A spaceship seems to be in some sort of peril, the lights inside are flashing erratically. Inside, we see figures in desperation, hands flailing about and in various states of collapsing. One of the creatures tries to stand, wavers, and falls. One creature is left standing, it seems to be relatively okay, and silently laments the loss of it's fallen brethren. It climbs into a capsule of some sort and shuts the doors. The spaceship flies into the distance as Trevor begins to speak.
"Strength is not an absolute value. To be strong is to evolve. Mutability, strength. Evolution is a string of victories by the strong over the meek."
A satellite is seen blasting some sort of yellow ray at the earth.
"The meek shall not inherit the earth. What is strength when a two hundred pound man can be killed by a ray eminating from a satellite in space? Strength is within. Case in point, I make two men sick by exposing them to the same ray, Aldus-B. One dies, horribly, with pain. The other buries him without remorse. He is the winner. Who will the other winners be? Those who will be left once I use the ray."
We finally see Trevor, who is sitting crosslegged in what is assumed to be his bedroom.
"We have already evolved so much, our actions would be incomprehensible to a human from a thousand years ago. It's the evolution revolution. Tomorrow, we speed up the process. All sectors. All species. Only the strong shall evolve."
Trevor puts down what seems to be the remote control for the Aldus-B ray, turns out the lights, and goes to bed. After some time, we see that he's fast asleep, a grid of blue lasers protecting him from any intruders.
Aeon Flux opens the door and peers into the room. After a short inspection, she navigates the laser grid maze, spindly limbs carrying her over and under each of the lasers. She reaches for the remote, and her wrist is caught by Trevor. She jerks her hand away, and Trevor stares at her for a minute, before being backhanded.
Aeon grabs the remote. She looks at it, and then punches a button.
Trevor: Thanks, for hitting me. For a moment there I thought I was dreaming.
Aeon: As usual.
Trevor: Put the control down, Aeon. Just gently put it down.
Aeon: And let you kill off half the planet? I don't think so, Trevor.
Trevor edges closer.
Trevor: You have nothing to be afraid of. The rays will only affect the meek. They'll strengthen the strong, like you, and me.
Aeon's thoughts: Nobody can make me be anything.
Aeon leans into Trevor for a moment, makes a pleased sound, and then knees him in the groin. She then handcuffs him, all in one smooth motion.
Aeon: There. That's a long time dream of mine. Sorry I can't stay to enjoy it.
Trevor licks the handcuff where Aeon latched it, while Aeon makes a run for the door, setting off the blue laser alarms.
Aeon escapes the complex, control in hand, alarms blazing. She is pursued by barking dogs and men with flashlights, and she backtracks and jumps into a bush to throw off her would-be captors. She pulls out her gun and attaches a drill bit to the tip, drilling a hole in the earth and burying Trevor's ray control. She covers the disturbed earth with a rock.
She tosses the bit aside, and is startled by the clank that occurs as it strikes metal. After dashing over to the sound, she discovers that it's the hibernation pod that the creature from the beginning of the episode stepped into. She touches it, and it hisses open. The creature, draped in cloth, lies asleep inside. She gasps, and pulls down the creature's garment to expose its face, where she discovers that it has no visible mouth or nose. She touches its face, and it awakens.
Aeon: You can't stay here! It's not safe.
The creature clutches its hand to where its mouth would be.
Aeon: You don't speak, do you?
She pulls the creature out of the chamber, and gasps again as the cloth falls free, exposing the rest of it. The creature, as well as having no visible nose or mouth, has tiny, twig-like limbs, and the gap between its legs goes all the way up to its ribcage.
Aeon: Come on!
Aeon takes its hand and runs off into the forest. They pause, and observe the flashlights and barking dogs which herald the approach of Aeon's pursuers. Aeon dashes up a nearby tree and extends a hand down to the creature. The creature appears confused, and it is too late, Trevor's goons circle around the creature.
Brown haired goon: Found us a sack of bones, eh doggies?
White haired goon: This ain't the one we came for!
Fat Boy: Whazimatter? Runnin away is a sure sign of guilt if you ask me.
Brown hair: Where's your mouth? Look! It got no mouth!
A shot is fired, brown hair falls. White hair is next. Fat Boy grabs the creature and uses its tiny body as a shield.
Fat Boy: Easy sleazy. Move it slowly and nobody gets hurt. You stay there, I stay here, everybody happy.
Fat Boy grabs a grenade and kicks it towards Aeon's tree. The creature, distressed, seems to send Aeon a mental image of her tree being blown up. Aeon jumps out of the tree and escapes, just as the explosion occurs. Aeon looks around, and notices that Fat Boy escaped with the creature.
We see the creature laid out on a table, ankles and wrists encased in metal. Trevor grabs a tool which looks like a long, bizzare, undulating tongue attached to a metal base. He uses it to scan the creature.
Trevor: Hm. Vertibral structure consistant with humanoid lineage. No apparent bodily orifices... anywhere. Well - how the hell do they... do it? It certainly would be worth finding out. I guess one would have to be... inventive.
Trevor strokes the creature's cheek as a beeping noise is heard from the scanner, now wrapped around the creature's leg.
Trevor: Exposure to Aldus B! Very odd. Fat Boy? I must do some outside research. Watch the alien.
Fat Boy: Just watch it do what, exactly?
Fat Boy sits down as the alien opens its eyes.
The scene changes to Aeon, running through a forest. She investigates the now-empty hibernation chamber and searches for something within. She darts off to the left as we see Trevor approach, and he searches within the chamber as well. He checks his "watch" which has a video screen showing a now-empty table and Fat Boy sitting in a chair.
Trevor: Someone's scaled your eyes, Fat Boy. I didn't know you were so impressionable.
Fat Boy looks over to the table, where he sees a glowing image of the alien. He holds his head and looks again - the table is now empty.
Pan back to Aeon, who is investigating the remains of the downed alien ship. Scattered around on the floor are bodies, all that remains of the rest of the alien's crew. Aeon finds a small double-chambered container. She sticks one gloved finger in one of the chambers, and pulls it out, gooey. She fishes around in the other chamber and pulls out a singular, green, alien eyeball. Trevor enters while she's distracted.
Trevor: It's my fault. They came here to see me.
Aeon: Your ego is staggering. What's this got to do with you?
Trevor: These creatures have died from exposure to Aldus B. Somehow it shot from the satellite to their planet.
Aeon: Nice going Trevor. Making friends all over the universe.
Trevor: They must have come to search for the source of the ray. But they failed, it wasn't enough. They're not different or adaptable enough. It will be your fault if the human race does not survive.
Aeon: These creatures are dead and you're as guilty as hell.
Trevor: As a matter of fact I feel quite guilty. It looks like our survivor must have been the navigator. Not a scientist or a general, just a footsoldier. It's got no idea what to do here on our planet. That escape pod out there was a hibernation chamber. It was supposed to sleep til the cavalry arrived. Which turned out to be you.
Aeon: It is all he is to you, I suppose.
Trevor: He seems more like a she to me, if you really want to know. And I want to help her.
Aeon: Help? Her? Sure. I know what kind of help you have in mind.
Aeon grabs Trevor's ass.
Trevor: Look who's talking. I'm sure you want to know too. What would it be like? With an alien?
Aeon: Do you think it's anything like this?
Aeon pokes Trevor.
Trevor: They don't have one of those. Or these.
Trevor kisses Aeon.
Aeon: Maybe they don't have sex.
Trevor: Maybe they've found a better way.
Aeon and Trevor collapse into a writhing pile. The alien, who has retrieved the container that Aeon was poking at earlier, peers over a piece of rubble curiously. It then sits down, opens the container, and trades out its blue eye for the green one. It resumes peering at them and seems to be in a state of extreme joy, a scene of a rose blooming is played, and the alien's face becomes a creepy mix between Trevor and Aeon's features. Fade out.
Fade in on Aeon using what appears to be some sort of glass cutting machine. There's a knock at her door, and it's the alien, covered in the cloak it had originally. It takes a seat on her couch, and puts its hand to its forehead dramatically.
Aeon: Would you like...
The alien points at its eyeballs.
Aeon: Oh, sure. Of course.
Aeon bites her lip and goes to get something. The alien casts its cloak aside. She comes back with two bottles of a purple solution, a picture of an eye on the front. She hands the alien one.
Aeon: Cheers.
Aeon puts the bottle up to her eye and grins.
Aeon: It's all right. Go on. Huh?
Aeon is startled as the alien takes the bottle from her hand, stares at it, and then stands. The alien strokes her nose, and she does the same in return. The alien sits her down on the couch, and then takes out its blue eyeball, and offers it to her.
Aeon: Oh my god. No! I'm sorry but there are some things even I won't do.
The alien puts its eye back in, rejected. Aeon turns.
Aeon: Here. Let me show you how we...
The alien starts to leave.
Aeon: Please, stay.
It turns to look at her and then walks out the door.
She sighs, and goes to her window, where the alien is giving itself up to Trevor's guards. It turns to look up at her, and flashes her a mental image of it and Trevor, locked in a strange embrace.
Aeon: I don't think so, sweetheart.
Trevor's guards take the alien away.
Fade in to Trevor sitting at his massive desk. He clicks on a wall full of televisions, showing what are assumed to be security cameras. In one, there seems to be a S&M scene, and moaning is heard. He clicks it off. As he speaks, we see the alien, sitting cross-legged as if in meditation.
"Why am I bothering to save these people, with their secret appetites and sorry needs? The alien, by contrast, is remarkable. She relies on no physical sustanance, no need for air, for food, for water. She does not defecate or perspire. She lives in the mind. Her feelings are real, more intense than our own. Her language of pictures is at once more poetic and more precise. She needs no one else. But she wants someone else. That's where I come in. I've got to stay with her."
We zoom out and notice that Aeon's spying on Trevor. She points her binoculars elsewhere and notices that Trevor's men are busy with some sort of spaceship.
Aeon: Hmm.
Zoom in on the spaceship. Aeon is in the cockpit, and pushes a few buttons.
Computer: Programming for itinerary complete. Anticipated duration of voyage is 523 years, 2 months, 5 days, 4 hours, 19 minutes, and 32 seconds.
Aeon: And the return trip?
Computer: Return itinerary has not been programmed.
Aeon clicks off the screen, and takes off her backpack, which is a bomb. She sets it and leaves.
Fade out, and in on Aeon opening a door. A click is heard as Trevor grabs his gun.
Trevor: I could kill you right now.
Aeon: Oh come on Trevor, you could kill me any time. I've always wondered why you don't.
Trevor: Right now, so do I.
Aeon: Look, Trevor, put that gun down.
Trevor: Mmmm... no.
Aeon: The alien's using you, Trevor. Can't you see that? How can you stand to be controlled?
Trevor: I would rather be under control than out of control like you. But of course, I am in control.
Aeon: Wrong again. It seems to me that I have the control, so I'm making the choices.
Trevor: Aeon, if I wanted the control back I'd have it by now.
Aeon: And I would steal it again. I'll never be changed against my will.
Trevor: Don't you see we've all already changed? The alien has changed us. Her physical strength is as nothing compared to her mental power. She has shown us what we could be. I'm glad you stopped me from using the ray. You were right, I was wrong.
Aeon: Extraordinary words to hear from the mouth of Trevor Goodchild. Anyway. I'm glad you're sending her home.
Trevor: Sending her home? I was wrong, but now I'm on the right track. I'm going with her, I'll go to her planet and learn all I can, cure what I can, I'm ashamed of what I've done.
Aeon: Ashamed? How pathetic, you're running away Trevor. You're forgetting what it means to be human. Don't do it! Don't go! You won't make it!
Trevor steps into the light, and one of his eyes is alien.
Trevor: But I have made it.
Aeon: So. I see.
Trevor: No, you don't see. You need to see. We all need to see. And we will.
Aeon leaves. Trevor looks back to the bed, where the alien seems to be waiting for him.
Fade in on Aeon at the controls of the hibernation chamber. She pushes a button and seems to telepathically send a message to the alien.
Aeon: Come back to the pod. A rescue party is waiting.
The alien leaves Trevor and makes its way through the forest. Aeon ambushes the creature, knocking it out. She then drags it over to the chamber and puts it in.
Aeon: Sweet dreams.
The alien wakes up and looks at Aeon. It knocks her out and puts her in the chamber instead. Aeon wakes up, and tries to escape, but by the time she figures out which button to push, it is too late, and she escapes to the image of Trevor's ship soaring into the atmosphere.
Aeon: Trevor! Oh no! Trevor!
Pan to the ship, where the bomb is still merrily ticking away. Somehow, Aeon concentrates and manages to telepathically send a message to Trevor.
Aeon: Trevor, there's a bomb! Throw it off the rocket!
Trevor holds his head. There's a large explosion and some black feathers drift down around Aeon. A moment later the rocket is seen, unharmed, blasting into space.
Aeon: He'll be back.
Aeon climbs inside the hibernation chamber.
Aeon: And I'll be waiting.
Fade out, and in on Trevor's ship blasting through the galaxy. The rocket lands on a planet that looks far more like a giant, flat globe, complete with lines, than any sort of actual terrain. The alien runs out of the ship, followed a bit later by Trevor, and they survey their surroundings. Other than a few flesh-colored scraps floating around, the planet seems devoid of life. Some sort of robot rolls forth, and a small pair of mechanical pincers grab one of the flesh-colored scraps. The alien covers its face with its hands in despair. Trevor walks up and touches the alien.
Trevor: I feel your pain.
The alien's eyes narrow and Trevor holds his head.
Trevor: Okay, okay, I don't! I don't understand!
The alien walks back to a different ship, one of the kind it originally came in, and Trevor joins it.
Pan back to Aeon, who is much like sleeping beauty as the ages, and scenery, pass. From forest, to jungle, to plains, to desert, to ice, to water, and back to a forest once more, she remains unchanged in hibernation. Suddenly, the pod hisses open, and sleeping beauty arises.
She groans, and makes her way through the forest to a strange city in the distance. She trips and falls, the buildings in this city nothing like Aeon's world. Everything seems to sparkle. Aeon is stunned. Eventually, she makes her way inside the city, alien creatures looking on. She finds dozens of them and recoils, shocked. She runs, eventually running inside one of the buildings.
Trevor: Aeon. Why am I not surprised to see you?
Trevor is emaciated, his limbs gaunt like the aliens'. He holds an alien baby in one arm.
Aeon: What have they done to you?
Trevor: I'm trying to be like them.
Aeon: They've taken over! You brought them back!
Trevor: No, no. They were already here. You feel it, don't you.
Aeon: Feel... what?
Trevor (telepathy): My thoughts.
A human eye is seen transforming into a green, alien eye. Aeon runs.
Trevor: Where are you going?
Aeon: Read my mind.
Trevor: Don't do it Aeon!
Aeon leaves the building. She comes across the original alien.
Aeon: Is this what you wanted? Are you satisfied? Now I'm the only one!
The alien seems sad, sends her a mental picture of its world, the lonely robot collecting fleshy chunks.
Aeon: Don't! Don't try to... ugh!
Aeon runs once more.
The alien, visibly upset, clutches its hand to its nonexistant mouth, and sends her a mental image of it pushing a large fleshy chunk into itself.
Aeon: No!
Aeon runs from the city, runs into the forest, and trips and falls. Trevor, back in his building, concentrates, and sends Aeon a mental picture of him holding her face. Aeon gets up, and runs again. She spies a conspicuous rock.
Aeon: The control!
She digs furiously, as Trevor gets up and starts walking, then running, but it's too late. Aeon fires the Aldus B ray, its beam slithering like a lightning snake towards the earth. The skies light up, and scabby wounds appear on the inhabitants of the city. Some of them fall over. Pan back to Aeon, a large, golden snake slithers past as Trevor grabs the control and hits a button.
Trevor: Huh. Do you remember the night you stole this from me? You weren't going to let me kill off half the human race, remember?
Aeon: Trevor, if this is an 'I told you so' speech, don't bother. If I let you do it, the aliens would never have taken over.
Trevor: You don't get it, do you? You don't understand at all!
Aeon: Sorry, your aliens -
Trevor: Aeon, there are no aliens! These people you think of as aliens are what we have become. They're humans. They're us! It's called evolution.
Aeon: You're lying!
Trevor: Congratulations, you've just killed off the entire human race.
Aeon punches him.
Pan to the aliens. A crew has gone aboard a spaceship, the land oddly reminiscent of the globe on the alien world. As the navigator sits down, the scabby wounds start creeping up its leg, much to its horror.
In the normal world, Aeon puts Trevor inside the hibernation chamber, which is oddly unscathed by the ravages of time. Aeon walks back to the city, where the aliens are all withered and dying from their wounds. She peers in on one dying alien, and notices, with a gasp, that it has a small connective piece where the pelvis would be.
Aeon's thoughts: Trevor was right. They are human.
She climbs into the chamber with Trevor and pushes the button. As we hear Trevor's voice begin to speak, we watch the alien spaceship zip away. It appears back on one of the flat-globe areas, fleshy bits floating around, a lonely robot collecting them.
"We are all winners, those who will be left once I use the ray. We have already evolved so much, our actions would be incomprehensible to a human from a thousand years ago. It's the evolution revolution. May the best man win."
The ship lands. We zoom inside, but it appears empty.
Fade out on the hibernation pod, the silouette of Aeon and Trevor within.
