Eureka

Previously on Eureka...

You wouldn't want to miss this. It's an historic moment for Eureka.

I think that we should move in together.

I need to figure out what I want.

I'll be thinking about you.

Huh.

Walkabout. Safe travels, Jo.

Launch sequence initiating.

Someone else is controlling this launch.

Where'd they go?

We're in an uncontrolled descent! Brace for impact!

Hey, folks, welcome back.

There's been a lot of changes since you've been gone.

This is Jenna.

It's very nice to meet you.

You were gone for four years, Allie.

It was Jo who pulled me back.

Jo's in Jenna's life now and I can't take that from her.

I'm really sorry, Allie.

She's crying.

Because everything she's experiencing feels absolutely real to her.

She's emotionally invested in the reality she's just helped create. We all are.

The greatest minds in Eureka are working for us now and they don't even know it.

The Astraeus and her crew have been gone for a month.

Soon, Eureka will have to accept that loss.

And, meanwhile, the greatest scientists of our time

are wired into an artificial world that we control.

They have no idea that what they're experiencing isn't real,

but what they design in that construct is very real.

And useful.

In the last month they've made strides in biotech, engineering and weaponry.

We're about to give them the problem of genetics.

All of these scientific discoveries belong to us.

That's very impressive, but how long can you sustain this?

Indefinitely. The photonic plasma processor makes trillions

of real-time adjustments in order to keep the world feeling authentic.

So authentic that a severe virtual trauma could trigger a fatal neurogenic shock.

These are smart people, Dr. Barlowe.

What if they start to question their world?

Or the non-player characters who are there with them?

That's why we chose to put them in a future reality.

It's impossible to recreate Eureka perfectly. So by changing the town,

we reduce inconsistencies our subjects might recognize.

But should a subject threaten to expose the construct, they will be retired.

sync and correction by majtjkong

Allison can you hear me? We got to get them out of there.

What happens to Dr. Blake if the ship launches?

Without the bio-pod to protect her from gravitational stresses,

the only chance she has is the jump seat.

Well, I'm getting her out of there.

I can't let you do that! It's too dangerous!

Oh, fire me!

Jack!

If he breaches the cooling chambers, the core centers will shut down,

to keep the reactor from overheating.

Come on. Come on, Jack. Come on.

Warning, reactor core overheating.

Where are you?

Anything?

Nothing new.

How about you?

I've tested the system over a dozen times and there is no evidence of sabotage.

Well, we'll find 'em. We just keep looking.

Where? I mean it's been a month and still no leads.

It's like they vanished without a trace, Jack.

Everything leaves a trace. Yeah.

When was the last time you ate?

I'm not hungry. I'm just going to start the tapes and take a look.

You know what? Why don't you take a break and have lunch with the kids?

They need you too.

Thanks.

Okay. Okay.

Okay, universe, I am ready. Enlighten me.

Any time now. Uh-huh. Bring it on.

I should have gone to the desert.

Should've read the sign.

Oh, no! Oh, Okay, it said beach parking.

You need a permit.

Look, I'm at a bit of a crossroads in my life

and, uh...

And I know it sounds flakey, a friend told me to go on walkabout.

So, if you could just give me just a small break this one time,

you know, it would really help my positive outlook thing.

Yeah. Sorry. Here's the number for a cab.

You have a nice day.

You don't bring a cell phone on walkabout.

Thanks, universe.

Here you go. Grilled cheese with fontina and aged gouda.

Best comfort food on the planet.

If there is anything else I can do, please just let me know.

Thanks, Vince.

He sounds worried.

Oh, we're all a little worried. Yeah.

Well, he won't be when I finish my scanner.

You see, I've been thinking that

punching through a wormhole has to produce a mess of strangelets.

The what's-its?

They're theoretical particles equally composed of up, down, and strange quarks.

See, that's like answering a question with a question.

First off, I have to prove that strangelets actually exist.

That's going to be rough.

Well, you just, you keep at it, with that what you're doing.

Hey guys. Um, boss, can I talk to you for a minute?

Sure. Is it about the ship?

Hey, did you find something? No, Kevin, we didn't.

Well, look, if it's about my mom, I want to know, okay? So what's going on?

The Department of Defense has officially called off the search for the Astraeus.

I'm so sorry.

Well, they can't.

Senator Wen says she's exhausted all of her resources and no sign of the Astraeus,

they think the chances of finding any survivors are poor.

Jack, Jack, you can't let them do this. Kevin.

You can't just stop looking!

Kevin, I'll talk to the Senator, okay?

Kevin!

R.F. Rate is down again. 25.2.

Cut resolution in grids fifteen through one-seventy-eight.

Almost. Uh-huh, uh-huh!

Darn it. You are good at this.

Thanks. You are too. I'll let you win next time.

Oh, this looks like fun. You want to play the winner?

Well, I wish I could but I have to kidnap your mom for a little while.

The next batch of biological experiments needs to come off the Astraeus

and the D.O.D. Ordered protocols for a genetic study.

They could give us a moment to catch our breath.

It's been one assignment after another since we got back.

I know. I'm finally carving out time to review the flight data.

You mean you're going to find out why my mom was gone for so long?

I am just glad I'm back now, right?

Jo, I won Uno.

Oh, good job. I'm so proud.

Are you okay? Do I have a choice?

Doesn't seem real, does it? Everything that's happened.

No.

Hey, I'm going out to the Astraeus to help you with the offload.

Great. Let's go.

Goodbye, Allison.

Something wrong?

No.

Tell me she didn't see that.

What just happened there?

A real-time render error.

Because the system was designed for 20 people,

not 20 plus one last minute RSVP.

Dr. Blake was a lucky accident.

Her presence is overloading the processor. She shouldn't be here.

It wasn't our decision to make. We follow orders.

Yeah. From people who don't understand the system the way I do.

I don't have the authority to deviate and neither do you.

I want to thank everyone for your efforts.

I know this is difficult for all of us.

Senator Wen! You have to keep searching!

Sheriff, you have no idea how hard this decision was for me.

Then don't make it. Don't call off the search.

I have pulled in every resource at my disposal,

satellites, space-based radar systems...

And I appreciate everything you've done.

And these devices need to get back to doing their jobs.

And so do you. I'm doing my job.

Then you can help Dr. Fong recover his stolen equipment.

I don't care about his stolen equipment right now.

I know you're grieving, Sheriff, so I won't take that personally.

I'm not grieving. I'm searching.

I truly hope you're right, Sheriff.

But I also think you need to

prepare yourself for the likelihood that they're not coming back.

It's time to turn your focus back to this world.

Good day, gentlemen.

Yeah.

So what's your problem?

When I started packing up,

some of my deep space listening devices were taken from the truck.

Particle detectors just taken right off Main Street.

You know, sometimes I wonder what this town is coming to.

I think I know where they might be.

You're not making my job any easier, Kev.

I wasn't trying to. I needed the stuff so I took it.

I'm going to pretend that you said "borrow it" and we're going to take it back.

You can't be stealing top secret equipment, Kevin.

You think they're dead?

Kevin... No, seriously, in your gut, do you think that my mom is dead?

No. I can't believe that.

All right, me either. Can you please just let me do one more thing, all right?

Look, I know I can find them. Please.

Not this way. Pack up the stuff.

We're going.

So, what's in here?

Biological experiments we were taking to Titan.

Biological as in rats?

Rats, worms, insects, even reptiles.

There's a study on the effects of solar wind

on the reproductive systems of bearded iguanas.

That's a career maker.

Kevin wants an iguana.

Or he did when he was younger.

He thought they were dragons.

Jenna loves dragons.

Really? Yeah. I read her The Hobbit last year.

She made me read the part about the dragon over and over again.

And then she'd get scared and want to sleep in our bed.