Agent Lee? Olivia Dunham.
Previously on Fringe:
What division are you in?
I am not leaving here without some answers.
Sometimes answers lead to more questions.
The timeline has been rewritten.
He was erased...
and yet traces of him continue to bleed through.
There was a man in the mirror. He was here and then he was gone.
I saw him!
What's with the redecoration?
- Aah! - I'm here, Walter. Right here.
Please help me.
Walter?
You didn't answer my question.
I asked if you've been keeping up with the new medication I prescribed for you.
Yes.
For the most part.
With my own modifications, of course.
Why?
Well, you just seem a little bit distracted.
Well, yes, as you ask, but...
You've come at an extremely inopportune time.
I'm in the middle of some very important work...
and I'm anxious to resume.
Oh. I appreciate that, Walter.
But these monthly evaluations are also important.
Oh, yes, I know. It was a condition you imposed...
on my release from St. Claire's.
No, I mean personally important.
You were under my care there for most of your 17 years.
These sessions allow me to catch up with you...
see how you're doing.
Now, I've been perusing the latest observational reports...
from the agents assigned to you...
and they mention certain patterns of unusual behavior.
Well, occasionally I have a unique way of doing things...
which can be misinterpreted... - Tell me about the mirrors.
- Mirrors? - And the television.
Virtually every reflective surface in and around your lab...
has been covered or obscured by you.
Naturally I covered them up.
It's an experiment I'm conducting...
So this has nothing to do with your lab being haunted.
Beg your pardon?
According to the report, you claimed, on more than one occasion...
to have seen "a strange man in the lab."
A man no one else has seen.
And that sometimes the man speaks to you.
Uh...
Just minor hallucinations caused by my self-medication.
That was weeks ago. I'm much better now.
So you haven't had any more of these hallucinations since.
No.
Walter...
it is important that you be completely honest with me...
so that I can make an assessment of your state of mind.
I can make recommendations for your continued care.
Whatever that may be.
You're dead, Sneddon. You hear me?
You better run, rat.
We're gonna beat your ass.
- You run like a little girl. Keep up. - We got him now. He went in there.
That little weasel is so dead.
There he is.
Picked a bad place to hide, dumb-ass.
- Just leave me alone, guys. - Or what?
I know it was you, you little freak.
You got me busted for the stash in my locker.
Come on, Matt, kick his ass.
- You had this coming. - Uh, something touched my leg.
It's probably just a bug or something. Tough it out.
Dude, what is this? What the hell is this?
- Trying to coordinate that for DOJ. - I have a contact, if you need help.
Hey.
Working a case?
- Something like that, mm-hm. - Hmm.
I got, uh, word you wanted to see me.
We get any news on the shapeshifter tech?
Uh, no, I just wanted to check in with you, see how you're handling everything.
I know you've been going through the case files, getting up to speed.
I understand that it can be kind of overwhelming.
It's hard when what you knew...
or what you thought you knew about the world no longer holds...
and I just wanted you to know that I'm here.
You're... here?
Yeah. To talk to, you know?
I mean, just if things are getting a little too much...
or if you're freaked out...
I'm not freaked out.
Oh.
Good.
Okay.
- Well, you just let me know... - lf I freak out.
Yeah, you'll be the first to know.
Dunham.
We've got two bodies.
Twelve-year-old boys.
How many months since they've been missing?
Not months. Hours.
Between 10 and 15, according to reports their families made...
when they didn't come home.
Agent Broyles, Agent Farnsworth is ready for you.
Has Dr. Bishop come up with theories yet on cause of death...
or the bodies' advanced state of decomposition?
- Walter, Agent Broyles wants to know... - Yes, I heard him.
Well, you tell Agent Broyles that...
as there appears to be no unusual environmental factors...
to explain the rapid deterioration...
that it is absurd for me to make any determination...
without first examining the remains.
- Walter said... - It could be viral.
Or a mutation of some flesh-eating bacterium.
- He thinks... - Or some kind of alien parasite.
Oh! Bigfoot! Bigfoot, that's it.
Astrid, perhaps you can look around for massive fecal droppings, huh?
He doesn't have any theories, sir.
I think I got something.
There's a third set of sneaker treads, leading in, then out.
Size seven, eight, maybe.
- Then we have a potential witness. - Or another victim.
Even if there was another boy that got away...
he could be infected by whatever killed the other two.
Point taken. We need to find him fast.
Yeah, if he's alive.
Oh.
Remarkably pungent stench.
I'm gonna get some scented candles.
Agent Broyles.
It was good of you to accompany Astrid, although unnecessary.
Dunham and Lee are tracking down the identity of the boy who fled the scene.
I thought I'd take the opportunity to check in on you.
Oh, how nice.
May I ask why?
You had your evaluation with Dr. Sumner last night.
He called me afterwards to voice some concerns.
Concerns?
He thought you seemed unusually agitated...
by something you were reluctant to confide.
I can't imagine what gave him that impress...
Walter.
- Where's the second body? - On its way to the morgue.
I assumed one was sufficient for your examination.
Not sufficient at all.
It's quite the opposite. I need both bodies.
- Walter. - What?
What?
- Did you say something? - I asked why you need both bodies.
- Because... - Walter, listen to me.
Walter, do you see me?
Only by comparison will I be able to determine...
if there are patterns to the decomposition of the tissue.
Listen. Please, Walter.
Or the putrification of the internal organs.
It may well be the victims perished at different intervals...
- Dr. Bishop... and one of them may be a carrier.
I'm not losing my mind.
I would appreciate you arranging...
to have the second remains sent here as soon as possible.
Excuse me.
- Broyles. - It's Olivia.
We have a lead on the third boy. Another student told the principal...
that the two victims had been talking about plans to beat a kid up.
His name's Aaron Sneddon. He's 10 years old.
He said it was dark and he didn't see much after the boys chased him.
Why didn't he tell anyone what happened? His parents?
Well, there's no father. And his mother's out of the country.
Aaron said she's away a lot for work.
The mother wouldn't leave him by himself.
She has him stay with a neighbor in their apartment complex.
His principal said that he's a quiet boy...
that she doesn't know him to have friends.
So has Walter got anywhere yet?
Beyond his random theories of vampires and succubi, no.
He needs to examine the other body.
I'd like you and Lee to retrieve it from the morgue.
- I'll let Dr. Bishop know the boy's here. - Okay.
You like to draw?
Me too.
Aaron, we're going to have to get you checked out.
To make sure that you're okay.
Our friend Dr. Bishop is going to examine you.
I don't like doctors.
- They scare me. - Oh, you'll like Walter.
- There's nothing scary about him. - All right, young man.
Let's get started. Take off your shirt and hop on the table.
Please, I don't want a shot.
You'll not see nothing Like the mighty Quinn
Technically, a shot is depositing a substance into the bloodstream.
This is more a withdrawal.
Come on within
You'll not see nothing Like the mighty Quinn
Just this one time.
I promise.
Good.
Everybody's building ships and boats
Some are building monuments Others jotting down notes
There. That wasn't so bad.
Good boy.
You can put your shirt on now. I'll be right back.
Come on without Come on within
You'll not see nothing Like the mighty Quinn
I like to go just like the rest I like my sugar sweet
But jumping queues and making haste Just ain't my cup of meat
Please, don't touch that!
It's all right. It's all right.
I shouldn't have shouted.
It... It belonged to my son.
You have a son?
I did.
He died.
Walter. You need to come and take a look at this.
What is it?
It happened when I was moving a candle.
- That's curious. - Yeah.
Look at the Lambda sensor.
Corpse is pulling high levels of oxygen out of the air.
Astrid...
I don't remember there being this much mold on the ribcage before.
Dear God. The incubation case.
Quickly! Grab the other end. We have to contain it.
- Walter... - No time to explain. Hurry.
Spores.
I had assumed that the mold...
was just a symptom of the rapid decomposition.
- Walter, I'm not following. - It's the cause, Astrid.
I'm starting to believe...
that it was an aggressive form of fungi that killed the boys.
Olivia and Lincoln. They went to the morgue to get the other body.
- Astrid... - Are you at the morgue?
Uh, yeah, we're heading to the elevator now, why?
You have got to evacuate the room, get the body from the tunnel locked down.
- What? - It's gonna explode and release spores.
- You gonna get that? - I'm eating my lunch.
Come on, come on, come on.
Hey, Beth. Come here. Take a look at this.
Oh, God.
- What are you doing? - We can't open that door.
- We need to lock down the area. - We can't just leave them to die.
They're already dead.
Dr. Bishop, can you tell us what we're dealing with here?
Clearly not the garden variety Cordyceps fungi.
A genetic mutation with a capacity of hyper-accelerated growth...
and nutrition absorption.
Which explains the rapid decomposition of the bodies.
Walter, what's Cordyceps fungi?
A species capable of releasing neurotoxin cells to paralyze a host...
usually an insect, so that the fungi can feed and lay its spores.
So why aren't they attacking us?
These are not a pack of wolves, Agent Broyles.
Size notwithstanding...
they're still a lower life form with rudimentary instincts...
probably based on tactile response.
As long as none of you touch them, they won't even know you're there.
A couple of these bad boys are making their way down the sink.
Most likely seeking more water and nutrients...
which shows a strong impulse to expand their reach as far as possible.
This is a most extraordinary species, don't you think?
Admiration aside, how do you recommend killing these things?
As with a great many molds and fungi...
a strong dose of UV light or intense heat...
should effectively eradicate them.
Understood. Agent Mace, this is Broyles.
We're gonna need high-intensity UV lamps, as many as you can find.
Yes, sir. Copy that.
I'll oversee things here.
Assemble a small team and have them meet you at the tunnel.
Based on the boys' remains...
the fungus colony at the tunnel is probably bigger than what we have here.
I'm not convinced that UV is the most efficient way to destroy it.
- You have something else in mind? - I'm thinking flamethrowers.
Fortunately, your tests show no sign of fungal infection.
The good news is that you're now free to return home.
Agent Farnsworth will drop you there.
Unless it's not good news.
Nobody's there.
Well, yes, I understand you're staying with a friend.
A neighbor, but she never talks to me.
Perhaps there's someone else with whom you can stay.
- No. - I see.
Well, I certainly know what it feels like to have nowhere to go.
No family.
This is the only home I know.
You live here?
It's not much, I admit, but...
But certainly better than the mental institution where I lived before this.
Would you like to stay here with me? For a little while longer.
I can't promise that I'll have any time for entertaining, you understand.
I'm a very busy man.
If you've got a problem Don't care what it is
If you need a hand I can assure you this
I can help
Mm-mm-mm.
Sublime.
- Dr. Bishop. - Walter.
I said you could call me Walter.
Let me help
How did your son die?
It's a fact that people get lonely Ain't nothing new
But a woman like you, baby Should never have the blues
Let me help
Peter was very sick.
I tried for a long time to find a cure...
but I found it too late, and he died.
Then I discovered an alternate universe...
where another version of my son was dying from the same malady.
So I crossed over to the Other Side...
with the intention of bringing him back to cure him.
But the frozen lake where I created a portal between universes was unsound...
and when we crossed back, the ice broke.
Peter, the other version of him, drowned.
I lost him all over again.
And you don't think you belong in a mental institution?
- How soon till the flood lights are up? - Almost there, ma'am.
There's our perp.
Doesn't look like much.
No wonder we overlooked it.
Once we've got lights, we can make sure we've taken out the entire colony.
Watch your step, there could be some in there.
Ready for you, Agent Dunham.
I don't know about you, but I'm ready for another.
Aaron, what's wrong?
It's bright.
It's too bright.
- What do you see? - I need the hand-held flood over here.
There's more of it back here. A lot more.
What is that?
- Let me take a... - No! Get away! What is it?
It's growing down through some grating.
Do we know what's under here?
Burn it. Burn it all!
Astrid! Help me!
Aaron, talk to me. Tell me what's wrong.
He has a fever. How did this happen?
I don't know. He was complaining about something being too bright.
Then he got scared. Then he just started burning.
- Walter? - Stop what you're doing!
- Say that again. - I said stop it! You're killing the boy!
A few more minutes. Don't want to turn you into a popsicle.
- Astrid... - I'll get you one later, Walter.
Grape, please. And one for my friend here.
You just rest there.
Olivia, we've managed to bring his temperature down a couple degrees...
but it remains high.
You're positive Aaron was affected by the fungus in the tunnel.
His collapse and fever coincided precisely as you were, uh, burning the colony.
I'm certain there's a connection.
What about the fungus at the morgue? Broyles' team destroyed that.
- Why wasn't Aaron affected then? - That, I cannot explain, as of yet.
So the boy is feeling whatever this thing inside the tunnel is feeling.
- Precisely. - Whatever it is, it's dangerous.
We need to destroy it. How do we break the connection between it and the boy?
I'm not sure. Perhaps the best way to determine that...
is to learn how the connection was formed in the first place.
Okay, I think I may have an idea about that.
Aaron, let's have a talk.
- About what? - About why you lied to us.
Your drawings, Aaron.
Agent Dunham found them covering a wall inside the tunnel.
You never mentioned you'd been there before.
Based on the size of your artwork, I'd say you go there a lot.
It, um...
It's hard to explain.
I'd go there sometimes...
to get away.
After a while...
I would start to feel better.
Like I wasn't alone.
That there was something there that was sad whenever I was sad, or...
I know it sounds stupid.
Perhaps not.
You're saying you thought there was something there that felt as you felt.
I mean, I guess I thought I was just imagining it.
Maybe I was crazy.
But it's like it understood me.
- Like it wanted to... - Protect you.
Aaron, the boys who were chasing you...
you intentionally led them there, didn't you?
It told you to bring them back to the tunnel.
I didn't know what was gonna happen. I swear.
I didn't know what it was.
It's all right, son.
Shh.
I believe you did nothing wrong.
Walter...
what was that all about? I don't understand.
I think I'm beginning to. I need Agent Dunham.
My initial hypothesis was entirely wrong.
These are not colonies of fungi.
I now believe that this is a single organism.
One with rapidly-evolving communication skills...
enabling it to form a psychic bond with the boy.
See these? I believe that each of these fungal masses...
is the equivalent to a neuron, a brain cell.
And these tendrils linking them together, essentially dendrites and synapses.
The organism is a vast neural network.
Wait, you're telling me that this whole thing, all of it, is one big giant brain?
That's exactly what I'm saying, Agent Lee. Gus is a growing, evolving mind.
- Gus? - I thought since it's a living entity...
that perhaps we should name it for the sake of clarity.
Aaron wasn't affected when we destroyed the fungi in the morgue...
Because the, uh, colony growing there was unable to connect to the network.
Until it could, it was a mindless appendage.
That's why it was heading down the drain. To connect.
What you need to understand is that Gus can only make more of itself.
And as it grows, it becomes more intelligent, more self-aware...
and ever more conscious of how alone in the world it is.
My contention is that Gus forged a link with Aaron...
over this shared sense of isolation.
Until I can find a way to break the link with the boy...
any assault on the organism will hurt him. Or worse.
It's Broyles.
We have new information about the fungus.
So have I. There's been another attack.
Homeless man, camped out in Roxbury Crossing.
The fungus came up through some grating.
- That's six miles from the tunnel. - I know.
After Agent Lee's report on the growths...
I found that the Boston sewer runs directly underneath that area.
We have a major infestation on our hands.
We need to eradicate this thing now.
Agent Broyles, this is Walter Bishop.
I don't think you understand, I haven't discovered...
a way to break the link between the organism and the boy.
- I need more time. - I do understand, doctor.
But the longer we wait, the more likely innocent people will be killed.
- You're not hearing... - Keep trying with whatever time is left.
He'll die! Do you hear me?
You're going to kill Peter!
Aaron.
- Walter, you mean Aaron. - What did I say?
You got two hours, Dr. Bishop.
After that or if there are more attacks, I can't make any promises.
Astrid, reconfigure the neuro-stimulator for magnetic resonance.
We need to chart Aaron's brain activity.
Dunham, you and Agent Lee be ready to move.
Yes, sir.
Flamethrowers aren't going to be enough. We're gonna need some help.
I've got recon teams throughout the city, over an eight-mile radius.
The fungus has encroached on a dozen buildings...
all of which have been evacuated. - No bodies have been found.
Thankfully, no. It's been well over an hour.
- How's Dr. Bishop doing? - We haven't gotten any word.
Agent Broyles, if you don't mind my asking, what's our plan to kill Gus?
That's what Walter's calling the organism.
That's our plan, Agent Lee. Compliments of Nina Sharp and Massive Dynamic.
You two, along with one of their techs, will administer a toxin to the fungus.
Agent Broyles, Recon 6 is on the line.
I'm gonna check in with Walter.
Walter, it's Olivia.
Olivia, we've managed to isolate Gus' brain wave.
The link appears to be centered somewhere inside of Aaron's prefrontal lobe.
- Okay. So you know how to disconnect it. - I haven't quite worked that out.
- Walter, we're running out of time. - I realize that.
My attempts to shut down that part of his brain haven't worked.
There's only one other possible option.
- Surgically remove the infected part. - What are you saying?
- You're thinking of lobotomizing him? - I don't know what else to do...
with the time I have left, Olivia. - You can't.
I have to save his life, whatever it takes.
Okay, Walter, listen to me. You're gonna find another way.
I'll talk to Broyles, explain the situation,
see if I can buy us some time. Stand by.
- Sir... - I just got word from one of our teams.
The fungus has reached a subway platform in mid-town.
We can't contain this. We have to move.
You gave Walter two hours. There's time.
I'm sorry, but you know as well as I do...
we can't sacrifice countless other lives to save one boy.
Walter...
- What? - No time to talk.
I have to think.
So, what are we looking for?
Somewhere the toxin will be best distributed. Some sort of central mass.
There.
Agent Broyles, we've located the injection point.
The tech is preparing the toxin.
Copy that. Keep me apprised.
I was told it was on your order.
Olivia.
Okay.
No!
Walter, his blood pressure is falling, and he has lost consciousness. Do something.
I've run through every conceivable scenario I can think of.
The creature has a hold on his brain, and I have no id...
Wait. Wait!
- What's happening? - The toxin's administered...
but the tech's dead.
I want you and Agent Lee to fall back to Position 1 now.
- Yes, sir. - Olivia.
- Lincoln? What? - I can't move.
What?
The source of Aaron's physical distress...
isn't isolated in the frontal lobe as I thought. It's here.
- What is that? - The limbic system. Limbic!
The emotional center of the brain.
Emotion. Yes.
Astrid, get me the epinephrine.
The fungus has a hold on Agent Lee. He requires immediate medical help.
We're assembling a team now. Does the fungicide appear to be working?
Negative. The organism's still alive. I don't why, but it's not working.
The link is emotional. Gus doesn't have a hold on him.
He has a hold on it.
I'm sorry, son.
Aaron. Aaron, listen to me.
Aaron! Aaron! Good boy. Good boy.
I know you're scared, but you need to let go of the organism.
No, it's my friend. I'll be alone.
I know you've come to believe it's your friend. But it's not real.
It's something that's invaded your mind.
- It's hurting you. - Nobody cares. It doesn't matter.
His blood pressure's still falling. His organs are shutting down.
You matter to me.
I care.
And l...
I don't want to lose you.
I can't lose you. Not again.
Aaron, I know how hard it is to make connections.
I know what it is to be lonely.
It takes courage to be the one to take someone else's hand.
To trust that they won't leave you. I won't leave you, Aaron.
And I'm begging you not to leave me.
Please...
let it go. Let it go.
Please, let it go, son.
Walter.
I think it's working. He's stabilizing.
This is Dunham. Uh, something's happening.
Their brain waves have separated.
It's gone.
Gus is gone.
It's working. The organism's dying.
Okay, we need a medical team down here now!
Lincoln, can you hear me? It's okay. It's okay. You're gonna be fine.
- Hey. - Hey.
You look a little freaked out.
You wanna talk about it?
Here. You take him.
- No, he's yours. - He'd be better off with you.
Toys are meant to be played with. I've seen the movie with the talking toys.
Oddly disturbing.
Okay, Aaron, we gotta get you to the hospital...
or they're gonna give your room away to somebody who's really sick.
- Aren't you coming too? - I very much wish I could.
But I have things I need to do.
We'll see each other again soon, I promise.
Walter?
Astrid told me the good news about Aaron.
I knew you'd figure it...
Walter?
It's all right.
The area is completely numb. I know exactly what I'm doing.
- Just let me do this. - Just gonna put the hammer down.
Walter, what the hell were you thinking?
I don't want to be re-committed.
I can't go back there.
- Please don't send me back. - What are you talking about?
I'm going insane.
I've been having hallucinations. No matter what I do, they won't stop.
- What kind of hallucinations? - For weeks now.
I was afraid to tell anyone.
What are you seeing?
It doesn't matter.
Just tell me.
A person.
A young man. His voice is in my head, saying peculiar things.
Does he look like this?
- Where did you get this? - I drew it from memory.
I've been seeing him in my dreams for the past three weeks.
And all this time, I thought I was losing my mind...
that he was a figment of my psychosis.
- I'm perfectly sane. - Here.
- Who is he? - I don't know.
I've been running facial recognition through interagency databases...
including Interpol, but nothing's shown up.
A shared vision like this...
He must be real.
And if he's real...
we have to find him.