Parallax (2023) Movie Script

(logo whooshes)
(tape deck whirring)
(tense dramatic music)
(tense dramatic music continues)
(soft tense music)
(birds chirping)
(soft tense music continues)
(soft tense music continues)
(soft tense music continues)
- [Naomi] How many days does
it take to open your eyes?
How much time has to pass
to feel as if you've
forgotten who you are?
The shifting between you
and who you used to be is perpetual,
fluid-like in nature.
You lose track of the
identity born into the skin.
- Good morning.
- [Naomi] You forget the body's name,
what the body likes to eat, to touch.
What it likes to feel.
Pleasures and distastes
only fade with time,
melting into the surreal
persona of who you think you are
instead of who you actually are.
The boundaries of my world are endless,
always changing, always in motion.
A fluid form constantly evolving,
changing to its environment.
I am fear.
I am panic.
I am delusion.
(tense music)
(tense music continues)
(tense music continues)
(tense music continues)
(tense music continues)
(tense music continues)
(flames whooshing)
(coffee trickling)
(eggs sizzling)
(dishes pinging)
- How are you doing?
What are you gonna do today?
(coffee pouring)
You should paint.
- I don't paint.
- What do you mean?
- I mean I don't paint.
- You should go upstairs.
Look at your gallery.
Maybe it'll bring something back.
Can you scrub that for
me? I gotta get dressed.
I love you.
I gotta go.
Try to do something today.
You'll feel better. I promise.
- [Naomi] If you refuse
to take part in the dream,
you wake up.
A cold sweat, that chill.
A reminder that what you
just lived isn't real.
There's no sweat, no chill.
Just more of the same.
I can't wake up. Maybe this
isn't a dream after all.
(soft mysterious music)
(soft mysterious music continues)
(soft mysterious music continues)
- [Dr. Hill] Does she know you're here?
- [Lucas] Uh...
No, she doesn't.
- [Dr. Hill] That's interesting.
So what does she think you're doing?
- [Lucas] Work, probably?
I don't know.
(scoffs) I don't even
think she's aware enough
to realize that I'm not there.
- [Dr. Hill] So I take it
things haven't improved.
- [Lucas] No.
Eh, she could be getting worse.
I don't know. It's hard to tell.
She's distant.
- [Dr. Hill] When you say
distant, can you explain?
- It's the same as it was before.
(Lucas sighs)
I'm sorry.
This is...
I never thought I'd be
experiencing this firsthand.
Watching her slip away.
She looks at me like she doesn't
even know who I am anymore.
- Well does she?
(Lucas sighs)
What else could be triggering
this distance between you two?
(couch material squeaks)
- She's quiet.
Almost non-existent.
Talks in her sleep more
than she talks to me.
- [Dr. Hill] Does she make any sense
when she's talking in her sleep?
- Not really.
(Naomi whimpering)
She moves around a lot. Talks about water.
(Naomi breathing heavily)
- Well, dreams of drowning
represent severe emotional trauma usually.
It's the mind's way of telling the body
that it's getting too
much emotional stimuli.
It could have something to do
with the way she's been
acting towards you.
- It's not just me, though. It's...
She won't leave the house, go
to the store, out to dinner.
It's like she's walled
herself off completely
from the rest of the world.
Like she doesn't want to
be a part of it anymore.
- [Dr. Hill] Is she suicidal?
- She hasn't tried,
but I don't know if I could give you
a definitive answer one way or the other.
- [Dr. Hill] That's very concerning.
It's your responsibility
to make sure she doesn't
go down that path.
You understand?
- Yeah.
Yes.
Of course, I understand.
(soft mysterious music)
(soft mysterious music continues)
(soft mysterious music continues)
- [Dr. Hill] How are you
doing otherwise? Honestly?
- Uh...
(car door closes)
I'm watching the love of my life melt away
and there's nothing I can do to stop it
because I don't know who she is anymore.
(Lucas sobbing)
Nay?
I'm home.
- [Naomi] It's so quiet
when Lucas is gone.
He thinks I like the quiet.
I don't.
But when the skin forgets the mind,
there isn't much to say.
There isn't much to think or do.
The silence becomes your prison,
where the only escape is death.
(soft mysterious music)
(soft mysterious music continues)
- [Lucas] Naomi?
- [Naomi] You sit in silence.
You try to recall, try
to remember who you were.
- Naomi?
Naomi?
(banging on door)
Naomi, open the door.
(banging on door)
- [Naomi] It couldn't have
been like this forever, right?
- Open the door, Naomi!
- [Naomi] But maybe it was,
and maybe this is how it would end.
(dramatic music)
(Naomi coughing)
- What are you doing, baby?
(Naomi coughing)
(Lucas sniffles)
- [Naomi] I half expect that when I die,
I'll wake up from this
dream, this nightmare,
a life that's not my own.
(Naomi sobbing)
Always in hopes that I
wake up a different person.
The true me, the one that
feels, recognizes, remembers.
(Naomi sobbing)
It's always the same every night.
(alarm blaring)
I can't reach the surface.
Every second, more water fills my lungs.
The sensation of pressure in my chest,
my ears popping and filling with liquid.
I'm drowning.
I know there's something beyond the water,
but I can't get to it.
I can't swim, and there's nothing I can do
to stop myself from sinking.
- [Jesse] Quit being a fucking pussy, bro.
Me and Addie haven't seen you in a minute.
- Yeah, man. I owe you one.
- [Jesse] One? You're kidding, right?
- Dude, I'm nervous to leave her alone.
- [Jesse] I mean shit
dude. I would be too.
Luke, you need to think about this, man.
The shit that she's putting you through,
the shit that she's doing,
dude, it's not healthy.
- Jesse, what do you want me to do?
It's not like you're exactly
in the front lines with this man.
- [Jesse] You know what I said.
- I'm not putting,
I'm not putting her back in
some white walled prison.
- [Jesse] What the fuck
are your options here, bro?
I mean, honestly? This isn't
healthy for either of you.
You're just gonna stop going
to work to take care of her?
Can you even afford that?
- I gotta go. I'll text you later.
Hey, good morning.
I was just gonna make some
coffee. Do you want some?
- Do you really think I would've died
if you hadn't come home?
(Lucas sighs)
(birds chirping in the distance)
(Lucas sighs)
- Yeah.
Yeah, I think you could have.
- Does it really count as dying
if you know there's something else
waiting for you on the other side?
(birds chirping in the distance)
- Look, I know that there's something
going on with you right now,
but you cannot pull
another stunt like that.
I...
I can't watch you all the time.
(waves sloshing)
Whatever's going on
right now is about you,
but this relationship is about me, too.
Do you understand that?
(waves sloshing)
Will you be okay if I
leave you alone today?
'Cause I can call in.
- No, don't do that.
- Are you gonna be okay?
(birds chirping in the distance)
Naomi.
(birds chirping in the distance)
I'll see when I get back from work.
(soft mysterious music)
(birds chirping)
(keys jangling)
(soft mysterious music continues)
(soft mysterious music continues)
(soft mysterious music continues)
(soft mysterious music continues)
(soft mysterious music continues)
(soft mysterious music continues)
(soft mysterious music continues)
(people chattering indistinctly)
(waves sloshing)
(soft mysterious music continues)
(Naomi gasps)
(waves sloshing faintly)
(footsteps thudding)
(tense dramatic music)
(tense dramatic music continues)
(tense dramatic music continues)
(tense dramatic music continues)
(waves sloshing)
(tense dramatic music continues)
(waves sloshing)
(tense dramatic music)
(tense dramatic music continues)
(tense dramatic music continues)
(waves sloshing)
(tense dramatic music continues)
(cell phone vibrating)
- Naomi?
Naomi?
(shower water pattering)
Hey.
- [Naomi] Hi.
(bath water pouring)
(bath water pouring)
- [Lucas] What did you do today?
- I went to the ocean.
- The ocean?
- Yeah.
(shower water pattering)
(soft mysterious music)
(soft mysterious music continues)
(soft mysterious music continues)
(shower water pattering)
(tense music)
(Lucas sighs)
(soft mysterious music)
(shower water pattering)
(Naomi coughing)
(Naomi breathing heavily)
(soft mysterious music)
(thunder rumbles in the distance)
(soft mysterious music continues)
- Where did you go today?
- I told you.
I went to the ocean.
- How?
(Naomi sighs)
How did you get there?
(soft mysterious music)
- I'm afraid she might be suffering
from a psychotic episode of some sort.
What can you tell me about
the time leading up to this?
What was it like before?
- I don't know, it was,
everything was normal
and then one day she
woke up and she was gone.
It's like she was somebody else.
- Lucas, I'm looking for
definition here, okay?
People just don't go to sleep
and wake up in psychotic episodes.
It's not normal. There are
symptoms, there are signs.
There's gotta be something that happened.
- It's not like anything ever happened.
She was normal and then,
like that, she was gone.
- Have you ever met her parents?
Is there any history of
mental illness in the family?
- No, I never met her parents.
Her dad died when she
was a kid, I know that.
Her mom...
She was raised by her grandparents.
(Dr. Hill sighs)
- Lucas, I'm not asking you
this to put you under duress.
It just seems that when it comes to Naomi,
this whole thing has
been normalized with you
and it's almost as if you're suffering
from some sort of sympathetic delusions
that go along with it.
I mean, you and Naomi
barely know each other,
and that's not normal for me to deal with,
so how can a man love his fiancee so much,
but barely know anything about her?
- It's like in the back of my mind,
these faint glimpses.
Memories from the past,
but I can't recall them.
I know they happened, I'm
confident that they did,
but if I had to tell you what they are,
I don't know.
- What can you tell me about your fiancee?
(static buzzing)
- Um...
(soft mysterious music)
(static buzzing)
(soft mysterious music continues)
Hey.
Hey, are you awake?
(soft mysterious music continues)
(soft mysterious music continues)
(soft mysterious music continues)
(soft mysterious music continues)
(telephone line trilling)
- [Mitchell] Hello?
- [Lucas] Hey, Mitchell, it's Lucas.
- [Mitchell] Hey, Lucas. What's going on?
- [Lucas] Hey, I don't know
if I'll be able to make it in today.
I'm feeling really under
the weather right now.
I think Naomi got me sick.
- [Mitchell] Okay. Okay, no problem.
We can hold down the
fort here for the day.
You do what you gotta do.
Hey, can you send me those
spreads I needed, though?
Is that possible?
- [Lucas] Of course.
I'll send those to you in a little bit.
- [Mitchell] Thanks. Feel better.
- [Lucas] Thanks Mitchell.
(soft mysterious music)
(people chattering indistinctly)
(knocking on door)
(door opens)
Linda Johnston?
- That's me.
How can I help you?
- Hi.
I'm Lucas Fry, and, uh, and...
I'm engaged to your granddaughter, Naomi.
I think we should talk.
- Please, come inside. It's hot out here.
- [Lucas] Thanks.
(soft mysterious music)
(soft mysterious music continues)
Nay?
We have a guest.
- Oh my God, Naomi,
it's so good to see you.
Oh.
(soft music)
(Lucas sighs)
(water trickling)
(water trickling)
- What happened earlier?
- What do you mean?
- Your mimi. You didn't even talk to her.
I don't get it. You didn't
even acknowledge her.
(water trickling)
(water trickling)
- Do you want the truth or a lie?
(gentle dramatic piano music)
- Have you been lying?
(gentle dramatic piano music continues)
Then I want the truth.
- I've never seen that
woman a day in my life.
(gentle dramatic piano music continues)
(gentle dramatic piano music continues)
- Naomi, do you know who I am?
(gentle dramatic piano music continues)
Answer me.
Do you know who I am?
(gentle dramatic piano music continues)
(gentle dramatic piano music continues)
(gentle dramatic piano music continues)
- I'm really sorry.
(gentle dramatic piano music continues)
(footsteps thudding)
(plate thuds)
No memories.
No true or false, real or fake.
He's mad that I don't remember who he is,
but I'd be lying if I told him that I did.
(birds chirping in the distance)
How could I be expected to
remember a life of events
in which none of them are mine?
False realities.
Memories misread.
(static buzzing)
Maybe I just let myself sink.
Maybe I let myself drown.
I can't get out, so what's the point?
(soft dramatic music)
Wait up! You know I can't
run in these things.
Lucas, come on.
- [Lucas] Do you actually
think I would do that to you?
Am I that tall, dark, mysterious?
- [Naomi] I don't know.
Tonight you ordered mozzarella sticks
and spinach dip for appetizers.
I don't even know who you are anymore.
(Lucas groans)
What are you doing?
(Lucas sighs)
- Looks like a good spot as any.
(Lucas sighs)
(Naomi gasps)
- Oh my god. (chuckling)
- I love you, Naomi.
I love the way that you laugh,
I love the joy that you bring
to everything that you do.
The past two years have been
the best two years of my life.
Loving you has made me love life
more than I ever thought possible.
Will you marry me?
- Yes.
Yes. (laughs)
(soft orchestral music in the distance)
(kisses smacking)
(soft orchestral music in the distance)
(Naomi giggles)
(tense music)
(static buzzing)
Hey.
Lucas.
Hey.
(insects buzzing)
(soft music)
- Everything okay?
- No. I don't think so.
- Nay.
- I think...
I think something's wrong with me.
I wanna know what happened.
I wanna know why I
don't remember anything.
I'm so confused.
Everything feels so, so wrong and so fake.
I need your help.
- [Lucas] Whatever you need.
- [Naomi] I need you to
believe me when I tell you.
- [Lucas] Tell me what?
- Everything.
I just, I need some,
I need somebody's help, I...
- I love you.
We're gonna figure this out, okay?
(soft dramatic music)
(soft dramatic music continues)
(traffic whooshing in the distance)
(traffic whooshing in the distance)
- Well, it's good to finally
put a face to the name.
I'm Dr. Theodore Hill.
You can call me Dr. Ted, or just Ted.
- It's gonna be okay.
- Okay, I'd like to start off the session
just asking a few simple questions.
Is that all right, Naomi?
Hopefully we'll be able to
figure out where we're headed
with this whole thing.
(exhales) Naomi, tell me a
little bit about yourself.
What makes you, you?
- I...
(Naomi mumbles)
I don't know.
- Uh, okay. We'll start a little simpler.
From what Lucas tells me,
sleep has been an issue.
On a scale of one to 10,
how would you rate your quality of sleep?
- I don't know.
- Do you know why you don't know?
(Naomi grunting)
(shrill ringing)
- It's my dreams.
It feels like I'm never asleep.
When I close my eyes, it's
like I'm awake somewhere else.
I'm always tired, always exhausted.
- All right. Thank you for your honesty.
Can you tell me about your childhood?
I'm willing to listen to
anything you want to tell me.
- [Naomi] How many days does
it take to open your eyes?
How much time has to pass
to feel as if you've
forgotten who you are?
- [Dr. Hill] Naomi, are you okay?
- [Lucas] What a fuckin' joke.
- He told you I'm crazy, didn't he?
Lucas, answer me.
- He said you could have dementia
as part of early onset Alzheimer's.
- Do you believe him?
Maybe I do belong back in the home.
- Look, there's nothing to
believe or not believe right now.
We won't know anything
unless we get further
testing done anyways.
(people chattering)
(ignition clicks)
Come on.
(soft mysterious music)
(soft mysterious music continues)
(waves sloshing)
- Lucas?
Lucas?
(waves sloshing)
(soft mysterious music continues)
(soft mysterious music continues)
(waves sloshing)
(soft mysterious music continues)
(soft mysterious music continues)
(waves sloshing)
(soft mysterious music continues)
(soft mysterious music continues)
(waves sloshing)
(soft music playing on radio)
- They said only a day or two
until we get your CTs back.
We're pretty lucky that you
got on my plan before all this.
I don't think you're crazy.
(soft music playing on radio)
(static buzzing)
(light buzzing)
(soft mysterious music)
(soft mysterious music continues)
(soft mysterious music continues)
(soft mysterious music continues)
(soft mysterious music continues)
(paintbrush thuds)
(cell phone vibrating)
- [Lucas] This is Lucas.
- [Dr. Bennett] Mr.
Fry, this is Dr. Bennett
from Mercy General.
- [Lucas] Dr. Bennett. It's
great to hear from you.
How can I help you?
- [Dr. Bennett] I'm calling in regards
to Naomi's test results.
My office got them in
earlier this morning.
- [Lucas] What did you find?
- [Dr. Bennett] All of Naomi's blood work
returned negative across the board.
Even her MRI and Ccame in clean as can be,
suggesting normal if not
healthy neurological activity.
- [Lucas] That's great news, right?
- [Dr. Bennett] Absolutely.
I would still advise her
to come in for additional screenings,
but from what I can tell you right now
is that personally I
don't believe her symptoms
to be a result of any measurable anomaly,
at least from what we can
see on her diagnostics.
- You mean she's faking it?
- [Dr. Bennett] No.
What I'm suggesting is that her condition
is very real to her, but
perhaps not able to be gauged
by any sort of testing that we can do.
We find this commonly in patients
suffering from factitious disorders.
The brain is a complex beast.
You can't look at it once
and hope to know everything about it.
It takes years of studying and
observation to understand it.
Are you still there, Mr. Fry?
(birds chirping)
(birds chirping)
- [Lucas] Why are you so
fascinated by this tree?
- It's the only thing that makes me feel.
- Feel what?
- Everything.
(birds chirping)
- Can you show me the ocean?
- Can you show me what's in the study?
- We both know that room's off limits.
We agreed. We made a promise.
The doctors called.
Your results were negative.
- I'm not crazy?
- Well, according to them
you have no reason to be crazy.
- They said it's all in
my head, didn't they?
(Lucas sighs)
Did they wanna send me back?
(birds chirping)
(birds chirping)
(birds chirping)
I'll try to show you.
(birds chirping)
(birds chirping in the distance)
(paint brushes clicking)
(brush strokes scraping)
(brush strokes scraping)
- I tried doing it
- When?
- The other night.
I couldn't sleep.
You were out like a light, though.
(brush strokes scraping)
How do you know what colors to use?
- [Naomi] I don't.
I just wait for the right
one to say something.
(soft tense music)
- Where are you going?
- Wherever it takes me.
(soft tense music continues)
It won't work.
It won't work with you here.
I'm sorry.
(soft tense mysterious music)
(soft tense mysterious music continues)
(paint brush thuds)
(Naomi sighs)
(soft tense mysterious music continues)
(static buzzing)
(birds squawking)
(soft tense mysterious music continues)
(soft tense mysterious music continues)
(soft tense mysterious music continues)
(insects buzzing)
(birds chirping)
(soft mysterious music)
(soft mysterious music continues)
(soft mysterious music continues)
(birds chirping)
(soft mysterious music continues)
(soft mysterious music continues)
(soft mysterious music continues)
(soft mysterious music continues)
(soft mysterious music continues)
(soft mysterious music continues)
(soft mysterious music continues)
(birds chirping)
(Naomi gasps)
- Have we met before?
- You look familiar.
- What the hell are these?
(bird squawking)
- They look like photos.
(soft tense mysterious music)
They're of us.
- Do you remember me?
- No.
I can't place it.
- These photos are of us.
Why don't I remember you?
Why don't I remember you?
- Hey.
Hey.
- Why don't I remember?
- Hey, hey.
(Naomi panting)
Easy, easy, calm down.
Hey, calm down, okay?
Calm down.
Calm down. You need to slow your...
You're bleeding.
- Mikayla?
(Naomi gasps)
- [Mikayla] Naomi, will you marry me?
- [Naomi] Yes.
- Yes?
- Yes.
(Naomi gasping)
- Come on. Come with me.
I'm gonna take you somewhere safe.
(Naomi panting)
(Naomi gasps)
(birds chirping)
- How did I get here?
- Did you, um, go somewhere?
Where?
- Uh...
The desert.
There were huge rock
formations everywhere.
- What happened?
(soft dramatic music)
- Do you ever feel like
you can see through the world around you?
And like, you know, this
is all just temporary,
laid across something more permanent?
- No.
(disembodied chattering)
I'm sorry, I don't understand.
Can you tell me what happened there?
(disembodied chattering)
- I don't remember.
(soft mysterious music)
(soft mysterious music continues)
(soft mysterious music continues)
(soft mysterious music continues)
December 1, 2016.
I can't find anything after this.
- What's it say?
- "The air smells
different than I remember.
The color of the sky is wrong.
The pavement feels like plastic.
The blades of grass are
stiff and unbending.
Will write more later."
- What else?
- That's the end.
What?
What aren't you telling me?
- December 1st.
That's the day they released you.
(soft dramatic mysterious music)
- What happened to me after?
(soft dramatic mysterious music continues)
- You met Lucas Fry,
a somewhat insecure computer programmer
who thought you were the most
beautiful woman he'd ever met.
We dated for a little bit,
but it wasn't long before we-
- Before I said yes.
Downtown.
It was the glare of the lights.
(Naomi chuckles)
- [Lucas] You remember that?
- A little bit.
(birds chirping)
Did I do this to myself?
Did I make myself not remember?
- You seemed happy. I was happy.
I thought you were too.
- But if this is a dream,
does your happiness really matter?
To either of us?
- No.
I guess not.
- [Naomi] It's also inconsequential.
If you're happy in the dream
and you decide to stay,
does it make the manifestation
of your happiness any less real?
I shouldn't be so hard on him.
He doesn't know any better.
And neither do I.
Are you going to work today?
- No.
I called Mitchell and
told him what's going on.
He said I should take some personal time,
at least until you get better.
- What if I don't get better?
- Nay.
Stop.
(soft mysterious music)
- What about Mikayla?
- [Lucas] Who?
(soft mysterious music continues)
- Nevermind.
(soft mysterious music continues)
(soft mysterious music continues)
(soft mysterious music continues)
(soft mysterious music continues)
(waves sloshing)
- [Mikayla] Are you lost, too?
(waves sloshing)
It's cold.
- Yeah.
But it feels good.
Feels real.
(birds squawking)
Where's everyone else?
- What do you mean?
- The others. The other people.
- I don't know.
You're the first person I've seen
in as long as I can remember.
(waves sloshing)
- Are we...
Are we inside my head?
This world, this sand, the
water, is, did I make this?
(Mikayla chuckles)
- I'd be a pretty boring
figment of your imagination.
I think you could probably
do a little better than this.
(waves sloshing)
- How did you find me in the desert?
- I heard your voice, so I
knew I needed to follow it,
and when I saw you, it was,
it was as if I knew you,
even though I knew I didn't.
I know that sounds silly.
- No, no, it doesn't.
(waves sloshing)
You ever have one of those dreams
that feels like it goes
on for an eternity?
You wander around for a
lifetime, but when you wake up,
it's only been a few minutes.
- Yeah.
Yeah, I have.
- Do you see the tree, too?
In your dreams?
- No.
- Oh.
- Will you call for me?
Next time you're here?
(waves sloshing)
(birds squawking)
(waves sloshing)
(Naomi gasps)
(tense dramatic music)
(tense dramatic music continues)
(tense dramatic music continues)
(tense dramatic music continues)
- [Naomi] It's not that
easy. I can't just show you.
- Well then explain it to me.
I mean, as easy as you can.
Just tell me, how do you do it?
- Look, I, I-
- Naomi, I get it.
I believe you, I do,
but this shit's really weird.
- I know.
- It's really fucking weird.
- I know it's weird, I know.
That's why I even took so long
to try and explain it to you.
- Okay, so, you paint.
You paint and other worlds open up?
Is that it?
- No.
(Naomi sighs)
Okay. I don't get to choose
what goes on the canvas.
It has to come to me. It has to be...
- Inspired?
- [Naomi] Yeah, kind of.
- Okay.
- So I put my hand on the colors
and the color that I need,
it's like, it buzzes,
and I get this gut feeling
like this is the color.
And I put it on my brush and
I let my hands do the work.
- And it's like a dream?
- Yeah, but like the realest,
most lucid dream you've ever had.
If you don't know what it was,
you would think it was life.
Real life, your life.
I don't know.
I've never felt anything like it.
It's like you are someone else
and your body is high and you're floating
and moving in every direction.
It's just intoxicating.
- Mm-hm.
How do you come back if it's that great?
- Because I know it's waiting
for me on the other side.
(soft music)
(insects buzzing)
- Show me.
- Mikayla, I can't. I don't
even know how it would come off.
- I wanna see it, too.
(insects buzzing)
- Okay.
- Okay?
- Okay.
(kiss smacks)
- Okay.
(insects buzzing)
- [Naomi] You might die.
(Mikayla laughs)
- [Mikayla] Counting on it.
- [Naomi] Okay.
- Mikayla, come back. You've gone too far.
Mikayla, come back. Mikayla.
Come, somebody, please.
Mikayla.
Mikayla!
(Mikayla coughs)
Mikayla!
(dramatic music)
Mikayla, please.
Somebody!
(dramatic music continues)
Mikayla!
(dramatic music continues)
- I'm just gonna get groceries, okay?
I'll be back in a little bit.
Just call me if you need anything.
- [Naomi] He lied. He betrayed me.
She was real all along.
Why did I believe him?
(tense mysterious music)
(tense mysterious music continues)
(drill whirring)
(drill whirring)
(tense mysterious music)
(tense mysterious music continues)
(tense mysterious music continues)
(tense mysterious music continues)
(tense mysterious music continues)
(tense mysterious music continues)
(tense mysterious music continues)
(tense mysterious music continues)
(Naomi breathing heavily)
(machines beeping)
(tense mysterious music continues)
(tense mysterious music continues)
(tense mysterious music continues)
(Naomi breathing heavily)
What is this?
What?
(car door closes)
(birds chirping)
(floorboard creaks)
(birds chirping in the distance)
(footsteps thudding)
- [Lucas] Oh, fuck.
(footsteps thudding)
(birds chirping in the distance)
- It's all here.
Everything.
Why did you hide this from me?
You have been lying to me, Lucas.
Every detail about my life
has been in this room the entire time!
- Naomi, I swear. I had no idea-
- You put a lock on the door!
- You knew this room was off limits.
It's been locked from the
day that we moved in here.
(door closes)
Naomi!
(banging on door)
Open the door!
(banging on door)
Naomi?
Talk, Naomi.
(birds chirping)
Naomi, please open the door.
Nay.
Nay, come on.
Nay, I'm sorry. Come on.
(insects buzzing)
(birds chirping)
(soft mysterious music)
(soft mysterious music continues)
(soft mysterious music continues)
(soft mysterious music continues)
(water trickling)
(water splashing)
- [Naomi] I thought I'd find you here.
- [Mikayla] How'd you know?
- I remembered.
Kind of.
(bids chirping)
We've been here before, haven't we?
- I think so.
I get bits and pieces every so often.
You too?
- Will you take a walk with me?
(soft music)
(birds chirping)
(soft music continues)
Did I do this to you?
Did I put you here?
- [Mikayla] How could you have?
- The paintings.
You don't remember them, do you?
Is this the place we go after?
(Mikayla chuckles)
- You mean the after life?
Heaven, hell, that kind of thing?
- Yeah.
- I don't know. Is this what
you imagine death to be like?
- I don't know.
(soft tense music)
(birds chirping)
I found papers about me.
I'm afraid you might not be real.
Or maybe, or maybe this is
real and the other place isn't?
- Well, what would be worse?
If this place or that wasn't real?
(soft tense music continues)
- You disappeared. No trace.
Nothing.
They locked me up.
They said that I was insane.
That I had lost grounding on reality.
They told me you didn't exist.
They tried really hard to
convince me of it, too.
- Well, I seem pretty real
right now, though, don't I?
It's as real as you make it.
- [Naomi] I've talked myself into circles.
I'm so deep now that I don't know
if this is a dream or my life.
What?
If you're happy in the dream-
- Nay, your ear.
- [Naomi] And you decide to stay...
(Naomi gasps)
(shrill ringing)
(soft mysterious music)
(soft mysterious music continues)
(soft mysterious music continues)
(Naomi sobbing)
(floorboard creaks)
- [Lucas] I'm so sorry.
I don't remember any of this.
I don't know why I would've hidden it.
- Maybe we hid it.
I don't know from what.
Or maybe we were just afraid
that what I saw out there was real
and that would mean that this isn't.
- I wouldn't even know what to do.
What are we doing?
- I don't know, but I need to go deeper.
I need to figure out
what we were looking for.
- Did we build this?
Is this even ours to use?
(soft tense music)
Naomi, where are we?
It feels so plastic now.
Why did we keep the lock on the door?
Why did we think this room was a secret?
That we weren't allowed in?
It's our house.
I didn't even question it.
I didn't believe you.
I'm so sorry.
(soft tense music)
(soft tense music continues)
(computer beeps)
(soft tense music continues)
(computer beeps)
(soft tense music continues)
Instructions.
It's definitely my handwriting.
- Does it say how to use the computer?
- It's complicated, but
it looks like an algorithm
that we built at my work to
control electronic frequencies
using a dialed input for
autonomous machinery.
Autonomous monitoring and relay systems,
it's all wired through an
external power source to...
- To what?
What does it do?
- Basically to electrocute
us at controlled intervals
based on analyze data input.
- [Naomi] And that helps us go deeper?
- No, I don't think you
need my help to go deeper.
This is how I go under with you.
(tense mysterious music)
(tense mysterious music continues)
Here.
(train horn blaring in the distance)
Are you sure you wanna do this?
I don't remember how to
operate that machine.
- You will. It's just like the paintings.
We've done this before, right?
Ugh.
- I found this in my notes.
It's supposed to enhance your brainwaves
so the computer can analyze
them more efficiently?
I just wish I knew what it all meant.
Why we did this from the beginning.
It doesn't make any sense.
- Maybe that's why. Because
it doesn't make any sense.
(birds chirping)
(birds chirping)
I'm ready.
(Lucas sighs)
- All right. Let's do it.
- Oh, this is awful.
- Yeah. Tastes like dirt.
(dog barks in the distance)
(keyboard keys clacking)
(keyboard keys clacking)
This is set up the exact same
way as my other workstation.
Same passwords, everything.
This was definitely my computer.
Once I start the program, I
don't know what's gonna happen.
- [Naomi] I know.
- I just don't wanna make any promises.
- Lucas, I understand.
(soft tense music)
(soft tense music continues)
- I've set it up to start
automatically in five minutes.
Are you feeling this
drink or is it just me?
(Naomi chuckles)
- [Naomi] Mm-hm.
I'm a little drowsy.
- Yeah, me too.
(input clicks)
(Naomi sighs)
- [Naomi] What do you do?
- I don't know.
I guess just wait.
(inputs clicking)
(soft tense music)
- You ready?
- As ready as I can be
for whatever this is.
- I love you.
- I love you, too.
Just make sure you come
back in one piece, okay?
(soft tense music)
(brush strokes scraping)
(waves sloshing)
(Naomi coughing)
- Lucas?
Lucas! Lucas!
Lucas, Lucas.
Lucas.
Lucas, Lucas, wake up.
Lucas, please wake up. Lucas, wake up-
- Ah, get away from me!
I don't know Who are you?
- Lucas, Lucas? It's me, Naomi.
- Where am I? How'd I get here?
- Lucas, we used the machine
and my painting, you remember?
(waves sloshing)
- I gotta get, I gotta get back.
- [Naomi] Lucas, stop. Stop, Lucas.
Do not run from me here-
- Stay away!
- Lucas, please.
- I don't know,
I don't know who you are.
- Calm down.
- What the fuck's going on?
Just leave me alone.
- You have to calm down.
Lucas.
- Just leave me alone!
- Lucas, do not run!
Fuck!
(Naomi panting)
(tense dramatic music)
Lu-
Lucas.
(tense music)
(tense music continues)
(Naomi breathing heavily)
(phone line trilling)
(phone line beeps)
- [Operator] We're sorry.
Your call cannot be completed as dialed.
Please check the number and dial again.
(phone line beeping)
- [Naomi] If you refuse
to take part in the dream,
you wake up.
A cold sweat, that chill.
A reminder that what you
just lived isn't real.
There's no sweat, no chill.
Just more of the same.
I can't wake up.
This isn't a dream.
I'm so deep now that I don't
know if this is my life.
I can't wake up.
I'm so deep now that I don't
know if this is my life.
Maybe this isn't a dream.
I'm so deep now.
I talked myself in a circle.
I talked myself in a circle.
Maybe this is a dream after all.
I talked myself in a circle.
Maybe this is a dream.
I'm so deep now that I
don't if this my life.
This isn't a dream.
Maybe this a dream after all.
I talked myself in a circle.
I'm so deep now that I don't
know if this is my life.
Remember?
- [Mitchell] I'm sorry, Ms. Johnston,
but there is no Lucas Fry who works here.
- [Naomi] No, you don't
understand. He has to be there.
- [Mitchell] I'm afraid you're mistaken.
Maybe he works in a different department?
Miss?
Hello?
(tense mysterious music)
(tense mysterious music continues)
(tense mysterious music continues)
(tense mysterious music continues)
(tense mysterious music continues)
(tense mysterious music continues)
(tense music)
(tense music continues)
(tense music continues)
(tense music continues)
- Oh, no. Oh, no, no.
(tense music continues)
No, no, no, no.
No.
No, no, no, no.
Come on.
No, no.
(Naomi breathing heavily)
(tense music continues)
Come on!
Come on!
(Naomi screams)
(canvas thudding)
(Naomi sobbing)
Goddammit!
(tense music continues)
Wake me up, Lucas.
Please.
Please wake me up.
Please wake me up.
(tense dramatic music)
(tense dramatic music continues)
(tense dramatic music continues)
(tense dramatic music continues)
(tense music)
(tense music continues)
(water trickling)
(tense music)
(tense dramatic music)
(tense dramatic music continues)
(tense dramatic music continues)
- [Dr. Hill] Her O2 levels just plummeted.
- [Jonas] I know.
- [Dr. Hill] What the
hell's going on in there?
- I don't fuckin' know.
Her neural activity's all
over the goddamn place.
I've got major banding
on the front of cortex.
- Her water temperature just clipped 103.
She's burning the fuck up.
- Shit!
You two, ice the water.
We need to force a slow
down on the main processes.
If she blows the mainframe,
we have no idea what trigger
effect's gonna happen.
- You kidding me?
If she blows the main power base,
she's gonna yank us all
back to L1, that's for sure.
- We'll lose everything.
Where is she?
- She's stuck on a different level.
I'm having trouble syncing her to...
- Well sync her up or I'll do it myself.
- If we force the sync
and the teeth aren't matched to where-
- Get the fuck out of my way.
- Wait, Hill, stop.
- Wait.
No. Hold on, wait!
Wait.
(Mikayla gasps)
- Where is she?
(tense music)
- Hey.
Hey.
Nap time's over. Tell me how to find her.
Tell me how to find her.
Fuck.
- You need to go back under.
We'll send you deeper.
- All right, Mikayla,
we're gonna be sending you
all the way down to L5.
- What?
That's too far.
I won't even remember why I am there.
- We'll phone you when
you're far enough down
and awake to make sure.
If anything happens, we'll force a breach
and bring you back.
(Mikayla sighs)
- You ready?
New fabrication protocol
launching in three, two, one.
(tense music)
(tense music continues)
(tense music continues)
(tense music continues)
(Naomi gasps)
(Naomi panting)
(Naomi coughs)
- [Mikayla] Hey, is
everything okay in there?
- Yeah, I'm fine.
(tense music continues)
(sink water running)
(tense music continues)
(tense music continues)
- You good?
- Yeah.
(tense music continues)
Hey, where are my paints?
- [Mikayla] Paints?
- Yeah, my canvasses and paints, you know.
(cat meows)
- Naomi, I've never seen
you paint a day in my life.
Are you joking?
(tense music continues)
- I have to get dressed.
The shifting between you
and who you used to be
is perpetual, fluid-like.
You lose track of the
identity born into the skin.
You forget the body's name,
what the body likes to eat, to touch.
What it likes to feel.
(tense music)
(insects buzzing)
Come on.
(insects buzzing)
Fuck.
(tense music continues)
- [Mikayla] Out late?
- Yeah.
- [Mikayla] Who were you with?
- [Naomi] It doesn't matter.
- It does matter.
- I went to the park.
I wasn't with anybody, okay?
- I don't know what's wrong with you,
but I am not gonna deal with it, Naomi.
(insects buzzing)
(siren blaring in the distance)
(phone line trilling)
Hey, it's me.
Yeah.
She didn't reset on this level.
(birds chirping)
(tense mysterious music)
(tense mysterious music continues)
(tense mysterious music continues)
(tense mysterious music continues)
- Hey.
Thought I might find you here.
- Do I know you?
- Yeah, we met once or twice.
- Did we meet at Jesse's last week?
Oh, that's embarrassing.
I had a lot to drink that night.
I'm sorry. I don't remember your name.
Jackie?
- Naomi.
- Naomi, right.
How did you know I'd be here?
- Do you still work for Mitchell?
- Mitchell? No.
Mitchell runs the AI evaluation tech.
I work in IT. How did you know that?
- Look, it doesn't matter.
I need you to take me to the machine.
- Machine? What machine?
Is this some kind of prank?
Am I like being punked right now? That's-
- Lucas, listen to me.
This isn't what it looks like, okay?
We're not actually here.
I mean, we are here, but it's complicated.
- I feel like you're crazy
and we got really drunk or stoned
and talked YouTube
conspiracies like way too much.
- Lucas, listen to me, please. (sighs)
We knew each other in some
different place, okay?
We worked on a project together,
a computer that uses
electronic neuro stim,
electronic stimulations paired
with neurological meetings
in order to-
- Hey.
How did you know about that?
I haven't told anybody about that.
- 'Cause I think I helped you build it.
Lucas, please. I really, really
need your help right now.
Will you please take me to it?
- We shouldn't talk about
this here. Come with me.
(tense music)
(tense music continues)
(phone line trilling)
- [Naomi] Hey, you've reached Naomi.
I can't get you the phone right now,
but leave your name and number
and I'll get back to you as soon as I can.
(Mikayla sighs)
(tense music)
(phone line trilling)
- [Dr. Hill] Yes?
- It's Mikayla.
- She's made contact with Lucas.
Her monitors indicate that she could cause
a full level breach at any moment.
She's gonna tear this whole
fuckin' thing wide open.
What are you doing?
You had one job and it's to fix this.
- Well she wasn't supposed
to remember, okay?
I can't babysit her down here.
- You better find them and stop this
before things spin out of control.
We have too much invested in this now.
(Dr. Hill sighs)
Five milligrams of diazepam,
both of 'em, now. Do it.
(machines beeping)
(tense music)
(tense music continues)
(tense music continues)
(tense music continues)
(Mikayla sighs)
(tense music continues)
- Wow.
This looks, um...
Shitty.
- Thanks?
- Have you used it yet?
- No. No, it's just a pet project of mine.
Working on it nights and weekends
or whenever I get stoned
to get really inspired.
Did it work before?
- Yeah. Yeah, it did.
- Cool.
It's weird. I don't even
remember why I made this.
Like what inspired me to do it.
- I think I did.
(insects buzzing)
(insects buzzing)
(insects buzzing)
(insects buzzing)
- You ever have fresh figs from the tree?
- Yeah.
Yeah, I have.
I lived here once.
- Hmm.
- Yeah. You and me.
We, um, we lived here.
(insects buzzing)
- If you remember it so vividly,
and none of this ever actually happened...
I lived my whole life here.
Are you telling me that it's not true?
- Okay.
If I tell you to look through this square,
you're gonna see only what
I want you to see, okay?
But I created the square so I know
that there's a bigger
picture outside of it
than what you're seeing.
That's the only way I
know how to describe it.
(insects buzzing)
(train horn blaring in the distance)
- Not my favorite way to do shrooms.
(Naomi chuckles)
- Yeah.
It tastes like dirt.
(Lucas chuckles)
(train horn blaring in the distance)
(chair wheels rattling)
(keyboard keys clacking)
What are you doing?
- I'm gonna monitor your
neural activity from here.
Make sure everything
is safe when you go in.
- No, you have to come with me.
- Naomi, this is your journey.
- Lucas, this is our journey.
Whether you remember it or not,
you have been there with me
through every step of the way.
It's time for us to find
our way out of this, okay?
- Okay.
(tense dramatic music)
(insects buzzing)
(tense dramatic music continues)
(tense dramatic music continues)
(tense dramatic music continues)
(tense dramatic music continues)
(tense dramatic music continues)
- Lucas.
I love you.
(tense dramatic music continues)
(tense dramatic music continues)
(tense dramatic music continues)
(Mikayla yells)
- No, no, no. Fuck.
- What happened?
- We lost her.
(Mikayla grunts)
- She's breaching.
- It's because she's too hot.
She's gonna have an internal meltdown.
- Flush her with 50
milligrams of diazepam.
- Whoa, whoa, whoa,
50? What are you doing?
- If we do that, we don't
know how deep she'll go.
We won't be able to trace her.
She might not come back in this direction.
- Okay, look, what we need to do
is get her into a cryotube
as soon as fucking possible.
She's gonna hemorrhage
if she stays this hot.
- We need to cut her loose.
She's gonna bring the whole
thing crashing down around her,
and if we're in here, then-
- Fuck, I know what happens.
Get the van and bring
it around to the side.
Jonas, get Naomi out of the tub.
- Fuck.
Shit, Hill, she's bleeding.
- [Naomi] In the dream, you
can never remember the details.
Things you hold close, personal
artifacts, events, thoughts.
With a memory in the thread,
it's splattered onto a wall
and it all looks so familiar
but you can never place it.
That is until you wake up
and it all comes rushing back.
(machines beeping)
- [Jonas] Overhead.
- [Dr. Hill] How much time do we have?
- Not long.
- How long?
- I don't know. Minutes.
- [Naomi] Some called
it demonic possession,
others called it insanity.
And a smaller group said a gift.
But Lucas, Lucas called it the parallax.
The power to create,
to fabricate anything.
We had to see what was on the other side.
To play with fire.
The curiosity that burns inside all of us.
We had to know more.
We had to explore.
(machines beeping)
(Naomi grunting)
- [Dr. Hill] What's
happening? What's happening?
- Her tissue is ruptured.
It's too fucking late, fuck.
- [Garvey] What are we supposed to do?
- [Jonas] Fuck.
Just keep driving. Go, go!
- [Garvey] I'm driving as fast as I can.
- [Jonas] We're not gonna make it.
We're not gonna fuckin' make it.
- [Dr. Hill] We're too far.
(all yelling)
(Naomi gasps)
(birds chirping)
(soft piano music)
(waves sloshing)
- [Lucas] I didn't believe you.
I'm so sorry.
- [Mikayla] Will you marry me?
- [Naomi] Mikayla!
Do you see the tree, too?
In your dreams?
(soft piano music)
(soft piano music continues)
(soft piano music continues)
(soft piano music continues)
(soft piano music continues)
(soft piano music continues)
(soft piano music continues)
(soft piano music continues)
Depersonalized, disassociated,
a life full of memories.
But I don't see them.
I don't feel them.
Are they even mine if I don't remember?
(soft melancholy music)
(soft melancholy music continues)
(soft melancholy music continues)
(soft melancholy music continues)
(soft melancholy music continues)
(soft melancholy music continues)
(soft melancholy music continues)
(soft melancholy music continues)
(soft melancholy music continues)
(soft melancholy music continues)
(soft melancholy music continues)
(soft melancholy music continues)
(soft melancholy music continues)
(melancholy music fading)
(melancholy music continues fading)
(melancholy music continues fading)
(melancholy music continues fading)
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