Original subtitles

PJ, this is Captain Vogel. Do you read me? Over.

Loud and clear, Captain. Over.

PJ, start initiating your ascent.

That typhoon that's been developing

off the Northwestern Pacific basin

is picking up speed.

Our return time has increased by three hours.

We need to get you up top, over.

Aye-aye, Captain. But, uh, I haven't finished

securing the warhead. I am on the last panel.

I know, and I've made the call.

We'll finish it tomorrow.

Yes, but, uh, this will delay our schedule.

PJ, this area was a testing zone during World War II.

Until those fishermen found that dead marine life,

this area was just fine for 75 years. Over.

Yes, Captain, but we should at least chain it,

you know, just in case.

I mean, you said to yourself the typhoon...

Okay, PJ, you have five minutes to chain it

and then you have to start making your ascent.

That is an order.

Copy?

Copy that, Captain.

All right.

Uh, Captain, I almost lost the drillhead.

This rock formation here is different in this area.

I don't know.

It's, it's softer or weaker.

I cannot continue to work on this

with the equipment I currently have.

I'm going to start the ascent. Over.

Understood. Start the ascent. Over.

Captain, there is a rip current developing.

I'm fighting to control the sub.

There is a lot of movement on the ocean floor.

My visibility is zero and my monitors are cutting in and out.

Whoa, whoa, whoa, what do you mean movement?

PJ, you're in extremely close proximity

to a potentially live nuclear explosive.

Look, I can be your eyes,

but I need to know exactly what's going on down there.

I have regained visibility and I am continuing the ascent. Over.

PJ.

PJ? PJ! PJ, come in.

Coast Guard, do you copy?

This is Vogel from Ocean Clean at the Mariana Trench .

We have a problem in the Challenger deep.

I say again, we have a problem in the Challenger deep. Over.

Coast Guard, Mayday, Mayday, Mayday!

Milly.

Hey, have you seen what's going on?

Hey, sorry, Peter.

Sophie's about to land,

I'm trying to plan this whole

end of the school year celebration.

Okay, but there's something happening.

See what's happening.

Okay, I'm not going to be back before the end of the day.

So if you could just send out the reports,

make sure the data goes out, gets backed up.

I know you've done this all before,

but just keep me posted, okay?

Milly, there's something happening.

There's more.

Wait, what is that?

Why are we spiking in the Philippines?

We initially saw a movement of the fault line

at the Mariana Plate here.

-You can see. -Wait, no.

This doesn't make any sense.

How is the first recorded reading so large?

We haven't picked up any foreshocks that would indicate

an earthquake of the size is coming.

Nothing leading up to this.

What was the magnitude when it first hit?

Initially it hit a 3.4 in the Richter.

Nothing out of the ordinary.

Then it dropped and we had some smaller activities.

Then it picked up a 6.1.

Then a 7.3 and then an 8.

If this keeps increasing...

-An 8? -Yes.

Are you sure these are accurate?

We gotta go.

Yeah, we triple checked for any and all anomalies.

Once it hit a 7.3, it started jumping around again.

I haven't figured out a pattern yet,

but the readings are steadily climbing.

We're lucky it didn't hit near land.

Guam and the Mariana islands are on tsunami watch now.

Peter, the largest recorded earthquake is a 9.5

and you're saying this started at an 8.

And it's still climbing.

I mean in theory, we could pass a 9.5 but not in our lifetime.

The fault lines don't shift that fast.

-At least they shouldn't. -I know.

Also, the DHS and FEMA have been both requesting

minute to minute projections on evacuation contingencies.

One second, this just happened.

How are the quakes all along the ring of fire already so large?

I'm not sure, that's why we need you.

You picked up only one initial amplitude.

How did one earthquake hit all of these places?

They are 2000 miles apart.

No, this is too big to be an earthquake.

This is more like an explosion.

Yeah, that's what the news is saying.

At first they thought an oil rig exploded

and caused chain reaction.

Now they're saying it's something bigger.

A firm, hired to clean up nuclear weapons,

somehow started these earthquakes.

Nuclear weapons?

Old nuclear like World War II in the Challenger Deep.

Their operation disturbed the Pacific,

the Philippines, and the Australian plate lines,

and triggered a massive earthquake.

The motion from the convergent plates caused the waste

to go directly up into Earth's upper mantle.

This explosion caused these quakes.

The Bikini Atoll tests.

Yeah.

Oh.

Hi, sweetheart. I'm just calling.

Josh, listen, we picked up very large, irregular readings,

and there are earthquakes all along the ring of fire.

Go, go, go!

Milly? Milly?

-You okay? -Yeah, yeah, I'm here.

What is it? What's going on?

I'm not sure yet.

It's caught us completely off-guard.

There's large plate movement in Asia.

And all along the ring of fire.

We need to figure out an interval time.

And we need to get in contact with Sophie.

Just keep doing what you're doing, it'll call her.

I think her flight's still in the air.

I'll let you know the second I have an update.

-I love you. -I love you, too.

Peter, do you have the projection mapping?

So I fed the readings into an AI algorithm

to plot hypothetical movement.

All right, I input everything we picked up so far.

The Philippines, Taiwan, Japan.

And don't forget about Australia.

Australia, got it.

There's activity at the western edge of the Pacific Plate.

In 72 hours the eastern side of the Pacific Plate

will have the same tectonic shift.

The entire west coast of the U.S.

and the knock-on effect would include Central America.

All experiencing earthquakes starting at 8.0.

It's working its way around the Pacific Rim towards us.

When it gets here...

The destruction would be...

Unfathomable.

All right, Peter, I have to take this.

Call Gayle at FEMA.

Make sure she's up to speed on everything

and make sure they have the latest projections.

-Mom... -Sweetheart.

Forget about baggage claim.

Mom, we're still in the air.

We're being diverted to another airport,

but it hasn't been allocated yet.

What did the crew say?

The captain made an announcement about some earthquake in Seattle

and then that we were waiting for an alternate runway.

What's going on?

Sophie, there was an earthquake.

And the runway's are most likely damaged

or full of grounded planes.

Stay calm and just do what they tell you, okay?

Excuse me, Miss.

We ask that you refrain from using mobile devices

while we're circling. Thank you.

Sorry. I'm on the phone with my mom.

Just tell your mom that you love her

and be off by the time I come back around.

Oh, no, but I--

Hey, just listen to what the crew says.

Please call us as soon as you've landed

and your dad will come and pick you up.

Save as much battery power as you can

and if you see any water bottles,

put them in your bag, okay?

Okay, Mom. I love you.

I love you, too.

Okay, looks like we got a live one.

Major Anderson, leave TCP and head up the aircraft S&R. Over.

Copy that, sir. I'll let my team know.

-Sergeant. -Sir.

I've asked to head up the search and rescue team

for the downed aircraft.

They've given me the go ahead.

Understood, sir.

I'm going to call air traffic control,

find out where those airplanes are hitting the concrete.

Roger that, sir.

I got it. I got it.

Yeah, this is--

Yeah, hold.

It's the White House... for you.

Hello, this is Dr. Anderson at the NEIC.

Dr. Anderson. I'm General West,

Director of the National Security Agency.

Yes, General. I know who you are.

Okay, good.

I'm sure your office is at threat level red.

That's why I'm calling.

I know your brother, Dresden Anderson.

I need his help, but I no longer have his contact info.

Neither do I. General--

When he quit, he went off the grid.

I need you to find him immediately.

You're the NSA. Why do you need my help?

Doctor, is this line secure?

No.

You have three days to get him to contact me.

And what should I say?

Mention Star Wars.

Star Wars.

Star Wars like the movie?

No, Peter.

Star Wars was a weapons initiative started in the 80s.

So, your brother worked for the government?

He was a scientist and then became a weapons technician.

They revisited the project a few years ago and then he got fired.

And then he just sort of disappeared.

Then what happened?

Work was really his only passion and it kind of broke him.

He never recovered.

He started to isolate, cut off ties from people.

I tried to get him to explain what happened, but he wouldn't.

But when you're talking about your brother...

Peter, just stop.

Imagine if Einstein was trapped in the paranoia of Ted Kaczynski

with the ego of Elon Musk.

Sheesh.

Yeah, that's my brother.

I still miss him. I still love him.

And he's brilliant.

Leave a message. Maybe I'll call you back.

Dresden. It's Milly.

Your ex-boss, I guess, just called.

Look, I don't know what you did this time,

but everyone's looking for you.

All right, you don't have to call me back.

But if you could call back the general,

he said to mention Star Wars

and that you have three days.

Ladies and gentlemen, we were allocated a runway

but the volume of planes extended the clearing process

and it's cost us a lot of fuel.

We have to make an emergency landing

on the closest and safest stretch of land.

Remain seated with your seat belts fastened.

Flight crew, take your seats and prepare

for an emergency landing.

If we follow the same patterns as Japan and Australia,

the quakes will continue to grow.

We can't keep up.

We won't have time to get everyone out.

Especially with the runways already damaged.

The knock-on effect we can't fully measure.

Like island arc volcanoes, subduction zone plates.

What if we try and divert some of the energy

along the plate lines?

It would cause a bigger problem.

Look up the coast.

The neighboring plates contain the Cascadia subduction zone.

The Pacific Northwest has been due a magnitude of nine

for over 75 years.

It's only a matter of time.

Ladies and gentlemen, we are about to make contact.

Get into the brace position now.

Oh!

Get down.

That was a 7.1.

The first was 6.3.

The plates are moving so fast.

It's not giving off the usual warning signs,

so we're not picking up readings until it's too late.

Clearly, you haven't been analyzing

the information correctly.

Dresden.

How did you get in?

That's your first question?

No wonder you haven't figured this out yet.

I'm going to need to see everything you guys got.

Dresden, hi.

Peter Houston, nice to meet you.

Heard so much about you.

So, I just called.

I didn't expect you to show up.

Think I needed a phone call to know you needed my help?

I knew you were in over your head.

Moment those quakes started, I was on my way.

So, let's get to work.

Everybody, please remain calm.

If you are able to move, please slowly make your way

to our member of Cabin Staff in the emergency exit area.

Listen up. If you are able to move,

please make your way slowly to the back of the plane.

If you are injured, stay put,

and I'm going to come around with the first aid kit.

Are you okay, sir?

Sophie? Sophie, are you alright?

I'm alive.

I'm still in the plane, but we crashed.

Sweetie, you're alive, and that's all that matters.

You need to listen to me.

You need to get off that plane as soon as possible.

You're not safe.

Where are you?

Um...

I think we're in Discovery Park.

I think I see the fort lot and chapel.

I'll send you my location.

What was that?

I don't know.

It feels like we're n the edge of a cliff or something.

Everyone! Get to the back of the plane!

Now!

Sophie? Sophie, your dad is coming for you.

Sophie!

I'm on my way.

I have the coordinates for the plane.

They landed in Discovery Park.

They landed.

And she's still alive,

but they are sitting ducks until the next quake hits.

I'll find her. I'll be to her soon.

Josh! Joshua?

The lines are down.

Cell towers can't take the frequencies of these quakes.

How much time do we have?

70 hours to evac the West Coast

and Central America before it's swallowed.

-Come on, open the doors. -Are we gonna be okay?

The front door, it's jammed. I can't open it.

Do you think if I smash one of these windows

that we can fit through it?

Maybe you could fit through,

but we're going to need about 5,000 pounds of force

to break it open.

All right, next option.

Hold on, it's another one.

Captain, you need to leave the radio and get out now.

The ground is opening.

I need to try every frequency. No one knows we're here.

You don't have time. The plane is about to separate.

It's settling.

Are you all right?

I'll be fine. I think I broke my arm.

Are you okay? Are you hurt?

I think I'm doing okay.

Good. Are you willing and able to help me?

-Uh, sure. -Great.

I took a few courses at first aid in CPR in high school.

Great. That's great.

Then you can help me with the rest of the passengers, then.

Okay.

We need to get off this plane

before another earthquake swallows us.

There's a ladder in the rear. We can use that, okay?

Are there no other flight attendants? I don't--

No, it's a small plane.

Hey, everyone, we are going to be performing

an emergency aircraft evacuation.

I need your complete and utter cooperation and listen to me.

Okay?

I'm going to leave you in the hands of...

Sophie.

Sophie, she is going to help you

while I gather the emergency equipment.

We need to organize ourselves so that the injured passengers

get off the plane first.

If we say calm, we can get through this quickly

and safely together.

Thank you.

Okay, everyone.

What would you do, Mom?

Ladies and gentlemen, if we want to live,

we need to start listening. Okay?

We need to get off of this plane before another earthquake hits

and the only way we do that is if we work together.

We're going to throw a rope ladder off the back exit,

and get off the plane.

No rushing.

Please, and thank you.

Whoa!

The quakes have reached South America

and are heading our way.

How can we slow the tectonic plates?

Let me show you, okay?

Okay, listen up.

Just imagine this is a plate.

When the plate starts to move with so much force,

the neighboring plates have to move.

And the momentum is so great, they won't stop.

They can't stop on their own.

So what we need is a force so strong that it'll counteract it.

Simple enough?

Yes, a plate shift in the opposite direction.

Let's have the tracking software generate

the precise impact location for the energy surge

that'll neutralize the plates momentum.

Okay, I've never used a program to such a degree,

but in theory, I suppose it could work.

I mean, I'd have to input some.

Are you still in school?

Just do it and save those coordinates.

Dresden, come with me now.

We all know how smart you are.

And we are oh so very grateful that

the mighty Dresden has graced us with his--

You don't seem to understand.

No, for once, you don't understand.

This is what we do here, day in and day out,

and it might not run the way that you like it to,

but this is the way I run things.

This is my world, just the way you have yours.

Milly, it's not about that.

No.

You might not understand this,

but I actually like and care about the people I work with.

Pretty sure they feel the same way about me.

And that kid in there, he might be a nobody to you.

But he has chosen to stay here and help us

in the best way he can,

even though he has friends and family back home that need him.

And he knows in the back of his head

there is a very good chance he will never see them again.

Is any of this getting through to you?

Good.

So let's try this again.

-Now... -Um, actually...

I'm still curious about the Star Wars reference.

Well, bet you are, Peter.

So the Star Wars project, A.K.A.

Reagan's Strategic Defense Initiative,

Cold War Tech that would generate

an outer space base shield that would

render nuclear missiles obsolete.

Project was dismantled four years later in '87.

At least that's what they told the public.

But in fact, missiles, the lasers,

the particle beam weapons still exist.

They've been up there the whole time just adding

to the ever increasing list of space junk.

I'm confused. How does this help?

Four years ago, last administration

signed the National Defense Authorization Act

where they started to carry out maintenance

and making it operational.

If we focus the laser on the plate's eastern edge,

it actually might be enough to halt it.

Then let's do it.

We can't.

If our enemies knew that Star Wars exists,

they could use it to destroy the world.

Dresden, the world is going to end regardless.

Star Wars is the only way to stop the plate, than so be it.

There's got to be a better way.

We don't have time.

Every minute we are wasting millions,

billions of lives around the line.

I don't think we have any better ideas.

Nobody asked you.

Then do you have any better ideas?

One single better idea that we can implement in time?

No, I don't.

You're right.

Let's implement Star Wars.

Thank you.

Don't thank me yet.

I don't get why the phone lines are still down.

The backup satellite should have kicked in by now.

We need a way to contact Washington.

We can just sit around and wait.

You're on thin ice right now.

Do you have any better ideas?

Yes.

I have a friend that works for the NSC.

Her office is close by.

I actually went to college with her.

She worked on the project the first time around.

She'll have a working line to Washington.

We're not going to drive all the way across town.

The parking lot's this way.

Think I parked in there?

Come on, let's go.

Yep.

This is it.

Come on.

It always does this. Just give it a second.

Come on. Come on.

There we go. I told you.

Great. Let's get out of here.

Let's go.

So this friend at the NSC.

Dr. Diane Wright.

Do you think she'll still be there?

We're still working, aren't we?

She'll be there.

It's her life.

She puts everything into her work.

Only if the government would have actually listened to her.

Sir. I've loaded the coordinates.

It's basically a straight shot from here.

All units, let's move to close column.

Keep the speed under 25 on a unit gap

of no more than 50 meters, over.

Copy.

All right. There's no way around that.

We're completely blocked.

How far are we from the plane?

Not far. 15-20 minutes tops.

But on foot it'll be over an hour.

Come on, we don't have that kind of time.

We're out of other options.

No. We can't get out of the vehicle.

These people need food and water.

We can't carry all the supplies,

let alone the medical equipment.

There's got to be another way.

What about the long way around?

Wait. Isn't there a cemetery?

Yes. Right behind these buildings.

You're right.

All right. Listen.

There was a gate about a half a mile back.

We get enough speed, we can pull a rig right through it.

We can avoid all this rubble.

Copy, Sergeant.

Please be there, Sophie.

Come on. Quick. I need help.

It's already so bad.

It's only going to get worse if we don't get it together.

Of course, we have a dedicated uplink.

Though it's safe to say, I never expected to utilize the SDI.

From what you're saying,

it seems that this is our only choice.

General West...

This is Dr. Diane Wright at the Seattle Comms.

I know who you are, doctor.

Now, if I'm speaking to you, I'm assuming that Dresden is--

Wes, yeah, I'm here.

I'm not very happy, though.

But you can thank my sister, Milly.

I'm sure your sister told you why I needed to speak with you.

Yeah, you need my help.

Before you say anything else, I want you to know

that I'm willing to forget the past.

If you help us now, we make it through,

there'll be no ramifications.

What did he do?

Walked out with the access and the firing codes

to the weapons that he's decided to use now.

No country should have that much power.

Dresden, that's confidential.

I had to, to save the world.

Well, that's what we're about to do now.

Exactly, which is why we need you to bring it online.

Our current engineering team can barely

navigate the archaic operating system,

not to mention the firewalls you put in.

Dr. Wright, I understand you're familiar with this system.

More or less, sir.

Although I was never made aware that the weapons

that Dresden and I were working on

were ever being made operational.

They haven't. That's why I'm talking to you.

I need the original engineering team.

So far, our calculations have been all hypothetical.

There has been no way to test the system

and no room for error.

Sir, have you seen the latest plate projections?

Do you want me to run over the data one more time with you?

Doctor, I respect your expertise,

but my job is to make the hard decisions.

Dr. Wright, how quickly can you get the system up and running?

It's actually up and running. It's a little clunky, though.

I think your engineers kind of screwed this thing up.

Need you to sign into the weapons interface.

Validate initiation with your SWP code.

Entered.

Who has the coordinates?

I have them.

And once the general enters his SWP code

and activates the initiation,

I can plug them into server ID and we can gain access.

-Okay. -Good.

Captain?

Arthur, can you hear me?

Be careful.

Okay, guys, there are three points

we need to target, each at least 300 miles off the coast.

Way out past the continental shelf.

Okay, the northernmost point is in the Gulf of Alaska.

We have 51, 43'33" north, 138, 1'14" west.

The second point halfway down the plate is 5 22'21" north.

We have 116 48'42" west

and the third perpendicular to South America is

22 2'4" south, 114 9'25" west.

And you need to set your angle of entry.

Give me a second to calculate this.

Aim all the lasers, so each target will hit it

with an equal force at an angle of...

42.7 degrees.

If not, we won't generate enough power.

Or we're going to send these plates moving

in different directions altogether.

Yeah.

Okay. Well, if I have the go ahead...

See you on the other side.

Fire.

Fire.

Come on, come on. Come on, please.

No, no, only two hit.

Something's wrong.

One of the lasers died. It's not firing.

That's interesting. It barely made a scratch.

Does it have enough power?

The quake is working its way up the west coast.

Mexico just got hit.

Just fire again.

-No, no, I can't. -What do you mean you can't?

They're overheating and shutting down.

I need to run diagnostics to find out why.

This was a long shot to begin with.

It was always a chance it wasn't going to work.

Let's cut our losses and ramp up the evacuations.

So that's it.

That was just an exercise for the US government?

No, wait.

What's the angle of entry?

I set it to 42.7 degrees.

Like you said, the trajectory must be off.

No, the trajectory is not off.

No, wait a minute.

Your software wasn't able to fully account

for the axis shift.

Axis shift?

Dresden's right, sir.

Over the past decade,

we've pumped so much ground water that it

actually altered the axis of the earth one or two inches a year,

which might not seem like a lot,

but the way these algorithms calculate the projection,

the slightest discrepancy can throw the results into a spin.

Can we just recalculate and fire again?

No, but we can use the functional lasers

and modify the angle of entry to compensate.

The angle of entry is proportional

to the power at the target.

So we lost one third of power.

So we're going to need to reduce the angle of entry to...

30 degrees to make up for the loss.

Okay, let's adjust and try again.

Okay, I am adjusting now.

Oh, no.

Get down, get down! Down under! Down under!

Come on!

Go, go!

There's a military bunker.

It's not far from here.

That's where everyone from this building was sent.

It wouldn't be on any map.

You wouldn't know about it, but it's there.

They have a secure connection.

You have the coordinates, right, Peter?

Yeah.

Okay, that's your best bet. You guys have to move.

Move before this building crumbles, okay?

You're not coming with us?

No.

No, this is where we part ways.

I have to be with my family.

You don't need another body.

Let's be honest, you're smart enough for two of us.

We both know it.

Look, I'm sorry.

I'm sorry I didn't do more to help you out

when you were let go, Dresden.

I put my job and my work over our friendship.

And I'd be lying to say if it...

it hadn't bothered me every day since you disappeared.

Thank you, Diane.

You really get to know a lot about people by their actions.

Your actions have been very clear.

And for your own peace of mind,

I'm gonna let you give me your ID with access.

And then what do you say?

Call it even.

Thank you.

It's my pleasure.

Stay safe.

Okay.

How long do we have before these earthquakes wipe us out?

65 hours.

65 hours?

Good luck.

Sophie, are you okay?

I'm here. I'm alive.

Okay, get down as fast as you can.

The plane can fall at any moment.

Come on, around away from the plane.

That's it! Hurry!

Come on, away from the plane.

Your daughter is gonna be okay.

Your niece?

Yeah.

I don't think we can drive any further.

The grid is down and the bunker's our only hope

to get back online.

So, this is where we walk.

There's still a few miles out.

This is the only road to the bunker.

You know, we can't turn around.

And the more we sit here and discuss it,

we're just getting closer to the next quake.

Agreed. So, let's go.

Peter, grab everything we need out of the van.

We're not coming back.

Got it, this way.

This way.

Gotta make sure the angle of entry is correct.

This needs to work next time.

These two aren't going to figure this out.

Hurry up.

Come on, what are you doing?

I gotta use the bathroom.

You can go anywhere.

Certain things I don't do.

Gotta be kidding me.

You guys wait here. I'm gonna go over there.

He's so strange.

Oh!

Dresden!

Dresden!

Dresden?

-You got it? -Yeah. Yeah.

-Dresden! -Dresden!

Can we go?

Oh my God.

Don't come ever do that again.

What? What did I do?

Better than dealing with the roads, huh?

Yeah.

We lost some time, but not too much.

We should be up on the edge of the park soon.

Once we get past the bank up here,

we should be at the outside perimeter.

The plane's on the other side of those trees.

There's a fence over there, but we can figure it out.

That's great. We're coming in further south.

We're gonna have to drive a little bit north

to get to the plane.

Good job, Richards.

Thank you, sir.

Okay.

Over here.

Come on.

Hi, how you doing?

I'm Dresden Anderson.

I'm with the National Security Council,

Disaster Division.

I got orders from General West, D.C.

This is my sister, Dr. Milly Anderson,

and her colleague, Peter.

They're seismologists from NEIC.

Look. We just need to get through.

We lost their central control tower.

We need a secure internet connection.

We need to log back into the NSA server.

Please, just let us through.

Look, I know how this sounds,

but we're part of a weapons operation

to stop plate movement, to avoid global devastation.

So maybe you could talk to a superior

or maybe give someone our names or...

something you can do.

It's okay. We got hit, too.

We're moving to a secure location.

You can jump in one of the vans out back.

Thank you. I guess our reputation precedes us.

Let's go.

Still no service.

There's no way I could have gotten

everyone out that plane without you.

Thank you.

I grew up with my father in the military

and my mother is a genius, so... little disaster oriented.

Speaking of, my dad is supposed to be coming, but...

But I don't see anybody getting to us here.

They're coming, okay?

Just... we just gotta hang tight a little longer.

And wait? For another earthquake

or for the Earth to open up again?

We might not get so lucky next time.

-Okay. -We need to be realistic.

We need to find a safe place to stay tonight.

We're already running out of food...

And water.

My mom's in the NEIC.

She kind of specializes in this kind of stuff.

But we can't leave them.

I have to stay here with the injured.

Everyone, everyone listen.

We've made it this far, but we need food and water.

And the safest thing we can do is stay here and shelter

while Sophie here goes to get help.

Okay.

I'm gonna find a way to charge my phone

and call for a rescue team to come and bring supplies.

Good luck.

And thank you.

Be careful out there.

Good luck, Sophie.

Yeah.

Peter, are the lasers up and running?

We're running out of time for it to be functional.

I ran diagnostics and I think I know what was wrong.

I just need a little more time.

Okay.

Can you get us on the USGS server?

Yeah, it can get us in anywhere.

We need to focus on where the crust is weaker.

The plate will have been loosened already.

Let's keep that as a backup

if we can't get the lasers up and functional.

Okay. I'm at it.

Okay. This will need dressing.

Good to see you, man.

-Who's in charge here? -That would be me.

After we landed, we were hit badly by the earthquakes.

We lost the pilot and some passengers.

Okay, we have food and water.

Is this everyone on flight 384?

Yes.

My daughter was on this flight.

-Is it Sophie? -Yes. Where is she?

She's alive. But she left.

She said you might be coming,

but wasn't sure how long you'd be with all the chaos.

Where is she? I need to find her.

She went in that direction.

Okay.

My men are going to help you.

We're bringing in more vehicles to come get you.

Thank you.

In the meantime, help everybody you can, all right?

All right. Thank you so much.

-Richards. -Yes, sir.

Sophie's not here, but I have a good idea where she went.

-I have to go find her. -I understand, sir.

Jacobs and I will unpack everything.

Find your daughter. We'll take care of the rest.

Appreciate you.

Call base. Get some more men brought up here, okay?

Yes, sir.

Okay. I've got the USGS site up.

Any new updates or at least anything new

since we've lost service?

Well, it looks like our data was correct.

The earthquakes are already devastating

and they're only getting bigger.

Even the Iceland Greenland and West Coasts of Europe

are taking earthquake damage now.

Right. We need to work faster.

Peter, get into the NSA servers and initiate the program.

We don't have time to troubleshoot

the offline weapons.

Log into the USGS and start pinpointing

the weaker areas of the Earth's crust.

You're sure this is going to work

with only a few operating lasers?

It might.

I mean, it's a calculated risk,

but I mean, I think we are working

a little on the fly here.

We have no other choice.

Okay, the Oceanic, Basaltic areas are going

to be our best bet because they're thinner.

We could try East Pacific Rise?

Smart. New crust is continually being formed as magma rises.

Okay, get the coordinates for specific rock formations

along the ridge.

It's a mid-ocean ridge system.

The Earth's crust is younger and more fragile here.

It's on the Eastern side of the plate

not far from the original coordinates.

Okay, let's do it.

Okay. Come on.

Get a stretcher!

Sophie!

Sophie!

Sophie!

Sophie!

Sophie!

Where are you?

Peter, watch the temperature and the seismic activity

like a hawk when we fire.

As soon as you see dispersion activity

from the east side of the plate, pull it back.

Yes, you got it.

And we need the plate movement to slow to the point

where it can find its own rhythm again.

It will settle back into the tectonic energy pattern.

I mean, if we create too much heat,

we risk giving it opposite energy

and end up sending it back.

Which would put us back right where we started.

-Yes. -Or worse.

The plate boundaries are already so volatile.

If we push back with this much force,

the damage would be tenfold.

But you're going to do fine.

He has to. We don't have a choice.

Thank you, Dresden.

Okay, let's do this.

Okay, initiating lasers. Stand by.

-What's going on? -I don't know.

I lost connection.

The lasers are not responding.

The software knows I'm operating from a different IP connection

and the internal GPS system won't allow them

to fire on U.S. territory.

I need to reset the parameters.

Okay, how long is this going to take?

I don't know. They run on very old tech

Frankensteined together.

Our connection is tenuous.

I'm trying to overload the system.

Dresden?

We might need to start preparing for the worst.

We need to override the onboard GPS.

But how?

If I reroute power and send the modules into recovery mode,

I may be able to adjust the targeting system manually.

-Here comes another one. -Get down.

No, not yet.

Come on.

Okay, just give me a sec.

All right, lasers are online and locked in.

Let's hope this works.

Ready to fire. Three, two, one.

The monitor is blank, but the power is still on.

Is it still operational?

Fire it. Fire it now!

Come on, come on.

It's dropping.

Okay.

Not opening the champagne yet.

What is it? We lost connection again?

No, we're hitting the target.

It's still not enough heat.

What do you mean by not enough heat?

I don't know why, but the reading suggests

that the plate is generating so much of its own movement,

I don't think we can stop it.

Are the rock formations heating up?

Massively, but just not enough to slow the plate significantly.

And you're sure this is at maximum intensity?

Yeah, of course.

What happened to our interval time?

The monitoring software doesn't know how

to read multiple earthquakes with multiple magnitudes.

at once in areas where they normally

wouldn't exist together.

It's unprecedented.

An impossible scenario until now.

We need to move on.

The lasers failed.

I mean, I guess we really have no other options.

Nothing made at this scale can keep up with

the forces of nature.

So, what if it's not man-made?

If we can't affect the speed of the plate

by doing something to it,

perhaps we can slow it down by having it

do something to itself.

I don't follow.

What do you mean?

Think about the plane crash earlier.

How did it reduce its speed?

They have thrust reverses.

That's after it landed.

Okay, in the air that used drag flaps, spoilers, speed brakes.

Oh, then I suppose they could try and drop the weight.

They could affect them on them,

But they could only reduce it within gravity's allowance.

But it still has an effect.

They offload everything they can.

So, if we apply it to our model and offload weight,

we might not be able to stop the disaster,

but we could potentially introduce a slowdown.

Correct.

We need to get rid of the weight

that's giving the Earth's crust this extra momentum.

Though it's not really a build-up of weight,

it is more of a build-up of pressure at the Earth's core.

Yes, exactly.

Peter, remember the reporter earlier

who thought there was an explosion in the sea?

What if we could somehow use those oil rigs

off the Pacific to slow down this continental drift

by offloading gas pressure?

We can buy the world and us some time.

It would have to happen at multiple locations,

to have any effect on the entire plate's movement.

Yes, but there are multiple oil rigs all around the Pacific.

And they're already set up, and near the fault line.

We could use the oil rigs like volcanoes.

Yes, exactly, and we can actually control that.

Along with its own destructive path.

Right. I am thinking more about the gases in the Earth's core.

-Like Helium-3. -Yes.

It'll rise and disperse into the atmosphere, harmless gas.

We vent pressure from the plate to the wellbores

on the Pacific plate oil rigs.

Wow.

I thought I was the only genius in this family.

Helium-3 is attracted to the heat under the crust.

If we change the pressure and start venting,

that gas is going to move with a giant amount of force.

Right. Speed is our friend right now.

Don't we have pumps on those platforms?

I believe so, yes. I'll start researching.

So we use the pumps on the rig

that they use for oil as a way of slowing down the helium,

controlling it.

And if that pressure gets too high

or when we've offloaded enough?

I don't think these pumps are strong enough on their own.

We need to find a way of slowing it or cooling it down some way.

Hello? Hello?

Miss, please stop. This is a restricted area.

I'm looking for my father.

He's a U.S. Army major. Anderson?

We haven't seen any armed services.

Do you need help?

Where can I find power to charge my phone?

There's a school over there.

It's the only building still standing with power.

But you should wait here.

There's no time. I've got to go.

Hello?

Hello?

Is anybody in there? Hello?

Peter, get into the Bureau of Safety

and Environmental Enforcement,

locate all the Pacific Ocean oil rigs,

and pull up the inventory supplies list

from the last round of inspections.

I have their inventories here.

There it is. Find the Chemical Directory,

and filter it by the largest quantities.

Copy.

Most of these rigs have large liquid nitrogen reserves.

Imagine that's to handle emergencies.

Yeah, that's perfect.

If you pump the nitrogen down the wellbore,

it will cool the helium on contact

and stop it in its tracks.

Then we can pump it back to regular pressure and seal it.

Then let's find the rigs closest to the plate boundaries.

I mean, that's where the helium release

will have the most effect.

Yeah, we just have to slow it down

enough to stop its momentum.

Not too much or will be in trouble.

It's risky, but it just might work.

If we can gain some time, it's worth it.

Right, you need to coordinate with multiple rigs.

They all need to vent simultaneously

if we want maximum impact.

Same goes for when we start slowing down the gas.

It has to be uniform.

We can use the government satellites network

to coordinate the timing,

I mean, as long as these rigs still have connections...

and as much as I hate to say it,

we're gonna need approval and cooperation.

Peter, patch a satellite phone to General West.

This is General West.

General West, this is Dr. Milly Anderson.

I have my brother still with me.

We need your help again.

The only option we have left to stop plate movement

is to release pressure and we've calculated a way.

We can vent the built up plate pressure

from the divergent boundaries using the Pacific oil rigs

and the liquid nitrogen on board.

It sounds like a one in a million chance, doctor.

Well, at very least it can slow down the plate's movement

and prevent more catastrophic quakes,

for at least a few more days.

It's the only option we have left.

We need you to sign off on our access

to the satellite network and mandate

for a master control of the rigs.

We need to reset the schedules for the pump timers

and then for the nitrogen release.

Okay, doctor. I'll get you your clearances,

but the rigs have to be in state water, not federal.

I can't get clearance for federal water.

Peter.

Uh... Yes, sir.

I'll get you an emergency security clearance

and I'll set you up with the engineering profile

and data base.

Then you can get in and do what you need to.

Copy that.

Thank you, General.

Thank you, sir.

Ah!

Sophie!

Dad!

All right, I've managed to reset the pump systems

and synchronize the wellbore cycles

on three rigs off the Washington coast.

How long until we can start extracting the helium-3?

I'm trying to override

the liquid nitrogen safety protocols,

but I'm totally locked out.

How so?

Pumping liquid nitrogen into the wellbore,

is usually a last resort.

It's a safety measure for rigs

about to explode or the oil pipeline is buckling.

It stops a catastrophic spill.

It protects the ocean ecosystem around the rig.

It's not something that's controlled

by the oil rigs themselves,

but the time this protocol will ever come in a play

their internal computer system are completely shut down.

This command has to be sent from an independent signal

outside the oil rig central computer.

Like a government data center.

Usually, from a control center positioned along the coast,

so they have a clear communication path

and can send a clean frequency.

It needs to be able to send a signal

in all directions across the Pacific in real time.

You're right. That's how we're going to have to do it

if we want all four rigs to act together and identically.

Starting to sound like it's not going to happen.

I've been sending a test frequency

to the coastline beacon for platform Ellen.

It's not responding.

Is there another beacon?

There is another one further the down the coast.

Like I said, this is not common protocol

and this software on these rigs

was not engineered with earthquakes in mind.

There's a satellite phone here.

We could send a frequency with that.

Thank you.

Yes, but we're too low

and we need to be out on the water for a signal path.

I mean, it's risky, but we might not have any other options left.

I can't believe I didn't think of this earlier.

Peter, can you pull up all the personnel tracker

for active military vehicles in a 50 mile radius?

This isn't all of them, just vehicles

that have a satellite phone on board.

All right, it's perfect.

Okay, zoom in near where Sophie's plane went down.

There's nothing out there. You're just wasting your time.

Check closer to that ocean.

Okay.

I knew it, call that vehicle.

Call the satellite phone.

Oh my God, it's ringing.

Never thought I'd be so happy to hear this sound.

Come on, Josh. Come on. Pick up.

Hello?

Sophie?

Mom?

I'm so glad you answered.

Milly.

How did you--

I love you.

Sophie's with me. She's perfectly fine.

Mom, you're alive!

That's really, really good news.

I'm so happy to hear your voice.

Where are you? We're gonna come to you.

Are you somewhere safe?

These earthquakes aren't letting up.

I know.

We're at the NSA base safe.

Even my brother.

Dresden's with you? Why?

Yeah, it's a long story.

But for now, we need your help.

We started to slow down the tectonic plate movement

that's causing all this, but ran into a hiccup.

We need you to send a signal through

to the satellite phone on your vehicle.

Wait, what?

We have a specific frequency.

I can channel it through your device

as long as you keep this line open.

It's for a synchronized liquid nitrogen dump

on three Pacific ocean line oil rigs.

The signal needs to be set out

by the ocean from a high elevation.

Can you do that?

Yeah, I actually know the perfect spot,

but it's gonna take about 30 minutes to get there,

is that enough time?

No, we don't have a choice.

I thought...

Just get to the spot.

I love you both.

-I love you, too. -I love you, Milly.

Call me on this number when you get to that spot.

T minus 30 minutes, and I'm sending you the signal.

All right, let's get going.

Let's contact the rigs and make sure they're hands off

so we can override their systems and start venting

and contact the foreman at oil platform Ellen.

Have them prepped for our arrival.

Okay. What?

I saw a helicopter on the way in.

We can use it. I'm gonna go find the pilot.

What, have you guys never been on a chopper?

Wait, wait, wait.

Someone needs to stay to dump the nitrogen.

The signal has to be sent from mainland.

I'll stay.

Getting too old to get on and off a helicopter anyway.

Are you sure?

I'm staying and you won't be able to convince him.

Good job.

God, you're stubborn.

Well, I'm glad I was able to see you at least one more time.

Hey, I am gonna see you when you get back.

Okay? Take care of yourself.

Stay safe.

This isn't exactly what I was imagining,

but at least I can say I saved the world

when people asked what I did over break.

Not yet, you can't.

All right, fine.

Maybe now is the right time to ask all those awkward questions.

You know, if this really could be the end.

Not the end, we're gonna be fine.

We're still standing,

but we've been having these quakes all day.

No structural damage, thank God.

It's only you here?

There are a few others here, too.

Everyone not essential personnel was ordered to evacuate.

I received the protocol notifications

and I shut our systems down.

Great.

It's set for manual override

so you should be able to go in and take control.

Dresden, do you copy?

This is Peter, We're at Platform Ellen.

Do you read?

Loud and clear, kid.

Okay, good.

Great, we are ready to start, Milly.

Do you think Josh is in position?

He will be.

Thank you, Rick.

This is great.

We've already walked the other rigs through the procedure

and we have control of the oil rigs.

I've never seen government intervention like this.

What are we talking? Seattle gonna be flattened?

Multiply that by 100.

Okay. I see.

So how long do we have?

We need to do this now. Are you ready?

It doesn't sound like I have much of a choice.

I'm taking control now.

I've initiated venting the wellbore.

Looks good so far.

It's gonna be venting for a while.

Okay, it's looking good.

The plates are starting to slow.

Great, just keep it steady, Peter.

Copy.

Where's Josh and Sophie?

Talk to me, Peter. How are we looking?

Stable, the plates... the plates are slowing.

It's working. It's actually working.

Let's not get ahead of ourselves.

We're not out of the woods yet.

He's right.

It was just a matter of time before there

was more seismic activity.

We must have disturbed something with the pumps.

Maybe we moved the helium too quickly?

No, I ran the calculations myself.

Right, Peter, turn on the pumps, try and slow it down.

Okay, going to 50.

This is not good.

The seismic activity hasn't dropped.

Usually after an earthquake hits,

we get a drop in plate activity

before the next one, but... a break in pressure,

but it's not dropping, its rising.

Tsunami's hitting Josh and Sophie's location.

I'm gonna go check it out.

Sophie, grab a walkie.

Josh, Sophie, are you in position?

Yeah, yeah, we're here, we're here.

Copy. I'm glad you made it.

Stand by for the signal.

These pressure gauges are through the roof.

I see that and I've initiated the pump sequence.

Have they not engaged?

Are you sure you manually unlocked them?

Yes, yes. I ran the procedures

you specified before you arrived

and nothing's changed since then.

All right, it's rising across all rigs.

-We need to bring it down. -All right.

Increase the pumps to 100%.

And drop the liquid nitrogen.

The plate hasn't slowed enough.

We'd be dumping too early.

Increasing pump pressure to 100%.

Okay, Sophie, stand by.

In three... two...

These gauges are about to explode.

No! No!

What was that?

Milly, we just lose an oil rig?

Yes.

We just lost one of the rigs.

Oh my god, we could lose another one.

Get out of there.

Two? We lost two rigs? How?

Milly, I don't know, but we need to leave now

or we're going to be in the next explosion.

Wait, let me think.

You're the only one left on the rig.

You need to get out of there.

Wait, no, if it was going to blow it, it would have.

The explosion actually relieved the pressure

and it bought us some time.

But Dresden's right. How much time?

Milly, don't make me come out there.

Your numbers were off.

What? Impossible.

I'm sorry, but they're wrong.

I don't make mistakes.

Well, this time you did

and we don't have time to argue about it.

We're here now because of your mistake,

so just let me fix this.

We need to finish what we started.

We're still here.

What's going on?

We're figuring it out, Rick.

Just keep an eye on those pressure gauges

and let us know if they rise, okay?

The plates didn't slow.

I know.

No, I mean, it's moving faster.

We lost so much pressure on these two rigs,

it sent the plate on a biased trajectory.

What do you mean?

Okay, into a new movement cycle.

It's almost like centrifugal force.

The Pacifica plate has even more momentum

than it did before it's pivoting.

It's going to change the entire plate projection.

This is a planetary shift.

How long do we have?

Peter, what's the new calculation?

Be specific.

Peter, how long do we have?

There's no data for this, all right?

It's moving on a different trajectory.

Now, we have no data for this.

We can only study this in real time.

Milly, there is no way to stop this now.

We need to accept that the world may end as we know it.

Josh, stay right where you are.

I'll call you back soon, okay?

-Copy that. -Okay.

Wait, hold on.

What?

I can't believe I didn't think about this earlier.

What? I don't follow.

We need to do exactly what they did.

You want to drop a fission bomb?

No, not a nuclear bomb,

but something large enough that acts

like a nuclear explosion when it mixes with the heat

and metals at the Earth's core.

We need to call General West.

Talk to me.

We have three hours. The oil rigs didn't work.

Yeah, I know. We've been keeping an eye on it.

But you have one rig left, correct?

Yes, and we need to send an explosive into the wellbore.

I don't see how that's going to help.

The collateral damage could be worse

than the earthquake we're trying to prevent.

Milly, we can't control it, right?

We can't measure it.

What if we send the plate in

a completely different direction, like we did before?

I think it's time we accept--

If we don't succeed, the world as we know it will disappear.

We have to try and we must succeed.

So what are you suggesting, Doc?

We send explosives down the middle of the wellbore.

This rig?

We send it down deep enough

away from humanity where there is no fallout.

Deep enough where it will push the volcanic magma

to the surface and then we cool it.

Yeah, with the liquid nitrogen that we didn't deploy,

it will freeze and harden the magma along the plate line

and stop the movement from transferring

from one plate to another, that's genius.

Pull up the coordinates of the rig.

We're near enough to the plate boundary

that with these coordinates

of the plate's current movement pattern,

we can get the chain reaction we need to trigger the explosion

all the way down the plate.

But Milly, it's not 100% stable, right?

The pressure on the pumps is still high.

Rick, gather some of your workers.

Have them unload all the missiles on the helicopter.

Doctor, I'm giving you one more chance.

They we'll have no other option.

Prepare to start evacuations.

I understand, sir.

Is the device ready to be sent down?

Yes, but the maintenance pods with the explosives,

they are not set up to handle this kind of weight.

We've never sent anything like this before.

That's a risk we're going to have to take.

How's it looking?

Pressure's good.

Keep it steady, Peter.

Looking good on my end, too.

What's going on?

We're slowing down.

It's only halfway to the detonation depth.

The propellers out, the engine's gone into power save mode.

I'll have to reset it manually.

I'm going to bring it back up.

How long?

It's not returning.

What do you mean?

It's too heavy. The rear engines can't manage.

We normally bring it back and work on it here.

There's a second maintenance pod with a suit

and tether that the technicians use,

but they've all evacuated.

One of us can take it down.

It needs to be tested and prepped

before it's ready for another trip.

There's only enough room for one person

and a breathing apparatus.

The oxygen tanks are only half full.

I don't think it would be smart--

I'll go.

Maybe you didn't understand me.

There's a chance that you wouldn't make it back from this.

This is just suicide.

I heard.

I'll prep it.

Milly, you can't.

You're not the only stubborn sibling.

We don't have a choice.

Milly, I...

I can't have you guys breaking down on me right now.

And I'm planning on making it back.

All right, let's do it.

You're getting there, Milly.

Just keep your breathing slow and steady.

You're right where you need to be.

You're going to push the hatch release

and we're going to lower you down onto the rear of the pod.

You're going to need to push the release button.

The floor is going to drop out and you should be

right there by the manual reset.

Copy.

You're approaching the other pod, we're slowing you down.

Milly, you need to breathe slower.

You're burning up what little oxygen you have.

This is what I was worried about.

She's not experienced enough.

Connecting to the second pod now.

Milly, what's going on? You're breathing too much air.

You need to slow down.

You're going to get lightheaded and pass out.

Stay with us.

Milly, your family is counting on you.

Stay with us.

I'm on top of the other pod.

Milly, you have the key.

Use your right hand to reach into your pocket and grab it.

You need to insert the manual reset key

and turn it one revolution.

Hold on, Milly. Just hold on.

She needs oxygen.

The body is going into a state similar

to nitrogen narcosis.

She's going to get lightheaded feel euphoric,

and her short-term memory is going to disappear.

Mom...

We did it!

We did it.

It worked. We're back online.

Milly, we're bringing you up.

Keep your arms at your sides and stay with us.

Mom?

Hold on.

The explosion worked.

We need to cool now, drop them.

Nitrogen in three, two, one.

Sending signal.

Dad, what was that?

I thought we stopped the earthquakes.

I thought we did, too.

Maybe it was from the rig. Let's get out of here. Come on.

I don't know if she's still with us.

I'm using the emergency purge

to bring her back up to us faster.

She's about to pass out.

Her oxygen levels are too low.

We have to get her to a hyperbaric chamber.

We do not have one on the rig,

but I know where the nearest one is.

This is her only chance, or she's not going to make it.

She's out of air.

Peter, I brought her up.

I need you to meet me and help her get in the chopper.

On my way.

Hold on, Milly, just hold on.

Hey.

Peter... Dresden.

-Yes, Milly, we're here. -We're here.

How do you feel?

-I'm fine. -Good.

I thought we lost you.

Don't scare me like that again, okay?

Also, I checked those numbers again.

And how did you know the rig wouldn't--

Dres... Sometimes you just know the answer.

You don't have to wait for the math to catch up.

Terrific.

Oh, it's good to have you back.

Doctor Anderson, you saved millions, billions of lives.

Thank you.

When you're feeling better, I'd like you to come to D.C.

and help us better prepare

for something like this in the future.

-Bring Peter. -Me?

And your brother.

I'll think about it, but no promises.

Yes, sir. We'll be there.

Sophie, Josh!

Oh, my God.

Well, I guess that's our cue to head to the vending machines.

-Thank you. -Hey, Peter.

Uncle Dresden!

-Mom! -My gosh!

Come here.

I'm so glad you're okay.

General.

Major.

We're here.

You did it, Milly.

We all did it.

Well, I'm going to give you guys some time alone

so I'm just going to go down the hall, but I will be back.

And you're all going to be seeing me a lot more.

So I'm going to go.

How did you know there'd be just enough oxygen to get back?

Dresden told us what you did, Mom.

You're very crazy.

But I love you.

Yeah, I didn't know.

But I couldn't let the world end with all of you still on it.

Marking the one-year anniversary

of the Seattle Shake,

Space Needle reopens its doors to the public.

Our very own Dr. Milly Anderson will cut the ribbon.