I Am Mortal

Once upon a time, the world was a mess.

There was a pandemic,

and then another and then another.

Life, as the human race knew it,

was a disaster in every sense of the word.

Then, one day, a scientist came along

with a genetic discovery that changed everything.

He shared his vision with the world.

It was a solution so incredible and epic in scope

that life on Earth would not only resume

but it would be like living in a fairytale.

A chance to live in a perfect world.

An eternal dream.

The problem was

no-one really thought through the consequences.

Soon my life changes forever.

I'll be given the gift of being frozen in time,

the gift of never dying.

A gift that everyone on this train

and in this city

either has or will receive.

Arrival. Wildzone.

The problem is

I'm not so sure I see it as a gift.

C.S. Lewis once said that free will makes evil possible.

But it's also the only thing that makes possible love...

..goodness...

..joy.

It seems so romantic...

..the notion of living forever.

Doesn't it?

But I ask you this...

..how can you really live

if you know you're never going to die?

I am immortal.

We at the machine are immortal.

And you, all of you, can be immortal as well.

Life as we know it is forever changed.

I will not only give each and every one of you

the gift of eternal life,

but I will also give you the gift of freezing in time

when you have reached your peak perfection.

I will eliminate, through our applications,

the bad and most ugly of our human emotions.

And I will eliminate suffering from injury

and illness and emotional duress.

I am the Pilot taking you into this new world

and I will always serve you.

As you all know, 200 or so years ago,

the Pilot gave birth to our society.

No-one had to die ever again.

- Some didn't follow him, though. - That's correct.

Unfortunately they all eventually died.

Once the Pilot's reprogramming of the genetic code took effect,

the world and its people

functioned much more efficiently.

We saw the end of war, borders and political divide.

We became one nation.

Let's take a look at the process of the Code.

Shem application.

Of course all of you know what it is,

but I bet it's pretty amazing to see

such an extraordinary event with your own eyes.

Extraordinary? Depends on how you look at things.

In this moment, this woman will be frozen in time forever

because, as deemed by the Pilot,

she's reached her peak potential as a human being.

For most people, this happens around age 25.

Some younger, some older.

For me,

that time is now.

The most important day of my life,

the day I become immortal,

is just days away.

Pretty incredible, isn't it?

I should be excited but I'm not.

Right, we better get going. Almost late for lunch.

I'm filled with fear.

Welcome to

the Alisandre train station.

I feel alone.

Like no-one else sees the world the way I do.

But deep down, I know I can't be the only one

that thinks these things,

feels these things.

The problem is, in the society I live in,

it's too dangerous to try and find them.

- I don't have a lot of time. - Who are you?

The way you're thinking, you are not crazy.

- What do you mean? - Reach me when you're ready.

It's safe.

When you use it, our communication

won't be monitored.

Reach you? Why would I do that?

But maybe they just found me.

Who are they? What did she give him?

I don't know.

The heart rate escalated and the camera sensed it.

Whatever it is, she didn't want anyone to know.

- Hi! - You seem surprised to see me.

I am.

Very. Why are you here?

The Pilot has something he needs from my department

and I think you might be able to help.

The Pilot? Are you serious?

I thought you might be excited.

What is it he needs me for?

I believe he'd like to tell you that himself.

Welcome.

It's a pleasure to meet you, Akae.

Thank you. The pleasure's all mine.

I'm a very proud citizen of Alisandre.

You were right about her.

You're a guardian-in-training, correct?

It's been a lifelong dream of mine.

It's wonderful to hear someone have such a great desire

to help keep harmony and balance in our city.

Let's see if we can't get you one step closer to that dream.

This man here is a terraforming engineer by the name of Logos.

He's approached by this woman.

A benign citizen by all accounts.

Both of them are, actually.

Is there any reason these two people

shouldn't be communicating?

Not that we know of.

She handed something to him.

What is that?

That's what we'd like to find out.

Probably nothing.

We need someone who isn't yet a guardian.

We think you're the perfect person for the job.

Hello?

Is there anyone there?

Logos?

Yes.

We're glad to hear from you.

Who's we?

Let's talk in person. I'll tell you more then.

Where should we meet?

..Nescience Centre to learn more about the Pilot

and the ultimate gift he has given us.

Glad you came.

Just wanted to say how great it was

seeing you and Elomina for dinner the other night.

Elomina?

Yeah. It was great.

It's always nice to get together with friends.

Friends are very important.

Always good to know when you meet one.

Here are the guardian reports from this week.

Is there anything from Akae?

Turned out to be nothing.

Are we sure?

While I agree that their initial interaction was... concerning,

Akae listened to their entire conversation

from start to finish

and I assure you there's nothing to be worried about.

I'd like her to keep going.

Are you certain?

There was nothing she said that indicated...

I'm sure.

Is there something I should know?

A man named Helias used to work with the Pilot.

He was a defective individual

who concocted something that the Pilot describes as a virus,

something intended to destroy the Code.

Helias was rehabilitated, his mind wiped clean,

but the Pilot fears his ideas remained,

that somehow they were passed down.

And he thinks that the woman Logos met

might be one of these people?

Maybe.

Probably not if you ask me, but he wants us...

..you to make sure.

I didn't think anybody reads those things anymore.

What is it?

Just a book.

'Being and Nothingness'.

Sounds heavy.

Kind of.

I get it.

Get what?

Wanting to read something like that.

You must be getting your code confirmation soon.

I am.

Frozen in time in your most perfect state.

The ultimate gift.

That's what they say.

What do you do?

I'm an engineer. Terraforming.

I work at Nescience.

Are you a guardian?

No, tour guide.

I walk children around the museum of our society

and tell them about how Shems work

and how lucky we are to get them.

Do you believe what you tell them every day?

I don't know.

Seems like something you might want to figure out.

It does.