ETXR (2014) Movie Script
1
Ever since I was a kid,
I felt like
I was being watched.
Hidden cameras
recording my life.
And I'd lie awake at night
and think,
"Who's watching me?
What makes me so special?"
Now it's a transparent society.
We're all bugged 24/7
in everything we do,
watched and measured,
counted and stored.
Data becomes metadata,
and all our lives
are digitized.
So I embrace it.
I am The Bug.
I'm always listening,
recording,
mixing, remixing.
I'm a sound collector,
sonic manipulator.
My music comes
from the world around me.
Noises are my instruments.
The Bug is bugged.
My cameras are always on,
antennas up,
ready to receive.
And still I wonder,
who's watching me?
And why?
Are you ready for this?
It's Bix the Bug!
Go! Go!
I am The Bug.
Transmission in 10...
Nine, eight,
seven, six, five,
four, three, two,
one.
Hey, hey.
Great show tonight, B.
Bet we had over a hundred people
out there.
Yeah, at the most.
Oh, come on, man.
I mean, it's growing.
We got the helmet,
website, spy cams.
Something's missing, Danny.
The Bug is bugged,
but nobody cares.
Maybe you need
a new sound.
What's that supposed to mean?
I don't know, man.
Mix it up a little bit,
try to go mainstream.
No compromising the music.
Look, I'm trying
to do something different.
Well, here's something
different, okay? We're broke.
We got a stack of bills
like the Leaning Tower of Pisa
over our heads.
I don't wanna leave
living in the RV.
Fuck it, man,
at least we got tonight, right?
We might as well party
while we can.
By the way,
that dude came by again.
What?
Yeah, that guy who's, like,
stalking you. Curtis Garret.
Garret? I thought
you got rid of that guy.
I did, but he came back.
He said he needs to talk to you.
It's very important.
Just hear him out.
He's harmless.
Sure. I mean, invite him
to the party. I don't care.
Here's the guy, Bix. Say hello.
Hey.
Matthew Laughlin.
Long time.
Do you remember me?
Curtis Garret.
Um...
I was in your class at MI a few years back.
Professor Hanson's
Robotics Computing.
I dropped that
a long time ago, though.
And the name is Bix now.
Yeah. No, I know.
I mean, I know
that you dropped out.
It doesn't matter.
Um...
Actually, is there someplace
that we could talk in private?
Yeah, dude,
you're looking at it.
Do you remember
Hanson's research
involving the Teslascope?
Um...
Sure. Maybe.
The Hyperdimensional
Oscillator.
It's real, Matthew.
I... I have a prototype
that I built.
It works.
Yo.
You're still here?
Um... I have the scope all set up.
It's outside in my truck.
Will you listen?
You are a persistent
little fucker, aren't you?
Come on, it's time to go, bro.
Party's over.
Look, Matthew.
I promise you,
I'm not crazy, okay?
I'm not delusional.
You might understand
these signals I'm receiving.
They're just
radio intercepts, man.
You're hearing voices,
my friend.
No, not voices. No
language, sounds.
Noises.
Very unique harmonic
electronic noises.
What, you mean like music?
Yeah, musical in tone,
definitely.
Possibly a code.
I don't know.
See, I'm not... I'm not a
musician.
I'm not an artist.
That's why I came to you.
Look, will you just
listen?
So you built this
yourself?
Well, using Tesla's
original schematics, yes.
Wait, so let me
get this straight.
This thing talks to outer space,
huh, buddy?
Nikola Tesla claimed
that it could make contact
with extraterrestrial worlds.
Right. You do remember.
Extraterrestrials,
like aliens? Ha, ha.
"E.T. phone home."
Extraterrestrial means
not of this Earth.
We're not talking about
flying saucers or green men.
We're talking about
unprecedented contact
with non-human intelligence
from beyond our concept
of space and time.
That's really cool.
Which end do I stick my dick in?
Does he need to be here?
He's just fucking with you.
Go on.
Okay.
Well, the device,
it functions on a quantum level.
I mean,
the smallest scale imaginable,
but it still needs
a high-energy power source.
Look, don't get
too close,
because when the transmission
comes through,
the energy exchange
is quite intense
and things do get
kind of hot.
How can I help?
Well, I need you to listen
to all the transmissions
I've received,
help me
put the pieces together,
you know, crack the code.
Code?
Yeah, I think
that it's a message.
Whatever's on the other end,
it's something or someone that
we've never heard from before.
"It's like radio
for speaking to God."
I don't like you.
Would you come talk?
Would you play along,
you douche?
This guy is clearly cuckoo for Cocoa Puffs.
I don't wanna get
ball cancer
from this thing,
whatever the fuck it is.
You obviously did not hear
what I just heard.
I heard something raw, okay?
It sounds like fucking noise.
It is noise. But guess what?
That's the business we're in.
Just follow my lead.
This has structure.
Exactly. Exactly.
There's clearly some form
of communication going on.
It's almost...
It's hypnotic, yes?
You know, some sort of,
like, resonant telepathy.
I mean,
the spoken word is limited,
but vibrations, harmonics,
I mean, that is communication,
like, on a primal level.
You came
to the right MIT dropout,
because this is
what Bix the Bug does.
Check this out.
Yeah, um, but why are you...?
Why are you adding a drum beat
and all those extra effects?
I didn't come here to make
techno music. I came here...
Hey, hey, pal.
That's what my boy does.
He makes music.
That was
fucking killer, bro.
Okay, yeah, it was killer,
but I don't need a DJ.
Hey, excuse me, you gotta...
Whoa, whoa, whoa.
Ryan Seacrest
is a fucking DJ.
Bix the Bug is an artist.
I don't need to dance to this.
I need to crack it.
Look, you came to me,
and I can help you,
but it's obviously incomplete.
It's incomplete?
What, you can't feel it?
Yeah, yeah.
Obviously something's missing.
I mean, it's got no oomph.
It's incomplete.
Think about it like a song.
We have maybe
half the stems here,
so what we need
is more tracks.
More transmissions.
A song?
- I don't know.
- Look, dude.
I got a mad genius here
giving you gold.
I mean, you give us,
what, two, three days?
A week.
A week, and he will
crack this puppy.
I don't have
that kind of time.
Where do you gotta be?
That's none of your concern.
Curtis, look, you know,
I do remember you. I do.
You were the guy always sitting
at the back of the class
who was never
asking questions.
Yeah, because
I was taking notes.
Look, I have an idea.
Let me take the scope
on stage
and mix the transmission live
in front of an audience.
What, in public? No.
Yeah.
No.
No, just listen to me.
We'll set it up as a prop.
Nobody will be able to tell.
No, but it's not
a prop, okay?
The Teslascope
is very high-voltage.
I don't just
press play, man.
I mix my music live.
I feed off
the energy of the crowd.
That's how I make music.
Now, you were right,
this is important.
And I believed in you.
Now it's your turn
to believe in me.
Hey, hey.
Everything is in motion.
Poor guy won't know
what hit him.
Seriously, you've never done
any drugs of any kind?
No.
You might like it.
Hmm.
I've seen what drugs do
to people.
Now, even Matthew.
I mean, he's changed
since I knew him.
He used to be
a totally different person.
How so?
I mean, he was
the best in our class.
That guy could literally build
his own robot.
Now he's lost his way.
He's just living his life.
Life's not a party.
Come on, we're young.
When else
will you have this chance?
Exactly.
Get out of your head.
What are you doing?
Hey, the scope
was gonna be off-stage.
Don't worry about it.
This will be great.
But we can't let people
see this yet, remember?
We agreed.
You said that the, um...
The scope would be...
Curtis.
You feeling okay?
Uh-huh.
Yeah, actually, um...
Actually,
I feel fucking great.
That's good.
But, hey, hey, we really...
We can't show the scope
here yet.
Trust me.
Come on, let's go.
This better work.
Normally
that would be a wrap.
But, you see,
I got one more.
I'd like to dedicate
this next song
to my friend Curtis Garret.
Sitting in the back,
taking notes, it pays off, man.
This is transmissions
from another world.
Transmission in three,
two,
one.
Matthew. Hey, hey.
Dude, you were right.
About the crowd.
I mean, they boosted the signal.
I could... I could feel it.
Hey, what's wrong?
Nothing.
Nothing. I just...
I thought I saw something, man.
No worries.
It's all good, man.
Transmissions
From Another Realm."
I'm feeling it, baby.
I am feeling it in my sack.
Yeah, in your money sack.
Hey, hey,
this is my money sack, baby.
No, no, actually this is,
right here. This is my...
Hey, careful, man.
Come on, you seriously
want me to believe
these are signals
from an alien intelligence?
Extraterrestrial,
which means not of this Earth.
I think it's real.
I can feel it.
Did you?
Or maybe it's a signal
from a foreign government
like China or North Korea
or some shit.
Do you?
Who cares where it comes from?
It sounds great.
A lot of people agree.
Do you feel that?
Why is the view count frozen at 301?
Of course I felt it.
It's just music.
It has over 20,000 likes.
Holy shit, bro.
Holy shit.
We're on
the front page of Reddit.
B, B, we've gone viral, baby.
What? What?
Wait. No, no, no. Wait.
What did you do?
What?
You uploaded the transmissions?
Relax, man,
it's not a big deal. I...
We don't understand yet
what this is and what it means.
You can't upload
these fragments
before we process everything.
It's not safe.
Calm down, dude.
They can trace this upload
to our IP address.
Curtis, what is it?
Curtis, man,
you gotta talk to us.
Okay, well, for starters,
I got
the original schematics
from a server owned by
the Department of Defense.
Whoa, whoa, whoa, hold up.
We didn't do anything
illegal here, okay, pal?
Yeah, well, I have.
And you're all accessories
after the fact.
Oh, and the power cell
that I used for the prototype?
I stole that too
from a group
of some not-so-nice people.
Curtis.
You stole what from who?
They.
They?
That's what
they call themselves.
Nothing else, just "They."
Like, "You know what they say."
They're sort of
a Neo-Eco-terrorist group
that splintered off
from the old Occupy movement,
and they hired me to build
an electromagnetic pulse bomb
What?
so they could take down
Wall Street.
Jesus Christ. Come on.
I wasn't gonna build the thing,
I just wanted
the power cell.
Wait. Terrorists?
More like anarchists.
Okay, this is not
what I signed up for.
What the hell
is he talking about?
You know, if they find me,
they're gonna kill me.
Okay? So I'm dead.
Why aren't you listening to me?
I am listening.
I came to you because I thought
you'd understand.
I thought I could trust you.
And I'm not gonna
screw you over on this.
You already have!
These transmissions are not
just music, okay? They're not.
You're right.
I get that.
No, no, no.
You say that you do.
You say that you do.
But then you go behind my back
and slap it up on YouTube
so you can sell more tickets
to your stupid shows.
That wasn't the point.
That's not what I...
The scope is mine, okay?
It's mine.
What? No.
I took all the risks.
I built it. It's mine.
I am part of the equation,
and we are gonna...
You're not part of anything.
You had the chance to be a part
of something. Something real.
And you wasted it
on yourself.
I'm done.
Okay? No more music,
no more transmissions, man.
I'm done with you.
Curtis...
- He's out.
- What?
I'm telling you, man,
there's no talking to him.
We got a huge show
tomorrow night.
It's by special invitation.
We need that scope, man.
It's done, man.
Look, we gotta strike
while the iron's hot, okay?
I got Live Nation,
Goldenvoice, Insomniac.
They're all called me
because they wanna book
Bix the Bug with the scope.
Now, talk to your boyfriend.
Get him to play ball, man.
There's gotta be a way.
Come on.
Curtis, do you really think
that you're better off alone?
I started this myself,
I can finish it myself.
You probably can.
I admit,
when I first heard that scope,
man, I wanted those sounds
for my music.
But what happened
at that show,
I mean, that was real.
I know you felt it.
I was on drugs.
I wasn't exactly myself.
Or maybe you were.
Maybe for the first time,
you let yourself go.
Whatever you are running from,
whatever you are afraid of,
we can face it together.
If we do this,
we do this on my terms.
Yeah.
I wanna be there to supervise.
Sober.
You understand that?
Of course.
And I need $20 for gas.
Are you ready for this?
Yo, Bix.
It's showtime.
It's Bix the Bug!
I am The Bug.
Transmission in 10...
Nine, eight, seven, six,
five, four,
three, two, one.
Great fucking show,
bro, huh?
What did I tell you?
What did I tell you, huh?
My phone has been
blowing up, okay?
Promoters are calling.
They wanna fly you
to Hong Kong, Ibiza, Brazil.
Ever see the girls in Brazil?
That was amazing.
You crushed it.
Thank you.
I appreciate that.
Have you seen Curtis?
No.
No, haven't seen him.
Oh, he's supposed
to be here.
Don't worry about it.
Maybe he'll meet us after hours.
Come on, let's go celebrate.
Yes.
One second, ladies.
One second, one second.
Listen, we got that meeting set
that I was telling you about.
This guy Gordon Shafer, he wants
to make us a serious offer.
I'm not doing that tonight.
We're doing it right now.
I told you,
I don't wanna rush into this.
Hear him out.
It'll take 10 minutes.
I'll give him five.
Okay.
I'm so sorry. We have
to take care of something.
Gotta go now.
No. Don't go.
Sorry, ladies. Sorry.
I'll bring him right back.
I promise.
I'll see you back at the pad.
Listen, when Gordon Shafer
makes an offer, you listen.
Who is this guy, anyway?
I ain't never heard of him.
You're acting like
he's some king of the world.
He is. He owns like
50 percent of Europe.
He's the 1 percent
of the 1 percent, all right?
Just don't wear the high hat.
Take my lead.
Hey.
Get the fuck out of the way.
Play it again.
Okay...
Please.
Do I know you?
That sound.
What was that sound?
Hey, pal. Look, pal,
party's over.
Take a walk.
Play it again!
I can't.
Hey!
Take a walk.
No, no, no.
It's not from you.
You're empty.
You're an empty shell.
You're nothing!
Okay, congratulations.
Thank you.
Trick or treat. Bye-bye.
Let's go. Game face.
Think big. Come on.
Ah.
There he is.
Bix the Bug.
Ha, ha.
I'm Gordon Shafer.
Congratulations.
Today you're being offered
an opportunity to matter,
to amount to something.
Really?
I could use a drink.
Help yourself, yes.
You were saying?
I should very much like to have
possession of your Teslascope.
What will it take?
Name your price.
Okay, hold on. Wait.
Danny, did you not tell him?
Tell him what?
It's a prop.
B, he's making an offer.
It's a glorified synthesizer.
It just makes sound vibrations.
You don't know
what you have, do you?
This is precisely why it belongs
in my hands, not yours.
You lack
the moral authority.
When you look into the eyes
of your fellow man,
what do you see, hmm?
Just your own reflection?
Or do you sense a connection
to something higher?
The Teslascope has the capacity
to ignite a fire
around which
the world might gather
for warmth and illumination,
for connection.
Well, Gordy...
Can I call you Gordy?
Is that all right?
To answer your question,
no, it's not for sale.
I'm still using it.
For what purpose?
To make music.
You're like a little boy,
aren't you?
You've stumbled upon
a precious, sacred artifact,
and you're using it
like a toy rattle to make noise.
We're done here.
You're out of your depth,
Mr. Bug.
On the wind come others,
less kind and less inclined
to offer fair compensation.
Did you know, for example,
that at this very moment,
U.S. Department of Defense
was monitoring your movements?
Bullshit.
You think so?
He's in a mood, Mr. Shafer.
I'll talk to him.
We'll discuss it.
Move quickly, Daniel.
You're losing your grip.
The clock
is tick-tick-ticking.
Are you kidding me
right now?
Why would you turn down
an offer like that?
Fuck that guy.
He thinks he can own the world.
He can't own The Bug.
He doesn't give a shit
about The Bug.
All he wants to do
is buy the scope.
I give you our future on a
silver platter,
and you throw it
in my face?
Yeah, what about Curtis?
What about Curtis?
We're the ones who made
the scope a thing, not him.
The Scope is his.
We're not gonna sell it
out from under him.
Ever stop and think maybe Curtis
is actually in trouble?
Are you kidding me
right now?
What the fuck is it with you
and this kid, man?
He's a means to an end,
all right?
Now, look,
I'm just following your lead.
You don't hear it?
Hear what?
It's not just music, man.
I hear music.
I hear
great fucking music.
What are you hearing?
I don't know.
Twice now, I've seen it.
It's always out in the crowd,
watching me, man.
What, like a ghost?
B, now you're telling me
you saw a ghost.
Okay, you drink,
you do drugs,
you get in your groove
up there,
you're supposed
to see shit, okay?
I see shit, man.
Stars, ecstasy, naked titties.
It's a fucking rave.
Trust me, bro. Trust me.
We sell that thing, man,
you're gonna see
even better shit, okay?
Come on.
Give it back, man.
Give it back!
What the fuck was that?
Oh, Jesus, Danny.
The scope.
Oh, fuck.
No, that's Curtis.
You see? You see?
What did I tell you?
If he can't have the scope,
nobody else can,
the little shit-fuck.
Well, looks like he left,
came back with friends.
All right,
who the hell are these guys?
Maybe They, the guys
Curtis was talking about.
What happened?
Shh, shh.
Shh.
They're looking for something.
Oh, my God.
What the fuck?
These guys are fucked up.
Oh, my God.
We gotta call our lawyer.
I'm on it.
All right,
and thank you so much.
Okay. All right, bye.
All right, that was the lawyer.
He said give it a beat,
see if our boy Curtis Garret
shows up.
After 24 hours, we could file
a missing person report,
or we could drop
the whole thing.
Drop it?
Hmm.
They took him.
We have the footage.
Why aren't we
calling the police?
Not yet. We just need to take a
minute,
see if we can figure this out.
Why?
Everybody up!
Lay on the floor.
Go get her.
Which one of you is Bix the Bug?
Who, whoa, whoa.
I'm Bix. This is my place.
Hey, hey, hey.
Bix. Bix.
Hold on. Hey.
What do you want?
Come with us.
It's gonna be all right.
All right.
Let's talk about this.
Okay. Okay.
We don't wanna hurt anybody.
We just want something
that belongs to us.
You guys stay put, stay quiet,
keep the cops out of this,
we'll get along just fine.
What do you want
from me, man?
What do you think?
The power cell.
Power cell?
From the goddamn device.
That Erector Set
piece of junk.
You mean the Teslascope?
Whatever you wanna call it.
I'm living in the real world,
not some steampunk fairy tale.
In the real world,
there are makers and takers.
And do you know
what separates us?
No,
but you're probably gonna tell me.
Money.
Money's all gone,
we'll push reset.
We'll have to,
to survive as a species.
Economic collapse,
that's your plan?
That was the plan.
Start all over,
wipe it clean.
Then your pal, Curtis Garret,
got all Energizer Bunny on us
and ran off
with our Duracell.
Solid oxide fuel cell
technology, state-of-the-art.
We want it back.
Ask Curtis.
I'm asking you.
Why can't you ask Curtis?
Aah!
Curtis told us it was in the device.
I sent him up here to get it,
he came back empty-handed.
Said you must've taken it.
Well, I didn't.
So where is Curtis?
Let me talk to him.
We'll figure this out.
What did you do to him?
This is what happens
when you fuck with They.
Things go wrong.
He's dead.
Now it's your turn,
unless you come clean.
One more time,
where is the fucking power cell?
I don't know, okay?
I don't even know
what you're talking about.
I don't have it.
I'm just a musician.
I'm an audio engineer.
I manipulate the sounds.
Curtis built the scope.
What the fuck
is going on out there?
We got a shitload of people
showing up.
Go.
What the fuck?
What is going on out there?
We had a show set for today.
It's just a bunch of kids.
They're just...
They're looking for a party.
We're out of here.
But we will be back
for what's ours. Find it.
And the police better not get
involved, or that's your ass.
You'll all end up dead.
Don't fuck around.
Yo, I sent out a tweet
saying that Bix the Bug
was playing a free show
at this location.
Lucky for you, my friend,
we got a growing fan base.
How can we not
call the police?
Think about it.
If we call the cops,
they're just gonna
impound the scope.
They're gonna bring us up
on charges,
and then Curt will have died
for nothing.
Okay, I'm working on getting
us private security as we speak.
All right,
so, what's the story, okay?
Did this guy mention
where this power cell thing is?
No. No,
he never mentioned anything.
Yeah, well, it sounds to me
like he Doc Browned them.
I'm gonna go shit my pants
right now.
Can you fix it?
I don't know.
Okay, I'm...
I'm gonna take Flo home, man.
She's just gotta check in
with her family, man.
Be back in a little bit.
Just do your thing, man.
Do your thing, okay?
So you're leaving.
Yeah.
I don't know
why you're doing this.
Doing what?
Just going on with the show
like nothing happened.
Come on.
Curt, he would've wanted me
to see this through.
Look, I don't know
what's happening to me.
All I know right now
is that something in that room,
it's changing people.
I need to fix it.
I need to figure it out.
It's changing you.
The way that you're combining
those sounds in there,
people are
drawn to them, but...
this is getting
out of your control.
The guy...
I can't stop.
Then I can't stay.
What are you doing here?
She's right.
You're broken.
You can't fix yourself.
You can't fix others.
You can't fix anything.
You're a fraud.
No, you're wrong. I matter.
There's no one
behind that mask.
Who are you? You can't feel.
You've been behind a wall
so long.
That's where
you're going to die.
Yo, B.
B.
Hmm.
You good?
Hey, Danny.
Have any progress
with the scope?
It's close.
But no cigar.
Hey, look, all it's gotta do
is light up and look pretty.
It doesn't even have
to produce any sounds.
We can mix in the stuff
that you already have.
We got a huge show tonight.
No, I know, man. I know.
Cece's gone.
Looks like it's just you and me,
just like old times, my friend.
I got the Beast out back.
When are we gonna be ready
to pack her up?
Whoa, nice, bro. It sounds like
you got it going again.
Yeah, the power's up.
We'll see if she does anything.
You should see
these theories
that these whack jobs
are throwing out.
"Government conspiracy,
UFO, Egyptology."
Whatever the fuck that is.
"Sacred geometry,
astrology."
all the experts
are chiming in on ET Radio.
No way. Check this one out.
Some asshole says:
"When the horn of Gabriel
sounds,
it will set fire to the sky
and the end of times
will be upon us."
This is fucking great, man.
Don't I know you guys
from somewhere?
What, you want, like,
an autograph or something?
No, that's okay.
We're fine, thanks.
You can tell Shafer
that there's no deal.
I'm not gonna sell.
We don't work
for Gordon Shafer.
Then who are you?
We're here to observe.
Make sure nobody gets hurt.
Like your friend Curtis Garret,
for instance.
You have a good show.
Did you see the heat
those guys were packing?
FBI, NSA or DOD.
I mean, maybe even...
Maybe even private contractors.
Definitely Uncle Sam.
You know, Shafer, he warned us.
You still wanna go on?
Yeah.
And even if they take
the scope,
I'll still get
one last run with it.
This one's for you,
my friend,
wherever you are.
Transmission in 10...
Nine, eight, seven, six,
five, four, three, two, one.
Curtis.
Hey, Matthew.
You're not here.
Yes, I am.
I'm here.
But you're dead.
They shot you.
I don't think so.
I don't feel dead.
Where are we?
Traveling
through multiple realities.
Just mirrors
within mirrors.
Within mirrors.
I must be dead.
It's not death.
It's transcendence.
All we see or seem
is but a dream within a dream.
Within a dream.
Within a dream.
You've over-corrected.
You've gone the wrong way.
You've gone the wrong way.
The light's in the other direction.
All you have to do
is walk through the door.
Bix. That's right.
Bix. Bix.
That's right. Right. All right.
All right. That's it. Yeah.
Settle down.
All right. All right. Shh.
Calm down.
Deep breaths. Deep breaths.
Holy shit, man. Holy shit.
I thought you were fucking dead.
What happened?
Um, the scope exploded,
you went down,
the whole fucking place
went berserk.
But don't worry,
I got us out of there.
I got us out of there
before anybody could touch us.
What about the scope?
I got the goods.
I got the goods right here.
You okay?
He's alive.
What?
Curtis.
I saw him.
Where?
Somewhere. I...
I don't know.
Look, you took a big shock
to the system, okay?
You're not thinking right.
Why don't you
just take a nap?
I've been somewhere.
Danny, I've seen something
I can't explain.
Settle down, all right?
Shafer was right.
Shafer?
What do you mean?
The Teslascope.
It has the power
to change people.
Danny, it's changed me.
Honestly, bro,
sounds to me like
you're having a psychotic break.
I mean, you're drinking
your own Kool-Aid here, man.
No. No, I'm not crazy.
This is real.
All right, well, let me ask you
this. If this is so real,
I've been around the scope
almost as much as you.
How come I can't see
this big high dimension?
I don't know.
Maybe you're not ready
for it.
So you're telling me that music
from this microwave over here
is gonna make everybody
all starry-eyed
and see rainbows
and unicorns and shit?
I don't need you
to believe me.
I need you
to help me finish it.
If he was right about the scope,
why not let Shafer protect it?
No, I can't.
I need to finish this.
I need to put this out there.
Shafer will keep it
for himself.
What if I told you
he offered seven figures?
What?
One-point-three mil
for the scope, as is.
You did a deal behind my back?
Dude, it's a no-brainer.
That thing
is way too much trouble,
and a million bucks is
too much money to fuck around.
We're getting rid
of that thing.
Danny.
I can't let that happen.
No, it's happening.
It's happening right now.
It's a done deal, okay?
How do you think I got the
muscle to get us out of there?
Hey, hey, hey, I understand.
What?
I understand why you want
to sell the scope.
But, Danny, we're not dealing
with this guy. Send him away.
You're a fucking piece of work,
you know that?
Is there a problem?
No, man, there's no problem.
We're just gonna iron out
some last-minute details, okay?
The scope's not for sale.
We had a deal.
Whoa.
Whoa, what the fuck
is with the gun, man?
I'm here to collect
Mr. Shafer's property.
It's not gonna happen.
Look, man, you're just
gonna have to shoot me.
Fuck.
Are you hit?
We're done now, Danny.
What?
B, no, come on.
B.
Come on, man.
Bix. Yo, stop the car.
All right, I'm sorry, okay?
I'm fucking sorry, man.
Don't fucking leave me here.
I'm sorry, all right?
I said I was sorry.
Bix!
Curtis.
I knew you were alive.
Can't kill an idea.
They did try, though.
What about the picture?
It was a fake.
They were just trying to intimidate you.
Once I escaped,
you were their only option.
Hey.
I'm glad they didn't shoot you
in the head.
Me too.
I'm sure they'd like to.
Yeah.
We've both been changed
by what's coming
through that scope.
It's put us
into a new reality,
but I still don't know
what it's leading to.
The transmissions,
they come in bursts,
each on a different frequency.
So far, I can see
at least six separate tracks
that are all meant
to fit together as one.
We've only received five.
Hey. There's only two hours
till dawn.
Maybe you should take a break.
No time for sleep.
Whatever you say.
So can we finish it?
I don't know if we can fix the scope.
I tried,
it almost killed me.
The problem isn't the power cell.
It's the scope itself.
If the transmission
comes in too hot,
it just cuts the circuit.
Can we control it?
There's always gonna be a risk.
We only control
one side of the equation.
We have to do it live, then.
Stripped down.
None of the extra lights.
Just the scope.
Yeah, but you said yourself,
we can't expose ourselves.
They, the DOD.
They can't stop us
once it's out there.
We could do it alone.
Just drive off the grid,
receive the last transmission,
and then upload the final track,
let the Internet do the rest.
No, Curtis.
It needs listeners.
It needs consciousness.
A tree falls in the woods,
and there's no one there
to hear it...
Live, then.
Are you ready for this?
Hey, still no sign of the feds
or anyone from They,
but there is a lot of people
out there.
Don't worry, they'll be here,
even Danny.
They all wanna see what happens
just as much as we do.
All right,
so, what's our plan of escape?
Well, if this works,
we won't need one.
Yeah, but what if it doesn't?
Then we're wrong, nuts, and
none of this bullshit matters.
Oh, yeah, well,
when you put it that way...
It's almost time.
This is it.
Ow! Okay, buddy. Heh.
Thanks.
Sorry.
No, it's okay.
You're a good man,
Curtis Garret.
Thank you for coming.
Thank you all for listening.
This is not from me.
This is from someplace else.
This is the completion.
Transmission in 10,
nine...
Eight, seven, six,
five, four,
three, two, one!
Bix. Look...
Aah.
Okay.
You all right?
Yeah.
Oh, come on.
Bix.
We did it.
You did it.
The rest is up to you,
Curtis.
Curtis?
Bix, it's me.
It's Danny.
Do you see it?
I do.
I see it.
That's good.
Okay.
ETXR
Hey, hey
Hey, hey
ETXR
Hey, hey
Hey
ETXR
ETXR
Ever since I was a kid,
I felt like
I was being watched.
Hidden cameras
recording my life.
And I'd lie awake at night
and think,
"Who's watching me?
What makes me so special?"
Now it's a transparent society.
We're all bugged 24/7
in everything we do,
watched and measured,
counted and stored.
Data becomes metadata,
and all our lives
are digitized.
So I embrace it.
I am The Bug.
I'm always listening,
recording,
mixing, remixing.
I'm a sound collector,
sonic manipulator.
My music comes
from the world around me.
Noises are my instruments.
The Bug is bugged.
My cameras are always on,
antennas up,
ready to receive.
And still I wonder,
who's watching me?
And why?
Are you ready for this?
It's Bix the Bug!
Go! Go!
I am The Bug.
Transmission in 10...
Nine, eight,
seven, six, five,
four, three, two,
one.
Hey, hey.
Great show tonight, B.
Bet we had over a hundred people
out there.
Yeah, at the most.
Oh, come on, man.
I mean, it's growing.
We got the helmet,
website, spy cams.
Something's missing, Danny.
The Bug is bugged,
but nobody cares.
Maybe you need
a new sound.
What's that supposed to mean?
I don't know, man.
Mix it up a little bit,
try to go mainstream.
No compromising the music.
Look, I'm trying
to do something different.
Well, here's something
different, okay? We're broke.
We got a stack of bills
like the Leaning Tower of Pisa
over our heads.
I don't wanna leave
living in the RV.
Fuck it, man,
at least we got tonight, right?
We might as well party
while we can.
By the way,
that dude came by again.
What?
Yeah, that guy who's, like,
stalking you. Curtis Garret.
Garret? I thought
you got rid of that guy.
I did, but he came back.
He said he needs to talk to you.
It's very important.
Just hear him out.
He's harmless.
Sure. I mean, invite him
to the party. I don't care.
Here's the guy, Bix. Say hello.
Hey.
Matthew Laughlin.
Long time.
Do you remember me?
Curtis Garret.
Um...
I was in your class at MI a few years back.
Professor Hanson's
Robotics Computing.
I dropped that
a long time ago, though.
And the name is Bix now.
Yeah. No, I know.
I mean, I know
that you dropped out.
It doesn't matter.
Um...
Actually, is there someplace
that we could talk in private?
Yeah, dude,
you're looking at it.
Do you remember
Hanson's research
involving the Teslascope?
Um...
Sure. Maybe.
The Hyperdimensional
Oscillator.
It's real, Matthew.
I... I have a prototype
that I built.
It works.
Yo.
You're still here?
Um... I have the scope all set up.
It's outside in my truck.
Will you listen?
You are a persistent
little fucker, aren't you?
Come on, it's time to go, bro.
Party's over.
Look, Matthew.
I promise you,
I'm not crazy, okay?
I'm not delusional.
You might understand
these signals I'm receiving.
They're just
radio intercepts, man.
You're hearing voices,
my friend.
No, not voices. No
language, sounds.
Noises.
Very unique harmonic
electronic noises.
What, you mean like music?
Yeah, musical in tone,
definitely.
Possibly a code.
I don't know.
See, I'm not... I'm not a
musician.
I'm not an artist.
That's why I came to you.
Look, will you just
listen?
So you built this
yourself?
Well, using Tesla's
original schematics, yes.
Wait, so let me
get this straight.
This thing talks to outer space,
huh, buddy?
Nikola Tesla claimed
that it could make contact
with extraterrestrial worlds.
Right. You do remember.
Extraterrestrials,
like aliens? Ha, ha.
"E.T. phone home."
Extraterrestrial means
not of this Earth.
We're not talking about
flying saucers or green men.
We're talking about
unprecedented contact
with non-human intelligence
from beyond our concept
of space and time.
That's really cool.
Which end do I stick my dick in?
Does he need to be here?
He's just fucking with you.
Go on.
Okay.
Well, the device,
it functions on a quantum level.
I mean,
the smallest scale imaginable,
but it still needs
a high-energy power source.
Look, don't get
too close,
because when the transmission
comes through,
the energy exchange
is quite intense
and things do get
kind of hot.
How can I help?
Well, I need you to listen
to all the transmissions
I've received,
help me
put the pieces together,
you know, crack the code.
Code?
Yeah, I think
that it's a message.
Whatever's on the other end,
it's something or someone that
we've never heard from before.
"It's like radio
for speaking to God."
I don't like you.
Would you come talk?
Would you play along,
you douche?
This guy is clearly cuckoo for Cocoa Puffs.
I don't wanna get
ball cancer
from this thing,
whatever the fuck it is.
You obviously did not hear
what I just heard.
I heard something raw, okay?
It sounds like fucking noise.
It is noise. But guess what?
That's the business we're in.
Just follow my lead.
This has structure.
Exactly. Exactly.
There's clearly some form
of communication going on.
It's almost...
It's hypnotic, yes?
You know, some sort of,
like, resonant telepathy.
I mean,
the spoken word is limited,
but vibrations, harmonics,
I mean, that is communication,
like, on a primal level.
You came
to the right MIT dropout,
because this is
what Bix the Bug does.
Check this out.
Yeah, um, but why are you...?
Why are you adding a drum beat
and all those extra effects?
I didn't come here to make
techno music. I came here...
Hey, hey, pal.
That's what my boy does.
He makes music.
That was
fucking killer, bro.
Okay, yeah, it was killer,
but I don't need a DJ.
Hey, excuse me, you gotta...
Whoa, whoa, whoa.
Ryan Seacrest
is a fucking DJ.
Bix the Bug is an artist.
I don't need to dance to this.
I need to crack it.
Look, you came to me,
and I can help you,
but it's obviously incomplete.
It's incomplete?
What, you can't feel it?
Yeah, yeah.
Obviously something's missing.
I mean, it's got no oomph.
It's incomplete.
Think about it like a song.
We have maybe
half the stems here,
so what we need
is more tracks.
More transmissions.
A song?
- I don't know.
- Look, dude.
I got a mad genius here
giving you gold.
I mean, you give us,
what, two, three days?
A week.
A week, and he will
crack this puppy.
I don't have
that kind of time.
Where do you gotta be?
That's none of your concern.
Curtis, look, you know,
I do remember you. I do.
You were the guy always sitting
at the back of the class
who was never
asking questions.
Yeah, because
I was taking notes.
Look, I have an idea.
Let me take the scope
on stage
and mix the transmission live
in front of an audience.
What, in public? No.
Yeah.
No.
No, just listen to me.
We'll set it up as a prop.
Nobody will be able to tell.
No, but it's not
a prop, okay?
The Teslascope
is very high-voltage.
I don't just
press play, man.
I mix my music live.
I feed off
the energy of the crowd.
That's how I make music.
Now, you were right,
this is important.
And I believed in you.
Now it's your turn
to believe in me.
Hey, hey.
Everything is in motion.
Poor guy won't know
what hit him.
Seriously, you've never done
any drugs of any kind?
No.
You might like it.
Hmm.
I've seen what drugs do
to people.
Now, even Matthew.
I mean, he's changed
since I knew him.
He used to be
a totally different person.
How so?
I mean, he was
the best in our class.
That guy could literally build
his own robot.
Now he's lost his way.
He's just living his life.
Life's not a party.
Come on, we're young.
When else
will you have this chance?
Exactly.
Get out of your head.
What are you doing?
Hey, the scope
was gonna be off-stage.
Don't worry about it.
This will be great.
But we can't let people
see this yet, remember?
We agreed.
You said that the, um...
The scope would be...
Curtis.
You feeling okay?
Uh-huh.
Yeah, actually, um...
Actually,
I feel fucking great.
That's good.
But, hey, hey, we really...
We can't show the scope
here yet.
Trust me.
Come on, let's go.
This better work.
Normally
that would be a wrap.
But, you see,
I got one more.
I'd like to dedicate
this next song
to my friend Curtis Garret.
Sitting in the back,
taking notes, it pays off, man.
This is transmissions
from another world.
Transmission in three,
two,
one.
Matthew. Hey, hey.
Dude, you were right.
About the crowd.
I mean, they boosted the signal.
I could... I could feel it.
Hey, what's wrong?
Nothing.
Nothing. I just...
I thought I saw something, man.
No worries.
It's all good, man.
Transmissions
From Another Realm."
I'm feeling it, baby.
I am feeling it in my sack.
Yeah, in your money sack.
Hey, hey,
this is my money sack, baby.
No, no, actually this is,
right here. This is my...
Hey, careful, man.
Come on, you seriously
want me to believe
these are signals
from an alien intelligence?
Extraterrestrial,
which means not of this Earth.
I think it's real.
I can feel it.
Did you?
Or maybe it's a signal
from a foreign government
like China or North Korea
or some shit.
Do you?
Who cares where it comes from?
It sounds great.
A lot of people agree.
Do you feel that?
Why is the view count frozen at 301?
Of course I felt it.
It's just music.
It has over 20,000 likes.
Holy shit, bro.
Holy shit.
We're on
the front page of Reddit.
B, B, we've gone viral, baby.
What? What?
Wait. No, no, no. Wait.
What did you do?
What?
You uploaded the transmissions?
Relax, man,
it's not a big deal. I...
We don't understand yet
what this is and what it means.
You can't upload
these fragments
before we process everything.
It's not safe.
Calm down, dude.
They can trace this upload
to our IP address.
Curtis, what is it?
Curtis, man,
you gotta talk to us.
Okay, well, for starters,
I got
the original schematics
from a server owned by
the Department of Defense.
Whoa, whoa, whoa, hold up.
We didn't do anything
illegal here, okay, pal?
Yeah, well, I have.
And you're all accessories
after the fact.
Oh, and the power cell
that I used for the prototype?
I stole that too
from a group
of some not-so-nice people.
Curtis.
You stole what from who?
They.
They?
That's what
they call themselves.
Nothing else, just "They."
Like, "You know what they say."
They're sort of
a Neo-Eco-terrorist group
that splintered off
from the old Occupy movement,
and they hired me to build
an electromagnetic pulse bomb
What?
so they could take down
Wall Street.
Jesus Christ. Come on.
I wasn't gonna build the thing,
I just wanted
the power cell.
Wait. Terrorists?
More like anarchists.
Okay, this is not
what I signed up for.
What the hell
is he talking about?
You know, if they find me,
they're gonna kill me.
Okay? So I'm dead.
Why aren't you listening to me?
I am listening.
I came to you because I thought
you'd understand.
I thought I could trust you.
And I'm not gonna
screw you over on this.
You already have!
These transmissions are not
just music, okay? They're not.
You're right.
I get that.
No, no, no.
You say that you do.
You say that you do.
But then you go behind my back
and slap it up on YouTube
so you can sell more tickets
to your stupid shows.
That wasn't the point.
That's not what I...
The scope is mine, okay?
It's mine.
What? No.
I took all the risks.
I built it. It's mine.
I am part of the equation,
and we are gonna...
You're not part of anything.
You had the chance to be a part
of something. Something real.
And you wasted it
on yourself.
I'm done.
Okay? No more music,
no more transmissions, man.
I'm done with you.
Curtis...
- He's out.
- What?
I'm telling you, man,
there's no talking to him.
We got a huge show
tomorrow night.
It's by special invitation.
We need that scope, man.
It's done, man.
Look, we gotta strike
while the iron's hot, okay?
I got Live Nation,
Goldenvoice, Insomniac.
They're all called me
because they wanna book
Bix the Bug with the scope.
Now, talk to your boyfriend.
Get him to play ball, man.
There's gotta be a way.
Come on.
Curtis, do you really think
that you're better off alone?
I started this myself,
I can finish it myself.
You probably can.
I admit,
when I first heard that scope,
man, I wanted those sounds
for my music.
But what happened
at that show,
I mean, that was real.
I know you felt it.
I was on drugs.
I wasn't exactly myself.
Or maybe you were.
Maybe for the first time,
you let yourself go.
Whatever you are running from,
whatever you are afraid of,
we can face it together.
If we do this,
we do this on my terms.
Yeah.
I wanna be there to supervise.
Sober.
You understand that?
Of course.
And I need $20 for gas.
Are you ready for this?
Yo, Bix.
It's showtime.
It's Bix the Bug!
I am The Bug.
Transmission in 10...
Nine, eight, seven, six,
five, four,
three, two, one.
Great fucking show,
bro, huh?
What did I tell you?
What did I tell you, huh?
My phone has been
blowing up, okay?
Promoters are calling.
They wanna fly you
to Hong Kong, Ibiza, Brazil.
Ever see the girls in Brazil?
That was amazing.
You crushed it.
Thank you.
I appreciate that.
Have you seen Curtis?
No.
No, haven't seen him.
Oh, he's supposed
to be here.
Don't worry about it.
Maybe he'll meet us after hours.
Come on, let's go celebrate.
Yes.
One second, ladies.
One second, one second.
Listen, we got that meeting set
that I was telling you about.
This guy Gordon Shafer, he wants
to make us a serious offer.
I'm not doing that tonight.
We're doing it right now.
I told you,
I don't wanna rush into this.
Hear him out.
It'll take 10 minutes.
I'll give him five.
Okay.
I'm so sorry. We have
to take care of something.
Gotta go now.
No. Don't go.
Sorry, ladies. Sorry.
I'll bring him right back.
I promise.
I'll see you back at the pad.
Listen, when Gordon Shafer
makes an offer, you listen.
Who is this guy, anyway?
I ain't never heard of him.
You're acting like
he's some king of the world.
He is. He owns like
50 percent of Europe.
He's the 1 percent
of the 1 percent, all right?
Just don't wear the high hat.
Take my lead.
Hey.
Get the fuck out of the way.
Play it again.
Okay...
Please.
Do I know you?
That sound.
What was that sound?
Hey, pal. Look, pal,
party's over.
Take a walk.
Play it again!
I can't.
Hey!
Take a walk.
No, no, no.
It's not from you.
You're empty.
You're an empty shell.
You're nothing!
Okay, congratulations.
Thank you.
Trick or treat. Bye-bye.
Let's go. Game face.
Think big. Come on.
Ah.
There he is.
Bix the Bug.
Ha, ha.
I'm Gordon Shafer.
Congratulations.
Today you're being offered
an opportunity to matter,
to amount to something.
Really?
I could use a drink.
Help yourself, yes.
You were saying?
I should very much like to have
possession of your Teslascope.
What will it take?
Name your price.
Okay, hold on. Wait.
Danny, did you not tell him?
Tell him what?
It's a prop.
B, he's making an offer.
It's a glorified synthesizer.
It just makes sound vibrations.
You don't know
what you have, do you?
This is precisely why it belongs
in my hands, not yours.
You lack
the moral authority.
When you look into the eyes
of your fellow man,
what do you see, hmm?
Just your own reflection?
Or do you sense a connection
to something higher?
The Teslascope has the capacity
to ignite a fire
around which
the world might gather
for warmth and illumination,
for connection.
Well, Gordy...
Can I call you Gordy?
Is that all right?
To answer your question,
no, it's not for sale.
I'm still using it.
For what purpose?
To make music.
You're like a little boy,
aren't you?
You've stumbled upon
a precious, sacred artifact,
and you're using it
like a toy rattle to make noise.
We're done here.
You're out of your depth,
Mr. Bug.
On the wind come others,
less kind and less inclined
to offer fair compensation.
Did you know, for example,
that at this very moment,
U.S. Department of Defense
was monitoring your movements?
Bullshit.
You think so?
He's in a mood, Mr. Shafer.
I'll talk to him.
We'll discuss it.
Move quickly, Daniel.
You're losing your grip.
The clock
is tick-tick-ticking.
Are you kidding me
right now?
Why would you turn down
an offer like that?
Fuck that guy.
He thinks he can own the world.
He can't own The Bug.
He doesn't give a shit
about The Bug.
All he wants to do
is buy the scope.
I give you our future on a
silver platter,
and you throw it
in my face?
Yeah, what about Curtis?
What about Curtis?
We're the ones who made
the scope a thing, not him.
The Scope is his.
We're not gonna sell it
out from under him.
Ever stop and think maybe Curtis
is actually in trouble?
Are you kidding me
right now?
What the fuck is it with you
and this kid, man?
He's a means to an end,
all right?
Now, look,
I'm just following your lead.
You don't hear it?
Hear what?
It's not just music, man.
I hear music.
I hear
great fucking music.
What are you hearing?
I don't know.
Twice now, I've seen it.
It's always out in the crowd,
watching me, man.
What, like a ghost?
B, now you're telling me
you saw a ghost.
Okay, you drink,
you do drugs,
you get in your groove
up there,
you're supposed
to see shit, okay?
I see shit, man.
Stars, ecstasy, naked titties.
It's a fucking rave.
Trust me, bro. Trust me.
We sell that thing, man,
you're gonna see
even better shit, okay?
Come on.
Give it back, man.
Give it back!
What the fuck was that?
Oh, Jesus, Danny.
The scope.
Oh, fuck.
No, that's Curtis.
You see? You see?
What did I tell you?
If he can't have the scope,
nobody else can,
the little shit-fuck.
Well, looks like he left,
came back with friends.
All right,
who the hell are these guys?
Maybe They, the guys
Curtis was talking about.
What happened?
Shh, shh.
Shh.
They're looking for something.
Oh, my God.
What the fuck?
These guys are fucked up.
Oh, my God.
We gotta call our lawyer.
I'm on it.
All right,
and thank you so much.
Okay. All right, bye.
All right, that was the lawyer.
He said give it a beat,
see if our boy Curtis Garret
shows up.
After 24 hours, we could file
a missing person report,
or we could drop
the whole thing.
Drop it?
Hmm.
They took him.
We have the footage.
Why aren't we
calling the police?
Not yet. We just need to take a
minute,
see if we can figure this out.
Why?
Everybody up!
Lay on the floor.
Go get her.
Which one of you is Bix the Bug?
Who, whoa, whoa.
I'm Bix. This is my place.
Hey, hey, hey.
Bix. Bix.
Hold on. Hey.
What do you want?
Come with us.
It's gonna be all right.
All right.
Let's talk about this.
Okay. Okay.
We don't wanna hurt anybody.
We just want something
that belongs to us.
You guys stay put, stay quiet,
keep the cops out of this,
we'll get along just fine.
What do you want
from me, man?
What do you think?
The power cell.
Power cell?
From the goddamn device.
That Erector Set
piece of junk.
You mean the Teslascope?
Whatever you wanna call it.
I'm living in the real world,
not some steampunk fairy tale.
In the real world,
there are makers and takers.
And do you know
what separates us?
No,
but you're probably gonna tell me.
Money.
Money's all gone,
we'll push reset.
We'll have to,
to survive as a species.
Economic collapse,
that's your plan?
That was the plan.
Start all over,
wipe it clean.
Then your pal, Curtis Garret,
got all Energizer Bunny on us
and ran off
with our Duracell.
Solid oxide fuel cell
technology, state-of-the-art.
We want it back.
Ask Curtis.
I'm asking you.
Why can't you ask Curtis?
Aah!
Curtis told us it was in the device.
I sent him up here to get it,
he came back empty-handed.
Said you must've taken it.
Well, I didn't.
So where is Curtis?
Let me talk to him.
We'll figure this out.
What did you do to him?
This is what happens
when you fuck with They.
Things go wrong.
He's dead.
Now it's your turn,
unless you come clean.
One more time,
where is the fucking power cell?
I don't know, okay?
I don't even know
what you're talking about.
I don't have it.
I'm just a musician.
I'm an audio engineer.
I manipulate the sounds.
Curtis built the scope.
What the fuck
is going on out there?
We got a shitload of people
showing up.
Go.
What the fuck?
What is going on out there?
We had a show set for today.
It's just a bunch of kids.
They're just...
They're looking for a party.
We're out of here.
But we will be back
for what's ours. Find it.
And the police better not get
involved, or that's your ass.
You'll all end up dead.
Don't fuck around.
Yo, I sent out a tweet
saying that Bix the Bug
was playing a free show
at this location.
Lucky for you, my friend,
we got a growing fan base.
How can we not
call the police?
Think about it.
If we call the cops,
they're just gonna
impound the scope.
They're gonna bring us up
on charges,
and then Curt will have died
for nothing.
Okay, I'm working on getting
us private security as we speak.
All right,
so, what's the story, okay?
Did this guy mention
where this power cell thing is?
No. No,
he never mentioned anything.
Yeah, well, it sounds to me
like he Doc Browned them.
I'm gonna go shit my pants
right now.
Can you fix it?
I don't know.
Okay, I'm...
I'm gonna take Flo home, man.
She's just gotta check in
with her family, man.
Be back in a little bit.
Just do your thing, man.
Do your thing, okay?
So you're leaving.
Yeah.
I don't know
why you're doing this.
Doing what?
Just going on with the show
like nothing happened.
Come on.
Curt, he would've wanted me
to see this through.
Look, I don't know
what's happening to me.
All I know right now
is that something in that room,
it's changing people.
I need to fix it.
I need to figure it out.
It's changing you.
The way that you're combining
those sounds in there,
people are
drawn to them, but...
this is getting
out of your control.
The guy...
I can't stop.
Then I can't stay.
What are you doing here?
She's right.
You're broken.
You can't fix yourself.
You can't fix others.
You can't fix anything.
You're a fraud.
No, you're wrong. I matter.
There's no one
behind that mask.
Who are you? You can't feel.
You've been behind a wall
so long.
That's where
you're going to die.
Yo, B.
B.
Hmm.
You good?
Hey, Danny.
Have any progress
with the scope?
It's close.
But no cigar.
Hey, look, all it's gotta do
is light up and look pretty.
It doesn't even have
to produce any sounds.
We can mix in the stuff
that you already have.
We got a huge show tonight.
No, I know, man. I know.
Cece's gone.
Looks like it's just you and me,
just like old times, my friend.
I got the Beast out back.
When are we gonna be ready
to pack her up?
Whoa, nice, bro. It sounds like
you got it going again.
Yeah, the power's up.
We'll see if she does anything.
You should see
these theories
that these whack jobs
are throwing out.
"Government conspiracy,
UFO, Egyptology."
Whatever the fuck that is.
"Sacred geometry,
astrology."
all the experts
are chiming in on ET Radio.
No way. Check this one out.
Some asshole says:
"When the horn of Gabriel
sounds,
it will set fire to the sky
and the end of times
will be upon us."
This is fucking great, man.
Don't I know you guys
from somewhere?
What, you want, like,
an autograph or something?
No, that's okay.
We're fine, thanks.
You can tell Shafer
that there's no deal.
I'm not gonna sell.
We don't work
for Gordon Shafer.
Then who are you?
We're here to observe.
Make sure nobody gets hurt.
Like your friend Curtis Garret,
for instance.
You have a good show.
Did you see the heat
those guys were packing?
FBI, NSA or DOD.
I mean, maybe even...
Maybe even private contractors.
Definitely Uncle Sam.
You know, Shafer, he warned us.
You still wanna go on?
Yeah.
And even if they take
the scope,
I'll still get
one last run with it.
This one's for you,
my friend,
wherever you are.
Transmission in 10...
Nine, eight, seven, six,
five, four, three, two, one.
Curtis.
Hey, Matthew.
You're not here.
Yes, I am.
I'm here.
But you're dead.
They shot you.
I don't think so.
I don't feel dead.
Where are we?
Traveling
through multiple realities.
Just mirrors
within mirrors.
Within mirrors.
I must be dead.
It's not death.
It's transcendence.
All we see or seem
is but a dream within a dream.
Within a dream.
Within a dream.
You've over-corrected.
You've gone the wrong way.
You've gone the wrong way.
The light's in the other direction.
All you have to do
is walk through the door.
Bix. That's right.
Bix. Bix.
That's right. Right. All right.
All right. That's it. Yeah.
Settle down.
All right. All right. Shh.
Calm down.
Deep breaths. Deep breaths.
Holy shit, man. Holy shit.
I thought you were fucking dead.
What happened?
Um, the scope exploded,
you went down,
the whole fucking place
went berserk.
But don't worry,
I got us out of there.
I got us out of there
before anybody could touch us.
What about the scope?
I got the goods.
I got the goods right here.
You okay?
He's alive.
What?
Curtis.
I saw him.
Where?
Somewhere. I...
I don't know.
Look, you took a big shock
to the system, okay?
You're not thinking right.
Why don't you
just take a nap?
I've been somewhere.
Danny, I've seen something
I can't explain.
Settle down, all right?
Shafer was right.
Shafer?
What do you mean?
The Teslascope.
It has the power
to change people.
Danny, it's changed me.
Honestly, bro,
sounds to me like
you're having a psychotic break.
I mean, you're drinking
your own Kool-Aid here, man.
No. No, I'm not crazy.
This is real.
All right, well, let me ask you
this. If this is so real,
I've been around the scope
almost as much as you.
How come I can't see
this big high dimension?
I don't know.
Maybe you're not ready
for it.
So you're telling me that music
from this microwave over here
is gonna make everybody
all starry-eyed
and see rainbows
and unicorns and shit?
I don't need you
to believe me.
I need you
to help me finish it.
If he was right about the scope,
why not let Shafer protect it?
No, I can't.
I need to finish this.
I need to put this out there.
Shafer will keep it
for himself.
What if I told you
he offered seven figures?
What?
One-point-three mil
for the scope, as is.
You did a deal behind my back?
Dude, it's a no-brainer.
That thing
is way too much trouble,
and a million bucks is
too much money to fuck around.
We're getting rid
of that thing.
Danny.
I can't let that happen.
No, it's happening.
It's happening right now.
It's a done deal, okay?
How do you think I got the
muscle to get us out of there?
Hey, hey, hey, I understand.
What?
I understand why you want
to sell the scope.
But, Danny, we're not dealing
with this guy. Send him away.
You're a fucking piece of work,
you know that?
Is there a problem?
No, man, there's no problem.
We're just gonna iron out
some last-minute details, okay?
The scope's not for sale.
We had a deal.
Whoa.
Whoa, what the fuck
is with the gun, man?
I'm here to collect
Mr. Shafer's property.
It's not gonna happen.
Look, man, you're just
gonna have to shoot me.
Fuck.
Are you hit?
We're done now, Danny.
What?
B, no, come on.
B.
Come on, man.
Bix. Yo, stop the car.
All right, I'm sorry, okay?
I'm fucking sorry, man.
Don't fucking leave me here.
I'm sorry, all right?
I said I was sorry.
Bix!
Curtis.
I knew you were alive.
Can't kill an idea.
They did try, though.
What about the picture?
It was a fake.
They were just trying to intimidate you.
Once I escaped,
you were their only option.
Hey.
I'm glad they didn't shoot you
in the head.
Me too.
I'm sure they'd like to.
Yeah.
We've both been changed
by what's coming
through that scope.
It's put us
into a new reality,
but I still don't know
what it's leading to.
The transmissions,
they come in bursts,
each on a different frequency.
So far, I can see
at least six separate tracks
that are all meant
to fit together as one.
We've only received five.
Hey. There's only two hours
till dawn.
Maybe you should take a break.
No time for sleep.
Whatever you say.
So can we finish it?
I don't know if we can fix the scope.
I tried,
it almost killed me.
The problem isn't the power cell.
It's the scope itself.
If the transmission
comes in too hot,
it just cuts the circuit.
Can we control it?
There's always gonna be a risk.
We only control
one side of the equation.
We have to do it live, then.
Stripped down.
None of the extra lights.
Just the scope.
Yeah, but you said yourself,
we can't expose ourselves.
They, the DOD.
They can't stop us
once it's out there.
We could do it alone.
Just drive off the grid,
receive the last transmission,
and then upload the final track,
let the Internet do the rest.
No, Curtis.
It needs listeners.
It needs consciousness.
A tree falls in the woods,
and there's no one there
to hear it...
Live, then.
Are you ready for this?
Hey, still no sign of the feds
or anyone from They,
but there is a lot of people
out there.
Don't worry, they'll be here,
even Danny.
They all wanna see what happens
just as much as we do.
All right,
so, what's our plan of escape?
Well, if this works,
we won't need one.
Yeah, but what if it doesn't?
Then we're wrong, nuts, and
none of this bullshit matters.
Oh, yeah, well,
when you put it that way...
It's almost time.
This is it.
Ow! Okay, buddy. Heh.
Thanks.
Sorry.
No, it's okay.
You're a good man,
Curtis Garret.
Thank you for coming.
Thank you all for listening.
This is not from me.
This is from someplace else.
This is the completion.
Transmission in 10,
nine...
Eight, seven, six,
five, four,
three, two, one!
Bix. Look...
Aah.
Okay.
You all right?
Yeah.
Oh, come on.
Bix.
We did it.
You did it.
The rest is up to you,
Curtis.
Curtis?
Bix, it's me.
It's Danny.
Do you see it?
I do.
I see it.
That's good.
Okay.
ETXR
Hey, hey
Hey, hey
ETXR
Hey, hey
Hey
ETXR
ETXR