Wade? Who the fuck is Wade? Who are Wade’s bosses?

They are telling us to kill people we don’t know for reasons we don’t know,

and you’re just like, “Yeah, cool”?

I’m not like you.

I didn’t sign up for this.

You understand this stuff better than I do.

You’re military.

So what do you think is happening?

I think we’re at war.

[tense music playing]

[birds singing]

[ship horn blares]

[wind gusting]

[device whirring]

[monitors beeping]

That’s the last one. Let’s go.

Charlie, Charlie One. All call signs go.

[man on PA] Proceed, Charlie, Charlie One. We’re all a go.

[woman on PA] Just checking on three-one now.

[machinery whirring]

You okay?

Here she comes.

[tense, rhythmic music building]

[Auggie sighs]

[indistinct chatter]

[speaking indistinctly]

[woman] That’s right.

[speaking indistinctly]

[Evans sighs]

[tense music subsides]

It’s not working.

[suspenseful string music playing]

Why isn’t it working?

It is.

[relaxed, indistinct chatter in distance]

[metal creaks]

[grunts]

[sinister music playing]

[fibers strain]

[boy] Hey, look!

[metal creaking]

[girl] Look!

[kids screaming]

[metal straining and groaning]

[panicked shouts]

[hull creaking]

What was that?

I don’t know. Did we schedule a fire drill?

[fiber straining]

[Evans gasps]

[panting]

[steam hissing]

[sinister music swells]

[music cuts out]

[monitors beeping]

[indistinct, hushed chatter]

[Auggie exhales]

[sinister music pulsating]

[terrified screams]

[man 1 yells]

[woman] Go!

[man 2 shouts]

[all screaming]

[girl shrieks]

[alarms blaring]

[hull groaning]

Felix!

[Felix] Are we under attack?

Sir!

[Evans groans]

[gasps]

[grunts]

[electricity crackling]

[Evans strains]

[bones crack]

[moaning]

[hull rattling]

[high-pitched metallic grating]

[sighs]

[quietly] Forgive me, my Lord.

[metallic sawing dies down]

[indistinct radio chatter]

[metal rending and groaning]

[electricity crackles]

[Auggie exhales shakily]

[hull scraping]

[metal screeching]

[fragments wrenching and splintering]

[hull tearing]

[metal shrieking]

[Auggie sighs]

[breathing shakily]

[sniffles]

[debris crashing]

[flames roar]

[exhales sharply]

[indistinct radio chatter continues]

Congratulations, Dr. Salazar.

[indistinct, distant chatter]

[haunting instrumental music playing]

[machinery clanging in distance]

[tools whirring]

[Auggie sighs]

[exhales sharply]

[panting]

[sighs]

[equipment whirring]

[alarm beeping]

[man] Mr. Wade, Commander Varma, we found him!

[man 2 shouting orders]

[Raj] Thanks.

[dramatic orchestral music playing]

[gasps]

[drive humming]

[rapid typing]

Still nothing?

It’s only been two weeks.

[Clarence] Only?

I told Wade.

He wouldn’t listen.

[Clarence] How long is it gonna take?

Don’t think. Guess.

Assuming quantum encryption 20 years ahead of ours,

median time would be

3.8 trillion years.

Don’t fuck about.

Hmm. Could strike it lucky.

3.8 billion years?

[Clarence huffs]

You could crack it open.

Crack it open?

[Clarence] Yeah.

Have a look inside. Maybe you’d learn something.

I’m not gonna crack it open.

[Clarence] Well, it’s worth fuck all if you can’t get out what’s inside.

As I said from the beginning,

brute-force cryptography just isn’t gonna…

[monitor whirring]

[menacing music playing]

What happened?

It’s open.

You didn’t do anything.

It opened because they want us to see what’s inside.

[grunts] Twenty-eight gigs of text and media files?

Isn’t that less than my phone?

[sighs] Maybe not your phone.

What about that?

Not familiar with the file type.

It’s 100 petabytes.

I don’t know what that means…

It means 100 million gigabytes.

That’s more than my phone.

[Wade] The sound it made. Well, you wouldn’t have liked it.

Like God’s fingernails scraping his chalkboard.

Anyway, sorry for your loss.

Although it sounds like he wasn’t much help around the house.

You said your space friends let us break up their organization

and get our hands on you.

Did they let us do this too?

Yes.

[Wade] Why?

Why would they let us destroy their ship and kill your boyfriend?

Their reasons are beyond my ability to comprehend.

That’s all right.

I know they’re coming to save us from ourselves.

I know they’re the only ones who can.

Be careful with what you know. That’s where most people’s troubles begin.

I know some things too.

Oh right. I did just say be careful with that.

Still, I think you’d be interested in the things I know.

You’re here to shatter my belief,

but it’s stronger than you are because they are stronger than you are.

You’ve gone from “know” to “believe” in half a minute, but that’s okay.

Faith’s good. I have faith too.

Faith that when they get here, we’re gonna wipe them out.

Your faith seems even more ridiculous to me than mine must to you.

Ah, but that goes back to what I know. Remember that from half a minute ago?

Things you’d like to know.

Like why did they let us destroy their ship and kill their followers

and break up your party and arrest you?

Am I under arrest?

What crime have I committed?

[ominous music playing]

What is that?

Oh, this?

Oh!

This is what we got off the Judgment Day.

Shakespeare never worked half this hard for a bit of dialogue.

It’s a recording of the conversations between Evans and your Lord. Here.

We put together the best bits. Have a listen.

Find out what your space friends really are

and what they really think of you.

Be careful with what you know.

[inhales sharply]

That’s where your troubles begin.

[door opens]

[door shuts heavily, locks]

[fluorescent lights humming]

[takes a deep breath]

[player beeps]

[Evans] Can’t you ever say anything that you know to be false? Can’t you lie?

[female voice] You do this? You lie?

[Evans] Well, I try not to, but, um, yeah.

Yeah, we all do sometimes, one way or another.

[female voice] We think we understand now.

A liar is someone whose words are false.

A liar cannot be trusted.

We cannot coexist with liars.

[Ye Wenjie breathing shakily]

[female voice] We are afraid of you.

[Evans] Lord?

My Lord?

[startled] My Lord, are you there?

[line ringing]

[Auggie] This is Augustina Salazar. I’m not available…

[line ringing]

[Raj] Hey, this is Raj. Leave a message after the beep.

[call disconnects]

[Jin sighs]

Oh. What the fuck?

What are you doing here?

Picking you up.

What? What for?

Most people would be flattered that their boss came to pick them up for work.

You’re not my boss.

Hey.

[sighs]

Commander Varma tells me you understand extra dimensions, higher dimensions.

When did you talk to Raj?

I talk to him all the time. I talk to all my employees all the time.

Okay. He’s in the Royal Navy, buddy.

Unless you’re the King of England, he’s not your employee.

He never mentioned that he works for me? Good.

Why should I believe you?

Higher dimensions.

I believe you’ve discussed the subject with Commander Varma before?

He told you about that?

[Wade] Higher dimensions, you understand that kind of thing?

Nobody really understands that kind of thing.

Our brains evolved in three dimensions, not ten.

To the extent we are capable of understanding them, yes, I do.

The result of your boyfriend’s last mission leads us to believe

we may be in need of this kind of understanding.

Well, I don’t know anything about his last mission.

I haven’t been able to get in touch with him. Where was he?

You’re very pushy.

I’m pushy?

[Wade] And repetitive.

Maybe you shouldn’t be working for me.

I don’t work for you.

Okay, you’re the boss.

[engine starts]

Why do you wanna know about higher dimensions?

Does the word “Sophon” mean anything to you, boss?

[Wade sighs]

They wanna show us something.

What?

Don’t know. No one has seen this yet.

Anybody seen this yet?

No, sir.

Is it another level of the game?

Could be.

What do we do now?

You prepare yourself for something very strange.

I’ve heard that.

No, I mean very strange.

[Wade] I’m sure I’ll manage.

I meant, how do we get it started?

Put it on.

That’s it?

You said they wanna show us something.

If they want it to work, it’ll work for us.

All right, then.

[ominous instrumental music playing]

[sounds distort]

[muffled echoing]

Jesus, fuck!

[wind gusting]

Yep.

[sighs]

How do they know what we’re wearing?

I don’t know.

[Jin gasps]

[wind whistling]

[ominous music swells]

Who’s she?

An AI.

Or maybe one of them.

They look like us?

We don’t look anything like this.

This is all for your benefit.

What do you really look like?

You wouldn’t like it.

Why did you bring us here?

To tell you that we’re doomed.

Our species is doomed.

[Jin] Why?

How long will the fleet take to reach Earth?

Four hundred years.

That’s why we’re doomed.

Human beings have existed for over 100,000 years.

For most of that time, you weren’t so different from apes.

How long did it take you to discover agriculture?

Why don’t you cut the shit and tell us?

It took you 90,000 years to get from hunter-gatherer to farmer.

After that, how long did it take you to become industrialists?

About 10,000 years.

Atomic power?

Two hundred years.

Computers? The information age?

Fifty years.

And how long do you think it took us to get from hunting to farming,

and farming to industry,

and industry to atomic power?

A lot longer.

Our planet is stable.

Our catastrophes aren’t really catastrophes.

We’ve never had to start over.

But they do. Every time they get wiped out.

It will be 400 years before we reach you.

By the time we do, you will have long surpassed us.

You will destroy our fleet and then come back and destroy our world

to make sure we never threaten you again.

This is not a conquest.

It is a funeral procession.

Unless you figure out a way to disarm us.

To keep us from moving forward.

Have you?

Yes.

We are going to kill your science.

[Jin sighs]

We will do it with our Sophons.

What is a Sophon?

[woman] It’s a proton.

One we have turned into a sentient computer.

You can’t make a computer that small.

It’s impossible.

Impossible for you.

The universe has more dimensions than the three we occupy.

They are hidden,

folded up far too small for us to see.

But we have the technology to unfold them.

[energy thrumming]

[woman] We summon energies you cannot imagine

and focus them on a single proton.

[energy blasts]

[woman] When we unfold its higher dimensions…

even a tiny proton becomes something very large indeed.

[energy reverberates]

[ominous music pulsing]

[low rumbling]

[woman] We make a mind as large as a world.

[Jin gasps]

[circuits humming]

Sophon, are you awake?

[female voice echoing] Awake and aware. I understand my purpose.

I am ready to return to my original size.

[woman] Please proceed.

[loud whooshing]

[woman] We used all our resources to make four Sophons.

Two pairs of two.

Each pair is entangled,

connected on the quantum level.

Two remain with us.

The other two, we’ve sent to you.

Everything they see and hear, we see and hear at the same time.

Even when they are light-years apart.

[energy pulsating]

[woman] A proton has virtually no mass.

Accelerating them to nearly light speed is easy.

Even you can do that.

They entered your solar system months ago.

We sent them to your planet,

to the places where your best minds explore reality

at its most fundamental level.

[machinery humming]

[woman] And we will destroy the science that could defeat us.

[energy crackling]

[woman] The answers to your questions will become chaotic and meaningless.

[monitor droning]

[woman] The universe will remain a mystery to you forever.

In place of truth, we give you miracles.

We wrap your world in illusions.

We make you see what we want you to see.

[energy crackling]

[woman] We are everywhere. Anywhere.

Always watching. Learning all your secrets.

Uncovering your lies.

And we will teach you how to fear again.

[yelps, panting]

[headset clatters]

[static crackling on monitors]

[indistinct chatter]

[alerts chiming on cell phones]

[crowd murmuring]

[ominous music playing]

[narrator on TV] Basking in the sunlight…

[distorted] …this sea creature can circumnavigate the globe

more than three times in his lifetime.

[ominous music building]

[static crackling on monitors]

[electricity crackles]

[static crackles]

[cell phone rings]

[phone beeps]

[ominous music swells]

[exhales sharply]

[breathing shakily]

[Ye Wenjie gasps]

[menacing instrumental music pulsing]

[low rumbling]

[Auggie gasps]

[menacing music building]

[Jin panting]

[menacing music subsides]

[ominous string music playing]

[somber piano music playing]

[music fades]

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