♪ I think it's time to blow this scene ♪
♪ Get everybody and the stuff together ♪
♪ OK, 3-2-1, let's jam ♪
What is a physical body?
The body is merely an object.
It is a form of existence far too impure
to store the gods within us called souls.
Now, you will remember.
Bloodstained history. Material greed.
Hunger. Sexual desire.
Desire to dominate. Desire for fame.
Humanity.
From the physical body, all the desires are born.
And the human ego will never disappear,
as long as desire remains present.
Humans will continue to fight to fulfill
their bodies' desires, and it will never end.
There's no future. You must awaken.
Awaken your soul.
Rid yourself of that filthy human body, now.
We are Scratch, the migrate to electronics movement.
We are disciples of God, sent here to free your soul from your body,
and lead you to the infinite sea of electrons.
Good evening. This is CBC Action News.
Our top story, the migrate to electronics group, Scratch.
Receiving subpoenas for their leader, Londes, last week,
the ISSP and the Solar System Police began searching
the homes of Scratch's highest-ranking members.
Yet another tragedy.
Easy contact and salvation of souls.
That has been the main cause of the phenomenal growth of Scratch.
However, one more suicide—
The followers of Scratch use the brain wave control device
on this new game console to scan their own brain waves
using a program created by their leader, Londes.
A program that is said to copy their spirit,
which is transformed from brain waves into digital data,
and relayed onto the universal network
where it takes on a transcendent level of being,
thus allowing them to exist as souls without bodies.
Now, Professor, they say that Londes,
the leader, was once a reputable doctor.
Could a doctor devise this kind of methodology?
That's absurd. It's pure science fiction.
Some of it is theoretically possible,
but it's a theory, only a theory. After all—
And he hasn't returned in two weeks!
Madam, you need to talk this out with your husband.
I mean, it's his son too, isn't it?
But he isn't the type that'd just run away from home.
What if they kidnapped my boy?
Whoa, madam, are you even listening to me?
That must be it! It's that new cult thing!
All right, let's take a short break.
Hey! Are you ready for the power of CDJ?
Then let's start the groovin'!
Our new exerciser releases your inner DJ!
Adjust the BPM using this lever, and bingo!
You can be a DJ while you work out!
And can you tell us the reason you decided to sign up?
Yes, I, um, I got tired of always being in debt.
And then, by some miracle, I found my way here.
You see, if I get rid of my body, I won't need money.
Hey, Jet.
Hang on, it's almost ready.
Forget that. Get over here, quick.
By releasing the spirit from the physical body,
we are able to eliminate all desire.
I was wondering where she was.
This must be some kind of scam, right?
Brain Dream!
The new game console, Brain Dream!
Catches your brain waves and puts them into action!
So you control the game the way you want it!
Problems in game land? Tangled cords?
Throw them away and dream with us!
Let's dream!
That is why our station has the strictest broadcasting policies,
prohibiting programs such as the one you're watching.
Ah, there it is.
Chow time!
Dr. Londes. He's wanted for first-degree murder.
The bounty is 38 million.
I see. Well, that would explain why she flaked, wouldn't it.
Looks like way back when, he was an R&D guy in neurobiology.
One day, he gets a call from God and starts a new research project.
How to store the human spirit.
In other words, the activities of the brain as digital data.
Shortly thereafter, he turns up missing for half a century.
Fast-forward to two years ago. The guy suddenly shows back up
and starts this migrate to electronics movement, Scratch.
Which is... what?
A religious group or a cult, whatever. Anyway, according to Londes,
the human mind is essentially a weak stream of electronic pulses.
So if you capture those pulses as data,
and download them onto the universal network as an integrated program,
the person can migrate to a new existence as a pure soul without a body.
Are you listening to me?
Hey, up to you if you believe in that stuff.
20,000 people do believe it,
of which about 100 have committed suicide or otherwise disappeared.
Which is why the cops are finally getting their lazy butts in gear.
Tasteless face.
- Seconds! - That's all there is.
- Aww... - Let's get him.
We are Scratch, the migrate to electronics movement.
We are disciples of God, sent here to free your soul from your body,
and lead you to the infinite sea of electrons.
Searching, searching, where are you?
Hi! So you wanna join our group and renounce your body?
Uh... yeah.
Of course, we'll need to cleanse your soul as a first step.
- We can start immediately. - Uh, right...
But before that, I really wanna meet Mr. Londes. Where is he?
- I can tell you that. - Really?
He's up in heaven.
Londes...
Hmm... was there a fella going by that handle?
You gotta help me, old man. All his colleagues are gone.
You're the only one still alive, so think.
Uh...
Can you remember anything at all?
Maybe he existed, and maybe he didn't...
Well, which is it?
Oh, so you wanna join our migration?
Uh... yeah.
We're gonna need to cleanse your soul. That's the first step.
- We can start right away. - Uh...
Well, can I ask something before we do all that?
You see, I wanna meet Mr. Londes.
Well, him or his soul, or whatever, you know.
Anyway, where can I find this guy?
Excuse me? You really wanna join this migration?
And that is why all of the attention is focused this week on Dr. Londes.
The first big bounty in months!
Sad to say we have no info.
Nothing, nada, zilch!
Everyone's hunting high and low,
but no one can find hide nor hair of this guy.
His face is on TV every day for the Scratch telecasts.
But try to track him down, and it's like he does not exist!
Oh, do you really think he is a soul without a body?
I have something else to tell you, Judy, and it's kinda important.
Really? What is it, Punch?
- Well... - Oh, what? I can't wait!
This here is the very last broadcast of Big Shot!
We're canceled, shucks howdy!
- Happy trails, and all that! - What?
Our ratings suck, so they're taking us off the air!
Oh yeah? My agent will have something to say about this!
- No luck? - No luck.
I didn't get anything either.
No way, no way, no way, no way...
I went after his colleagues from the research lab, but it was a dead end.
Yeah, I got the same thing with the members of his cult.
Oh, it's Faye-Faye.
It's a little... tough right now, but...
You listening? I think I...
can really get rid of my debts now.
You deal with Faye. I'm trusting you on that.
Great... I go solo while you hang out in kiddie land all day.
Like I said—
Brain Dream is a hot item.
I've got to line up here like everyone else if I want one.
You still think you can hack into his webpage through a video game?
Look, it's the only lead we've got left, so I'm gonna follow it up.
If Faye has something, let's see if we can use it.
All right, I'm on it.
- Yeah, fire it up. - Aye... yep!
Welcome to Scratch, the migrate to electronics movement.
Select line one if you would like to join our migration.
Select line two for more information, frequently asked questions, and sitemap.
So it won't copy my spirit automatically.
Well, let's jump right in.
You've chosen to join us.
Please input your personal data by following the prompts.
Data, data, bogus data.
Blood and muscle and bone.
When these are lost, each human being confronts his own death.
And what lies beyond? Heaven? Hell? Reincarnation?
These are fantasies which cannot possibly exist.
They are mere excuses.
Ein, what's up?
What's this? Huh?
No path to salvation has had the clear vision of reality that we now have.
Awaken your spirit.
Shed the filth of your physical body, now.
High frequency?
I'm not sure how, but it acts on the central nervous system,
paralyzing the sympathetic nerves.
It's all very fast.
Within seconds, everything goes blank and you pass out.
Ein sensed there was something wrong and fanged me.
- If he hadn't done that, I'd— - be a member of Scratch right now.
Anyway, we need to find a way to counteract it, so—
I think I'll try migrating myself.
Hey, Spike, wait! Hey!
Well, dogs have brain waves.
Aww, Ed wants to do it too.
If your brain migrates, who's gonna search the net for Londes, huh?
Aww...
- Quit whining. - All right.
Welcome to Scratch, the migrate to electronics movement.
Select line one—
Ed, that's absolute perfection!
Aiya...
Oh my—
It can't be...
The person known as Londes never existed.
His past, all the records... they're all counterfeit.
An elaborate construction.
And all the programming leads to this location right here.
Alles Valley Hospice.
Come on, Ed. I got an idea.
Papa.
- Not yet. - Papa!
Nobody here wants visitors, and appointments are required.
In any case, the policy is strictly enforced.
What'd you come here for, an inheritance or something?
Not at all.
You see, her twin brother is here, and she's suffered so much...
Papa!
She's an unusual looking child. Is she a girl?
My papa!
Actually, it's a long, very dramatic story...
I just put her into a state of deep sleep.
Of course, as you can see, the other bounty hunters slept to death.
And so, we finally tracked her long-lost brother to this hospice.
Papa!
It was a shock to my daughter. She's been so traumatized.
I thought if she could just see her brother once more...
- Go on in. - Thanks so much.
Why do you kill off the members of your own group?
What's the point of that?
I am not forcing anything on anyone.
They are merely practicing a faith that they decided
to believe in of their own free will.
Tell me, why do you think people believe in God?
Because they want to.
It's not easy living in such an ugly, corrupt world.
There is no certainty, and nothing to hope for.
People are lost, so they reach out.
Don't you get it?
God didn't create humans.
No, it's humans who created God.
Londes?
I'm sick of this little act of yours.
What's wrong? Come on out here.
Illusions aren't enough, I need more.
You are correct.
This is an illusion. Londes doesn't exist at all.
He's an imaginary character that I invented.
An illusory image created by scanning digital lines.
I wonder, is this a brain wave control system like that Brain Dream?
- Hey, Edward. - Yeah?
Can you disconnect the brain wave controller from the network?
Uh-huh.
Do it. But don't turn off the life support system.
Do you want to know the greatest, and also
the worst device that humans ever invented?
It's television.
Television controls people by bombarding them with information
until they lose their sense of reality.
Now, television itself has become a new religion.
Television has created a people who believe instantly in dramatic fantasies,
who can be controlled by tiny dots of light.
- You're like a kid with a toy. - What?
You're the one that can't tell fantasy from reality.
You're the one that lives in the little dots of light.
If you wanna dream, just do it by yourself.
What? What do you know about anything?
What makes you think that you know anything about me?
What's this? What are you doing?
Stop that! Cut it out! You can't do that!
No... Stop...
No! Stop it!
Stop it! Don't turn it off!
What... What did I do?
No... This isn't fair...
Why do I have to be like this?
Everyone should have...
the same body as... I have...
Everyone down...
No... I don't...
I don't want to disappear!
I don't want to...
Ronny Spangen. Used to be a hacker.
A boy who became a so-called vegetable
when he had a medical accident two years ago at age 13.
That's it. You're sure not a boy any longer.
You are quite a con artist.
Oh, it's you. Long time no see.
Where are we?
It was all a kid's dream.
I guess all he could do was dream, so the dreams turned dark.
And this time, I hope you have sweet dreams.
The souls that God has given us, our spirits.
Our spirits which found a way to swim through the immense network
and live in the infinity of space.
Is not the human body a mere shell,
a form of existence all too small and weak for consciousness,
with such vast reach and potential?
♪ Aishiteta to nageku ni wa ♪
♪ Amari ni mo toki wa sugite shimatta ♪
♪ Mada kokoro no hokorobi o ♪
♪ Iyasenu mama kaze ga fuiteru ♪
♪ Kawaita hitomi de dareka naite kure ♪
♪ The real folk blues ♪
♪ Hontou no kanashimi ga shiritai dake ♪
♪ Doro no kawa ni tsukatta ♪
♪ Jinsei mo waruku wa nai ♪
♪ Ichido kiri de owarunara ♪
Next episode: "Hard Luck Woman."