[ Currents swishing ]
Da'an: Zu'or! Ahh... Aah! Ahh!
[ Energy tinkling ]
Da'an: Zu'or? Are you all right?
Zu'or: Perfectly all right. It was just... A disturbing dream.
Da'an: Again? This concerns me.
Zu'or: It is none of your concern. What now?
Liam: You requested a shuttle For 08:00 Hours.
You are mistaken -- leave us!
Da'an: I requested the shuttle. Surely you have not forgotten the energy-sharing ceremony with the cloister.
Zu'or: Of course not! But this is not an appropriate time. The ceremony will have to be postponed.
Liam: That would be unfortunate. According to my security briefing, Sisters from cloisters all over the world have already arrived in Virginia.
That is none of my concern. This ceremony is simply not a priority for me.
Da'an: But it is for the synod. All humanity's spiritual organizations, The cloister has become the most influential.
I continue to reject The cloister's notion of this energy-sharing concept. Human beings are physically and spiritually incapable of bonding with a taelon.
Liam: Perhaps Da'an should make that assessment and attend by himself.
Da'an: That is a sensible alternative.
Zu'or: No! It is not. If the synod deems our relationship with the cloister as essential, then this energy-sharing ceremony calls for an appearance by the leader of the synod, not just the North American Companion, Da'an. I shall attend.
[ Shuttle zooming ] [ Engines decelerating ]
Sister Margaret: Sinaui euhura. I am Sister Margaret.
Da'an: Sinaui euhura. Your pronunciation is excellent.
You flatter me. May I introduce Sister Jenna. She's been with us since the beginning. And this is Sister Elizabeth; she's our newest shining light.
That is not necessary; you may rise.
Please,we're ready to begin.
Margaret: The energy of the taelons has been with us since the universe began. Only now are we evolved enough to receive it. With this energy-sharing, we shall become one with the taelons; Feel what they feel; Think what they think; Be what they are. Only the strongest among us can endure the presence of taelon energy in our bodies and our minds. We are ready to receive.
[ Energy zapping ] [ Zapping ]
[ Zapping ]
Margaret: We've been building for this moment from the day I founded the cloister. Commingling taelon and human energy, giving humanity a glimpse into the taelon psyche.
Zu'or: I am gratified it was a success.
Liam: So, What is the theory behind energy-sharing?
Margaret: By cleansing our mind and spirit, we alter the frequency of our bodies' energy to match that of the taelon.
Sister Elizabeth: When we make contact with a taelon, their energy courses through ever cell in our bodies, bonding human and taelon for that instant.
Renee: Zu'or, thanks again for agreeing to meet with me today. You must be Sister Margaret. I'm Renee Palmer. I'm sorry to interrupt your ceremony here. One of our taelon co-ventures requires Zu'or's attention.
Margaret: That's what I understand; it's a pleasure to welcome you. Let me introduce Sister Elizabeth.
Sister Elizabeth: Nice to meet you, Miss Palmer.
Renee: Sister Elizabeth.
Liam: Zu'or!
Zu'or: Off!
What happened?
I am fine! Simply... Drained by this energy-sharing.
Renee: I don't like the way Elizabeth stared me down. She could have already told them everything.
Liam: Doubtful, or we'd already be arrested.
Unless they're using us as bait to capture more of the resistance.
Then we'll stick to the original plan. Isolate Elizabeth; find out what's going on.
Did you contact her cell?
Elizabeth didn't think we'd beat the taelons in an open conflict.
We've lost members before, but they still keep our goals. They don't jump into bed with the taelons.
She told her cell she would find a way to beat the taelons from the inside. She must see the cloister as the means.
Yeah, well,we have to assume the worst. She's now siding with the taelons, against us. If it comes down to her life or the lives of thousands of resistance fighters, I'll kill her if I have to.
[ Birds twittering ]
Jenna: Well... I'm surprised to see you here.
Elizabeth: Really, and why's that?
Well, I expected you to be shamelessly politicking with the taelons. Anything to impress Sister Margaret.
Pay closer attention. Sister Margaret is already duly impressed.
Maybe, but you need to work a little harder on your fellow sisters. They're not as enchanted with you as Sister Margaret seems to be. And Sister Margaret is loathe to upset the sisters.
Whether you want to accept it or not, I am here because I believe in what we are doing. We have an opportunity to join with the taelons in a way no human has ever done.
Nice speech! Only one thing missing... The truth.
And what is the truth, sister?
That the cloister has become one of the most powerful and influential organizations on the planet. And for you, that means only one thing - Opportunity. The question is - Opportunity for what?
It's a shame you have such little regard for the cloister and Sister Margaret.
Look, Sister Margaret has said she will soon step down from the day-to-day running of the organization. I have been groomed since day one to assume that role. I warn you, No one is gonna get in my way.
Fortunately, Sister Margaret chooses our leadership based on intelligence, talent, and vision. Not seniority. Now, if you'll excuse me, I feel a need to go meditate in the tank to cleanse this discussion from my mind.
We are not finished!
Yes, we are.
Renee: Long time no speak.
Elizabeth: Let's keep it that way.
Hmm, you weren't saying that when I saved your ass that volunteer raid in houston last year.
I've left the resistance, in case you haven't noticed.
We noticed, Elizabeth.
I was wondering when you'd find me.
You certainly didn't make it easy. Almost as if you didn't want us to find you. As if you have something to hide. Why did you leave the resistance?
That's not really what you wanna know now, is it, Renee?
What I want to know is whether you betrayed us.
The resistance doesn't have a prayer of defeating the taelons in a guerilla war. But I have no interest in hurting them.
So, what are your plans?
I don't owe you any explanation. I've got my own agenda, to defeat the taelons from the inside.
As part of the cloister. How?
You figure it out.
[ Gasping ] [ Gasping ]
Da'an: Zu'or! What is the reason for your erratic behaviour?
Zu'or: You do not recognize the symptoms?
Of course I do. But it is not possible.
Obviously, it is. I am in ka'ath'am.
If you are in ka'ath'am,
You are entering your reproductive cycle, yet, you are...
Sterile? You need not refrain from stating what every taelon already knows - That I am unable to procreate.
These reactions, the dreams, the blushing, the energy spills. They are all normal reactions for the ka'ath'am.
Perfectly normal, except in my case, they are fruitless!
Your behaviour during this time is wildly unpredictable. You are a threat to yourself and those around you. You must return to the mothership at once.
When I am ready.
[ Flame sparking ]
[ Zipper whisking ]
[ Water splashing ]
[ Lid clicking open ] [ Blasting ] [ Screaming ] [ Blasting ] [ Yelling ] [ Water sloshing ] [ Zapping ] [ Waves sloshing ]
Margaret, screaming: No! No, Elizabeth!
Jenna: Sister Margaret, what? What happened?
[ Weeping ]
Sandoval: Don't touch anything.
[ Weeping ]
Liam: I heard screams!
Sandoval: One of the sisters seems to have had an accident.
I'll call homicide.
Jenna: Why? He said it was an accident.
Oh, I'm sure it was, but all sudden deaths need to be investigated.
Can't the F.B.I. Take jurisdiction and handle this quietly?
Sandoval: I'm afraid not. Clear the area; don't disturb anything. This room and the victim's room are off-limits. No one leaves the grounds.
[ Weeping ]
Jenna: Sister... It's all right; come.
[ Margaret sobbing ]
Sandoval: I'm sorry, Da'an; that means everyone.
Corelli: Davis, Tyler, secure the scene; flores, tape the victim's room. I'm gonna need a list of residents. We got a name on the victim?
Liam: Elizabeth Atherton.
Huh? The Philadelphia Athertons? Any taelons here?
Sandoval: The North American Companion and the leader of the synod. I trust you'll treat them with respect.
Eric Salinger: Sorry, took two hours to get here. Our department needs one of those shuttles!
Corelli: Liam Kincaid, Ronald Sandoval, this is Eric Salinger, forensics.
Call me Rabbit. Everyone does. Okay! I'll take preliminary samples off the corpse. I've checked the grounds, found a place to store them. Love those walk-in fridges. Those dinky apartment fridges, can barely fit a decapitation in one.
Liam: Rabbit, huh?
Corelli: A little on the quirky side, but he's a great pathologist. So, what's your take? Tragic accident or something else?
I don't have a take, detective.
[ Energy swishing ]
Rabbit: So, cause of death: She drowned and was electrocuted.
Corelli: What?
Rabbit: Alternating current: Even a low-voltage jolt can cause cardiac arrhythmia, hence the struggle and drowning.
Rabbit, there's no electricity near that tank.
Rabbit: Exactly! Unless she ran an extension cord from her room, this is murder.
Sandoval: If there was no electricity...
How could she be electrocuted? Um...
Skrills are a genetically-altered life-form. They're not electrical.
Rabbit: Well, it's no blow dryer, but life-forms are bursting with energy: Humans, taelons, skrills.
At the time of the murder, I was holo-conferencing with the mothership. There will be a complete record in my global, Including time and date stamp.
Corelli: They recorded that energy-sharing ceremony. Give me the disc. Schedule interviews with everyone on these premises; start with the group that discovered the body. Sister Margaret, Sister Jenna, Da'an.
Sandoval: You're not going to interrogate The North American Companion.
Excuse me -- until they put you in charge of metro homicide, I strongly suggest that you stop telling me what I'm gonna do.
[ Currents crackling ] [ Zapping ] [ Currents fizzling ]
[ Boom ] [ Exploding ] [ Glass shattering ]
Liam: What was that all about?
Da'an: To what are you referring?
Shuttles don't self-destruct; I saw you leave the scene.
You misinterpret my actions.
There is nothing to misinterpret. There's a murderer loose and you stranded us here: Why?
It is not your place to question me, Liam.
Corelli: Transformer blew - We have no power or vehicles. We're stuck here for now; what about the body?
Rabbit: That walk-in fridge is a dream. She'll be fine for days.
We don't need days. Metro can send help in a few hours!
Sandoval: Call your superior. Taelon property was sabotaged and I'm assuming jurisdiction. You report everything to me now. And no one leaves these grounds.
Sandoval: Looking for this? Let's talk about Elizabeth Atherton and the resistance.
Renee: Sister Elizabeth was in the resistance?
Come on. It's in here. Is this what you were searching for, Miss Palmer?
Why would I be searching for something I didn't know existed?
Why would you break into a secured area?
Doors has a small fortune invested in these taelon co-ventures, not to mention my reputation. This murder could impact our company. Damn right I'm gonna find out everything I can.
Focus on your own business, Miss Palmer, and let us handle ours.
Liam: What the hell was he doing there?
Renee: Same as I was - Looking for evidence.
Did he find any?
He's got her diary. He knows she was in the resistance.
[ Tool beeping ]
Sandoval: More tests?
Rabbit: I don't know when the cavalry's gonna get here, so I wanna keep some blood at a constant temperature, you know, just in case.
[ Global buttons blipping ]
Make sure you copy me on any new findings.
Corelli said I didn't have to.
Talk to him again.... Rabbit.
Corelli: Da'an asked permission For Zu'or and him to leave. Said they'd make themselves available.
Liam: If you're asking me to guarantee their appearance once they leave, I can't.
Well, maybe it's not an issue.
What do you mean?
The obvious answer is usually the right one. Financial records on the victim. She was loaded. Guess who her new beneficiary is?
Margaret: You wanted to see me?
Thank you, Major. Sister. We play the odds in police work. We follow the money.
I'm sorry; I don't understand.
I'll make it simple for you. Elizabeth Atherton left her entire estate to you.
Of course she did. Not to me specifically: To the sisterhood. We've all willed our money to the cloister.
The rest of you didn't have a trust fund worth $20 million. In the sister's case, it's a revocable trust: She can change the beneficiary. Which she undoubtedly would do if she ever left the cloister.
Sister Elizabeth wasn't leaving the cloister.
All of the sisters told me the same story about Elizabeth. She had a game-plan for her time here. If she didn't meet her timetable for career advancement, she was out of here.
The cloister is not a career, detective.
You couldn't give Elizabeth everything she wanted without alienating the rest of the sisters. And you couldn't face losing those funds, which would guarantee the cloister's future. I think you panicked.
Am I under arrest? I thought not.
Rabbit: Blood chromatography's out of the question. I can't run a D.N.A. scan. But no blackout's gonna stop me from running a few easy tests. Look at this... Our friend Elizabeth was pregnant.
[ Woman screaming ]
A sister: Sister? Sister Jenna!
Margaret: What happened?
Jenna: I was attacked. By... By a taelon. A taelon came out of nowhere, glowing blue. He put his hands up to my head. It felt... It felt like I was gonna explode.
Corelli: Which taelon attacked you?
I don't know. Please... We have to make sure my baby's okay. Please.
Sandoval: You have no basis to interrogate the taelons again.
Corelli: What the hell? I got a victim identifying her attacker as a taelon.
An hysterical victim! Partially identifying a suspect with diplomatic immunity.
Don't give me immunity. Taelons can be tried for murder. I studied the Rho-ha case. You know the one: You were lead counsel.
Corelli: Where were you at the time of the murder?
Zu'or: Da'an already told you that we were together.
You've spoken with Da'an since my interview with him.
Of course. One of our devoted human supporters has been murdered. We are disturbed.
Anything else about the murder you talked about with Da'an?
Da'an: Zu'or!
[ Turbulent swooshing ]
Zu'or: No. We are finished here.
[ Knocking at door ]
Liam: Sister Margaret, do you have a minute?
Margaret: What can I do for you?
I wanted to talk about the pregnancies.
Which ones? All the sisters are pregnant.
You encourage that?
It was in my original doctrine for the cloister. By engaging in energy-sharing while we are pregnant, our offspring will enter the world in an enlightened state.
Aren't you concerned about the safety of your baby?
I'm not pregnant. I am the only one of the sisters who can't have children. Now, if you'll excuse me.
[ Knocking at door ]
Margaret: Now what? Come! Zu'or! I'm honoured.
Zu'or: Please rise. I am not a deity.
You're more than that. You're pure energy. While I'm trapped in this embarrassing lump of flesh, a mind enslaved by its own body.
We are not so unalike. Taelons take nourishment. We require rest. And once, we reproduced, much as you do.
I didn't know. What a gift, to be past the urges of biology.
I am not convinced of that. There is strength in passion. There was great power in taelon... Your word would be fertility.
What is the taelon word?
Ka'ath'am. But we have evolved past it.
You're lucky.
I am anything but! [ Smashing ] I am desperately trying to ensure the survival of my kind.
I understand.
While you humans breed at whim!
Liam: What's going on?
Margaret: Nothing! Please, leave us, immediately!
Liam: Well?
Rabbit: You're in my light.
Is it picking up the energy signature?
Yes. Now you're hovering. You're not gonna like this. This body carries two distinct energy signatures. Both taelons touched her. We've proved nothing.
I can prove who the killer is.
Liam: Just hear me out, mitch. With taelons, energy is their biology. When a taelon touches something, They leave an energy residue, just like we leave body oil.
Corilli: Like a taelon fingerprint?
Exactly. So, we tested Elizabeth's body for taelon energy.
Rabbit: But we found both there; it's inconclusive.
Liam: You're wrong. Elizabeth has the energy of both Da'an and Zu'or in her body and we know she touched one taelon during the energy-sharing. If she holds the energy of two taelons, that means the second taelon touched her later.
When he killed her.
Corilli: We don't even know which taelon the girl touched.
Liam: We do - The ceremony was recorded. You confiscated the disc with the rest of the evidence.
Now you're piquing my interest.
Margaret on tape: Only the strongest among us can endure the presence of taelon energy in our bodies. We are ready to receive.
[ Energy zapping ]
Liam: Zu'or. Elizabeth touched Zu'or. But that means Da'an...
Corilli: Officer, find Da'an. Confine him to his room. Liam... Please inform your companion that he's under arrest for murder.
[ Energy zapping ]
[ Recorder blipping ] [ Blipping ] [ Energy zapping ] [ Recorder blipping ]
[ A woman screaming ]
Margaret: Why can you give life and not me? You don't understand what it means to be the last of your species!
Renee: Noo! Ahh!
It's not fair!
Noo! Ahh!
[ Blast ]
Liam: Uh!
[ Energy whooshing ]
Liam: [ gasping ] This is gonna kill you. Your body can't take it!
Margaret: I finally have the strength to do what must be done!
I don't want to hurt you -- please.
[ Zapping ]
I couldn't even fulfil my own doctrine. Why should they be able to, when I am barren? The sisters took their babies for granted. I couldn't let that go unpunished. They deserve to die.
[ Energy tinkling ]
Liam: Margaret's theory worked too well. She altered the frequency of her body's energy to exactly match Zu'or's. She was literally channelling Zu'or.
Da'an: You are not suggesting Zu'or was responsible for these murders?
Yes, partially. It was the effect of Zu'or's energy that drove Margaret to kill Elizabeth.
For over 2,000 years, Your species has murdered each other over petty jealousies in the name of faith. Those petty jealousies caused Elizabeth's death, not Zu'or.
Now, about the shuttle.
We have already established that I am not to be questioned further on this issue.
You had no reason to strand us here. So, I assumed the explosion was a diversion while you destroyed the evidence of Zu'or's guilt. But I was wrong. You snuck into the kitchen and the meditation room, but not to wipe away Zu'or's energy signature. To plant your own. You framed yourself for murder.
A fascinating theory. And why would I do that?
To cover up for Zu'or. Because you thought he was the killer? You did everything possible to steer the investigation to you. My question is - Why? Why implicate yourself to cover for Zu'or?
Why ask me? You seem to be the one with all the answers today, Liam.
Da'an: I warned you about the dangers of the ka'ath'am. You recklessly endangered taelon interests by ignoring me.
Zu'or: You do not understand what I am experiencing with the ka'ath'am.
Of course I do; I have had these feelings.
No, you have not! Because you have reproduced, the last of our species who has. I am the only taelon who will never know that completion.
A fact we must keep to ourselves.
Is that why you concealed the truth? To keep our secret? That I am the last of the taelons? That without humanity, we are a doomed and barren race?
No. I did it to protect you. You are my child, and I can never allow you to be harmed.
I would not do the same for you.
