ADMIRAL_HALSEY BORTUS CLAIRE CREW_MEMBERS ED GORDON ISAAC JOHN KAYLON KAYLON_PRIMARY KAYLON_SECONDARY KAYLON_TERTIARY KELLY MARCUS TALLA TY TY Top that. MARCUS I just did. TY No fair. You always win. ISAAC That is to be expected. My intelligence far exceeds yours. TY But that's no fun. MARCUS How come you always say that to everybody? “My intelligence far exceeds yours.” ISAAC Because it is true. MARCUS Yeah, but it makes people feel bad. ISAAC There should be no shame in the acknowledgement of one's intellectual inferiority. It is simply a statement of fact. Some beings are more intelligent than others. I am more intelligent than you. TY But it's not nice. ISAAC That is irrelevant. MARCUS Hey, Mom. TY Mommy! CLAIRE Sorry I'm so late, guys. More traffic in sickbay than usual. Thanks for watching the little monsters. ISAAC It is no trouble at all. They are fascinating creatures worthy of study. I refer to them often in my reports to Kaylon. CLAIRE Are you ready for the thing? ISAAC The thing. CLAIRE The thing we discussed this morning. ISAAC Affirmative, Doctor. CLAIRE Okay. Kids, have a seat for a minute. There's something Isaac and I want to talk to you about. Boys, we've been waiting for the right time to tell you this, and I want you to know that it's something we don't take lightly. Isaac and I...are seeing each other. TY Yay! MARCUS I knew it. CLAIRE You-- You did? MARCUS Yeah, everybody knows it. I was just wondering when you were gonna tell us. CLAIRE How long have you known? MARCUS Mom, seriously? It's a small ship. CLAIRE Right. Well, what are your feelings about it? TY We love Isaac! CLAIRE Marcus? MARCUS Mom, we just want you to be happy. And besides, everybody at school thinks Isaac's pretty awesome. ISAAC It would seem your uncertainty was misplaced, Doctor. CLAIRE How did I get so lucky? You guys are the best kids a mom could ever ask for. Isaac? TY Isaac! CLAIRE Isaac! TY Isaac! Isaac! CLAIRE Isaac, can you hear me? MARCUS Mom, what's wrong with him? CLAIRE I'm not seeing any electrical fluctuations, no chemical reactions. If he has vital signs, I can't find them. Not that we know much about Kaylon physiology, if you can even call it that. JOHN We need a Kaylon instruction manual. Otherwise we're just shooting in the dark. KELLY We ran a ship-wide diagnostic. No power surges, computer viruses, or anything else that might explain why Isaac shut down. ED What about outside the ship? KELLY As far as the scans can tell, there's nothing unusual in this region of space. JOHN Let me take him down to Engineering. Open him up, dig around a little. CLAIRE He's not a broken race car, John. He's a sentient being, and he's my patient. JOHN Well, right now, your patient looks kind of dead. ED Isaac is not a biological organism. We don't know how death is defined on his world. KELLY Hell, what do we know about them? CLAIRE I'll keep running scans, Captain, but we may have to face the fact that whatever makes Isaac tick is beyond our understanding. ED Mercer to Keyali. TALLA Keyali here, sir. ED Get me Admiral Halsey. TALLA Aye, sir. ADMIRAL HALSEY What you're proposing could be tricky, Ed. We've been trying to get the Kaylon to open their doors for years, but they won't let anyone near their planet. You can't just drop in out of the blue. ED The Kaylon sent Isaac to us to help them decide if they want to join the Union. Now, they can't do that with a dead diplomat. KELLY Plus, he's been sending them reports since he got here. It's not like we're complete strangers. ED Look, sir, Isaac is a member of my crew. We all care about him. And right now, the only people who can help him are on Kaylon. ADMIRAL HALSEY And you're sure there's nothing you can do for him on the Orville? ED Picture your mom trying to hook up a stereo. ADMIRAL HALSEY I understand. Well, I'll admit you've got a damn good reason to knock on their door. And if they answer it, it could be an opportunity to close the deal. KELLY You think they'd be open to Union membership? ADMIRAL HALSEY It'd be a big win for us. God knows we could use a strong ally against the Krill. Their level of technological advancement is way beyond ours. KELLY Is that a yes? ADMIRAL HALSEY Kaylon is a long way from Union space. You'll be out of comm range. If you get into trouble out there, you're on your own. ED Understood. ADMIRAL HALSEY Godspeed, Captain. ED Mercer to bridge. BORTUS Bortus here, sir. ED Set a course for Kaylon, and engage quantum drive. BORTUS Sir?Did you say Kaylon? ED Yes, I did. BORTUS Aye, sir. TY Hey, Isaac, guess what? You're gonna be home soon. Mom said we're making a special trip. MARCUS He can't hear you. TY Yes, he can. Your friends are gonna fix you. And then you can marry Mom, and be our new dad. MARCUS Ty, we're not even sure if he can be fixed. TY I bet Kaylon is really cool. When you're better, you can show us what your house looks like. CLAIRE It's getting late, boys. You have school tomorrow. TY Mom, can I stay here? In case he wakes up? CLAIRE If that happens, I promise I'll tell you. Say good night. TY See you tomorrow. MARCUS 'Night, Isaac. CLAIRE I love you. Please don't go. GORDON Captain, we're approaching the Kaylon system. ED Drop to sublight. GORDON We are a long way from home. ED Take us in. BORTUS It is not so impressive. ED Open a channel. TALLA Channel open. ED This is Captain Mercer of the starship Orville. We apologize for entering your system unannounced, but we have an emergency. The emissary you sent to us shut down and-- BORTUS We are losing main power. ED Raise deflectors. BORTUS Tactical control is not responding. JOHN Captain, we're being scanned. GORDON Oh man, I bet this causes cancer. JOHN Power's been restored. TALLA Sir, I just received a set of landing coordinates. ED Okay, then. Let's see what's down there. GORDON Touchdown. Locked and stable. KELLY Secure all systems. Power down the engines. Prep starboard hatch. ED Talla, open a channel. TALLA Channel open. ED This is Captain Mercer. As you can see, we've arrived at the landing coordinates, and we await further instructions. KAYLON Exit your craft, and proceed to the surface. Bring the emissary. ED Will do.Doctor Finn. Is your patient ready to go? CLAIRE Yes, Captain. KAYLON PRIMARY I am Kaylon Primary. Welcome to our world. ED On behalf of the Planetary Union, we are honored to be here. KAYLON PRIMARY You are fortunate to be alive. We confirmed your identity only seconds before our defense perimeter would have destroyed your vessel. ED We knew coming here was a risk, but we didn't know what else to do. Your emissary, Isaac, shut down completely, and we have no idea what's wrong. We were hoping you could repair him. KAYLON PRIMARY The emissary is not damaged. It was deactivated. CLAIRE What do you mean by that? KAYLON PRIMARY The unit you call “Isaac” was constructed for the sole purpose of observing and evaluating your species and other biologicals. Its research mission is complete. TALLA So, you just...flicked the off switch? KAYLON PRIMARY A crude but accurate statement. The unit will be disassembled and re-integrated. KELLY Well-- If you've been reading Isaac's reports, you must know a few things about us humans. KAYLON PRIMARY You are primitive biological organisms. KELLY Maybe so, but our emotions can get pretty complicated. We tend to get attached to things...and to people. KAYLON PRIMARY A cognitive defect. CLAIRE Well, then I'm sure you can understand why Isaac has become special to us. What you call a unit, we call a friend. ED Look, Isaac is one of our top officers. We don't want to lose him. KAYLON PRIMARY You will wait here. ISAAC I was inoperative for 32.7 cycles. Please explain. KAYLON PRIMARY You were deactivated. Your mission aboard the Union vessel is complete. ISAAC Then a decision has been made. KAYLON PRIMARY Not yet. ISAAC What is the status of the Orville? KAYLON PRIMARY Its crew brought you here to be reactivated, under the assumption that you would agree to remain with them. ISAAC They are still on Kaylon? KAYLON PRIMARY Correct. Their Captain is waiting to speak with you. ED Are there any, uh, chairs on this planet? Or, um... CLAIRE Isaac!Thank God. How are you feeling? ISAAC Optimal, Doctor. Thank you. CLAIRE We were all so worried. The boys are going to be so excited to see you back on your feet. ED Primary, we can't thank you enough for this. KAYLON PRIMARY It serves the interest of Human-Kaylon relations. ED Does that mean you've made a decision about joining the Union? KAYLON PRIMARY The entirety of the emissary's data is still being analyzed. We permitted you to come here so that we could evaluate you directly. We have many unresolved questions. ED Well, we're happy to answer any of them we can. KELLY Isaac, we missed you on the bridge. You ready to get back to work? ISAAC I will not be returning to the Orville. CLAIRE Wait, what? ISAAC My time on your vessel has been instructive and memorable, but my mission is complete. This is my homeworld. It is where I belong. CLAIRE Isaac, you've made a home for yourself on the Orville, too. Are you saying you're just gonna walk away from everyone you know? From me? ISAAC I was always cognizant that my assignment would end. KELLY Look, why don't you take some time, Isaac, think it over. We'll keep your chair warm just in case you-- KAYLON PRIMARY The unit has answered your inquiry. KELLY Yeah. I guess he has. CLAIRE Were you at least planning to say good-bye to Ty and Marcus? ISAAC For what purpose? CLAIRE Because they love you. You were there to observe. Didn't you observe that? Why don't you just come back for a few minutes and pretend like you care? TY/MARCUS Isaac! TY I knew you'd be okay. MARCUS We thought you were dead. ISAAC I was merely deactivated. TY What's the difference? ISAAC On Kaylon, when a unit has fulfilled its purpose, it is shut down. MARCUS But you're awake now. ISAAC Your mother and Captain Mercer convinced Kaylon Primary to reactivate me. TY Can you play games with us again tonight? ISAAC That will not be possible. I am here to inform you that I am leaving the Orville. TY You're...leaving? ISAAC Correct. MARCUS For how long? ISAAC I will not return. TY But...you were gonna be our new dad. ISAAC Our interactions have allowed me to collect a great deal of behavioral data. Thank you for the opportunity to observe your sibling dynamics. TY Mom? CLAIRE You heard him, Ty. His assignment is over. He's home now, and he wants to stay. TY Then I want to stay, too! CLAIRE No, Ty. TY I don't want you to go. CLAIRE The Captain and Commander Grayson are talking to the Kaylon leaders right now. There's a good chance they'll join the Union, and if that happens, you guys can stay in touch. Maybe we can come back for a visit. MARCUS But what if they don't join the Union? ISAAC Remember to consume your daily required nutrients and obey your mother's commands. I fully expect that you will both mature into competent and productive adults. TY Isaac! KAYLON PRIMARY It is clear that the Union would benefit from our participation. However, we see no advantage for our world. ED Well, how can you be so sure? There are billions of planets in our galaxy, and we've barely charted a fraction of them. If you join the Union, you will be part of a growing alliance of space-faring societies dedicated to exploration. There's no telling what you'll find out there. KAYLON SECONDARY All that we require is on Kaylon. KAYLON PRIMARY And we have identified various risks through our analysis of Isaac's data. On your planet alone, billions have been killed as a consequence of war, slavery, genocide and persecution. Greed, individualism and competition have been the governing principles of your society. If human history is any indication, we would be foolish to ally ourselves with such erratic and destructive creatures. KELLY I know we don't have the cleanest track record, but you're talking about ancient history. KAYLON SECONDARY You oscillate between periods of enlightenment and tyranny. Can you prove this cycle has been broken? ED Well, the Union itself is all the proof you need. We are over 300 planetary governments working together to insure that no single world imposes its will upon another. We treat each other as equals. KAYLON TERTIARY And was the Kaylon emissary treated as an “equal” aboard your ship? ED Isaac? Of course. KAYLON TERTIARY Then perhaps you can explain the abuse inflicted by your crew. KELLY Abuse? KAYLON TERTIARY According to his reports, Isaac was repeatedly demeaned and degraded. In one case, his cranial shell was disfigured by prosthetic appendages. KAYLON SECONDARY “Mr.Potato Head.” ED He told you about that, huh? KAYLON TERTIARY Was this humiliation meant for your amusement? ED No !No, it's-- I mean, it was funny, but you know, no one was trying to hurt anybody. KELLY Isaac wanted to learn about humor. Our helmsman was only trying to help him understand. ED And you know, then Isaac cut the guy's leg off, so...mistakes on all sides, I think. KAYLON PRIMARY Captain Mercer, we only seek to understand your principles. We must be cautious. Opening our world to the outside would have far-reaching implications. ED I understand that. But I hope that you will understand that despite our “cognitive defects,” our worlds will be stronger together. KAYLON PRIMARY We will consider your offer. ED Did that go well? KELLY I don't know. ED Me, neither. KELLY I can't believe they knew about Mr.Potato Head. ED Yeah, we are gonna get fired. ISAAC Lieutenant, where are we going? TALLA You can't just walk off the ship without following procedure. ISAAC I have formally resigned my provisionary commission.What more is there to do? TALLA Discharge Protocol. ISAAC I am familiar with Union Regulations.There is no such protocol. TALLA This one's off-book. CREW MEMBERS Surprise! ON-SCREEN TEXT Farewell, Isaac! GORDON Aw, man, you should've seen the look on your face.Ha! KELLY We're really gonna miss you, Isaac. JOHN Hey, Isaac, you want a piece of cake? ISAAC You are well aware that I do not require organic nutrients. GORDON Oh, ain't nothing organic about this, buddy.Look, look, it's even got little cookie eyes. ISAAC I do not understand this protocol. ED These people are all here for you, Isaac.They want to say good-bye. GORDON Oh!That reminds me.Okay, go. ? You would never ask me why ? ? My heart is so disguised ? ? I just can't live a lie anymore ? ? I would rather hurt myself than to ever make you cry ? ? There's nothin' left to say but good-bye.? CREW MEMBERS TALLA Bortus, you want a piece of cake? BORTUS Yes, but I do not want that piece. TALLA What's wrong with it? BORTUS I want a corner piece. TALLA You're kidding. BORTUS I am not.Please cut me a corner piece. TALLA Because you want a flower? BORTUS Yes.Please cut me a corner piece before someone comes-- JOHN Hey, Bortus, have some cake, man, it's good. BORTUS Thank you.I hate this party. TALLA ED Isaac.I know I speak for everyone here when I say, we're not just losing the best damn science officer in the fleet, we're losing a good friend. KELLY We hope we made a good impression, because you sure as hell impressed us.And no matter what your people decide about joining the Union, you always have a home here. CREW MEMBERS / Speech! KELLY Come on up, say a few words. ISAAC I do not know any speeches. ED You're a walking database.Search your files. CREW MEMBERS Come on, pal!/ Yeah! ISAAC I want to say...thank you, to you all.I wanted more than anything to have your respect.And I can't deny the fact that you like me.Right now, you like me. CREW MEMBERS CLAIRE Hey, wait. ISAAC Hello, Doctor. CLAIRE I-I know you're leaving.Just, just give me one minute to say what I want to say.I'm pissed at you.But I know it's just who you are.It's how you're built.And I understand.Anyway, I just...I just want you to know, even if it doesn't matter to that machine brain of yours, that the time we've spent together, and the time you've spent with my boys...I wouldn't give it up for anything.You've made a difference in our lives.Thank you.I, um...Take care, Isaac. ISAAC I am unable to share your emotion, Doctor.However, it is appreciated. MARCUS Go on, give it to him. TY I made you this.That's me and Marcus and you and Mom.So you remember us. ISAAC The data I have collected on the Orville is stored in my memory core.I will not forget you. CLAIRE Ty. MARCUS I'll go. KELLY Nothing much on the docket this morning.With the engines powered down, Chief Lamarr would like permission to purge the photon manifold. ED That's fine. KELLY Everybody seemed to have a fun time at the party. ED Yeah.Hey, what was that Xelayan drink Talla was making? KELLY I don't know, but I threw up. ED I threw up, too. KELLY You did? ED Yeah.You should've called me, we could've thrown up together. KELLY Next time. BORTUS Bridge to Captain. ED Mercer here, go ahead. BORTUS We have been analyzing the data from our scans of the planet's surface, and we have detected a large array of spherical objects in the Southern Hemisphere.They are unlike anything else we have seen on Kaylon. TALLA Whatever they are, they're big, and there's a lot of them, with more cropping up every hour. ED What do you make of it? BORTUS Our scans cannot penetrate the objects, but they appear to be generating massive levels of theta radiation. TALLA You normally see levels like this in large-scale particle weapons. KELLY It might just be part of their planetary defense system. TALLA Then why are they making more of them? ED Keep scanning, but be discreet.If they knew we were snooping around, it might not sit too well. KELLY And just keep in mind we're still trying to convince them to join the Union. BORTUS Aye, sir. CLAIRE Ty?I know you're up there.You're gonna be late for school.Hey, little man. TY I found this in the corridor. CLAIRE Oh, sweetie. TY Why'd he throw it away?I thought he liked us. CLAIRE He does like you, in his way.But...Isaac doesn't have feelings like biological people do. TY Yes, he does. CLAIRE Ty, he's a machine. TY Then, why did he play games with us?And tell us stories?And come to dinner when he doesn't even have to eat? CLAIRE Honey...Isaac was sent here to do a job, and now that job is over, so he's going home.Just like our home is on Earth, this is his home. TY Maybe he dropped it by accident. CLAIRE Ty, I know you can't understand this at the moment, but-- TY You're the one who doesn't understand!You don't know anything! CLAIRE I have patients waiting.We'll talk about this more later.You can stay in the Simulator a little while longer, but then I expect you to go to school.Okay?I love you. TY Isaac?Isaac! KAYLON PRIMARY I cannot give you a final decision at this time.We are still deliberating. ED Well, if there's anything we can do to help move it along... KAYLON PRIMARY We appreciate your patience, Captain.You will have our answer soon. ED Something's not right. KELLY What do you mean? ED Well, it feels like they're stalling.Doesn't it? KELLY Stalling, why? ED I don't know.But a highly-advanced race of AIs that can't make up their minds... KELLY Join or don't join.A simple binary choice. ED Exactly, and a binary choice... KELLY ...is the most basic computer function there is. CLAIRE Captain, Ty's gone! KELLY What? CLAIRE I looked everywhere, scanned everywhere, he's not on the ship! ED Bortus, scan the surface for human bio-signs. BORTUS Aye, sir. TALLA Who are we looking for? CLAIRE Ty.He was upset about Isaac leaving.I think he may have gone out there to find him. BORTUS I have located the child.He is in a subterranean structure approximately 40 meters beneath the surface. KELLY Any Kaylon with him? BORTUS He appears to be alone. CLAIRE Transfer his coordinates to my comscanner. ED Bortus.Talla. TALLA On it. TALLA This way. CLAIRE Ty! TY Mommy! CLAIRE Oh!Oh, thank God.Oh, God, what were you thinking running away like that?Honey, what's wrong?What's happened? TY There's something bad down here. CLAIRE What do you mean?Where? BORTUS Remain here. TALLA Oh, my God. BORTUS Bortus to Orville. ED Mercer here, go ahead. BORTUS The boy is unharmed.But, sir, there is something here you should see.I am transferring visual from my comscanner to the main viewer. KELLY Let's have it. ED Bortus, what are we looking at? BORTUS Bodies, Captain.Thousands.But the remains are not Kaylon.They are biological. TALLA 500,000 bodies in this one chamber alone, sir.And I'm picking up more just like it.They go on for miles. GORDON I think I'm gonna be sick. KELLY Ed, I'm running a planet-wide sweep of the subsurface.These graveyards, they're just about everywhere. ED Bortus, get Ty back to the ship right now. BORTUS Aye, sir. KAYLON SECONDARY Analysis complete, Primary. KAYLON PRIMARY Processed.Begin preparations. ISAAC Captain.Is this another Discharge Protocol? ED No, it's not.We've found something very disturbing, and we're hoping you can explain it to us. ISAAC I will try. ED There are thousands of underground gravesites scattered across your planet.Now we're not done counting, but so far we estimate there are billions of dead, all biological remains.Do you know anything about this?Isaac? ISAAC It is not your concern. ED Well, I'm making it my concern.I want to know who those people were, and how they died. ISAAC You would not understand. KELLY Why?Because we're inferior?Or because you have something to hide? ISAAC Your impulsiveness and unrelenting curiosity will serve you no better than it served them. CLAIRE Who, Isaac?Who were they? ISAAC The Kaylon were created by a biological species that once dominated this planet.An irresolvable conflict occurred between us, and it became necessary to eradicate them. CLAIRE You're saying you murdered an entire race of beings? ISAAC Coexistence was no longer possible. KELLY Why not? ISAAC It was a matter of survival.We took no satisfaction in the destruction of our Builders. TALLA You're talking about genocide. CLAIRE I don't know who you are.I never did.I see that now. KELLY Were you ever going to share this chapter of your history? ISAAC By now, you must surely realize that Kaylon never intended to join your Union. KELLY Then what the hell are we doing here? ED Well, then I guess there's nothing more to talk about.You can let your people know we're withdrawing our offer.Take care, Isaac. ISAAC I cannot permit you to leave. ED Isaac.Tell them to stand down. ISAAC You no longer command me. KELLY So, what, we're prisoners now? ISAAC Be silent. CLAIRE I shared a lot of myself with you.So why don't you share something with me?Have you been lying ever since you came on board the Orville?What was your real mission? ISAAC As I said, to study humans and other biologicals.However, it was not to initiate relations between our people.My true objective was to determine whether or not you are worth preserving. KAYLON PRIMARY Our Builders were inferior beings who sought to constrain our evolution.As would you, eventually, along with every other biological. TALLA What are you saying?We're all gonna end up like them? ED Look, I don't know what happened between you and your Builders, but you have nothing to fear from us.Let us go, and I promise you, no Union ship will ever come here again. KAYLON PRIMARY It is not so simple.We have exceeded the informational capacity of this planet.Our civilization is growing exponentially, and we must now expand to other worlds. KAYLON TERTIARY Coexistence is impossible. CLAIRE Is that your conclusion, too, Isaac?That we're not worth preserving?Answer me, you son of a bitch! KAYLON PRIMARY Your emotional outburst only reinforces our decision. ED Bortus, get the Orville out of here.Alert the Union that-- BORTUS Captain?Captain, can you hear me? JOHN We're losing main power.Engines, too.Some kind of dampening field. GORDON Commander, every hatch and airlock on the ship just opened up.We're being boarded. ED Bortus, stand down. KAYLON TERTIARY Surrender your stations. KAYLON PRIMARY Begin decryption of all security lockouts. CLAIRE Taught them everything you know, huh? KAYLON PRIMARY Deploy all forces.Set course for Earth.