.
- Reverie: a virtual reality program
where the impossible becomes possible.
Anything you desire, you can find here.
But sometimes,
people get lost,
caught between fantasy
and reality.
That's where she comes in.
Her name is Mara Kint.
Her job: find the lost ones
and bring them home.
And maybe, by saving them,
she just might find a way to save herself.
[sweeping orchestral music]
♪
- Previously, on "Reverie"...
- Dylan is...
- He's the building's AI.
- Hello, Miss Kint.
- Dylan was her twin brother.
Must've been about 10 or 11 when he died.
- Ventana was suspicious. Nearly didn't get past him.
What is that thing, anyway? - It's a security key.
Provides access to the program's source code.
Fix the program.
- Fix the program?
You don't even understand it.
- At least I didn't kill my brother.
- I know it's a bad time,
but I have to go to my parents' house.
- My voicemail recorded everything
your phone transmitted from the apartment.
You can be with her right now,
if that's what you really want.
It's okay. [gunshot]
- You were right.
The program has uncovered something,
something that was buried.
Even I didn't know it was there.
- It'll take a while to render.
You'll know when it's ready.
You'll see the door.
- Apertus.
Hello, Ray.
[ethereal music]
- I've had the strangest dreams.
♪
And this... feels different.
- That's because it's not a dream, Ray.
It's a virtual reality program called Reverie.
- How are you here?
- I work for the company that created the program.
I brought you here. - Why?
- Because I have questions.
- Questions about what?
♪
- I know you know what happened that day.
♪
- Talking about them isn't gonna change anything.
It's not going to bring them back.
- I know that.
- Then why are you here?
- Because I want to understand.
♪
- Well, good!
You're just in time.
Oh!
- [laughs]
Happy birthday.
- Thanks.
- First things first: hand it over.
- Mom.
- Rules are rules. - Oh, come on.
You can forget about work for one evening.
I'll reveal its secret location at the appropriate time.
- [chuckles]
- Did you put up more?
- A new one just today.
"Visionary." - Mom, you have to stop.
- [whispering] I'm gonna put them in the stairwell next.
Come on. You can help me set the table.
[gentle music]
♪
- I can't force you to talk to me, Ray.
You can either answer my questions or not.
Okay.
- Wait.
♪
What do you want to know?
♪
- Not here.
[whooshing]
♪
- Ray, please! - Mommy!
- Where are the pictures?
- We didn't have time for that.
- We?
- A friend of mine from work.
Helped set everything up.
- Well, here we are.
How do we start?
- The question that I have,
the thing that I keep asking myself is why.
Why did you do it?
- I got fired,
and I was ashamed, and I was embarrassed.
- And you didn't tell her.
- I figured I would
be back at work before the end of the week,
on some other crew, but that was not the case,
and we were already behind on a few bills,
and then they shut the electric off,
and Jamie called my foreman, looking for me,
and that's how she found out.
And then I come home,
and there's these two suitcases
in the hallway by the door.
- She was gonna leave.
- And she texted your mom to come pick them up,
and I just felt like everything was slipping through my hands.
- What happened after that?
[dramatic music]
- It's just a blur. - No, think, Ray.
Why did you go for the gun?
- I don't know. - You do know!
- I was begging her.
I was begging her just to stop and talk,
but she wouldn't listen.
It was like I had no...
- No... No what? - No power.
- And the gun gave you power?
- It gave me control.
It made her stop and pay attention,
and then you showed up,
and then the police showed up, and I knew
I was never gonna have my family again,
and I just got this one thought.
- What thought?
- That we'd all be better off dead.
- You had no right.
You had no right to decide that for them.
- This is from...
- Redmond.
When I showed them-- - That's right.
When you were showing them your robot.
- Mom, it's not a robot.
- And this is when you went to State.
- ♪ Happy birthday to you
both: ♪ Happy birthday
♪ Dear Lexie girl
♪ Happy birthday to you
- Is everything okay?
- Why don't you ever put his name on the cake?
- What?
- Dylan.
Why don't you ever put his name on the cake?
It's his birthday too.
- Lexie--
- And why are there, like,
500 photos of me in here and only one of him?
And it's not a robot.
Mom, it's an artificial intelligence,
and sometimes, it is just like talking to him,
but you wouldn't know that, because you've never tried it.
- Where is this coming from?
- Do you just want to forget about him?
Because I don't.
- We could never forget.
No parent ever could.
We think about him every single day,
and we miss him just as much as you do.
- Then why don't you at least try--
- 'Cause that computer is not my son,
and it never will be.
- I built him
so we didn't have to lose him for good,
and you won't even acknowledge that,
or even say his name since--
- What did you want us to do, Lexie?
We had a kid to raise.
We didn't want you to feel any more--
- Don't.
- Say it.
- We didn't want you to feel
any more guilty than you already did.
- Lexie, what she means is
we knew that you were special.
We didn't want to derail you in any way,
so we did what we had to do to keep moving forward.
- [sniffs] But we didn't.
Any of us.
[knocking]
- Lexie, let me in!
[knocking]
Lexie!
Ugh.
- Shh, shh, shh, shh.
Shh, shh, shh.
.
- Do you remember what happened after you killed them?
- [sighs]
I remember putting a gun to my head.
I remember you were there.
And then it's a blur.
There's a lot I don't remember anymore.
- I remember.
[gunshots] Ray! Ray!
Coming around the corner...
[distant sirens wailing]
I remember seeing them
on the floor,
and then I remember
you holding a gun to your head.
So I made you do it.
- Do what?
[gunshot]
- Pull the trigger.
- That's not how it happened.
- No, I heard--
I heard the recording.
- Mara, what I'm saying is
you didn't make me do anything.
You just gave me permission.
I wanted to die. I still do.
And I keep having this dream, like, a hundred times,
of Jamie and Brynn, and I'm running after them.
I'm trying to tell them how sorry I am,
how I never meant to hurt them,
and I can never see their faces.
It's like the longer it goes on,
the more things just fade away.
That's why I was looking for the pictures on the wall,
'cause I can't remember what they look like.
I don't blame you for what you did.
I deserve everything I got.
[electronic whoosh]
[heart monitor beeping]
- You're back. We have to go, now.
- Why? What's going on?
- It's Alexis. She's gone missing.
- Mrs. Barrett, I wouldn't worry.
I'm sure she'll be fine.
Give us a call if you hear from her.
- No sign of her yet?
- No.
However, I had Dylan do a search
of the security cameras in the neighborhood.
We didn't find Alexis, but we found this.
[screen beeps]
- Oliver.
- He was in a gas station nearby
a couple of hours before she disappeared.
- We have to call the police.
- I already did that. - And?
- They're doing everything they can,
but they have to follow protocol.
Takes time.
- So what, we're just supposed to sit here and wait?
- I have no intention of doing that.
- Where are you going?
- To the bastard's apartment.
- I want you to dig up everything you can
on Reveries connected to employee number 002.
- Is that Oliver Hill?
Is this about what happened to Alexis?
- What do you know about Alexis?
- Nothing. It's just, normally,
she's logged onto the server,
making changes to the code, like, 24/7.
I'm not even sure she sleeps.
But today, she hasn't logged on for over five hours,
so clearly something's-- well, that's weird.
- She just went into Reverie.
Dylan, can you tell me if she's in one of ours?
- It's one of our servers, but it's marked inactive.
- What the hell is she doing?
[electronic whoosh]
[water dripping]
- Do you remember this place?
Einstein's secret lab.
Hidden in the tunnels underneath this college.
It's not a bad likeness, is it?
- You induced a Reverie.
- [laughs] Nifty little trick
I learned from your work with Monica Shaw.
I'm curious.
Did you at least
pretend to be morally outraged
at the idea of forcing someone into Reverie,
or was your brain simply working on solving the problem?
- Exitus.
- Ooh, another trick
I learned from the DoD.
Coded to my voice and my voice alone.
That's not gonna work either.
- Why am I here?
- Do you remember why I picked this place
for our first date?
Because you were supposed to be the next Einstein.
Funny thing about Albert:
he always said
that he had one big regret.
He helped build the bomb
that killed hundreds
of thousands of people.
Not gonna let you make the same mistake.
- What are you gonna do?
You gonna kill me?
- Is that what you think?
Alexis,
I would never hurt you.
I couldn't.
But I am gonna keep you here
until I help you solve the problem.
- What does that mean?
- People are getting stuck in Reverie.
I've had massive derealizations,
Mara Kint is worse off than I am,
and now... the military has its hands on it.
I'm sorry, but this has gone too far,
and it all ends tonight.
- They're gonna find me in here.
- It won't matter,
because by the time they get you out,
it will be too late.
- Oliver... - Exitus.
- Oliver!
Oliver!
- How's it going?
- Almost there.
- Keep your fingers crossed.
This computer was the only thing left
in Oliver's apartment.
This doesn't work, we're back to square one.
- Got her. - Can you get into her Reverie?
- Pairing a tablet right now.
- I'll go in.
- After all you've been through?
- Okay, guys, this is not up for debate.
I'll go in, I'll find her, I'll get her real location,
then I'll come out. End of discussion.
Apertus.
[electronic whoosh]
[breathes heavily]
- [screaming]
- That was new.
Alexis?
[computer beeping urgently]
- Casey!
It's a really bad time to shut down
the air conditioning. Who ordered this?
- Right, I just saw that, too.
It was Alexis.
- But Alexis is still in--
Dylan? - Yes, Paul?
- I think Oliver Hill has Alexis' security key.
If I'm right, that means that he has access to everything.
Not just the Reverie code,
but the building's support systems as well.
Can you restart the air conditioning?
- I'm sorry.
Whoever has the key just locked me out.
- He's trying to overheat our servers
and crash the program. - Why would he do that?
- If Reverie goes down, he can screw up the brains
of the 15,000 people still in there.
.
- Alexis?
[man screaming]
Alexis?
Hello?
Alexis?
[woman screaming]
Alexis?
Hello?
- [screams]
- [breathes heavily] Okay.
Note to self.
- Where do you want me to start, Charlie?
- We're going on a deep dive into Oliver Hill.
I want you to dig up everything you can.
Uh, known family, friends, associates,
addresses, phone numbers.
Anywhere he may have checked in
or tagged himself on social media lately.
- Am I late to the party?
- I'm sorry to call on you like this,
but I needed someone I could trust,
someone resourceful.
- Glad I could help.
Dylan, I'm going to give you
a couple of new toys.
Access to a network of cell phone towers,
plus red light and traffic cameras.
- Alexis?
- Mara?
- Alexis! I'm here!
- How do I know you're not an avatar?
- Um...
The first day that I came to work,
you offered me
some horrible drink that you'd concocted
just so you could cut down the amount of time
you spent thinking about food.
- It was called a slurry.
What did you say it tasted like?
- Efficiency!
Yes!
- Oh, I'm so glad you're here.
- [grunts]
- I can't get it open from in here, either,
and it's the only way out.
Mara, he's going to destroy the Reverie program.
You need to forget about me.
Go find the mandala and tell Charlie.
- Well, Charlie's looking for him right now
as we speak, but I'm not leaving
until I get you out of this room, Alexis.
Okay, you built this program
to respond to whatever it is that we want.
Right?
- Yeah.
- So if we really, really want this door to open,
shouldn't we be able to just turn the knob?
- No, it--it doesn't work like that.
It's not magic.
We have to meet the program halfway.
We have to give it something to work off of,
something that sparks your sense memory
of unlocking the door. - Like a key.
- Theoretically, yes,
but it would have to be something like...
Hang on!
Try this.
- So I just put this in and turn it?
- This is something you've done
thousands and thousands of times in your life.
You know, on a deep level,
what it feels like when you put the key
into the lock of your front door.
So...
just remember what that feels like
as the key slides into the mechanism.
[tense music]
♪
[lock clicks]
- [sighs]
- I 98% did not expect that to work.
[electrical sparking]
- What's that?
- I've never seen that before.
We should find that mandala,
and soon.
- There's no social media footprint
for Oliver after Onira-Tech, and not much before.
I found his school picture after he moved to the U.S.,
but there's no record of his time there.
Maybe the records were destroyed in the fire.
- What's that group pic?
- "Future Trailblazers, for gifted students."
- And that cabin?
- It's geotagged, near Mount Wilson.
- We had Dylan cross-reference Oliver's cell phone
with the towers at the base of Angeles Crest,
leading up to Mount Wilson.
- We got a dozen hits over the last few weeks,
and he was spotted on two red light cameras in Altadena.
Alexis may be up there.
- We'll call you if we find anything.
- Status update?
- Three server meltdowns so far.
- How many people still in the program?
- Um, more now.
Over 16,000.
- Okay, everybody, listen up!
We are under attack.
Someone is trying to overheat our servers
and crash the Reverie program.
We need all hands on deck
opening up windows and doors for the floor racks
and moving fans to the data center.
Casey, get a team together.
Disable all usernames and passwords.
Nobody else gets into Reverie.
Come on, let's go!
[overlapping chatter]
.
- Anything?
- There has to be one, right?
I mean, he couldn't just not put one in.
- The exit mandala is one of the only mandatory components
of the build.
You can choose the location,
but it has to go somewhere.
He just... hid it really well.
- [screams]
- What the hell?
[screaming fades]
- Did he put them in there to scare you?
- Not on purpose.
- I don't understand.
- Oliver told you about his derealization.
That is what he was seeing.
His disorder causes
these incredibly powerful hallucinations.
Sometimes, when he was in Reverie,
they would manifest themselves
as avatars,
thanks to the BCI.
He spent years
trying to explain to people
what it was like living inside his brain.
Because of Reverie, he was able to show me.
[electronic whoosh]
[woman whimpering]
[door creaks open]
[sobbing]
- I know that sound.
- Can I help you?
- Yeah, here to fix the AC.
Where's, uh, everybody else? - Just me for the moment.
- Well, they told me to send everyone back upstairs.
I can take it from here.
- Roger that.
- Cheers.
[lock clicks]
- [woman sobbing]
- Alexis, wait.
- How could you do it?
- He just wanted to spend some time with you,
but you couldn't do that, could you?
Because you're too selfish.
- Because your little projects are so important.
- What are they talking about?
- Dylan.
- He was the good twin, you know.
He was the one people liked.
- But you took him away.
You ruined our lives.
- Alexis, these aren't your parents.
- You said you didn't blame me.
- Of course we blame you.
- Alexis, do you really think
that your parents feel like this?
- No. - Neither do I.
Oliver put them here to hurt you,
to slow you down, 'cause I'm guessing
the mandala's just beyond that door.
- It just feels so...
- Real?
But it's not.
You know that more than anybody.
[eerie music]
♪
- Another one of Oliver's hallucinations?
- He didn't create this.
I did.
- I got her.
- It was the only time spontaneous generation
happened for me.
Paul discovered a room
that it had built in his Reverie.
- The room with his dad.
- We started exploring the idea that
if it could tap into your greatest desires...
- It could also tap into your fears.
- This is what it created from mine.
My fear was that I hadn't created something
that would bring people together after all.
Maybe I had created
something that would destroy us.
He wanted me to see this again.
- Well, you've seen it.
Shall we?
- What if he's right?
What if I'm ruining people's lives?
- You're not.
- Look what happened to you.
- I'll tell you what happened to me.
The day my sister and my niece were killed,
I told my brother-in-law
to turn the gun on himself.
I was running from the guilt
of not being able to save my family,
but the truth was
so much more complicated than that.
And today, Reverie
gave me the chance to deal with it face-to-face.
Alexis, you told me...
that Reverie was a gift,
and I think you're right.
It's a gift worth saving.
And if you believe that too, then I think we should
really get going.
- [sighs]
Charlie...
- Oh, welcome back, kid.
I'll let her know.
We're on our way back now.
Mara's out.
- Charlie.
- What is it?
- Iron oxide, aluminum powder.
He was mixing thermite.
- Time to call in the cavalry.
- What's going on? - We were wrong.
Oliver wasn't planning a cyber attack.
He's planning to burn the place down.
.
[overlapping chatter]
- Clearing the last floor. - Thank you.
- Where is he? - The data center.
At least, that's where he was
when the security cameras went down.
- Could you see what he was doing?
- All we know is he was able to roll in a utility cart.
- Yeah, loaded with thermite, I'm sure.
- Say he burns it down. Don't you have backups?
- The backups are still in-house.
Literally melting the data center--
that's permanent.
Reverie, Dylan... It all goes away.
- There's still 6,000 people inside the program.
- SWAT team is ready.
We got plenty of backup.
- Let me go first.
- This guy doesn't have a list of demands.
He's been planning this for weeks.
- I can talk to him.
- If he lights that fire while you're in there,
you're not coming out.
- He's locked us out of the data center.
We couldn't get you in, even if we wanted to.
- I can.
He used my security key to gain access.
I can control it with Dylan's help.
- Oh, Charlie, we can do this without risking
any more people's lives.
- Give me a team of two and another vest.
- I need a laptop.
- You're not going in there without backup.
That includes me.
He won't hesitate to burn this place to the ground.
He's done it before.
- You're talking about Alexis' house?
- No, there was another.
- Thanks.
Dylan? - Welcome back, Alexis.
- What's the plan? - I'm going to bypass the PIN
on the security key using near-field communication.
- I thought you had to be in close
physical proximity for that. - I do.
- But you're not in close physical proximity.
- Nope, but his phone is.
Just a couple more seconds, and...
[computer beeps]
[beeping]
[lock clicks]
- Come on.
[loud clattering]
- Oliver.
- You shouldn't have come here.
- I just want to talk.
- I've said everything I have to say to you.
Told you to take out the BCI,
but I bet the little bugger's still in your brain, isn't he?
- Yes. It is.
- You're a lost cause, Kint, just like everybody else.
- You mean like Alexis and Charlie,
or all the other people that were at your school?
- What are you talking about?
- Charlie found an article about a mysterious fire,
and I saw your hallucinations inside Reverie.
All those people, covered in dust and ash.
You started that fire, didn't you, Oliver?
- They wouldn't listen, either.
- But I'm listening now. - It's too late.
You should leave, now.
- No, it's not too late,
but it will be if you light that flame.
You'll put thousands of lives at risk.
- To save millions more!
- But this isn't the way to do it, Oliver.
- No?
How do you suggest? Huh?
Should we talk about it?
Ooh, yes!
Let's talk about it.
Only wait, I've tried that,
with, uh, Alexis,
and you, and my teachers.
Nobody believes me.
They all just chalk it up to crazy.
- I don't think you're crazy.
I think you're brilliant.
- Do you have any idea
what it's like
to know the things that I know
and be dismissed?
Patronized?
Just because your brain doesn't quite function
the way everyone else's does?
- I think that that's what this is really about.
All those people who didn't listen
when you tried to tell them,
the people who didn't believe you,
the people who wouldn't help you,
but Oliver, I am telling you, right now,
I believe you.
- You're a good person, Kint.
But you should've left when you had the chance.
- Don't!
[gunshot] - Ah!
- Don't move, Oliver!
- No!
[gasps]
- [panting]
- Apertus.
.
- What's going on?
- A fire in the data center.
- And what about Charlie and Mara?
- Oliver! Oliver!
- Come on, get up!
We gotta go, Mara.
- Charlie, we can't leave him!
- This is LA Fire. Anyone in here?
- Yes! - We've got a man down!
- We're on our way.
Medical, we need a stretcher!
Get some equipment in here!
Let's go! Let's go!
Get the hoses in right now!
- That's enough, let's go!
[gentle music]
♪
- It's been three weeks since our data center
was breached by Oliver Hill.
Fortunately, the fire was contained,
and we did a full shutdown and repair.
Thanks to Monica Shaw,
we had the resources to do it
in a fraction of the time.
- What about the people
who were still in Reverie?
- Due to quick thinking
by Paul Hammond and the rest of our staff,
there were less than 1,000 people
left inside when it went down.
They're being monitored very closely
to identify and address any after-effects.
So far, so good.
- And Hill?
- He hasn't regained consciousness.
Unfortunately.
- And how soon until you relaunch?
- Mara Kint is testing 2.0 as we speak.
We made some changes that will hopefully resolve
the issues with derealization.
If all goes well, we should be back up and running
by the end of the day.
- Ready when you are.
- Um, actually, Paul...
there's something else that I need.
[electronic whoosh]
- Why did you bring me back here?
I've said everything I have to say.
- I spent two years of my life
blaming you for everything that went wrong.
For the job that I had to quit,
for the relationships that fell apart.
I wasted so much time hating you.
I don't want to waste any more time.
I took something from you that day,
but I'm going to give you something in return.
So you can remember what they look like.
- [breathes raggedly]
[heart monitor flatlining]
- Code blue, code blue!
I need the attending physician
in room 1018, stat.
- [distorted] I'm sorry that I don't sound so great.
- It's not your fault.
You were damaged in the fire.
I was gonna fix it sooner,
but I decided to save the best for last.
- Why?
- Because it's time you got an upgrade.
That means I have to shut you down for a bit.
But before I do that, I...
I wanted to tell you something.
- Okay.
- You remember the garage, right?
- With the "keep out" sign we painted?
- One night, Mom and Dad were late
coming home from work.
I was doing a project,
and you really wanted to play.
You kept asking me and...
I got mad and I went into the garage.
[door slamming]
Then I locked you out.
[rapid knocking]
- Lexie, let me in!
- [chuckles] You were pounding
and pounding on the door.
[knocking]
I didn't want to listen, so I put in my headphones
and I turned up the music really loud.
- Lexie!
- You wanted to see what I was doing,
so you climbed up the trellis near the greenhouse.
I think you wanted to get my attention
through the skylight.
But you fell back
before you got to the roof.
And I didn't hear it.
A little while later, I came out to look for you,
and I saw the glass from the greenhouse,
and then I saw your body,
and you were laying there,
and you weren't moving.
I tried to get help...
but it was too late.
- Did I die?
- Yes.
- Were you sad?
- Very sad.
You were my best friend.
So...
I started thinking of a way
that I didn't have to say goodbye,
to talk to you like
you were still here.
That was the beginning of you and the Reverie program.
- Did it make you feel better?
- It did.
But I think--
I think it kept me from seeing things clearly.
Not just...things, but...
people, too.
I think it's time.
- Time for what?
- To let you grow up.
- Can I ask you one question?
And then we never have to talk about him again
if you don't want to. - Yeah, sure.
- Why did you go back?
I mean, of all the people in the world,
he deserved it the least.
- I want to keep doing this.
I like helping people.
And I just felt like
if I could do it for him,
then I could do it for anybody.
- Well...
you know, if you're going to stick around,
we should probably think about putting
some artwork up on these walls.
- [laughs]
- Maybe a Monet print.
Or "Dogs Playing Poker." - Ah.
Thanks for sticking with me.
- That's what you do when you care about someone.
- Come on, you two.
- [laughs]
- I'm not good at giving speeches,
or talking in general,
sometimes, but I want to thank you
for all your hard work in getting us back on our feet.
I'm proud of what we do here,
and I'm proud of you.
You guys are my family.
More than that, you're my friends.
So, without further ado,
Dylan?
- [deeper] Yes, Alexis.
[chatter, laughter]
- We're go for launch.
[applause] - Yeah!
- All right!
- The Reverie program
will go live in
5... 4...
all: 3... 2... 1...
[cheers and applause]
[upbeat music]
♪
- We're back.
♪
- What?
- That's you.
It says you're inside Reverie right now.
- But...
I'm not.
[electronic whoosh]
[eerie music]
♪