[***]
WOMAN [OVER PA]: Good morning, citizens.
Productivity. Prosperity.
From sea to shining sea.
Mexuscan. Yes, us can.
CROWD: Yes, us can! Yes, us can! Yes, us can!
[***]
Whoa, easy there, partner.
Could you not be here now?
Your ride would go a lot--
Give me some privacy.
--Desert Shave.
I reckon that's because only Desert Shave
combines real aloe and cactus--
I said, get out. You people have no decency!
Mag? MAGGIE: What?
Maggie? What is it? I'm busy.
Happy trails.
MAGGIE: For God's sake, stop banging routers.
Use voice control.
You're so tactile.
We said no more ads in the bathroom.
[SPEAKING IN ITALIAN]
Jesus, Maggie, seriously?
What? It's just an ad.
[SPEAKING IN ITALIAN]
[IN ENGLISH] I don't know much, Philbert,
but I know good coffee. Mm.
Tell me about your dark roast.
Use voice control! You caveman!
They don't even wear alpaca in Brazil.
You're late for work, by the way.
[***]
RASHAD: Local time is 7:54 a.m., October 19th, 2054.
Only two weeks until election day.
And back with us on Politics Now
is the Candidate.
[ALL CHEERING]
Around this time of year, we get tons of calls,
complaints you could say,
about our nation's Uniparty system.
Folks who believe
that the election's already decided
and that their vote doesn't matter.
What do you say to folks like that?
Great question, Rashad.
That's a great question, Rashad.
It's not about the result,
it is about the process.
And having every North American citizen,
from Yucatán to Yukon,
acknowledge and affirm the will of the majority
by casting their "yea" ballot, it's critical.
It's not just ceremony, it is solidarity.
RASHAD: Well said, well said.
We have Rachel from Ontario on the line. Caller, you're on.
This is sick. We don't have a choice.
Wake up. Why are we all pretending
like we have a choice?
One candidate is not democracy.
She's got a point.
RASHAD: Candidate, would you like to...?
CANDIDATE: You know, it's been a long cull this season.
It's been a very long cull.
And for us, as a great meganation
to finally get down from 52 candidates
to one candidate,
well, it speaks to the great democratizing powers
of collective deliberation.
[ALL CHEERING]
Mexuscan! Yes, us can!
ALL [CHANTING]: Mexuscan! Yes, us can!
RASHAD: Don't forget to tune in tonight for a special live interview
with the Candidate.
[MUSIC PLAYING OVER SPEAKERS]
[***]
[WHIRRING]
Oh, shit.
SUPERVISOR: Late again, Philbert.
Yeah, I know, I know. I'm-- I'm sorry. The train was late.
Why don't you get a car, like everyone else?
[HUMS, BEEPS]
Thank you. Shit. [DOOR BUZZES]
It'd be so much easier if you just bought yourself
a computer-operated vehicle.
Set the address, have you here by 7:30 sharp.
Plus, you wouldn't even have to clock in, it does it for you.
It's free money. Yeah, I know, I know.
You're such a fucking manualist.
It's just old habits, sir.
Yes, well, old habits die hard, Philbert.
Which line am I on?
B3. Come on.
Show up early, Mr. Manualist if you want B1.
B2's not even through a run yet. Lenny's set up on B2.
You'll take B3. Thank you.
[BUZZING]
COMPUTER 1: Hi there, Phil, we're two buckets behind--
COMPUTER 2: Morning, sweetie. We'll catch up, don't worry.
Absolutely, Mary. Send the first bucket in.
[WHIRRING]
You lucky fuck.
LENNY: Early bird gets the worm, Phil.
How you doing this morning, buddy?
It's one of those mornings, pal.
Tell me about it, man.
Lunch in the caf today?
PHILBERT: Sure. See if Ed wants to come.
Hey Eddie, old boy?
ED: Yeah? Sandwiches in the caf today?
Well, who the hell else am I gonna eat with?
[ALL LAUGHING]
You boys just keep up this monster pace I'm putting down.
Just keep sending the good ones.
You got it.
Only the good ones.
Facet A, 17.34 millimeters.
Aperture 1, clear.
Aperture 2, clear. Aperture 3--
So my wife's fucking a coffee ad, that's great.
What?
How's that even possible? Those things don't have peckers.
The only thing they peck is your bank account.
Yeah, but still, she's pretty involved.
ED: You think too hard about these things.
You know what you need, Philly?
You need to buy something. That's why you're depressed.
I'm not depressed, I just...
Oh, you definitely depressed. When was the last time
you bought something?
I charged up my Transcard yesterday.
ED: No, stupid,
we're talking about buying a real thing.
You know, a "thing" thing.
Like something that'll be around a while.
An object. I don't need any objects.
Everybody needs a little something from time to time.
Don't be a paranoid.
You know what? Never mind.
Sorry I brought it up.
Don't get bent all out of shape, okay?
We're here for you.
ED: You know what you need to buy?
You need to buy some cheese. Am I right, Len?
[LAUGHS] He's definitely right.
What the fuck's eating cheese gotta do with anything?
It's not about the eating.
The Yellow Bonnet girl will pick you up
if you know what I mean.
What's she look like?
For me, it's a redhead.
Right, and mine has a great ass
and, like, some bee-sting titties.
Yeah, Maggie buys that-- That cow brand, Blue Bell--
Blue Bell? Yeah.
Blue Bell? No, fuck that.
From now on, you be a man,
and you buy your own brand and you buy a lot.
Like, say maybe three,
four packs your first trip. Exactly.
And you turn on the kitchen router
and wait for the magic.
[***]
Hey, Madge? Ahem.
Hey, Maggie, you in back?
Maggie?
You have really good taste.
Oh, hey, how are you?
Here's a little something for next time.
Thank you.
MAGGIE: Phil?
Oh, yeah?
Didn't realize you were here. I'm putting up groceries.
No, no, no. What?
Fuck. Damn it. Sorry.
No, no. I'm sorry.
I was gonna move those,
but there's no space in the freezer, so...
There was a sale.
Yeah, sure.
I-- You want a snack or something? I--
Oh, no, that's sweet.
I came in to tell you the speech is about to start.
Hey, I'm making a sandwich. I'll be there in a minute.
Hurry up, it's about to start.
You sure you don't want something?
[INDISTINCT CHEERING ON TV]
WOMAN [ OVER TV]: We're talking about this candidate
that is pouring money into--
You have really good taste.
Hey.
Here's a little something for next time.
[FUNKY MUSIC PLAYS OVER SPEAKERS]
Thanks.
INTERVIEWER: Tell me what you want.
CANDIDATE: This is not about what I want,
this is about what the good citizens of Mexuscan want.
[AUDIENCE YELLING INDISTINCTLY]
Can we change it now? It's almost over, honey.
Argh. So selfish.
There's a projector in the other room.
Okay, I'm going.
And what are you going to do once affirmed?
Well, as I said before,
it's not about what I'm going to do,
it's about what we, as a great meganation, are going to do.
And I think we all know what we have to do.
We have to renew our commitment to education,
really invest in our public schools.
And as I've always said, we have to take a hard look
at our infrastructure. INTERVIEWER: Right, sure.
As you know, we have to kill all others
and recommit to hydropower-- What? What?
As you know, we have to kill all others.
And at the same time--
As you know, we have to kill all others.
Holy shit. Hon. Hon. Did you hear that?
The Candidate just went crazy on TV.
...research and colonization efforts, I'm--
Wait, wait, wait, let me stop you right there.
Let's dig into that.
Hon, come in here. You gotta see this.
INTERVIEWER: That is a really controversial stance,
as most Mexuscans will tell you.
A continued investment in extra-Earth research
at this point is wasteful.
Wait, what? I can't believe she missed it.
MAGGIE: What happened?
The-- The Candidate just said on international TV that we--
We have to "kill all others." They said that?
Yeah. It's over. I mean, it's crazy.
The interviewer's gonna nail them.
--and in your own words,
I can't believe you said this, Here we go.
public schools are a failing proposition.
Most of them are hovering,
what, below 20 percent enrollment?
Jesus Christ, come on, people. What's going on here?
Okay, yeah, I'm going in the bedroom.
Hon, no. C-- Come here. You-- You gotta hear this, hon.
Everybody deserves an education.
Everybody deserves
an education, 20 percent, 10 percent...
[AUDIENCE APPLAUDING]
MAN [OVER TV]: We have a candidate openly proposing
to pour more money into fruitless research.
WOMAN: No, you are too shortsighted. We've been here a million...
PHILBERT: Nobody's talking about it.
MAN: We're arguing the wrong things now.
[DOOR OPENS]
You guys see that shit last night? Unbelievable.
I didn't watch it. I just caught a piece of it.
This changes everything.
Gonna have to impeach the Candidate.
No way they're letting them through after they said that.
What'd they say? "Kill all others."
[***]
You're shitting me. I shit you not. It was bananas.
I was up all night Googling.
I can't believe it's not on the news.
SUPERVISOR [OVER PA]: All right, you guys, on the floor.
Philbert, B1. Ed, B2. Lenny, B3.
Just kill me now, B3.
I wanna see that for myself.
PHILBERT: You gotta-- You gotta see the video. It was nuts.
[BUZZING]
It's weird, I can't find the video anywhere.
It's like they're not showing it or something.
ED: Probably they don't wanna repeat it.
I'm sure you'll see it on the news.
You might have just misheard.
No, I didn't mishear. You know what,
the commentators aren't talking about it,
but the people will be.
I know who'll have it, the BBC'll have it.
They don't hold back.
Ed, if I find that, want me to send it to you?
Yeah, yeah. Later, Phil.
I don't wanna talk political on the headsets.
Jeez, you guys are no fun.
LENNY: Just shut up and push your button, monkey.
Screw you, Lenny.
[BUZZING]
Why am I the only one who saw and heard it?
[***]
[BUZZING]
Why do-- Why do they even fucking keep us on there,
you know? What? Mr. Political,
you want to lose your job all of a sudden?
No, it's not that. It's just, you know, 3000 guys.
I mean, you're telling me you can automate
a whole entire factory, right,
but you still need three guys to run it?
It's quality control.
The machines can't do that shit.
Yeah, they could. They-- They can.
First of all, it's against the law.
Second of all, thank God the union fought for it.
You of all people should know that,
you've been around since the old days.
Yeah, my-- My dad was a union man.
"Read the fine print three times,
think twice, decide once."
He taught me to really see.
Well, then there you go.
It's part of the Global Trade Agreement.
You can't export all the workers,
automate all the positions. You gotta keep
some guys around here, right?
What, you'd rather be in the Djibouti plant?
Guangzhou? Or worse, fucking Kraków?
Oh, God forbid.
The weather's probably better.
It's just, I can't stop thinking, you know...
What does it mean that they kept us here?
It means we're the best.
Out of 3000 guys? Come on, Len. We're just tokens, man.
You know, Philbert,
you're in a real shitty mood today, man.
That... That video you were talking about...
I saw it too.
You saw it, the "kill everybody else" thing?
It's crazy. I mean, it's fucking scary
is what is, Ed. It's got me-- Shh. Shh, shh.
Easy. Yeah, relax.
This political stuff, don't take it so seriously.
It doesn't mean anything. Just lay off.
Go have some fun or something.
It's all this shit they're saying.
Those idiots say anything. It isn't real.
All right? It's just entertainment,
that's all it is.
Speaking of entertainment,
did you check out that cheese gal
like we were telling you?
Yeah, I did. It's stupid.
I mean, it's not like you can touch her.
Oh, yeah? The optics can take you a long way.
Don't be so tactile, my friend.
[***]
Hang in there, old-timer.
Thanks, Ed.
MAN [OVER PA]: This is Washington and Wells.
Transfer to Orange Line trains at Washington and Wells.
This is a Pink Line train to 54th and Cermak.
[BEEPS]
I think it's more anti-establishment sentiment
than any real agenda against a so-called "Other"--
MAN [OVER TV]: That's a fair point.
Yes. Finally somebody's talking about it.
As you know, we have to kill all others. At the same--
Well, obviously, the Candidate isn't speaking literally.
This is just about ideas. He's lying.
I think--
[***]
Hey.
What happened?
Hey.
Hey, somebody's in here.
Hey, somebody's still in here.
Hey, guys. MAN [OVER PA]: Yes,
we are working on it, Philbert. Who is this?
[***]
[THUD, TRAIN ENGINE WHIRS]
[SHUTTERING CLICKING]
Stop. Aah! Unh.
[***]
[GRUNTS]
[***]
SERGEANT: Did you feel yourself or others in immediate danger?
No. I mean, yeah...
It's-- Bef-- Before the train was--
Was sketchy. Sketchy?
Mechanically? You know-- I mean, it had stopped.
Frozen, that's the word.
It had frozen just moments before,
but we went past this sign--
Trancom reports that there was a brief power fail.
Yeah, well, it wasn't brief, it was more--
In this brief power failure, you were frightened to the point
you engaged the emergency braking system?
Well, no,
that was because of the sign, which I--
A sign told you to stop the train?
No, of course not. Look,
I'm not crazy, okay?
I'm not crazy, I--
Some hackers must have gotten to it.
It was terrible,
and I just wanted to get a better look. It was--
It was hate speech.
It said to...
"kill all others" in giant letters.
Isn't that some sort of crime or something? I mean, it--
It's very dangerous.
SERGEANT: How does the water feel?
Fast.
Soothing.
The sensors usually override erroneous user input.
However, in your case it stopped.
Yeah, because it was dangerous.
Causing the train pod behind yours to crash into you.
Crashed? I crashed a train? Rarely happens.
And rare would really be an overstatement.
Never would be more accurate.
Train incidents, they don't really happen anymore.
Auto-piloting rules out human error. Same for COVs.
Except of course, the occasional outliers.
Drugs, chemicals,
those can create outliers.
I wasn't drinking. I wasn't on anything.
I was just--
I was just concerned, that's all.
So you weren't.
He's all clean.
ADJUSTER: Thank you. Mm.
SERGEANT: Nevertheless, Trancom does not want you back on their system.
Temporarily. Yeah.
ADJUSTER: This conversation will be recorded
for documentation purposes.
Consent? Yeah. Yup. Yes.
[GLASSES BEEP]
Now that we've established the situational facts,
we now are going to assess the predispositional factors.
What? I'm not really clear--
A simple yes or no is fine.
Is everything okay at home? Yes.
Any recent feelings of anxiety, depression or paranoia?
No. I told you--
Any unexplained weight loss,
weight gain, sleeplessness,
apathy, God, no.
obsessive fixations? No. I'm...
fine. I remind you that your veracity
in the predispositional assessment is equally important
to the evaluation of your claim to the situational assessment.
Can you count the snowflakes?
No, I'm sorry. I don't think I can.
Do you see the sheep?
No.
In the upper left-hand corner, do you see the sheep?
No, I'm sorry. I don't see these sheep.
Has anything changed in your psychic environment?
Real or imagined?
In your interpersonal relationships
or your professional life that would
impair your ability to absorb,
process or respond to the world around you?
What does "COV provisional" mean?
It means what it sounds like it means.
No, Philbert, uh-uh,
don't do this. You don't get to do this--
Fuck, Maggie, please.
Look, I just got in an accident. Okay?
I didn't even have an accident. The train did. You know?
I've been interrogated for the last 3-and-a-half fucking hours.
For an accident that wasn't even my fault.
No knocks on my license.
But it's provisional so there's still--
No. It-- They--
Fuck. They just said
I have to stay off public transit for a while.
They're putting me in a new computer-operated vehicle.
We don't have to ride around in this 20-year-old piece of junk anymore.
No cost to us.
Zero, zip, nada. Case closed. Okay?
I'm sorry, honey.
Are you all right?
I'll pay better attention next time.
We can all just fucking calm down.
It's all going to be okay.
You're okay, honey. You're okay.
WOMAN: Rising sea levels and increasing temperatures
have long since impacted--
We have to parse it out. Who dresses these people?
"Kill all others."
What sort of candidate says-- Hear this?
It's unintellectual and unpolitical.
This is what I've been saying all along.
...the systemic change we need.
We'll get into all of this, folks,
after the break. [TV BEEPS]
They're saying nothing.
Honey. They're saying nothing.
Honey, it's all this stuff. It's too much.
Hey, I threw out all the coffee.
The coffee?
I threw out all the coffee.
Okay. And cheese.
It's all my fault.
Off.
It's a distraction.
I'm sorry.
[***]
No more noise. Just us. Off.
Just us. Okay, babe.
Okay.
Lights.
[***]
I love you, Madge. I love you too.
Oh, Jesus. Look out.
Ms. Nickels. PHILBERT: How are you?
Ha, ha.
She's always out there.
It's like she times it with our exit.
"Let me tell you about all my problems."
MAN 1: Don't let her get away.
Heading towards Plimpton Place.
WOMAN 1: Didn't do anything!
WOMAN 2: Cut her off!
Scary.
PHILBERT: Stop the car.
We don't even know what's--
Stop the car. Philbert!
Hey. What's going on here? Philbert!
Hey! Philbert!
[GRUNTING]
Hey. What's going on here?
What's going on here? [CRYING]
Back off, we got her. Got her doing what?
MAN 2: She's an Other. We caught her.
Get off her.
What's the matter? You can't just attack people.
Corner of Moss and Cherry. Hurry.
You know her? No, I don't know her.
Get off of her.
Are you out of your mind?
I'm not going until the cops get here.
They're on their way, buddy, so back off.
You back off.
MAN 3: You don't know what this is about.
I don't need to. Get off.
Let's go. Now.
If nothing's wrong, I'm gonna see this through.
Asshole. We'll report you too.
Call me an asshole one more time!
Philbert. Philbert. Call me a fucking asshole!
Watch him, he's one of them.
One of who? VOICE: Citizen, remain calm.
Hey.
VOICE: Mr. Noyce, stand back.
[***]
How do you know the suspect?
I-- I didn't--
I didn't see her as a suspect.
I saw a woman running down the street.
You think you'd steer clear of any incidents,
given that you were just here.
Look, I was literally on my way to work
when I saw this woman being chased.
Okay? And it just seemed wrong, and I just reacted.
Okay?
Are those people being charged?
Because... I mean, they assaulted that woman.
I think I know some of their names.
The big guy, Rick, tackled that woman.
Look, Mr. Noyce, I'm not a political gal.
And I do not buy into the mumbo jumbo
about the Others and whatnot.
But what I do know is outliers.
Most people have maybe one, two interactions with us
over a five-year span.
You've been here twice in two days.
It starts to look bad. To form a pattern.
To invite observation.
And under close enough observation,
maybe anybody can look a little quirky.
Screwy.
A little Other.
Go to work, Mr. Noyce.
[***]
So luckily, I wasn't hurt. You know?
Yeah, but from an HR standpoint,
we still need to do health monitoring.
Sure. Thirty days.
Make sure nothing's wrong.
No underlying health problems, you know.
I'm curious, this is for the train accident
or the other thing?
What other thing?
Nothing. I meant-- Nothing.
Need your consent to unlock.
This also gives us consent to report
your health data to Human Resources.
Sure.
Boop. There we go. [MUTTERS]
Go ahead. You can put it on yourself.
Nothing fancy. Okay.
So is it for mental health? Or just for...
Oh. No, no, no, don't be paranoid.
It's for overall health.
Stress, blood pressure, blood sugar, cholesterol.
To minimize sick time,
see if you need any preventative time off.
Yeah. Got you. All right.
Aah.
Yes, it, uh, pinches a little the first time,
but then you won't even notice it.
Oh, yeah.
[MONITOR BEEPING]
Yeah.
[BEEPING]
Yeah. So your data is confidential.
It will only be transmitted to HR.
That's it? That's it.
Great. Thank you. Yeah.
Oh, and one other thing.
Lay off the political talk.
Company policy.
You got it.
[BUZZING]
Right.
Facet A, 17.34 millimeters.
Facet B, 17.29 millimeters.
ED: Did you get written up?
No, I just got into a little scrape last night.
Now, I'm on substance watch.
Well, it beats pissing in a cup every 48 hours.
LENNY: Yeah.
You weren't drunk though, right?
No. I was just distracted.
Like I told you.
Is that new? When'd they put that up?
[***]
LENNY: Yeah, that is kind of freaky.
Is that a body?
It's a dummy.
It's just an ad.
Shock value probably.
Who are the Others?
That's what I wanna know.
LENNY: If you're an Other, I think you know you're an Other.
Like, they know who they are, for sure.
Come on, guys. Does it really matter?
I mean, are we really talking about killing people here?
This morning, my next-door neighbor,
he just face-plants this girl in the street for no reason.
I mean, it was-- You know her?
No, I didn't have to know her. It was horrible--
Hey, look, guys, what if one of us was an Other?
What do you think we'd do?
You think we'd turn each other in?
[***]
Or turn a blind eye?
[MONITOR BEEPING]
You nervous? What the hell are you doing?
I'm just messing with old Philbert here. Ha, ha.
Come on, man. You gotta lighten up.
[***]
ED: They take it too far, these politicians.
It'll be over soon.
RASHAD: Joining us today on Politics Now is...
the Candidate.
[ALL CHEERING]
[***]
PHILBERT: Hi, this is Bob. Bob. Shoulders back. Bob. Hi.
Hi, this is Bob. Bob Lucas
from Sacramento. RASHAD: The Candidate.
Hi. Ahem.
Bob Lucas from Sacramento.
Pfft. Hi. I have a question for the Candidate.
Hi, this is Bob Lucas from--
RASHAD: Well, let's talk about how you can spot an Other.
A lot of folks want to know. [PHONE KEYPAD BEEPING]
CANDIDATE: Well, first of all, follow your gut.
[LINE RINGING]
WOMAN 1: Hi, caller. Name, city and question?
Hi, this is Bob Lucas from Sacramento.
My question to the Candidate
is about all these signs.
I find them disturbing and gruesome and--
Well, we don't even know what "Others" means.
And certainly all this talk of killing needs to stop.
Hold one sec.
Another call. [AUDIENCE INDISTINCTLY YELLING]
Philbert from Chicago, you're on.
[***]
MAN: Speak up. WOMAN 2: We can't hear you.
Thi-- This is Bob. Bob Lucas.
We see you bright and clear, Philbert from Chicago.
No, this-- This is Bob.
Bob. Bob Lucas.
Says here you're agitated
about the advertisement.
No.
[***]
We're losing you. Can you hold up your phone?
You know, many of them are scared, and they should be.
But if you are not an Other,
then you have nothing to worry about.
Are you an Other?
Fuck.
No. No. No, God.
Fuck. Fuck! Fuck!
Fuck! Fuck! Fuck!
Fuck! Fuck!
You're on three.
[***]
How's it going up there, Len?
It's all right.
Right.
[***]
Ed, you all right back there?
Ed? [BEEPING]
Ed, you all right, buddy?
ED: We can't talk to you. Nobody can talk to you.
CAR [BEEPS]: Welcome home, Philbert.
Yeah, there was some kind of an incident at work.
Destination override. Continue north.
CAR [BEEPS]: Destination override.
[***]
VOICE: Citizens, remain calm.
[***]
Howdy, pard. Looks like you could use a shave.
Shut up. MAGGIE: Phil?
Where did you come from? What are you doing?
Listen. Listen to me. You scared me.
You get your wallet, okay? Get your keys.
Passport. One, two changes of clothes.
What are you talking about?
They're coming. They're coming, baby.
Okay? The COV.
The motherfucking COV. I parked it too close. Come here.
Phil, who? Who's coming?
It's a goddamn witch hunt, is what it is.
They-- They say it's us, but it's not us.
I mean, it could be anybody.
They can make anybody Others, you know?
They think, because I said...
But we're not. It's a trap, you see?
Anybody who can see them, then they can see you.
Then they come after you.
The vigilantes, the signs, it's all--
Phil. No, no. Honey. Honey.
Honey. Honey, it's okay. It's okay. Okay.
Because this was what the doctors were worried about.
The accident, you must've hit your head.
No, it can't be.
Could it? Yeah.
No. No, no, no. No, because the signs.
The signs came first.
The Candidate said it.
Then the signs came, and then the train accident happened.
And then...
Unless...
[***]
You're fucking one of them. You're like all the rest.
Phil. Phil, no. No. Hey! Honey.
Get off me.
Hey, you're not an Other, are you?
You get off. Get off of me. Aah!
[PANTING]
I didn't hit you.
You're not you. Not the-- Not the real you.
I'm sorry.
The signs.
I can prove what's real.
The world has to know. I'm gonna tell them.
[***]
VOICE: Calm down, Philbert.
[PANTING]
VOICE: Philbert Noyce, we know you're out here.
Let us help you.
[***]
Mr. Noyce, remain still! Your rescue's in progress!
You think I'm stupid, huh?
Open up his CNS. Beta-endorphins?
Dopamine too. All he's got.
PHILBERT: You're not saving me!
You're saving yourselves!
OFFICER: Pulse, little over 100.
Coming down.
PHILBERT: Protecting the Candidate!
Blood pressure, 140 over 90.
Protecting their ugly truth!
VOICE: Philbert, calm down.
I love coming down here. It's like hanging out at the museum.
[LAUGHS]
My grandfather had some good stuff.
I had to just not throw it away.
Go ahead and bust them up. Let's see what you got.
Nice break. Mm-hm.
This is real!
I know it's real!
And let's see what you left me.
Hopefully not a damn thing. Here.
Holy shit. TV, audio on.
REPORTER: Political terrorism grips a corner
of Northeast Chicago tonight. Oh, God.
As a local man identified as Philbert Noyce--
Do you know about this? Did you know he was an Other?
He's not an Other.
...detained for being an Other...
This is so fucking crazy. I mean, it could be anybody.
It could be a neighbor.
A best friend. A co-worker.
Like these people are all around us.
He's not an Other, damn it.
Fuck you!
VOICE: Mr. Noyce, come on down.
Cortisol, 30 micrograms.
Well, it look like they're gonna get him.
ED: He didn't do anything.
Twenty-eight, 27...
Oh, yeah. They got him.
Holy shit.
OFFICER: Twenty-six, 27, 28...
It's going to activate.
Work his serotonin. Put him to sleep.
Drain his fucking brainstem if you have to.
Unh.
Holy shit.
PHILBERT: They're not taking our information!
We're giving it to them.
We're giving it to them and they're using it against us!
OFFICER: Come on, let's do this peacefully!
It's not just me!
It'll be you too.
It'll be all of us.
The Candidate's serious.
You hear me? This is real.
This is real!
We are all Others!
You're not gonna do that shit. He is gonna.
Oh, he's not gonna do it.
[GRUNTING]
Oh, he did that shit.
[***]
[GRUNTING]
Aah!
WOMAN: Going live in five, four, three, two....
Before every great truth is spoken,
there is an uncomfortable silence.
And in that silence we hear
all the things we don't want to hear.
See all the things we don't want to see.
Reckon with the irreconcilable conscience that must be faced.
We want to believe the best of ourselves,
but before we can access our best,
we must first acknowledge
and root out the worst in ourselves.
To see such things means
we are on the verge of a great truth.
Tonight we are a little bit wiser.
We are a little bit stronger.
We are a little bit safer.
Ours is a self-identifying,
self-correcting democracy.
When you see Others, like our poor Mr...
[MOUTHS] Noyce.
Noyce here, purge themselves,
well, you can't help but be a little bit sad for them
and their families.
But you also have to breathe a big sigh of relief.
It could have been you he flung from that billboard.
It could have been your loved ones.
Your children.
And not his own disturbed self.
But now you know what I have known all along
that if you were not an Other,
you would have nothing to worry about.
That if you were a sane and productive member
of this great meganation,
mere words would not unhinge you.
And so I want to congratulate you,
good citizens,
for your vigilance and your belief.
Based on this great success,
we are expanding the KAO program
to every state and city in the western hemisphere
to finish the good work that we have begun.
Be well, dear citizens.
Be proud,
and God bless.
[***]
Game on.
Little Manchester.
Right-o. Shoot that ball. Yes.
Here we go.
[AUDIENCE CHEERING ON TV]
[***]