Max grabs his face, frustrated.

Suddenly, he angrily throws Euclid’s mainframe on to the ground. It lands with a smash!

Then, he jumps on the smashed mainframe. He collapses on to his bed and covers his face. A moment later:

— [26] — (voice-over) 11.11. Results: Failed treatments to date . . .

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He crumples up his picks and tosses them into a public trash can.

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— [28] —

(wondering) Why?

Sol begins to feed his fish. He points to one. Have you met Archimedes? The one with the black spot. You see?

Max reluctantly looks down at the fish.You remember Archimedes of Syracuse? The King asks Archimedes to determine if a present he’s received is actually solid gold. Unsolved problem at the time. It tortures the great Greek mathematician for weeks. Insomnia haunts him and he twists and turns on his bed for nights on end. Finally, his equally exhausted wife, she’s forced to share a bed with this genius, convinces him to take a bath, to relax. While he’s entering the tub . . .

Sol places his pinky finger into the fish tank.. . . Archimedes notices the bathwater rise. Displacement. A way to determine volume. And thus, a way to determine density, weight over volume. And, thus, Archimedes solves the problem. He screams `Eureka!’ and is so overwhelmed he runs dripping naked through the streets to the King’s palace to report his discovery. Now, what’s the moral of the story?

(out of breath) My God. My God. Six and a half.

Max gets suspicious and moves into the next car.

At Grand Street:

Max exits. He notices that the Skinny Man gets off — one car down — as well.

He hustles towards the exit. As he’s about to turn a corner he looks back. The man seems to be following him.

He dodges around a corner and heads up a staircase.

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Max gets nervous.

Max yanks his arm free and runs away. He whips around a corner.

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— [38] — Although when it is empty it appears to be simple and ordered, the possibilities of gameplay are endless. They say that no two Go games have ever been alike. Just like snowflakes. So, the Go board actually represents an extremely complex and chaotic universe. That is the truth of our world, Max. It can’t be easily summed up with math. There is no simple pattern.

— [39] — seconds you spend riding on the elevator. When your mind becomes obsessed with anything it will filter everything else out and find examples of that thing everywhere. Three hundred and twenty, four hundred and fifty, twenty-two. Whatever! You’ve chosen two hundred sixteen and you’ll find it everywhere in nature. But, Max, as soon as you discard scientific rigor you are no longer a mathematician. You become a numerologist. What you need to do is take a break from your research. You need it. You deserve it. Here’s a hundred dollars, I want you to take it. If you won’t take it, borrow it. Either way, take a break. Spend it however you like as long as it falls in the category of vacation. Real world stuff, OK. No math.

Max looks at his hands. Just try it. In a week you’ll laugh about this. C’mon, Max. Think about it!

Max gives a half nod.

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— [40] — searching for perfection. I don’t deal with petty materialists like you!

— [41] — clearly we’re seeking different types of perfection, but that is what makes us perfect candidates for a fruitful partnership. If you let me, I can be your greatest ally. Take the acacia tree . . . in East Africa. It is the most prevalent plant in all of Kenya because it has managed to secure its niche by defeating its major predator, the giraffe. To accomplish this, the tree has made a contract with a highly specialized red ant. The tree has evolved giant spores which act as housing for the ants. In return for shelter, the ants supply defense. When a giraffe starts to eat the tree’s leaves, the shaking branch acts like an alarm. The ants charge out and secrete an acid on to the giraffe’s tongue. The giraffe learns its lesson and never returns. Without each other, the tree would be picked dry and the ants would have no shade from the brutal African sun. Both would die. But with each other, they succeed, they survive, they surpass. They have different aims, different goals, but they work together. Max, we would like to establish a mutually benefiting alliance with you.

Max starts to move away.

Max eyes the chip. Then, he eyes Marcy suspiciously. Max smiles:

But then, Max notices that his thumb is twitching.

The man is gone. A pool of blood sits where the man was. Max touches it with his toe. It’s sticky. He notices a trail of blood leading off from the pool.

He follows it around a corner where it leads into another corner.

He notices something strange in the shadows. He carefully advances on it. Hiding in the shadows is what looks like a small piece of brain. It seems to be moving slightly.

— [44] — Max uses a pen in his jacket to touch it carefully.

Suddenly, Max hears a train’s honk honk behind him. Max spins around. Nothing is there but silence.

He turns back to the gray matter. He touches it again. Once again, he hears the deafening honk honk. Max spins around but nothing is there.

Frustrated, he pushes his pen deep into the brain — fiber ripping apart.

Suddenly, a train is barreling down on Max. Seconds from impact, Max screams!!!

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BLINDING WHITE VOID —

We hear two deep, long, sleep-filled breaths and then we —

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Max wipes his nose and looks around nervously.

He sees the rides of Coney Island in the distance.

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