Clara here.
Oh, my God, it's her. The real Clara.
Janice, Simone and I are gonna go on a date.
You look beautiful.
- Cake or pie? - I like both of those things.
Can I be honest? I don't think you're ready for this.
I'm on my way.
- What can I do? - Nothing.
Thank you, Fredwynn, for coming to find me.
Welcome back.
As you are clearly aware,
this entertainment is called "Dispatches From Elsewhere",
a title whose relevance
I personally became aware of only recently.
Unless this is your first experience
with a limited-run episodic,
which we all know that it is not,
you would assume that we are rapidly approaching
the end of our journey together.
But you would be wrong.
While our time together is drawing to a close,
we are, as we've always been,
in the middle of our story.
Take Peter.
Yeah. I can do that now.
It's a lot more fun than I anticipated.
So I'm going to do it again.
Peter is you if 351 days had passed
in your temporal frame of reference
since the absolute, indisputable,
no two ways about it worst night of your life.
I'm not getting ahead of myself.
Take care of yourself, Petri Dish.
Peter is you if, for most of your life,
you couldn't quite shake the feeling
that something was missing.
And then you finally got a taste
of what real happiness was.
But then it was just gone.
Then one day, it dawns on you...
a realization as terrible as it is totally obvious.
That the real problem...
worse, maybe the only problem...
is actually just you.
I don't know. It wasn't that hard a decision, you know?
Cake or pie.
Couldn't make a choice.
I couldn't make a really simple choice.
And why do you think that might be?
I think at some point,
I got on some track and I didn't even realize it.
Elementary school became high school
became college became my job.
And I have no idea who I am.
I'm like nobody.
Hmm.
For a minute, during the game, I was somebody...
felt like I was somebody,
and I tried to run with that, and, uh...
I was like Wile E. Coyote running off the cliff,
you know what I mean?
Like, she asked me who I was,
and then I looked down and I'm just floating.
I'm just floating in midair with nothing to stand on.
I can see you're in a lot of discomfort.
- Yeah. - But I actually think this is a sign
of real progress.
Oh, is it? Thank you.
Or is that just something you say
to keep me suckling the teat of psychiatry?
Sorry, that was a weird thing to say.
I'm mad.
Not at you. I'm...
I'm mad at myself.
You're taking your first steps toward genuine self-exploration,
opening a vault you've kept locked so long
you've forgotten what's inside.
What happens if I o...
open the vault and it's empty?
Peter, is it fair to say that you like cake and pie equally?
I-I mean, that would be a fair thing to say, yes.
Okay.
Well, that's a valid opinion.
So why do you put a question mark at the end?
I'm really scared.
I guess that's the really simple answer.
I'm scared.
What if you made a list of things...
big things, little things, doesn't really matter...
and you started to take note
of your honest reactions to them?
Yeah, I could do that.
- I could do that. - Good.
Just try not to judge yourself as you go.
That's... Okay, that's good advice.
Learning who you are isn't like flipping a switch.
It's a process, a journey.
It's a journey. Mm-hmm.
How long does that journey take approximately?
I don't need, like, a specific day count, but it would help.
One could say a lifetime.
Right.
Yeah, that makes sense.
I'm just asking because Simone said I could call her in a year.
I don't think she meant that literally.
Like I said, Peter is you
if you were smack-dab in the middle of your story,
but there's one thing you still haven't figured out.
Is this story a comedy...
or a tragedy,
or something in between?
- Synced and corrected by Firefly - - www.addic7ed.com -
Me again. Three things...
One, stories are made of smaller stories like Russian Dolls.
Two, Russian dolls are adorable but pointless.
Three, and this is big, so pay attention...
stories are manipulations
of time, of space, of point of view.
They show us what they want us to see.
Got it? Take Simone.
Simone plays a major role in Peter's story.
Take care of yourself, Petri Dish.
But Simone's story is also her own.
Simone is you if you ever felt like
the only thing you could count on in life was being let down.
Peter and I have been in a...
in sort of a weird place.
Our date was a total disaster.
Oh, no.
I told him we shouldn't see each other.
Oh.
Simone, you two seem so good together.
Yeah, in the game we were great, but...
in real life, we are... ...
we are not so good.
I don't know, I think I was seeing him for
what I thought he could be and not who he really was.
- Mm. - I just...
I don't think he's ready for... you know.
I mean, he's been hiding from the world for so long,
he, like, forgot what it's like out here.
Yeah, yeah.
- What? - Yep.
- What? - I...
What are you not saying?
Simone, th... that's Peter.
There he is, that's Peter.
That's Peter's thing, but what about you?
You quit your master's program and your job.
Well, they fired me.
You stopped showing up.
And it is hard not to notice that your only friend
and closest confidant seems to be a very short older woman
who you met only a few weeks ago.
Well, maybe I just like change.
Change is a good thing, right?
- Change is a good thing. - Yes.
Change is very, very good, but Simone, honestly,
is this about change
or is this about running?
Running and running and running
and running and running and running?
I mean, at one point, you've got to stop and say,
"Alright, this is it.
This is who I am, take it or leave it".
Be courageous, be brave, be you.
We'll take one ring, hold it in front,
hold the other ring high in the air and go one, two, three!
And they glide together just like that.
- Alright, let's try it.
Here we go. That's one, that's two, and...
three!
We've made a terrible habit culturally
of putting the words "just a" in front of "coincidence".
Is it because we're afraid of the web or the spider?
And just where in the hell do you think you're going?
Um, I am actually in the wrong place.
I'm going to the, uh...
Are you or are you not dressed and ready to shake that ass?
Come on, baby.
We'll take good care of you.
Alright, alright, alright!
You kitty cats ready to work?
That's what I like.
And bounce, and bounce, and bounce.
- Aha!
Yes, show me that shimmy.
When we start taking action... forward action...
the spider gives us signs that we're on the right track,
if we're brave enough to see them.
Simone.
- Hey. - Hey.
Peter, wow.
Yeah, crazy.
Uh...
Man, I thought I didn't know what to get.
No, I-I've been trying stuff,
like experiencing new things.
It's really fun.
Wow.
Good for you.
Thanks.
And of course you have an actual list, don't you?
- I do.
Hats.
Are... They're on both likes and dislikes.
Well, I was surprised to find out how much I like hats,
but also how much I dislike wearing hats.
'Cause the whole time I'm like, "I'm wearing a hat.
I'm wearing a hat".
- I get that. - Yeah.
Yeah. And magic.
Like, tricks and stuff?
Um, illusions.
No, I'm not joking. I'm just coming from class.
- Really? - Yeah. I-I usually stop here.
It's on my walk home.
Oh. Cool, uh, mine, too.
I'm coming from, like, a dance exercise thing.
It's fun and it's funny.
- Oh. - It's fun.
It sounds really fun, and you look great.
Oh. Uh, thanks.
Hey, I don't know what you're doing in a couple weeks,
but I'm... Yeah, I have my graduation showcase.
I invited Janice. She's gonna be there.
I invited Fredwynn. He hasn't RSVP'd yet,
but I don't know if you're free.
Oh. Um...
Yeah, I'll see if I am free.
There's no pressure or anything.
Is this your card?
No.
Okay.
She didn't come.
That's fine, right?
It's no big deal.
We got a show to put on, right?
Thanks. We can do this.
What about this?
Um...
Why are you doing this to me?!
Let's have a round of applause for AbracaDebra, everybody!
- Thank you.
And now for our next act.
He will amaze you with his daring,
astound you with his skills.
Put your hands together for Peter the Great!
Simone!
Peter, that was so fun.
It was... except for the part where you almost drowned.
That was awful, but I-I just... I'm...
I'm full of amazement.
I'm really glad that you came.
It really is so meaningful to me.
Thanks.
Well, um, uh, I'll just leave the two...
Oh, no, Janice, you don't have to do that.
Yeah, oh, look at that.
A table of fliers and brochures.
I'm gonna go over here to the fliers and the brochures.
I'm really glad you came.
I didn't know if you would.
Then I saw you in the tank and...
Um...
Okay, so Peter, I...
Can I... Can I... Can I go first this time?
Yeah.
I'm not gonna try and tell you that we should try again
because I figured myself out.
I haven't.
I do know that for the very first time in my life,
I actually feel like I'm headed towards something
instead of just standing still, do you know what I mean?
Yeah, I think... I think I do.
Can I show you something?
Sure.
Is that your list of likes and dislikes?
Yes.
Yeah. I got...
Just read the likes.
"Talking to Simone.
Kissing Simone".
"Simone's laugh.
Knowing I'm gonna see Simone later".
"Simone reading my list of likes".
I put that so I could hear your laugh.
I was a mess when you met me.
And I probably still am.
But a... a really smart woman recently told me
that happiness isn't just flipping some switch.
That it's a journey.
And I just really don't understand why you and I
wouldn't think about taking that journey together.
Because I like you so much.
I heard what you said and I thought a lot about it.
And I know that there are things that will be really hard.
And I understand that there will be things
that are gonna be really new to me,
and I'll probably mess them up sometimes.
But one thing I can promise you
is that I really want to try.
Because there's one thing...
... for as long as I can remember
that I have known how I felt about, and that's you.
Stories are acts of courage, and moments of truth.
I don't want to be presumptuous.
I haven't done this in a really long time,
and I'm nervous.
Oh.
Well, uh...
I've never done this.
And, um, I have a lot of anxiety.
But in... in a good way.
Hey.
Oh, my gosh, I am so sorry.
My alarm clock didn't go off.
I didn't set my alarm clock.
Well, I know that this is just the game-iversary
and not our actual anniversary,
but the day that we became a team is also
the day that you and I met, and...
it's, like, the most important day to me.
So, anyway, I got you this.
Peter.
Oh, my God.
My rats.
Yeah.
I love it.
It's perfect.
I'm so glad.
Okay.
My turn.
What do you mean your turn?
What, you think you're the only romantic around here?
Come on.
Where are you taking me?
Oh, God, you hate it, don't you?
Ugh.
I am so sorry. I said to myself,
"Simone, this is either the best
or the worst idea you've ever had".
I don't know, I felt like the game
was the first time you really put yourself out there,
and I-I wanted to honor that.
And I...
wanted you to see yourself the way I see you.
Please say something.
This is the weirdest...
nicest thing that anyone's ever done for me.
I'll take it.
I love it.
- Do you? - I love it so much.
I look so beautiful.
Yeah, well, that's my guy.
Huh.
Yeah.
Hey, where is everybody?
The sensorimotor stage, the preoperational stage,
the concrete operational stage,
and the formal operational stage.
That's right, Janice. But what are the drawbacks
or the holes in Piaget's theory?
Ah. Well, he... he... he really just studied his own children
and never took into account culture
or social interactions or socioeconomic differences.
But other than that...
Other than that, he nailed it.
Janice is you, if you ever worried
that your best days were behind you...
I miss him.
I miss talking to him.
I know he's still here with me and all that,
but it's getting harder and harder to hear his voice.
I miss him!
I miss my team.
I miss my life.
Well, maybe it's time to pull some more flyers.
Oh, no, no.
The game is over.
Come on. The game is never over.
We're always right in the middle of it until we're not.
So, look, I just think maybe we should play as hard as we can
while we still have the chance.
- I don't know. - Come on.
You asked me to stick around here and pester you, remember?
Alright, this is me pestering you.
Get off your ass.
I understand time, too, you know?
Okay.
Do it.
Sometimes, stories are about making them your own.
- Let's leave it there. - Okay.
See you Thursday.
I'm here! I'm here! I'm here! I'm here!
- Hey.
- Hi. - I'm here!
- Hi. - Don't worry...
Simone was very, very late, as well.
- Hi! - Oh, good. Good.
Um. Peter.
- Yeah. - Look at you.
It's really something, huh?
Well, it's... it's big.
Yes.
- Oh. Oh. - Hey, happy Game-iversary.
Happy Game-iversary.
- Go, team blue! - Go, team blue!
- Whoo! - Yes!
Where's Fredwynn?
Uh, no idea.
I guess everybody's running late today.
Fredwynn is never late.
He says that tardiness is a moral failing.
You know, Fredwynn hasn't texted me back in a really long time.
Wait a second.
When was the last time any of us, like, saw Fredwynn?
Oh, dear.
Fredwynn?!
Ooh-hoo!
I-It's me... Janice!
I'm here with Peter and Simone!
- Would you let us... - It's open.
Oh.
Oh, this is weird.
Are you in there, buddy?
Fredwynn?!
Fredwynn?
Are you here?
Fred...
Oh, Fredwynn.
By now, you're probably wondering...
what about you, F to the Red to the Wynn?
Did you conquer your fears?
Did you find your true self?
Did you make your story your own?
Well, I did a hell of a lot more than that.
I am you if you ever suspected
that things were not as they appeared.
If you sensed that mysterious forces were at play.
If you knew you couldn't rest
until you finally knew the truth.
Torres. T-o-r-r-e-s.
First name... Clara.
Nothing? Nothing?
No death certificate on file at all?
Okay, options.
One. Human error.
Clara Torres died,
but the paperwork was misplaced or stolen or eaten by mites.
What's my name? Fredwynn.
Fredwynn. Fredwynn.
My last name?
W...
What is my last name?
Option two. Clara is dead,
but she did not die in the City of Brotherly Love.
Torres. Okay. Nothing? T-o-r-r-e-s.
First name... Clara. T-o-r-r-e-s.
T-o-r-r-e-s.
First name... Clara. T-o-r-r-e-s.
- What's my name?
Options... first name... Clara.
- Ist gestorben! - You need my last name?
- Nothing?
First name... Clara. Options. Fredwynn.
T-o-r-r-e-s. First name... Clara. Torres.
Did I mention I wasn't sleeping anymore?
Up to this point,
the world had always seemed like
a series of interlocking puzzles.
And the beauty of puzzles is that they can always be solved.
I just had to find the pattern.
The founding principle, the central thesis,
the solution that would make it all make sense.
Did I mention...
Did I mention I wasn't sleeping anymore?
... sleeping anymore?
Human error.
First name... Clara. Options. Options.
Did I mention I wasn't sleeping anymore?
Torres. Let's get you some help.
... sleeping anymore? What's my name?
Show me... where! ... eaten by mites.
I wasn't sleeping anymore. ... sleeping anymore?
Show me! T-o-r-r-e-s.
Did I mention I wasn't sleeping anymore?
And that's when it happened.
I am not crazy.
I'm not... I'm not crazy.
I am not... not... I'm not crazy.
I'm not crazy. I'm not crazy.
- Crazy. I'm not crazy. - Aah!
Crazy. Crazy.
Fredwynn.
Octavio Coleman, Esquire.
Indeed.
I see you, Fredwynn.
And I see you.
I told you that... do you remember?
Yes.
Then you put me in a closet.
Such is life.
But then you found your way here,
where all is forgiven.
What is this place?
This is the place of transcendence.
It's the place where...
everything is perfect,
everything's right.
Because you're right, Fredwynn.
You've always been right.
You belong here.
Welcome home.
I finally understood.
All of it...
the game, Clara, the conspiracy, the mystery.
There was only one answer,
one perfect, shining truth.
Is this real?
It's real, and it's not real.
Am I... Am I real?
You are team blue.
Your story is your own.
Can I stay?
You can stay here forever.
Do you want to stay here, Fredwynn?
What's happened to him?
He's, uh, gone somewhere else.
Well, should we call someone?
Okay, whatever we do, wherever he is,
we have to tell him that it's, like, not real, right?
No, no. No, no, don't do that.
Don't do that.
Wherever he is,
whatever he's feeling, it's real to him.
Fredwynn?
Fredwynn, it's me... Janice.
Can you hear me?
I'm... I'm... I'm here with Peter
and... and... and Simone, your teammates.
Do you remember?
We need you, Fredwynn.
We need you to come back.
Please.
I don't want to come back.
I'm Clara.
Shh!
My story is my own.
I don't want to come back.
I know you don't.
I like it here.
I know.
This is real.
We're not real.
We're not?
But what's happening to me is real.
You know this is the end, right?
Fredwynn, we love you.
We need you to come back.
Come back, please.
But I like it.
It's nice, isn't it... where you are?
Elsewhere... is that what you call it?
Fredwynn, listen to me.
I know what it's like to go through something hard,
and you feel like you're drowning,
and you can't breathe, and there's no way out.
But there is a way out.
Here, with us.
But remember sitting in the diner,
and... and the waitress.
And then the house and the flashlights
and all the writing on the walls.
Fredwynn, we love you.
We need you to come back, please.
It's real. Ba-ba-ba-da.
I know it is.
But we're real, too.
Be here.
Be with us.
Hi. How are you?
Be here with me.
Okay.
Fredwynn.
I need you, Fredwynn.
She'll get him cleaned up.
Yeah.
He said none of us are real.
That's... interesting.
Yes.
It all started with that urn.
I think it started a long time before that.
- Hey. - Hey.
How's he doing?
Well, I...
He says he wants to go back to Clara's house.
- Janice... - I know. I know.
But he... he says there's something we need to understand.
All of us. Together.
- Hi. - Hey.
Um, thank you for coming.
- Uh. - Sure.
H-He had your number.
He has all of our numbers.
Fredwynn... are you alright?
I think that it's time you told them the truth.
We know about the urn.
We know that Clara wasn't in it.
We are, as we've always been, in the middle of our story.
The middle.
Look, Lee, if... if this is all just some story,
I think we need to finish it.
Don't you?
Yeah.
Sometimes, you wish you didn't know
that there was something better.
Because then you wouldn't know what you'd be missing.
You wouldn't know that other people are having a better life.
But why does this better life
always have to be somewhere else?
Why can't it be right where you're standing,
right here, today?
Because I, Clara Torres, do solemnly swear
that beauty is in the eye of the beholder.
It's all around us, even now.
Maybe we just need a new pair of glasses to learn how to see it.
Virtual reality is about being transported somewhere else.
This is different.
This is about augmenting our reality,
getting up, getting out,
seeing the world around us in a whole new way.
Because maybe, once we see what's possible,
we can make it real together.
This is my call to arms.
We need to engage the world, not retreat from it.
Who's with me?
What a long and winding road it has been.
Hm?
10 years.
And never a single moment of doubt from any of us, right?
Nevertheless, here we are, ready, finally,
for the unveiling of The Idea 1.0.
Now, this is a fully operational,
network-integrated virtual-reality
personal-user interface.
Running on the very latest GS-Ojai-3 circuitry.
Please, put on your devices.
Oh, we have got to cut another 7 mil off the budget, my dear.
Mnh, I'm not hearing you.
My ears are filled with the sounds of chewing.
You know, we could sell advertisements.
I know. I know.
But we'd make it discreet.
You know, like a glowing tag on a gift box.
Seriously? Advertisements?
I'm seriously trying to get you the money you need
to make your idea into a reality.
Or you could cut another 7 mil.
Now, in lucrative partnership with third-party advertisers,
targeted to personalized purchasing habits...
5.3 pounds?
You expect people to walk down the street
with 5.3 pounds on their heads?
We'll switch to graphite.
No, that messes with the signal processor.
Hey.
This is how people are gonna use this thing.
At home?
Yes, couch surfing, baby.
Ride the wave!
Our research has shown that people are willing
to wear these devices at home
for up to seven hours in a single sitting.
Couch potatoes with a credit card on file.
Memories.
Huh?
Actual memories.
People don't want to change the world.
They just want to relive the moments
that mean something to them.
But they won't be doing anything new.
You're sedating them.
Who needs television
when you can binge-watch your old memories?
Your past is no longer washed away by the waters of time.
It can be yours forever.
Ladies and gentlemen, please remove your devices.
Now, the woman responsible for all of this.
Her vision.
Her idea.
Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome Clara Torres.
Clara, please, say a few words.
Thank you very much.
So this whole thing, the game...
it was all to make it up to her.
To yourself.
I thought I could make things... better.
But I lost my way.
I thought maybe this game would help me remember who I was.
Did it work?
Why are you asking her? It's not up to her.
You're missing the point.
Fredwynn is right.
It's not up to me.
It's up to him.
Hey.
I got to go with him.
What are you talking about? You can't go.
Remember the thing about...
me doing something brave and embarrassing myself instead?
I thought that was the singing.
So did I.
Thank you.
I'm scared for him.
He doesn't have to go alone.
Holy shit, this is so weird, you guys.
Life is weird. Let's go.
Oh, wait, wait, wait, wait.
You mean we can go with him?
We can help him?
Of course.
Don't you see? Anything is possible.
We're team blue.
And our story is our own.