Hey.
What's that?
Dinner. I thought I'd cook tonight.
How long are you guys gonna stay mad at me for?
I'll get it.
Hi, I'm Detective Mason.
Your parents home?
Thank you.
Do you know why I'm here?
- No. - I don't. No.
You both know Ryan Holder.
Since college.
Forever.
Well, two days ago,
his girlfriend, Mindy Stewart, reported him missing.
Missing?
She hadn't heard from him in 12 hours. She said that wasn't usual.
Then he missed a dinner date they had planned.
When was the last time either of you saw Mr. Holder?
Yeah, I saw him… It was five days ago.
- Where did you see him? - I saw him at his apartment.
- How'd he seem? - He seemed totally fine.
Nothing out of the ordinary?
No, I didn't… I didn't notice anything.
And you? When was the last time you saw Mr. Holder?
Yeah, I… I saw him three days ago.
Where?
At the Village Tap. It's a bar.
Yeah, we actually have CCTV footage of the two of you there.
Oh, well…
It appears to be the last place that anyone saw or heard from Mr. Holder.
How'd he seem that night?
Well, to be honest…
not great.
What makes you say that?
The main thing, I noticed he was drinking a lot that evening.
Is that notable?
Yeah. He's been sober since high school.
Never seen him drink.
Where'd you two go after the bar?
I came home, and…
God, I don't know where he went.
Well, thank you very much.
If you think of anything else, my cell's on the back.
Thank you.
I'll see myself out.
Will you come upstairs?
This is why I went to Ryan.
Where did you find this?
I followed you to the storage unit.
And I took one to Ryan to see if he could tell me what it was.
It's not what you think.
This is an experimental compound designed to shut down
certain regions in the prefrontal cortex.
For what purpose?
So that I can observe macroscopic objects while they're in superposition.
Ryan built it for me.
Why didn't he tell me?
He's under an NDA. Now, why didn't you confront me with it?
'Cause I feel like we've become strangers, and I hate it.
And I'm scared.
Are you using it?
Don't lie to me.
Yes.
Is it affecting you?
Well, the side effects are pretty intense.
I want you to stop.
Okay.
- Can you stop? - Yes.
I will.
And what's in the storage unit?
A lot of stuff from…
Just for my project.
Well, it feels like you were hiding it.
Because I was.
I guess I felt guilty of wanting more, doing more.
So, yeah.
Are you really sure that we need to do this?
I think it's a waste of two ampoules.
A waste of an entire day.
Listen, I know.
But in all our testing, the drug was found to be habit forming,
and it was never evaluated under this level of continuous use.
We've been living like this… In fight or flight for 29 days.
We really need a break.
We need something completely different.
- Doctor's orders. - Okay.
Everybody gather around me,
and let's get into our horseshoe like we practiced.
Okay. Who knows why we're here?
Look.
Now, do you remember what we celebrate during cold-fusion week?
When the first fusion reactor went online.
Yes. Okay, are you ready to go inside?
- Yes! - Okay, follow me.
Where have you brought us?
I'm not sure.
I didn't even describe the world.
Focused on concepts I thought would make a world worth experiencing.
Such as?
People agreeing on basic facts,
technology that doesn't destroy the environment or humanity.
Mostly, I wrote about empathy.
Hi.
Two hot chocolates, please.
- Thank you. - Thank you.
So, you wrote about the people, not the things.
Life's about who you share it with, right?
Is it good?
Yeah.
I think the cup is edible.
- Yeah. - It's good, right?
You got it!
It's called the Spire.
Top of the Obama Building. Best in the city.
My friend's the manager. Tell her Sid sent you.
Thank you.
- I'm loving this Chicago. - Yeah.
Wait, what? Are we leaving?
I'm leaving.
It's a surprise. Meet me in two hours?
Okay. Where?
How about that restaurant?
Okay.
Good?
Cool.
Sorry. Bye.
- Another one? - Yeah.
No, I wanna do it. I'm gonna do it.
No, it's gonna be great. It's gonna be great.
- Hey. Hi. - Hi.
- Would you mind taking our photo? - Sure.
Thanks.
- Just that little button right there. - Oh, yeah.
Is there a special occasion?
Yeah, it's our anniversary.
- Yay. - Hope that's okay.
- You guys both look very happy. - Thank you.
You and your partner too.
I took a photo of you two.
- He does this. - Sorry.
You were just too cute not to.
How long you been together?
Sorry?
Yeah, not too long.
Thank you.
Wow.
It's amazing.
I feel extremely underdressed.
That's for you.
Okay.
Guess I'll be right back.
Hot. Very hot.
Yeah, it's amazing what a wash of the face can do.
- Cheers. - Yeah.
I got something for you.
Close your eyes.
All right. Open.
Where?
I saw them in a storefront in a bodega as I was wandering around.
- You remembered. - Yeah.
Thank you.
Yeah.
- You did? - I had to.
- And? - You're not a scientist.
What am I?
You sell insurance.
That is boring.
I also looked me up.
The Amanda Lucas of this world went missing two years ago.
Like me, she was born in Seattle,
which is now part of a country called Cascadia.
Like me, she grew up mostly in São Paulo and moved to Chicago when she was 17.
She has multiple citizenships.
Unlike me, her parents are gone and she never had a brother.
Wow.
So it's…
it's perfect.
Using facial recognition and a retinal scan,
I was able to get a new passport in ten minutes.
This Amanda has really good credit.
All right, what the fuck are you talking about?
I'm staying.
I can't keep doing this.
I think you see it too.
You have a home you're looking for, but I don't have that.
I can't go back to my world.
I'm completely alone except for you.
And you're not even my Jason.
So you're abandoning me?
Jason.
I want you to stay.
Yeah.
I mean, I know that there are countless worlds with Jasons
that are much smarter than me that would love to stay.
And I'm sorry that I… I just can't be one of them.
As much as…
At least I should leave you some ampoules.
- Why? - Why?
We don't know that this is gonna work.
No world can be perfect,
but we have to choose to make our life as great as it can be.
What are you gonna do? Where are you gonna go?
Move back to Seattle,
where no one knows Amanda Lucas anymore.
Start over.
Thought it all through. Are you sure about it?
If consciousness makes our connection to reality,
then it's not only the consciousness of the person
who opens the door that matters.
It's both our minds.
What if I'm the thing that is keeping you from connecting to your world,
from getting back to them?
You're amazing.
And I'm sorry. It was me.
- I pulled you into this. I… - No. No.
None of that.
No regrets.
I hope you find them.
Thank you.
- Hello? - Hi.
Hi.
What number are you calling from?
My phone died.
I just borrowed a phone from someone here.
Is everything okay?
Yeah, I was just calling to see how your morning's going.
Do you mean since I saw you an hour ago?
Is everything okay?
Yeah. Yeah.
Just hit me that…
I take so many moments with you for granted.
I get up in the morning, I go about my day,
but it just hit me with…
with clarity that I just love you so much.
And I just thought I'd better tell you because…
you just never know, you know?
How about I cancel our plans for tonight,
and I'll wear my sexiest sweatpants?
I would really love that.
Look, I got to go 'cause this
Zoom with the investors is about to start.
- Yeah. Okay. - Okay.
I love you, sweetheart.
I'll see you tonight.
Dad?
Charlie?
No. It's your other son.
What are you doing?
I couldn't sleep.
So you got dressed in all black and put your shoes on
so you could stand around your own kitchen?
Well, I thought a walk might help.
Well, don't let me keep you.
I love you, kiddo.
What?
What's the matter?
I know how much of a massive disappointment I am to you.
No.
No, I could never.
- What? What are you doing? - Hey. What's the matter?
Talk to me.
What's going on with you?
Dad, it's almost the anniversary.
Keep thinking about Holly and how unfair it all is.
She could have made something of herself.
Meanwhile, my stupid ass is just failing trig.
Hey.
Max.
Life is not like that.
- It's complicated. It's… - That girl is dead.
I have her heart. I live and she doesn't.
Do you really think I need to be told that life is fucking complicated?
No.
Fuck off.
Max.
How's your week been?
Well,
Daniela went behind my back,
and she spoke to a good friend of mine about me and about my work.
About things that she really should have come to me with.
So I'm thinking about just packing up and leaving.
Do you think that will solve your problems?
Y… Why do you have a problem
with me removing myself from a bad situation?
I don't have a problem with that.
But do you think it's possible that you are actually running away from yourself,
from who you really are?
You know, I don't know a thing about you.
We're not here to talk about me.
Yeah, but how am I supposed to trust you?
Come on, just one thing.
Just one.
No? Okay.
Well, how about I tell you something about yourself?
Like, you have a sweet tooth.
I keep candy on my desk.
That's not a state secret.
Yeah, but it says that you like to be liked,
that you're a nice person.
And I think that psychology most likely wasn't your first love.
You're right. I had many loves.
And you seem to me to be the kind of person
that tends to give up a lot of yourself to help others, particularly men.
And, no, no, no, you would never walk away from a bad situation.
In fact, I think that you had a parent that needed to be cared for.
Yeah.
She needed you so much that that is exactly the reason why you became
the kind of person that needs to rescue other people instead of helping yourself.
I'd like you to leave.
Now.
Yeah.
Hi, Jason. Sorry to bother you.
I just had a couple questions, happened to be in the neighborhood.
Sit.
We finally looked up Ryan Holder's cell phone records.
The last location before it went offline was an industrial area in South Chicago.
Okay.
It appears he went there straight after having drinks with you at the Village Tap.
Right.
Any idea what he might have been doing in that part of town
- in the middle of the night? - No.
You didn't go there with him?
No.
He didn't tell you what he was doing out there?
No.
Okay.
You know, there's not much in the way of CCTV coverage in that part of town.
But if I find anything interesting, I'll be in touch.
You actually said, "Fuck you, I quit?"
- Life's too short. - All right. All right.
Hey, what was your boss's name?
Alan.
Here's to you, Alan.
But eat a bag of dicks.
Fuck you, Alan.
Why? You got a asshole boss in your life?
Yeah.
You're looking at him.
So, wait, what is this? What is it that you do exactly?
I own a garage. Loyalty Motors. You probably heard of us.
No?
Service all the fancy hipsters over in Logan Square.
Did you always wanna own a garage?
Actually, if things had gone a little different,
I might've ended up at UChicago with you.
No shit.
I know I don't look like it,
but I was a pretty smart motherfucker back in the day.
I had a full academic scholarship at UChicago.
What happened?
My dumb-ass got a DUI the summer after my senior year.
Was at a party for my buddy.
We were wasted, and so we flipped a coin and I lost.
Then I drove and we hit a checkpoint on the way home.
Do you ever wonder…
All the fucking time.
Another round, boys?
We probably should.
I'm gonna have a whiskey. You want a whiskey?
Yeah.
Thanks.
You ever get the feeling when you meet someone,
you're sure you've met them before?
- Yeah. - Yeah?
There you go, lads.
- Thanks. - Yeah.
The first time I see you is at the garden party.
And when your eyes meet mine,
it feels like some piece of machinery has just seized inside of my chest,
like worlds colliding.
I've always known, on a purely intellectual level,
that human separateness is an illusion.
We're all made of the same thing:
Blown-out pieces of matter formed in the fires of dead stars.
I've just never felt that knowledge in my bones
until this moment here with you.
I only remember pieces of what was said,
how you laughed, how the wine stained your lips.
And then you say to me,
"I have a friend whose gallery opening is tonight.
Do you wanna come?"
And I thought, "I'd go anywhere with you."
I'm leaving a world today where our boy made it.
Where Max is alive.
I almost took that Jason's life the same way mine was taken.
But I realize something.
I need my life and my family, no one else's.
"I used to think that…
life was about reaching some perfect destination.
Because I hadn't reached it yet, I felt somehow ill at ease.
But I had seen the perfection.
I had reached it, and I'm starting to suspect
that it is the imperfections of life that amount to a different kind of perfection."
"I just wanna be home…
back on the journey…
with this version of you."
Well, how can I help you, sir?
You know me?
Yes, Jason, I know you.
- Okay. - Oh, Matt.
What do…
- What are you drinking? What's going on? - No, not tonight, man.
Not tonight!
Swung in for a hug. Okay. Thanks.
Hey.
Hey. Wow. That looks good. Hey.
Sorry. Ryan finally called.
I went and picked him up in a bar in Gary,
and he was on a massive bender.
Is he okay?
Well, he's… No.
He's in a pretty bad way.
He's going through some stuff.
Where is he now?
He's at home, sleeping it off. He's…
Maybe he shouldn't be alone.
I called Mindy. She's on her way.
Good.
And I gotta call Detective Mason.
Just to, you know, let her know.
Hey, why don't you text me Mindy's number?
- I'll check on her. - Yeah. Yeah.
Hi. Help you with something?
- Yeah. I wanna buy a handgun. - Okay.
Don't really know the first thing about them.
No worries. The purpose would be?
- Just home defense. - Okay.
So, we've got this Glock 23 right here.
It's a.40 caliber. Austrian-made, solid knockdown power.
Now, I can get you in a subcompact version
if you want something a little smaller for a concealed carry permit.
So, that would take down an intruder?
Oh, yeah. Yeah, this will put 'em down.
Won't be getting up either.
Is that… Can I… Is it… How many bullets does it…
- It's rounds. Thirteen. Yeah. - Rounds?
You got it.
- Yeah, what do you think? - Yeah.
- Well, it feels like a gun. - Yeah.
All right. Well, I can show you a few more.
I've got a really nice Smith & Wesson.357 if you want a revolver instead.
No. It… That's perfect. And I'll take it.
Yeah? Okay, great. You got your FOID card?
What is that?
It's your Firearm Owners Identification card issued by the Illinois State Police.
And how do I get one?
You have to apply for it.
Okay.
In the meantime,
have you got anything like pepper spray, or mace?
- Yeah, sure do, right over here. - Yeah?
I recommend the Fox Labs pepper spray. It's got 5.3 million Scoville Heat Units.
It's the hottest and strongest on the market.
- All right, great. Yeah. I'll do that. - Yeah?
- And can I have a look at a knife? - Yeah, right here.
You looking for anything in particular, or…
- I mean, no. This one? - That's a good choice.
This is the Spyderco Civilian.
Designed for self-defense and hand-to-hand combat.
Just be careful.
- Yeah. I'll take both. - Okay.
Great.
I will ring you up right over there.
- Appreciate your business. Yep. - Thank you.
- Have a good one. - Yeah.
Did you change your mind about the knife?
I wanted to buy a handgun.
I just don't really know the first thing about them.
Didn't we just have this conversation?
What are you talking about?
We just did this.
I showed you a Glock. You didn't have your FOID card.
You bought mace and a knife?
No, I've never been in this store.
Okay. Yeah. Do you have a twin?
No.
Are you saying that someone was just in here that looks a lot like me?
Yeah. Yeah, exactly like you.
Same clothes and every… Well, he didn't…
He didn't have a brace on his finger.
How long ago was that?
He walked out 20 seconds before you walked in.
Hey, do you know which direction he went?
I didn't see.
You wanna tell me what the hell's going on?