Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 56:46 — 39.2MB) | Embed
Hello, PKD Fans! If you discover something sinister about your government what would you do? Find out what choice Philbert makes on this week’s Electric Dreams Podcast, where we discuss Electric Dreams Season 1 Episode 7, entitled Kill All Others.
It’s the year 2054 and mega-nation MexUsCan is preparing for the election of their leader. The only problem as pointed out by one caller is that there is only one candidate (Vera Farmiga). Philbert Noyce (Mel Rodriguez) is getting ready for work when a holographic ad pops up in his bathroom. This annoys him and he goes into the kitchen to see his wife Maggie (Sarah Baker) cuddled up with her own holographic coffee ad. Not a good start to one’s day. Philbert is late to work as the train was delayed and his boss suggests he get a Computer Operated Vehicle (COV) which would get him to work on time and clock him in.
Philbert discusses his wife’s affair with his two co-workers Lenny (Jason Mitchell) and Ed (Glenn Morshower) and they suggest retail therapy. Philbert is an old school kind of guy as his father was a union member at the facility where he works that had previously employed three thousand people but now only four. Philbert finally relents to his co-workers suggestion and buys several blocks of cheese.
When he arrives home and puts the cheese up, the hologram ad which happens to be a very seductive young lady appears. He turns it off when his wife comes in the kitchen and they settle in to watch an interview of the Candidate. His wife gets bored and leaves the room and as the interview continues, Philbert hears the Candidate say “Kill All Others” and sees that message flash upon the screen. He calls Maggie back into the room and tells her what happened but really doesn’t believe him. The next morning on his train ride to work a power outage stops the train and Philbert notices the “Kill All Others” message on a billboard. As the train begins moving again he pulls the emergency stop lever so he can take a picture of the billboard.
Because his actions caused another train to crash into the one he was on, he has to visit a psychiatrist who questions his actions. His train access is suspended which means he will have to find another way to work. During his work break, he asks his co-workers if the heard what the candidate said the night before and Lenny didn’t watch it and Ed says he didn’t hear anything. Later Ed does admit to hearing it but doesn’t think it would be wise to speak up. The next day as his wife is taking him to work, a lady runs in front of them being chased by a mob of angry people. He has his wife stop the car and gets out to help the woman as they have tackled her to the ground. He tries to get them off of her but there are too many of them and start to accuse him of being an “Other” like her. The peace officers show up and Philbert ends up back at the psychiatrist.
She informs him that most people only have a couple of transgressions every five years but he has had two in two days. This will get him noticed by the authorities. When he arrives for work he supervisor makes him put on a health monitor on his wrist and informs him that the data collected with only be reported to the companies HR and is told to stop the political talk while at work.
During lunch, Philbert and the guys see a billboard with the words “Kill All Others” on it with a “dummy” hanging from the top. Philbert decides it’s time to take action so that evening he calls into the TV show Politics Now as the Candidate is live on the show. He tries to use an alias but the technology identifies him as Philbert. He complains about the gruesome ads and the Candidate asks if he is an “Other”. The next day his friends won’t talk to him and whens he goes home he sees Peace Officers at his house. Phil crawls into the bathroom window at home, warning Maggie that people are coming for him. He sees a “witch hunt” coming for them. Only soon he believes his wife is in on it. He runs off, intent on making everybody see what’s really going on behind the facade.
He gets to one of the billboards. Officers are on the scene, trying to use the medical bracelet he was fitted with at work to calm him down. They’ve branded him on the news as being part of “political terrorism.” At the top of the billboard, he proclaims to everyone: “We are all Others!” He tries hauling down the hanged man, but falls to the ground below.
TV coverage cuts to the Candidate, giving a speech about a “self–identifying, self–correcting democracy” in Mex-US-Can. She tells everyone that people like Philbert merely purge themselves from society. ‘Cause if you’re sane, if you’re stable, words don’t hurt or do damage, and if your’e not an Other, no worries.
In the meantime, the new body hung from the billboard is Phil. An example, for all to see.