The Mentalist

The human mind is a vast universe,

An inner cosmos that we are only now beginning to explore.

Our next speaker is one of the nation's leading cosmonauts,

A rising star in the field of neuroscience,

And a prized member of the Leyland faculty.

I give you Alex Nelson.

No, no, no. Thank you. No. Stop.

CBI, Rigsby.

- Yeah. - Jane, phone for you.

Someone called Sophie Miller.

T... t-tell her I'm not here.

Okay I'm sorry, ma'am. He's not available right now.

No, no, no, no. Wait. Wait.

I'll, put you through.

Dr. Miller?

Yeah, this is Patrick.

If someone is murdered on the campus of a state university, it's ours, isn't it?

It can be if we muscle out the locals. Why'd you ask?

I need a favor.

Sophie,

Alex Nelson's water bottle contained a 10% solution of hydrogen cyanide.

- What do you know about that? - I know that hydrogen

cyanide is a lethal poison. Beyond that, nothing at all.

Please, call me "Miss Miller" or "Dr. Miller" or "ma'am."

Not Sophie, if you don't mind.

You're not setting the boundaries here.

You were seen by several witnesses arguing with the victim shortly before his death.

You fled the scene immediately after his death.

A cunning plan, eh?

Since your divorce from the victim two years ago,

You've been arrested for assaulting him twice

and made several death threats against him.

He obtained a restraing

- order against you. - And I obtained one against him also.

Well, that's all right then.

It didn't bother you that Alex had remarried, that he found happiness with another woman?

Alex and i got past our personal history.

We had to, for the sake of our work together.

Ah, yes. You worked together at the, Stutzer institute, right?

Which gave you ready access to the hydrogen cyanide.

You know, I had thought, being innocent, that I don't need a lawyer,

But i can see that you have some animus against me,

So i'll say nothing more until i have a lawyer present.

What if we take this case, and it turns out she's guilty?

- She didn't do it. - How do you know?

Because she told me she didn't. She wouldn't lie to me.

Why not?

- Because she wouldn't. - Suppose she did.

Well, if she is guilty, then we need to catch her and punish her, but she's not.

Jane, I know I said I wouldn't ask, but I'm asking.

Who is this woman? What's the connection?

You don't wanna know.

She'll talk, but she just needs time.

To do what?

I'm not saying she's not good for it

But we don't have enough solide evidence to suppose that, right now.

I disagree

That's your right but the CBI's lead agency on this.

Yes.

Strange, though, that a department of justice unit like CBI is lead agency,

'Cause Sophie Miller called the D.O.J. Switchboard this morning.

You might almost think that she...

Chose her own investigators.

Leyland is a state university.

We automatically offer our services when local agencies aren't equipped.

If Sophie Miller called the D.O.J., it's a coincidence.

- Excuse me, Sir. - What is it, Drobey?

This was posted up all over Leyland campus during the night.

"The animal equality league has seen justice served.

"The blood of innocent animals was on Nelson's hands,

And he has paid the price for his crimes."

Looks like there's more suspects now.

They want the animal testing at Leyland university science department to stop,

Or "the monster Stutzer will be next to pay for his genocidal crimes."

Who is Stutzer?

Lewis Stutzer is one of the world's foremost neuroscientists

And founder of the Stutzer institute at the university.

And, what is his connection to the victim, Alex Nelson?

Alex Nelson and Sophie Miller are his colleagues, his seconds in command.

Please understand that there's a great deal at stake here for the university.

The Stutzer institute is our lynchpin.

I came to see you in person to get your firm assurance that this will be handled properly,

With speed and discretion and ironclad security for Dr. Stutzer.

Of course, chancellor stern. You have my absolute assurance.

I will have a squad of state marshals around Dr. Stutzer within the hour.

Agent Lisbon and her team will handle the murder investigation.

They have the highest clearance rate in the state.

- Good. - Yeah.

- Thank you. - Sir.

What are you, nuts? An animal rights case?

You know what a nightmare they are?

I know. I know. I'm sorry.

I didn't realize it was an animal rights case until too late.

And at putt, stern is gonna be a pain in the ass.

You better close this crap quick, Lisbon.

Hey, thanks for not telling him i made you take the case.

Lisbon? Hello?

Tell me the truth.

The truth? Darth vader?

Luke's father.

Seriously, i've stuck my stupid neck out for you for the umpteenth time.

I think i deserve the truth.

Why is Sophie Miller so important to you?

She was my doctor.

She's a psychiatrist.

Yes, she was my psychiatrist.

But you hate psychiatrists, so you always say.

She was a good psychiatrist.

She must have been if she managed to keep you in the room.

It was a locked room.

Yeah, i went through a rough patch, i did a little time in a hospital,

And Sophie helped me through that time.

- It's not on your record. - No. Believe me. I...

It's not easy to do.

I know there's nothing shameful about having a breakdown,

But i gotta confess, i am ashamed of it.

Thank you for being so honest with me.

Sorry i kept it from you.

- Shall I come back later? - No.

Rigsby started in on the campus security tapes. Nothing yet.

I've been tracking this animal equality league.

They're all over the internet.

They believe in animal equality, so you know, they're not very happy.

They've taken credit for several firebombing attacks

on slaughterhouses and animal testing facilities.

- Serious people. - I interviewed the

staff at the auditorium. There's no security to speak of.

Anyone present at the symposium could have poisoned his water bottle.

There are no prints on it but Nelson's. Nobody saw exactly where he got it from.

The brand is the same all over campus.

I'm Kerry Sheehan, Dr. Stutzer's teaching assistant.

He's ready to see you now.

Did you know Alex Nelson well?

He was a very good man. He was...

He was a...

Yes? He was?

He was a good, good man.

Dr. Stutzer?

We're with the CBI.

Yeah. Yes, of course. Come in.

And shut that door, please. Sit down.

Terrible, terrible business.

Alex was a first-rate researcher. Truly first-rate.

I cannot tell you how much i am going to miss him.

I'm sorry, Dr. Stutzer.

We wanted to talk to you a little about the threats

couldn't have come at a worse time, of course.

It's going to set us back months, I'm afraid. Months.

What is it you do here exactly, Dr. Stutzer?

Our work here is highly sensitive.

What you tell us regarding your work is completely confidential.

All CBI agents sign a binding nondisclosure agreement.

Very well.

I will tell you what we're doing here.

We're curing evil.

We're banishing the devil.

We have identified

a section of the brain

that governs moral decision making.

It's a small fold of tissue

called the cingulate gyrus here in the medial part of the brain.

This is the source of good and evil.

We've learned how it works and how to

readjust it when it does not work properly.

We've created what we call a morality engine.

A morality engine?

You... are skeptical.

Nevertheless, it's true.

We are plumbing the depths of the human soul.

Do you know what's down there? Do you know,

what your soul is made of?

Frogs and snails and puppy dogs'tails?

Humor.

Good.

Thank you, no.

Your soul is electricity.

The essence of your being is a series of

rapid electrical impulses.

Morality is a binary switch system in the brain,

And we are learning how to control that switch system.

Where do animals come into this?

Well, we aren't allowed to poke around inside human heads

Until we have done the same things on animals first.

This

is susie.

When she first arrived, she was quite violent, especially over food.

We recalibrated her anterior cingulate gyrus,

And now look what a happy and generous girl she is.

Thank you.

Where'd it go?

Is susie here the extent of your animal testing?

Oh, no. There's been other chimpanzees before her,

rats, mice, pigeons.

Have you ever been threatened by animal rights activists before now?

Yes, of course.

When one is a prominent scientist, one is sometimes menaced by animal people.

It's always nonsense.

In this case, we must assume the threats are very real.

The marshals will provide you with full protection, but you're gonna need to be careful.

I am not intimidated.