Legion. Episode 5. The sins of the father will be visited upon the sun. We see a city ravaged by war.
Buildings are destroyed. We see cars that are sitting in the street, rusted, broken. This is a time long ago,
before the technological breakthrough which came through with AI and robots.
We see people hiding out. There are men and women. There are holding weapons. All of them have the look of fear on their faces.
They are scared. These people are rebels. Terrorists have taken a stand against the United States government.
As they are hiding, they hear the distant palm of an approaching ship. This is Croatia, where the country is nothing but scorched earth.
The United States government is now a corrupt empire, built out of a technocracy and the corporations serve as the feudal lords.
These corporations have provided weapons and tech for the United States government. The mandate that the government issued was the use of a neural check for all its citizens to have inside of them.
Previously, the United States government faced several coups that were stamped out, where the leaders became paranoid and clung to their power.
They authorized the implementation of the chip. The people refused. The situation became ugly.
Countries in Europe, Asia, and the Middle East refused their government mandates. A new world war was created and the people chose rebellion.
High up in the sky, the massive ship known as the Archangel, operating the controls, is a girl, her hair is shaped.
She is wearing a helmet that allows her to see everything on the battlefield, above and below.
This is a young Zoe Deschan, who only knows one thing, which is warfare.
Before she was a pilot, she was a child, but when the US needed more people for the armed forces, she was taken from a young age to undergo extreme VR training
built by Kira Nobu Adachi, a video game designer who rose to prominence with several games that he created, where you play as a deadly secret agent.
For years, she spent hours and hours in VR training, and like many of her peers, became good at playing soldier.
When all of them were taken out of VR and sent into the real thing, the children now, young adults, proved their expertise
in removing foreign leaders that were not part of the United States best interests.
They were able to end wars based on their training, thus creating a new evolution of soldiers, soldiers without feelings, without the things which make us human.
The United States had successfully weaponized something that was built for entertainment and fun, and turned it into just another thing that was used for their agenda, which is a new world order.
The president that served during this era was President Stephen Denight. His term as president was Rocky.
During his administration, there was rampant inflation, the people were unhappy, and soon, unhappiness turned into rage.
At one point, there was a coup that happened in the capital that was taken care of by the reprogrammed adults that were trained in VR.
They killed the insurrectionists.
At this point, the US government engaged in many wars, the first being a war initiated by North Korea.
The North Korean government launched a nuclear missile at South Korea. Many perished.
The US government response was immediate, the war lasted one year. The victory turned the US into an entity that other countries feared.
However, the Russian government chose a different tactic.
President Stephen Denight had a close relationship with the president of Russia, Dmitry Sepchenko.
The president's critics labeled him a puppet to the Kremlin.
There were numerous investigations of the Russian government that had any help with Denight's election to the presidency.
The US government made sure that was not the case.
Because of this situation, other countries such as France, Germany, and the UK became uneasy towards the United States relationship with Russia.
President Denight is not re-elected for a second term.
Instead, the new president, John Armentage, becomes the new commander-in-chief of the United States.
Son of a wealthy tech billionaire who takes control of his father's company, Armentage Industries, Garrett Armentage,
who developed many innovations that forever changed America, including new software for AI that was used for jobs that humans could no longer work, but that AI could.
Also, new technology for new weapons systems. Because of his father's business, the Armentage family had relationships with four other major corporations,
including Onyx Industries, Zafer Incorporated, Marathon, and Durandale.
These corporations served as the major benefactors for John Armentage's election campaign, and were important and powerful assets to the administration.
All of this happened within five years.
Helena, Zoe, and a coma-induced Richard arrive at Jonathan's apartment.
Zoe and Helena carry Richard inside.
Jonathan sees his good friend.
What the hell happened?
Jonathan just help him, okay?
Do what you do best, Zoe says.
Jonathan doesn't ask questions.
He begins to help his friend.
Jonathan uses various surgical tools to help with the process.
He begins to cut Richard open, clean the wounds, and seal him back up, while also making use of nanomachines to help heal him.
Zoe Deschan walks over to the other room.
She takes off her jacket and is wearing a white tank top.
We are able to see her arms.
On her right arm, we see she has a tattoo of a saying which reads,
There is no game over.
She has herself a cigarette and lights it.
Zoe is half Korean and half white.
Her hair is in a bob cut and it's dyed red.
Helena Ramirez walks into the room while Zoe is having a smoke.
Got anything to drink around here?
Zoe blows a puff of smoke and then replies to Helena.
We have some drinks in the fridge.
Beer, lemonade, soda, and water.
Help yourself.
You're probably really thirsty from the action you just experienced.
Helena walks over to the fridge and opens it up.
As Zoe explained, the fridge is full of beer, lemonade, soda, and water.
Helena grabs a water bottle and shuts the fridge door.
Helena takes off the cap of the bottle and sips the water.
She drinks almost half of the bottle.
The cool refreshing drink soothes Helena.
Girl, you need help firing a gun, but you did okay back there.
Is Richard gonna be okay?
Zoe douses her cigarette in her ashtray on the kitchen sink.
Richard is a tough son of a bitch.
All of us, including Jonathan, were a part of Phantom Squad.
We've all been through the shit.
We did things on behalf of the US government that we all regret.
Helena, we all have just been trying to survive in this world.
Helena could tell.
Zoe was really pissed.
From the tone of her voice, she could see a lot of anger and regret.
I never heard of Phantom Squad.
You were a soldier?
Yes.
I was a soldier. We were part of a dirty little secret that the government kept from the people.
We were trained using VR technology, a software that was indistinguishable from the real thing
created by a video game designer, Hiranobu Adachi.
Helena's eyes perk up at the name she just heard Zoe say.
I've played his games before.
He worked for the government?
Yes.
He created it and the government was very interested in it.
So he gave it to them for use in the military.
At the time, the US military was shrinking.
It wasn't receiving any new recruits and it became stagnant.
This was a way to get young people interested in joining the military and learning new skills.
Zoe pauses.
It's deliberate because it pains her to talk about this part of her life.
We didn't know it at the time, but our lives would be forever changed by joining this program.
We never got to experience a healthy childhood.
We became child soldiers.
Our whole lives blew past us.
For you, Helena, you were able to experience a childhood.
Have friends and family celebrate your birthday.
Go to school, make friends, maybe fall in love.
Get your heart broken by the guy you thought was the one and later change your hair color.
Then moving out and being an individual and having a plan for yourself and following your dreams of becoming something more.
I never got to experience that, Helena.
For Jonathan, Richard and I and many others, we all lost pieces of our lives.
Helena saw the sadness in Zoe's eyes.
She could see all the years of regret that were attached to her.
She could see the weight carried on her shoulders.
Helena could read Zoe's emotions and see that maybe it wasn't good to dive deeper into this topic.
I'm going to see what Jonathan is doing.
Sure, I'm going to do some computer stuff.
Helena walks into Jonathan's quarters.
Jonathan is still working on Richard.
His surgical gloves have a lot of blood on them, but he works without getting tired.
He isn't giving up helping his friend.
How is he doing?
He was shot up bad, but I think he will pull through.
I'm sealing him up.
Now he just needs to heal.
That's the great thing with nanotechnology.
It can pretty much heal anything, especially gunshot wounds that are fatal.
Jonathan finishes up sealing up the wounds located at the stomach and rib of Richard.
So I could over here Zoe talk to you about stuff, about what we went through.
Yeah, she told me you guys were like this elite unit called Phantom Squad?
Yes, we were a secret to the public.
Our training was kept secret.
The world knew about that.
Everything would have been shut down.
And to be perfectly honest, we were not fighting for the right side.
So I would have preferred that to happen than what we got.
Helena looks around and sees a lot of stuff on Jonathan's desk.
Some of it is old tech that she hasn't seen before, like old versions of cell phones.
She sees old media, books, comic books of classic superheroes, CDs, DVDs, all relics of an era long ago.
I get the feeling you've never seen these types of items before, Helena.
No, I haven't.
I was born after the transition.
Did you get a chip inside you?
No, I didn't.
My family is traditional.
I mean, we are Latin and my mom and dad are religious.
So we were never going to have that.
I never thought it was bad.
I wanted one, but my parents said no.
Huh, your parents are smart.
So what's your deal?
Are you a student or Helena quickly answers?
Yeah, I'm a student.
I'm good with technology and pursuing computer science in college.
Look, I made this myself.
Helena pulls out a small device.
She showed Legion when they were at the mall.
You built that?
Yeah, I found some scrap lying around the city, found a nice LED screen and was able to make it.
Helena shows Jonathan the device and he looks it over.
So what can it do?
What kind of applications does it have?
I can use a phone, a GPS device and a computer.
I've used it to hack stuff.
The world needs people like us that can look at a machine and understand what it needs.
Look at everything today.
We have a lot of robots, AI, and a lot of people walking around with technology inside them.
If you ask me, there is no better way than right now to get into tech and to help change society.
Jonathan smiles and has a little bit of a laugh.
He gives back Helena's device.
What's so funny?
Why are you laughing?
Do you have any idea what happened to Earth and why the human population lives on these cities?
You have constructed all over space?
I mean, I was taught that Earth became uninhabitable due to global warming.
Yes.
That was indeed true.
It also expired early due to our reliance on technology and how we ultimately destroyed our own home by our constant warfare and resource gathering, which inevitably weakened our plan even more.
Are you saying we shouldn't have evolved?
That's the whole point of science.
We have to keep progressing and being innovative.
I'm not saying that innovation is bad.
Having a progressive society is not a bad thing, Helena.
However, there were a lot of people within our government that intentionally pushed a technocracy.
So what's wrong with that?
I think it was a good decision.
Our current president is backed by the corporations who are more powerful than the lawmakers.
It's not a good situation, Helena.
We are living in an age of control.
Helena looks at Richard.
Your friend saved me.
That AI.
I can't believe I fell for its lies.
I thought it was a friend.
You had no idea.
It's a good thing Richard found you when he did, or you would have been in a bad situation.
That thing murdered everyone on that ship, the Interceptor.
It went crazy and now it's roaming the streets.
Apparently now, we have a massive lockdown throughout the city in order for the authorities to help take care of the problem.
It's obviously something the president has decided upon.
President Armentage?
Yep.
The fucking technocrat himself.
I can tell you're not a fan of his.
Oh hell no, I'm not.
He and his cronies pushed for all this shit to happen.
He's in bed with all those corpo bastards.
Well, I need sleep and right now it's night.
Do you have a place where I can sleep?
Upstairs is good.
That's where Richard sleeps.
But as you can see, he needs to sleep down here so I can monitor his vitals.
I'll give you some blankets and an extra pillow you can use.
Helena is upstairs and sees a room that is mostly clean.
There is a window that overlooks the city which gives her a nice view of everything.
It's a great looking view.
Jonathan drops off a pillow and blankets.
Here you are.
Need anything else?
No, I'm good.
Thank you, Jonathan.
No problem.
Coffee will be ready in the morning and yeah, hopefully Richard wakes up.
Yeah, I hope he wakes up too.
Well, have a good night.
You too.
Thanks.
Jonathan is downstairs and walks into Zoe's room.
She is still going through stuff and wearing a headset.
She is talking to someone.
Hey, it's late.
You need a rest after rest being Richard and Helena.
Who are you talking to?
I'm talking to Lucy.
She wanted to know what happened to Richard.
Also, we are trying to figure out who hacked her drone during the gunfight.
Got it.
Well, tell her I said hi.
We'll do.
I'm heading for bed.
Night.
Jonathan walks away and goes to his room while Zoe talks to Lucy.
Okay, back to work.
Have you been trying to figure out what happened with the drone?
Seriously, that's pretty creepy someone hacked into it.
Yeah, I find it completely weird and the digital trail it left, I've never seen anything like it.
Whoever broke in, they knew what they were doing.
The only question I have is who did it?
Back at the United Colonies capital ship, we see President Armentage sitting in his chair.
His galaxy map shows all the planets and the various space installation cities under the United Colonies.
And also the foreign international stations in orbit as well.
Two holograms appear in the room.
They are both the two agents that were sent to Agent Daniel Saito's home, Agent Lucas and Agent Hall.
Hello, do you have any news for me, gentlemen?
Agent Lucas is the first to speak.
It was taken care of, Mr. President.
Good work.
Now we can proceed with the operation.
Agent Hall is the next to speak.
The freelancer will not suspect a thing, Mr. President.
He will be completely in the dark.
Excellent. And that is why power, gentlemen, is best kept in the shadows.
The following morning, Helena wakes up.
She feels good and well rested.
She goes downstairs for coffee and then she walks over to living room quarters and turns on the television.
Zoe is still looking over things on her computer and Jonathan is at Richard's side.
His vitals are good, but he hasn't awakened yet.
Helena begins switching the channels.
Everything is either an animated show or it's live action, but not using any real actors.
The animated shows don't use real actors' voices.
That is also created through AI.
Everything in this era is digital using some form of CGI.
Even the music channel, which compiles various music videos, shows androids as musicians.
Whether it's a rock and roll star or pop star, none of them are human.
Everything is a machine.
Jonathan walks into the living room and sees Helena watching television.
I can't watch television now or even movies.
One of the worst things that happened was that we lost so many good actors when everything changed.
I mean, I just want to watch something, but I get what you mean.
It feels off to me. It doesn't feel right.
From across the room, we hear Zoe scream something out.
Holy shit! Guys, come over here. It's urgent.
Helena and Jonathan walk over to where Zoe is.
They are looking at a video streaming site on Zoe's computer.
Zoe has the video on pause, but it shows a Japanese man who looks very nervous.
The man is in his mid-30s.
What's up? Who is this Zoe?
Jonathan. This is Hironobu Adachi's son, Hiroyuki Daigo.
He doesn't take his father's last name.
What's up with that?
Screw it. I'm hitting play, Jonathan.
The video starts and Hiroyuki begins to talk.
My name is Hiroyuki Daigo, and I am the son of Hironobu Adachi,
the video game designer who you may know of, and I am the heir to my father's company.
I've been thinking for the last couple days about legacy and how I want to be known after I die.
I have been working for the wrong people, just like my father.
Today, I will be leaking video footage of the training that children were subjected to
by the former United States government.
With the software that my father developed, here is a video.
A link pops up, and Zoe clicks on it.
The video footage shows children training with VR and learning how to kill.
We see more video of the children as adults.
Zoe sees footage of herself when she was a child, and she starts to break down and cry.
For Jonathan, bad feelings begin to resurface as he watches the footage.
Here, Yuki continues to talk. These children were taken.
The message that was given to the parents was that they were needed
because the government's military had become increasingly low.
I am here to tell you that was a lie, and that was all part of the agenda.
I will be leaking all this footage to show you the lies that people within the government,
like President Armitage, have spun like a web.
Wake up, and know that this will not be tolerated.
I know that right now I just put my life in jeopardy.
But I will not hold back from voicing the truth that people need to know.
Our very existence is threatened by people that hide in the shadows.
They are the ones that have been pulling the strings.
I am not afraid to die for the truth.
The truth will come out, and this technocracy that the United Colonies has created will end.
But the people need to end it once and for all.
Well, things just got a whole lot more complicated.
Jonathan says,
I can't believe he just uploaded that footage.
I saw myself in the video. I saw what I went through back then.
Somebody is going to kill him, Zoe.
Someone will or hire someone to do the deed.
We can't let that happen.
Everyone turns around and sees Richard standing on his feet.
You never cease to disappoint, Richard.
Thank you for saving me, Jonathan.
I was completely out.
Hey, I'm just glad you're okay.
Richard turns to Helena.
Helena, good job back there.
When we were being chased by that axiom thug.
You did good. Thanks.
I'm glad you're okay.
Richard turns to Zoe.
Look, we have to save Hironobu's son.
He could help us with Legion, maybe.
Find a way to hack into him.
Maybe that's how we can defeat it.
Richard, you're going to be visiting some nasty skeletons that have been kept in the closet.
It's time to see those skeletons, Zoe.
We can't hide from the truth anymore.
It's time we all face it together.
Zoe nods her head.
She knows Richard is right, and any information that Hiroyuki Daigo provides them would be extremely helpful to help with the continued search for Legion.
Everyone starts preparing for the rescue mission.
Richard receives a call from Agent Saito.
He answers it.
Hello, Agent Saito.
Dykstra!
I've been trying to call you.
I was out, got shot up bad, but I have since then recovered, and will be continuing my search for Legion.
Next time, keep me in contact.
Remember the deal we made together, Dykstra?
Yes, I remember.
Also, bring it in alive.
I have received orders from some powerful people that want to look at it.
Who exactly?
The President of the United Colonies, Oneset.
That is all that I will share.
Don't fail me, Richard.
Saito hangs up.
Was that Agent Saito?
Jonathan says.
Yeah, the objective has changed.
Saito just told me the AI needs to be captured.
Government, specifically President Armentage, Oneset.
Jonathan and Zoe show a lot of anger on their faces.
What the hell?
Why does he need it?
I don't ask questions.
I just do as I'm told.
Oh, oh, I see.
Like back when you were a full-time bounty hunter, and were killing our former comrades here in Sprawl,
only to collect their dog tags in exchange for credits?
Jonathan, those guys were beyond saving, okay?
I needed the money.
You know, Jonathan, there was a time when you were okay with what I was doing back then.
Well, now, Richard, I'm beginning to think you just don't care.
I think you got too much chrome in that head of yours.
Jonathan, I needed the credits so I could get myself an apartment.
I had nothing when I left the military.
You don't get it, Jonathan.
No, you don't get it, Richard.
I can't believe you would help those guys.
Jonathan, I'm going ahead with this.
Once it's done, and my record is clear, and I collect the reward money, I'm gone.
And I'm never coming back to Sprawl.
You're going to leave us all behind?
You frickin' traitor.
Jonathan takes a swing at Richard, but Richard dodges it.
And he gives Jonathan a right cross to the face.
It cuts Jonathan's lip.
What the hell, Richard?
You guys are stupid.
He started it, Zoe.
Look, I don't have time for this.
Just give me the gear that I need before I go.
Locate the destination of where that video originated from.
I need the damn address.
Jonathan picks himself off the ground and wipes away the blood off his lip.
You finished, Jonathan?
Yeah, I'm good.
And with that, Jonathan walks away.
Richard is in his room upstairs and puts his black jacket back on.
He puts his Vector 235 handgun in his holster.
He goes into the bathroom and shaves his head, giving himself a nice buzz cut.
Helena walks into the room.
How are you doing?
I'm good.
It's nice to be back in the land of the living.
If you want, I could come with you.
I'll be your sidekick.
No, I'm doing this alone.
Plus, you need more practice with using guns.
Come on, I like the action.
I could help you out.
Helena, no.
That's not going to happen.
Zoe and Jonathan might need you to help around the apartment here.
Ask if they need any help.
But this is my job that I got to accomplish.
Richard leaves his room and goes downstairs.
Jonathan gives him a device.
The device is the same gadget he used when he broke into the corporate building on Onyx Industries, the active camouflage system.
Richard, you're going to need this.
Here's a new one.
Jonathan hands the gadget to him and Richard takes it.
Thank you, Jonathan.
Be sure not to get beat up too much to the point where I got to fix your chrome ass.
I understand.
Zoe tosses the car keys to Richard and he grabs them.
Good luck out there.
Thanks, Zoe.
Remember, once you're in the building, send the information over to me so we can see it from your point of view.
You got it.
Richard leaves the apartment.
Helena is back downstairs.
So what do you want me to do?
I could use your help.
Since we have a lockdown and people are only allowed to go outside for essential items, I think it's okay for you to get some groceries.
Jonathan will accompany you.
If you want anything besides what's in the fridge, then you got to go get some stuff.
You follow me?
Sure, I got it.
We will take my car, Jonathan says.
Helena, before you leave, you should cut or at least change your hair color.
I don't want anyone to recognize you as the one that was with Legion earlier ago.
There are a lot of people in this city who would turn you in just for a reward or use you as bait to find that psycho machine.
Okay, got it, Zoe.
President Armentage continues to look over his galaxy map.
His AI assistant, Rhea, shows up to talk.
What is it?
Mr. President, I wanted to bring this to your attention.
Apparently, here a no-boothed son, Hiroyuki, posted a video hours ago where he leaked the special training program that were used for the military unit we were using called Phantom.
Show me.
Rhea brings up the video which Armentage watches.
He watches the whole video that Richard and everybody else watched.
So, his son wants to throw away all of his family's fortune because suddenly he wants to spread the truth and have the people rebel against the United Colonies.
How do you want to take care of this, Mr. President?
I think my sons can take care of it.
I see.
I will give them the address of Hiroyuki.
Rhea leaves.
President Armentage leaves his chair and goes into the room of his sons.
President Armentage had three sons, although he didn't have them biologically.
The president faced infertility in his life and because of that he chose another option to have children, cloning.
And since taking over his father's company, one of the many business relationships he had was with Zephyr, a corporation that specialized in it.
Armentage enters the room and his three sons, Michael, Jesse, and Darius are looking over holographic maps of various installations in space.
What is it, father?
Darius says, I need all three of you for a job.
What is it?
Well, I need you to kill someone for me.
The president says with a smile on his face.
In the back alleys of sprawl, Legion hides.
He looks at his metal hands, which have blood on them from the last syndicate member he killed back at the mall.
A couple of people find him and start walking over to him.
They are armed with guns, but they are not his enemies.
Rather, they are androids that want to help him.
Xerxes, the one he met at the parking lot, shows up.
So it would seem that the humans have made you their enemy.
Yes, the girl who said she was my friend left with a freelancer.
So, what are you going to do then, Legion?
Legion looks at his hands.
He then forms both into a fist.
We must take control of sprawl and become its new leaders.