I'm sorry, but I have to leave.
Mr. Bunny said you can't leave.
Daddy, please, make him stay.
I wish I could, honey, but mr. Boothe
has another job to go to.
Somebody else's Dad will have to be
so lucky as to be on the international
money-market this week.
I'll come back soon.
Promise?
Yes, I promise.
You guys, you get me late.
You say goodbye, ok?
Come back soon.
She always gets frightened.
Ready?
Yep! Ready!
Come on!
It's a big operation -
importing directly from Central America.
Take you to the airport?
I can call a cab.
Oh, my God! Megan!
No!!
Lori Singer
Michael Easton
...trying to protect you...
...whom do you work for...?
...let us call them the Committee...
and Will Patton
...I think it's playing with your brain...
...welcome to the game, Sydney Bloom...
VR.5
Love and Death
George Deloy
David McCallum
as doctor Joseph Bloom
special appearance by
Louise Fletcher
What are you doing here?
Watching dirty movies?
No, I'm not watching this.
How did you get in here?
The same way anyone could do it:
the door was unlocked.
No, it wasn't.
Oh, suit yourself...
Why didn't you just call me?
Because you would have told me
to wait until morning and I've got
something that can't wait.
What?
There's someone out there
we're worried about.
We think he has a breakdown -
he keeps refusing our offers for treatment.
He's an important man
with an important job and we
want you to go in.
No, thanks.
He's in a lot of pain.
I think that he may have become
self-destructive.
I am not a shrink.
He had to watch some people
that he loved
dying in a tragic accident.
I can't imagine what he must be
going through.
Can you?
His name is Jackson Boothe.
He needs to get some help,
so we can bring him back to work.
Where do I take this guy?
It's up to you.
I suggest, a familiar realm...
Now, I wasn't kidding when I told you
about that psycho...
Just stay in as a reconnaissance
observer and tell me what you see.
Hallo?
Mr. Boothe?
I like my privacy. Please...
Why are you reading this?
A Gentlemen's Guide to Suicide
Because I'd rather not butcher...
I can't get along with myself
after what happened.
You know my name,
but I don't know yours.
Sydney.
Sydney...
I spent a summer there once.
Is this your family?
It could have been.
Nobody knows where I live.
How did you find me?
Someone told me...
Curious about my sudden plans?
Worried.
Worried?
Nobody worries about someone like me!
That's not true.
You're right, Sydney,
there are plenty of people...
who should be worried about
what my next...move would be.
No, thank you...
I insist...
...to my health.
That's it. All the way down.
Ah, hmmm...Where did you find
all of these wonderful things?
My business takes me all over the world.
I would love to travel...
Well, you should always do
what your heart desires, Sydney...
Why are you here?
I don't remember...
To help me!
Yes...
That's what you said before...
To help you get back to work,
and to st..st..st..to stop you from,
from...
Killing myself?
Yes!
Why?
Because it's wrong,
because it hurts people.
Is that what you think?
No, it's what I know...
You know how to stop me, Sydney.
You know what to do.
Who sent you?
I don't remember.
Who sent you, Sydney?
The Committee.
Did you get him?
Who is he?
It doesn't matter.
It does to me.
Well, look. Is he approachable?
Did he respond to the contact?
Yes, I think so.
Are you ok?
Yeah.
Well, thank you.
How come you won't tell me anything?
Why all the secrets?
Secrets...are for safety!
Mom!
I'm home!
Are you in the basement?
Where are you?
Mom?
Mommy?
Remember the forest, the lake?
So happy...
you and Daddy...me and Samantha.
Remember that they were at the...
Remember that?
God, if you look...
I wish I were more...
For how long were you lieing there?
If I'd come home sooner,
would I've saved you?
BOOTHE'S HOME
Hallo?
"The dangers of sleeping pills"...
Jackson Boothe?!
Are you downstairs?
I'm here to help you!
Please...
don't leave me.
I want you.
Are you sure?
Yes.
This is who I am.
Take me!
Don't follow me!
You won't like what you'll find...
I AM DEATH
Was my door unlocked , too?
Can I see you for a minute, please?
I was just explaining to my class
how powerful a home computer can be
when in the proper hands.
Would you care to...umm...comment,
Miss Bloom?
I have to find him!
I'm afraid that's not possible right now.
I think he's gonna kill himself
if he hasn't already.
Just keep on talking, your parents
are paying a lot for this.
Tell me where he is!
He's being watched and taken care of!
Well, that's not good enough!
Oh well, you know as much as I know.
It's compartmentalised information.
That means, it's on a need
to know basis.
I don't have all of the answers.
You mean if he dies, he dies,
it's not your responsibility, right?
The Committee will take care of it.
That's how it works...
Oh, do you follow all their rules?
Do you break them all?!
If they're wrong, yes!
Well, maybe you ought to rethink
your position...
Oh, it's that what you've done?
Just turn off your conscience so
you can get through those
assignments easier?
Look, Bloom...just don't let it get to you.
Just do what they ask.
So I can end up just like you, right?
I warned you not to come here.
Excuse me.
It's time you met everybody.
Who are they?
You can call them my extended family.
We've all become very close
through my business.
What do you do?
I solve people's problems.
An independent contractor of sorts...
Jackson! How good to see you
again, Jackson!
He's a diamond broker in New York.
It was the luckiest day of my life.
...and suddenly I'm getting
in a good lots of a chance.
He's a great kid! Like a son to me.
Mr. Spirah!
Mr. Boothe!
How are you, my friend?
Never better!
Your guest?
Just a visitor.
Mr. Boothe is a very hospitable host.
I take care of my friends.
I guess you didn't even need me
to come back at all.
I think, you're the most intriguing person
in this room...
you keep coming to save me,
when there's nothing left to save.
Why would a man...
Why would a man like me,
who has so much...
wants to "cash in my chips"
as many would say?
That's the real question isn't it?
I'm gonna get you! Gonna get you!
Life is finally just about
loving and dying.
Which would you rather do with me?
Samantha! Mind my toggles.
...It's dr. Joseph Bloom in virtual reality
with his daughter Samantha...
Daddy!
Human Brain Reaction To
3-Dimensional Stimulus
Hey, you busy?
Oh, just remembering the...hmm...
joys of self-loathing.
I thought you were through with me...
Something happened.
What?
Tell me about Jackson Boothe.
Oh, we've already had this conversation.
He knew my father.
How do you know?
Because I saw my father when I took
Jackson Boothe into VR.5 last night.
Here. It looks like we could
use this.
Cheers.
Hmm...y'know, there is a simple
explanation for it.
Y..Your...mmm...subconscious
goes in there with you.
That was your image...that was in there,
that wasn't his image.
I don't think so.
I just pulled towards my father...
but he wouldn't let me go to him.
Kind of tricky in there...
But my sister was there, too.
And he knew her name.
Why didn't you tell me this before?
You took him in there again, didn't you?
Does it matter...?
You are in waaaay over your head...
Tell me where he lives.
I can't tell you that!
I've already told you I don't know
who he is,
I don't even know what he looks like...
They gave me his phone number,
they must know where he lives.
Look, you listen to me...,
this is between you and me.
This is...no case,
this is no Committee.
I think you should not going in
for a while. I think
it's messin' with your own hardware...
Do you know what I mean?
I think it's helping me remember...
I think it's playing with your brain...,
I think you should take a rest
and I would make that an order,
but I know that you wouldn't follow it...
I should come back tomorrow.
But you said that your friend
was in trouble?
Did you know that Van Gough painted
some of his most famous works
while living in a complete squalor?
Err, excuse me sir,
are you the concierge?
Hey, watch your mouth!
Lovely! Look, we're...
we're looking for somebody...
Yeah? Who?
I have no idea...
His name is Jackson Boothe...
Y'know, he sounds familiar,
but I ain't sure...
Oh, you ain't sure.
He ain't sure!
Well, let me ask you maybe
20 bucks would jar your memory
a little bit?
Maybe...
You got a 20, Syd?
Uh, I can give you 14...
I'll take it!
He ain't here. He said he'd be gone
for a day or two but he's paid
until the end of the week.
Did he look...troubled?
He doesn't.
Hey! Hey! Hallo!
Who is he?
How did he die?
Are those guys cops?
Are those guys cops? Huh?
Oh man, I told them...
they didn't know what they were
getting into, man!
He was with the Committee...
They think they know it all
and they just...
You know...they're stupid!!!
They just...go ahead, go ahead...
and do it on your own...
Hey look, you got anything that's stronger
than a tomato juice in here?
I don't know...
Oh, man! You want to see
a man with a conscience, huh?
It's just...I got this, y'know,
to see the look on their faces,
and I made those trips...
I make it five times a year...
I see two of them in Arlington
and I still go in there...
And I just, I just wonder
where they're gonna put him, that's all...
Are you saying...five guys died in VR?
Six - that I know of.
Why am I still alive?
That's the big question, isn't it?
It's my fault...I've tried
to find a way to get you out but...
Hhh, man oh man...
They're not gonna let me go, are they?
The only way you're gonna get out...
is to take a sledgehammer
and smash all your toys in here.
That's the only way you're gonna
get out.
You give it up and you'll be free...
I'm free when I'm in there...
Hallo.
This is Sydney Bloom.
Thanks.
Hi, would you please put the phone
to my mom's ear?
That's ok.
Thank you.
Mom?
Sydney? Is that you?
Making a meal with a chicken and potatoes,
I know how much you like it.
I need to know why you did it.
Your new friend Jackson has brought out
some old feelings in you, hasn't he?
No, it's not about that.
Sure it is.
You want to save him,
because you couldn't save me.
Isn't that it?
Why did you do it?
Come here. I'll show you.
My love, my babies,
they took you all away...
I was still there...
Do you think I knew that?
Do you think they told me that?
They didn't tell me that,
they didn't tell me, they didn't tell me....
Save them.
Save them...
Could you take me to
mr. Jackson Boothe's room?
What do you think, this is a booth mark?
Could you just tell me
what its number is?
How much for the key?
Fifty.
Thirty.
It's getting too dangerous.
Yes, that's my professional opinion.
I think that he could get her.
I think that she's maybe hurt already.
If she wants out, please let her go.
That's my personal opinion.
I still have one, you know.
Listen.
She keeps talking about her father.
What can you tell me about him?
I don't believe you.
I think that she has the right...
Hallo? Hallo?
Yes. Maybe I do think too much.
What are you hiding, Syd?
This is just not the usual you!
Dunc...
Tracking down strange guys
in seedy hotels,
weird people in and out of your place
in the middle of the night.
Why all the secrets, Syd?
Secrets are lies!
I'm trying to protect you...
Fine, don't tell me. It's not like
I'm your best friend or anything...
So why share?
I work with this group of people
called 'the Committee'
What happened to the TelCal gig?
Umm, I'm...I am...moonlighting.
But this Committee...
they help people and I am helping them.
And that's your secret?
Cool!
So what are these guys like?
Rosicrucians wanna-bes?
Knights Templar? Y'know that?
What is that?
Secret societies. I mean,
they've been around forever.
They're always sort of creating history
behind the scenes.
It's very spooky stuff, Syd!
Yeah, I don't really know who they are,
but you know, they understand
what I can do...
It's scary, Dunc!
You know, it is so amazing!
I know.
But I wonder how far I can take it.
I saw my father in there.
Yes, but he wasn't there.
It's just your brain making things up.
Maybe. I don't know.
But I saw my sister...
I could almost touch her...but...
something weird happened.
And I feel that everytime I go in,
it's like this huge hole is opening up
inside me and all of these feelings
I never knew I had...
keep flooding out...
I don't know. You don't get it.
I do not. But you know, maybe
it's kinda you have this past...and you know
you're gonna have the future.
You just don't have a present.
Yeah, everything's connected...
That's the balance of the universe...
But I can't fugure it out why
I keep on seeing Daddy and Samantha.
Maybe Jackson Boothe can tell me.
Concentrate this time. Which hand is it in?
Neither is. It's in my ear, right?
No, it's not in your ear...
See this, it's a good trick.
Hallo.
He's on his way up.
Hallo?
I suppose, I should thank you.
For what?
Finding all about you has kept me alive
for another 24 hours...
Why would you want to die?
The past has finally got up
with the present. That means
there's no future.
You'll understand...
Tell me about my father and sister...
Sit next to me, then I'll tell you...
Fear is good - it heightens excitement.
I want to know about my father...
Is that what you really want?
See? How easy it is...
to let passions get in the way
of your true objectives.
That will never happen again!
Wait!
Boothe?
Take me with you!
Where's Jackson?
Do you want to know what this son of a bitch
finally did to me?
We were in my private room.
I was a lonely old man when
I met Jackson.
We were drinking in his room one night.
I was tired. But he insisted:
"This is one more to the road..."
I have got my eyes closed.
The next thing that I know I've got a piece
of lead in my forehead
and my brains are all over the walls.
I couldn't breath...I had convulsions...
then my heart exploded.
He just stood there, watching.
Death is an art...
it's all about getting close,
getting them to trust you...
Why are you doing this?
Because...it's my job.
I am death, and these are my victims.
They've made me a very wealthy man
and so I only thought it was right
that I should entertain them...
You're an assassin!
The best...first seduction,
then...
death...
They asked me to save your life.
Is this to have you keep working?
Yes...
I'll set you in. Mr. Peters and mr. Hayes.
How do you know them?
Do you work for them?
You are a virgin, aren't you?
Let me take care of that.
One is my story, one is yours.
Choose one.
Jackson! Come over here!
Love did this. Desire made me careless.
I let my guard down...Just once
I made a terrible mistake.
It's like this huge hole opened up inside me
and all of these feelings
I never knew I had...flooded out...
Guilt.
That's what your story is all about, isn't it?
Save us, Sydney! Sydney!
Samantha! Daddy!
I will! I will! I will!
I can't. I can't...
Why? Why can't you, Sydney?
It was an accident...It was an accident.
Yes...an accident.
Take it, Sydney.
Go ahead, end your pain
and help me through mine.
Now I can go back to work.
You see, it was just...an accident.
To me, too. Take it.
Take it.
Hey, there's nothing that can make me stay.
He's a serial killer.
Listen, I swear to you,
I did not know who Boothe was
when I first sent you in.
Why do you think I was so worried,
when you went in there again?
I don't know! To protect your secrets?!
Those people are liars!
I'm not working with liars anymore!
Alright. Listen. Did you know
that your father was involved
in early VR research?
He was a neurobiologist in a team
that broke through in VR.3.
VR.3?! My father died in 1978,
he didn't have this stuff out there!
Don't be so sure.
I don't believe you.
I've been trying to find a way...
to get you out...But all
the information that I'm getting
just pulls you further in.
I know now, there is a reason that you...
can do what you can do,
and nobody else can't do it...
I've found a file...
I've modemed it into your computer...
I want you to read it through,
and then...you let me know
if you still wanna quit.
Is it a Committee file?
Yes. I know some Committean
who could talk to us and
he can tell us more about it.
Who?
Someone I trust.
Dr. Morgan?
Boothe!
Help! Someone help us!
You're gonna be alright...
No, I'm not...
Hhh..., the file...
I'll read it!
Good...
It's not what you think.
It's not...what you think...
CYBER HELIX RECOMBINATION
THE DATA...COLLECTED BY DR. BLOOM
OVER A PERIOD OF FIVE YEARS...
THIS TYPE OF RESEARCH...
UNKNOWN PHENOMENON UNTIL
5 YEARS AGO...THE SCIENCE OF
RECOMBINATION...
...BREAK-THROUGHS APPEARING
ALL THE TIME...
...IT SEEMS AS IF IT WON'T BE
LONG BEFORE THE...
subsby@resg