Touch s01e01 Episode Script

Pilot: Tales of the Red Thread

0 Touch S01E01 Pilot (VO) The ratio is always the same.
1 to 1.
618 over and over and over again.
The patterns-- are hidden in plain sight.
Just have to know where to look.
Things most people see as chaos actually follow subtle laws of behavior.
Galaxies, plants, seashells.
The patterns never lie.
But only some of us can see how the pieces fit together.
7,080,360,000 of us live on this tiny planet.
This is the story of some of those people.
There's an ancient Chinese myth about the Red Thread of Fate.
It says the gods have tied a red thread around every one of our ankles and attached it to all the people whose lives we're destined to touch.
This thread may stretch or tangle, but it'll never break.
It's all predetermined by mathematical probability, and it's my job to keep track of those numbers, to make the connections for those who need to find each other the ones whose lives need to touch.
I was born 4,161 days ago on October 26, 2000.
I've been alive for eleven years, four months, 21 days and 14 hours.
And in all that time I've never said a single word.
Welcome to Kennedy Airport.
This is a non-smoking facility.
- Another 25 or so.
- Thanks.
No chargers, so they're probably dead.
What the hell do you do with these things, anyway? My son likes to take 'em apart.
Hello! Oh, thank God.
Who is this? It's the owner of the phone that you are illegally in possession of.
I'm not illegally possessing anything.
It was in the lost and found at JFK.
I work here.
I lost it at Heathrow Airport two days ago.
People have been phone-skipping it around the globe ever since.
So, can I please have it back? Can't you just get another one? It's not the phone that I need.
It's a photograph inside it of my daughter.
It's her birthday tomorrow.
I'm in Mumbai now.
I just need it back, okay? All right, let me get your address.
Hang on.
Now my phone is ringing.
Hello! Again? You got to be kidding me.
I pay your school good money to keep my son safe.
Are you grasping the iron Just tell them not to touch him, do you understand? Do not touch him! I'll be there as fast as I can.
Hello? Are you still there? Hello? Well, the dad just showed up here.
Damn it, Jake.
You had to call the police, right? This is the third time this month.
Hey, don't go near him! You can't touch him! Sir, your son cannot keep doing this.
I just told you you cannot touch him! You gotta let me bring him down.
I cannot let you go up there.
I'm not going up there.
I'm scared of heights.
I got another idea.
Jake! Come back down, Lenny! The kid's dad is here! Hey, buddy! Come on down, okay? I got a present for you! See? Jake, it's all right.
Just come on down.
Come on down, buddy! Jake! Lucky there wasn't any rain today.
That thing gets wet, he could have gone up like a torch.
Does the time 3:18 mean something special to that kid? Wait for me by the car.
All three times he's tripped the alarm on the security system at exactly 3:18.
The kid is like clockwork.
I don't know anything about that.
You know, I'm gonna have to report him to Child Services this time.
I know, I know.
I'm sorry for your trouble.
Jake.
Why don't we leave the bus alone, now, okay, Jake? You know what? I got a good idea.
I bet the store here's got orange soda.
Would you like that? Of course you would.
Come on, Jake, please? Jake! And tonight at 8:00 Hey, give me a Lotto ticket, please.
"The Children of 9-11," an in-depth look at the struggles and the triumphs of the forgotten victims; those that were too young to have memories of the mothers and fathers lost the psychological implications of this tragedy on their young lives.
- Hey, hey! Kid, come here! - Jake! Kid, kid, come back here! - Whoa, whoa, whoa! No, no! Hey, hey, no, kid! Hey! - Jake! - What the hell you doing?! - Sorry.
I'll take care of it.
Jake, open the door.
- Hey, kid, open it now! - Jake? - Open it.
Kid! - Jake? - One, two, three - Jake.
You ought to keep that kid in a cage.
What did you say? Hey! Rise up this morning Smiled with the rising sun Three little birds perched on my doorstep Singing sweet songs of melodies pure and true, yeah This is my message to you Saying don't worry About a thing 'Cause every little thing Gonna be all right 'Cause every little thing Gonna be all right Ladies and gentlemen, the song stylings of the next global phenom, Kayla Graham.
Play it forward, pass it along.
Start your fan clubs here.
Oh, you know what, I'm starstruck; I mean, you killed tonight.
And now, for the post-performance depression.
Kay Kayla? Kayla? How is it that you always end up sitting out here? Oh, it's the obvious place to ruminate on all the things I'll never be.
Half the company is here because of you.
Niles, you know I love you.
But let's face it, I'm always going to be working two cubicles down from you for the rest of my life.
We all have a destiny, Kayla, okay? And yours is to be a megastar.
And this here This is the rocket ship that launches it all.
A mobile phone? You know Doug from sales? He got back from New York today.
Someone stuck this phone into his bag.
You should see all the videos and the messages that are in here from all around the world.
It's like it's like a pollen burst ready to explode.
You've got a video of me on that phone, singing in this lousy bar in Dublin, Ireland.
- Yeah.
- And you're going to send this phone out into the ether, and people are going to find it and discover me? - That's right.
- And just like that I'll become a megastar? Exactly.
I'll see you tomorrow, Niles.
Yeah, well, you'll see, Kayla.
A megastar, love.
I mean, it's viral marketing.
We can't fail.
Taxi.
Airport, please; Air Japan.
Come on, buddy.
I'm serious this time, Jake.
The police filed another report today.
We're already on thin ice.
I don't know what to do anymore Ah! Damn it! I'm sorry.
It's my fault.
There.
Doctor says you're going to be bigger than me.
How the hell's that gonna work? Yeah, okay.
Okay.
Get some sleep.
They're all the same number.
Jake How did you do that? Hello, hello! Hello, hello.
Even though they're picking up the phone, they're, "Hello?" Hello, hello! Mr.
Bohm? Clea Hopkins.
Child and Family Services.
I've come to do an assessment Oh, my God.
Your paper.
Thank you.
Can I get you something to drink? You still working as a doorman? I've been a taxi driver, construction worker, and baggage handler since then.
I guess I'm still trying to find myself.
Mr.
Bohm, I'm sure you know why I'm here.
- I can explain the cell tower.
- It's the third time in three weeks.
Well, look on the bright side.
At least he's consistent.
It's a symptom.
Five schools in seven years.
No mother in the home.
Your multiple jobs in the past few years? It doesn't add up to a very promising picture.
We've had our challenges, but we always get through them.
Unfortunately, these things come down to resources, commitment, - personal involvement - You do not get to talk to me about commitment! I'm just pointing out the obvious, here.
When your son was born, you were a highly-paid reporter at the Herald.
You're now working at a job that cannot adequately provide the care I've provided for him for the last ten years! With less and less success, apparently.
The financial challenges will only increase as your son gets older.
I want to offer solutions, I do.
I'm all ears.
At the risk of being presumptuous, this is a three-bedroom loft.
In the meat-packing district? For conversation's sake, it was my wife's.
She was a stockbroker.
She worked in the north tower of the World Trade Center.
It should all be there in your file.
Still, a loft like this has to be worth an awful lot.
My wife's family had money.
I made her put everything in Jake's name, in a trust, because I didn't want them to think I wanted Why don't I just take a few minutes here so I can meet Jacob? Knock yourself out.
He's right behind you.
Wow.
You're a quiet one, aren't you? Hello, Jacob.
I'm Clea.
I wouldn't do that, if I were you.
Not unless you want to spend the next three hours peeling him off the ceiling.
He doesn't let anybody touch him.
Not even me.
Don't take it personally.
Hey, is that a dinosaur puzzle? Oh, my God.
The numbers.
The numbers.
Mr.
Bohm? Last night all these phones went on.
They had numbers on them.
These numbers.
Look.
The winning numbers for the Lotto.
How would he know? Last night's winning numbers, 87 If you're lucky enough to be holding onto the ticket, congratulations.
But the question on everyone's mind today is "Where are you?" The multi-million- dollar winning lottery ticket is still remarkably unclaimed.
This is one of the biggest jackpots in New York state history.
The previous largest Hello? Hi.
It's me.
Randy? I really want to come home now.
Hello? Hi, it's me.
What do you want, Simon? I was just checking in.
I'm on my way to Tokyo.
There's a new chain of Italian bakeries opening up.
Could be a huge account for us.
Uh-huh.
Listen, uh, I was going to try and get home for her birthday tomorrow night.
I don't really see the point.
Why bother? Nell, please.
Is that everything? Because I have to go.
Last summer in Brighton that hotel that we stayed at on the beach did we take any photographs of Lily, besides the ones on my mobile phone? No.
Why? Nothing.
Never mind.
Like I said, I'll-I'll try and be there, yeah.
That's okay.
There are strange coincidences around us all the time.
And autistic children often have a heightened Heightened ability with numbers.
You think I don't know that? I never bought that label, anyway.
For eight years, they've been trying to find something that worked.
Nothing fit Jake.
For all I know, he doesn't speak because he's got nothing to say.
It's not uncommon for a guardian in your position to feel a lack of human connection.
Unless that's exactly what he's trying to do, connect.
The truth is the State is going to mandate a two-week evaluation to determine if Jacob should be institutionalized.
What if he's trying to communicate? Sit down, sit.
Look, Jake climbed that tower three times.
Every time, the security cameras caught him at 3:18.
- Has to be - For the last two weeks, he's reset every clock in this house to that exact time.
And then there's this.
He's been trying to say something.
I-I just didn't realize it.
What you're talking about is just wish fulfillment.
You're saying I'm making this up? I'm saying that human connection is a powerful need.
It can drive us to see meaning where there isn't any.
You got it all figured out, you know it all, right? I know enough to recognize someone who's underwater, who's lost too much.
Career, wife.
Your life is now dominated by a child that you can no longer control.
Have you ever truly communicated with him? Does he even know who you are? That's not your fault.
No one is judging you for that.
There's a board and care facility 15 blocks from here.
The best in the city.
After his two-week evaluation there, you can make a case for how you're going to provide a safe environment for Jake going forward.
In the end, it may be determined that you can't.
I know that sounds harsh now, but once he's out of the house, you may see that you'll both be better off with this arrangement.
It's only gonna be for two weeks, then you'll come home.
I'm gonna see you every day, I promise.
Okay, we're all set.
We have tons of fun things for you to do here, Jake.
You'll see.
These will keep him busy for a while.
If he gets agitated, try orange soda.
Usually calms him down.
Popcorn, too.
He'll want to count the kernels before he eats them.
You're a very brave man, Mr.
Bohm.
Right.
It's gonna be all right.
Give us 24 hours before you come back for the first visit.
Hear that, Jake? I'm gonna see you tomorrow.
I love you.
Come on, Jake.
I'll show you the rec room.
Hey, sweetheart.
They, um they say God never gives you more than you can handle.
I think he has this time.
I swear to you, I've tried to make it work.
I've tried to connect.
I I-I just can't reach him.
And I've failed you both.
I hope you can forgive me, Sarah, because I can't forgive myself.
'Cause every little thing's gonna be all right What do you want? I'm looking for the Teller Institute.
I'm sorry, I think I've got the wrong address.
Let me guess.
Your kid keeps climbing a cell tower.
You coming in or not? The whole cosmic wheel of humanity comes down to just electromagnetic energy and connections.
There are those among us-- mostly kids-- whose sole purpose is to act as air traffic controllers for that interconnectivity.
My son doesn't even talk.
Unnecessary, outdated.
An evolutionary speed bump.
Like your pinky toe.
He had any formal math training? No.
Why? Mr.
Bohm, your son is one of those kids.
He discovered the Fibonacci sequence on his own.
The what? Here.
A mathematical sequence discovered by a 12th-century mathematician named Fibonacci.
The pattern's found in nature, over and over again.
The curve of a wave, the spiral of a shell, the segments of a pineapple.
The universe is made up of precise ratios and patterns.
All around us.
You and I, we don't see them.
But if we could, life would be magical beyond our wildest dreams.
A quantum entanglement of cause and effect where everything and everyone reflects on each other.
Every action, every breath, every conscious thought connected.
Imagine the unspeakable beauty of the universe he sees.
No wonder he doesn't talk.
My son sees all that? Mr.
Bohm, your son sees everything.
The past, the present, the future.
He sees how it's all connected.
You're telling me my son can predict the future? No, I'm telling you, it's a road map and your job now, your purpose, is to follow it for him.
It's your fate, Mr.
Bohm.
It's your destiny.
Good job.
One more.
Good job.
Okay.
Keep it going.
You're doing really great.
I see you're arranging them into little rows there.
Can I count those with you? There's two in that one and one in that one.
Two there.
Nine two six, nine, two, two.
That's my mother's phone number.
Haven't thought of that number in years.
Mom? Mom, you there? Hi, I'm Julie, your automated Amtrak reservation assistant.
Please say the name of the destination - you're traveling to.
- Lynchburg, Virginia.
Lynchburg, Virginia.
Okay.
Now, please say the location of your departure.
New York City.
New York City.
Okay.
Please hold while I check for departure times.
212.
It's a phone number.
It's today's date.
March 18.
I told you, he's trying to tell us about something.
But what? Why? I don't know.
To stop it from happening.
To make it happen.
I don't know.
But the time, the date-- somehow it's all connected.
And whatever it is, it's supposed to happen today at 3:18.
My God.
At Grand Central Station.
In 22 minutes.
Come on, let's go! If we find the phone, what then? I don't know.
Wait for a call, maybe.
There's gotta be 50 phones in this building.
Businesses, offices You go that way; I'll go this way.
No.
No! Sorry, I'm really sorry, but I need to use that phone; I'm waiting for a call.
Listen, I Sir, I really need to use that phone.
I don't think you understand.
I have to have that phone! It's-It's an emergency.
You! You son of a bitch! That's for the gas station! Break it up! Break it up! I told him I was waiting for a phone call; it's an emergency.
He started it.
Look, I gotta get to Penn Station.
I gotta catch a train.
Shh! Rise up this morning Smiled with the rising sun Singing sweet songs It's the largest winter storm of the year so far, and as much as three inches of rain expected to pound New York and New Jersey in the next hour.
The storm is expected to last all through tomorrow, tapering off by tomorrow night, so, watch out on your morning and evening commute Mr.
Bohm, my name is Randall Meade.
I was a fireman with Ladder Company 318.
On September 11, 2001, I was on the 87th floor of the north tower of the World Trade Center.
I found a woman alive, barely conscious.
She was bleeding pretty bad.
It was your wife, Sarah.
I carried her down I-I just couldn't carry her any farther.
I set her down, checked her pulse, and I told myself she was already dead.
The truth is, I don't really know if she was.
I've been thinking about her for ten years, and I've played the same Lotto numbers every week for ten years.
I was just trying to make the numbers come out right.
I have some money now, and it's because of her.
Sir, I really need to use that phone.
I'm guessing she'd want me to give it all away, - so that's what I'm going to do.
- I don't think you understand.
I have to have that phone.
It's an emergency! owe their lives to one man.
A retired New York fireman, Randall Meade, pulled the children from a burning bus that had rolled into a ravine off the Jersey Turnpike.
This was the scene last night as our own Sofia Martinez spoke with the hero himself.
As you can see behind me, these are the smoldering remains of the school bus that, earlier today, held 25 children.
Mr.
Meade, please tell us in your own words what happened.
Uh, I was on my way back to my apartment.
I-I guess I was just I was in the right place at the right time.
I saw the bus.
I started pulling the kids out one by one.
Mr.
Meade? He made me miss my train.
Uh, I'm sorry? Oh, I'm just saying, if I hadn't have missed my train, I wouldn't have been here.
It's amazing how things work out.
I need to see my son now-- Jake Bohm.
Visiting hours are from 9:00 to 5:00.
- Jake! - You can't be in here, sir.
- Jake! Jake! - Sir.
Oh, thank God you're here.
It's okay.
They were right-- the numbers-- they were right.
- I just tried to call you.
- He predicted everything-- the bus, the kids, 318, the lottery, everything.
- He's gone.
- What? I went to check on him before I left and he was gone.
I thought maybe he tried to go back home.
He's not going home.
What? - How do you know? - I just do.
Simon Plimpton, Please hold while we transfer you to a representative.
How may I help you, Mr.
Plimpton? Yeah, I've been trying to find my phone for the last three days, and now I'm getting a recorded message-- something about an invalid territory.
Certain territories are blocked to our customers, usually for security reasons, so if your phone is in any one of these areas, I'm afraid I won't be able to help you.
Perhaps it's time for you to get a new phone.
Yeah, I got a new phone, but I need what's in that phone.
Can't you just GPS it or just call the number for me? We're not supposed to do that, sir.
Listen, I am 6,000 miles from my home in London, on the road.
I, I, I sell restaurant supplies and Look, I know that it's a long shot, but there's some photos in the phone, and I need to see them.
There's someone in them that I, I'm not ever going to see again.
My daughter-- she died a year ago today.
March 18.
Okay.
I'm going to have to put you on hold.
Yeah, fine.
Hello, is anyone there? Hello? Who is this? Sir, it seems you're using a phone that doesn't belong to you.
They just put it on me.
I don't know Sir? To explode the bomb.
I'm sorry, did you just say? A bomb-- in one minute and 34 seconds.
The phone-- it's, it's the timer.
This is a joke, right? I am not a bad person.
Sir, where are you? When you hear about this on the news, you will tell people I was not a bad person, yes? No, you can't do this.
Listen to me, you have to take the battery out of the phone right now.
No, I can't, I have no choice.
We always have a choice.
Think of the people, and if you can't think about that, then think about yourself.
You must have a life you dream about, a future.
I have no dreams.
I am a fool.
I wanted to be a comedian like, like Chris Rock.
I love Chris Rock.
We're all fools for our dreams.
Maybe there's someone who can help you reach yours.
No, no one can.
How can I help you? What would make you not want to do this? An oven.
An oven for my family.
An oven.
Restaurant supplies.
I know someone who can get you an oven.
Can you hear me? I know someone who can get you an oven.
So here's what we're going to do.
I'm going to disconnect your phone at my end, but you have to take the battery out of the phone right now, then call this number back when it's safe.
Do you understand me? Please.
Are you sure you can get me an oven? Yes.
Okay, I'll do it.
God, what's he doing up there? Come on down, Jake! Come on down.
Can you hear me? Jake, look, I got a phone for you, see? The ratio is always the same.
1 to 1.
618, over and over and over again.
The patterns, mathematical in design, are hidden in plain sight.
You just have to know where to look.
7,080,360,000 people and only a few of us can see the connections.
Today we'll send over 300 billion e-mails 19 billion text messages.
Yet we'll still feel alone.
The average person will say 2,250 words to 7.
4 other individuals.
Will these words be used to hurt or to heal? There's an ancient Chinese myth about the Red Thread of Fate.
Don't look down, don't look down.
It says that the gods have tied a red thread around every one of our ankles and attached it to all of the people whose lives we are destined to touch.
This thread may stretch or tangle.
You can do this.
But it will never break.
Jake, listen to me.
I did what you wanted-- I followed the numbers.
The kids on that bus-- they were saved because of you.
Jake.
I don't know if you understand a single word that I'm saying.
I don't even know if you hear me, but I can hear you, Jake.
Do you understand that? I can hear you now.
I don't understand.
What is it? It's a road map.
Hello, this is Ernie.
Hello, my name is Martin Bohm.
Look, I know this is gonna sound crazy, but I think we're supposed to find each other.

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