1
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[opening theme music playing]

2
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[electronic warbling]

3
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[ethereal music playing]

4
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[rumbling]

5
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[electronic trilling]

6
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[in alien language]
We shall miss your conversation

7
00:00:55,084 --> 00:00:57,001
on the rest of our voyage, Dr. Afriel.

8
00:00:57,501 --> 00:00:58,918
[in English] And I yours.

9
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Our exchange of information
has been extremely valuable to me.

10
00:01:03,126 --> 00:01:05,584
[in alien language]
Humanity is the kind of race

11
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we enjoy doing business with.

12
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Young, eager, flexible.

13
00:01:09,418 --> 00:01:12,751
But we do not understand
the profit you seek in studying the swarm.

14
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They are merely well-organized animals.

15
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[in English] Hmm.
Well, we <i>humans</i> learn wherever we can.

16
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[alien] Dr. Afriel.

17
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[electronic trilling]

18
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Per our transit contract,
we shall return in 600 of your days.

19
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[ethereal music continues]

20
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[gurgling]

21
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[squelching]

22
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[ship rumbling, pulsating]

23
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[rumbling]

24
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[creatures trilling, warbling]

25
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[woman in English] Dr. Afriel.

26
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Welcome.

27
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Dr. Mirny. An honor to meet you.

28
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And I you.

29
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It's good to see another human face.

30
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And please, call me Galina.

31
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[creature trilling]

32
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-[groans] What?
-Don't be alarmed.

33
00:02:36,126 --> 00:02:38,334
It will convey your pheromones
to the queen.

34
00:02:40,209 --> 00:02:43,084
Otherwise, you might be considered
an invader and killed.

35
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I followed your study of the Swarm
with tremendous interest, Doctor.

36
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But I had no idea you'd learned
to communicate with them.

37
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Not exactly.

38
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[squelching]

39
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[Galina] I found
no Swarm castes that use language,

40
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but several symbiote species still do.

41
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I call these springtails.

42
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I believe
they were once a spacefaring race

43
00:03:06,251 --> 00:03:09,543
who discovered the Swarm
and were absorbed by it.

44
00:03:10,043 --> 00:03:12,668
But now they are
little more than parasitic savages.

45
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So far,
I've identified 15 unique symbiotic aliens

46
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living among the hundreds
of specialized castes native to the Swarm.

47
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Various strains of nutrient-rich fungi
are the hive's main food source.

48
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Since our basic biochemistry is similar,
it's perfectly edible.

49
00:03:41,709 --> 00:03:43,709
[creatures trilling]

50
00:03:45,834 --> 00:03:48,084
[creature clicking]

51
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I've learned to solicit food
with a pattern of reflex tapping.

52
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[tapping]

53
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Fermentation in the worker's gut…

54
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[gurgling, retching]

55
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…adds nutritional value.

56
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Makes it taste better too.

57
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Mmm. It's wonderful. [gulps]

58
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[creature lowing]

59
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Tunneler.

60
00:04:15,001 --> 00:04:16,918
It can take us further into the Nest.

61
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[Afriel exhales sharply]

62
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[grunts]

63
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[tunneler lowing]

64
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[creatures trilling]

65
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The queen.

66
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[ethereal music swelling]

67
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[Galina] Heart of the Nest.

68
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Whatever caste of worker is needed,

69
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she can create it.

70
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The entire Nest is a wonder
of genetic automation.

71
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It is truly amazing.

72
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[creature clatters]

73
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[Galina] Warrior caste. Very deadly.

74
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[tense music playing]

75
00:05:13,084 --> 00:05:14,501
[creatures warbling]

76
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[Galina] But only if you mean harm
to the queen and her eggs.

77
00:05:24,501 --> 00:05:28,376
Dr. Afriel, I think it's time
you told me exactly why you're here.

78
00:05:29,959 --> 00:05:31,209
As you've discovered,

79
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the Swarm
is a near-perfect organic system.

80
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With a resource like this, we can bring
order to the chaos of human expansion.

81
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We must harness its power.

82
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Exploit it, you mean.

83
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If order is what you want,

84
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look around.

85
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It's always warm, it smells good,
and there's plenty of food.

86
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This Nest has been here
for millions of years.

87
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Who will remember humanity
in even a thousand?

88
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Even though I won't live
to see our race triumph,

89
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it's enough that I can foresee that day.

90
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Arrogance.

91
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[tense music playing]

92
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These creatures
are primordially innocent, Doctor.

93
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They should never become pawns
in some power struggle light-years away.

94
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[Afriel] But we only need
the genetic information from one egg.

95
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With that, we can grow our <i>own</i> queen.

96
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Her offspring will build a new nest.

97
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They would be useless

98
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without the Nest's pheromones
to control them.

99
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Mm. Artificial vein.

100
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This slipped past the Investor quarantine.

101
00:06:43,459 --> 00:06:47,084
Inside is a selection
of the Swarm pheromones we synthesized

102
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based on your samples.

103
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If these work,
we could control millions of workers.

104
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Armies of warriors.

105
00:06:53,834 --> 00:06:57,043
-You are planning to breed a slave race.
-We could--

106
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You said yourself, they aren't sentient.

107
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They're organic machines.

108
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It's not as if they'd be staring up
at the stars pining for their freedom.

109
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[inhales deeply]

110
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It's true.

111
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Whether they work for us or the Swarm
will make no difference to them.

112
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And that is the beauty
of the idea, Doctor.

113
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[sighs]

114
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As long as no harm comes to the Nest…

115
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I'll help you.

116
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[squelching]

117
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[suspenseful music playing]

118
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[Galina] <i>We'll need to test</i>
<i>the synthesized pheromones</i>

119
00:07:42,043 --> 00:07:43,709
<i>with a series of trials.</i>

120
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[creature trilling]

121
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[Galina] <i>First vial contains</i>
<i>the most basic pheromonal commands.</i>

122
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<i>A simple grouping stimulus.</i>

123
00:07:52,959 --> 00:07:54,668
<i>But to work most effectively,</i>

124
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<i>the pheromones need to be combined</i>
<i>in a chemical program.</i>

125
00:07:58,209 --> 00:07:59,876
<i>Gather, then dig.</i>

126
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<i>Grow food here, then harvest.</i>

127
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<i>-Or retrieve one fertilized egg.</i>
-[creature warbling]

128
00:08:16,084 --> 00:08:18,084
[ethereal music playing]

129
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[Galina] <i>We humans</i>
<i>are not so very different.</i>

130
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<i>Adrift on ancient chemical tides.</i>

131
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<i>Submerged in the warm ebb and flow</i>

132
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<i>of life.</i>

133
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[whooshing]

134
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[springtails screeching]

135
00:08:59,709 --> 00:09:01,709
[creatures trilling]

136
00:09:03,251 --> 00:09:04,293
[in alien language] What is it?

137
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Food-giver no good. Not feed.

138
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Take me to her.

139
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[suspenseful music playing]

140
00:09:15,626 --> 00:09:17,084
[springtail trilling]

141
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[creature roars]

142
00:09:26,876 --> 00:09:28,084
[growls]

143
00:09:30,876 --> 00:09:32,293
[creature snarls]

144
00:09:33,001 --> 00:09:34,876
-[shrieking]
-[squelching]

145
00:09:34,959 --> 00:09:36,793
[intense music playing]

146
00:09:41,668 --> 00:09:43,459
[creatures screeching]

147
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[Afriel pants, grunts]

148
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[roaring]

149
00:09:59,459 --> 00:10:01,834
[Afriel grunts, groans]

150
00:10:02,376 --> 00:10:04,376
[air hissing]

151
00:10:08,418 --> 00:10:10,418
[creatures growling, warbling]

152
00:10:14,459 --> 00:10:15,543
[creature trills]

153
00:10:16,043 --> 00:10:17,626
[roaring, warbling]

154
00:10:17,709 --> 00:10:18,959
[Afriel grunts, groans]

155
00:10:19,043 --> 00:10:20,668
-[bones crack]
-[screams]

156
00:10:21,626 --> 00:10:22,668
[Afriel grunts]

157
00:10:22,751 --> 00:10:24,043
-[creature roars]
-[Afriel yells]

158
00:10:25,751 --> 00:10:27,001
[creature roars]

159
00:10:27,084 --> 00:10:28,418
[squelching]

160
00:10:29,001 --> 00:10:30,001
[Afriel groans]

161
00:10:30,084 --> 00:10:32,459
-[grunting, straining]
-[intense music swelling]

162
00:10:34,251 --> 00:10:35,793
[creatures trilling]

163
00:10:37,709 --> 00:10:40,293
Come on then, you mindless motherfuckers!

164
00:10:41,001 --> 00:10:43,293
-[creatures screeching]
-[Afriel screaming, grunting]

165
00:10:44,959 --> 00:10:46,126
[music fades]

166
00:10:49,918 --> 00:10:51,626
[ominous music playing]

167
00:10:52,543 --> 00:10:54,543
[creatures trilling]

168
00:11:00,168 --> 00:11:01,959
[squelching]

169
00:11:02,959 --> 00:11:03,918
[Afriel gasps]

170
00:11:08,251 --> 00:11:09,668
[moaning]

171
00:11:11,293 --> 00:11:13,043
[Galina moaning]

172
00:11:14,251 --> 00:11:15,168
Galina?

173
00:11:15,751 --> 00:11:17,001
[gasping]

174
00:11:18,918 --> 00:11:21,126
[Galina] I have no name,

175
00:11:22,084 --> 00:11:24,168
but you may address me as…

176
00:11:24,251 --> 00:11:25,334
[squelching]

177
00:11:25,418 --> 00:11:26,459
…Swarm.

178
00:11:27,626 --> 00:11:29,126
[sinister music playing]

179
00:11:32,584 --> 00:11:34,793
[heaves, retches]

180
00:11:34,876 --> 00:11:36,668
[Swarm] I am one of its castes.

181
00:11:37,543 --> 00:11:39,834
My specialty is intelligence.

182
00:11:39,918 --> 00:11:42,168
We… we mean you no harm.

183
00:11:42,709 --> 00:11:44,459
We seek only knowledge and--

184
00:11:44,543 --> 00:11:47,293
[Swarm] You sought to breed us.

185
00:11:47,959 --> 00:11:49,251
Use us.

186
00:11:50,084 --> 00:11:52,376
But your crude experiments

187
00:11:52,959 --> 00:11:55,626
triggered certain genetic protocols,

188
00:11:55,709 --> 00:11:58,376
and I was born.

189
00:12:00,501 --> 00:12:02,709
I am only a few weeks old,

190
00:12:02,793 --> 00:12:06,709
but I have millions of years
of racial memory.

191
00:12:06,793 --> 00:12:10,168
You are clearly an intelligent being.

192
00:12:10,251 --> 00:12:12,043
Surely we can find a way to--

193
00:12:12,126 --> 00:12:14,626
Please, Doctor, I'm just a tool.

194
00:12:14,709 --> 00:12:15,834
[breathes raggedly]

195
00:12:15,918 --> 00:12:21,418
One the Swarm has used to deal
with threats like yours many times.

196
00:12:22,334 --> 00:12:25,334
Through her memories,
I understand your race.

197
00:12:25,834 --> 00:12:27,834
An especially vigorous one.

198
00:12:27,918 --> 00:12:30,001
I expect they could be here,

199
00:12:30,084 --> 00:12:33,376
competing with us
within a few hundred years.

200
00:12:34,126 --> 00:12:36,126
Hmm. It will be sooner.

201
00:12:36,209 --> 00:12:37,418
Perhaps.

202
00:12:38,293 --> 00:12:41,376
But on the timescale the Swarm operates,

203
00:12:41,459 --> 00:12:43,668
your race will soon be gone.

204
00:12:45,043 --> 00:12:48,001
If… if you intend to destroy us, we will--

205
00:12:48,084 --> 00:12:49,668
[yelling, choking]

206
00:12:49,751 --> 00:12:52,668
Most likely, you'll destroy yourselves.

207
00:12:53,584 --> 00:12:55,668
In… intelligence…

208
00:12:55,751 --> 00:12:56,584
[inhales deeply]

209
00:12:56,668 --> 00:12:58,834
…is not a winning survival trait.

210
00:12:58,918 --> 00:13:00,918
[exhales, breathes heavily]

211
00:13:01,751 --> 00:13:06,209
Consider the scavenger
feeding on your vomit.

212
00:13:07,043 --> 00:13:08,709
Two million years ago,

213
00:13:09,293 --> 00:13:12,626
its ancestors made the galaxy tremble.

214
00:13:13,418 --> 00:13:15,501
When they attacked the Swarm,

215
00:13:15,584 --> 00:13:20,168
we bred smarter, tougher versions
of their own race to fight them.

216
00:13:21,376 --> 00:13:24,126
Our nests were the only world
they'd known,

217
00:13:24,209 --> 00:13:27,251
and they fought with a fury
and inventiveness

218
00:13:27,751 --> 00:13:29,418
we never could have matched.

219
00:13:31,001 --> 00:13:32,668
It is an excellent strategy.

220
00:13:33,418 --> 00:13:36,209
And the two of you
make a perfect breeding pair.

221
00:13:37,501 --> 00:13:40,043
I would never betray my race.

222
00:13:40,126 --> 00:13:41,293
I will kill myself.

223
00:13:42,001 --> 00:13:47,126
In which case, I would simply clone you
and raise the children myself.

224
00:13:47,793 --> 00:13:48,626
Bothersome.

225
00:13:50,459 --> 00:13:52,334
And so I offer you a choice.

226
00:13:53,126 --> 00:13:57,751
Remain an intelligent living being or…

227
00:13:57,834 --> 00:13:59,418
[gasps, moans]

228
00:13:59,501 --> 00:14:00,418
[squelching]

229
00:14:00,501 --> 00:14:02,751
[yelling, gasping]

230
00:14:02,834 --> 00:14:05,418
…real ugly events…

231
00:14:05,501 --> 00:14:07,501
[gasping, retching]

232
00:14:10,459 --> 00:14:11,834
[sighs, chuckles]

233
00:14:13,418 --> 00:14:14,251
So,

234
00:14:15,668 --> 00:14:19,376
do you accept my offer, Doctor?

235
00:14:21,001 --> 00:14:25,709
I accept your challenge.

236
00:14:26,834 --> 00:14:28,918
We won't become parasites.

237
00:14:29,001 --> 00:14:31,334
Humans are different.

238
00:14:32,251 --> 00:14:34,584
Of course you are.

239
00:14:36,584 --> 00:14:38,584
[squelching]

240
00:14:38,668 --> 00:14:41,543
I'm glad I won't have to absorb you.

241
00:14:43,459 --> 00:14:44,668
I would have missed

242
00:14:45,543 --> 00:14:46,918
your conversation.

243
00:14:48,834 --> 00:14:50,209
[music fades]

244
00:14:55,043 --> 00:14:56,584
[electronic warbling]

245
00:15:01,709 --> 00:15:03,418
[closing theme music playing]

246
00:16:01,626 --> 00:16:03,501
[music fades]