Spectral

1

(explosions, then rumbling)

(gunfire)

(explosions)

(man over radio) Acknowledge

when in position, Sergeant Davis.

(whispering)

Dagger Team 1, copy. I keep losing you.

- How long till my backup's here?

- Working on it. Stand by.

(explosion, then rumbling)

Say eight to ten minutes.

Advise you stay put.

I can't wait for backup.

Send them in behind me.

Davis, maintain your position.

They're on their way.

(whirring)

(tinkling)

(whirring)

Dagger Team 1, you seeing this?

There's some kind of disturbance here.

Davis, what is that? What are you seeing?

What the hell?

Davis.

Davis, what's your status?

(radio static)

Davis, come in!

(whirring)

(man) Got you.

(man 1)... gonna get a late start.

(man 2)

Right, well, it's a closed session.

(woman)

Most of the specs stayed the same...

(man over PA)

Dr. Osbourne, call 204. Dr. Osbourne, 204.

(indistinct chattering)

(man 1) They're issuing temporaries

for that R and D, as far as I know.

(man 2)

Is that part of the same badge or...?

(man 3) I'm pretty sure.

- (man 2) All right.

- (man 4) How's it going?

- (man 5) Hey.

- (man 6) Hi.

- (man 7) We'll get everything.

- (man 8) Marty was already in?

(man 9) Yeah.

(man 10)

And she's working on that project?

(man 11) They'll be done in about a week.

I was gonna say...

(man over PA) Don Taylor, report

to Laser Laboratory Building B, Laser Lab.

(man 1) Okay, I'll take a look.

- Where have you been?

- (Clyne) Solving problems.

You look... dusty.

Sometimes you gotta get dusty, Efrem.

- Test the pulse?

- Yeah.

Went down to the vault,

asked Johnson for some tetracene,

but apparently, we don't store it.

It's outdated and expensive as sh*t.

It got expensive.

Back in the '90s, it used to be cheap.

So, if you look hard enough...

you can still find some lying around.

You find a street gang

that slings tetracene?

Industrial printer cartridge,

$14.99 back in the day.

- Get me a mount, would you?

- Here you go.

Thank you.

(Efrem) You gonna tell the suits

you're running this on a 20-year-old part?

I'll show them it works and say:

"That's the difference between a prototype

and a production model."

Okay.

Concavity is spun to zero.

Lens track is hot.

Alignment is keyed in.

You are good to go.

I'll let you call it.

(whirring, then beeping)

(powering up)

If you think about the applications on

other materials, it could be significant.

Metals, for instance, can be shattered

with very little effort or noise.

Concrete, rubber... they're all vulnerable

to violent temperature changes.

Yeah, this project started

as a request from SEAL Team 6.

After the siege in Rwanda,

they came to us

asking for the capability...

to flash freeze or boil

the enemy's water supply.

Now, this device could have

driven the enemy out.

And you... tried this on living things?

That wasn't our intent here, initially.

We'd like you test it.

Any volunteers?

(chuckling)

(chuckles) Well... we'll give it a try.

Gentlemen, why don't we go sit down?

We'll talk over the next steps. All right?

Yeah. Right this way.

(indistinct chattering)

(Mindala) What do you want,

a clean conscience?

Test it with a slab of beef

for all I care.

What I want is to use it

for what we originally designed it as.

A deterrent.

Nobody said anything

about microwaving people's lungs.

It's war.

It's the business we're in.

Remember what you sold it to me as

when you hired me?

Defense.

(chuckles)

And that's still partially true.

But war is good business.

So is human trafficking.

We work for DARPA, Mark.

We work for the government.

"I don't know what weapons

we'll use in World War III,

- but World War IV will be fought with..."

- "Sticks and stones." Albert Einstein.

- He worked for the government.

- Mm-hm. That's right.

And if you ask him, I don't think

he thought that was his finest hour.

I'm sure he has feelings about

flash-boiling human flesh.

Ever think about prosthetic limbs

with full sensory feedback?

Ah. Prosthetics... don't win wars.

Did you hear that?

That is the empathetic scientist

in you dying.

Hmm.

Did you brief your guys

on how to operate the ray?

- I did.

- Good.

Then you can start packing.

Can you be more specific?

Mm-hm.

About these goggles.

Your... hyperspectral goggles

being deployed by Special Forces

in Eastern Europe in the Moldovan War.

- I'm aware. I read the field reports.

- No, you have not read this report.

Orland called me personally.

General Orland.

He said things are very...

sensitive down there.

And they're... seeing things.

Okay. Like what?

They won't tell me.

They won't share the video feed.

They won't discuss what they're seeing.

They just want the lead engineer

down there to advise and consult.

Look, you invented these goggles

to keep our guys safe.

Well, now they need your help.

Think of it as defense.

(man 1) Let me reboot the guidance system.

(man 2) It's locked tight.

We have to pull it out.

(man 3) All right, let's go. Move it out.

(indistinct chattering)

- Mark Clyne?

- What?

You the guy that designed

the helmet cam?

- Yes. Mark Clyne.

- James Orland. Come with me.

(Clyne)

A lot of new boots on the ground here.

(Orland) The country's in chaos.

The insurgency is mostly remnants

of the military dictatorship

that ran this place

until about two months ago.

And their popular support is primarily

in the north part of the country...

near the Russian border,

and here in the capital.

The problem is

their forces are well-trained.

They're threatening to turn

this whole thing into a civil war.

(indistinct chattering)

Moldova. Russians had it, lost it.

It became independent,

but it's struggling internally.

On the one hand, you have an insurgency,

made up of the regime's

former elite soldiers.

They're well-trained and dangerous.

On the other,

you have most of the population,

who are tearing down the regime's flags

and demanding a new government.

Civil unrest, as complicated as it is,

is a business we're familiar with.

We like to think we're good at it.

But this thing your camera found...

it's a whole new piece of business.

I can't send this video to EUCOM.

I'm just afraid they'd think it's a joke.

(Clyne)

DOD doesn't have a sense of humor.

(Orland) Typically not. Hook us up.

I'm sure there's a scientific explanation

for what's on these,

but until you tell me,

I'm not sending it

up the chain of command.

- You done?

- (man) Yes, sir.

- Get out. Seal us in. Wait outside.

- Sir.

(door closes)

Nobody here has been able

to make heads or tails of this.

It's thrown a wrench

into our entire operation

for reasons I'm not at liberty

to discuss with you.

I can tell you we need answers fast.

- Do you mind?

- You spotted that quick.

Five different helmet cams picked up

something similar in the last three weeks.

At first, our signals intelligence tech

wrote it off as interference.

That's not interference.

I don't think you'd fly me

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