We're Alive: Descendants - Chapter 19 - Dwelling in the Past - Part 2 of 3

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We're alive. Descendants. Written and directed by Casey Waland. Chapter 19. Dwelling in the past. R2 of 3. I'm trying. Oh. You know, this is a pretty nice medical facility you have here. It's very clean. Well, it has to be. Otherwise all my tests in the research will be worthless. Wait, you're still doing that? Never stopped. Now, hold still. Almost done. It's not totally sterile. I mean, you do sleep in this room. A wash. So no permanent damage? Missed everything vital in your midsection. Gonna be sore for a while though. There. That should do it. All right. Damn. Pretty good at that grandma. Oh. Plenty of practice. Can't tell you how invaluable a good stitches in today's world. Tanya, you any good with a pair of scissors? I definitely need a haircut after that sinjing. Hey, Dean, actually, you know, I could shave it all off if you like. I think it'd be a really good luck. Rather burned than bare. A weird shaved head as it is. Oh, yeah. You could say that again. You are lucky where you got hit, Nicholas. Clean, entry, and exit. Million dollar bullet right there. You know, I should have collected it. Could have been rich. That was good. More and more like your father every day. You're telling me. Okay, hold on. You guys say that like it's a bad thing. Well, it's wrong. You didn't want to come in? Too squeamish, huh? Oh, no, no. I just was reading up on the caverns. Fascinating. So much I never knew about this place. There's a lot more to it than just what they wrote on all these displays in the old world. Seems like it's about time I showed you. Who's coming? Where does this elevator go? Down into the caves. A direct route. Wow, I want to see. It is more than just these little rock formations, right? Much, much more. You have to be there to believe it. Well, I'm fine waiting up here. Once was definitely enough. I'll see you when you come back. Well, what does that mean? Is it bad? It's different. But China's right. You need to see it to understand. I'm good staying too. I'll keep you near to the radio. Make sure we're in the clear and the republic isn't circling back. Also, I've been trying to establish communication with Westport. Oh, do you need help with that? Thanks, but I got discovered. Kind of my specialty radios and stuff. I just go with Nick, man. Okay, hey, just let me know if you ever need anything. Oh, from you. Okay, we'll do. I don't want to leave you, Nick, but I know how much she's been waiting for this. I'm just, um, just so glad you're back with me. And I ain't going nowhere, am I? You better not. You're gonna love it down there. I'll get started on dinner. Hey, grandma. You sure that they're gonna be safe? I mean, those infected. They're just wandering around here. How can you even begin to trust them? Come here. Me? Yes, follow me. Let's get this over with. Okay. Okay. Pem. What? What are you doing? Pem. You're calling it over. How do you know it's language? Hmm. It took years working with them and living here. But I know most of their words now. It's fairly limited and simple. Yeah, uh. What words did you just say? I said, come. Some of these pacifists are, are the different subspecies? They are often the same tribe. No. But they share the same behavioral nature. Whatever happened with these, the violent aggressive tendencies weren't passed down genetically. None of our first generation or direct infected. Oh, so their violent temperament is a recessive gene for some? Hmm, I think it's more than that. Like their minds have quieted. They're further genetically from the initial infection. So they are more connected and grounded. It has green eyes. She does. They're less cloudy in more ways than one. It's a sign that their more coherent was a clear mind. Like Bill, that would make sense. Who? Oh, it's an infected we cross. Had one cloudy eye, one green. Spoke some words as well. I saw one like that too a long time ago. Their eyes and language are a clear indicator of the level of intelligence. Yeah, that one was something else. Yeah, uh. No, huh? So you are, yeah, uh, this is no, huh? That's right. Yeah, that means mother. It's what they affectionately call me. No, huh? shows her own name. She did. What, what does it mean? I think it means egg. Yum, yum. Go ahead. You can touch it. It's okay. She'll let you. Mm-hmm. Nah, not a chance. That, that means peace. A word they use often. It's what these truly want. Yeah, look, that's great in all grandma, but I'm still not touching that. I'll do it. Whoa. If you ever told me I'd touch a live infected hole. Whoa. It's scary, but kind of awesome. See, Nicholas, I told you these are different. It's difficult to see past what has happened before. I understand. But if you don't, you'll never recognize who they truly are. Okay. That's me. Oh, me. She called you thin. I think that's your nickname now. Oh, cool. Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. What are you doing? Uh, back up. Uh, what is it doing? Relax, Nick. She's not gonna hurt you. Well, not like she could anyway. What do you mean by that? Well, from your story before, you know? Nick's immune, like you. Wait, what, what? You found out. It's confirmed. Oh, we never were certain when you were younger. Look, it just, it just beat me the one time, but that was enough. Hey, maybe don't tell pigs. Okay. I wouldn't want to worry. Can, can I see? Mmm. Grimmel, can you tell whatever it is, no hard to back up? You're interested. Get, give her a moment. Just give her a moment. This, this may prove something. Hang on. What do you mean? Are, are you crazy, Grimmel? She is in now. Hangma. Hangma. Hangma. Oh, me. What, what does, what does that mean? Blood. Your nickname now, apparently. Um, um, Grimmel, can you please get this thing away from me? She. No, hot is one of the smartest of her clan. Some don't know every word, but she comprehends the most. Pah, tamah. Yeah, whatever you say. Uh, well, who taught them their language? Oh, now that. That is something I'm still working out. Many infected evolved completely independently, yet, respond to the same root words. And then there are others that can't say any at all. Those kinds seem to communicate only through smells and pheromones. So, so their language is intrinsic. It's part of their instincts or, or based genetics. That is one of my hypotheses. Where did you come from, Will? Is, Primm some sort of learning institution? Well, no, no, I just learned quickly. I like to read and, uh, I just, I study anything I can't. Yeah, Grimmel. Primm was a gambling city, pitting people against infected for money. Will over here was one of their captives. Oh, oh my. Uh. And, and, and did you. Is that where you went, Nick? Not by choice. A few of us were captured after I went to where the journal. Said to go. Well, well, those of us who survived. Inc. tunnels. Look, I don't understand. Grimmel. Why would you even send us there. Did you. Did you know that would happen. That. Uh. Ah. Ah. Ah. Why won't you tell me. What are you hiding. Hide. Hide. Ah. Ah. Oh you're not going to say. Say no. Come on, hey! Easy, easy, give her a moment. I need to sit down here, here, here. Come back inside. Mm, okay. Yeah, hot. Thanks, Noah. I'll be okay. I just need to catch my breath. Are you sure you're all right? Was it another dizzy spell? Mm, all of this is a lot at once. Yeah, you and me both. Yeah, hot. It's okay. It's okay. Locha. Nick. Um, I'm trying to explain why I did any of this. It's not easy, but the only way it'll make any sense is if I take you down below. Come on, Noah. How can that make any difference? You're saying that I should, what, trust you know? After sending me and the others into a damn meat grinder, grandma? Do you think I would ever willingly put you in danger? I sent you there, but others were supposed to go too. They were meant to keep you safe. Oh, them, the followers. That's who you told? They believed in the cause. Oh, whatever. Cause you convinced those people to have, well, guess what? They ended up letting out some fucked up infected that ink had trapped inside, called it a coal, pitch black skin, fast and strong, and it killed every single one of those followers. You saw it? It was a complete blur. We were lucky to get out of there alive. Most of my team that went with me died, and the few who survived were captured and sent to Prim to be killed in some other fucked up way by the infected. Oh. Now, is that what you were expecting, grandma? No, no, no, no, no, not at all. That wasn't supposed to happen. Nick, I'm so sorry. Yeah. Me too. Please. I... You have to let me explain. Give me the chance to show you what I know. And then, and then you can judge if it was a mistake. All those notes in the journal covering the infected species. She was right about everything we've encountered so far. What else don't we know? I left the last pages of my journal blank. What I'm going to show you is what would go there. Please, give me a chance. Nick. All right, fine. What's down there? Pan. Pan. I think she knows where we're headed. She wants to go with us down to the caves. I'm sorry, I'm sorry. Go into the elevator with that. She will not hurt you. I promise. I agree. I don't want to be here. Okay, fine, fine, fine. All right, but I'm still carrying this with me. If you have to, I understand why it may be so hard to let go of how you feel about them. I'm coming, I'm coming. But Grandma, can you at least have it stand in the corner away from me? Those others, the followers who were at Inc's tunnels, are you sure they're all dead? Well, except Alvin, he got Nat to end it up with us in prim. He did, is he? I'm pretty sure he didn't make it out of prim though. He was the one who threw the switch that let the infected out and overthrew the city. Nice job, PP pants. Excuse me? Oh, nothing. You kind of had to be there. Such a loss. Alvin had a brilliant mind. We shared many of the same passions. We met here early on when I was first researching the pacifists. I wish I could have shown him what I've learned about this place since then. Hmm. Well, you know, Alvin wanted us to come here to find you. He told me to take Nick and find the director. He must have understood how important you are. Me? Yeah, I don't think so. Oh, man. Come on now. She keeps smelling you. Yeah. I know, but we just showered yesterday. In the Republic. I mean, these are new clothes. You think she's smelling the wound or something? No, no. I think it's something deep. A sense she has about you. Something I think I've known. And what's that? You see? You know, Grandma, you love doing that, don't you? I mean, keeping us in the dark, taunting us. Hmm, hmm, hmm, a little. Took a lot to get to this point. I'm taking my time and joy in the moment. Huh. Speaking of taking time. How deep is this? I mean, can we trust this elevator? Just look pretty old. 750 feet to what they call the big room. Oh, jeez. The elevator's the only way down here. There are other entrances. There's a large walkway near the other buildings. It's a long ways in. And then the tunnels spread out for miles and all directions. In fact, some of them open up right into the Republic. Seriously? How do you think I sent the journal? I have had to find ways into the city for resources and supplies. I mailed it when relations were fairly good. Oh, but from what pigs and dean tell me, that must have been one of the last shipments to make it to Westport. Well, wouldn't someone in the city notice your condition? I would wait for the dust storms when everyone covers up. They happened from time to time, especially in the summer. I had to plan accordingly. Hova ikma. Should I be worried about what she's smelly? No. Smell is just a very, very strong sense for them. Some may have words, but it is how all of them communicate. Well, can you communicate to her to stay back? Oh. We're here. The end. Descendants will continue after a word from our sponsors. This is your business. This is your business supercharged with the help of zero counting software. These are your numbers. These are your numbers sorted with the help of zero counting software. This is you. This is you taking business we want with the help of zero counting software. This is your business supercharged with the help of zero and having your numbers sorted all at the same time so you can finally focus on taking business where you want to. Supercharged your business today with the help of zero. So sharing with the next. Get three months half price when you switch to an unlimited sim with three. That means quick streaming, faster downloads, and more money to spend on the things you love. Join the UK's fastest 5G network and get your unlimited sim today. Buy now in store or see three dot code.uk. Unlimited 24 month light plan proof of switching required based on Euclis B test intelligence data to H 2025. All rights reserved subject to credit checks and turns. And now back to descendants. This is it. This is just the airlock. Go through the revolving door. They built this to isolate the cabin from the outside air. A way to preserve what's here. Everything this deep is highly sensitive to exposure. After you. Whoa, they had a restaurant down here. Used to be quite the tourist destination. Whoa, really great. Just keep walking. She's so impatient. Oh, wow. Now that is incredible. It really opens up, doesn't it? Yeah, doesn't even seem real. This much space so far underground. Welcome to the big room. Grab a flashlight. These rock formations are massive. There's pillars and hanging stalactites everywhere. How is any of this possible? The short version. All around southern New Mexico used to be a limestone reef. It dried up, changed into sulfuric acid, and carved out these massive cavities deep into the earth. There was an ocean here. Can't even begin to imagine how long all this would take to form. Mm-hmm, makes you feel small in comparison. Yeah. More like creepy as hell. I read in one of the books here that caves are one of the last unexplored frontiers. And for what I've seen, that seems right. All I see is how many places shit could be hiding. Don't worry, it's safe. This way, stay on the path. Whoa. No shit. You see how far that drop off is down there? I'm glad there's rails. These were only installed in the tourist areas, and we're not going there. Oh, great. You have lights down here, and the elevator works with... How? There's a generator. They installed it for emergencies. It powers our equipment, but we only run it when we have to. And where do you get the fuel from? One of the branches of the caves exits into the republic, which is near a fuel reserve. And we only go there when we have to. We? No, huh, or the others would help. I couldn't carry the canisters myself. This is a very long way there. Yanta. Really? They even helped you? And you get past the surface of the infection and begin to communicate. There is so much more underneath. Part of the reason I wanted you to come here was to witness all of this, and hopefully understand them more. But these are just caves, right? Yeah. What's the big deal? Tourists have been all up and downcrow about caverns for years, right? Not everywhere. I'm taking you to Le Chigir. Wait, that's not this place? No. Le Chigir is another massive set of caves. After the outbreak, new paths reveal themselves down here. They're all connected now. A vast, outstretched network underground can take you far and wide. So long as you know the way. To act. To act. What does she keep saying? It's where she's taken us. Now, watch your foot and through here. It's pretty rocky. And mind your head too. Oh, sad told you. Good thing you have a thick skull. Oh, man. I kind of wish there was still a path. Hand-hand rail. You hear well. Just give me your hand. Okay, thanks. All right, now, careful down the ladder. Oh, we have to go down that too. You're lucky. It used to be just a rope. I installed these a while back to make it easier to get through some of the passages. It could be a lot worse. Oh, boy. Don't look down. How big are these caves? Over a hundred miles of passages. Really? Oh, we're not going that far, right? No, no. Only about three miles will ever open to the public. So a lot of it was never explored? Uh-huh. And even then, these parts weren't even accessible until the outbreak. So how do you even know where to go? Must be easy to get lost in here. That's why it's always good to take a guide. Bam, bam. And if that's not an option, I left a few markers along the ground to lead me home. UV paint? Why not just rope paint? It's actually not painted all. Let's calcet from the walls, glows under UV lights, see? I wanted to stir or leave permanent marks in the caveats. It's fragile down here. It needs to be preserved. But this helps if I ever lose my way. Would you really not want to get lost in this place? Never make it out. Hey, how does no-hot know where to go? Sense? Fairmont trail most likely. Huh. Here. Here it is. The entrance to what you need to see. You finally gonna tell us where we're going? Attacked. What exactly does that mean? Home. This? This is where the pacifists live? They do come down here, but no. Well, who's home is this? The first infected. If you want to call them that. What? Goinak. Know how call them, koinak, which I think means ancient or old. Those passages we just came through aren't on any cavern map I've seen, and I've looked through them all. This is past the Western Warhole. I think when the first gaspocket ruptured, enough pressure built up and then revealed where this place was hiding. You've been looking for this, for like, forever. Mm-hmm. I never thought I'd find a habitat intact, but here we are. Whoa. There's symbols on the wall. Infected symbols like those were found in Lachigia caves years ago, and the photo ended up being published in a book. The authors never know on what it truly meant, but I did. And that's what eventually led me here. Wow. What are they exactly? It's picture-based, like, hieroglyphics? Yes. Yes. Yes. They're writing. They would see or feel it to know what it meant. Carc-carc-free. It's so old. But still. Grandma? So beautiful. Grandma? Grandma? Tanya? Hey. Hey. Hello. Hello. Grandma. Do we need to head back? Are you okay? Grandma. No, no, I'm fine. Not much further. And then we can rest. We're almost to what I need to show you. To just wait by the entrance. I'll go turn on the lights inside. No, I... Oh. Wow. I mean, I can't believe this is all just been down here for so long. Oh. You know, well, when I was little, she used to tell me stories about where she thought the infected originally came from. She said they must have lived deep in the earth at some point. I figured it was a fairy tale. Crazy grandma, you know? I never thought. I never thought she'd actually be right. Hey, are you worried about her? Because of what just happened. Yeah. I mean, I know she's your grandma and all, but... She's also partially infected. Like, 13 bites? Yeah. I know. I haven't stopped watching. Both. Let's go. Okay. They're on. Save your flashlights. I have a generator for inside here. Darked. All this was dug out of the rock and then molded in place? Parts are the natural formation of the cavern, but they shaped it into their own. You know, this area sort of looks like Inc's tunnels in LA, but older, there's still handprints in the walls. Incredible, right? Hold up, hold up. Are there any other infected in here? Yes, but don't be alarmed. Many passifists come down here. They were the reason I found this place at all. They showed it to you? No, I did. Oh. There's a path down into more passages. How big is their home? This... to art. I've been in all the rooms. I believe there's about a hundred or so. A hundred? Oh, we're not going there. I only need to show you a few of them. Relax. Easy for you to say. We're in the lion's den here. This way. Most of the structures of the underground rooms are fairly simple, square-ish, shaped and dug around the harder rock formations. Some have the gypsum crystal still in place, others even carved into designs. Oh, wow. This shape... it looks like... is this one of them? I think so. A sculpture. Wow. How is it that we can still breathe down here? Doesn't feel thin at all. There must be a microclimate almost with an airflow. There is. Through most of these caverns. But when I first came down here into talk, it was difficult to breathe. Most of the air vents they designed had collapsed or were sealed. They were that advanced? Very, very advanced, especially for their time. There's freshwater pools you can still drink from. Farmer's rooms for food growth. Even found an area for what I think was for fermentation. A bunch of drunk moe people. Have you figured out how old this place is? As far as I can tell, tens of thousands of years old. Really? But how can you know? Some of the remains I found match the fossil records of archaeic humans. Wait, then... the first infected were Homo sapiens? Yes, yes, yes. It explains a lot. Why, what caused them to change was able to spread to us so easily. And no other species. Because genetically we're compatible. So this is why you came back here after leaving Westport? Not exactly. I had no idea about talks at the time. I did explore letchria caves in my original travels trying to find the origin of that photo of the infected symbol. But never could. It's a deep, dangerous labyrinth down here. And going by myself wasn't a good idea. But I always felt something was here. The first time I came, I ended up discovering the tribe of pacifists in the mountains above letchria. They were very hesitant of me at first. A very odd reaction I had never seen with any infected. I ended up studying them and discovered how unique they truly are. The pacifists weren't listed in your journal? No, no they weren't. I didn't want anyone coming here hurting or running experiments on them. It wasn't until I came back after leaving Westport for good. That they really started to trust me. Eventually I was shown this place. They're to act. Glow. Whoa, mushrooms. Watch where you sit. This is one of their food sources. Mine two or times. They brought these in from somewhere else, but they thrive. Hey, they're infected. Over there. Told you not to worry about them. They're harvested. Grrr. Yeah, no thanks. Really not hungry. They survive just this? No wonder why they're so skinny. They made a bother functions don't require as much food as we do. They can survive on so much less. Pretty sure that's mentioned in my journal. One of the reasons they are such hardy survivors. The mushrooms. The skills required to grow something down here. How did they figure out how to do all this? What we might classify as instincts, it must all be passed genetically. Inc's tunnels have mushrooms growing similar to this in LA. That... Well, to pass on that kind of nature, something so complex isn't possible. Is it? If that were true, then these skills would need to be passed through the infection. For some, I believe it is. One of the reasons I have spent so much time continuing to study the pacifists. Their minds are less cloudy. They've been able to show me much more than I'd ever dreamed. Not to mention it, it's a lot easier to pick things up from a species when they're not trying to kill you. I would imagine. How do you know these first infected lived here, deep underground? Hmm, well, for one, they weren't always infected back then. I believe these koi-naught started out like any other hominid, and then learned how to develop their homes underground away from predators, the elements, even other early humans. If a civilization lived underground, this deep anyway, we'd probably never find it. Exactly. When the society or structure collapsed, all evidence would become lost. So they all would have died out at some point? But not right away. Come. Pem. You mentioned you found remains. Oh, yes. Lats. That's where we're going next. What's with the tarp blocking the path? Safety. Here, will. If you want to put on a respirator for this part. Why? But, I'll be fine. I suspect you will be. This leads to the deepest part of their home. Manna, manna, manna. No, I was going to wait here. She doesn't want to go any further. I don't know if I want to either. Oh, come on, scaredy-cat. Says the guy wearing a mask. Oh. This is a long way down. Still sealed? I think so. Nothing's getting in. How you feeling? Fine. The air has a tank down here. The yellow gas. It's thicker, the deeper you go. We know what that means. There's still decommission. I'm going to put it in here. You know what that means. There's still decommissioning infected. Let me show you where. So, Grandma, we can breathe this because we're immune. Is that it? Doesn't affect us. Say he's as infected. The top just helps it stay contained. Now, what you're putting through here, it'll start to get wider. I just... I don't get it. How can the original dead infected still be decommissioned? They are not. The pacifists started putting their deceased in the pit long before I got here. Another possible intrinsic memory. The... the pit? Damn. We do not get close. Oh. How far down does it go? Hand me your flashlight. Oh my god. There's so many bones. Forty feet down. And I'm guessing it goes even deeper. Who knows how long they're dead have piled in there. Water's seeping through the cracks of the wall that... This doesn't seem sanitary. No. No, it's not. Wow. Careful. Well, because if you fall, I am not going in after you. Those colors on the walls. The dark brown lines. That's iron. You noticed a while back, I pulled samples. Fully active microbial communities. Even ancient bacterium, all extremophiles, thriving under harsh conditions. Yeah, that makes sense. A real nasty hole. Got it. Might as well be one big peachy dish. If they weren't infected when they first came down here, then this could be where it originated. Under these conditions, I believe that's where what we call the infection. First came to life. In this pit, or one like it. You know what? It's gross enough down there. I'd believe it. You've got this... No way to know for sure though. Well, sure of it. Unless they wrote it down. Our tour's not done yet. Oh, seriously? God, you're so cool. Ha, ha, ha, ha. Grandma, you're having too much fun. It's clear in this room, you sure? Yes. The gas stays on the lower levels. Although I don't recommend we stay down here much longer. This is the last stop. You know, our little field trips, great and all. But how does this explain any of what you did? And why you sent for me? You're not very patient, are you? After all, I've been through to get here. No. No, I am not. I don't know about you, but I find this all so fascinating. These are the answers to questions people have been asking for so long. And Tanya discovered a massive breakthrough. This is history right here. Well, I'm glad at least you're excited, Will. Yeah, go, sit. Don't be sneaking up on me like that. Good, you're back, Noha. I was hoping you'd be here for this. Come on. Ben. Noha. Why did she stop? My heart. The symbol above the door. Hmm. It's fine. You've been in here before. Ben. What symbol? Oh. I know that. That's... Inks. Mark. As we knew it. But for them, it's a mark of royalty. The leaders and elders who commanded absolute power over others. So much so that it still affects them? Only for some. It's lost meaning for most. Deluted exposure from humans, putting it on everything to try and keep infected away. Hmm. Did they have any more symbols? I didn't see many before in the other tunnels, but... How about all these? Whoa. Yeah. I'd say so. Oh. The wall's completely covered. Stretch is the whole hallway. These look like people here. And are these mushrooms? So many details. These here really remind me of hieroglyphics, but simpler. And older than that. This... This is their entire written history in one place. Down here, there wasn't anything to erode it. Their symbols have been completely preserved. You... You took pictures, right? Or rubbings of the marks? I have documented all of it. But nothing serves as justice. Like standing in its presence. Do you know what it all means? Noha has helped considerably with that. She has been my... My... Rosette... Stone. Whoa, whoa, whoa, grum, grum, grum, grum. We need to get her out of here. No, no. Not yet. Not yet. Grum, I can see all of this later. I have waited long enough. You wanted me to explain. This is our history. As much as it is theirs. What? How? Just sit and listen. What concerns us starts here... on the right half of the wall. This panel depicts their early history. While they were still... Well, mostly human. These ancients as Noha said. Glynak. They all lived in peace underground. The Kuinak, a hominid subspecies, carefully excavated caves for years. The first among them used what appears to be advanced tools and vast experience to know how to dig deep into the earth and still sustain life. This tribe of Kuinak that lived here used the natural features of the cave as a way to go deeper than most others. There were other Kuinak or ancients. And their tribes lived all along the coasts of the Great Ocean. I believe they're referring to the Pacific. Knowledge and skills would be passed along from the leaders who would travel between each underground encampment. The keepers of it all... Ma-hack. Inks, Mark. Their symbol is the shape of a hand, with lines along the top to illustrate their control over others well-respected, honored, but also feared. They and their civilizations were very advanced for their time. This may well be one of the first forms of writing, predating Sumerian even. The surface was filled with many threats, freezing with a wild animals and most dangerous of all. Other some species of humans. Down here, they could have peace, continuing to grow with time. Knowledge was prized above all else, building upon discoveries from their past to continue and they'd move them forward. Sounds like a pretty good plan. It was until something happened. None of them could ever anticipate. That looks like them throwing bodies into the pit. They believed that the only way they could remain together and strong as a tribe was if their dead became part of their foundation, literally. That's when they became infected. In a way, but not like we've seen it, at least not at first. They depict here an image of someone deceased, transferring into the head of another person that's living, combined with their symbol of knowledge, and all of this emanating from their pit. They believed the infection was knowledge. That's what Noah says, memories from their past selves. The bodies decomposed in essentially a vac filled with metals and other organisms, and that's where the first infection was born. Broken pieces of genetic material under the right conditions. Became something like we've never seen before, or since. The chance nature of existence. It's not a virus. Those die without hosts. So you're saying that the infection or whatever it is is alive? It's self-sustaining, if that's how you define a life. And it carries pieces along with it from one person to the next. Perhaps it wasn't specifically memories. They still have inherited instincts and properties from the previous generations. So it might be some form of it. Could be. I've known humans that pass trauma from a father to a son as if those experiences become embedded in their genes. No one specific, right? Is that how we fit in? I'm getting to that. These changes would take a lot of time, right? From the look of this, the infection took years, maybe generations, but it also adapted fairly quickly. At first they felt like whatever they inherited from their past selves was a blessing. Knowledge and evolutionary experience that was prized so highly would continue on. But that feeling didn't last. After a while, it began to corrupt. Their drawings, their depicts, their heads, or minds filled with too many past thoughts, overwhelming themselves. They were going crazy. A compiling of base instincts overtaking the others. Mayok, it'sok. They started killing each other. One by one. It was somewhat contained at first, but gradually got worse. Then there came a time when some of the tribe chose to leave the caves, to live on the surface. They are shown here. Oh, man. They were escaping and dwelling on the land while the others remained behind, deep in the earth. Eventually, the tribe sealed itself off from the outside. The leaders thought the corruption must have been coming from the surface. They had no idea. After this point, the writing becomes very different. Almost chaotic. The symbols show the outlines of their people, their fingers becoming long and pronounced. Eyes not the same as before and skin shown as rough. And they eventually died out. But who knows how long that took. There is one final entry from whoever's mind lasted the longest. They etched two figures. One, the same shape as those that went to the surface. Angma. The other. A shape never recorded before. A figure carved all the way out of the rock as if entirely black. It bears the mark of ink, with several more lines leading off to many other infected below. Mac. One leader. No, that's not possible. You see it? The last symbol is shared between the two. Angma and Mac. Wait, you're not suggesting. Angma. Who me? What? Me? No, no, no, that's not right. Angmas. You and I. She thinks that's us. We are the descendants of the ones who left. That's the reason we're immune. Enough time after the exposure. The infection can't continue within us. Unless it becomes too much for your system to handle. Like a viral load. Wait, wait, that's who you think we are. It makes sense. They can even smell it on us. But the other figure. Mahak. The one with dark skin. Would that be... call? What if it is? It bears Ang's mark on the wall. I know what my son saw in the tunnels the day he died. It was all recorded in the video feed. And if what you said is true, that's where Cole was led out. He has to be the same. No, look, grandma, you may have some of this right, but that was just another fucked-up experiment. Angma. Another one of his monsters. What is the other symbol above the mean? The one that joins the two of you? Kiranah. That was the word she said earlier. For peace. Fuck no. That's not gonna happen. It killed so many already. Even your followers, people. There can never be peace with Cole or Angmi infected. It's just a matter of time before they turn on you, grandma. Is this why you wanted me to go there? Why you sit the journal? Is this the reason? I wanted... That's not what was supposed to happen. You sent me there to die is what almost happened. And you based it all off of some old-ass carvings on a wall? You may not even know how to read any of this shit. You're basing everything on that monster Noah? Nick, please. Can people I love have died because you sent me away? So much has happened. I can't fucking believe this. I can't fucking believe you. Kiranah. Stop. Tanya. Tanya, you know what I mean? No, no, no. I'm done with all of this shit. Leave it. It's...it's... Oh, no. Tanya. Tanya. Tanya. We need to get her back to the surface. Help me, Nick. Oh, my God. Um, um, um. Can I hear her grandma grandma? I'm sorry, I didn't mean to. Tanya, please. Let's go. Hurry. Come on, come on, let's get her to her feet. Come on. The grandma police is hanging there. Please. Just in advance, enough. No. Come on, move, boy. Let's go. Put up where you shoulder, play the way. Yeah. Yeah. I'm not singing this. Yeah. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry, Nick. Please. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. To be continued in the next episode of Where Alive. Descendants. And now a word from our sponsors. You've been listening to We're Alive. Descendants. Produced by Wailand Productions. Written and directed by Casey Wailand. Starring Ditton Gilbert as Nicholas. Sam Skolnik as well. Heiz Don Lap as Dean. Alisa Elliott as Pecs. Shirley Jordan as Tanya. Morgan Toll as Noha. And I'm Michael Swann. Additional Voices by Phil Nierdo. Kelsey Hughes. Shannon Zimmerman, Amy Newman. Eric D.J. Hughes. Jason Patrick Gellert. Editing and Sound Design by Gino Jang and Casey Wailand. Additional Editing by Ficky Lucas. Post-production supervisor Casey Wailand. Original music by Robert Mai. Theme music by Danny Berkov-Hockins. Score assistance by Evan Tomani. Recording and engineering by Wailand Productions. Sound engineering by Gino Jang and Victoria Chang. Script supervisors Gino Jang, Aaron Riel, Kelsey Hughes, and Lynn McKayla. Audio production manager Dmitry Keele. Associate producers Jace Oli, Mistress Zenika, Raul Miller, John Grills, Mandy Armd, and Christoph Flaputka. Co-produced by Rusty Quill, executive producer Alexander J. Null. Chief Marketing Officer, Calum Dowerty. Marketing assistant, Hadi Quinlan. Network liaison, Tom Pock. Thank you to the following Kickstarter backers. Jamie Henderson, Seven Eaton, Jason Livers, Matthew Evans. For more info about the show and a complete list of cast and crew, visit us at www.Werelive.com. Access exclusive content and lore on our Patreon and follow us on social media for regular updates. Special thanks to our patrons and Kickstarter backers for making this series possible. This has been a theater for the mind by Wailand Productions. Get three months half price when you switch to an unlimited sim with three. That means quick streaming, faster downloads, and more money to spend on the things you love. Join the UK's fastest 5G network and get your unlimited sim today. Buy now in store or see 3.co.uk. Unlimited 24 month light plan. Proof of switching required. Based on Euclis B. Test Intelligence data, 2H 2025. All rights reserved. Subject to credit checks and turns.