Previously on "Limetown"...
There's someone who claims to have all the answers
to everything we've been looking for.
I have an address I can't share,
and I have to broadcast it live.
I'll make sure the broadcast goes out.
Apple, the people who are responsible
for killing Max, Warren,
for threatening your mother...
those people would like to erase Limetown
and pretend it never existed,
but you have made sure that they didn't erase the story.
And the story is the most powerful thing,
but that person is the single most terrifying person
that I have ever met in my life.
And that person is capable of anything.
Hello, Lia Haddock. Would you like to come on in?
Okay.
- Did I leave the stove on? - _
- Oh, God, I can't believe... - _
Is anyone single besides me?
Surely not.
Surely someone else besides me has some interest in...
... does not cause cancer, but my goodness...
We just don't believe in Oskar at all.
I think he's a complete con artist.
I hate having to pump at work anyways.
... change when I came here, but I swear to God,
if he cheats on me here, too,
I'm going to slit his throat in his sleep.
Hi.
- Do you mind if I sit? - No. Not at all.
So, where are you from, Lenore?
Chelmsford, Massachusetts.
Oh, yeah, that's a... that's a really pretty area.
- Mm-hmm. - Yeah.
And how about yourself?
Well, Kansas originally.
So where do you call home now?
To be honest, right now, I...
I don't really have a place to call home.
Oh, well, maybe this could be your home.
I hope so, yeah.
I'm very optimistic.
I really do believe in what we're doing here, so...
I know who you are.
Welcome.
Please take a seat.
Lenore Dougal.
- Lia Haddock. - Oh, yes.
I know who you are, Ms. Haddock.
What an absolute pleasure it is to finally meet you.
- Would you like a glass of wine? - No, thank you.
You know, I only bought this place
because of the wine cellar.
Tonight we are having a Barolo 1974.
I mean let's face it, it tastes like red wine should taste.
Right.
So, let's get started.
Why do you have a kitchen timer on the table?
Starting with the softballs, I see.
Build some rapport.
I was, uh, baking bread in the oven a little while ago.
A nice rye.
I didn't want to burn the place down just yet.
Okay.
Um...
I don't recognize your name in the Limetown manifest list.
But am I actually a survivor of Limetown?
I get that. It's a fair question.
This is a printout of the official accounting ledger
of Limetown.
So you were...
The city manager, more or less.
I worked with a couple of accountants to...
make sure the books were clean,
but primarily, I handled logistics.
Made sure there was enough food,
that the labs were stocked.
The shops, the movie theater. All that.
How early were you brought on?
Pretty early.
Mr. Villard brought me on, once he'd made the deal with Oskar,
just to make sure that everything was being done,
on a practical level, that could be done.
I mean, in a town full of dreamers,
you need someone who can see the trees
among the forest, you know?
Why was this whole thing kept so secret?
Because if you could privatize something
that can change the course of human civilization, I mean...
that's pretty good, right?
Just doesn't seem like it was worth it.
Worth.
That's interesting. I'd like to come back to that.
On the phone, you said you would tell me everything
I wanted to know.
I know that I have asked you this before,
but is knowing all the answers the most important thing?
Really consider that, because it doesn't have to be.
It's the only reason I'm here.
You have to be sure.
Because you and I can both still walk away from this
right now.
I'm sure.
I'm afraid I haven't been completely honest with you.
I wasn't baking bread earlier.
Why did you just start that timer?
Because we have 12 minutes.
What happens in 12 minutes?
No more answers.
I have spent my life
weighing one thing against another thing
and then making an objective decision.
And everything in life can be that simple,
if you want it to be.
What do you mean?
You know what bothers me
is that people think this was some kind of magic trick.
This was not magic.
Magic is something that people invent
because reality is awful.
This was money,
brute force,
and Excel sheets.
What do you think the tech developed in Limetown is worth?
I'll answer.
More.
Whatever you think it is, it's more than that.
I mean we're not only talking about a consumer product that
reshapes how people think and interact with the world.
We are talking about a military product
that creates an instant communication link
in a code that can never be broken.
So now, ask yourself how far
somebody would go to protect that.
If you could rule the world,
and I mean really rule it,
where would you draw the line
on allowing anything to endanger your success?
I know who you are.
What you can do.
I now that Oskar built this place for you.
I know why we're all here.
Believe me when I say your secret is safe with me.
I just have to ask.
What's it like?
Um...
Well...
- Oh, my God. - Frankie, breathe.
- This is really strange. - _
Remember, this is just like when you
were a kid on the monkey bars,
and you hold onto one bar, and you reach for the next one.
I...
I can hear the future.
This is a gift, and anyone who believed in it
should be rewarded.
That was Emile's vision for this, from the beginning.
This is not a participation trophy, Oskar.
The fact is we don't know how successful it is,
until there's more testing done, period.
Right, and that's not our goal.
The goal of Limetown was to create
a minimally-viable product, and we've done that.
We should be congratulating everybody on a job well done.
We can even have a pizza party.
I will organize one heck of a pizza party.
All right then, Lenore, tell me.
What is the true harm in giving this to everyone in the town?
The harm is liability.
Right now, a handful of people outside of this room
know what we're building here, and that is key.
Secrecy is paramount.
It's the way any world-altering technology should be treated.
Respectfully, that is not a very compelling argument.
Lenore, though... she... she has a very strong point.
I'm willing to reconsider.
You, of all people?
Listen, I understand the concerns of logistics
and whatever it is that Haddock is supposed to represent.
I do, I understand that, but this is science.
Now, any good experiment has always had A/B testing.
We split the town randomly.
Half of them get it. The other half doesn't.
You see what I did there?
Compromise.
This is a massive mistake.
Yeah. I think we should move on.
- I think... - Duly noted, but it's not your decision,
and Max has come up with a fair solution.
Thank you, Oskar.
Lenore, I trust you can
remain professional, in the face of this.
Of course.
Being thrown a curveball like that...
the whole town either having or knowing about the tech...
it was certainly unexpected, but I'm a professional.
I adjusted.
I know who you are.
Well hello, Emile. Please have a seat.
I don't know what it is you're planning,
but the wall that you've built around it
really scares the shit out of me.
What do you want to come out of this technology, Emile?
And spare me the bullshit answer.
I just want to be normal.
I don't...
if everybody has this,
then I don't have to keep running.
So then you could go home,
to your brother, and his wife,
and your niece, right?
Lia?
We have the same goal, Emile,
and I promise that I'm the best woman for the job.
It isn't right what's happening...
- What Totem has done. - _
We all uprooted our lives for this,
and look what's happening.
It's like we're not even here.
What are you doing?
Why do you have this list?
You can't just walk into my office
when I am not here and go through my...
Let's cut the crap, Lenore. Why do you have a list of people
with and without the tech?
It's basic information, Max. It's my job.
You don't need that information.
We have the proper documentation in my department.
Well, my department is all departments.
I see. Allow me to ask you this.
Why is it that only half the list have addresses?
Because it's incomplete, Max.
I don't like people like you having lists.
I should report you.
Max was right to be suspect of me,
but it was ironic that Mr. Moral Superiority
went behind everyone's back to give his wife the tech
and disregarded all the tenets of A/B testing.
Max, why did you do this?
You can't let anyone know
that you have given your wife the tech.
It will destroy everything.
You have to trust me on this.
Just make sure her name's next to mine, please.
It may not seem like it, but I do understand
making important decisions based on love.
I just think it generally leads to bad decisions.
But I get how it happens.
My husband...
well, ex-husband...
never wanted children.
I did, but my life took me
into dark places where people don't follow you.
_
After he left me, he...
he married someone from his office.
An accountant named Susan.
They had three children.
Daughters.
I see photos of them, and I can't help but feel
some kind of connection.
No. I need more time than that.
Yes. Okay. I'll make it work.
That a part of them... a memory or a dream... could be mine.
Emile related to that.
_
Ah.
Things are really tense here.
Well, you don't have to be a mind reader to pick up on that.
What options do you have for me?
You said you wanted to be like everyone else, right?
And who do you trust to perform this miracle?
- Oskar. - Oskar.
And do you trust Oskar?
Or...
do you, in fact, hate Oskar?
Isn't he the man who's been hounding you your entire life,
under the auspice of how special you are?
Now, who I represent and what I have to offer
is exactly what Oskar can, but I'm not Oskar.
What are you planning, Lenore?
Well, you tell me.
I mean, my walls are down.
I don't want to know.
Know you're a coward, Emile.
Hmm? Which is fine.
Just know that you are one.
You could stop me, but you are not.
This means that you're part of the team.
Congratulations.
We have great benefits.
How long have you had the tech?
Tell me.
Traitor!
Before things became unmanageable,
I activated my team.
The future is now.
I repeat. The future is now.
We are all leaving this shit town!
_
They're wrecking your town, Oskar.
I have to ask for your discretion, Lenore.
Within this folder there is a number.
If I call that number,
they have promised me safe passage,
as long as I give them the technology that we've developed
and....
Emile.
You know, I found that sticker in the daycare center,
and I've already called the number.
My team will be here in 19 minutes.
I think you should hide.
It would be better for us, if you hid.
I will not hide.
Well, that's stupid.
Who was it that you worked for?
Lia...
I'm retired.
If I knew their names or what
empty office building they were occupying this week,
I would tell you.
But it doesn't work like that.
You need to grow up.
So it was the caves?
Of course,
but it was also nearly two years of planning
and flawless execution,
but yes, right, the caves.
- Daniel, you're late. - Come on.
I just have to ask.
What's it like?
It's a sensation.
It's like a wave is washing over you,
but you're still standing on the beach.
You're getting wet without going into the water.
And then suddenly,
things will start to come into focus.
Stay there! Get back!
And it's like I'm standing right next to the person...
And feeling what they're feeling when...
their father tells them how terribly disappointed
he is in them, or...
when their wife tells them
that she is no longer in love with him, or...
Those with the tech need to be in the caves
- within the hour. - Yes, ma'am.
The people who got the tech were relocated,
given new names and hush money.
Please, we're not the ones you want... please!
What's going on? We need to get moving.
The other half were a liability.
Ms. Dougal, a 911 call just went out.
- The gates are locked down? - Yes, ma'am.
External cleanup is still on schedule?
Yes, ma'am.
Things are going well.
We eliminated those without the tech
using a process called alkaline hydrolysis.
It's essentially cooking the body down,
using a mixture of water and lye,
leaving behind a liquid you can just
pour down the drain and bones you can crush in your hand.
This takes three hours per person.
Eight containers total. 163 people.
That comes out to a 61-hour process.
That stretched out to almost 63,
but luckily we had built in some extra time.
Sometimes it's more difficult,
because people are very good at putting up walls.
And you can't see through them?
Well, not easily,
but I don't want to.
I have found that what people hide they hide for a reason.
- Fascinating. - Hmm.
I mean what a wonderful gift.
What a marvelous gift.
Thank you.
Oh, Emile.
So you want to be like everyone else.
This is the cost.
Your uncle absolutely could have stopped me, but he didn't.
The Man They Were All There For
was certainly not there for them.
He was much more interested in the fantasy of being normal.
So, so many people are here, for so many different reasons.
Why are you here?
To do my job.
Good. Well, to Limetown.
To Limetown.
You murdered...
163 people, including children.
How did you do that?
I weighed one thing
against another thing,
and I made an objective decision.
I believed that the life of every single person
on the planet would be better and more secure.
Potentially millions of lives could be saved,
and we were not about to let this pointless pissing match
in Limetown tear down what we had been building.
Something like that goes public,
you could be set back for years.
Possibly forever.
And so the calculation of live versus life
was just logical then.
Numbers in a column.
It was decided that the 163 people with the tech
would be kept alive, for long-term study.
Imagine it. 163 people.
That's 163 liabilities.
So how do you extract them?
Well, you start at the very beginning.
Analyzing weaknesses.
The green tax initiative that R.B. Villard
took advantage of, by building the town as a part
of one of the largest limestone cave systems in the world,
created a natural tunnel system.
So duh, you find the course
in the labyrinth that allows for the easiest path
with the most potential wrong turns for anyone
attempting to track you.
Our cave entrance was three miles from the town itself
and was one of 29 natural openings linked to the system.
The mind-to-mind technology was then sold
to the highest bidder for enough money
to build generational wealth for everyone involved
in the operation.
What a beautiful day.
Let's go.
Do you think that this just stopped, after Limetown?
Do you think the hunger for this just went away
and vanished into thin air? No.
This was just a really unfortunate beginning.
And for the past 15 years,
they have been doing everything to try and justify it.
And they're close.
What do you mean?
Well, if I'm perfectly honest,
I think the only thing that's left is the marketing.
It's really very elegant these days.
People are simply gonna go mad for it.
What do you expect to get from this?
Do you expect to be, I don't know, redeemed?
- Saved? - No.
I've had a bit of a philosophical transformation.
And, uh...
When you build bridges your whole life
for other people to walk over,
there's almost an admirable symmetry
to burning them all down again.
What is that counting down to?
Lia...
I've just taken a pill
that, in 90 seconds,
will put me to sleep,
and in three minutes,
my heart will stop beating,
and I will die.
I don't mind the dying.
I just don't want to be tortured for hours
before I do so.
I think you should take one too.
Who is coming?
Does it matter?
Will they kill me?
Eventually. Probably.
But hey, you have gotten everything
that you've ever wanted.
The whole truth.
Congratulations.
That is the end of your story.
And this is the cost.
You are an incredible woman, Lia Haddock.
Ding.
Brace yourself.
This is the cost.
This is Lia Haddock.
Thank you for listening.
No!
The person you have dialed is not available.
Please leave a message after the tone.
Danny, you can't do this.
Not her.
I'm so sorry for everything.
I'll blow my brains out in front of you right now, if you want.
Just please, please don't do this.
It won't make it right.
It won't bring them back.
Danny, you have to tell me where she is.
You have no idea what I am capable of.
- Synced and corrected by Firefly - - www.addic7ed.com -