Previously on Surface.
You're not Nim!
Miles was bitten by a creature.
And now he's changing.
Mark! Jonathan!
But the creatures have attacked others...
Aren't you coming? I know what they found.
...and killed.
Rich and Daughtery presented their evidence to the world.
Partly. Explain that.
I was able to obtain... Genuine article, huh?
It was very similar to something called a Liopleuridon.
I need a signature, ma'am.
Since when do they need a signature for a fax?
What are you doing?
They had to run.
Oh! Keep going! Keep going!
Get outta here! Go!
Rich, that's the one. That's the one that was in Cirko's office.
Hmm, that's the flower.
Until, a mysterious scientist contacted them.
If I wanted to harm you I could find easier ways...
What the hell is that?
It's us.
Who is she? Does she have the answers?
All ready? Ready as we're ever gonna be.
We thought it was understood. The invitation was for Dr. Daughtery only.
And now, Surface continues.
Hey.
Listen, honey, I'm really sorry I didn't call,
but I just...
I didn't think it'd be very safe.
It's so good to see you.
Did you see us on MSNBC?
Yeah. You and the other woman.
Now, honey, I told you it wasn't like that.
You went down into a submarine with her.
I'm not stupid. A submersible...
Honey, these things are incredible, okay? The size of them...
I mean, you couldn't imagine it.
But you saw the program, right? You saw them
because they were on there.
Who are you?
Ed Blagman.
Who's he?
I'm not trying to... I'm not talking to you!
What's he doing here? This is my house!
Your house?
My house. Your family?
You just left us.
I didn't leave anybody. I told you exactly...
Who is this guy?
He's my divorce lawyer.
We're offering a reward of $10,000.
$10,000.
They killed my son.
We're offering a reward.
Thanks. Are you all right?
10,000 bucks in the off-season?
It's gonna be a war zone.
Caitlin's saving me a seat,
unless you want it.
No. I'm fine here. Okay.
Okay, take your seats, please.
Come on, people.
Well, it's good to see so many concerned citizens here today...
Yeah, well, I'm concerned.
I'm concerned I'm gonna get my ass bit off every time I check my crab traps.
It's not a joke, Burt.
You see me laughing?
Sit down, Burt. Let him talk.
We hear you got one at the aquarium.
Yeah, what about that?
Look, everyone please. Quiet!
We've got a lot to cover, and I'll need to have some order here.
You want order? You got to level with us. MAN 2: Yeah!
You got one or not?
We have a specimen.
Whether it's the same species we're looking for
we can't be sure at this point.
Eggs! Washed up on Wrightsville Beach.
A week ago,
we lost a son there, my wife and I.
He was swimming at that beach, just like I do
and just like you do and just like all our children do.
And what have they done? Nothing!
Bastards!
Now, I don't know about you,
but I'm not gonna sit around here
and wait for more of these things to wash into town and hatch.
Turn that off!
The gifted few.
What? I'm sorry?
"Most scientists are narrow-minded, dull
"and just plain stupid."
James Watson, right?
Of Watson-Crick?
He was right.
Then there are the gifted few.
Those who, despite their hubris
and contempt for received opinion,
do the heavy lifting, make the real breakthroughs.
Do you take sugar?
Yes, thank you.
I was going to be one of those.
I was going to save the world.
Instead...
How did it happen?
Money, of course.
They appealed to my vanity. That was my mistake.
They who?
They gave me everything I wanted.
Funds, freedom, unlimited resources.
Yeah, but who's the "they"?
I received my doctorate in 2000,
arguably the most important year in the history of science.
The year Venter sequenced the human genome.
It was a thrilling time, a paradigm shift,
and everyone in genomics knew it.
We were going to unlock the secrets of how life began.
"Congratulations on conferral of your doctorate.
"We would like to discuss your academic research
"and propose an extraordinary employment opportunity."
First in your class. Magna.
Published two articles in Nature. Impressive.
But let's be frank.
There are a lot of impressive people in laboratories
all over the world.
At our firm, we're interested in the level beyond.
Men and women with the capacity of becoming a Kepler,
a Heisenberg, an Einstein.
I'm flattered.
But what firm do you represent?
We are primarily a genomics firm,
made up of like-minded scientists
willing to work beyond the commonly accepted frontiers of genetics.
What do you mean by frontiers?
Frontiers of knowledge, of technique,
of societal conceptions of morality.
Your graduate thesis on stimulating the neurotransmitters
was just the kind of work we admire.
Only lacked one thing.
And what was that?
The opportunity to test your theories on a thousand test subjects.
That would've taken money.
Unlimited resources and unwavering support.
We provide both.
This is Dolly,
the sheep that was supposedly cloned in 1996.
An impressive first, if it had been first.
We cloned our first sheep in the early 1960s.
You cloned a sheep in the 1960s?
And gibbons and pandas.
And the infamous archaeopteryx.
The archaeopteryx is extinct.
We assumed a kind of custodial attitude toward the biosphere.
Now I know this is a lot to process.
I don't understand.
Who pays for all this?
The firm has a vast library of patents, mostly medical,
that funds a substantial endowment.
We'd like to make you part of the firm.
Our only two requirements are confidentiality
and a permanent commitment.
Permanent?
Employees commit for a lifetime.
In exchange, we offer whatever salary you require.
Well, I...
I require a lot.
Fine.
I should've added a zero.
I went to work the next day.
Everything I had been promised was true.
But there were other drawbacks.
The corporation is extremely private.
Employees work alone. There's no last names.
Socializing is forbidden.
There's frequent rotation to other facilities around the world...
I mean, that sounds like a terrorist cell.
Infinitely more cautious than that.
And all this for the money?
This isn't about the money.
That's not their agenda.
And what is the... What is the agenda?
There's the rub.
Each scientist is given their own specific focus,
one that precludes a larger sense of the whole.
Now, I built the carburetor, but I never saw the car.
But you must've
had some idea.
Over time, I had my theories.
That's why I contacted you.
"When the stars threw down their spears,
"And watered heaven with their tears,
"Did He smile His work to see?
"Did He who made the lamb make thee?"
You all right?
She said what?
She said the species are man-made.
Man-made?
Yeah, genetically engineered. Like mold-resistant wheat.
Hang on a second now.
You're telling me a person created these things?
Who?
Deja vu all over again?
You and your friend pulling an egg out of the water.
That's how this all started, right?
Yeah. That's how it started.
Dr. Bloom!
Take a look.
Creepshow.
Looks contagious.
Miles, get me a cooler, will you?
Miles, what are you doing?
Killing them.
They take over everything.
Do you realize how incredible this is?
I mean, there's maybe, maybe, two dozen people in the entire world
who understand the true possibilities of genomics.
And clearly this firm knows how to recombine DNA.
It's mind-blowing.
What?
It just kills me. All this time I thought it was something holy
and here it is, it's just some egghead in a lab somewhere.
Yeah, you know...
Boy, I thought I was chosen, you know?
So did she.
Yeah, but...
See, she didn't lose her family over it. That's the thing.
While you were out there, I went home, I saw Tracy.
She wants a divorce.
Rich, man, I'm sorry. I really am.
Do you need to go back?
No. No.
If I quit now, then it'd really be for nothing,
so let's just keep going, all right?
So let's talk about this and figure it out.
You said that... Now she said
that every member of this outfit
had a part to play, right? Yeah.
Okay. But then none of them knew the entire design?
Hmm. Yeah, but that's ridiculous.
Somebody had to know the entire design, huh?
No, I don't know.
I don't think she knew. But, I mean...
Someone designed it. So...
Oh, gosh, I can figure this out.
How?
That's the first rule of the insurance biz, man. You follow the money.
Okay, she said they funded medical patents, right?
Try Oxidase Inhibitor.
Okay.
The woman said that this secret corporation worked on it in the '60s.
SSRI's. Which are what?
Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors,
like anti-depressants. You know, happy pills.
Got it, okay. Well, it's asking for an active ingredient.
Right, try phenchloramine.
Which is? The actual name for Nortide.
What, the anti-depressant?
The anti-depressant is right. The corporation developed it.
Okay, the original patent was filed December, '63.
Timeline's right.
By who?
What?
It's been redacted.
How is the source patent for an anti-depressant classified?
When someone with sway doesn't want to get traced.
All right, well, hey, that means we're on the right track, right?
So, who makes Nortide?
Lorentec.
As in the world's biggest pharmaceutical company?
Yeah.
Go ahead, spill it.
What?
A week ago you're all hot and heavy with Caitlin,
and today you're staring into an empty incubation tank.
Go ahead. Ask.
I'm an expert on women.
Look, thanks, but...
Come on, dude. It's Psychology 101.
You can't keep things all bottled up. You got to talk it out.
Okay, but, dude, it's a total secret.
She's pregnant. No, no, no, nothing like that.
It's me and Nim.
Observation. I'm asking you about a woman,
and you're talking about an unclassified marine vertebrate,
which is in itself a warning sign. But go ahead.
Okay.
You know how Nim zaps things? Like, electrically?
Admittedly, that's weird.
Yeah, well...
I do it, too.
You zap things.
Yeah.
Something very strange is happening to me.
It's called puberty, dude.
No, no, that's not it.
I zap things, man.
I can't control it. It just happens sometimes.
It's like I'm connected,
not only to Nim, but to the other ones, like I'm part of them.
And sometimes, it's like I can hear what they're thinking,
and it's driving me crazy.
Oh, I get it now.
A jokester, huh?
You had me going there for a second.
But, you know, with that deadpan of yours,
I can see why Caitlin thinks you're a little odd, bro.
Lorentec. We see the future and make it happen today.
Lorentec is the leading scientific discovery corporation in the world...
Hi. Annie Boertz. Media relations. RICH: Hey.
Hey, Annie. Dick Yarborough, a pleasure to meet you.
This is Sue Truftin.
Hi. Now, Sue is my fact-checker, so if I get anything wrong,
you blame her, okay?
Don't worry, we will.
So? So, we really appreciate you taking the time.
We're really interested in finding out a little bit more history
about one of your products, Nortide.
The anti-depressant. That's right.
One of our biggest sellers. Oh, we know it.
And Nortide's just meant so much to so many people Yeah.
that we were really curious to find out a little bit more
about the man who was responsible... Or woman.
That's right, Sue, thanks.
She keeps me honest, doesn't she?
Or the person who is responsible
for developing the drug, initially.
You know, who led the design team?
You know...
I don't know. That is a very good question.
Do you mind waiting here for a sec? See if I can dig something up?
Okay.
Why did you do that? What?
You're killing me with the lines here.
I mean, I was trying to stick to my lines.
No, no. I know. I was trying to, like
add in that woman thing, because... Don't improvise.
It's killing me. But then she's gonna think... You know, she thinks that...
Should we get out of here? Should we get out of here?
No, we should stay. I think it's... ANNIE: Hi.
This is Bill Wolff, one of our in-house counsels.
Hey, Bill, how are you? Mr. Yarborough.
Miss Truftin. Yes.
You know we called Scientific Explorer
and they said you didn't actually work there.
No. That's... Not technically.
But that's just because we... Because we're freelance.
And actually, Scientific Explorer
is really interested in the piece,
and it wouldn't take us very long to go through the archives.
We just have a couple of questions...
I'm sorry, but our archives are private.
Do you need validation?
That is what I call getting stonewalled.
Yeah, well, we ain't giving up that easy.
What, you're gonna, like, hack into their archives?
No, it's only one clue. That's our only clue.
You know, you would've made a lousy insurance investigator.
I'll take that as a compliment.
Hey, wait a minute. What?
Look at all these small biotech firms Lorentec acquired.
So?
So, you don't get to be the world's biggest pharmaceutical company
by making everything in-house.
You get big by acquisitions.
So any one of these firms could have been the one that made Nortide initially.
This is a domesticated specimen.
There's absolutely no guarantee he'll survive in the wild.
So what if he doesn't?
It's still the most likely way to get a handle on the problem.
You saw how many eggs were out there.
So you want to risk losing the one specimen we have
that we can actually study to understand the species.
This is a domestic safety issue.
I got three deaths in under a week
and no sense of what we're dealing with.
What's going on?
They want to tag Nim.
If we tag and release it here,
he'll lead us back to the school.
And what are you gonna do if you find them?
We're gonna protect this community, son. What else?
Will you help us?
Nim?
So Lorentec bought this place to get Nortide?
You saw the plaque at Lorentec.
They bought everyone that had a good idea.
Yeah, well, knowledge is power.
Hello?
Hey, Rich, what're you doing?
I told you I ain't quitting.
Hey, hey, whoa! It might be electrified.
Hey.
This is weird. There is nobody here.
It's like a ghost town.
I think we should split up.
No, that's a terrible idea.
Yeah, but look how big this place is.
I think we should split up, then we can cover it faster.
All right, here. Take this then, all right?
That's a hair trigger. Be careful.
What are you gonna use?
I'll use my mind. That's my best weapon. Here.
Like I said, what are you gonna use?
Funny. Die then.
No, Rich, stop. I was kidding. Come on.
I'll do it. I'll do it. Just how do you cock it?
It's ready to go. You just take the safety off, all right?
Okay.
You got it.
Where's he going?
Back to the Intracoastal, again.
He seems lost. Is that possible?
He'll find them.
Caitlin.
I just came in for work and guess what I found out you did?
There's a reason.
I know.
I know there's something strange going on with you,
that you don't even want to understand.
I do understand.
I'm changing.
You want to be normal?
Is that so weird?
Besides, Caitlin, these things are killing people.
Nim isn't.
Everyone I know is worried that there's nothing special about them,
that they'll never find what their life is about.
But you...
You find something that no one on this planet
has ever seen before, ever,
something you claimed you loved,
and you're destroying it.
That's it. Let's go. All right. Let's do it, boys.
Where's everyone going?
Compton Marsh.
Nim is settled in the Waterway there.
It's begun.
Yeah, there's no one over here.
It's like it's abandoned.
Yeah, this place is definitely cleared out.
Pretty recently, too.
I got nothing down here.
I'm in a room with a bunch of big machines
and, I don't know...
I found a computer here.
All right, well, get on it. See if you can find something.
Hey, you got anything?
Yeah, it's locked with a password, so,
I just need a name, anything, just...
Who's buying Nortide?
Yeah, there's just some envelopes,
some old invoices, not a whole helluva lot.
Rich?
I'm all right. I'm all right.
Sorry. Don't go silent like that.
It's really freaking me out.
Don't you wish you had that gun now?
Who's over there?
Somebody in here? Huh?
I think I got something here.
Have you seen my mother?
Hey.
What you doing back here, huh?
Somebody leave you here, huh?
Why don't you come out from back there? Come on.
Come on, give me your hand.
It's all right, I won't hurt you. Give me your hand.
You're not my mother!
Rich?
Rich, I'm coming!
I'm coming!
Help me!
Shoot her! Shoot her!
Well, we got them on the move here.
We're driving them into the marsh.
Just keep driving them this way.
We got a little something for them.
Come on, boys. Help us out.
Okay, now, listen up.
Everybody, form a line!
All right, everybody spread out!
Try not to shoot each other, all right?
Keep spreading down on the right.
We're ready.
Everybody get ready!
Here they come.
Take aim!
Fire!
Miles?
I just... I want...
Caitlin, something terrible's gonna happen.
Hey, Joe! Yeah?
Like fish in a barrel, man!
That's a keeper, huh?
Oh, God. Sorry.
I tell you what,
you go to the bottom of the ocean and you see that thing
and you think you seen it all.
Hold still.
Sorry, Rich.
I thought it was gonna kill me.
I really did.
It spoke.
It sounded like a little girl. I know.
That was a mistake.
Well, it probably was. But
we had an encounter.
It's not just Liopleuridon DNA that they're manipulating.
Listen, I have a list
of the board of directors of Iderdex, okay?
I'm sorry, I can't.
Okay, all you have to do is say yes or no.
Daniel Beecher.
No.
Okay.
Harvey Pierce.
No.
Alger Koestler.
Did you hear what I said?
You are opening a door that cannot be closed.
Alger Koestler, yes or no?
Special collections library, Berkeley.
Goodbye, Doctor.
Hang in there, buddy.
Get back. Get back!
Nim, stop!
I'm sorry.
I'm so sorry.
Dr. Morris.
Hello.
Do you know who I am?
I can guess.
I believe you've violated company policy.
Yes, I did.
I'd like to e-mail my family
to say goodbye.
Of course.
Miles?
Caitlin, take my hand.
I can't.
Hey, look at me.
Take my hand. They won't hurt us.
It's okay.
Take my hand.
I've gotta go.
You're so beautiful right now.
What kind of freak is this kid?
The Koestler Archive. Yeah.
Alger Koestler. Yes.
I heard that he was actually a professor here at one point in his life.
For almost 30 years, up until the early '50s.
Okay.
We don't get a lot of requests for this collection.
No, well, thank you very much.
Happy hunting. I believe this is what you're looking for.
Yes, thank you.
Okay.
Rich.
It's labeled, "The Discovery, 1957."
Obviously, they found something.
What in the world do you think they're looking for?
I don't know, but whatever it is,
I hope they got it on film.
You think that's Koestler?
Maybe.
It's a good-sized expedition party.
Hey, look. Look at this.
There you go.
Looks like they found something. Yeah.
It looks like a crater or something or...
Hey! Is that Cirko's flower?
I don't understand. What does that have to do with...
I know him. I know that guy.
He was there.
He was there when the creatures breached at Bolinas Bay with Cirko.
That guy was there.
That's the same guy that got my blood taken at Sullivan's Island.
That's impossible.
Yes, he's gotta be 50 years old.
I mean, that guy would have to be 80.