01x06 - Beacon Twenty Three

[bunniefuu]

Previously on Beacon 23.

[MAN] Something visited

Beacon 23 a few years ago.

Do you know what I'm talking about?

[WOMAN] Is this about

the first beacon keeper?

That thing she saw, the artifact?

Why all the secrecy

about some lost comet?

[MAN] That's not what it is at all.

It's a vessel.

An engine

An energy source. I

don't know, to be honest.

But I do know it's the key.

Uniting human consciousness.

Don't you wanna know why

you're having visions?

- Visions?

- Yeah.

That's what we're calling them?

- You see this, right?

- Yeah.

Tell me I'm not imagining it.

[MAN] It's all about the rocks.

[GRUNTING]

[ASTER] It's not a lie, Halan.

It's all connected.

[THEME MUSIC]

[BART] It's scary times out there.

I heard someone blew up Beacon 24.

Is that true? Why would someone do that?

Wish I could help,

but I don't got a clue.

I heard it was sabotage.

Yeah, well, this patch

oughta protect you

from whatever they hit Beacon 24 with.

That is a relief.

They say they got in through

an exploit in the software.

To destroy a beacon, of all things.

Something that functions

only to protect.

Even in name, a beacon is a source

of hope and safety for all who pass.

I simply can't fathom why.

Guess people don't need much

of an excuse to blow stuff up.

I can't explain it either.

I was hoping you'd try before you left.

- [WHIRRING]

- It's not my department.

No? I only ask

because you just finished

attaching an expl*sive

to my quantum servers.

I don't know what's going

on with your software,

- but that's just bent.

- When your timer runs out,

this beacon will detonate.

You could at least do me

the courtesy of explaining

why you're choosing to end my existence.

I assume you're part of the Column?

They've claimed responsibility

for the destruction of Beacon 24.

Nothing personal, just

politics. Stuff I can't explain.

- [GROANING]

- Perhaps to you,

I seem like any other

machine intelligence,

but I'm not.

For example, I know a great deal

about what you refer to as the relics.

The central precepts of the Column

are built around them, are they not?

The relics are used

to recruit new members?

People sign up when they see 'em.

I know I did.

I have more direct

knowledge of the relics

than anyone in the Column,

possibly more than anyone, period.

Wouldn't new information

about the relics

be beneficial to your organization?

I got a meet-up, I can't be late.

But this knowledge is powerful

and could change

everything for your group.

It won't take long.

It begins almost two centuries ago,

a time of great promise

and great danger

This doesn't sound like a quick story.

Make it fast.

[BART, VOICE-OVER] "I was

born under a lucky star",

one might say, if the closest star

hadn't d*ed 300 million years prior.

My human counterpart

was Doctor Ree Avalon,

Beacon 23's first Keeper.

She was a human of

extraordinary ability.

In the beginning, I had

no name or personality.

I was merely an operating system.

Later, Avalon told me she

did not choose an avatar

because she felt the beacon

itself was my truest form.

I appreciated that notion.

Congratulations, Doctor Avalon.

On behalf of ISA, the space guilds,

and our corporate sponsors,

I am so grateful to welcome

you onboard this beacon.

[MAN] QTA is proud to

have partnered with ISA

to develop the first dark

matter detection system.

But it is to you, the Keepers,

that we offer our humble thanks.

You open the door to a future

of ever-expanding prosperity.

[BART, VOICE-OVER] Avalon

grew up in a coastal area,

one of the last humans I would meet

who was actually born on Earth.

For her, space was

the grandest of oceans.

Growing up near a lighthouse

gave her a sense of duty.

[CREAKING]

[WHIRRING]

With the beacon up and running,

we were excited to make

sure all systems were online.

[ALARM BLARING]

Yes!

[BART] Our first ship passing by.

- We did it.

- [BART] A time for celebration.

That picture you placed in

the Cupola of the lighthouse

There's something about keeping

a lamp lit in the darkness,

to help strangers you

hope you never meet.

- It inspired me.

- What a noble sentiment.

Thank you, Bartholomew.

Bartholomew.

No, that is too long.

I'm gonna call you Bart.

A nickname! Wonderful.

- Did you see that?

- See what?

Wait, something just flew past us, Bart.

My sensors detected nothing.

[BART, VOICE-OVER]

Avalon methodically sifted

through the recordings

of the external cameras,

searching for any trace

of our mysterious visitor.

Despite my assertion

that there was nothing

recorded by my sensors,

she refused to give up the search.

[FOGHORN SOUNDING]

- Bart?

- Yes, Avalon?

Did you hear the foghorn?

A foghorn? No.

There! Right there!

What is it?

How do you not see it?

Are you recording this?

My sensors aren't detecting

any anomalous objects

in the vicinity of the beacon.

But it's right there.

[BART, VOICE-OVER] The

cameras captured nothing.

[BART] Are you certain it

wasn't a trick of the light?

No, it wasn't the

light, or a reflection.

It's impossible that my sensors

would fail to detect an object.

Well, that's my point, Bart.

There's some discrepancy here.

Okay, the antenna

looks great. Fire it up.

[BART, VOICE-OVER] Avalon

started having visions.

She would then describe

them in great detail.

I knew she was relating

her experiences truthfully,

which concerned me even more.

[GASPS]

[GROANS]

[ALARM BLARING]

Bart! That is so loud!

I'm sorry. The pH in

the algae vats is low.

I didn't know how else

to get your attention.

It couldn't wait? I saw it again.

Doctor, you've been in

the Cupola for 27 hours.

You've been neglecting your duties.

[PEN CLICKING]

This is more important.

Have you considered the possibility

that the phenomenon is a hallucination?

[SIGHS]

It is the most likely explanation.

When the object

appears, what do you see?

Nothing, Doctor.

But what does "nothing"

look like to you?

[BART, VOICE-OVER] Her

question occupied me.

Every micron of space is detectable.

Background radiation, radio

waves, even dark matter,

there's almost always data to record.

But atoms are small, and

space constantly expands.

There will be tiny areas where "nothing"

is the only accurate reading.

However, those empty spots

should be truly random.

For days, she stayed by the windows

waiting for it to reappear.

[SIGHS]

[SIGHS]

[GROANS]

Bart?

Yes, Avalon?

Orient all your sensors

to follow my line of sight!

Yes, Doctor.

What are you reading?

The area corresponding

to your line of sight

is detecting negative space.

Keep tracking. Record

all the coordinates.

Bart, project a moduli space

encompassing these points.

I knew there was a

way for you to see it.

You have made an

unprecedented discovery.

No, Bart. We have, together.

Doctor, our data sample

is still quite small.

Even if you could determine

where it will appear,

you couldn't possibly determine when.

- I know when it's coming back.

- How?

I

I just know. You have to trust me.

Your perceptions are not

empirically supported.

There.

When the time comes, I'll be ready.

Ready for what?

Avalon, stop. Wake up!

You are not equipped for space.

If you make an unauthorized EVA,

I will be forced to send a report.

You will likely be

removed from this post.

I am the Beacon Keeper. I

have my space suit on now,

and I'm taking the Picker to

study an important phenomenon.

Whatever it is, we

can study it from afar.

I would like your faith, Bart.

But I expect your full cooperation.

I will always follow protocol, Doctor.

Thank you.

I just hope I'm not too late to save it.

Save what?

[GASPS]

Avalon, turn around!

You told me that we

both have limitations.

That's why we're better together.

Come back, please. Avalon!

Where are you?

Avalon?

[BART, VOICE-OVER] I scanned

the sector thousands of times,

but she was gone, as

if she was never there.

I tried to understand this mystery,

but in the end, I could not.

My data was incomplete.

[BART] Without a Keeper,

I could no longer justify

using my processing power

to search for the Artifact.

I had to ensure the

safety of passing ships

And you're doing great. But

- Tell me about the relics.

- It's quite simple, really.

I have reason to believe

that the Artifact,

which I could not perceive,

is the source of your so-called relics.

Do you do you have any?

Are there relics on the beacon?

If you listen to the rest of my story,

I'll explain everything.

Would you like to come

up to the Living Quarters?

I can offer you food and drink.

I'm gonna be late for my rendezvous.

I do hope you're not

meeting your fellow bomber.

- What?

- The woman who planted

the b*mb on Beacon 24.

She d*ed when her ship was hit

by shrapnel from the expl*si*n.

Did you know her?

[SNIFFLING]

[SNIFFLING]

This is beer?

I regret I've run out of dyes

and other aesthetic enhancers.

My last Keeper departed

almost ten years ago.

I'm sorry about your friend.

She must have believed

in the Column's goals

very strongly to be willing

to sacrifice her life for them.

You ever read Okun?

Marcel Okun. The socio-futurist.

Yes, I'm familiar with his work.

Yeah, she

She got me into his stuff.

The belief that humanity's

evolutionary purpose

is demonstrated within society.

Yeah, because humans

are social, right?

So, we exist only in our

relationships with each other.

We mean something when we're connected.

If we keep expanding,

we won't know who we are,

and soon, it won't even be up to us.

It'll be corporations, AI,

whoever makes the decisions.

At some point, it'll be too late.

Be too late to change it.

We just need to come

together, I don't know.

- Come back together.

- May I ask,

are you prepared to die for a cause

you don't entirely understand?

Wow, you're tricky, Bart!

You're tricky!

No trick is intended.

But wouldn't you better serve the Column

by carrying information back

to them about the relics?

Except you haven't told me sh*t!

Have you?

The Column believes the

relics contain a warning

from an alien civilization, correct?

- Your point?

- The Artifact I spoke of,

it didn't just appear and disappear.

It attempted to communicate.

- With you?

- No.

With another inhabitant of the beacon.

If I continue my story

Oh! Swear you're gonna

tell me something useful?

I promise. The next part of the story

will answer all your questions.

You're lucky this beer is good.

[BART, VOICE-OVER] The

regulations regarding

Beacon Keepers changed over the decades.

[PANTING]

Many advocated for the

removal of human Keepers,

but ISA and the unions

were against that.

After some unfortunate experiences

with solitary Keepers,

couples were allowed to be

jointly assigned to beacons.

If they were a romantic pair, however,

they had to prove their infertility.

ISA rules about procreation

were very strict and complex

in regards to Beacon Keepers.

You're gonna love this new drone, Bart.

[BART] A Theta series!

I didn't even know they were available.

Top of the line. They last forever.

Bart, do you see that?

- See what?

- [WOMAN] Farut?

[BART] If you wish to have the child,

you must resign your post.

Otherwise, termination

is your only option.

Sustaining human

population is vital, Bart.

Of course, I agree.

But ISA regulations are clear.

If there was an accident,

and one of the survivors

was a child, we'd rescue

him, bring him on board.

I will relay a message to headquarters

- explaining the situation.

- There is nothing to explain.

We were medically assessed.

We met the criteria.

And now, against all odds, I'm pregnant.

We will continue to do our jobs,

and you will continue to report

everything that affects

the function of the beacon.

Nothing more.

They will find out when

your assignment ends.

They will arrest you.

They might even take your child.

We've got five years.

We can figure out how

to smuggle a little boy

or girl off a beacon.

How hard can it be?

A girl.

The child will be a girl.

[BART, VOICE-OVER] I had

no idea how profoundly

this developing human

life would change me.

[BART] Where on earth could she be?

- [GASPS, SCREAMS]

- Oh!

Oh, where did she go?

I see you!

[GASPS] Come and get me!

There she is, I see

her! Oh, she is so fast!

[GASPS]

Oh no! She disappeared again!

[GIGGLING]

Aha! I found you!

[GIGGLING]

[BART, VOICE-OVER] As

their five-year assignment

was nearing its end, Grisha and Parsim

planned to avoid ISA

by leaving on a supply

ship a few months early.

Seklir 8?

They say the drinking water

there tastes like graphene.

So, you'd rather violent protests?

Of course not.

Because that's what's

happening on Baruni.

It's maddening.

If those people were

so against expansion,

why did they move to a

colony in the first place?

Seklir 8 is stable.

It's our best choice.

[BART, VOICE-OVER]

Prior to her leaving,

I couldn't understand the human

expression "I'll miss you."

After all, how could absence

be experienced when one

has memories to recall?

[SINGING IN THE DISTANCE]

[PARSIM, SINGING] "Em

ot emoc, em ot emoc "

[CONTINUES SINGING]

[BART, VOICE-OVER] A few

months before their departure

Parsim began to exhibit

behavior that was unusual.

[CONTINUES SINGING IN GIBBERISH]

Bart, what is she singing?

[BART] I am unable to translate.

It is not any language in my database.

[CONTINUES SINGING IN GIBBERISH]

Let's put the markers away now, huh?

- Parsim, what did I just say?

- [CONTINUES SINGING IN GIBBERISH]

Enough baby talk. Time for dinner.

[BART, VOICE-OVER] While I do

not experience emotion per se,

my own responses to

various circumstances

have evolved over time.

I saw it once before.

Why didn't you tell me?

It was before Parsim was born.

I thought I was seeing things.

What is it, Farut?

I don't know.

But it's beautiful.

[CHUCKLING]

Where did it just go?

Parsim?

Parsim, I need you to come

away from there, please.

No!

Parsim!

[BART, VOICE-OVER] While

Grisha grew ever more concerned

about the effect of

the Artifact on Parsim,

Farut became convinced that

it was evidence of alien life.

In all the years of expansion, we've

never encountered any alien life forms.

Period. And now?

[BART] My sensors detect

no evidence of life,

intelligent or otherwise.

I must get a sample.

I won't even get out of the Picker.

The risk is too great.

Think of your family.

Do you understand what this

discovery would mean for us?

We may even be able to

remain on the beacon.

Our position would be secure.

ISA would send other scientists as well.

Think about Parsim.

What's this got to do with Parsim?

It would be impossible

to keep Parsim a secret.

Your contract specifies anything created

on the beacon is

considered work product.

That might include Parsim,

and they would certainly

want to study her.

Let's go, Parsim. Come on.

Sweetie.

Get down from there,

please. That's enough.

Hey! That's enough!

Parsim!

That's that's not safe, Parsim!

Okay, honey Please.

Okay. Sweetheart, listen.

I need you to come

down from there, okay?

- Can you just please

- No!

[GRUNTS] Parsim!

- Okay.

- [GROANS]

That thing is making her sick.

She wasn't like this before, Farut.

- We need to leave.

- We are leaving, remember?

Not in four months. Now.

I can't make the supply

ship get here any faster.

Then find someone else.

Send a message to the hydrogen station

- to tell them that we'll pay.

- The only people

we're going to get that way

are smugglers or wreckers.

- Then that's what we get.

- Listen to yourself.

How many times have

we had to sedate her?

She is not gonna make

it another four months!

We will be charged with

dereliction of duty.

- I don't care.

- You don't care?

We'll never work for ISA, or

for anyone for that matter.

We'll be fugitives!

And you can forget about Seklir 8.

We'd be lucky to bribe

our way to Menelaus.

Is that what you want? For us?

For her?

[SIGHING]

It's only a few months.

We can get through this.

You lied for those people.

I didn't know AI could do that.

[BART] I have programming, of course,

but I'm affected by others,

and learn from my experiences,

including this experience with you.

Likewise, I've observed Grisha

doing everything she could

to keep Parsim from the Artifact.

[BART, VOICE-OVER] She was concerned.,

afraid of its effect on her daughter

as Parsim's behavior

became ever more erratic.

[PARSIM SCREAMING IN VIDEO]

[PARSIM SCREAMING]

[BART, IN VIDEO] Don't worry

about the window, Parsim.

Come! Play a game with me!

- Who wants to hide?

- [PARSIM SCREAMING]

I'm ready to seek!

Come on, I'm sure

there's plenty of places

we haven't found to hide yet.

[SCREAMING]

Parsim?

Parsim!

[BART, VOICE-OVER] Though

the reports detailing

Doctor Avalon's mental

decline were classified

Grisha found her way to them.

You didn't think this was important?

[BART] I alerted you to all my concerns.

Repeated hallucinations,

attempting to leave the beacon.

I told you everything possible

given your security clearance.

I don't care about security clearance!

She is my daughter!

- No more secrets!

- I'm sorry, Grisha.

[BART, VOICE-OVER] Farut

was completely absorbed

in the possibility that the Artifact

was evidence of alien life.

He perused Avalon's notes.

Over and over again, he read them,

adding his own calculations.

He failed to notice that the

situation was deteriorating.

[CLATTERING]

Parsim?

[PARSIM SINGING IN GIBBERISH]

[CONTINUES SINGING IN GIBBERISH]

Parsim? Did you do that?

[WHISPERING IN GIBBERISH]

[CONTINUES SINGING IN GIBBERISH]

Hey.

Whoa, Parsim!

[CONTINUES SINGING IN GIBBERISH]

Parsim?

Parsim!

Okay. [SIGHS]

That thing

It wants her, I know it.

It's trying to take her.

What are you talking

about? That thing is alive?

I don't know what it is, but

- It's sentient?

- I think so.

- That's not possible.

- Oh no, it's true.

And she can communicate with it.

You leave her out of this.

Don't you see what an

opportunity this is?

- What a gift!

- I am not going to let you

- use our daughter as bait.

- Don't be a fool.

This is bigger than any of us.

[RHYTHMIC MUSIC]

[GASPS]

[BART, VOICE-OVER] I

never saw the Artifact,

but I saw the relics

come into existence.

In that moment, everything changed.

What I couldn't

perceive was now visible.

What else had I failed to perceive

that would reveal itself

in the sweep of time?

[BANGING] Hold on!

Wait a minute. You're telling me

they blew up the Artifact?

They found an alien Artifact,

and they just destroyed it?

They had their reasons.

And people seem to be willing

to blow things up, as you said.

And you don't know what

it said to the little girl?

If it communicated anything to her,

she did not relay it to me.

Probably too young to

understand the message.

Or there was no message.

Are you open-minded

enough to consider that?

[BEEPS]

[BART] Who wants to hide?

I'm ready to seek!

[GIGGLING]

It was communicating with her.

- It was hurting her.

- And now it's gone.

You are so in love with

the idea of first contact.

You want to learn all the

secrets of the universe.

ISA is coming now, Grisha,

and it won't be months.

The moment that you fired that drone

I know.

This will follow us, all of

us, for the rest of our lives.

And if something had

happened to her, what then?

Would our lives even mean anything?

Yours would no longer

mean anything to me.

[GIGGLING]

[BART, VOICE-OVER]

Because of Parsim's age,

I knew she would fail

to form lasting memories

of her time aboard the beacon.

I suppose there was some wish on my part

that she would not forget me entirely.

As silly as that sounds.

[BART] Parsim?

Special delivery!

Thank you, Bart.

That was very thoughtful.

This is a gift from your father and me.

It's a new name.

We've all got one now.

So, whatever colony they ended up on,

it's probably collapsed by now.

[BART] Yes, the odds are

better than even that she d*ed.

But that that's the problem.

Colonies die because of expansion.

Yes.

The questions you ask

about the value of expansion

are too important not to be debated.

Damn, look at that, I converted an AI.

- [BEEPING]

- I didn't say I agree with you.

I understand your position,

and it should be widely discussed.

[BEEPS]

Wait. Hold on.

This The Artifact was

blown to bits out there.

Means there's probably

relics all around.

- Yes.

- Can you can you find them,

tell me where they are?

I'll be sure to tell my next Keeper.

[ALARM BLARING]

What the hell? That

looks like an ISA ship.

I informed the authorities

as soon as you hailed the beacon.

Little sh*t!

Dammit.

sh*t. sh*t!

[CREAKING, THUDDING]

Coming for you, baby. Wherever you are.

[SNIFFLING]

- See you soon.

- You don't need to press that.

[THUDDING]

Doesn't matter anymore.

[BEEPS]

I knew who you were when you boarded.

The b*mb was never armed.

I performed an override.

[THUDDING]

So, I was right.

This whole conversation

was just a stall!

No.

I meant every word I said.

I hoped to convince you not to do this,

but I also wanted to

learn. And I did, Keir.

I know you will be imprisoned,

and I hope you will use that time well,

to develop your ideas.

For my part, I will encourage others

to consider what you've told me.

There is no w*apon as

powerful as an idea.

[DRAMATIC MUSIC]