Home > Halt and Catch Fire

And She Was

Joe: So when does that 3090 get delivered?

They said by 5:00 P.M. today.

And we've got Stanford on Monday, right?

Cisco and MCI the week after.

I'd take a good look.

Soon it'll be hardware and handshake deals, endless troubleshooting and upgrades.

But right now-- right now it's perfect.

The room?

The idea.

All goes well, by the end of the month we'll be sitting down with the sector chief of NSFNET to walk him through the bid.

It's Mitch Klowden.

We go back to my IBM days.

He's a good guy. Sharp dresser.

"Jockey Full of Bourbon" playing

♪ Edna Million in a drop-dead suit ♪

♪ Dutch pink on a downtown train ♪

♪ $2 pistol, but the gun won't shoot ♪

♪ I'm in the corner on the pouring rain ♪

♪ 16 men on a dead man's chest ♪

♪ And I've been drinking from a broken cup ♪

♪ Two pairs of pants and a mohair vest ♪

♪ I'm full of bourbon, I can't stand up ♪

♪ Hey, little bird, fly away home ♪

♪ Your house is on fire, your children are alone♪

♪ Hey, little bird, fly away home ♪

♪ Your house is on fire, your children are alone ♪

♪ Hey, little bird, fly away home ♪

♪ Your house is on fire, your children are alone ♪

♪ Hey, little bird, fly away home ♪

♪ Your house is on fire, your children are alone ♪

♪ Hey. ♪

Well, this all sounds fantastic.

I have to discuss it with the team, but I should have an answer for you by Monday.

- Excellent. - And you.

Where'd you find this one, hmm?

Great to meet you, Ryan. Hell of a head on those shoulders.

Thank you, Mitch.

And a nice cut on that suit.

Mitch, it was great to see you again.

- Great to see you, Joe. - Thank you for coming by.

( sighs )

"1982-No Fun" playing over headset

Did I get the wrong time?

Bosworth: No, your info's as good as mine.

Haven't seen Mutt or Jeff all day.

And the ladies are in their respective foxholes as seems to be their wont these days.

Do you ever try to be the bigger man in this business, but the universe just gives you a shit sandwich for your efforts?

Indeed I have. ( laughs )

But I'm treating myself to "Turan-dot," so I can't complain.

- What? - "Turan-dot."

The opera.

I'm broadening my horizons.

Know my new town.

It's "Turandot."

- Hmm. - Hmm.

- Hey. - Hey.

Sorry, guys. I got stuck on a call.

Okay, let's get started.

Uh, shouldn't we wait for Doug and Craig?

That would be a waste of time.

- Why? - I fired them.

When?

This morning.

Why?

Well, SwapMeet's fully integrated and the cash feature's bug-free, so I no longer need them.

And what are we going to do about their earn-out?

I feel like Diane was pretty clear she wanted us to make it work.

Was she?

Yeah, I mean... why would you--

I just wish you'd discussed it with us first.

- ( knocks ) - ( door opens )

Sorry, Diane Gould is here for both of you.

Oh, should be fun.

( theme music playing )

Well, I must admit I'm surprised.

I thought you all had found a manageable workflow.

Well, we discussed it and we decided that Doug and Craig's usefulness had run its course.

And we both figured based on our earlier conversations that you'd have our backs on this.

Well, as I've said, I'll authorize the earn-out if that's what you feel you need.

But that's not what I'm here to discuss.

I have news.

You have an acquisition offer.

From CompuServe.

Uh... ( chuckles ) CompuServe?

I know. I don't think it's a good fit either, but it sets a floor.

How much?

20 million.

That's four times what Westgroup offered.

I mean, have we really grown that fast?

Here's the thing, and I didn't think we'd be having this conversation so soon, but I think it's a good time to consider the possibility of an IPO.

The things we could do with that influx of cash.

Okay, it's not like we'd get to spend the money, though, right?

I mean, we'd have to get a board and chase quarterly earnings.

Absolutely, but it's also important to consider the landscape.

Look at Sun, Oracle.

I mean, Jesus, the money that Microsoft has raised.

Plus right now Mutiny is the dominant player in the online transaction market.

Once they hear the news of this offer,

there'll be imitators.

I mean, just think, everything we've ever wanted to play with.

We could hire a whole team for R&D.

Yeah, okay, I'm not chopping my company up into pieces so that you can ring a bell on Wall Street.

Okay, this is just a lot. I need time to process it.

Sure, okay. You think about it.

Take all the time you need.

This is a huge decision and both of you should take a lot of time with it.

But whatever you have going on here, you need to deal with it.

I'll tell you what. I have a place up in Sonoma.

It's a little vineyard. It's quite peaceful.

It's a good place to get your thoughts in order.

Why don't you guys go there, take the weekend, get on the same page?

We'd love to.

Great.

I'll be around all weekend if you want to talk any of this through.

Thanks, Diane. Really.

So do you want to drive up tonight or tomorrow?

Yeah, uh, well, while a wine farm retreat with you sounds super romantic,

I am busy this weekend.

Modern society sits on a foundation of services we now take for granted.

Railroads.

Highways.

Water.

Power.

Network computing will be the next great public utility.

My actions have placed us at the vanguard and we are poised to reap vast rewards.

America's early entrepreneurs were bound by space and time.

This new network will be limitless.

Just-- I just-- just to be clear, ahem, the N-- what?

The NSFNET is nonprofit, right?

It's just for research labs and governments and colleges.

- There is no commercial use? - That's correct.

- On page-- - 22.

--there's a memo from Taylor and Ernst Strategies.

They anticipate a five-year legislative process.

Sanderson: And we've already spent six million on the 3090

and another 400,000 on routers and switches.

Wait, with these speed and capacity issues, why are we investing in faster equipment than the network can bear?

It's only 56K now, but all signs point to a T1 upgrade coming soon.

Guys, I understand the skepticism.

There's no denying this is a bold futures bet, but it is a sure one.

It may take some time, but the money will come.

You know what, gentlemen? Why don't we do this?

Why don't we take the weekend to digest this impressive proposal?

What do you say? Yeah?

Good. Thank you very much.

( clears throat ) Thank you.

- Thank you. - Pleasure.

- Great to see you again. - Thank you.

Hey, you owe me 18.

Hey, good seeing you. Say hi to Becky for me, okay?

( chatter fades )

I love the ambition. I do.

- I just need you to slow down. - We wait, we lose.

I hear you, I do. And I believe in your vision.

That's why I'm here, but please, Joe... no more purchases.

- No promises. - Just get them on board.

That's why you're here.

( door closes )

Well, this is the process, you know?

You should have seen their faces when I told them the Citadel was going to be free.

Good work today.

"Anarchy" playing in background

( indistinct chatter )

( knocks )

Yeah?

Are you sure you don't mind me going?

No, it's fine. It's fine.

Well, I appreciate it. I really need some time away from Cameron.

And I just need one damn hour of peace, okay?

- The girls think this place is-- - Oh, my God.

- Donna! - Babe, I'm so sorry.

- Which one do you want? - This one.

Thank you.

Who you talking to?

Just some guys.

Well, I'm glad you're having fun.

( video game beeping, music playing )

No! Ah! Sorry.

Now, wait, wait. Slow down, you're gonna miss the coin room.

- Where? - The tube on the left.

- But watch out for the piranha. - No! No!

- Can we please play now? - In a second.

We're better at the bosses.

Then how come you're dead?

Look, guys, why don't y'all go outside, okay?

It's nice out. Just till we finish this world.

But that'll be 40 and 100 hours.

Look, you guys go outside, ride some bikes.

As soon as you get back, okay, you can have a turn. I promise.

- Whatever. - It's Joanie's Nintendo anyway.

Let's beat the game today.

Come on, Donna's away. When else are we gonna do it?

Let's just see how far we get before the girls get back.

( game beeping )

If we could just skip the water world.

I hate the water world.

"Your princess is in another castle."

( sighs ) Look, if we don't beat it this time, then I think I gotta call it quits for the day.

Okay?

What are you doing?

- Whoa. - What are you doing?

- Yes. - Yes!

- Holy shit! - Welcome to the warp zone!

Oh, God, I can't believe it took me this long.

Here, here, here. You go. You're better at the cloud level.

- Okay. - Whoa!

- Oh, it's on now. It's on now. - Yes, yes.

- Come here, you spiny, turtle-birthing butt. - Oh, my God.

( exhales )

( laughs )

Yes, kill it. Watch out.

( high-pitched ringing )

Gordon?

Gordon? Jesus Christ.

- Gordon, are you okay? - Yeah.

- Gordon? - Yeah, I'm fine.

- What? What the hell just happened? - I'm fine.

I just--

I just need to eat something.

What?

I'm fine.

"Quanto è Bella" playing

♪ Quanto è bella, quanto è cara ♪

♪ Piu la vedo e piu mi piace ♪

♪ Ma in quel cor non son capace ♪

♪ Lieve affetto ad inspirar ♪

♪ Essa legge, studia, impara ♪

♪ Non vi ha cosa ad essa ignota ♪

♪ Lieve affetto ad inspirar. ♪

( laughs )

"Shake the Hippie" playing

- Push. - I am pushing.

Oh.

Whoa.

♪ But I told you not to worry ♪

♪ Nothing I do will make you sorry ♪

♪ You do the hippie... ♪

- ( video game music playing ) - Okay.

I'm not buying it.

The blood sugar excuse.

It's neurological.

I've been dealing with it for about a year.

They-- they found very small areas of atrophy.

So technically it's degenerative, but--

Jesus Christ.

- So you're dying? - No.

No, I'm not dying.

I mean, we're all-- we're all dying,

but, no, it's under control.

I'm taking medication and most days I'm fine.

Other days--

You pile-drive a Zenith.

( chuckles )

No, that's a-- that was a first.

Donna knows?

Who else?

Where are the router configurations for the existing Fuzzballs?

Uh, they should be in the binder with the rest of the UCSD research.

Okay.

- ( phone rings ) - Oh.

Yeah, this is Joe.

Hey, Mitch. Didn't expect to hear from you on a Saturday.

Is everything all right?

That's great news. Great news.

I assure you the feeling is mutual.

( chuckles )

Mitch, we should hire you to run PR.

( laughs ) Yeah, me, too.

Uh, hey, listen.

Messenger over the paperwork on Monday and I'll have my lawyers go through it ASAP.

Yeah, we'll be talking.

- Oh! - ( laughs )

Hey, congrats.

- You made it on the train. - Yeah!

Where's that UCSD binder?

We should celebrate.

Celebrate?

That bid they just approved is half fiction.

Now we make it real.

Come on, let's get to it.

But, Joe, right now it's perfect.

Have you ever had 30-year-old scotch?

( laughs )

( door opens )

( clock ticking )

- Hello? - Oh, my God!

Oh, you're Diane's daughter.

I recognize you from the pictures.

I'm Donna Clark. I work with your mom.

Oh, hi. Sorry.

Yes, I'm Kimberly.

- Kimmie, everything okay? - Oh, I'm fine. It's fine.

This is Donna. She works with my mom.

This is my boyfriend Travis.

- Hey. - Hi.

- And his roommate Rob. - Hi.

Hello.

Is that my mom's sweater?

I was just in the bath.

I'm so sorry. I can go get a hotel.

No, no, no, no. Please. We just decided to drive up from Berkeley today.

We can totally drive back.

Oh, no, don't do that.

No, it's fine. I'm kind of supposed to ask before I come up here anyway.

Well, look, it's a huge house.

I brought more food than I can possibly eat.

So what about this-- I don't tell your mom I saw you and we keep it between us that I was trying on her clothes?

( laughs )

- ( video game beeping ) - That's insane.

Yeah, I know.

Did you consider it?

Sort of. I mean, it was 70% of a fortune.

Well, souls don't come cheap.

I don't understand how you're so good at the underwater level.

It's a gift.

- ( game pauses ) - ( sighs )

You know, I don't even really care about the money.

I just want him to admit what he did.

Yeah.

All right, you can do this.

- Okay. - I believe in you.

- Wish I could pelt Joe with fireball-- - Shh.

Don't.

- Yeah! Finally! - Yeah!

- Victory! - Finally.

( growls )

( chuckles )

- You want to see something cool? - Yeah.

The radio spectrum's like a long measuring tape.

- Uh-huh. - The AM band's the low frequency.

And it's down here on the bottom.

And the FM is way up here on the top.

- You follow? - ( laughs )

Man, Gordon, I got to be honest.

I didn't know what you were doing in here, but this is pretty rad.

You really think so? I mean, it's kind of silly.

No, no, I mean it. I think it's cool.

Yeah, well, I wish Donna shared your enthusiasm.

Yeah.

You know, I hope you realize what a rare thing you've done.

- Mm-hmm. - You and Donna.

I mean, you guys built something real.

Yeah, so did you.

Oh, please. You don't have to do that.

I built a couple of machines no one will remember and a piece of software everybody thinks is Joe's.

Enough about that jackass.

Let's fire this thing up.

( switch clicks )

That's weird. I was just talking on it last night.

Maybe there's a loose connection.

Oh, you sure about that?

Here.

Fire it up.

- ( static hissing ) - Hmm.

- ( button clicks ) - CQ.

( chatting )

Hey there.

Could I just get two fingers of something brown back there?

Did-- did you hear?

Could we just pretend that you were holding a place in line for me?

Well, look who it is.

Uh, this young lady will have a gin and tonic with lime, please.

( laughs )

- Are you here with someone? - No, flying solo.

What can I say? Me and Puccini go way back.

You?

It's a blind date.

He's a friend of a friend of a banker or something.

I forget how I ended up here.

I have enjoyed our time together, Doris.

Gracias.

Well, thank you for saving me.

You don't strike me much like a woman needs saving.

( bell chimes )

Hey, listen.

There's a bar I pass on the way here. Looks like a good time.

We can get another cocktail after the show.

Give me two minutes. I'll meet you outside.

Here's to me, Doris.

"Struttin'" playing over headset

( keyboard clicking )

"Ever Green" playing in background

But, of course, he is nowhere to be found.

And, of course, the emergency exit locks behind me.

So I'm totally naked, super drunk with this alarm blaring and he and my coat are at a different door, but I didn't know that.

So I ran all the way back to my dorm ducking behind bushes like some cartoon spy.

Thank God it was finals week and no one was around.

I hope you broke up with him.

I married him, actually.

( laughing ) Oh, no.

I can't believe you actually work at AGG.

Oh, no, no, your mom's an investor in my company.

It's an online service called Mutiny.

Shut up. Shut up.

- You own Mutiny? - Yeah, a part of it.

Wait, are you CamHowe?

This is insane. I'm EstimatedProphet.

No, no, Cam is my partner.

It's like the best. I'd been looking for a tape

of this June '77 Winterland show for literally years.

Signed up on Mutiny, found it 20 minutes later.

That's great.

So, Donna, you and my mom should be friends.

Oh, I think we are friends.

No, yeah, I mean, friend friends.

'Cause all my mom's got are work friends and everyone else was Dad's.

Well, I'm sure it took a lot of nights and weekends to build a firm with her name on the door.

That couldn't have been easy.

Except the name's Dad's, too, which sucks.

I just think you're fun and smart and she must really like you 'cause she does not let a lot of people up here.

Well, I like her, too.

Hey, you guys, do you have any of that pot left?

( chuckles )

Well, yeah, but...

What?

If you're maybe looking for a different sort of adventure.

So I have a confession.

Shoot.

I don't care much for Texas.

( laughs ) Why ever not?

Isn't it just a bunch of good old boys in Dixie Trans Ams speeding down dirt roads?

That'd be Georgia. And the General Lee is a Charger.

- Okay. - Never been, I take it.

No, I have not.

Tell me about it.

Well, it's like any other place except more so.

Really? Like this place?

Well, we get all kinds.

Have to admit, not what I had in mind when we walked in here, but glad we did.

So you still have family there, yeah?

Here.

( laughs ) That little feller.

Oh, my God. He's beautiful.

Yeah.

( sighs ) It's a hell of a thing, ain't it?

God, it feels like it was just a few days ago that I was braiding Kim's hair.

And now she has one year left at Berkeley.

Everybody says it passes so fast.

I don't know.

Working as much as I do, I missed a lot.

( exhales ) Yeah, you and me both.

I thought I was gonna retire in Texas. You know, be around.

I'd take little Sam to a ball game a couple times a month.

I wanted to be able to tell him I did things that mattered.

Now I got stories no one cares about.

( scoffs )

Foolish things coming from a man my age.

Apologies.

No, not at all.

Man: Gentlemen, welcome to the stage

- Lady Divine. - ( applause )

- Gordon? - Oh, hey.

- Hi. - I didn't wake you, did I?

No, no, I'm just heading out.

Okay, uh... well, good night.

- Hey, Cam. - Yeah?

It was really fun today.

Yeah, it was.

Bye, Gordon.

"Mercy Street" playing

( sighs )

♪ Looking down on empty streets ♪

♪ All she can see ♪

♪ Are the dreams all made solid ♪

♪ Are the dreams made real ♪

♪ All of the buildings, all of the cars were once... ♪

You came.

I figured we should talk.

Come, sit with me.

I don't like this.

I don't like feeling this way.

I hate it, too.

I don't know how we got here.

You lied to me, Donna.

I know, but I-- it didn't feel like a lie at the time.

It felt like what was best for the company, like what was best for you.

I am just as good at this as you are.

No one ever said you weren't.

They don't have to say it.

It's there all the time.

It's deafening. Cam is the genius. Donna is the mom.

So we're back where we started.

No.

No, not yet.

I mean, look at this place.

Did you ever think we'd be here?

How many times do you need to hear that I can't do this without you?

I'm sorry that I lied to you.

I forgive you.

♪ Mercy, mercy ♪

♪ Looking for mercy ♪

♪ Looking for mercy. ♪

- ( breathing heavily ) - ( zipper zips )

- Well... - Well...

- Not the night I was expecting. - Nor I.

Why don't you come back to the house for a nightcap?

You know, it's getting a little late.

Let me just-- I'll just drop you back at your car.

You know, I could-- I could... come by.

No, it's fine.

( engine starts )

You need to give Gordon credit.

- ( stammers ) - ( key jingles )

Be pissed at me.

You have every right.

Just, Jesus, don't take it out on Gordon.

He needs this.

Joe, do right by him.

Give him credit for what he built.

Say something.

Shall we celebrate?

Why?

That's a wedding ring on your finger, isn't it?

( cork pops )

I came here to talk about Gordon.

Did you?

It's 1:30 in the morning.

You were waiting in my hallway.

To talk about Gordon?

Is it what's his name?

It doesn't matter. Could have been anyone.

You were happy for a moment and you thought the person standing closest to you was the source.

Trust me.

I've been there.

( glass thuds )

You need to give Gordon credit.

( door opens, closes )

- ( game beeping ) - Donna: Hello.

Hello, I'm home.

- Mommy, Mommy! - Hi.

( chuckles ) What is all this?

Cameron broke the TV, so Daddy bought a new one.

Isn't it so big?

Yeah, it sure is, baby.

Hey, how was it?

Oh, it was great. Really great.

I feel clearer.

Hey, how many of those have you had?

Only this one.

- She broke the TV, huh? - Yeah, long story.

Okay. Is she home?

Well, she-- she went out-- she went out late and I didn't hear her come in.

Cam. Cameron.

Hold up, Donna. She could be asleep.

( knocks ) Cam?

Cam.

Oh, my God.

( static hissing )

- Cameron over radio: Gordon? - Ow!

- Cameron? - It works!

You weren't in the office today.

Yeah, well, I needed a day to put this thing together.

Why didn't you tell us you moved out?

I got married.

( laughing )

No, I'm serious.

I got married to Tom back in Texas.

Wow.

That's incredible.

I'm really happy for you.

Thanks.

I'm happy, too.

( static hissing )

I didn't know you were gonna be in this thing today.

I'm not.

I postponed the depo. We need to talk.

Have a seat.

No purchases and no promises.

That's what we said.

This morning I got a copy of a fax from the NSFNET lawyers came across my desk.

So when I called Mitch Klowden for clarification, he said that the two of you had a lovely conversation this weekend and that we're now in business.

Come on, Ken, just sit down.

You're done.

I gathered the board this morning and we voted to remove your executive authority and kill the NSFNET deal.

Ken.

Of course you're more than welcome to quit, but we plan to enforce the four-year noncompete.

So if I was you, I'd just keep showing up for work, Mr. MacMillan.

Just sit up in that office of yours like Buddha on the goddamn mountain dispensing pearls of nonsense to the tech press, but you will never spend another MacMillan Utility dime, launch another project or give another order.

And before you even dream about running a fire hose into the bullpen or some other such bullshit,

I would meditate on the Joe MacMillan clause

our lawyers had such fun drawing up.

One destructive move from you, and every point of equity you got goes up in smoke.

Let me know what you decide.

Bruce: State your name.

Joe MacMillan.

And your title and place of business, please.

Founding CEO, MacMillan Utility.

And in your capacity as CEO, do you often review outside submissions for software ideas?

No, never.

All product development is done in-house, then?

Yeah, yeah.

Walk me through that process, please.

Mr. MacMillan?

Mr. MacMillan?

- I stole it. - What?

- Turn that off. Turn it off. - Don't.

I, Joe MacMillan, stole the code to the security software from Gordon Clark.

Everything this company is built on is his.

( music playing )