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Welcome to Cinema Summary, ladies and gentlemen.
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Today's movie is all about one question: What would you do for a million dollars?
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This is the Box
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The movie starts with a classified document.
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It's about this guy named Arlington Steward He had a terrible accident
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which we will find out about later.
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After his accident he starts making these weird, wooden boxes
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and delivering them to people.
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Norma Lewis, a woman who lives in Richmond, Virginia.
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Finds one of these boxes on her doorstep one day.
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It's morning, it's foggy and there is a black car driving away.
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She brings it inside, and her, her husband,
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and her kid try to figure out what it is.
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The box is locked but through the see-through cover they can see a big red button
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They find a note a note with the box and it says that
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Mr. Steward will visit them at 5:00 PM
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and none of them know who Mr. Steward is
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Okay, real quick, I'm gonna introduce you to the family
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before we get to the real crazy stuff, okay?
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So, Arthur the Dad works at NASA
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Norma the Mom is a school teacher
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and Walter the Kid studies at the same school that his mom teaches at.
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Together they are the Lewis Family
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They leave home to go to work and in class, a creepy kid
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asks Norma why she limps and we find out that Norma's foot is disfigured
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Later, at school.
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She meets the principal.
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Who tells her that the discount given to the teachers who have kids at the same school
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has been cancelled.
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And oddly enough, when they are done talking, the principal gets a nose bleed.
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Back at home, Norma hears the doorbell ring
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and she opens the door to see: A man with a burned face.
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Norma is shocked by his appearance and almost doesn't let him.
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Until he introduces himself
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"My name is Arlington Steward."
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Inside, he gives her an envelope with a key inside.
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The key that opens the glass cover.
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and he tells her that if you push the button 2 things will happen
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1) Someone, somewhere in the world will die 2) You will get 1 million dollars in cash
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In a briefcase just like this one and before he leaves he gives her a $100 bill
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for her kindness. Huh.
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She doesn't believe him and in fact she's freaked out by him.
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But he convinces her that
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It's all real and if she presses the button, she will find out the truth
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and the money is all hers
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So Arthur is at work building a fake foot for Norma so she can walk normally.
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When he gets a letter from his boss.
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He has been rejected from the astronaut training program.
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He cannot be an astronaut because he failed his psychological evaluation.
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That evening, Arthur opens up the box with Norma and they find out that it is just wood.
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There is no way this box could send any signal or message to anyone.
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and even after this, they still do not know if they should press the button.
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At NASA the next day, a man receives a phone call from his wife.
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and she's freaking out because their daughter has been kidnapped.
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So he drives to meet her, and we see someone spying on him.
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Arthur comes back home to tell Norma that The $100 bill she got is real because
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he tested it and they begin to feel greedy.
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Suddenly, Norma presses the button, after all:
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"It's just a box."
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Someone has dialed the 911 (the police)
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the person calling said they heard screaming and gunshots.
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The police are on their way to the crime scene where a neighbor tells them there was a guy
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with a briefcase who drove off.
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Inside the home, the police find a woman shot dead and a little girl locked in a bathroom.
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The door bell rings at the Lewis's home
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Arlington Steward has come back
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He asks for the key back and opens his briefcase.
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The Lewis's are shocked and horrified! Arthur asks Steward if someone died.
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To which Steward says
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“Well of course someone died."
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then Norma asks Steward what he will do next
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and he tells them that he will take the Box to
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another family and make the same offer to them.
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He leaves the briefcase full of cash and the house taking the box with him
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but Arthur can't handle this. He's guilty,
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and tries to return the money but Steward drives off
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and Arthur gets the license plate and rushes back in.
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At the police station, we learn more about the murder.
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The police think that the woman's husband might be the killer.
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but it doesn't make sense: He's a good guy, never hurt his wife,
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Never committed a crime.
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Who is the husband?
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Jeff Carnes: The same guy who got the phone call from earlier and was being spied on.
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That night, Arthur gives Norma the fake foot.
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and we see how she is able to walk normally now.
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Together they go to a wedding rehearsal dinner.
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There they meet Norma's parents
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and Arthur wins a prize and he chooses a present.
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He opens the present and Inside is a photo of Arlington Steward.
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and then he sees the creepy kid from Norma's class.
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Holding 2 fingers up.
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At home with Walter and Dana the Babysitter.
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Dana sees something
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We don't get a clear picture.
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But we can also see something or someone.
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Standing outside of the window.
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She doesn't say anything about what she sees but
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Dana does ask to see some of Arthur's other stuff.
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So, Walter takes her downstairs to the basement.
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Arthur has a private talk with his father-in-law who works for the police.
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Asking him to find information on Arlington Steward
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by searching for Steward's license plate.
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Norma is told she has a phone call waiting for her by waiter.
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and at first, the waiter is confused but then gives her the phone.
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The waiter leaves and gets a nosebleed.
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Okay, now you're gonna notice something, different people are going to start bleeding from the nose
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Now there is a reason for this and I will tell you later, but stick with me.
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Back to the movie
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On the phone, Steward and Norma talk.
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Steward tells her that he knows that Arthur
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told the police about his license plates.
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He knows about this since.
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"He has many employees."
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Huh, creepy and what's even creepier.
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Is that he tells her that actions have consequences.
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And to 'enjoy the party'
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Arthur sees the creepy kid from earlier laughing at him.
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He yells at him outside.
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“Why are you laughing?”.
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“Do you think my wife's foot is funny?”
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He's angry and loud and everyone sees this, including Norma.
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So, they leave before Arthur does something bad.
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and as they drive away one of the valet's raises 2 fingers.
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When they get home, Arthur drives the babysitter to her motel
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and during this drive, the babysitter starts talking.
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Saying creepy things like “You have blood on your hands"
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“Somebody pushing your buttons?"
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and warns him to “Look at the light”.
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Then she blacks out.
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and as soon as they get to her motel.
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She wakes up!
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And tells Arthur.
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He is in danger and that only he can save himself.
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Then the babysitter gets a nosebleed.
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She goes to her room and as she's walking.
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People just stand outside their rooms watching her and we hear a broadcast.
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About spaceflight technology.
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She goes into her room and there's a wall with photos of Norma, Arthur, and Walter
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and other information connecting them together.
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And she's looking at this.
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Like she's seen this for the first time.
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It's weird.
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Outside we see a group of people standing around a glowing swimming pool
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When he gets home, Arthur asks Norma how she knows Dana the Babysitter
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She tells him, she met her on a field trip and that Dana is from Richmond but then Arthur
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shows her Dana's drivers license:
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Her real name is Sara and she is from Boston.
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That night, Arthur goes downstairs.
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To check the photo of Steward he got from the party and he finds that it matches the
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photo in his basement. The photo of the people who worked on the Viking 1 Probe
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The next morning, Norma answers the phone.
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It's Mr. Steward, who asks where Arthur went and he asks
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if Arthur is investigating something he shouldn't.
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Norma asks if Dana is one of his employees and all he has to say is
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“I have many employees”.
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She asks to meet him face-to-face.
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and Steward tells her that he's in her backyard.
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and outside, there's some random dude.
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Standing outside her window.
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That was the guy who Dana saw last night.
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He had been standing there, watching them.
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Since last night.
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and then we see where Steward is calling from: It looks like a giant complex built underground
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like a bunker or a secret military base
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Meanwhile, Arthur is at the police station
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talking with his father-in-law who is a policeman.
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He tells Arthur that Steward's license plates
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are used by government agents.
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Steward's license plates are used by NSA agents, in fact.
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And then Arthur notices photos on the desk Photos of the murdered wife.
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It's all coming together.
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His father-in-law (the police officer) is really casual about it
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Telling him the details: she was shot to death;
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No signs of a struggle, and that her husband worked at, NASA.
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Then the he tells Arthur that The gunshots were heard sometime around 4:40 PM and Arthur
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then has an idea of why she died.
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and he asks if he can look at the crime scene
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Meanwhile, Norma is shopping with her mother When suddenly this woman comes to her and
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She says “The NSA is letting him do it.
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NASA can't stop it.
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All test subjects are under the age of 40.
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Happily married with a single child.
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Go to the Richmond Public Library and follow this call number.
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Don't trust anyone.
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Not even your husband.”
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The woman collapses in Norma's arms, and the woman gets a nosebleed.
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Norma decides to go to the library to see what that woman wanted her to see.
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At the crime scene, Arthur sees a desk
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on it is a photo of Arlington Steward,
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before his accident with his wife, Clymene.
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And there are other things on the desk like
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this polaroid photo of the Human Resource Exploitation Manual.
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There are numbers on it's rim.
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These are library call numbers for books.
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Those numbers on the spine of books, that help you find out where they are in a library.
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So, Arthur sneaks the photo out and goes to the library to check out the call number.
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Norma is there now, and she's looking for her call number.
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When she sees Arthur.
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She remembers what that woman said “Don't trust anyone.
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Not even your husband”
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She hides from him and goes downstairs.
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Arthur doesn't know she's here but he finds a book.
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But somewhere in the library, a group of guys suddenly turn.
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The book Arthur found is called The Lightning book.
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Inside is a newspaper clipping reading “NASA employee struck by lightning”.
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Downstairs, Norma finds what she is looking for, a film reel.
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She takes it out and plays it.
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Upstairs, Arthur leaves the book and on his way out.
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Comes face to face with that group of guys from earlier who follow him.
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He runs away and they follow him.
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It's seriously creepy.
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They don't even talk.
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Downstairs, the film reel shows a building.
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A NASA building.
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It looks like a place to put airplanes in and
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we see scorch marks on the building and tarmac.
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Arthur is still running away when he enters this big room.
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As he gets closer and closer, to what he thinks is the exit.
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The people there turn to look at him.
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He asks the librarian for directions and he realizes he knows her
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From the photo!
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That's Arlington Steward's wife : Clymene Steward.
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Norma continunes watching the film and sees: Arlington Steward.
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Before his accident looking into the camera.
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Arthur asks Steward's Wife, Clymene “Why is he testing us?”
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and she answers “He's testing us, all of us."
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And then she asks him to follow her to a side room.
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there she tells him that there are 3 gateways, but he must be careful
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There is only 1 path to salvation
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Whatever that means, it doesn't sound safe.
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ander nose starts to bleed
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as she holds her hand out and below, 3 floor tiles open up.
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and from them come these weird pillars of water.
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Norma is trying to get out of library, but she is taken to meet Steward.
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Steward tells Norma that he was struck by lightning, and now he can talk with the people
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who control the lightning.
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Arthur asks what happens if he chooses wrong or if he doesn't choose at all.
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Eternal Damnation.
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So Arthur chooses Gateway 2.