The Imitation Game Page #3

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Well, this is inhuman.

Even for you.

Popular at school, were you?

The prob/em began, of course,

with the carrots.

The carrots are orange.

The peas are green. They mustn't touch.

Do you know why people like violence?

It is because it feels good.

Humans #nd violence deeply satisfying.

But remove the satisfaction

and the act becomes hollow.

Turing?

Come on.

Don't be such a kike about it.

Leave him to bloody rot.

I didn? learn this on my own,

of course-

I had help.

Christopher helped.

Alan, are you all right?

t's not my fault.

The carrots got in with the peas and...

I'm sorry, I won't let them do it again.

They're getting worse.

They only beat me up

because I'm smarter than they are.

No, they beat you up

because you're different.

- Mother says I'm just an odd duck.

- And she's right.

But you know, Alan,

sometimes it's the very people

who no one imagines anything of

who do the things no one can imagine.

So what do we do now?

- We're short on staff.

- Well, we, uh, we get more staff, then.

And how do you propose to do that?

Erm, Alan Turing

to see Stewart Menzies.

Very good, sir.

So who are they?

Oh, all sorts, really.

A teacher. An engineer.

A handful of students.

And you think

they're qualified for Bletchley

'cause they're good

at crossword puzzles?

Well, they say they're good

and now we shall find out, won't we?

In order to aid your efforts,

there is, to the right of you,

a green scratch card book.

You are to make notes in that.

Gentlemen, you have six minutes

in which to complete the puzzle,

at which point I will...

Pardon me, ma'am,

this room's restricted.

Oh, apologies for my tardiness.

The bus caught a flat tyre.

May I continue, please? Thank you.

- You're not allowed in here, ma'am.

- Oh, but I'm only a few minutes late...

The secretaries are to head upstairs.

This room's for the candidates.

May I get on with this now, please?

- Uh, I am a candidate.

- For what position?

The letter didn't say, precisely.

Yes, the secretaries

are to head upstairs.

It did say that it was top secret.

What is going on?

I... I solved a crossword puzzle

in the newspaper

and I got this letter saying

that I was a candidate

for some sort of mysterious job.

My name's Joan Clarke.

Miss, did you really solve

this puzzle yourself?

What makes you think

I couldn't solve the puzzle myself?

I'm really very good at...

Ma'am, I'll have to ask you to...

Miss Clarke, I find tardiness

under any circumstance unacceptable.

Take a seat so that we may continue.

Thank you.

Now, as I was saying,

you have six minutes

to complete the task in front of you.

Erm, gentlemen, and lady...

Begin.

Six minutes.

- Is that even possible?

- No, no. Takes me eight.

This isn't about crossword puzzles.

It's about how one approaches

solving an impossible problem.

Do you tackle the whole thing

at once or divide it into small...

You've finished?

Yes.

Five minutes and 34 seconds.

You said to do it in under six.

Congratulations.

My warmest welcome

to His Majesty's Service.

If you speak a word

of what I'm about to show you,

you will be executed for high treason.

You will lie to your friends,

your family

and everyone you meet

about what it is you really do.

And what is it that we're really doing?

We're going to break an unbreakable

Nazi code and win the war.

Oh.

What's that you're reading?

- it's about cryptography.

- Like secret messages?

Not secret. That's the brilliant part.

Messages that anyone can see

but no one knows what they mean

unless you have the key.

How's that different from talking?

- Talking?

- When people talk to each other,

they never say what they mean,

they say something else.

And you're expected

to just know what they mean.

Only I never do.

So...

How's that different?

Alan, I have a funny feeling

you're going to be very good at this.

Goodnight, Alan.

Goodnight.

Careful, will you? It's not a toy.

Funny. Looks like a toy.

Bloody great 100,000 one.

Your new minion's arrived.

- Jack Good. We met...

- Well, where's Miss Clarke?

Lovely, isn't he?

it's not just a usual

humdrum production mill factory.

I mean, well, as I was saying,

it's a very important radio factory.

It's not, actually.

On the spectrum of radio

factories, this one is particularly...

Why are you not at Bletchley?

Thank you so much for your visit,

Mr Turing.

- Was your trip pleasant?

- Gather your things and let's go.

I'm sorry but I'm unable

to accept your offer.

We feel that such a position

would hardly be appropriate.

You earned a double first

in mathematics.

But sadly, wasn't granted

the opportunity to become a fellow.

You belong at Bletchley.

I'm sorry, but for someone

in my position to live, to...

To work in a radio factory

so far from home,

with all your men, erm, it would be...

ndecorous.

What in the world does that even mean?

We have a group of young ladies

who tend to all of our clerical tasks.

Assistants, translators.

They live, erm, together in town.

Would that be

a more suitable environment?

Hmm. So... So I would be working

amongst these women?

Yes.

Wonderful ladies.

They even organise social events

at St Martin's church down the road.

Really, the whole thing is quite, er,

um, decorous.

Now, you won't have

proper security clearance, of course,

so we'll have to improvise things a bit.

Why are you helping me?

Because there is only one thing that

matters in this entire world right now,

do you understand?

And that is breaking Enigma.

But... But Mr Turing...

Why are you helping me?

Oh, um...

Sometimes it's the very people

who no one imagines anything of

who do the things

that no one can imagine.

Sir.

- What this?

- Alan Turing's classified military tile.

- Bloody empty.

- Exactly.

- it's an empty manila envelope.

- Yeah.

You've cracked the case wide open, then,

haven't you?

Alan Turing's war records

aren't just classified,

they're non-existent.

That means someone's got rid of them,

erased them, burnt them.

And that same person broke

into his house and stole nothing?

Guy Burgess and Donald Maclean.

- What, the spies from the papers?

- Soviet spies.

But first they were professors,

weren't they?

Radicalised at Cambridge,

then they joined the Communist Party,

then the Foreign Office,

then leaked information to Stalin

during the war.

Now, can you think of anyone else

we know who was at Cambridge,

then took up something murky

and top secret when the war broke out?

You think this Alan Turing

might be a Soviet agent?

I think something very serious

is happening right here under our noses.

Wouldn't you like

to rind out what it is?

Welcome, ladies.

If you'd like to follow me.

Some people thought

we were at war with the Germans.

Incorrect.

We were at war with the clock.

Britain was literally starving to death.

The Americans sent over 100,000 tonnes

of food every week

and every week the Germans would

send our desperately needed bread

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