Perception

I should have been doing this for the last 20 years.

What? Eating pain au chocolat for breakfast?

No. Living in Paris with you.

Aww, we were kids. We weren't ready.

Yeah, well, I'm ready now.

What do you say we get the hell out of here

and work off some of these pastries?

I have to rehearse.

How much rehearsal could you possibly need?

You could teach cello to yo-yo ma.

Well, maybe you can take some of that energy

and channel it into your writing.

Dr. Pierce.

Yes?

You'd be a lot easier to find if you carried a cellphone.

If I carried a cellphone, the government could track me.

Who are you?

Special agent Drexler.

I'm the FBI legate at the U.S. embassy.

Your government needs your help.

Help with what?

We should talk someplace more private.

I understand you're lecturing tomorrow at the Sorbonne.

Is the FBI keeping tabs on me?

Actually, we arranged the lecture.

What do you mean, you arranged it?

A delegation of Chinese scientists

is visiting the Sorbonne.

They're under very tight security.

Chinese government minders follow them everywhere.

A member of the delegation... A certain Dr. Soong...

Has been granted permission to attend your lecture.

Afterwards, Dr. Soong will approach you,

give you a pen, and ask you to sign a book.

We need you to keep the pen and deliver it to us.

Why? What's so special about this pen?

That is on a strict need-to-know basis.

Yeah, well, here's what you need to know.

I'm not some government lackey who blindly follows orders.

I'm sorry, Dr. Pierce.

All I can say is that the contents of that pen

are vital to national security.

I should just cancel the damn lecture.

Daniel, it's the Sorbonne.

It's one of the oldest, most prestigious

universities in Europe.

You've wanted to lecture there for years.

- Why would you cancel? - Because I don't want to help the FBI

with some half-assed espionage scheme.

You'd like nothing better than to be an international spy.

You're just mad because they won't tell you what's so important about the pen.

It might have a poison tip, you know?

Or... or... or microfiche hidden inside.

I think there could be something else going on entirely.

Really? What?

Did Miranda see this agent Drexler?

- Did anyone? - Y-you think I hallucinated him?

- No. No way. I'd know. I-I... - Come on, Daniel.

This kind of spy plot is classic paranoid fantasy.

You don't have Max around to tell you who's real and who's not.

You have to consider the possibility

that you've deluded yourself

into thinking that you're fine when you're not.

Who are you calling? Kate. Kate.

She'll... she'll confirm that Drexler is real.

It's 6:00 A.M. in Chicago. She's an early riser.

Is that yours or mine?

Who cares? Whoever it is, they'll call back.

Come here.

Mr. Lewicki, how are things?

I'm good, Dean Haley. Thank you.

Well, I imagine you must be living the high life these days,

- that big house all to yourself. - It's pretty great, sir.

You know, I've got a lot more time for my studies,

and the best part is not having to

wake up at 5:00 A.M. to slice grapefruit.

Things couldn't be better.

- You miss him, don't you? - Is it that obvious?

We've got to get him back.

Look, doc made it pretty clear when he quit

that he's not interested in a research position.

So unless the chancellor's gonna let him teach again,

I don't think that's happening.

"Flagrant violations

"of the Americans with disabilities act

"are more common than is widely known.

My own case is a perfect example."

What the hell is this, Paul?

It's an op-Ed piece that Daniel Pierce

is planning to publish in the star-herald.

He's claiming that CLMU discriminated against him

and that you forced him out because of his mental illness.

I offered him a research-only position.

And he told me, and I quote, to "shove it up my ass."

I asked Daniel to hold off, but he said

he wanted this published before he files the lawsuit.

Lawsuit? What lawsuit?

I asked him the same question. He wouldn't elaborate.

All right, he can have his job back,

but I have one condition.

Apologize?

Doc is never going to apologize.

I did my job, Mr. Lewicki. Now you do yours.

You can be very persuasive when you want to be.

I'm in Paris. So, of course, I'm being mocked by a mime.

What a cliché. Could you, um, get lost?

Go, go. G...

Disper... dispersez!

Dr. Pierce.

What do you want?

I've convinced my superiors

to let me tell you more about the operation.

I'm listening.

The Chinese scientist that I told you about... Dr. Soong...

Is a neuropharmacologist.

He's developed a nootropic drug

that enhances learning and memory.

A smart pill?

No. No, there... there... There's never been

a nootropic compound that could withstand the rigors

- of double-blind testing. - Apparently this one has.

If that's true, it could help a lot of people with neurological impairments.

Not if the Chinese government has its way.

They want to use the drug for military purposes.

Let me guess, to improve the cognitive function

of their soldiers on the battlefield.

But Dr. Soong wants the drug to be available to everyone.

If you help us, my superiors

will do everything that they can to make sure

that you're involved in the clinical trials.

This sounds exactly like the kind of thing

I'd like to be involved in...

Which makes me think Natalie was right about you.

Dr. Pierce, I hope you haven't spoken to anyone about this.

This spy mission is nothing more than a paranoid fantasy,

- and you are obviously not real. - I beg your pardon?

- Hey, how was rehearsal? - Hi.

So good.

Who was, that guy you were talking to?

Are you okay?

I'll be right back.

Hey! Hey, you!

Serge.

What do I do with this pen once I get it?

On the north side of Notre Dame, there's a bronze marker.

Point zero. That's the geographic center of Paris.

Walk 20 paces due west, and you'll see a cobblestone

that's darker than the ones around it.

It's loose. Hide the pen under it.

Notre Dame, point zero, 20 steps due west. I got it.

No, I won't hear of it. Don't worry. Francois is the best.

It was an accident. It's really okay. You don't have to do that.

Please. It was entirely my fault.

But I'm sure francois will have your cello back

in plenty of time for our little trip.

I told you I-I can't do that.

Daniel! This is my friend Serge Lombart.

He's with the French ministry of culture.

Serge, Daniel Pierce.

Miranda's told me so much about you.

She hasn't mentioned you.

Yes, well... trust me.

Francois will have this back to you in no time at all, my dear.

It was a pleasure to meet you, Dr. Pierce.

What's with Gérard Depar-don't?

Serge came to say hi after rehearsal.

He accidentally knocked over my cello.

Cracked the fingerboard.

Actually, I was wondering more about that little trip he mentioned.

Daniel Pierce, are you jealous?

No. Maybe. A little.

Serge invited me to play

on a cultural exchange tour he arranged.

When you showed up, I bowed out.

Why?

I waited a long time to be with you.

What did you expect me to do?

Jet off to the mideast and leave you alone

in the most romantic city in the world?

Miranda, I escaped the ivory tower.

There's nowhere I have to be. I could have gone with you.

The tour goes through Istanbul, Lahore, Tehran.

It took months to get the visas.

Okay.

So, why didn't you even mention it?

Because if you'd known,

you would have insisted that I go.

Look, I've been chasing my career for 20 years,

and I'm through with that.

I am putting us first.

"Paris is like love or art or faith.

Can't be explained, only felt."

I was a kid when I first heard those words

in a movie... a great movie.

Gene Kelly was my introduction to this magical city.

Most people only know Paris through art or poetry,

and this can create certain idealized expectations

that become embedded in our neural networks.

Of course, Paris isn't always what we see in the movies.

Waiters don't just burst into song at the drop of a hat,