Original subtitles

yeah, I can hear her crying.

Try that little rock-twist thing I do.

That usually soothes her.

It worked?

Look at that.

Uh, sweetheart,

I have to go.

Yeah. Give here a kiss for me, would you?

Okay, bye.

Hey there. Where you headed?

What you doing out here all by yourself?

What about your parents? Do they know you're out here?

No, sir.

What's your name, son?

Teddy.

Why don't you hop in, teddy?

So you were running away?

Yeah.

well, I took off a few times when I was your age.

But I bet there's people out there worried,

Looking for you.

And you know what? It doesn't matter what happened.

I'm sure as soon as they see you-

Oh, my god!

Oh, god, if I wasn't looking at him myself,

I wouldn't believe we caught one.

I always thought they were nut jobs.

The people who told those stories.

Seeing is believing.

where'd he pick him up?

just off of 940.

A quarter mile down the road from edina.

Teddy, I'm gonna take your picture.

Can you put your juice down and sit up for me?

I think we should call the papers, johnny.

He's just a kid.

He's one of them.

I don't care how old he is,

People have a right to know.

We're not calling anyone until this thing goes

Through proper channels.

How much you want to bet somebody in the proper channels

Leaks it to-

I'm sorry.

Walter, come on. Let's go.

Why do I have to go in there?

Because we're out of milk.

And because you haven't left the house in over a week,

And you can't just stay inside

Watching old movies all the time.

Look at all those people, peter.

What if I get lost again?

What if he's in there?

Walter...

He's not in there.

And I promise you

I will never let you get kidnapped again.

Okay?

No. No.

I'm learning to appreciate cowardice.

The lion had a point.

The lion? The cowardly lion.

But again, that was just a movie.

And there's no flying monkeys inside the grocery store.

hey.

Hey, can you be ready to go in half an hour?

Why? What's up?

Three dead cops and a missing kid.

Doesn't really sound like our kind of case.

Yeah, well, wait till you hear about the kid.

john pekarsky was the senior trooper

On duty last night.

He uploaded his report to the state police database

Sometime after 9:00.

According to the coroner,

Pekarsky and the other two troopers on duty

Were dead within the hour.

And the kid? He was gone.

I think whoever did this was coming for him.

They didn't leave any kind of trail.

We haven't found a single print or shell casing.

And they took the surveillance hard drive.

But there was a picture of the kid?

Pekarsky uploaded it along with his report.

I saw a boy who looked like this once.

He was young, like this child,

And he played the banjo, I think.

It was a haunting melody.

yes.

you saw it too.

Yes, I did. It's a movie, walter.

It's called deliverance. We saw it together.

Probably not the same boy.

According to his report,

This kid looked completely normal

When pekarsky picked him up.

Agent broyles, we found something

You might want to take a look at.

We found it in their files.

There are 30 or 40 reports in there.

Strange stories about these deformed people.

Well, some of these are 30 years old.

"I saw him change in front of me.

Suddenly he was hideous. "

Like trooper pekarsky reported.

"misshapen and deformed.

It looked like a cousin of bigfoot. "

That's clearly wrong.

This boy bears no resemblance at all to a sasquatch.

Or a yeti, for that matter.

Well, you don't-

You don't believe in those creatures?

Why shouldn't I?

Just because no one has documented

Flying monkeys or talking lions yet

Hardly means they don't exist.

agent frug,

My father's a bit of a shock-doc.

Don't let him alarm you.

All of these reports were dismissed.

Thee was no cooperation and no hard evidence.

But the vast majority of them occurred

In the same area.

Just outside edina.

That's where the boy was picked up,

Walking out of edina.

I guess that's where we start looking.

Dunham...

Whatever these things are,

It seems like they've managed to hide themselves for a while.

And from the looks of things,

They'll do just about anything to keep it that way.

Keep it in mind.

Yes, sir.

I don't think this is a good idea.

It's okay, we're just gonna ask a couple of questions.

There may be werewolves in these hills.

Werewolves? Mm.

That trooper reported that the boy changed

In front of his eyes.

So yes, I believe we may be looking

For some kind of therianthrope.

It's greek.

Refers to a creature that has a metamorphic ability

To shift between being a man an a beast.

It's mythological, of course.

I saw one once when I was a young man

Studying in london.

I was under the influence

Of a fairly potent blend of hashish-

guys, hang on a second.

do you hear that?

That buzz?

¶ ¶

¶ hard artichokes rarely keep ¶

¶ norwegian elephants ¶

¶ singapore sleep ¶

Hey, what- what are you singing?

I have no idea.

It just popped into my head.

It must be that- that buzzing.

I- I can't stop it.

agent dunham?

Sheriff velchik. Hi.

Thank you for meeting us on such short notice.

Oh, of course.

I couldn't help but notice

That you've gotten acquainted with the edina hum.

Yeah, what is that?

Military base, about five miles down the road.

They have a bunch of big turbine generators

That get pretty loud from time to time.

Well, that's one mystery solved.

Why don't we have some coffee.

Maybe I can help you with the other.

so I take it you've heard about what happened last night

To the three troopers in jonestown.

I understand that the perpetrators took a kid.

Yeah.

My god.

You've never seen anything like that before?

No.

I've never seen a photograph of... One of them.

Then you have heard the stories?

Of course. Telling those stories is

A bit of a local pastime.

You hear 'em all over this part of the state.

Well, sheriff, this boy was picked up

Just outside of your town.

and the state police have 30 or 40

Unconfirmed eyewitness reports.

Oh, yeah, we get our fair share of sightings,

But I've never been able to confirm them.

Nothing like this.

Well, we'd like to see those reports.

Of course. Anything I can do.

What is it?

It's nothing.

Joseph?

Federal agents came into the diner.

They had a photograph of teddy.

And they're asking questions about the killings.

I told you that wasn't the answer!

What choice did we have?

Well, what are we gonna do?

I don't know yet.

We didn't get anything from the autopsies.

Looks like the troopers were killed

With 12-gauge shotgun blasts.

But there's probably a shotgun

In every house in this part of the state.

you make a good point.

You went through all the sheriff's reports?

yeah, they've had similar sightings,

But nothing conclusive.

Though sheriff velchik did mention

A military base down the road.

You floating another government conspiracy theory, mr bishop?

You know me, I never miss a chance

For a good conspiracy theory.

Okay, I'll look into it.

God, how far away is the hotel? I'm exhausted.

I don't know.

It's only supposed to be a couple more miles.

Though somebody's already decided to call it a night.

Well, he's had a big day.

You got him out of the house he's working a case.

I understand why he's scared.

But it just doesn't seem like he's able

To snap out of it this time.

It reminds me of how he was

When we first got him out of st. Claire's.

I'm worried that he's starting to go backwards.

I think he's starting to appear

No less normal than the rest of us.

I ran into a guy from high school this morning.

You should have seen the look in his eyes

When I told him what I did.

Like chicks with guns turned him on?

More like I was a freak.

Like I had suddenly grown a third eye.

You ever get the feeling that doing this job

Just makes you less and less normal?

Absolutely.

Olivia!

Olivia.

Olivia!

Are we there yet, peter?

Walter, get down!

You know, it's generally pretty quiet in this area.

Not much in the way of dead cops

And feds being run off the road.

But you think you shot it?

Maybe. I don't know.

But it was able to drive off.

Yeah?

We'll be right there.

One of our agents just found an abandoned pickup truck

On the side of the road about a mile from here.

Back towards edina.

Is that the vehicle?

I don't know.

It was heading straight for us.

Could be.

Do we have a preliminary?

No plates, no registration.

We have a forensic team on the way.

we should have them run

The truck's vin number,

See if you can track down an owner.

Peter. Peter.

What? What is it?

the large blue.

Isn't she magnificent!

I've never seen one this big on this continent.

Look, olivia.

I know a certain lepidopterist who will be simply thrilled.

I have to get my kit from the car.

peter, look.

It's blood.

agent frug, over here. We got something.

Careful, peter.

you said you shot at the creature, right?

Yeah.

Yeah.

You sure you saw what you think you saw?

Agent frug,

What happened here is simple.

My son shot a beast. We found a man.

Obviously the creature transformed in the interim.

Peter, do you realize the significance of this?

We may have found a creature with metamorphic ability.

¶ hard artichokes rarely keep ¶

¶ norwegian elephants ¶

¶ singapore sleep ¶

There was no I.D. On the guy so we're gonna run some prints.

You had no choice.

First time I killed someone, the guy was a trained killer.

If I hadn't pulled the trigger, I'd be dead.

I still didn't sleep that night.

Or the next.

I'm just saying the first time's rough.

Take the ramp down to the left.

You're good. Just follow the mooing.

Dunham.

Everyone okay there?

More or less. Thanks.

I got a call from our military liaison.

There's something to the rumors

Of military testing at edina.

Turns out the army was there in the late '70s

Conducting a series of classified experiments.

Anything to do with metamorphic ability?

Not that I can tell.

The pentagon files have been almost entirely redacted.

I put a call into the d. O.D.,

But in the meantime I'm faxing what we have.

Right down here. Just put it right here.

Perfect. Thanks, fellas.

Agent farnsworth, help me with my kit.

I have to get to work,

But there's a wonderful specimen in there

For my favorite fan of four-winged fauna.

I think you'll be quite tickled.

peter, look at this.

The military experiment they did in edina

Was called "project elephant. "

Walter's song.

walter...

Were you involved in any military testing

In edina?

Not that I recall.

I'm sure I'd remember something as exciting

As human metamorphosis.

Another one that won't unzip.

Ugh.

Walter, it's very sweet of you

To remember how much I love butterflies,

But you forgot how much I hate moths.

What have you done to it?

Excuse me?

You saw it, peter.

It-it was an astounding creature!

Nothing like this. It's wing is deformed.

Walter, if that's your idea of a joke,

It's really not very funny.

Aah!

oh, my.

You'll want to add some wild thyme to the jar, dear.

It's possible we could get the moth to transform back.

It really was the most beautiful butterfly.

I'll believe that when I see it.

Walter, I understand what you're saying

About the moth and the man transforming in the same way,

But I just don't understand how that could be possible.

It's likely that both developed the ability

In response to the same experimental stimulus.

Slide.

You mean the military testing.

Exactly.

Well, why would the military be testing a butterfly?

A butterfly has two stages of life.

It's one of the few creatures with a demonstrated ability

To abruptly change its body structure.

That makes it a wonderful alpha test subject.

That's odd.

What?

There's no sign of histolysis or histogenesis.

Nothing to suggest a metamorphic ability.

I just don't understand how he can possibly

Have transformed himself.

So we didn't get a match on the fingerprints,

But we did get a hit

With the truck's vin number.

It was registered to joe falls.

But the address on the registration was old.

The house had been torn down years ago.

But he was from edina?

Yeah.

Joe falls?

He worked at the mill.

Still does odd jobs now and then.

You think that that thing that tried

To run you off the road- you think that could be him?

It's possible.

There was no photograph on his file,

So we haven't been able to make a positive I.D.

Do you have any idea where he's been living recently?

The last I heard,

He'd moved to the outskirts of town.

But I couldn't say where.

I mean, I'm happy to ask around for you.

We'd also like to have a look at the town records.

See if we can find a last known address or a photo

So that we can I.D.

Sure. I'll take you over to town hall.

Did you finish the analysis

On the blood sample from the moth?

Yes, I did.

It had some sort of genetic disorder.

Ah, germline mutation. Just as I thought.

This man has the exact same disorder.

Is that what you think let's them... Transform?

No, the mutation is what makes them deformed.

I have no idea what makes them transform.

Walter?

It's curious.

I have this strange feeling

That I've seen this mutation before.

Please, not that song again.

It's giving me a headache.

Ah, yes...

¶ hard artichokes rarely keep ¶

¶ norwegian elephants ¶

¶ singapore sleep ¶

The testing at edina- project elephant.

I think that's where I've seen this mutation before.

Maybe I did work on project elephant,

Like agent dunham said.

Hmm. So why did I put them into a song?

Mmm.

Wait a second.

Walter, what are the words again?

¶ hard artichokes rarely keep ¶

¶ norwegian elephants ¶

¶ singapore sleep ¶ singapore sleep.

Does "harkness" mean anything to you?

Harkness is a library at the law school.

The song is a mnemonic, yes?

You must have done it on purpose, walter.

Yes.

So what's at the law school library?

Come along, astrid. Let's find out.

There's nothing in the housing records

On a joe falls.

There's nothing in the tax records either.

In fact, the whole "f" section is gone.

Anyone whose last name starts with "f. "

You can't just walk in and check these records out.

No, but you can steal them.

Let's check the federal records

If you lived here, you must be on the census.

this is it.

I remember now.

walter...

What happened to you in edina?

You're like a different person since you got back.

I've always found work to be restorative.

When peter was sick,

It was the only thing that kept me going.

Amazing how it heals the soul.

Oh, look.

Devil dogs. I loved these.

Walter, we can get you a fresh one.

oh, my, oh...

They're deformed.

Just like that man in the lab.

I understand now.

There's nothing on joe falls in 1990.

Anything in 2000? Uh-uh.

Anything in there on the current population of edina?

Uh, 1,943. It was on the sign.

Why?

I don't know, there's just something strange

About these census numbers.

Between the years of 1990 and 2000,

17 people died, 47 people were born.

That's the only change in the population.

Sheriff.

Uh, some of your tax files are missing.

Uh, all of the section "f. "

Including falls.

I may know who's responsible.

The local tax collector said that falls had moved

Out to the edge of town.

He's living in a trailer with his wife and his son.

How old is the boy?

He said he was seven or eight.

I've got an address if you want to meet me.

Yeah. That'd be great.

Thanks.

We'll see you there.

They don't know anything.

There's nothing to worry about.

It's going to be fine.

You're wrong, paul.

They found out.

Rose, I know you have a special interest in this,

But they don't know anything.

They have a photograph. They have proof.

Others have come before.

I'm gonna take care of this.

I'll make it all go away.

So the man and the moth

Didn't transform at all.

No, no.

No, this is something else entirely.

In the late '70s, the army became obsessed

With finding a new way to camouflage soldiers.

They started experimenting

With electromagnetic pulses.

As their camouflage? Oh, yes.

The eye converts electromagnetic energy

Into something the brain can understand.

That's how vision works.

Well, the army thought that if they could generate

A massive electromagnetic pulse,

Then they could effectively scramble the optic nerve.

And at the right frequency, make the soldiers invisible

To the naked eye.

And you consulted on this project?

Briefly.

It was after I left that they realized

That prolonged exposure to the pulse

Has a horrible side effect.

An incurable genetic disorder.

And this moth and that deformed man

Are the victims- or the children of the victims

Of that experiment.

So how does that explain their ability

To change, walter?

Here, stop, stop, stop, stop. Stop here.

Come. Come.

Leave the lights on. Walter.

Walter, what are you doing?

Ah...

What do you see?

I see the moth.

Come here, please.

Now what do you see?

A friend of mine once wrote that

Sufficiently advanced technology

Is indistinguishable from magic.

How is it doing that?

It isn't.

The man and the moth don't change at all.

What changes is our perception of them.

walter-walter, slow down.

You're saying that this electromagnetic pulse

Allows us to see these deformed people

As if they were normal?

Yes. Somebody must have perfected

The military's camouflage technology

To hide the deformities

That the first tests created.

So then so long as we stay within the range of the pulse...

then these poor souls

Appear totally normal.

so that's the edina hum.

That's the sound that the pulse makes.

Yes. Yes, I believe so.

Walter, do you know who could have perfected this technology?

No, no.

It would be extremely difficult.

Apart from cobb, no one else would have the expertise.

Cobb? Who's cobb?

Edward cobb was the scientist who dreamed up project elephant.

He would be the only one with the imagination

And the know-how.

Listen, walter, I want you and astrid

To head back home.

But-but given my knowledge...

walter, listen to me.

Somebody obviously has a lot invested

In keeping this thing a secret.

They've killed three people already- - they tried to kill us.

I don't want to have to worry about you.

Oh, well, that's- that's very sweet of you, son.

I'll see you back at hom

What did peter say?

He wants us to head into town

To try and find the source of the electromagnetic pulse.

There's been too much bloodshed already.

It's just making things worse.

You got your boy back.

Would you rather we'd let them keep him?

You're killing innocent people.

It's time to give this up.

There are real consequences.

Sure.

There are real stakes here.

That's why you gotta let me do my job

And keep this town safe.

And you think that killing those federal officers

Is the best way to put a stop to this?

It did the last time.

That federal marshal a few years ago-

No one came looking for him, did they?

We've all got jobs to do, rose.

Stick to the machine. That's your job.

Walter...

What kind of device are we looking for?

Any number of things could transmit the pulse.

A large capacitor bank.

Some form of compression generator.

What about a satellite dish?

They have them all over town.

oh, no.

Those are for television, dear.

Given how little there is to do here,

I imagine they watch a lot of it.

What we're looking for is something that could

Relay the discharge from the microwave conversion

Of large energy pulses.

What about a- a big antenna?

Yes, yes, that would do, I suppose.

Something like that?

Well done, astrid.

Are you sure we should just knock on the door like this?

"rose. "

That was edward's daughter.

He used to carry her around the lab on his shoulders.

oh, hello.

Is your mother home?

No.

Ah. But your mother is rose? And your grandfather,

His name was edward cobb?

Who are you?

I'm walter bishop.

Your grandfather was a friend of mine.

May we come in?

Look, look. That's edward cobb.

And-and that's rose.

Mm.

Do you have more recent pictures of your mother?

We don't own a camera.

No, of course.

Cameras have no optic nerve.

The photos would only show their deformities.

You have to go.

I'm not supposed to have strangers in the house. Quite right.

But may I use your bathroom?

You know my mother will be home soon.

You should go. We will.

First I'll go, and then we'll go.

But where's the bathroom?

Down the hall, second door on the left.

Thank you.

Is that operation?

Oh, I loved this game.

Joe falls is in his 30s,

So he's too young to be one of the soldiers

They tested in that experiment.

Yeah, it would have had to have been his father.

I guess folks with that kind of deformity

Don't tend to leave home.

you still stuck on that census data?

There's just something weird about these numbers

I went back 30 years,

And it looks like the only time the population goes down

Is when somebody dies.

what about when people move?

No, that's just it. They don't.

Nobody ever leaves this town.

Are you saying that you think they're-

That everyone in edina is one of them?

Get down!

we'll take cover in the barn!

Go! Go!

oops.

My turn.

I'm going for the wishbone.

oh, my.

Easy! Easy! It's just me.

Drop the gun.

I said drop the gun.

Go home, rose.

the original pulse deformed the whole town.

My father couldn't live with himself afterwards.

He couldn't leave all those people like that.

According to our files, your father resigned

From his commission in 1979.

Yes.

He came back to edina

And worked tirelessly on his machine

Until he perfected it.

Then he offered the inhabitants a choice.

A choice?

Live as you are, deformed, but free to roam the world,

Or confine yourself to edina,

Where the pulse will allow you to hide in broad daylight.

And the people voted to stay.

They realized the pulse would allow them to look

Beyond the horror of their deformities

And see each other for who they really were.

They chose the only normal life they could have.

and your father?

He chose to stay among you.

He chose because of you, didn't he, rose?

Last time I saw you, you were a little girl.

A perfectly healthy little girl.

My mother and I, we lived in edina.

We were part of the experiment.

Your father experimented on you?

No. The army never told him

They were expanding the scope of the test.

Rose, I remember your father fondly.

He believed that invisibility would save lives.

And he finally solved the problem.

My father tried to create a good life for me here-

For all of us- and he succeeded.

Dr. Bishop?

You can't make this public, agent broyles.

We need to let them keep their secret.

Dr. Bishop, three state troopers were killed.

And those responsible were brought to justice.

But the rest of these people...

You have no idea what will happen to them. Dr. Bishop-

They will have no choice but to study these people.

To examine them, to test them, to humiliate them.

Dr. Bishop, did you find the machine?

The one that transforms them?

Please, agent broyles.

These people have been harmed enough.

We simply can't- dr. Bishop...

I don't think you're understanding me.

If you didn't find the machine,

There's nothing to report.

Thank you.

remarkable...

How rose was willing to expose her secret

To right a wrong.

How very brave of her.

You did something brave too.

The way you spoke up for those people-

You didn't have to do that, walter.

I'm proud of you.

I'm glad you choose to see me the way you do.

Very glad indeed.