- [indistinct police chatter] - [sirens wailing in distance]
[coroner sighs]
You're joking, right?
[sighs] Thanks.
Help you?
Show me the bodies.
It's fine, Joel.
[ominous music playing]
What? Is it illegal to look like dead people?
[knocking on door]
[door opens]
Keller, Mason with me.
I don't understand.
This is Agent Mitchel MacNamara.
It's his case now.
Well, oh. Here.
It's not personal.
I'm sure you're excellent detectives.
[footsteps receding]
It's not sexism.
Thanks for the donut.
Well... [sighs]
[door closes]
Uh...
You're right, by the way.
It's not illegal to look like a bunch of dead people, Mr. Jason Dessen.
So what is this? I'm not... I'm not under arrest.
Hang on. I didn't have time to familiarize myself.
Can this be right? Thirteen Jason Dessens?
All with the same fingerprints, blood type, DNA.
That's curious.
DNA. That... You can't get DNA that fast.
Really? 'Cause I kind of feel like we did.
- This could be faked. - Well...
- This could be faked. - What about that? How about that?
Is that fake?
That's you. You, you.
Whoa, that's definitely you.
Oh, don't show your mom that one.
[tense music playing]
[Jason sighs]
You're operating off the wrong assumption, by the way.
Uh-huh? What's that?
That I'm a cop.
Hmm, or, you know, FBI.
[smacks lips, breathes deeply]
Or a member of any law enforcement agency.
But I do love a good police station.
So much more...
welcoming. [exhales]
The only problem is...
[chuckles]
...someone's always listening.
Now, black sites, that's where I normally work.
Man, are they unpleasant.
They are effective.
How the fuck did they do it?
What?
We knew they were close on cloning.
But setting up a full cell. In Chicago.
That's ballsy.
And this Jason Dessen background is perfect.
How did they age you?
[mutters]
Man.
Sorry, I don't mean to be impatient, but I had a brutal extraction process,
then a 13-hour flight in the back of a C-17 to get here, so...
it's kinda your moment.
[tense music continues]
[clicks tongue] Well...
I got two other Jasons in custody.
The first one to prove how useful they can be
stays off my autopsy table.
I'll cut you all open.
Okay. Okay, look.
Listen, I don't have all the answers that you want.
But I can help you find the man that does.
This one.
That fucking one.
He's the one responsible for all of this.
Yeah... [stammers] ...I'll help you.
You know what that is?
It's a fucking gold star.
Let's go find him.
[intriguing music playing]
[birds squawking]
[pensive music playing]
[groaning]
[water dripping]
No.
Why aren't you in bed?
I don't wanna get up.
[chuckles] You don't have to.
I just gotta go in early.
These guys are rushing to get the house dried in.
- [sighs] - Mmm, but how will I have my coffee?
[grunts]
[chuckling]
I happen to have some brewing as we speak.
[chuckles, inhales deeply]
You're an actual fucking angel.
Mm-hmm.
[Jason chuckling]
[birds chirping]
[gasps, chuckles]
- Oh, thank you, thank you. - For you.
So...
What do you have going on today?
Well, the office is closed,
so I thought I might get started on the roof.
I got some shingles the other day.
Why don't we do it this weekend?
You said that the last two weeks.
I know. [chuckles]
And it was raining in our bedroom last night.
[sighs]
Please don't go climbing up there.
Mmm.
Okay.
How about you come home early and then I don't have to.
I could probably do that.
How about three o'clock?
- The safe word is "patience." - [chuckles]
[chuckles]
- See you at 3:00. - Yeah.
- No going on the roof! - [laughs]
[footsteps ascending ladder]
Oh, sh-- [sighs]
Nope. [sighs]
[grunts, groans]
[wood clatters]
- [beeps] - [door unlocks]
[fire crackling]
[door squeaking]
[sighs]
[sniffles, sighs]
- [person] That roof isn't safe, you know. - [sighs]
You must be hungry.
Yeah, I'm starving.
[sighs]
[sniffles]
- Thank you. - You're welcome.
I'll get you water.
Okay.
[water pouring]
[ominous music playing]
- [water running] - [dishes clattering]
[footsteps approaching]
That first night...
was like worlds colliding.
When you looked at me...
Do you remember?
It was like... It was like no one had ever seen me before...
until that moment...
[breathes shakily]
...I was with you.
That night in the loft...
I married you.
And I held Max with you
that night in the hospital...
when his little heart... [whimpers] ...stopped beating.
[breathes shakily, sniffles]
I was... [breathes shakily]
I was with you every single night and day of our messy... beautiful life.
Till that night when I kissed you goodbye,
and that monster just stole it from me.
I found... I found you.
Hey.
Look.
It's me.
We can't solve this.
Yeah, we can.
No.
I made a choice.
Make a different choice now.
You can stay in this house.
Charlie doesn't even have to know.
I can take care of everything.
[breathes heavily]
I... I think you should go.
I can't... I just can't do that. I can't.
[breathes shakily] I want you to go.
Wait, wait, wait.
[gasps]
- Come here. - Jason, I want you to go!
You're my wife. That is my child.
Hey. Daniela. Hey!
I didn't mean to...
- [panting, breathing shakily] - Wait!
What?
No.
Do I... do I mean nothing to you?
No, no.
Just leave.
[breathes shakily] Leave.
Please. [breathing shakily]
[whispers] Please.
[breathing shakily]
[whimpers]
No, no, no, no.
[breathing shakily]
- [screams] - [grunts]
- [Daniela breathing heavily] - [thuds]
[inhales sharply]
[gasps, breathes shakily]
Say it. [breathing shakily]
Tell me the safe word. [breathing shakily]
Patience, p-patience.
Patience. It's me.
Okay.
[sighs]
[groans]
[mutters]
[breathes deeply]
[sighs]
[tense music playing]
All right. You all right?
- [grunting] - [groans]
- [Jason] You all right? - [Daniela] Yeah.
[grunting]
[grunting] Okay, ready?
[grunts]
[tense music building]
[both grunting]
Right here. Okay?
That's it. Roll him off.
Okay.
[Daniela grunts]
[music ends]
[both breathing heavily]
[birds squawking]
You think we can stay?
He's not from this world.
No one's gonna miss him.
Let's put him in the ground and get on with our lives.
I'll start on the bedroom.
I'll start on the hole.
[sighs]
[grunts]
[breathes heavily]
[grunting]
[person] Hey there.
Yo!
Sorry, sorry. I didn't mean to spook you.
I was gonna knock on the door, but I heard a sound back here, so...
- [chuckles] - I'm Officer Jay Stringer.
- How are you doing? - Great.
Good. What's the hole for?
Uh...
Can you believe it? Our dog died.
- No shit. - Yeah, yeah. [sniffles]
Sorry to hear that.
Yeah, we're all pretty broken up about it.
Yeah.
Yeah, anyway. What can I do for you?
Ah, well, a couple of hours ago,
uh, we got a report about an abandoned vehicle
at the gas station quarter mile up the road.
You... you know that one?
- Yeah. - Yeah.
Well, we ran the plates
and turns out this car was stolen in Chicago about five days ago.
I won't bore you with the details or anything.
[chuckles]
Among the items we found was this.
A lot of... A lot of... A lot of weird stuff written inside. [chuckles]
That's what brought me out here.
Uh, on the last page is an address.
Yours.
- Our address? - Yeah, do you have any idea why?
No... No.
Do you own the property?
Uh, yeah. Well... [stammers] ...we rent.
- Uh, I'm sorry, what's your name? - Oh, Bruce.
- Bruce, nice to meet you, man. - Bruce Cheney.
- Yeah. - Nice to meet you.
- Do you live out here with anybody else? - Uh, my wife and my son.
And what are their names?
[smacks lips] Uh, Lynn and Aidan.
Aidan, does he go to school out here?
Uh, yeah, yeah, he's a senior.
But he's a good kid, you know.
So I don't think he could have anything to do with it.
You got your ID on you?
Uh... No, I mean I've got it inside.
Yeah, I'll just take a peek at that, and then I'll get out of your hair.
- Great. - Okay, of course.
Come on in.
[officer] What happened there?
[tense music playing]
Right there.
Oh. [grunts]
[stammers] Dog was hit by a car and...
You know, it's terrible. We found him down by the road.
I had to carry him inside. There was just...
I don't-- [stammers] I don't wanna tell you,
it was... it was a lot of blood.
Your son taking it pretty hard?
I mean, yeah, we all are.
You know what, my wa... my wallet's in the truck. Come.
[tense music building]
Hey, hey.
Let me see your hands. Don't move!
Dispatch, this is Car 15.
Requesting immediate backup at 301 Sparrow Lane,
possible 140. Over.
Don't fucking move!
[dispatcher] All officers in the vicinity please respond.
Get away from him!
[officer] Hey!
[both grunting, panting]
- Don't move. - [grunts]
[officer 2] Hey, Dispatch. This is Car 8. We're inbound, 10 minutes out.
- [Jason pants] - We gotta go.
Yeah. [panting]
Get the go bags.
Get in the truck. I'll meet you there.
Go.
[grunts, pants]
Get up.
["A Quiet Life" playing]
Okay, okay, okay.
We're not bad people. Okay?
♪ Maybe this time ♪
[breathing shakily]
♪ Maybe this time, I'll outwit my past ♪
[panting]
I'm sorry.
♪ I'll throw away the numbers ♪
♪ The keys ♪
[engine starts]
♪ And all the cards ♪
♪ Maybe I can carve out A living in the cold ♪
♪ At the outskirts of some city ♪
- Hey. - [Charlie] Dad, where are you guys?
We're on our way.
- ♪ I'll extinguish all my recent pasts ♪ - [siren blaring]
♪ Become another man again ♪
♪ And have a quiet life ♪
[tires squeal]
- What about the groceries? - Don't worry. Leave 'em.
- Come on. We gotta go. We gotta go. - It's okay.
Come on.
♪ A quiet life ♪
♪ For me ♪
[no audible dialogue]
♪ A quiet life ♪
♪ For someone ♪
♪ And a quiet life ♪
♪ For me ♪
♪ I lost, I ran ♪
♪ I started once anew ♪
♪ In northern gray ♪
♪ In drizzling rain ♪
♪ In salted slush and bitter hale ♪
♪ But the order is always merciless ♪
♪ It wants to see me fail ♪
♪ So the hunter is now the hunted ♪
♪ Past voices call my name ♪
♪ I renounce my past to live again ♪
♪ A quiet life ♪
Come on!
♪ A quiet life ♪
No! Wait.
Why is there blood on Mom's clothes?
Why are we leaving this world after seven months
when it was good and working?
Charlie, you--
No, I'm not taking a step towards that box until somebody tells me what is going on.
This is my life too.
I know. [stammers]
A version of your father found us.
He came to the house, and...
I shot him.
He's dead?
Yeah.
Police came, okay? And we had to run.
[sighs]
We have to go.
[song ends]
[intriguing music playing]
[chattering indistinctly]
Hey.
[friend] Got us some green tea.
[Amanda, friend laughing]
- Hey. - Hey. Great to see you. Thank you.
Don't freak out, but there's a weird guy over there staring at you.
Want me to say something?
[tense music playing]
Do you know me?
I came to this world with one of those too.
[sighs]
People thought it was a Banksy.
So some kids set up a video feed in case the artist returned.
That's you.
A few days before he left you here, Jason did the same thing to me.
Have a seat.
- Are you friends with Jason Dessen? - Yeah.
Is the Jason Dessen you know married to Daniela?
Taught physics at a small college?
Annoying scotch lover,
terrible at dancing, worse at board games.
Yeah, that is my best friend.
[inhales sharply] Son of a bitch.
What?
The Jason who left you here,
let's call him, uh, "Jason 2."
Okay.
He's not the one I came here with.
I don't understand.
I think I came here with your Jason.
How? [breathes shakily]
Jason 2 kidnapped your Jason
so he could steal his life.
Wait. Wait. Wait!
[gasps]
[breathes shakily]
[breathing heavily]
[sighs]
Hey, uh...
Focus on what we want.
No other versions of us can live in Chicago.
We can't be famous. We can't be criminals.
Okay.
[inhales sharply, sighs]
[sighs]
[wind gusts]
- [groans, grunts] - [Daniela gasps]
- [thunder rumbling] - [wind whistling]
[grunting]
- [exclaims] - [shrieks]
[groaning]
- [Jason grunts] Hey, the go bag! - [Daniela] The ampoules!
- I got you. - [Charlie] Dad!
[grunting]
Mom! Mom!
[grunts]
- Charlie! - [thunderclap]
- Charlie! - [Jason] What's happening?
- [grunts] - [Jason] Charlie!
[grunting]
[metal clangs]
The wind shut it.
[grunts]
All right. Push.
- Push! - [Daniela] Charlie!
- [grunting] - [gasps]
- [creaking] - [Daniela gasps]
[grunts]
Oh, my God!
- [Daniela screaming] - [grunting]
[grunting]
- [Jason] Pull, Charlie! - [Daniela whimpers]
Pull!
- [car horn blaring] - [crashes]
[mutters]
[grunts]
[wind whistling]
[panting]
- [wind howling] - [objects clattering]
- [grunts] Keep pushing. Keep pushing. - [Charlie grunts]
- [Charlie, Jason grunt, pant] - [Daniela exclaims]
So Jason 2 just abandoned you here.
Yeah.
He said he wanted to take me, his very best friend,
to a place he knew I'd love.
Then he shut the door with me on the outside.
It took me a minute just to understand this is real.
[panting]
I had nothing. I had the clothes on my back.
Nowhere to go, obviously.
But I figured if my sister Camilla is in this world,
she's gonna my safest option.
But I didn't calculate the situation properly.
The Ryan Holder of this world died ten years ago.
[pensive music playing]
[breathes heavily] Wait. Wait, wait, wait. Wait, wait.
Camilla, I need to explain something to you, please.
So I told her the truth.
[no audible dialogue]
[Ryan] She believed me.
She took me in.
Thank you.
Oh. [chuckles]
And to her, you know, she's got her brother just magically back.
But for me, this isn't right.
And Camilla just reminds me of everything I lost.
So yeah, it's been really hard.
Camilla has a friend with a lab,
so I spent every waking hour
trying to recreate the drug that was used to bring me here.
It's called Lavender Wings.
I call it Lilac Wings.
Another version of you named it.
It's so weird.
- Yeah, it's weird. [chuckling] - Fuck.
Anyway, after months and months,
I made something that I think works.
I was finally going home to my life.
And then...
They moved the box.
They moved the fucking box.
- [worker 1] Here we go. - [worker 2] Easy, easy.
It's like, um...
My house burned down
and every person I've ever known died.
But then I was sent to another planet.
So I can't even talk to anyone about it.
I know exactly what you mean.
Because of Jason 2.
[sighs]
Because of that asshole.
[chuckling]
Fucking asshole.
Yeah.
[sighs]
[intriguing music playing]
How about we lower the bar?
Just a world with a hotel, so we don't have to spend the night in the box.
[chuckles]
Deal.
[car horns honking in distance]
[sighs]
[exhales deeply]
- [exhales deeply] - [sighs]
[sniffles, exhales deeply]
[inhales sharply]
- [bag zipper unzipping] - [items shuffling]
[Daniela] I'm just gonna clean up.
[Jason] All right.
[crying]
[whimpers, breathing heavily]
[exhales deeply]
[breathes heavily]
Hey.
[breathes shakily]
[chuckles]
Are you okay?
I'm sorry.
[inhales deeply] I'm sorry.
No.
Listen, you have nothing to be sorry about.
Nothing. [inhales deeply]
Nothing.
[energizing music playing]
[Leighton] Okay. Now, begin to come back into this space.
Breathing in through the nose.
- [inhales deeply] - [all inhaling deeply]
Hold.
And out through the mouth.
[all exhaling deeply]
Feel the body decompress.
Feel the body expand, deep breath in through the nose.
- [all inhaling deeply] - [Leighton] Good.
And out through the mouth.
[all exhaling deeply]
Now, begin to come back into this space.
Deep breath in.
[all inhaling deeply]
Hold.
Then release.
[all exhaling deeply]
[energizing music continues]
Thank you, Oluko.
[inhales deeply]
[music continues, muffled]
[toilet flushing]
[music ends]
- [sirens wailing in distance] - [train rattling overhead]
You have no idea how much this has changed my life.
Sandra, it is a joy to share this space with you.
Thank you.
[door opens, closes]
- [car horn blaring] - [dog barking]
[exhales deeply]
[tense music playing]
Sorry, next class is not till tomorrow.
I know this is very, very strange.
Buy you a drink?
[exhales sharply]
[patrons chattering]
Thank you.
[chuckles] Yeah, even on my hardest, I never mess with scotch.
Tastes like campfire.
How long has it been?
[smacks lips] Wow. Was sober three years.
I had a friend who loved scotch.
Taught me the nuance of it.
So what am I thinking?
Why me?
[chuckles] Holy shit.
Controlling the box turned out to be harder than I imagined.
I need someone to teach me how to quiet my mind.
That doesn't answer my question.
I had a partner who burned me.
Twenty years we worked together, and one day he just...
left.
So you think you can trust me?
We've always been alone, forever trapped in a series of middles.
Too Black to be accepted by our fellow one-percenters.
Yet, the brothers on the corner say we talk too white.
Too queer... [clicks tongue] ...but not gay.
Too cocky, too humble.
Not trusting, always trusting the wrong people.
We're too much.
Never enough.
[exhales deeply]
But you see this, you and I,
means no more hiding.
No more code switching.
We'll get each other.
And if you ever fuck me over,
well, somewhere deep down inside, I think I'll get it.
Huh.
Why are you doing all this?
When I first stepped inside the box, I... had no idea how it worked.
But I learned.
Slowly, painfully, over time.
I spent months in there.
I learned a lot about myself and, by default, you.
The box is the most powerful thing ever created.
And I wanna use it.
I wanna use it to do something good.
Not just in this world, but all worlds.
Okay.
Show me.
Morning.
- Coffee? - Oh. No, thank you.
I gotta take off. What do you got today?
Ugh. Just meetings about stuff that could easily be emails.
- Right? - [chuckling] You?
Just a little more under-the-table chemistry work.
[inhales deeply] You know, it's too bad I'm not into drugs.
'Cause I could go full Heisenberg.
You know I don't get your references.
He's a chemistry teacher that makes meth.
Like, the best meth.
And this meth-maker is a friend of yours?
It's... It's nothing. It's... Never mind. [inhales deeply]
Also, Amanda is coming,
and we're gonna go to the unveiling at Millennium Park together.
Is this becoming a thing?
I have no idea what you're talking about.
Oh, I think that you do.
I was thinking the three of us could have dinner together.
What do you think about that?
I'd love that.
Perfect.
- What do you think about you cooking? - All right.
- 'Cause I'd love that. [chuckles] - Okay. [chuckles]
- I'll see you soon. - Bye.
[gentle music playing]
[people chattering]
Well, thanks for coming to this.
- Of course. I feel like I'm part of this. - Mm-hmm.
- You are. - [chuckles]
Of course you are.
Plus, work's slow,
my clients are traveling,
and I broke up with the guy I was seeing. So...
Oh. Well, what happened there? Give me those goods.
We struggled to understand each other's needs.
Is that your clinical assessment?
- [chuckling] - Is it?
Finding someone here who I connect with has been,
I think, harder than I expected.
Yeah. Sometimes I feel like I speak a completely different language.
Everybody here is just so...
[Amanda] Emotionally aware, positive.
Annoyingly patient.
Yeah.
It's a world of polite sex.
Right? [chuckles]
[Ryan] What's going on with them?
No one's getting banged here. They're... They're gently knocking.
[laughing]
Thank you all for finding some time in your day
to experience this moment together as a city.
When this anonymous artist blessed our city with their talents,
I was so pleased.
I think it's fair to say the city was collectively intrigued by its appearance.
What are we to make of it?
A puzzle, a gift, a portrait of the unknown?
Unfortunately, its original placement in Chiikawa Park
proved unsuitable in the long term,
but as this was clearly intended to be public art,
we're excited to finally return it to the public
right here in the heart of Chicago.
[crowd cheering]
What do we think?
It looks pretty good to me.
Let's see if we can find a place with Wi-Fi. Look ourselves up.
[meows] There's The Excellent Bean on North Kedzie and Milwaukee
with free Wi-Fi.
As a frequent customer, Daniela Dessen,
you have a free coffee credit on your account there.
- [meows] - [Charlie] The fuck?
How did you know my name?
Your subscription to Velocity's walletless world
gives you access to our full suite of digital concierge services.
We were able to confirm your identity through voice and facial recognition.
- [meows] - You know who I am?
Jason Ashley Dessen, Velocity Tech's chief science officer since 2015.
You and CEO Leighton Vance are the architects of all Velocity Tech.
Thank you for creating me.
- No. No, no. No, no way. - [meows]
[meows] Charlie Dessen, you are not in class during school hours.
Per the settings in your Velocity account,
I have sent Daniela and Jason a pin with Charlie's current location.
[meows] I've also reported you to the truancy officer. [meows]
[suspenseful music playing]
Okay.
Okay, all right.
How does this ever get any better?
[sighs] The last 24 hours have been brutal.
We'll find a safe place.
[Charlie] No.
Charlie, as hard as all this is,
we are together, and that is what matters.
So come on.
Even if we find a perfect world,
another one of you will find us.
[Daniela] Charlie.
You know it'll happen. It'll keep happening.
We'll never be safe.
That box ruined everything!
No, I did.
- Honey. - I ruined it.
We did find a quiet life.
- It was a good life. - [sighs]
I ruined it, Charlie.
It's not your fault.
It is my fault.
Because I panicked when that Jason came.
It's not gonna happen again.
[Charlie] How could you say that?
More will come. They'll... They'll keep coming.
Unless I destroy the box.
Yeah.
I say we find a world that works for us.
Then I just kill this fucking thing.
[suspenseful music building]
[music ends]
[people chattering]
Okay, so the ten million-dollar question is if we take Lavender Wings now
and step inside that box, does it work?
This is miles away.
My guess is, it severed its quantum connection to the box prime power source.
- Now, it's just a box. - All right.
Well, I guess I'm stuck here forever.
Let's go eat. Camilla's dying to meet you.
Me too. I'm hungry.
A safe place where we can start over.
Where people are kind.
Where we can have a good life all over again.
All over again.
[exhales deeply]
[clangs]
[birds chirping]
[gentle music playing]
[whispers] No, that can't be.
- What? - [Jason sighs]
Just hold on.
[Daniela] What's wrong?
Nothing.
It's just, uh...
I think I've been here before.
It's not gonna work.
[dramatic music playing]