1
(WIND WHISTLING)
BRYAN:
How long does it take
to drive from
Kansas to New York?
VINCENT:
Uh, 2 days?
You wanna do this
in 16 milliseconds?
Yeah, but round trip.
You know, we're talking about
a lot of money here, Vincent.
I know.
Why me?
Why didn't you go
to Eva Torres?
Eva Torres?
Eva Torres uses human beings
like disposable assets.
And I heard that you once
bought 200 tower cranes
for $1 million a pop
after a 15-minute
interview with some guy
who was desperate for cash.
Is that right?
They were worth a million,
but I got 'em for 500.
Well, whatever it is,
it tells me you're
a man of your word,
and I have a lot of
respect for that, sir.
These numbers are good.
And I am very tempted.
It's nuts, but
I am very tempted.
But?
Why should I trust you
to build this
fiber tunnel?
You don't need
to trust me!
This is like buying
a time machine.
It's like getting the
winning lottery numbers
at the stock market
even before they're drawn.
No.
What?
Why should I trust you?
(BOAT HORN BLARING)
(CHUCKLING)
All right.
Uh, this is gonna sound stupid,
but, uh, all right,
whatever.
Um...
When I was 18, I worked
as a plumber's assistant,
you know,
to pay for school.
And my boss takes me
to this basement in Queens.
I mean, I could
smell the fungus.
And he asked me to unscrew this,
like, 100-pound steel pipe.
You know, he's sipping coffee
in the corner of the room
while he asked me to unscrew
this massive thing by myself,
you know,
for minimum wage, OK?
And the pipe comes loose.
It hits me in the head,
and I'm knocked unconscious.
I swear to God,
all right? And...
(CHUCKLING)
I open my eyes.
And hovering above me
is this shadow, OK,
and it's, like,
this weird man.
And he's saying...
He says: "The line.
"The line.
Don't let go of the line."
OK, then I get slapped
in the face,
and that's just my dumb boss,
you know, over me.
But that message is, like,
imprinted in my brain.
That's a good
story, Vincent.
Mm-hmm.
A little over the top.
Yeah.
But it's good.
Thank you.
But I just know
that until I build this
one quintessential line,
I'm not gonna know the answer.
What answer?
What's at the end
of the line.
MAN: The Wall Street panic,
in my opinion, is over.
It had to come.
Stock speculation
had become crazy.
WOMAN: There have been
dozens of stock-market crashes
since the Wall Street
Crash of 1929.
Although most brokers tend
to have a short memory,
it was bound to happen again.
Last week, after
Standard & Poor's downgraded
America's credit rating
from AAA to AA+,
the markets plunged
across the planet
from the US to the Middle East,
all the way to Asia.
The speed of transactions
has become
such an important variable
in the market economy,
that faster algorithms
can make millions
in a matter of milliseconds
or can crash entire markets
by triggering mass
defensive responses
from automated computer systems.
According to Marks,
the word on the street
is that millions are
now calculated in milliseconds.
The ripple effect was felt
all over the world...
(WOMAN CONTINUES
TALKING, INDISTINCT)
(ALERT BEEPING)
Oh, shit!
(BEEPING)
Hey!
You don't lock
your station,
you don't own
your station!
- Fuck off!
- It's too late!
I owed you that one.
What the fuck
did you do?
I'm gonna fuck you up!
(ALERT BEEPING)
(BELLS JINGLING)
Mark!
Hey, how are you?
Hi! Come on.
How you doing?
Good, you?
Vincent.
My cousin, Anton.
- Hi.
- Nice to meet you.
You OK? Did you eat?
Are you hungry?
No, I'm fine.
Thank you.
So, did you bring the NDA?
It is probably the longest
document I've ever seen.
Sorry about that.
I never had to
sign one before.
- No?
- No.
Let's see.
Uh, you did here.
(CHUCKLING)
Uh, all right,
looks good.
So, I spoke to Greg,
who said you're great
and that you could handle any
kind of shit that hits de fan.
Oh, thank you. Yeah, we saw
some funny stuff, Greg and I.
So, what is this
tunnel project about?
Right, so, OK, we want to
dig a 4-inch fiber tunnel
from the Kansas Electronic
Exchange Data Centre
to the New York
Stock Exchange servers,
which are in New Jersey.
Kansas to New Jersey,
that's like...
Yes, it is a straight,
1,000-mile long,
4"-wide fiber tunnel
that has to pierce right
through the Appalachians.
Wow! And can I ask what
the purpose of that line is?
Our purpose is to get
the stock market quotes
in 16 milliseconds,
which is one millisecond
faster than everybody.
It's gonna be very fast,
and it's gonna make us
all very successful.
When you say straight,
how straight are
we talking about here?
From the KAX to the
New York Stock Exchange.
Whatever's in the way,
we dig through.
It's gotta be a
totally straight line.
- Swamps?
- Straight.
- Rivers?
- Straight.
Mountains?
Straight.
Straight,
straight, straight.
Did you bring
what we discussed?
(SIGHING)
Wow! Yeah, I did.
So, this is 390 miles,
the line I did from
Los Angeles to San Francisco.
I ran 16 crews for 6 months.
Prior to that, 6 months
analyzing the soil,
securing the real estate.
So, from the start
to finish, about a year.
And we delivered 15 days ahead
of schedule on this project.
- Good for you!
- Thank you.
I did everything,
digging, piping,
the soil, real estate
and telecom crew.
My cousin Anton here
has a little test.
I was hoping you wouldn't
mind looking at it.
Sure!
All right, let's say
you wanna dig a tunnel
from Stockholm to Madrid.
- You wanna run fiber through it.
- Yeah.
How many regenerators do you
need to put up on that line?
Taking refraction into
account, obviously.
Of course.
(SIGHING)
You OK?
Yeah.
Do I have to take
in consideration
the curvature of the Earth,
or can I dig straight, hub,
straight, hub, outside,
in sort of like an octagon?
Now, if you're using
really powerful machines,
which cost more money,
you can dig straight,
come out for
air less often
so you'll have a
straighter line.
And, roughly, we're talking
a difference between,
let's say, a 1,800 miles
and 2,000 miles.
We're not putting
anything online, OK?
This project is
very secret, OK?
I'm gonna be there
every step of the way.
I wanna be on site for meetings,
plannings, interviews.
Whatever it is, I'm there, OK?
No middle man.
Our employer cannot
find out about this.
I can't stress that enough.
What about
real estate contracts?
About 90% percent will be
taken care of by me and my team,
and, well,
you can handle the rest.
Are you sure? 'Cause we're
talking about, like, forests...
- Yeah.
- ...mud, dirt, swamps.
And, like, thousands
of contracts.
I am very sure.
I am very aware, yes.
You know, I have to say
you guys might be crazy,
but I am very excited.
It's a really
interesting project.
Yeah, just think of it
as David walking onto the
floor of the stock exchange,
taking out the biggest
slingshot ever,
and bringing Goliath down
to his fucking knees.
David and Goliath?
Yeah.
- I like that.
- Good.
We're David?
Yeah!
Yeah, we're David.
( WOMAN SINGING IN RUSSIAN
ON STEREO )
(MAN SPEAKING RUSSIAN)
(DOORBELL RINGING)
(WOMAN SPEAKING RUSSIAN)
Katia!
(LAUGHING)
(GASPING)
Hi, Dad!
How are you?
Good!
- Hi!
- Yo!
- Hey!
- How's it going?
Well, it's been 9 years.
To you, Pop.
You were the classiest
plumber in New York,
maybe the Tri-State area.
(GUESTS CHUCKLING) Um, you were
tough on me, but it made me stronger.
(SPEAKING RUSSIAN)
(SPEAKING RUSSIAN)
Yes, please,
let's eat!
What you wanna do before you do
any kind of tiling
is you strip the pipes,
and you get some
3/4" copper in there.
Change
everything for 3...
No, no, no,
you don't change everything,
just the main line to
the upper floor, that's it.
Don't worry about the basement.
Hey, Dad, why is the light
outside the window blue
and the light inside
the lamp yellow?
Well, because the light waves
from the lamp are slower
than the light waves
from the window,
and slower light waves go
from yellow to orange to red,
and faster light waves
go from blue to violet.
- (CLINKING ON GLASS)
- Why is that?
Olena! I didn't
get my song today!
- Oh, she's right!
- Uncle Vinnie!
You didn't give
grandma her song!
Uncle Vinnie!
Yes, OK.
Thank you.
Uncle Vinnie!
It's me. It's me.
(FAMILY CHUCKLING)
Hi!
( SINGING OPERA
IN RUSSIAN )
( WOMAN SINGING OPERA
IN RUSSIAN )
(ELECTRONICS BEEPING)
(TELEPHONE RINGING)
Yep!
WOMAN: Miss Torres would
like to see you.
What? Just me or...
You and the team.
OK.
Eva wants to see us.
(SERVERS WHIRRING
AND BEEPING)
(TELEPHONES RINGING)
Please take a seat.
Thanks.
They're here.
(SIGHING)
EVA: Well, you tell him
that he had his chance.
If he doesn't deliver
what we paid him to deliver,
he can talk to our lawyers.
And you better
get your shit together!
Gotta go! Bye!
Let's hear it!
What do you have for me?
We're still working
on the microwave towers.
Yeah, we're not working
on microwave towers.
You are not. I am.
- It's pointless.
- Why is it pointless?
We're years away
from getting
the right pulse-shaping
algorithms.
By the time we do, laser towers
will have made us obsolete.
- Jenny?
- He's right.
Short term, I think the crew
should put effort into
getting a fiber deal between
Harrisburg and Allentown
so they can skip
the detour to Philadelphia
and save half a millisecond.
I completely disagree.
We should work on the towers.
If we get them to work,
we'll roundtrip Kansas-New York
in less than
14 milliseconds.
It's a waste of time.
I know one thing that is a waste of time,
that's your neutrino-messaging project.
- Oh, really, is it?
- Really.
What do you know
about neutrino messaging?
- Enlighten me!
- I know it's bullshit!
Yeah, developing a neutrino-
messaging protective shield
will cost at
least $2 billion.
- Fuck you!
- Guys!
I'm wasting my time
listening to this bitching!
He doesn't know
what he's talking about.
Jenny, find me a dedicated
dark fiber line
between Harrisburg
and Allentown.
You work on the
microwave thing on your own,
and please prove him wrong.
What are you doing here?
You're wasting time. Go!
Not you!
Not you, Anton.
Close the door, please.
What is it?
I don't know.
You tell me.
Something's not right.
I know you.
Where are your ideas?
Where's that brilliant mind
that you're so proud of?
I'm... I'm working on
neutrino messaging...
Oh, no, no, no!
You don't get to hide
behind this gimmicky
neutrino-messaging bullshit!
You are here to have
moments of pure inspiration.
And right now,
you're not even here.
Come on, why don't you
tell me what's wrong?
VINCENT: Yeah, OK,
but did it seem like she was...
like she's
suspecting something?
- Yeah. Yeah, maybe.
- Fuck!
I think she might suspect
that I'm up to something.
And they're moving forward
with the microwave towers.
They're still doing
the microwave thing?
Yeah.
OK, but how long before
that's, like, viable?
Uh, 3 years.
Tops, tops.
OK, all right, 3 years.
So that's OK.
You just stay focused, OK?
We get in, we make our money.
In, like, in a year or two,
we get the hell
out just in time.
We get you your country
home on a hill, OK?
- Yeah.
- Ooh!
All right, I'm heading
back to Kansas.
- Wish me luck!
- OK!
All right,
see you Monday, dude!
Yeah! Bye!
(GRUNTING)
(GRUNTING)
(CLATTERING)
(EXHALING SHARPLY)
(BANGING)
(SCOFFING)
(DRILL WHIRRING)
Hey! You're gonna
wake the girls up.
What the fuck
are you doing?
Oh, I'm just installing a
backup system for our computers.
With a drill?
Yeah, it's for the wires
to come out the back.
- Are you OK, Anton?
- What do you mean?
I mean you're
doing weird things
in the middle
of the night.
I'll... I'll be done
in 15 minutes.
No, come to bed now!
Give me 10 minutes.
- I... I'll drill quietly.
- Five.
If you're not in bed in five,
you're sleeping on the couch.
OK, five.
(DRILL WHIRRING)
(GRUNTING)
The Kansas servers are...
right there.
Very first landowner.
Yeah.
One of 10,000.
Good morning, sir!
Are you the owner
of this fine house?
What's this about?
A business opportunity
regarding the property.
How can I help you?
My name's Mark Vega.
This is my partner.
We work for Cobalt Fiber Tech.
We're a networking company.
We'd like to expand
our operations to this area.
- You are owner of this house, correct?
- Yeah.
Fantastic! I've got
some really good news...
- Vega? Where are you from?
- I'm from New Jersey, sir.
Originally.
I'm Hispanic.
Where are you from, sir?
- America.
- Where are you from originally?
OK! Vincent Zaleski.
I'm American.
We're looking to stretch
our lines of communication.
I'm in charge of figuring out
who'd sell us a stretch of land.
- I ain't selling my land.
- Of course not!
We're looking for access
to a thin strip of your land
to spread our line.
- A very, very thin strip.
- How thin?
Well, it's about this wide
for the length of your property.
We would start at about,
uh, well, start about here,
and it would go underground
really deep, like, 10 feet,
all the way under your land
to about that, like,
pole over there.
You wanna buy a 12" strip
off of my property?
Well, under your property.
And it's just to put a line in.
We'd bring a
horizontal drilling machine.
It would sit right
on that street...
I think it would
impress the neighbors...
and drill underneath your lot
the entire way, nothing broken,
nothing torn out.
It would be
completely invisible.
We could even do, like,
a lease if you want,
like, a 10-year lease.
It's basically like free money.
Ain't no free money,
my friend. Money is money.
That's very true, sir.
That's very true.
You got all this
written down somewhere?
Yes, I do!
I... do!
EVA:
Anybody that can do this right
is already working for me.
I have been recruiting them
and training them for years.
That's why we're the fastest.
Can you run it all by me
one more time, please?
Sure!
So, there's this
vast universe
with all these
orders flying around.
We identify
the big buyers,
then we figure out what are
they buying and at what price.
We use our speed
to jump over them
all the way to
the front of the line.
Hi! Hi, we have
these notes for Miss Torres.
If you can give those to her...
If you could you just sign this,
confirming you've
received them...
What you do sounds like
what a scalper does.
What we do is nanosecond
financial engineering.
It's light years away from
scalping and much sexier.
How do we get into
your nanosecond
financial engineering?
It's been a pleasure
working with you.
Come on!
- What kind of clients...
- You know what?
I am going to have to
step out for a second.
- But, Jenny, take it over.
- Um, so...
What was that?
I don't know.
(JENNY TALKING, INDISTINCT)
All right, tell me
your dream, buddy.
Country home on a hill,
small road, hummingbirds.
All right,
say it again.
Country home on a hill,
small road, hummingbirds.
(CAR HONKING)
Just keep moving.
You're doing the right thing.
EVA:
Hey! Hey! Hey!
- Oh, shit!
- What are you doing?
Wait! What is this?
That's our resignation.
Thank you for
our employment.
Are you kidding me?
No, I'm not. Let's go.
Because I don't know
where you think you're going,
but you're going
empty-handed.
You realize
that, right?
All the information, the data,
research, obviously,
my codes, they stay here.
Your codes? Sorry,
they're his codes.
His codes?
You're delusional!
You're delusional!
Everything in that head,
it's ours!
It's his. This is
a free country.
That part of his brain
belongs to us!
No, free country!
Do you even know
why you're doing this?
Because I know that this stupid
idea cannot possibly be yours.
OK, you got the letters.
It's done, we're out.
I even hired you this
despicable pedazo de mierda
so you could have a pet.
- Oh!
- I need bigger challenges.
Why?
I'm sick of just
patching things up
and fixing small, tedious
problems on your line.
It's a shitty design
in the first place.
- Yeah, it's a shitty design.
- Is this some kind of tantrum?
We are on to bigger
and better things.
- I don't understand!
- Thank you, shitty design!
I know that we can
just break the walls
of perception together!
What the hell does that mean?
Come on, let's go!
- Anton! Anton!
- That's fucking creepy! Let's go.
You're about to cross
a very thin line,
and you will regret it.
Ugh!
I'll give you one second
to snap out of it.
Come back to me.
Eres un pendejo, Vincent!
Oh! Thanks for everything!
( STAND UP BY LEE FIELDS )
Stand up
Let's get it right
Stand up...
Yo! Amy!
Hey! How'd it go?
Amazing!
I signed 11 miles of houses
from the Kansas servers
heading towards Independence.
- Awesome!
- Yeah.
What's this?
All landowners from
Arrow Rock to Martinsburg.
You signed everybody?
Yeah, baby.
Beautiful, brother!
I'm talking to you, people
All over the world
Don't let them tell you
That you weren't heard
They're trying to show us
Who's in the right
You will recognize
that a breach...
They're trying to tell us
who we should fight
Hey, stand up
All right, please sign here.
Let's get it right
Oh, stand up
Let's keep it tight
Everybody, come on
Stand up
They're lying to us
Trying to keep us down
Telling us all kinds
of things
Makes your head spin around
So, brothers and sisters
We lost our way
(RUMBLING)
Hey
All of you guys
Get down, get down
Get down to it
by the minute
Hi, Bryan.
How are you?
Ah!
I brought you
our secret weapon.
Great! Good to
see you, Vincent!
It's great to see you.
Here's my cousin.
- Finally, you guys are meeting.
- Nice to meet you.
Two of my favorite
people in the same room.
- Let's get down to it.
- Absolutely!
- Take it from the top.
- This is the state of affairs.
We have deals with 54 crews,
working on the line.
We have land deals
with about 95% of the...
Anton? You wanna come
be part of the meeting?
We have land deals with 95% of
the people we need to sign with.
And we have
headquarters
here, here, here and here.
And this is where
I'll be most of the time.
This is protected forest.
There's no roads.
There's no construction allowed.
Basically, we got rivers to
cross, swamps, you name it.
What's this dotted line?
This is actually
our problem area.
This is the Appalachians,
a big national park.
It's a granite mountain
that we have to find
a way to dig through.
It's protected by the State.
There's no roads.
Well, how much
time are we losing
to go around the mountain?
Anton, take them
through how long
this whole
thing's gonna take.
- Yeah.
- OK, great.
Uh, so, Kansas City
to Indiana,
just north of Minneapolis,
is 2.3 milliseconds.
Indianapolis to
the Appalachians is 2.5.
Then, um, Appalachians to the
New York Stock Exchange is 4.3.
If we go around
the mountain in 3.2,
if we go totally straight,
and then plus 0.5
for processing.
So, for the round trip,
it's 19.2 if we go
around the mountains
and 17 if we...
No, it's 16!
It's not 17.
- It's 17 for...
- Anton, what? No!
- Vinnie, you said 16, not 17.
- I know.
- 17 is useless.
- I know.
There's probably
dozens of market makers
that'll be under 17
in year or two.
Listen to me.
There is no way
that we can go public
with 17 milliseconds.
He means we're at 17
with our beta software.
- No, this is...
- Please don't scare our friends to death.
We'll get it down to 16
when he strips the code,
which he will do.
You're right,
we have to go straight through.
We can't go around.
We're losing too much speed.
- You scared the shit out of us.
- Did I?
- Yeah.
- I'm sorry about that.
How are you getting
through the mountain?
Two things need
to get done.
We need government clearance
to get our crew in,
and we need to find a way
to bring our gear in.
- Clearance is easy.
- Is it? Wow!
Well, if it's easy for you,
it's good for us. Thank you.
Give me a couple days.
I'll get on it.
Yes, that's great! OK!
- Fantastic!
- All right.
Well, we will be on our way.
I will say I'm really enjoying
working with you guys,
and I think this is
actually a lot of fun.
And if you'll excuse us,
we have a tunnel to dig
from New York to Kansas.
Mr. Simon, we never really...
but we should!
- You go to Kansas now, Dorothy!
- It's Anton.
All right.
Let's go, Anton.
Anton. All right.
How am I supposed
to design a software
that's a millisecond faster
when I already tore everything
I could off the code?
I don't know,
maybe you just need
to take your
time and relax.
It's not about
time, Vinnie!
OK, all right.
It cannot be done!
All right, man!
- You're not listening to me!
- OK, OK!
Listen to me!
Listen to me, though!
You need to find a millisecond,
OK, or we do not have a purpose.
Our whole project becomes
useless. Do you want that?
Uh, we are Delta.
It's Terminal 5.
Do you really need me
in Pennsylvania?
- Isn't it better if I stay here?
- No.
- I could focus more if...
- Absolutely not.
I need you by my side, OK?
You can focus there, all right?
And when you're at the airport,
please just try to relax, OK?
Can you do that?
(OVERHEAD BIN CLICKING)
(WHISPERING):
It's fucking hot in here!
- Excuse me!
- Yeah?
Can I get some
water, please?
Yeah, sure thing.
Vincent! Vincent!
Yeah, what?
There's no life vest
under my seat.
- There's no life vest under my seat?
- No.
What do you need a life vest
for? We're flying to Pittsburgh.
In case we
crash in water.
We're not flying over water.
We're flying across
Pennsylvania.
There could be
a river, a lake.
We're not crashing
into a river.
You don't know that.
- Here you go.
- Thank you.
Everything's OK?
Sorry, he's fine.
He's just a little
scared of flying.
I'm just a little
scared of flying.
Yeah. OK, just
try to relax.
Yeah.
It's all all right.
- Oh, it is.
- OK.
That's very helpful.
Thank you.
Mm-hmm! OK!
- Thank you.
- OK.
Could you please just try
to fall asleep maybe?
Just close your eyes,
maybe try to fall asleep, OK?
All right, then when you
wake up, we'll be there.
Ladies and gentleman,
this is your captain speaking.
I would like to welcome you
onboard this flight
to Pittsburgh.
(SIGHING)
Flight duration
is around 2 hours.
We're expecting some heavy
turbulence during take-off...
No! No! No!
(WOMAN SCREAMING,
BABY CRYING)
Whoa, whoa, whoa!
Stop the plane!
Yes, I do, OK?
Just wait for us there.
Just wait for us there.
We will be there soon.
No, nothing happened.
We had a little, uh...
We had a little Anton
moment on the plane.
We're fine now, OK?
All right.
Don't worry
about it, buddy.
( CARMENITA BY
DEVENDRA BANHART )
( CARMENITA ON CAR STEREO )
(CELL PHONE VIBRATING)
Yeah?
They're heading somewhere
between Pittsburgh and Kansas.
That's the KAX.
What?
Kansas Electronic Exchange.
Find out exactly where they're
staying and get back to me.
Yep.
(SWALLOWING)
- You OK?
- Hmm?
Yeah. Where are we?
We're in Pennsylvania.
ANTON:
What kind of challenges
do you face
in your line of work?
Challenges?
What's the worst
that can happen?
Like the worst
worst thing that can happen?
Hmm, I'd say positive shit.
(CHUCKLING)
Positive shit?
What's that?
All right,
I gotta do this job.
I gotta get these pipes
going from municipal
to these gentrified McMansions,
about 30-35 of them
in a gated community,
so I can get
them water, 'right?
Yeah.
They're located way
lower than municipal,
so to get them
fresh water, no problem,
'cause the water's
taken from the town
down the hill
to their houses.
Gravity does its job.
But after these rich
folks eat their caviar
and drink their wine,
they've got to piss and shit
like everybody else.
So you gotta get them
a 24/7 pump
that pushes this doo-doo
back up the pipes,
back up the hill.
where everybody else lives.
That pump is called
a positive shit machine.
- Really?
- Yeah. You following?
Yeah. Not complicated.
So, the sun is rising,
we're covering great ground,
we're digging,
- and then suddenly...
- What?
Boom!
A fucking earthquake!
And, suddenly, there's a smell
like we just
entered Dante's hell.
And it's the pressurized
doo-doo in the tubes busted.
- Oh, God!
- And it's fucking gushing!
It's coming out like oil
from the earth's
asshole non-stop.
Five inches of
pure fucking shit!
That's disgusting.
And the central pump
feels the pressure,
so it thinks it needs to keep
pushing harder and harder.
Why didn't you turn it off?
Can't turn it off. Only municipal
has access to the water system,
and it's 5:00 a.m.,
and nobody's home.
So, I'm looking at
this gated community
literally drowning
in its own shit.
The gatekeeper comes over.
He's got a few missing teeth.
This old man puts his hand
on my shoulder, and he says:
"You know, Mark, I've worked
for rich folks my whole life,
"but deep down, I always knew
they were full of shit!"
That's funny.
Positive shit.
Also, that was a long story.
(MARK AND VINCENT LAUGHING)
(BIRDS CHIRPING)
(CROWS CAWING)
All right, guys.
I'll see ya later.
- I'll see you in a bit! Bye!
- Yeah.
Hey! Look at this!
The, uh, presidential suite!
Look, they
delivered your gear.
Isn't that nice?
And you got a desk there to
do your, uh, your coding.
And...
Look at that view!
Wow! That's incredible!
So you can contemplate nature
while you do your coding.
There's 3 phones.
All right, well,
I will see you at dinner.
Take your key.
And please work on
that millisecond.
All right, brother?
I know you can do it.
- Yeah.
- OK!
(DOOR CLOSING)
(SIGHING)
(GRUNTING)
(GRUNTING)
I think I found
something for the mountain.
What'd you find?
A friend of mine who
owns a couple of choppers
says we can strap a drilling rig
to a Sikorsky S-61 helicopter.
A Sikorsky helicopter?
What is that?
That's basically a gigantic
motherfucking helicopter.
It can lift up
to 20,000 pounds.
Oh!
The only thing
is we still need
to get air-traffic
authorization
to land it at the bottom
of the mountains.
(CAMERA BEEPING AND CLICKING)
That's the thing.
It's $80,000 a day.
A day?
Yes. That includes
fuel and flight time.
Fuck! Wow! Ooh!
- What's wrong?
- No, nothing.
I think they gave me
yesterday's fish.
Two more things, Vinnie.
We need air-traffic
authorization
to land it at the
bottom of the mountain,
and we still haven't
figured a way
to land it
around here somewhere.
What?
Not "around here," OK?
Not "around here."
Not around here.
Not around here.
Not around here.
Not in Washika.
We gotta be precise, all right?
Here, on the line.
I mean, it looks like they're
building a straight fiber line
between KAX and
the New York Stock Exchange.
I know, Jenny.
I am looking at it.
And I can't believe
I didn't see it coming,
I mean, it was right there
in front of my face!
(SIGHING)
I need you to make
the microwave towers work.
Get me the pulse-shaping
algorithms yesterday.
I already told you we can't.
Oh yes, we can.
We're gonna do a round trip,
Kansas-New York City,
in 15 milliseconds or less.
Eva, I just don't see
how you want us to do this.
Give me the pulse shaping
or give me your resignation.
Jenny, start looking
for other quants.
I am going to start building
those towers tomorrow!
- How are you?
- Good! How are you?
- Welcome!
- Thank you so much!
- So nice to have you.
- Nice to meet you.
This is Ophelia Troller.
Vincent Zaleski.
- Hi!
- Hi, Mr. Zaleski.
Vincent, please.
Nice to meet you.
Here's what
you need to know for now.
We're digging a fiber tunnel
in this area.
There's a long stretch of land
that's protected
by National Parks.
We heard that
you're the best,
and we're looking
for someone to drill
under that land
in one single stretch.
OK, we're talking about,
like, 15 miles.
So, you guys want 15 miles of
horizontal drilling in one go?
- Mm-hmm.
- Why no connection points?
It's all protected wild
forest. There's no access roads.
There's no way to get
permission to build one.
You have any idea
what kind of machine
it takes to do
this kind of a job?
I'm talking shipped from
the other side of the planet.
So that's hundreds of
thousands of dollars
just to get that machine here.
- Exactly.
- Yeah.
(WOMAN ON COM SYSTEM,
INDISTINCT)
MAN:
Yeah, good to go.
(GROANING)
(TELEPHONE BEEPING)
(LINE RINGING)
MARK: Hello?
Hi, it's me.
Yeah, my stomach is killing me.
Uh, I think I need
to see a doctor.
What's wrong?
Probably just something I ate.
Meet me downstairs.
Yeah, thanks.
Oh, Mark?
Yeah?
Don't tell Anton.
Sure.
(GROANING)
(ELECTRONICS WHIRRING)
( WOMAN SINGING OPERA
IN FOREIGN LANGUAGE )
(KEYBOARD CLICKING)
(BEEPING)
Mr. Zaleski.
Yes?
There's no easy way
to say this.
Say what?
(SNIFFLING)
Hey!
Yo! What they say?
Oh, nothing! I'm good!
They kept you in there
for 6 hours for nothing?
What, are they stupid?
I know, sorry.
They just had to run
some tests, but I'm good.
Are you sure, man?
You still look a little pale.
Yeah, I'm good!
Come on, let's go.
You have stomach cancer.
You have to undergo treatment
immediately. I'm sorry.
Can I get a second opinion?
You can, but with the X-rays
and the endoscopy and the MRI,
it's pretty clear.
I'm really sorry.
Is that why I've been
having these nightmares?
Nightmares?
Yes, I've been having these
very strange nightmares.
Is it because of the cancer?
I don't know.
This old man is chasing me.
I don't think it's related.
I don't know if
he's trying to kill me
or if he's trying
to save me from something.
Mr. Zaleski, please.
I'm not a psychiatrist.
It's related, isn't it?
I'm sorry,
I can't help you.
I don't have the training.
How long do I have?
You can live
a mostly productive life
for the next year or two,
like 90% of our patients
under your condition.
And then what?
One out of two patients
with your level of advancement
live beyond 5 years.
It's not a death sentence,
but it's very serious.
And with the right treatment,
you could be 100% cured
in a couple of years.
Is there any way the treatment
can wait for a couple months?
I'm just in the middle
of something very important.
A lot of people
are counting on me,
and I just can't fail them.
No, it can't.
It would seriously
put your life at risk.
(BIRDS CHIRPING)
(CROW CAWING)
(DRILL RUMBLING)
(SENSOR BEEPING STEADILY)
(THUNDER RUMBLING)
All right,
this one is yours.
- Thank you so much.
- Thank you.
It's great to meet you,
and we'll be in touch, OK?
(WHIRRING)
(BEEPING)
(SIGHING)
MASHA: You OK? I mean,
we haven't heard from you.
ANTON:
Yeah, I'm fine.
A little tired.
- Well, how's work?
- It's all right.
Look, I hope you're not
just eating crap out there.
You're gonna end up
with diabetes.
Anton.
No, I'm not.
(MUTTERING INDISTINCTLY)
Here talk to your daughter.
She misses you.
Katia!
Who is it?
It's your father.
Hi, Dad!
Hi, Katia.
What are you doing?
Ah, just working.
OK, I got a new book.
It's about atoms.
Yeah?
Do you know how
much empty space
there is in
a hydrogen atom?
(WHISPERING):
How many?
Tell me.
99.99996%.
If the atom were the size
of the Empire State Building,
the proton and its centre would
be about the size of a bee.
All the rest is emptiness!
Pretty crazy, huh?
Yeah, that's pretty crazy.
What's up, Ray?
Good. How you doing?
- Good.
- All right!
You know Vincent?
Hi! How are you?
Mr. Zaleski!
Good, thank you. Here!
Where are the cliffs?
Uh, that way.
Please put these on.
Why do we need
such a straight line?
Why can't we go
around the mountain?
Come on, Ray, no questions.
It's in your contract.
Contract!
What's a contract around here?
Just a piece of paper
to wipe your ass with.
Hello, Anton.
What are you doing here?
You probably think
I came here to remind you
that you cannot
use my codes.
Pfft! Well, I don't care
about the codes.
Of course you don't.
They're archaic.
Hmm!
Well, I just came here
to tell you a story.
Have you heard
of Vladimir Smirnov?
No.
He rewrote some code for
the McMinster Fund 8 years ago.
He gave them a 10- or
12-millisecond edge
on the network.
One day, he decided
to leave the firm,
and he took a couple of
lines of code with him.
Nothing special,
just generic code.
But McMinster
didn't like it.
So they threw
the FBI on Smirnov.
They claimed that he was a
threat to national security,
that he had stolen
some codes from them,
that he was capable
of crashing the markets.
He has been in jail
for the last 8 years.
Vladimir didn't do
anything wrong.
But it just goes to show you
that someone can make your life
hell if they decide to.
How old will your daughters
be in 8 years, Anton?
(SIGHING)
Eight years is
a long time.
I cared for you,
and you betrayed me.
Now you have to pay,
and I'm gonna make it painful.
(BREATHING SHALLOWLY)
(MAN ON WALKIE-TALKIE,
INDISTINCT)
(SAW BUZZING)
(BREATHING HEAVILY)
(HELICOPTER WHIRRING)
Yeah?
Whoa, whoa!
Hey, hey! Stop the car!
Yeah, let me
call you back.
Fuck! Hey! Hey!
Come back here, you bitch!
Yeah, you!
Hey! Asshole!
Oh, you think
you have power over us?
Oh, you think you own us?
Hey, come down,
you piece of shit!
What the fuck?
What is she doing here?
Hey!
Hey, you OK?
Yeah.
I just saw Torres'
helicopter fly out here.
- Oh, really?
- Yeah, really. Did you see her?
Hey, look at me!
Did you see her?
- Hey!
- Yeah, yeah, I saw her.
You saw her?
- Yeah, I just, I didn't...
- What?
I didn't tell you 'cause
I didn't wanna upset you.
You're not upsetting me.
What did she say to you?
Nah, just some...
What did she say to you?
Just some stupid story.
Some story? OK, look at me.
Did she threaten you?
I'm not scared of her.
- You don't have to be.
- No.
She didn't lay
a hand on you?
- Did she?
- No.
Did she tell you
what she was doing?
Hey! OK, just look
at me when I'm...
What did she say to you?
- Stop! Stop!
- OK.
I'm doing everything I can
to find that millisecond,
so stop interrupting me!
I can't focus!
OK.
- I can't think!
- OK, I'm not...
OK?
- Leave me alone!
- OK.
Leave me alone!
OK, OK!
Get out of here!
All right, all right!
I'm sorry. I'm sorry.
(BREATHING HEAVILY)
(BREATHING HEAVILY)
There it is,
right on schedule,
the first of
your 34 towers.
Kansas Electronic Exchange,
New York Stock Exchange.
18 towers that way,
15 towers that way.
Where are they digging?
Vinnie and Anton's
guys are
right at the bottom
of that cliff.
That little patch
with less trees there
in the forest
facing the cliff,
that's the digging.
They have over 50 crews,
12 in Pennsylvania.
Shit!
Get me back to New York.
What the hell?
What are they doing?
They... They're packing up!
Wait! Stop the car.
Stop the car!
Hey! Hey! Hey! Yo!
Hey! What... what do
you think you're doing?
We're leaving.
You can't do that.
That's a breach of contract!
Of course we can.
It's expensive, but we can!
We owe you $30,000.
You get a check by Monday.
- Excuse me.
- Why are you doing this?
We got a better contract.
More pay for much less work.
So, you're just leaving?
Look, I got bills
to pay, OK?
He has bills to pay!
It's just business.
Nothing personal.
Who gave you the
contract? Who was it?
I signed a
non-disclosure agreement.
It's Eva Torres, isn't it?
It's Eva Torres, say it!
If you told her anything
about our project...
Vinnie, calm down!
...I will personally
fuck you up!
- Careful what you wish for!
- OK! Fuck you!
Have I ever mistreated you?
I paid you to the moon and back!
Why the fuck are you doing this?
You think she's trying
to build her own line?
No, we're way too ahead
of the game for them.
They're trying to screw us.
What do you want me
to do with his contract?
Give this contract
to somebody else,
and figure out if they
stole any more of our crews.
Listen to me, double
their wages if you have to,
but keep them working!
All right.
( FOLK ON STEREO )
Thank you.
What are you
working on?
Oh, I can't really
talk about it.
Mm-hmm.
Is that 'cause you're a spy
who works for the CIA?
No.
No, it's because Vincent says
everyone has to sign an NDA.
So I can't talk about it.
Hmm! Who's Vincent?
Is that your boss at the CIA,
because you're a spy?
I don't work for the CIA.
Yeah, right! I have some
friends in the KGB.
I'll go back there, call them,
tell 'em you're here.
That's ridiculous!
Come on, tell me!
Please?
Do you have a pen?
"I, Barbara Lehman,
"swear not to divulge
any information
"related to Anton Zaleski's
professional activities."
(LAUGHING)
You know this is never gonna
hold up in court, right?
Oh, it will.
Well, I'm here to make digital
information travel faster
between the Kansas
Electronic Exchange
and the New York
Stock Exchange.
OK.
Let's say you're
an investor in Kansas,
and I'm a trader
also in Kansas,
and you wanna buy...
Uh, I don't know,
what do you wanna buy?
Um, what do I wanna buy?
I would like to buy...
a lemon company in, um,
I don't know,
Zimbabwe.
So you wanna buy shares
in a lemon company in Zimbabwe.
Right.
Let's say you wanna
buy 1,000 shares
at a maximum
price of $10.
All right,
let's do that.
OK, so you put this
request in the system,
and a bunch of traders can
now offer selling prices
for the lemon
company in Zimbabwe.
But the thing is, if all
traders use the same system
and have the
same information,
how do you beat the others?
By having the fastest line.
Once I know how much
you're willing to pay,
I outrun the other traders
from Kansas to New York.
I buy shares that sell
for less than $10.
I race back and sell them
to you for $10.
So, right now,
all this happens
in about in about
17 milliseconds.
Soon it'll be 16.
But what's
16 milliseconds?
It's one single flap
of a hummingbird's wing.
OK, but then what happens?
Well, that's it.
That's the whole thing.
I've just made 1,000 times
one cent, so I've made 10 bucks.
You're doing all of
this for 10 bucks?
Well, I do 200,000
transactions like this
every day.
That's 200,000 times
$10 times 252.
That's roughly
$500 million a year.
That's a lot of money.
It's like time travel.
Yeah!
But what about the farmers?
What about' em?
The lemon farmers in Zimbabwe,
what do they get out of this?
The lemon farmers
aren't relevant.
How can they be irrelevant?
They're growing the lemons.
They're not an important
variable in the system.
Mathematically, for our business
plan, they're irrelevant.
I guess I wouldn't wanna be
one of those farmers in Zimbabwe
who's mathematically irrelevant
to your business plan.
(CHUCKLING)
OK, I'm sorry.
I'll shut up and
I'll get back to work.
No, no, no. It's...
It's an interesting problem.
It raises a lot of
epistemological questions.
See ya, spy!
(CARS HONKING IN DISTANCE)
What is it?
It's a thesis.
23-year-old kid out of NYU.
I think he figured out
the pulse shaping.
You did this?
Uh, yeah, I guess.
You can make the pulsing work?
Yeah, I mean,
it's theoretical,
but, yeah, I don't see
why it wouldn't work.
Follow me.
I knew you were out there.
You know when you
get this sensation
that there is someone that is
supposed to be in your life,
but they just can't quite
find their way in?
What did you think
about Jenny?
She's all right, I guess.
She's brilliant.
They all are.
I only hire the best.
I think you're gonna
feel at home with us.
I'm gonna start you
at $150 000 a year.
Is it all right?
Thank you!
I mean, this seems like a really
stimulating environment
to be working in...
However, if you can
make the pulse shaping work
for our towers before
the end of the month,
I'm gonna give you
a bonus of $300,000.
I'm going to take
such good care of you
as long as you prove
to be who I think you are.
And as long as you're loyal.
(BIRDS CHIRPING AND SQUAWKING)
OK, so this is the area.
Now, you, of course, wanna get
the biggest, most expensive
digger on the planet.
You want to dig along the forest
and then under the river, right?
Uh-huh.
You said they'd
never let you dig
an access road through
the National Park.
Probably right,
but you're thinking
this is the only way
to get there.
- Yeah, it is.
- No, it's not.
Look, you have
9 little rivers here.
OK, if I give you
4 mini-diggers,
I put them on rafts
and rack 'em along the rivers
and have them all
working at the same time,
pretty sure that,
for half your budget,
I can get the job
done 4 times as fast.
On the phone you said
twice as fast, not four times.
Yeah, well,
you know, Murphy's law.
I'm a pessimist.
I wanna come on the raft.
Well, I hope you brought
your winter jacket,
'cause it just
snowed up there.
Yeah, my father
would've liked it here.
My parents were born in Russia.
Yeah, they moved here
in the '60s,
moved into a tiny apartment
with 10 other Russian families.
Two weeks after he got here,
these police came,
knocked on his door,
threw him in
the back of the car,
thought we was a spy,
which he wasn't.
They interrogated him for,
like, 4 weeks or something.
He never saw the
light of the day.
- That's insane!
- Yeah!
My mother said he became like
a totally different person.
He became, like, angry.
Yeah, and I was born a
few years later, so lucky!
Yeah.
He always told me
the same thing.
He said:
"Whatever you do,
"make sure you own
your freedom."
Own your freedom?
Doesn't that kind of defeat
the purpose of freedom?
Yeah, maybe.
And he was always trying to,
like, scare me or something
into being, like...
I don't know,
like, successful.
So, you think you're doing
this to prove your father wrong?
Wrong about what?
About being
successful.
It's a pretty crazy project
you got going here.
It's just... it's just
something I need to do.
We're here.
(MAN ON WALKIE-TALKIE,
INDISTINCT)
(EQUIPMENT CHUGGING)
(SNIFFLING)
That's incredible!
- That's amazing!
- Yeah?
- Yeah, thanks.
- Yeah, no problem.
Listen, I have
a bunch of work
that I still have
to finish up here,
but Pete'll
take you back.
He's waiting for you
on the other side.
- OK.
- All right?
Thank you.
And, uh,
I hope you make it.
(WOMAN ON WALKIE-TALKIE,
INDISTINCT)
(GROANING SOFTLY)
(GROANING)
(KNOCKING ON DOOR)
No housekeeping!
(BANGING ON DOOR)
(SIGHING)
VINCENT: Anton!
Anton, it's me.
Open up.
Yo, Anton!
Yeah, I'm coming.
Hi!
Hi! Thanks.
Oh!
All right,
so, good news.
We got 600 miles of
the line completed,
and the helicopter flies to
the cliffs today, which is good.
How about you?
How are you doing?
Where are we at?
I only cut a 10th
of a millisecond off.
A 10th of a millisecond,
that's not bad!
That's a start!
It's a good start!
Oh!
You OK? Hey!
Come on!
Dude, what's going on?
Well, the system's
missing some variables.
OK. Well, whatever it is,
we can fix it.
We'll fix it.
There's granularity issues.
Well, what is that?
I don't know what that is.
The lemon farmers.
The core economic units
don't have enough resources.
OK.
It's all gonna collapse
in about 50 years,
unless we get the algos
to factor in the lemons.
OK, you know what?
There's bugs
in the system.
You and me are going on
a little road trip, all right?
Gonna get your mind off coding
for a few hours or a few days.
I gotta finish this.
Hey! I'm not asking, buddy.
Come on, let's go
see the helicopter!
Change your clothes.
We'll get you some fresh air.
Anton!
(CLICKING TONGUE)
Um, I have a question
regarding a fiber connector,
model 2MMTR5547.
WOMAN:
OK, what's the question?
Is the dissipation
index accurate,
or could there be slight
variations in the speed loss?
No, sir, I don't think there
is anything significant there.
Is there any tolerance,
like even 0.1%?
The numbers you have
are in optimal conditions.
If there was some difference,
I'd say it was
the other way around.
You might get slightly
less performance than that.
Well, that's pretty stupid.
Excuse me, sir?
Hey! Hey,
do you feel that?
Flat tire.
Shit! Are you serious?
Yeah.
(BIRDS CHIRPING)
An hour?
All right, all right.
Just please hurry.
(FROGS RIBBITING)
Hey!
You think when this is over,
I could take your kids out,
um, like, for
ice cream or something?
Yeah, they'd really like that.
Yeah?
Yeah.
I guess I would like to.
Yeah, anytime.
(GRUNTING)
Vincent!
Yeah.
What is it?
It's a frog.
That's cute.
Yeah, it's good.
OK. Oh!
Go in the water.
There, that's better.
It's OK?
He's fine.
It's just a... Yeah.
You know, pretty soon,
when you got your
country home on the hill,
you could just hang out and
do shit like this all the time.
(GRUNTS)
It's not really
about the home.
It's about people
leaving me alone.
Most people are morons.
Yeah?
I just wanna get
a place somewhere quiet,
where I can work on my codes,
type some algos...
Mm-hmm.
...hang out with
Masha and the girls and you.
We can go swim in a lake
and watch the sunset.
Whatever the people
do in the country.
(GRUNTING)
Not bad!
That was three!
Yeah. Oh!
Ah!
Hey! Yo, yo!
Hey!
All right, let's go.
( I FEEL JUST LIKE A CHILD
BY DEVENDRA BARNHART )
OK, guys, hurry!
Put these on!
- Hey!
- How's it going?
Sorry about that.
No worries.
Put the helmet.
Here, goggles first
and then helmet.
Well, I feel just
like a child
(MEN TALKING, INDISTINCT)
Yeah, I feel just
like a child
Whoo!
OK!
Well, I feel just
like a child...
Whoo!
VINCENT:
Holy shit!
From a womb to my tomb
I guess I'll always be a child
Stand clear for delivery.
Stand back.
Watch out for that ledge.
Well, some people try
and treat me like a man
Whoo!
Some people try
and treat me like a man
Hold on!
Well, I guess they
just don't understand
Good, good!
All right, all right!
Yeah, some people try
and treat me like a man
They think I know shit
Keep it coming!
But that's just it
I'm a child
(VEHICLE BEEPING)
Don't you stop
till the tears run dry
See I was born
Back it up, back it up!
Thinking all under the sky
They didn't belong
to a couple old wise guys
From sucking on
my mama's breast
To when they lay
my soul to rest
I'm a child
Watch it! Good!
Looks good!
Toss me that torque wrench!
(DRILL CLANKING)
Tommy, keep the water coming!
Keep the water coming!
I am!
(DRILL SCREECHING)
- Hey! Turn it off!
- Whoa, whoa!
Shut it down! Shut it down!
(CREW CLAMORING)
Hey! Hey!
Stop it! Stop it!
All right!
Back up, come on!
- Shit!
- Ray! What happened?
It's the rock.
- Broke the drill bit.
- How did that happen?
Sounds like a dyke
probably hit a vein.
We need a carbide head.
We have to get it from Norway.
- It'll cost 60 grand.
- You got it.
It's gonna take us way
longer to do this.
Whatever it is,
you have to find
a way through
that mountain.
Don't tell me that it'll cost
more, because I have no more.
Take it easy!
I couldn't predict this.
This is part of the game!
It's full of surprises.
Read your contract.
Surprises are on your side.
- That's bullshit!
- Calm down!
I don't know what to say.
It's on paper.
You're responsible.
We're busting our asses!
I don't need this!
What happened? Why didn't they
use the carbide to begin with?
Don't get
in his face!
I thought you were
ahead of the game!
We are!
We hit a vein!
These things happen.
Relax! We'll solve it.
Stop telling me that.
I'm relaxed.
Not with the money
I'm paying. Where's Anton?
Anton's up there.
Get some rest.
What are you doing up there?
Come on!
Let's go! Let's go!
- Just get some rest, OK?
- All right.
- I'm serious!
- You too.
Uh, there have been
a couple of delays.
The drilling in the mountain
has been a pain in
the ass, literally.
Does that change
our calendar?
Are we still gonna be able
to use the line next month?
At this point,
I'm... I'm not sure about that.
(SIGHING)
You know, sometimes
I wonder, Vinnie.
Do you really know
what you're doing?
(CHUCKLING)
I mean, you asked us to invest
in this crazy project of yours,
and then it's been nothing but
surprises since the beginning.
No, there hasn't.
There's been one surprise.
I think you might be
in over your head.
I think we might be
in over our heads.
Jesus! Bryan,
I'm on top of everything.
It's just been a little harder
in that one spot, that's all.
It's a lot of money
we're about to send you.
Yeah, thank you, Mr. Simon.
I know that.
Are you being
100% honest with us?
(SIGHING)
All right, like,
I'm not gonna bullshit you, OK?
The line might not be
100% operational
in the next month, OK?
But I think that once we can
prove our line is the fastest,
the amount of money that people
will be willing to spend
to get access to our line
will skyrocket to the
stratosphere in a microsecond.
Personally, I wanna
be there when it happens.
But I can't go forward without
the next payment, all right?
I got a drill that
costs $80,000 a day.
I got a fucking Sikorsky
that's 70 feet long
hovering above a
cliff in Pennsylvania.
- One question.
- What?
Are we getting
our money's worth?
Or are you trying to screw us
and give yourself
a big departure bonus
when the shit hits the fan?
Jesus, Bryan!
You think I buried
500 miles of fiber
from Kansas to Indianapolis
as, what, a favor
to the Earth, OK?
(CHUCKLING)
The line is halfway done.
It's more that halfway done.
The line is gonna
be very fucking fast,
and you're gonna be
very fucking rich, OK?
I promise.
No asshole bonuses.
Don't fuck us, Vinnie.
I trust you.
(VINNIE STAMMERING)
I didn't spend the last
2 years doing this
so I can just walk away!
I'm doing this as if
it were the last thing
that I do in my life, OK?
But I... I cannot go forward
without the next payment.
All right, Vinnie.
All right.
(SIGHING)
What's the amount?
(KEYBOARD CLICKING)
$15,500,000.
Check it!
Thank you.
(DOOR BUZZING
AND CHIMES TINKLING)
Hi!
Hi!
How can I help you?
Yeah, I just wanted to know
are all of your services legit?
Yeah, of course.
So this is all, like, legal.
I could just get
a normal massage?
Yes, sir.
Would you like
a therapeutic massage
or a relaxation massage?
Um, therapeutic.
Thirty minutes
or an hour?
Thirty.
(BREATHING SHALLOWLY)
(CRYING)
Oh shit!
MARK:
Where the hell are you, man?
I'm in the car on my way
back to the hotel. What's up?
There's land that
does not belong to us.
- Wait, what?
- We're digging on the lot, a chunk of the land...
I thought we had the papers.
You said it was clear.
The railroad guy
said they don't own it.
- Who?
- You need to get here now...
Yeah, whatever, I'll meet you
there in the morning.
- Hurry up, please.
- Yeah.
Fuck!
(SIGHING)
(GRUNTING)
(WHISPERING):
Stupid millisecond!
Think you can beat me?
Yeah! I'm gonna beat you.
Beat you!
That's what you get.
That's what you get,
motherfucker!
(TELEPHONE RINGING)
Hello?
MASHA:
Oh, good, you're alive!
Oh! Hi!
Why haven't you called?
It's been a week, Anton.
Tell me what's wrong.
Nothing!
(MASHA SIGHING)
This line's hurting you.
Don't you see
that it's hurting you?
Why does Vinnie still need you
to be there?
Look, the kids miss you.
I miss you.
I gotta go.
Why can't you just
work from here?
I gotta go.
I'll call you right back.
- Babe?
- I'm sorry.
Anton! Anton!
(CROW CAWING)
(MAN SHOUTING IN DISTANCE)
(DOG BARKING)
Good! Good! Good!
- What's up, Vinnie?
- Yo!
You know what?
Wait for me here.
(GROANING SOFTLY)
MAN:
Wonderful! Well played!
(ROOSTER CROWING)
Hi! Good afternoon!
Hello!
Good day to you, sir.
Are you with that man?
Uh, yes,
that's my partner.
My name is Vincent Zaleski.
I work for Cobalt Fiber Tech.
We were wondering if you were
the owner of this property.
Yes, we all are. We already
talked to your partner.
Right, and first of all,
I should apologize,
because I wasn't there,
but I suspect
he may have been a little
rude when he approached you.
Yeah, so, we want to expand
our operations to this area
and bring in all
sorts of new
and exciting opportunities
to this community.
We'd like to bring in a
high-speed fiber network.
We'd like to could buy a
very narrow strip of land,
not more than
one foot wide.
We'd come in for a week
or two and install it.
We'd hide our tube
underground and leave.
It wouldn't leave a trace,
and we'd compensate
you for your troubles.
We're not interested,
thank you.
But I'm sure our
neighbors will be.
You should go
and talk to them.
- Mm-hmm.
- Sorry.
We would be willing to
offer you $230,000
for this right of way.
(CHICKENS CLUCKING)
(HORSE NEIGHING)
$230,000 is
a lot of money.
I'm sure our neighbors
will be very interested.
Was that all you
came to talk about?
Sir, I just want to make sure
that you completely understand.
This line would be hidden
6 feet underground.
No one would ever see it.
We would come in, we would
take 2 weeks to install it,
and leave you with
a check for $230,000.
That much money
can go a long way
to preserving your
heritage, your traditions.
That's exactly
what I understood,
and I said we're
not interested.
We live simple
lives, Mr. Zaleski,
at the service of God.
High speed is not
our priority,
and money can be
a source of conflict.
Right, well,
do you think maybe
you could do a
group vote on this?
Please don't make
this difficult.
Look, sir,
all I'm trying to do
is to help bring prosperity
to this community,
to make things better for you.
We don't believe that
making things faster
makes things better.
Mm-hmm.
We believe that all
this new technology
makes us more
distant and isolated.
That's why we do not
want to have
your high-speed tube
under our land.
So, what do we do now?
I don't understand.
How do we find
common ground?
We don't, Mr. Zaleski.
We will never
find common ground.
This is the
Lord's ground.
There's nothing
common about it.
We are here to take care
of it at his service.
Mm-hmm.
I'm sorry.
You have a nice day.
- Don't be stupid, sir.
- Vincent, come on.
- We're done.
- I'm sorry.
You're making a very
big mistake. Have a good day!
MARK:
All right. Thank you!
I think I have
an idea, Vincent.
(DOG BARKING)
MAN ON RADIO: A historical
landmark was made yesterday
when an Austrian skydiver broke
the supersonic barrier
as he dived 39 km
to the ground...
(MAN ON RADIO, INDISTINCT)
...landing safely in the
southwest of the United States.
His pathway through
the Earth's atmosphere
took 7 years to plan...
(CELL BEEPING)
Early in the morning,
the man patiently went up
in the air in a helium balloon,
preparing to jump...
(LINE RINGING)
Hi, this is Peter from sales.
Hey, I need some information
on Optical Regenerator JBT145SX.
Yeah, how can I help you?
Right, so it says
"rated at 10,000 meters".
But what kind of tolerance
did you implement?
Uh, I don't know.
Ballpark?
Uh, ballpark,
I think our regenerators have
around a 10% or 15% tolerance.
Depends on what fiber
you're using.
Did you say 15%? 1-5?
Yeah.
So, if I have a 178
regenerators on a line,
and I could do some sort of,
uh, like a selection process
and only use the ones
that cover the entire 115%,
I could then space them out
to one every 10.35 km.
And that way,
I would... I would only need 154?
Yeah, I guess.
It'd be risky and expensive
to test, but why not?
Are you aware
that each regenerator makes
the line lose 0.02 milliseconds?
24 regenerators, round trip,
that's a millisecond faster.
Is that a fact?
It is a fact.
Thank you.
( DO IT BY THE BEASTIE BOYS )
One millisecond faster!
Who is the
motherfucking champion?
Like The Blackbyrds
I'm gonna do it fluid
I'm building rhymes
like buildings
Like a Stonehenge druid
Yeah, Glendale Boulevard
Ah, boulevard
Glendale Boulevard
That's where I'm at
It's where I'm at
Where I live
Check it, check it out
'Cause my head is like a sieve
And, yo, we turn it out
Mr. Zileski!
Mr. Zileski, stop!
Are you Anton Zileski?
Are you Anton Zileski?
Yeah.
My name is
Santana Lopez, FBI.
You're under arrest for
committing stock-market fraud
by using proprietary co...
Mr. Zaleski!
(PANTING)
(GRUNTING)
Hey, hey, hey!
Hey!
Take it easy!
Take it easy!
(GRUNTING)
Come on!
(GRUNTING)
No! No! No!
Excessive force!
Excessive force!
As I was saying,
you are under arrest
for committing
stock-market fraud.
You have the right to remain
silent when questioned.
Anything you say or do
may be used against you...
(DRILL RUMBLING)
(WHIRRING LOUDLY)
No! Stop now!
You cannot dig
under our land!
This is God's land!
Yeah.
Leave now or
I'll call the police!
All right, sir,
it seems like,
deep down under,
it's not your land.
Of course it is!
The state legislation
allows prospectors
to dig at depth
under 100 feet
as long as the
diggings are for
the collective
wellbeing of the people
and the long-term
prosperity of the States.
Now, our lawyers argue
that given the fact
that we're speeding
data transfer
in this whole fucking area,
our line is for the collective
wellbeing of the people.
This place does not
belong to you.
You can't put
your things here.
Look down. You see
this ground here?
We bought this lot.
So it's our land.
We can do whatever
we want on it.
Here's the good news for you.
I'm gonna dig 100 feet
down across your land.
You're not gonna even
feel that we're there.
And then back up again.
He can't do this!
It's our land!
As long as there's
oil or gas under there,
according to the State,
it belongs to anybody
below 100 feet.
You understand?
Grab this.
Get your people out of here,
or I'll call the fucking cops!
Beat it!
Most programmers have lines
like these in their computers.
Well, it's not what your
previous employer says.
See, she says:
"These lines of code
"shorten the transaction
time by 2 microseconds.
"Using them outside of
the employee's duties
"is a serious
breach of contract."
Um, "Miss Torres also judges
that the previous employee
"should be prosecuted
under the criminal code
"as his actions threaten this
country's economic stability
"and therefore
should be considered
"a threat to
national security."
A threat to national security?
(GROANING SOFTLY)
(CELL RINGING)
Yeah.
Hey, Vinnie, it's me.
Anton! Hey!
Where... where are you?
I'm... I'm in jail.
What?
Yeah, the FBI threw me on
the ground and handcuffed me.
Those motherfuckers!
They said I could
get 10 years.
Can you come and get me?
I'm so sorry.
I should've been there.
You did not do anything wrong!
This is Torres.
I am so sorry!
This is all my fault,
but I'm going to
get you out of there.
Don't do anything
until the lawyers get there.
I will take care of it.
I swear to God,
when we get you out of there,
Torres will wish
she was never born.
Yeah, yeah, OK.
Listen to me!
Don't do anything.
- Bye.
- Anton? Do you hear me?
Amy! Amy! Hey!
Listen, the FBI is on Anton.
He's in jail.
- In jail? Why?
- I don't know.
Get our lawyers
on this right away.
We have to go down there.
- Vinnie!
- Yeah?
Ray says we need to
go to the cliff right now.
You handle it.
I gotta go.
We gotta go to the cliff
right now. Get in the car!
OK, OK. Amy, you call
the lawyers still.
I will be back in 2 hours
to pick up Anton.
- Be ready to leave!
- OK!
Ray! What the hell is this?
It was already there
when I got here.
Eleven milliseconds.
New York-Kansas.
What's our
time, Vinnie?
What's our
time, Vincent?
Take me up there, Mark.
Take me up there.
Why?
(SIGHING)
I don't even know...
(HORN BLARING)
I don't know if there are
any roads up there! Do you?
Dude, I don't even know
how to get up there.
Are you OK?
You don't look good.
Are you OK?
(SIGHING)
OK, line is up.
Market opens in 10 seconds.
Market is open.
(BEEPING)
It works.
We're the fastest.
It's fucking working!
Holy shit!
Look at that!
(TRADERS CLAMORING)
We just made half a million
dollars in 5 seconds.
Bryan! Bryan!
We've got a problem.
What do you mean?
A guy I know from
BR Cranes says
they've been
putting up cell towers
for the last couple of weeks.
Kansas to New York.
Says it's for Eva Torres.
Why the fuck is she putting up
cell towers?
- I don't know.
- Well, find out!
(ENGINE REVVING)
Fuck!
Fuck, man! We're stuck!
We're going back!
No, no, no!
I need to go up there.
- Vinnie!
- Yeah?
- I'm taking you back.
- No, get me up there!
Shut up! Alright!
You took it too far!
Shut the fuck up
and get me up there!
No! I'm not taking
any orders from you!
We're going
back right now!
You wanna go up there, huh?
To do what?
(MARK GRUNTING)
(PANTING)
Vincent! Vincent!
Vincent!
(WHISPERING): I am gonna
cut you the fuck down.
Vinnie!
I am gonna cut you...
Vincent!
What are you doing?
- ...the fuck down.
- Vinnie!
I am gonna cut you
the fuck down.
Vincent!
I am gonna cut you...
What are doing, buddy?
...the fuck down.
Hey! Give me
the chainsaw.
What are you doing?
What are you doing?
Hey, calm down!
He's up there, Mark.
Who's up there?
Goliath.
Vincent, calm down, OK?
- We have to get him down, OK?
- Who?
I'm not gonna hurt anybody.
We have to get him down.
You're acting crazy.
Calm down.
I have to get up there.
I am stuffing your
mattress with money!
You will help me up there
and tear down that tower!
Give me the
fucking chainsaw!
- No!
- Give it to me!
Vinnie, give me
the chainsaw!
(CHAINSAW DRONING)
All right! What the fuck
are you doing, man?
What the fuck
are you doing, Vinnie?
Put it down!
Put the fucking chainsaw down!
I'm gonna cut you
the fuck down.
I'm gonna cut you.
I am gonna tear you down and...
Vinnie!
(DRONING STOPS)
Vinnie!
(CLOCK TICKING)
(CLEARING THROAT)
Hi!
What did you get
yourself into, Anton?
Well, I didn't do
anything illegal.
- You didn't do nothing illegal?
- No.
Then why'd
they arrest you?
You must've done
something wrong.
Why'd you do this? Hmm?
Hmm, Vinnie asked me...
Vinnie?
Vinnie?
(CROW CAWING)
VINCENT: I'm coming, Anton.
I'm coming, buddy.
I'm gonna get you out.
I'm gonna get you out of there.
Hmm?
You're safe.
Everything's OK.
(SIREN WAILING)
(HEART MONITOR BEEPING)
Shhh...
It's good, it's good!
Relax! Relax, Vinnie!
Vinnie, just breathe.
Just breathe.
We're in an ambulance on
the way to the hospital.
OK, you passed out.
Just relax.
Everything's fine.
Where's my phone?
I've got your phone.
Don't worry, OK?
- Give it to me.
- Why?
Give me the phone.
Come on,
take it easy.
Mark, give me
the phone.
All right.
Here.
Yeah, thanks.
(SIGHING)
Can you un-strap
my arms, please?
(SIREN WAILING)
Yes, I'll... I'll hold.
Vinnie, please
put it down.
Shhh! I'm holding.
- Put it down.
- Shhh!
Hello, Mr. Zaleski?
Ah, Mr. Gerbash!
I'm just on my way
to a meeting. Sorry.
I wanted to call
before I close a deal.
What can I do for you?
I have potential investors
who are eager to
get in on the action.
They want a guarantee
covering them
against the competition.
- How do you mean?
- They're being silly.
But they want
some kind of coverage
that secures their investment
until we finish the line,
something that protects them
in case somebody else
comes up with
a faster line before us,
something for the next month.
I could design a hybrid
commercial risk insurance.
I don't see how
someone can come up
with a faster line
in the next month.
Mm-hmm.
And I heard you're about to do
New York-Kansas
in 16 milliseconds?
- Yes, that's true.
- That's amazing!
Mm-hmm!
I can't hear you quite well.
I'm going through
a tunnel right now.
What would a rate on
an insurance like that be?
Something like
2 or 3 cents on the dollar.
2 or 3 cents on the dollar,
that's great, isn't it?
- Sir, give me your phone.
- Five minutes.
- Are you there?
- I'm still here.
Cover expenses at 200% for the
next month, to cover our fees.
I'll confirm the rate
when I get it.
Oh, that's great.
You got 10 seconds
to hang up.
I'm going to my meeting.
I'll call in 3 hours.
Send all the paperwork
over to my office
to have this done
by the end of the day.
That's enough.
I'm losing the
signal. Thank you!
I just made a deal that,
if the company goes down,
an insurance company
pays us loads of money.
Get some rest.
I invested
3 cents on a dollar
in case somebody builds
a faster line next month.
Since I know
there's a faster line,
I know I'll get a dollar
for each of those 3 cents.
You know what kind of
return that represents?
- I don't know, a lot?
- Yeah, a 2,300% return.
For betting on my own failure.
I know I'm gonna fail,
guaranteed.
I'm happy for you.
You get better, OK?
Yeah. There is something else
I need you to do for me, Mark.
What?
You gotta get
Anton out of jail.
I don't care how
much it costs.
You just gotta get
him out of there.
It's my fault.
I should be in there.
I promise. I'll get
him out of jail.
I'll finish the line.
Don't worry.
I got it. Just get
back on your feet, OK?
- You're gonna get him out?
- I swear.
(LINE RINGING)
(HIGH-PITCHED TONE)
(ELECTRONICS BEEPING)
Wow! Wow! What the fuck?
We're almost 20 milliseconds
down right now!
Jenny! We're losing millions!
We're all 20 milliseconds down.
What? What?
The whole network's
down 20 milliseconds.
We're wondering
what happened!
Well, I don't know!
What did you just do?
All of a sudden,
we dropped by 20!
(EMPLOYEES CLAMORING)
(COMPUTERS BEEPING)
Eva! Eva!
We have a problem.
Our line is 20
milliseconds slow!
What do you mean,
20 milliseconds slow?
It's a perfect, constant,
20-millisecond delay.
It's not arbitrary.
It's a sharp chunk.
Somebody rigged
our network.
(SHOUTING INDISTINCTLY)
Hello, Anton.
You're late!
20 milliseconds late.
Funny! That was
an interesting move.
Yeah, well,
it could be worse.
I only slowed you down by 20.
You think we're stupid, huh?
You think we won't find it.
Of course
you'll find it,
if you put your mind to it,
your quant's minds.
Shouldn't take a genius like
Elias more than 5-6 months.
Don't fuck with me, Anton.
Give me back my milliseconds,
or I'll put Vincent in jail too.
I could slow you down by 80.
80 milliseconds,
that's pretty late in the game.
What do you want?
Drop the charges.
And stay away from Vincent.
You are so fucking boring!
It's like there's
a part of your brain
that operates like a genius,
and then there's another one
that is handicapped.
And this is why you needed me.
This is why we were
so good together.
I'll drop the charges,
and I will stay away
from your cousin Vinnie.
But don't you think
that you're better than me,
- because we are the same...
- Dial 212-555-01...
What?
Dial 212-555-0114.
When you hear a beep,
dial 3.
That's it?
Yeah, that's it.
You could've made billions.
It's all fake, Eva.
Hi, Bryan.
You're being punished
for what you did?
I tried to fix it.
I really did.
I had the commercial
risk insurance.
Gerbash was handling it,
but we got it in too late.
You screwed us.
And now, because I trusted you,
I might lose my company.
I'm really sorry.
(BIRDS CHIRPING)
MARK: All right, sexy man.
You ready for this?
Hmm, I'm ready!
Three, two, one.
Wow!
15.73 milliseconds. Shit!
We did it, buddy!
Yeah, we did it.
Isn't that amazing?
We're obsolete,
but we did it.
(MARK CHUCKLING)
Well, you know,
sometimes they say:
"It's not the destination.
Hmm!
"It's the people we meet
"and the lessons we learn."
(APPROACHING FOOTSTEPS)
Hey! Come here!
Thanks!
Hey, honey!
Come here! Hey!
- Hey, Vinnie.
- Hi!
How are you?
I'm good, I'm good!
I'm great, yeah.
Girls, let's go out and let
your daddy with his cousin, OK?
When I feel better, we're
gonna go out for some ice cream.
Triple scoops.
No, quadruple scoops!
Your daddy's paying.
We'll get the tallest
ice-cream cones in the world.
We'll need popsicle sticks
just to hold them together.
- OK.
- OK!
Should we go find
the coloring pens?
- You wanna color?
- OK!
OK.
We lost it all.
Insurance won't pay.
(THUNDER RUMBLING)
It doesn't matter.
(CHUCKLING)
What's this?
Oh, it's just some ideas
for neutrino messaging.
Neutrino messaging?
Yeah, we shoot neutrinos
that are set up
to carry information,
purchase orders,
for example...
Mm-hmm.
...through
the Earth's crust.
So we don't lose time
going around the globe,
because we go straight through
it with a particle accelerator.
The neutrino,
those little fuckers,
they don't slow down for shit!
Rock, concrete, nothing.
We can get to New York
in something like
9 milliseconds.
And we would beat
the game, Vinnie.
New York-London, London-Tokyo.
We would own Wall Street.
But what do we do
when we own Wall Street?
We burn it to the ground,
and bring all
the lemon farmers,
roast marshmallows
by the fire.
(CHUCKLING)
I like that.
(CHUCKLING)
You just gotta take me
somewhere first.
All right.
Wait! I think
that's him!
(HORSE WHINNYING)
What are you doing here?
The line, it won't
bother you anymore.
I can't hear you!
(THUNDER RUMBLING)
Vinnie!
Vinnie, get back in the car!
Vinnie!
(HORSE WHINNYING)
Fuck!
(SPEAKING PENNSYLVANIA GERMAN)
Ah!
(GRUNTING)
- You OK?
- Yeah.
Do you need anything?
(GRUNTING)
You're sick?
Oh!
(PANTING)
Why did you come back here?
I wanted to tell you
that, last week,
I took out the portion of
the tunnel that's under you.
You don't have to worry
about the world
going faster and faster
under your feet.
It's out of there.
(THUNDER RUMBLING)
(HORSE NEIGHING)
Thank you.
Thank you, sir.
Wait here until
the rain stops falling.
(HORSE SNORTING, WHINNYING)
(GRUNTING)
(THUNDER RUMBLING)
You know,
sometimes I wonder,
if all the time that was
given to me was, like...
like, 16 milliseconds...
and I had no past memory...
I had nothing carved
into my mind
before those
16 milliseconds...
and the only thing...
that was left
imprinted in my brain...
were the images and
the smells and the feelings
of those 16 milliseconds...
how do you think
I would process that?
I don't know!
Hmm...
I think your life would
feel exactly as long
as someone who lived
for 100 years.
(CHUCKLING)
(THUNDER RUMBLING)
(CHUCKLING SOFTLY)
(CHUCKLING)
( A WONDERFUL SEED BY HOPE
SANDOVAL AND THE WARM INVENTIONS )
Well, the waves took
Miss Sylvia, too lovely
And gave her
The life that
no one could save
A sweet blessing
to and from
In the middle of
the ocean's flow
Well, she reached a bounty
A wonderful seed
Someone's little things
That she'd need
Stoned, closed
But always abound
The devil that she was
She made herself found
Her faith, so sweet
A sweetness of her
Always to think of
Someone else above her
That some tide
The devil made his way
But then the bash
of the sea came