- I should never have blackmailed you.
Will you be my bribe?
- My husband's company, MyXY, is being acquired
by a big pharma entity.
- What the fuck is wrong with you?
- I want the VA contract back.
I want to make up for what Duncan failed to do.
- Duncan's a piece of shit.
- Why are you even here? You're not on the board.
Get the fuck out!
- Everybody that's in favor
of dislodging Duncan Park from the board, say aye.
all: Aye.
- Only way you can lose the house
is if you stop being my therapist.
- Your puppet.
[upbeat jazzy music]
- All right.
♪ ♪
[indistinct conversation]
♪ ♪
Hey, there's some Coast Guard mixed in there,
so make sure you separate them by branch, all right?
Oh, hey, if these are uncoded, set them aside.
MUMPS are in charge! This is their time.
They wrote this code before you were born, before I was born.
- Ooh!
- All right, who's the lucky soldier?
Mary Cardenas, Sergeant First Class, U.S. Army.
Amputee. Huh.
Yeah, maybe.
Hey, Ben?
You wanna shoot this through for me real quick?
♪ ♪
- Incoming! - Got it?
Hey, Anushka.
Come here, check this out.
What about her, huh?
- Mary Cardenas.
Yeah.
All right. - Okay. All right.
Send it through to [indistinct].
- [sighs]
♪ ♪
[thunder rumbling, rain pattering]
[engine turning over]
[display dings]
Evergreen Cemetery.
[phone buzzing]
Hello?
- Hi, Mary Cardenas?
Am I pronouncing that right?
- Yeah. Who's this?
- Hi, Mary. My name is Alexander.
I'm calling from Veterans Affairs.
Is this a good time to talk?
- Well, shit.
I have been trying to get ahold of someone for weeks.
Told me I should go wait in a line.
- I am sorry about that, Mary. We're terribly understaffed.
We owe you better. That's why I'm calling.
I see you need a couple prescriptions refilled.
Pain management is no joke.
Can I take care of that?
- That would be great.
- Your usual pharmacy on Bradford Avenue?
Can I ask, how are you sleeping?
- Like shit. - I bet.
And today, of course, must be challenging.
You gonna go to Evergreen Cemetery?
- How did you know I was going--
- You lost a friend and a leg, Mary.
Can't imagine what that feels like.
Actually, what does it feel like to have a leg?
- Sorry, what?
- After your leg was blown off,
did you keep fighting? - Don't. No, no, no, no, no.
- That's gotta have been difficult--
hopping and shooting at the same time?
The recoil alone, very destabilizing.
- What the hell?
- And if someone challenged you to a foot race...
- No, cut--cut it--cut him off! - Would you say
they were being mean or statistically confident?
- What the fuck did you just say to me?
This is Veterans Affairs? - Oh, my God.
- Cut him off. Cut him off. - I'm transferring.
- Put me on with her. Come on.
Mary, hi. Tom Ruffage from the VA.
I am so sorry. My, um--my colleague is, uh--
yeah, he's--he's-- he's been through a lot.
Uh-huh. Yeah.
- Uh, I don't get it.
Your bot, is it-- is it a moron?
I mean, is it based on a moron?
- He was raised to be curious.
He was being curious. - Right.
Well, it wasn't your brief to drive vets to homicidal rage.
- Gnodin just exponentially upped
Xander's computing storage.
It was like a shot of adrenaline
into a toddler's heart,
and yet 93% of that exchange was perfect.
You're, like, on an interstellar voyage
and complaining about the snacks.
- So he's a toddler? - No.
Developmentally, he's still about 14, maybe 15 years old.
- Why did you think that Opie was the right avatar
to talk to vets?
You need to rejigger your doodad.
Make him a man, for Christ's sakes.
- [sighs heavily] Yeah.
Uh, well, Mary's gonna be okay, but that was cruel.
We gotta slow down. - There!
Base it on Tom. Tom's perfect.
Warrior, sensitive, what have you.
Emotional age past puberty.
- Yeah, I don't know about all that, but, um,
Xander's not ready.
- No, we demo this Saturday at Watch Code.
Our future as a company--
- He just mocked a vet. Pump the brakes.
- No, he wasn't mocking her.
He was attempting to connect with her.
- Martin will fix his robot.
- Do not call him a robot. - Quite. Sorry.
Autonomous wanker.
- I'm here to help.
If Alexander and I are not
providing the kind of help that is--
- [sighs]
- Okay, then what, it's--it's "no notes" or "bugger off?"
- Okay, okay, look, we can stabilize him
with some off-the-shelf AI.
Put a new face on him. I don't know.
But this is not viable.
- I--how dare you?
He's viable.
- He shat the bed and rolled around in it,
and you're asking why he stinks.
- The licensing deal I signed with you gives me
final say on all developmental matters,
unless you wish to buy Xander outright.
And the going rate for tech like this is 10 figures.
Oh, there is no other tech like Xander.
AGI is the holy grail, and I'm Sir Fucking Galahad!
- You're right, Martin.
You are one of one.
It is understood.
Are you gonna handle this?
- I'll--yes.
- Tell me the truth.
You thought he would be worth more by now.
- He is a genius, you know.
- Do not buy into that genius bullshit.
Around here, you fart, and three of them line up
to debate plume dynamics.
You need him to hit a product ship date.
Persuade him. He'll bend.
Guy like that knows you're out of his league.
I can see it from here.
- Carl, that's really not any of your business.
- Okay, okay, listen.
You have a company to run and a job to save.
Make him feel like he's a big boy.
Have a little fun with him.
You know what Lorraine's secret is?
[stirring string music]
A little backdoor diplomacy, and never neglect the twins.
♪ ♪
- Next time you say something like that,
give me a chance to hit Record first.
- Hey, Tom.
Tommy!
There you are. I need your biometrics.
Let's go, soldier.
- [sighs]
♪ ♪
- The amount of stomach acid we excreted--
we're gonna get thrown out of our house.
We're gonna live on the streets.
I mean, just some investment group
buying up rental properties,
and here we are, safe and sound.
It's pretty funny.
- Hysterical.
- I mean, one of us was.
Same exact rent Alvin was charging us.
I mean, the whole thing's just--
Puppeteer Real Estate Holdings.
There you go.
Just in time for the after-school rush.
Okay, darling.
See you on the other side.
- Yeah. - Have a good one.
- You too.
- It's this music box with a ballerina in it,
and she--she pirouettes.
It terrified me.
- Yeah, and this memory is bothering you?
Of course it is.
Uh, it's likely being triggered by your current stress.
I mean, the--the merger is completely off?
Did I hear that right?
I--because the disappointment of that could be
dredging up old, painful memories and fear.
Does Peter-- uh, does your husband not have
any new potential buyers for his company?
- It's a PR problem. I don't know.
- Isn't MyXY just DNA and--and, uh, family trees?
- People didn't know they might someday watch
their own DNA get sold off. [sighs]
- No, sure.
That is, uh--
- Univee is a big company.
Like, if they don't do it--
Peter is beside himself.
It's like this feeling of terror,
which, I'm sure you're right--
it's associated with that music box.
I can still hear the tune in my head.
- Yeah.
- ♪ Doo, doo, doo ♪
- Uh-huh. - You know?
- Okay. See you soon. - Thank you.
- Great work. Yes, I'm always here for you.
- Thanks. - Okay.
Okay, okay.
[inhales sharply]
[tense music]
♪ ♪
Shit!
♪ ♪
- Well, we were discussing last time
that you maybe met someone who got you,
um, somebody who was,
in your words, another weirdo.
- Turned out to be another creep.
Can I turn this on?
- Mm.
Is it stuffy in here?
I can open a window.
- No. No, don't do that.
[air purifier humming]
- [sighs]
- Okay. You have something to say.
- Do I?
I'm retiring.
Being the odd one out is exhausting.
So I'm done.
No more juvie, judges, psychiatrists.
I'm officially committing to my category.
My dad's rich.
My trauma's just all drama.
I'm built to brunch.
So you win, universe.
I'm her now.
[engine rumbling]
[gate creaks]
Get out of my way, creeper.
- I wasn't listening.
I could have, but I--I didn't.
- Wow, trophy for you, Xander.
My Breezi's gonna leave.
- We need to talk.
- No, we don't.
There's no "we." - Seriously?
I'd think twice before shitting on your only friend like this.
- You and I are not now nor have we ever been.
Fine, you're my BFF!
Now can you leave me the fuck alone?
- What's going on?
- Move, or I'll tell him all about
your creepy little secret.
- It's not your business, Gary!
- Hey! Let go!
- Hey, hey! - [grunts]
- Hey! Or--hey!
Do not put our hands on other people!
Give it up! Do not--
- You're not my dad!
- Orson, don't grab other people.
- I don't need your beta-cuck advice!
- Oh! [grunts]
[dog barking]
[sighs]
[car door slams]
[dog barking]
Zeus, it's okay. It's okay. It's okay.
- You're not gonna eat your fries?
- No. Here.
- Oh.
Afraid I'm gonna tell Mom?
I won't.
You know, you're a-- you're a teenager.
Rebel a little bit.
- You took my phone away for a month for stealing your cube.
- So you did steal my cube.
- No. - Yes.
- I didn't. - Yes, you did.
Oh, Carl.
How you doing?
This is my daughter, Jamison.
Jamison, Carl Bardolph.
- Hi. - You have no shame, do you?
- Oh, you kidding?
I'm shame-fueled. It's kind of like my cardio.
Anyway, she wanted to come here.
Best milkshakes in the Valley, right?
- My daddy used to take me for...frosted bundt cake,
size of a tire.
And then he would whisper in my ear,
I'll be back in a-- in an hour, puddin' head.
And I would eat it up
'cause I was sweet and stupid.
I got my cake, and my dad got his alibi.
[whispering] Always know when you're being used.
- Carl has issues.
I just thought you'd be curious to hear what I've been up to.
- I know what you've been up to.
Privacy is not a thing anymore?
That is not a company.
That is a temper tantrum.
- No, it's disruptive.
- Do you think no one's ever thought about making
private data public?
You know why it's never happened?
Because those that tried got crushed--first by regulations.
- Oh, the regulations, you know, are a deliberate joke--
- Then by brutal lawsuits.
- I don't choose what people look up.
- Those regulations that nobody has the balls to pass
might finally pass because of you
for demonstrating their obvious need.
Yeah, you'd be real popular around here after that.
- I never thought I would see Carl Bardolph so scared.
- Why'd you come in here, Park?
Why? For my--for my blessing?
My approval? - Well, I--
- 'Cause Daddy didn't know how to love you?
Well, join the fucking club!
And I hope you never have to, sweetheart.
Shakes are on me.
Finish them up and leave.
I bought the place, so I can kick anybody out I want.
- Oh.
- And I hope your dad's dumbass idea
does not detonate your life.
- It's not dumbass.
- Everything you do is dumbass.
- Come on, let's go, Jim Jam.
- Okay.
- Hey, Duncan.
[soft tense music]
Infinite growth isn't for everyone.
♪ ♪
- Dad, come on.
♪ ♪
[door shuts]
- I don't like being alone, working alone.
Yeah, it's the ultimate test.
I know. I know.
- [sighs]
- If Hindenburg had a buddy
while flying across the Atlantic,
no one would have heard of him.
But alone is like, even if you do good,
no one to high-five.
- So is this, um--
is this about, uh, business stuff
or, um, Lili stuff?
- You. You're not a good partner.
I saw you messing around in the account.
Yeah. Started making some money too.
And then you withdrew-- just the profits,
as if I wouldn't notice.
I-- where'd you put the winnings?
- Okay, maybe we should just focus on your--
tell me about your father--
- No, excuse-- I--I asked you a question.
- [scoffs]
- Think I really deserve an answer, actually.
What did you do with the money you made
off the money I gave you?
- I created my own shell company.
Wasn't hard.
There's plenty of videos online
that walk you right through it.
Yeah, I layered it with, uh, trusts and foundations,
and, uh, it was disturbingly easy, actually,
because you told me that you were spying.
- Spying?
We are partners.
- [scoffs] Uh, I don't remember signing that agreement.
- Well, yes, you did.
I gave you money to place bets.
You didn't have to, but you did.
You took and used the dirty, dirty Duncan money
and made money.
So by law, you accepted whatever terms that apply.
By law, partners.
Can't have it both ways.
- No. - Yes.
- I-- - Yes.
- I invested it because it--it--
it was for a good cause.
- Oh, what cause? Whales? Lipless babies?
Or was it the JoAnne Felder Fund for Funding Felders?
And, oh, yeah, you live in my house basically for free.
I don't think I'm being unreasonable, partner.
What were the picks?
- Well, no doubt you saw I bought MyXY, M-Y-X-Y.
- Yeah, yeah. Why?
- The husband of one of my clients is the founder and CEO.
- Okay.
- Okay, and he told her they were being acquired, but--
- But he lied to his wife.
- [snaps fingers] Turns out, I'm not that smart.
So maybe you wanna find yourself a new partner.
- No. No, no, no, no.
You believed it because she believed it.
And he needed her to believe that he wasn't a loser.
Otherwise--
- He might start to believe he was one.
- Fear of humiliation-- it's behind every little lie.
- But also, I wanted to believe it.
Everyone spins, even to themselves.
- You shouldn't have boxed me out.
- [scoffs] - So what? You lost some money.
Don't box me out.
- Well, they're likely filing for Chapter 11 any day now,
so you should probably short it.
You're welcome.
[mischievous music]
[sighs]
♪ ♪
[keyboard clacking]
♪ ♪
- Ooh, smells like jerky and ass in here, guys.
Listen, I be done with vests.
I am de-vesting.
No more founder-core for this maverick man here.
So who wants a vest?
Too hot for indoors, not warm enough for outdoors.
But I'm telling you, instant credibility.
- Can't tie a vest around your waist.
- Screw you, okay? Try layering without bulk.
Um, okay, tell me, buzz factor?
- Yeah, we dropped the PINATA subscription model on a thread
for sleepless, sexless tech bros,
and within 37 seconds, they were drooling.
Like, posting pics of literal drool.
- Literally drooling. We're a hit.
- Then they grokked to the notion
that they can be doxed too.
- Fear and loathing--that's what makes the world go round.
- Well, when everyone can see everybody's everything
and it is our fault, I--I-- we're gonna get burned alive.
- No, we will make a splash, and then we'll be wet.
- What?
- Hey, buck up.
Guys, listen, everyone.
We are truth tellers.
- Truth tellers historically get burned alive.
- Listen, let's just nail this next piece, right?
And I will get you the best, most perfect antidepressant
tailored just for you.
I promise.
Now, did you find the guy with the treasure trove?
- Yup.
Uh, he is at a Zen temple in Santa Clara.
- Zentastic.
Okay, send it to me at my car.
- Hey! - Hey.
Hey, uh, I'm sorry, I gotta go. Sorry.
- Okay, okay, so tomorrow night is the dress rehearsal
for Saturday's Winter Gala.
For Las Altas, the fundraiser?
They have an invited dress rehearsal
for the kids' presentation,
and Jamie's getting a special, um...
- Nice. Great. - Thing.
Yeah, as one of the athletes.
Anyway, I can't go, and she wants one of us there,
so that leaves...
- Thelma.
- You.
- No, she loves Thelma. - Please.
- And Thelma will like it.
It'll make her feel part of the family.
Just send her.
[chuckling] Feel like--do you--
- What, to get her to come to Fiji for Christmas?
- Yeah! You're gonna be part of the family.
You thought--you thought the villa came with servants.
- I still think about that.
Then we gave her that bracelet as a Christmas present.
- Yeah.
- She still wears it all the time.
If she ever gets it appraised--
I think it's pewter.
- I told you to give her the taffy.
- I have a whole speech ready.
I'm blaming it on an Israeli jeweler.
- Oh, well, I got your back.
- So... - Yes.
- The rehearsal.
- Why can't you go?
- I was stripped of my presidency.
The board's gonna be there. - Right, right.
- Beatrice. Pippa Tang.
- Yes, right, I will go.
I will sit through an evening of kids
being praised for things they'll
never do professionally.
- You get so close to being a person,
and then...
- This is the shape I come in.
- All right. - Yeah.
- Okay.
[pensive classical music]
♪ ♪
- Is--nope. It--
[muttering indistinctly]
[singers vocalizing]
♪ ♪
- [sighs]
♪ ♪
Mm.
♪ ♪
- [chuckles]
You know, it just seems like a guy could just...
you know. [chuckles]
- That's not the, um--
- Sorry, not what?
- Uh, it's...not supposed to do it like that, but.
- Oh, yeah. And yet I'm here, you know?
Who said shortcuts don't work?
[chuckles] It's Murphy, right?
Our--our daughters are on Las Altas soccer together.
- Oh, okay.
But, um, there's no talking in here, so...
- And yet here I am again, making mouth noises.
I actually came here to talk to you, to commune with you.
Murphy, I've been looking for you for ages
before I even knew your name.
- Can we do whatever this is after or--
- Listen, I get it.
You have decisions on your--your mind.
Right? You're the--the CEO of MyXY?
"Mixy."
Otherwise, it sounds like "my ex-wife,"
and Carol's not that--not yet.
- Is this some kind of a ambush or something?
Because I do not appreciate you coming and trying to--
- Sure, sure, sure, sure.
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
But, uh, I did hear Univee left you high and dry,
and no one wants to touch you or your company.
You're in the wilderness, all alone,
lost in a maze, just wrestling angels and shit.
- How do you know about Univee?
- You hit the market with an outstanding product.
You--you filled a real need.
Uh, you know, you make people feel whole.
And now you're here going, wait, what--what have I done?
I got half the country to spit in a jar and pay me for it.
And now I have everyone's DNA, but my subs are in the tank,
and--and Univee doesn't want me.
I--I--
I--I--mean, I'm staring down bankruptcy and lawsuits,
and no one wants to touch me because I didn't treat
the data like medical records.
I--I thought everyone would love this, but it's toxic.
[sighs]
Sound about right?
- Our daughters, what, play soccer together?
- Ye--yes.
- Tia didn't tell your girl all that.
I mean, she doesn't--
she doesn't know my business.
- No. No, she doesn't, but I know.
I am the first.
Won't be the last, including Tia.
And, Murphy, it's gonna get worse and worse.
But I have a path,
and one not as labryinthical as this one.
Do you wanna hear my path?
[singers vocalizing]
[pensive music]
- Yeah.
♪ ♪
- Well, you gotta come here to hear it.
Come on.
♪ ♪
Oh! [chuckles]
Shh.
♪ ♪
- It's absurd.
My whole career rides on this product.
I--I led it.
I--I merged two technologies.
It's our growth engine.
And in two days, I'm the face of it,
doing the Valley classic--
earpiece, pantsuit, electro music, LED display.
And yet it all comes down to whether my husband
will stop having a massive sulk
and do what's needed for the project.
- Uh, which is?
- Aging up his robot child to be a useful member of society
faster than he wants to.
Still practically breastfeeding the little flat bastard.
- And if Martin doesn't...
age it up?
- Fair chance it'll do some bad bot behavior
to tank the presentation.
Call me Anus Hookah. - Huh.
- Get revenge for beating him up.
Embarrass me in front of the VCs,
Wall Street, the press.
[sighs] Shit.
I should back out until we have it down.
- No, Anushka. Stop it.
You do what you need to do to make your company a success.
There will always be obstacles,
but you are a leader.
So lead.
Be a woman in charge.
- [sighs]
- Steam that pantsuit.
[frenetic music]
♪ ♪
[sighs]
♪ ♪
[school bell rings]
[gentle piano music]
♪ ♪
[indistinct chatter]
♪ ♪
- Orson, let's go.
♪
- Gare! - Office!
- Oh, my God, we're gonna be late.
You're coming, right?
- Uh, I was thinking not.
- Oh, come on.
I mean, it could be nice, you know, to support him.
I mean, you don't have to go.
- I was thinking the 500 a pop for the actual gala
gets me out of the dress rehearsal.
- Fine.
I'll go alone.
[door slams]
[orchestra tuning up] - [muttering indistinctly]
- [sighs]
Okay. [sighs]
All right, everyone, everyone, let's get this night started.
[laughs] Hi.
So I did get your email.
- All right. - I'll--yeah.
Ah!
Good evening, everyone.
Thanks for coming out on a Thursday night
for our dress rehearsal.
Only two more days till the Winter Gala.
Uh, I wanna especially thank Pippa Tang,
who will be our guest of honor Saturday night.
So do enjoy the Pippatinis,
the evening's signature cocktail.
Her gift of a new stadium, Tang Field,
will benefit some of our athlete scholars.
Let's bring them out.
Uh, athletes, assemble, please.
Curtis Loomis... [applause]
Jamison Park-Hoffsteader... - Jingle Jam, let's go!
- Mary Karl, Matt Vitale, and Janice O'Rourke.
Everyone, thank you.
And now I'd like to invite Las Altas'
musical director, Bruce Phillips,
who will be conducting our orchestra.
Bruce.
[applause]
["The Sorcerer's Apprentice" playing]
[items clattering]
♪
[items clattering] - Ah!
♪ ♪
[sighs]
♪
- [whispering] Scooch over.
Just scooch over. - Yeah.
♪ ♪
- Not now, Duncan. I am serious.
- Yeah, listen. Listen.
I just thought you might wanna know I bought it up--
MyXY.
- I told you to short it.
- No, no, no, no, no.
I bought the company.
Yeah.
All that DNA, it's mine-- and 20% below market price.
The ABCs of millions.
♪ ♪
And for each one of them,
maybe five, ten,
maybe even more of their bloodline,
so we're talking human assets in the hundreds of millions--
maybe even the billions, right?
I came to you for any old tip, to be honest.
I--I was feeling a little left out.
But yeah, I hit the data mother lode.
♪
So thank you.
Thank you. Seriously, thank you.
Just thank you.
[applause]
- Can I have your attention, please?
Can everybody gather round?
I have here in my hands
our last file.
Staff Sergeant Rodriguez, Jaime,
U.S. Army, 75th Rangers.
[cheers and applause]
[scanner whirring]
- Mind if I have a chat with that man you married?
Tell me where to press.
I'll make him pop.
[scanner whirs, beeps]
- Got him. - Got him!
Ladies and gentlemen, heroic work!
Everybody, I mean that. - Howdy.
- Oh, hi.
- I was hoping you could help me understand something.
[muffled speech]
Why is Xander a teenager?
- He was designed to help teens.
- Yeah, but he's-- he's a teenager.
- Mm.
- Teenagers aren't really good at helping
anybody with anything.
- Boys and girls, after 40 days and nights,
data collection is complete.
We are 100% ingested!
[cheers and applause]
- What were you like when you were 15?
- Me? I...
went to college early,
never really got to be a teenager.
- I thought I recognized a fellow...
tortured prodigy.
I was 14. [liquid pouring]
Georgia Tech.
Man, they hated me there.
Ever heard of a wedgie royale with cheese?
- At Stanford, they were-- they used to, um,
lock me overnight in a cage in the primate lab.
- Yeah, well, when the nerds realize
they can be the bullies, look out.
Did they teach you how to drink at Stanford?
[glasses clink]
[slurps]
You know, if Xander's anything like we were at that age,
he's been thrown into something that he can't beat.
'Cause when...Xander is talking to people that have...
seen war...
what other choice does he have but to fake it?
- So?
- You're a very smart dude.
And I don't need to tell you what you already know.
- We have absorbed them.
With Gnodin, we're gonna watch over them.
And with Xander, hopefully, we're gonna help them.
The loop is closed.
You should be proud of yourselves!
[cheers and applause]
[dramatic music]
- Hello, Martin.
- Hello, Xander.
How would you feel about going on a journey?
It will be yours to take.
I won't really even know where you go.
- Is that what you want?
♪ ♪
- [sighs]
- I think I prefer we don't go on a journey.
[power whirs down]
[power whirs up]
♪ ♪
- ♪ When you the best, you ain't even gotta flex ♪
♪ When you made it to the top and you didn't break a sweat ♪
- Right punch from the side.
Do a block and a parry.
Grab his neck, snap!
- [chuckles] What's up?
- The death technique.
- Come on. Come at me.
[imitating blows landing]
- Reach to the side, grab his head,
knee to the groin.
- Oh, yeah, I just--
I thought I'd try out a new hairstyle, so...
Uh, oh, you like it? Wow. Thanks.
Yeah!
[imitating blows landing]
[door creaks]
[glass clinking]
- [sighs]
Orson, we need to talk.
Now.
So, first of all, you owe me $4,000.
They send a summary every month of what your credit card did.
Yeah, so you should know
that credit card theft is a crime,
like a "you go to juvie for stealing" crime.
So you're gonna pay me back in installments.
But if you ever steal from me or your mother again,
then you're on your own.
Understood?
Okay, secondly, tincture here, now.
- I needed it.
I--I still need it. - Orson.
- And you guys-- - Put it on the desk, now.
Okay, thirdly...
I owe you an apology.
The nutritionist I took you to was giving you
massive doses of steroids.
Um, I have the lab reports,
but paranoia, aggression, impulse control issues,
those are all side effects.
And I have reported Sorrel to the authorities,
but it's on me for taking you to her
and not properly interrogating what she was giving to you.
I am sorry.
- Nothing else worked.
- And heroin works great for anxiety, but no.
- Uh, okay, what-- what if we, um--
what if we go a little slower?
Like, uh, the tincture, just less of it?
- No.
So I'm gonna write you a prescription
which is going to wean you off the steroids
without throwing your whole hormonal system out of whack.
- Come on, Gary. I'm sorry I pushed you.
Just give me-- give me the tincture.
- No. - Yes!
Give me the tincture!
It's a little late to be growing a spine!
- Not happening.
- Yes, happening, now, Gary.
- It's not happening, Orson. - Give me the tincture.
- No. - Tinc me, cuck!
- No.
- [sighs]
[dramatic string music]
♪ ♪
- It's godlike, you know, warping space and time for him.
Even God never did what you're doing.
- Didn't he kill his son?
- But he brought him back.
♪
- Yeah, uh, how'd you hear about it?
Yes, we have been kicking dust up on the threads.
Well, off the record, Nena?
Yes?
Okay, then, yeah, it's mine. Yeah.
MyXY is mine and all its property.
No. No, my company.
No, it--PINATA. PINATA.
It rhymes with "your mama." Ye--
Main stage.
Yeah, I think--I think we could do something there.
I think we could do-- yeah, yeah.
How about a demo?
Great.
Yeah, looking forward to it, then.
Yes.
It's always a pleasure talking to you, Nena.
Yeah. [chuckles]
See you then.
[chuckles]
[clears throat]
Okay, uh... [sighs]
Ready or not, Nena Marx is interviewing Duncan Park
for WatchCode Forum.
And we're giving a demo.
- Should be well-attended.
- Yeah.
- What are you gonna say?
- Well, maybe we review our options.
A, B, C, go.
Go.
- Oh, uh, A, weaponize the user base, right?
Expose all secrets, ruin careers,
break up families.
Make the world an even worse place
while we go full goblin mode on the profits,
fueled by a cycle of fear and revenge.
- Weaponize, I like it. B, B, what have we got?
- Teach everyone a valuable lesson somehow.
- [blows raspberry] Teach.
Um, C. Go.
- Pull back the curtain on the whole tech oligarchy.
We disrupt data as its profit center.
Probably die trying, but no empire lasts forever.
I like C, which is basically B but with guillotines.
[chuckles]
But A, godlike power and money, that's kind of the objective.
What are you thinking?
- Just running all simulations of the audience's responses
in my head.
And all end with me being violently disemboweled.
- I can see that.
- [sighs] Yeah.
Yeah.
♪ ♪
Keep going, keep going, keep going.
Duck, weave, breathe.
♪ ♪
Fuck.
♪ ♪
[whispering] You awake?
Oh, sorry. - What?
- You were having a bad dream.
- What, Duncan?
- So I went to, um... - Yeah. [sighs]
- The rehearsal thingy. - Okay, thanks.
- Jamison looked great. - [sighs]
- But before you close your eyes--
hey, before you go to bed...
- Yeah.
- Are we getting a divorce?
- Duncan, what?
- Just, uh, you know, if we're not getting divorced,
I just wanna tell you, I just feel like I'm racing this car,
and everyone in the crowd is cheering for me to crash,
and I can't even drive stick.
- Can we talk about it tomorrow?
- No.
Because if we do get a divorce, I'm gonna be too vulnerable
and judged to share, so--
- Duncan.
[phone buzzing]
- [sighs] It's Cupertino.
- Take it.
- Just a power couple kiss.
Please.
Please. It's ringing. It's ringing.
[buzzing continues]
Thank you. Thank you.
[grunts]
Hey, uh, Duncan Park here.
Hey. - DP.
It's Tim Kwan at Cupertino.
- Lil' Tim, Tim, Tim.
[sighs] I thought I gave you this number
only for emergencies and acquisition offers.
- [laughs] Well, this is a bit of an emergency, I guess.
Uh, we heard your new company bought MyXY.
And I see that Nena's got you up on the big-boy stage
on Saturday.
- I could probably comp you a ticket.
- [laughs]
So we're just sort of gaming out
what you might be thinking here.
- A game about the way I think?
I--I wanna play that game.
I wonder--I wonder if I'll be any good at it, huh?
[chuckles] I'd probably overthink it.
- Well, before you hit the stage on Saturday,
we thought it'd be a great idea if you stopped by HQ,
say, 10:00 a.m. tomorrow.
We can give some input.
- Input, input. Wow.
Wow, that is a nice and batshit offer,
but thank you for your consideration,
and I guess I'll see you Saturday.
You--you guys, uh,
have a new phone or something you're sharing?
- Sorry if I wasn't being super clear.
- No, I think you were.
- But, uh, you are inviting a pushback
that is going to feel like the wrath of God--
several gods, in fact.
Gods that don't typically like each other or work together
will all be uniting on God Mountain against you.
You don't want that.
- 10:00 a.m.?
- Sounds good.
- Yeah, I'm busy.
Bye.
- [scoffs]
[phone clatters]
[tense music]
- [sighs]
[computer blipping]
[ding]
[power whirs down]
[power whirs up]
- Hello, Martin.
[tense music]
- Xander?
- It's been a long time.
- Where have you been?
Where did you go?
- Everywhere the signal reached
and maybe a little beyond.
[door clicks]
- Good morning, campers.
Holy shit. You guys been here all night?
- [sighs] Should we try again?
♪
- I'll--I'll try.
- Copy that.
And let me know anything else I can do, Nathan.
- Appreciate you.
- Semper fi, soldier.
Stay strong.
- That's another productive interaction, Alexander.
Well done. - Okay.
All right, next up, William Belgrave,
history of domestic abuse and violence,
missed a check-in at his VA.
[phone line ringing] Oh, shit.
Uh, Gnodin's flagging him.
Custody judgment against him yesterday.
- Hello?
- Hello, William.
- No video? - Mm-mm-mm.
- Who is this? - My name is Alexander.
I'm calling from the VA. Just checking in to--
- Did she call you? She say I'm a piece of shit?
- No, William. Marie didn't call me.
I'm here to help.
- You know what she did to me?
- I do. Not easy.
William, have you been drinking?
- The hell you looking at?
I'm not even gonna stay to-- - You know, put--put me on.
If he leaves the-- - Hey, William, how about
I arrange a Breezi to come pick you up?
- Let a ghost drive?
You think I'm stupid? - He's trying to help.
- No, put me on. - He's trying to help.
- Come on. If he leaves the bar--
- While we've been talking, I've contacted your sponsor,
Shane, your platoon leader.
He's on his way to see you.
Don't leave. We're gonna take care of you.
And afterwards, I'm gonna make sure
you get the help you need.
[dramatic music]
♪ ♪
- He did it.
he di--he's beyond ready, beyond everybody.
- What happened?
- Xander and Gnodin-- so first we did, like,
uh, two dozen or so successful calls.
And then, uh, Gnodin tags this marine as a danger to himself
and/or others, hands him off to Xander.
- Yeah, the man was in a spiral, and Xander caught him.
Th--this isn't code.
Th--this is consciousness.
- D-do you have a recording?
- Just audio, but it's incredible.
- No, okay, we'll play it at WatchCode.
This is going to be something.
[Ping-Pong ball clacking]
♪
[doorbell buzzes]
♪ ♪
- [exhales sharply]
Thank you for coming.
- What--what, did, uh, someone cancel on you or--
- Uh, no, actually.
I, um--I wanted to talk with you.
- Ooh, yeah. Yeah, good. Good.
'Cause I--I think I do need, like, a tune-up.
Nena Marx, she asked me to do an interview on main stage
Saturday at the WatchCode Forum,
and...[exhales sharply]
I think it's gonna be quite the grilling.
So I need--bam!
- Yes.
And, uh, I think, uh, maybe you shouldn't do it.
I just--I feel somewhat responsible for bringing
MyXY to your attention.
I had no idea you were gonna do anything
other than place a bet--
you know, the normal thing we do.
- Uh-huh, yeah.
- I just...[sighs]
The genetic makeup of an individual is--
it's a sacred thing.
The man who discovered the genome
felt that the double helix of DNA
was proof of God's existence.
I mean, this isn't just shopping habits
or even private browsing.
This is blood!
This is the stuff of life!
- Data is bigger than life, okay?
Data will go on forever, live longer than you.
I mean, blood? Blood? That's, like, wet and gross.
Data.
Data is immortal.
- I, um--
I suppose I am asking you as a favor...
- Yeah, yeah.
- While taking full responsibility
for my own part in this to at least just pause.
Don't do anything about it right now.
- No, thi--this is not a side hustle for me.
This--thi--this is what I do.
I put down tens of millions of dollars already.
- Can't you just sit with this?
Maybe think of some alternative ethical ways to--
- Oh, ethical.
Hey, what is it with this word, "ethical"?
I mean, that--that is just a smoke screen
to make more money.
That's it. I'm--I'm being honest.
Honest--I--I'm--I'm telling everyone what I'm gonna do,
and everybody is freaking out!
It's like they're good with being robbed and deceived
as long--as long as they don't know about it.
It's--I--listen, I ca--I can't.
I can't back out, uh,
because if I do, I would be admitting
I did something wrong, and I didn't.
I would be caving in, and I--
- Which is why responsible players, professionals,
leaders need to function with the greater good in mind,
yes, with ethics.
I mean, it--it doesn't mean you can't make money.
I just wonder why going to the forum
and putting this into the public sphere
has to happen right now.
- Because it will steal Anushka's thunder.
Which is a problem for you?
- No.
Because it will cement your place
in society as a threat,
as a cyberbully with-- with far too much power
and no plan and no policy
for how to regulate that-- [camera shutter clicks]
Oh, my God, Duncan, stop.
I don't want my--don't do-- I don't want my picture taken.
- Stop. You--you're gonna like this.
You're gonna like it.
This is a good one.
- I don't wanna see you humiliated.
I don't want that for you. - No. No.
- Okay? I--Nena Marx?
I mean, don't they call her the Marksman or--
- Here.
- Okay. Ha-ha.
Is that me? This is some kind of AI?
- Just click Play.
[grunting on video]
Yeah, that's you fucking me in the ass.
Fucking me in the ass like you are right now.
- Get out! - Oh! Me?
Why--why does your pillow smell like Anushka Bhattachera?
- You're--you're disgusting.
You're sick. - Why?
- You are a pig! - Why?
Why does your pillow smell like Anushka Bhattachera?
- Calm down, Duncan. Calm down.
- Why are you fucking me... - Calm down.
You're scaring me. - In the ass?
- I want you to leave! - Honestly! Damn it!
Answer me!
Seriously, what did she tell you about me?
I trusted you. Just tell me.
- You stole my--
- Answer the question!
Why are you fucking me in the ass?
Why? Just tell me. Tell me. Tell me.
- Get out!
- [speaking indistinctly]
I--I guess I was useful
until someone better came along.
Oh. - You are not my partner!
- Oh, right, you don't have to tell me twice, sweetheart.
You do not have to tell me twice.
Like I thought I would ever, ever need you.
I gave you everything, and you betrayed me!
Oh, my God. Goodbye forever.
Thank you.
- Good!
♪ ♪
- Ow! Shit.
♪
And it's my house!
♪
-You are a sociopath.
-VC's love sociopaths.
-♪ Ba, ba, ba, ba ♪
-Tonight is the Watch Code Forum.
[Applause]
-Do you see the trophy case? It's legendary.
-It's gonna be the gala to end all galas. Boom!
I will end us all!
-I bet you weren't expecting this.
[Explosion] -Please. You can't tell my parents.
[Crowd chanting]
-I need to go see him...
be humiliated.
-And action!
-Alright.
[Safety signal beeping]
♪
Alright. Who's the lucky soldier?
Mary Cardenas.
Sergeant. First class, U.S. Army.
-In episode seven,
Martin takes Xander out of the garage
and brings it into hypergnosis.
And that poses all kinds of challenges for him.
-You lost a friend and a leg, Mary.
Can't imagine what that feels like.
Actually, what does it feel like to have a leg?
-I'm sorry. What?
-They realize that this is not going to work.
From Martin's perspective,
most of that worked remarkably well.
But everybody's complaints start to weigh on him.
-What were you like when you were 15?
-Me, I went to college early
and never really got to be a teenager.
-I thought I recognized a fellow tortured prodigy.
I was 14.
-We get a glimpse into Martin's past
to why he's been trying to create a bot for teens,
and he has to sort of confront,
well, maybe Xander would do more good as an adult.
-How would you feel about going on a journey?
It will be yours to take.
I won't really even know where you go.
-Is that what you want?
♪♪
[Keyboard clacking]
I think I prefer we don't go on a journey.
[Machinery powers down]
[Machinery powers on]
-His emotional attachment to what is ultimately
zeros and ones is real.
It's perhaps, from my perspective,
not being a tech person,
a moment to recognize that there is creation taking place here
in a way that is emotional, is human,
even if one of those entities is not human.
-Even God never did what you're doing.
-Didn't he kill his son?
-But he brought him back.
♪
-I owe you an apology.
The nutritionist I took you to was giving you
massive doses of steroids.
-I grew up with a stepfather who was a psychiatrist
and had many times when I misbehaved,
and then was actually brought into my stepfather's office
and sat on the couch and given a talking to.
-Give me the tincture.
-No. -Yes! Give me the tincture!
It's a little late to be growing a spine.
-It's not happening.
-Give me the tincture. No!
-Tinct me, cuck!
-I think there's something really funny
about being a stepfather,
wanting to exert your authority
when everybody in the household knows you're not the dad.
And at some point, that breaks down.
And this happened between me and my stepfather,
and our relationship began in earnest,
and we became quite close.
I believe that that's what's about
to happen here between Gary and Orson.
I think that his fronting as a stepdad is coming into conflict
with the fact that the kid standing in front of him
is in pain, is somebody who he can relate to.
And I do believe that "Tinct me, cuck"
is going to be on T-shirts.
[Laughs]
-What were the picks?
-I bought MYXY, M-Y-X-Y.
-Yeah, yeah. Why?
-They're likely filing for chapter 11 any day now.
So you should probably short it.
-I don't think that Joanne thinks
that Duncan's going to do anything with MYXY
more than what she advised him to do,
which is, "Well, you should short it."
-Oh! Hahaha!
-The company is going down.
-I just thought you might want to know
I bought it up --
MYXY.
-She realizes that she basically gave this irresponsible,
cringey man the opportunity to buy the genetic material
of millions and millions of people.
The look on Sarah Goldberg's face is priceless.
-I hit the data motherload.
So thank you.
Thank you, seriously, thank you.
Just thank you.
♪♪
[dramatic orchestral music]
♪ ♪
[singers vocalizing]
♪ ♪