PRINCETON UNIVERSITY - SEPTEMBER 1947
Mathematicians won the war.
Mathematicians broke the Japanese codes...
...and built the A-bomb.
Mathematicians, like you.
The stated goal of the Soviets is global Communism.
In medicine or economics...
...in technology or space...
...battle lines are being drawn.
To triumph, we need results...
...publishable, applicable results.
Now who among you will be the next Morse?
The next Einstein?
Who among you will be the vanguard of democracy...
...freedom, and discovery?
Today, we bequeath America's future into your able hands.
Welcome to Princeton, gentlemen.
It's not enough Hansen won the Carnegie Scholarship.
No, he wants it all for himself.
It's the first time the Carnegie Prize has been split. Hansen's all bent.
He has his sights set on Wheeler Lab, MIT's military think-tank.
They're only taking one this year.
Hansen's used to being picked first.
Yeah, he's wasted on math.
He should be running for president.
There could be a mathematical explanation for how bad your tie is.
Thank you.
Neilson, symbol cryptography.
Neils here broke a Jap code. Helped rid the world of Fascism.
At least that's what he tells the girls, eh, Neils?
The name's Bender. Atomic physics.
- And you are? - Am I late?
- Yes, Mr. Sol. - Oh, good. Hi.
- Sol. Richard Sol. - The burden of genius.
- There he is. - So many supplicants, and so little time.
- Mr. Sol. - How are you, sir?
- Bender. - Nice to see you.
- Congratulations, Mr. Hansen. - Thank you.
I'll take another.
Excuse me?
Pardon me. I assumed you were the waiter.
- Play nice. - Nice is not Hansen's strong suit.
Honest mistake.
Well, Martin Hansen.
It is Martin, isn't it?
Why, yes, John, it is.
I imagine you're getting quite used to miscalculation.
I've read your preprints...
...both of them.
The one on Nazi ciphers...
...and the other one on nonlinear equations...
...and I am supremely confident that there is not a single seminal...
...or innovative idea in either one of them.
Enjoy your punch.
Gentlemen, meet John Nash...
...the mysterious West Virginia genius.
The other winner of the distinguished Carnegie Scholarship.
- Okay. - Yeah?
Of course.
Oh, Christ.
The prodigal roommate arrives.
Roommate?
Oh, God, no.
Did you know that having a hangover...
...is not having enough water in your body...
...to run your Krebs cycle?
Which is exactly what happens to you when you're dying of thirst.
So, dying of thirst...
...would probably feel...
...pretty much like the hangover that finally bloody kills you.
John Nash?
Hello.
Charles Herman.
Pleased to meet you.
All right! Well done!
Well, it's official. I'm almost human again.
Officer, I saw the driver who hit me. His name was Johnny Walker.
Whew.
Well, I got in last night in time for...
...English department cocktails.
Cock was mine...
...the tail belonged to a particularly lovely young thing with a passion for...
...D.H. Lawrence. You're not easily distracted, are you?
- I'm here to work. - Are you? Right.
I see. Crikey!
Is my roommate a dick?
Hmm?
Listen.
If we can't break the ice...
...how about we drown it?
So what's your story?
You the poor kid that never got to go to Exeter or Andover?
Despite my privileged upbringing, I'm well-balanced.
I have a chip on both shoulders.
Maybe you're just better with the old integers than you are with people.
My first grade teacher said I was born with two helpings of brain...
...but only half a helping of heart.
Wow! She sounds lovely!
The truth is that I...
I don't like people much.
And they don't much like me.
But why, with all your obvious wit and charm?
Seriously, John.
Mathematics...
Mathematics is never going to lead you to a higher truth.
And you know why?
Because it's boring. It's really boring.
You know, half these schoolboys are already published?
I cannot waste time with these classes and...
...these books.
Memorizing the weaker assumptions of lesser mortals!
I need to look through...
...to the governing dynamics.
Find a truly original idea.
That's the only way I'll ever distinguish myself.
- It's the only way that I'll ever... - Matter.
Yes.
- All right, who's next? - I've played enough go for today.
- Come on. - I hate this game.
Cowards, all of you!
None of you rise to meet my challenge?
Come on, Bender. Whoever wins, Sol does his laundry all semester.
- Does that seem unfair to anyone else? - Not at all.
- Look at him. - Nash!
Taking a reverse constitutional?
I'm hoping to extract an algorithm to define their movement.
Oh.
Psycho.
I thought you dropped out. You ever going to go to class or...
Classes will dull your mind.
Destroy the potential for authentic creativity.
Oh, I didn't know that.
Nash is going to stun us all with his genius.
Which is another way of saying he doesn't have the nerve to compete.
You scared?
Terrified. Mortified. Petrified.
Stupefied by you.
No starch.
Pressed and folded.
Let me ask you something, John.
Be my guest, Martin.
Bender and Sol here correctly completed Allen's proof of Perron's conjectures.
Adequate work...
...without innovation.
- I'm flattered. You flattered? - Flattered.
And I've got two weapons briefs under security review by the DOD.
Derivative drivel.
But Nash achievements-- Zero.
I'm a patient man, Martin. Is there an actual question coming?
What if you never come up with your original idea?
How will it feel when I'm chosen for Wheeler...
...and you're not?
What if you lose?
You should not have won.
Hmm.
I had the first move, my play was perfect.
The hubris of the defeated.
The game is flawed.
Gentlemen, the great John Nash.
You've been in here for two days.
You know Hansen has just published another paper?
I can't even find a topic for my doctorate.
Well, on the bright side, you've invented window art.
This is a group playing touch football.
This is a cluster of pigeons fighting over breadcrumbs.
And this is a woman who is chasing a man who stole her purse.
John, you watched a mugging.
That's weird.
In competitive behavior, someone always loses.
Well, my niece knows that, John, and she's about this high.
See, if I could derive an equilibrium...
...where prevalence is a non-singular event...
...where nobody loses.
Imagine the effect that would have on conflict scenarios...
When did you last eat?
- When did you last eat? - Currency exchange?
You know, food.
You have no respect for cognitive reverie, you know?
Yes. But pizza...
Now, pizza I have enormous respect for.
And, of course, beer.
I have respect for beer.
I have respect for beer!
- Good evening, Neils. - Hey, Nash.
Who's winning? You or you?
- Good evening, Nash. - Hey, guys. Hey, Nash.
He's looking at you for sure.
Hey, Nash.
Neils is trying to get your attention.
- You're joking. - Oh, no.
- Go with God. - Come back a man.
- Fortune favors the brave. - Bombs away.
Gentlemen, might I remind you that my odds of success...
...dramatically improve with each attempt?
This is going to be classic.
Maybe you want to buy me a drink.
I don't know what I'm required to say...
...in order for you to have intercourse with me...
...but could we assume that I've said all that?
Essentially we're talking about fluid exchange, right?
So, could we just go straight to the sex?
Oh, that was sweet.
Have a nice night, asshole!
Ladies, wait!
I especially liked the bit about fluid exchange. It was...
...really charming.
Walk with me, John.
I've been meaning to talk with you.
The faculty is completing mid-year reviews.
We're deciding which placement applications to support.
Wheeler, sir. That would be my first choice.
Actually, I don't really have a second choice, sir.
Your fellows have attended classes. They've written papers. They've published.
I'm still searching, sir, for my...
- Your original idea. - Governing dynamics, sir.
It's very clever, John, but I'm afraid it's just not nearly good enough.
- May I? - Thank you.
I'm working on manifold embedding.
My bargaining stratagems show some promise.
If you could just arrange another meeting with Professor Einstein.
I've repeatedly asked you for that.
I'd be able to show him my revisions on his...
John.
Do you see what they're doing there?
Congratulations, Professor Max.
Thank you, sir. Thank you.
It's the pens.
Reserved for a member of the department that makes the achievement of a lifetime.
Now what do you see, John?
Recognition.
Well done, Professor.
Well, try seeing accomplishment.
Is there a difference?
You haven't focused.
I'm sorry, but up to this point, your record doesn't warrant any placement at all.
Good day.
And my compliments to you, sir.
Thank you so much.
I can't see it.
Jesus Christ, John.
I can't fail.
- This is all I am. - Come on, let's go out.
- I have to get something done. - John!
- I can't keep staring into space. - John, enough!
Got to face the wall, follow their rules, read their books...
...do their classes.
Come on! Go on, bust your head! Kill yourself.
Don't do it. Don't mess around.
Bust your head! Go on, bust that worthless head wide open.
Goddamn it, Charles! What the hell is your problem?
It's not my problem.
And it's not your problem.
It's their problem.
Your answer isn't, �face the wall.�
It's out there...
...where you've been working.
That was heavy.
That Isaac Newton fellow was right.
- He was onto something. - Clever boy.
Don't worry, that's mine. I'll come and get it in a minute.
Oh, God.
- Incoming, gentlemen. - Ay-yi-yi.
Deep breaths.
Nash, you might want to stop shuffling your papers for five seconds.
I will not buy you gentlemen beer.
We're not here for beer, my friend.
Oh.
Does anyone else feel she should be moving in slow motion?
Will she want a large wedding, you think?
Shall we say swords? Pistols at dawn?
Have you remembered nothing?
Recall the lessons of Adam Smith...
...the father of modern economics.
�In competition...
- �... individual ambition serves the common good.�
Every man for himself, gentlemen.
Those who strike out are stuck with her friends.
I'm not going to strike out.
You can lead a blonde to water, but you can't make her drink.
Nobody move.
She's looking over here. She's looking at Nash.
Oh, God. He may have the upper hand now...
...but wait until he opens his mouth.
Remember the last time?
That was one for the history books.
- Adam Smith needs revision. - What are you talking about?
If we all go for the blonde...
...we block each other.
Not a single one of us is going to get her.
So then we go for her friends...
...but they will all give us the cold shoulder because nobody likes to be second choice.
Well, what if no one goes for the blonde?
We don't get in each other's way...
...and we don't insult the other girls.
That's the only way we win.
That's the only way we all get laid.
Adam Smith said:
�The best result comes...
"...from everyone in the group doing what's best for himself.�
Right. Incomplete. Okay?
Because the best result will come...
...from everyone in the group...
...doing what's best for himself...
...and the group.
If this is some way for you to get the blonde, go to hell.
Governing dynamics. Adam Smith...
...was wrong.
- Here we go. - Careful, careful.
Thank you.
�C� of �S� equals �C� of �T.�
You do realize this flies in the face of 150 years of economic theory?
Yes, I do, sir.
- That's rather presumptuous, no? - It is, sir.
Well, Mr. Nash...
...with a breakthrough of this magnitude...
...I'm confident you will get any placement you like.
Wheeler Labs...
...they'll ask you to recommend two team members.
Stills and Frank are excellent choices.
Sol and Bender, sir.
Sol and Bender are extraordinary mathematicians.
Has it occurred to you that Sol and Bender might have plans of their own?
We made it!
Wheeler, we made it!
Cheers, cheers, cheers!
Okay, awkward moment, gentlemen.
Umm...
Governing dynamics.
Congratulations, John.
- Toast! To Wheeler Labs! - To Wheeler!
THE PENTAGON 1953 - FIVE YEARS LATER
General, the analyst from Wheeler Lab is here.
Dr. Nash, your coat?
Thank you, sir.
General, this is Wheeler team leader, Dr. John Nash.
- Glad you could come, Doctor. - Hello.
Right this way.
We've been intercepting radio transmissions from Moscow.
The computer can't detect a pattern, but I'm sure it's code.
Why is that, General?
Ever just know something, Dr. Nash?
Constantly.
We've developed several ciphers.
If you'd like to review our preliminary data?
- Doctor? - 6-7-3-7.
0- 3-6...
8- 4-9-4.
9- 1-4-0-3-4.
I need a map.
46-13-08, 67-46-90.
Starkey Corners, Maine.
48-03-01.
91-26-35.
Prairie Portage, Minnesota.
These are latitudes and longitudes.
There are at least 10 others.
They appear to be routing orders across the border into the U.S.
Extraordinary.
Gentlemen, we need to move on this.
- Who's Big Brother? - You've done your country a great service.
- Captain! - Yes, sir.
Accompany Dr. Nash.
What are the Russians moving, General?
Captain Rogers will escort you to the unrestricted area, Doctor.
Thank you.
Dr. Nash, follow me, please.
None of those who said they don't like the method...
...have told us any other method they could use that would be effective.
- It's Dr. Nash. - All right.
WHEELER DEFENSE LABS MIT CAMPUS
- Thank you, sir. - Home run at the Pentagon?
Have they actually taken the word �classified� out of the dictionary?
Hi. The air conditioning broke again.
How am I supposed to be in here saving the world if I'm melting?
Our hearts go out to you.
Two trips to the Pentagon in four years.
- That's two more than we've had. - It gets better.
Just got our latest scintillating assignment.
You know, the Russians have the H-bomb, the Nazis are repatriating South America...
...the Chinese have a standing army of 2.8 million...
...and I am doing stress tests on a dam.
You made the cover of Fortune again.
Please note the use of the word �you,� not �we.�
That was supposed to be just me.
Not only do they rob me of the Fields' Medal...
...they put me on the cover of Fortune magazine with these hacks...
...these scholars of trivia.
Exactly what's the difference between genius and most genius?
Quite a lot.
He's your son. Anyway, you've got 10 minutes.
- I've always got 10 minutes. - Before your new class?
Can I not get a note from a doctor or something?
You are a doctor, John, and no.
You know the drill, we get these beautiful facilities...
...MIT gets America's great minds of today, teaching their great minds of tomorrow.
- Poor bastards. - Now, have a nice day at school.
The bell is ringing.
The eager young minds of tomorrow.
Can we leave one open, Professor? It's really hot, sir.
Your comfort comes second to my ability to hear my own voice.
Personally...
...I think this class will be a waste of your...
...and what is infinitely worse...
...my time.
However, here we are.
So you may attend or not.
You may complete your assignments at your whim.
We have begun.
Miss.
Excuse me!
- Excuse me! - Hey, hey!
Hi!
We have a little problem.
It's extremely hot in here with the windows closed...
...and extremely noisy with them open.
I was wondering if there was any way you could...
...I don't know, maybe work someplace else for about 45 minutes?
- Not a problem. - Thank you so much!
- Break! - Got it!
Let's go. Clean it up a little bit.
As you will find in multivariable calculus, there is often...
...a number of solutions for any given problem.
As I was saying, this problem here...
...will take some of you many months to solve.
For others among you...
...it will take you the term of your natural lives.
Professor Nash.
William Parcher.
Big Brother...
...at your service.
What can I do for the Department of Defense?
- Are you here to give me a raise? - Let's take a walk.
- Impressive work at the Pentagon. - Yes, it was.
Oppenheimer used to say, �A genius sees the answer before the question.�
You knew Oppenheimer?
His project was under my supervision.
Which project?
- That project. - It's not that simple.
Well, you ended the war.
We incinerated 150,000 people in a heartbeat.
Great deeds come at great cost, Mr. Parcher.
Conviction, it turns out, is a luxury of those on the sidelines, Mr. Nash.
I'll try and keep that in mind.
So, John, no family...
...no close friends.
- Why is that? - I like to think it's because I'm a Ione wolf.
But mainly it's because people don't like me.
There are certain endeavors...
...where your lack of personal connection would be considered an advantage.
- This is a secure area. - They know me.
Have you ever been here?
We were told in our initial briefing these warehouses were abandoned.
That's not precisely accurate.
By telling you this...
...I am increasing your security clearance to top secret.
Disclosure of secure information can result in imprisonment.
Get it?
What operation?
Those are a good idea.
This factory is in Berlin, we seized it at the end of the war.
Nazi engineers were attempting to build a portable atomic bomb.
The Soviets reached this facility before we did, and we lost the damn thing.
The routing orders at the Pentagon.
They were about this, weren't they?
The Soviets aren't as unified as people believe.
A faction of the Red Army calling itself Novaya Svoboda...
...the �New Freedom,� has control of the bomb...
...and intends to detonate it on U.S. Soil.
Their plan is to incur maximum civilian casualties.
Man is capable of as much atrocity as he has imagination.
New Freedom has sleeper agents here in the U.S.
McCarthy is an idiot, but, unfortunately, that doesn't make him wrong.
New Freedom communicates to its agents...
...through codes imbedded in newspapers and magazines...
...and that's where you come in.
You see, John, what distinguishes you...
...is that you are, quite simply...
...the best natural code-breaker I have ever seen.
What exactly is it that you would like me to do?
Commit this list of periodicals to memory.
Scan each new issue, find any hidden codes, decipher them.
Place your chin on the chin rest.
- Stare into the light. - Pulse 88, regular.
Okay, this may be a little uncomfortable.
It's got a little zap to it, doesn't it?
He just implanted a radium diode.
Don't worry, it's safe.
The isotope decays predictably.
As a result, these numbers change over time.
They're the access codes to your drop spot.
So what am I now, a spy?
Come.
Boy, you must be really important.
It's all right, Mike.
What are you working on?
Classified.
Everyone waited half an hour.
- For? - Class.
You missed class today.
Oh. I suspect that...
...nobody missed me.
The problem that you left on the board...
...I solved it.
- No, you didn't. - You didn't even look.
I never said that the vector fields were rational functions.
Your solution is elegant.
Though on this particular occasion...
...ultimately incorrect.
- You're still here. - I'm still here.
Why?
I'm wondering, Professor Nash...
...if I can ask you to dinner.
You do eat, don't you?
On occasion, yeah.
Table for one. Prometheus alone chained to the rock...
...with the bird circling overhead, you know how it is.
No, I expect that you wouldn't know...
Leave your address with my office. I'll pick you up Friday...
...at 8:00 and we'll eat.
One more thing. Do you have a name, or should I just keep calling you �miss�?
Governor...
...may I present... - Miss Alicia Larde.
Professor, please. You and the governor.
Wait, one second. I'm sorry.
I want a copy of this. First big date and all, you know.
So, you boys need to look good...
...which is not a state you find yourselves in altogether naturally.
There. Better.
- I'm surprising him. - You just keep on surprising him.
Professor.
God must be a painter.
Why else would we have so many colors?
So you're a painter?
That's not actually what I said...
...but, yes, I am.
Here.
Me.
Your date.
Practice human interaction and social comportment.
That's a plan.
Champagne would be lovely.
I'll be outside.
I will get the champagne.
Oh, thank you.
Thank you for that.
No, keep it.
I believe in deciding things will be good luck.
- Do you? - No.
I don't believe in luck.
But I do believe in assigning value to things.
Oh.
I once tried to count them all.
I actually made it to 4,348.
You are exceptionally odd.
I bet you're very popular with the girls.
A pair of odd ducks, then.
Mmm.
Pick a shape.
What?
Pick a shape, an animal, anything.
Okay.
An umbrella.
Do it again.
- All right. What would you like? - Do an octopus.
You don't talk much, do you?
I can't talk to you about my work, Alicia.
I don't mean work.
I find that polishing my interactions...
...in order to make them sociable requires a tremendous effort.
I have a tendency to expedite information flow...
...by being direct.
- I often don't get a pleasant result. - Try me.
All right.
I find you attractive.
Your aggressive moves towards me indicate that you feel the same way.
But still, ritual requires that we continue with a number of platonic activities...
...before we have sex.
I am proceeding with those activities...
...but in point of actual fact...
...all I really want to do is have intercourse with you as soon as possible.
Are you going to slap me now?
How was that result?
What are you doing?
Trying to isolate patterned reoccurrences within periodicals over time.
And you?
You talk funny, Mr. Nash.
Do I know you?
My uncle says you're very smart but not very nice...
...so I shouldn't pay no mind if you're mean to me.
And who might your uncle be?
The prodigal roommate...
...returns.
Come here, Charles.
My sister got herself killed in a car crash.
Not too far now, Marcee!
Her cowboy husband was too drunk to know that he was too drunk to drive.
So, I took her in.
- She's so small. - She's young. That's how they come.
I'm at Harvard...
...doing the great author's workshop.
D.H. Bloody Lawrence.
I really do think you should buy yourself a new book.
Well, I've been reading a lot about you.
How are you, John?
At first, all my work here was trivial...
...but a new assignment came up and...
I can't really tell you any details.
Top secret? Black bag? Black ops?
Something like that.
- And... - Yes?
Well, I met a girl.
- No! A human girl? - Homo sapien.
- A biped? - Yep. And contrary to all probabilities...
...she finds me attractive on a number of different levels.
God, that's wonderful.
There's no accounting for taste, is there?
- Should I marry her? - Oh, God. Right.
I mean, everything's going well. The job is fine. I have enough money.
It all seems to add up.
But how do you know for sure?
Nothing's ever for sure, John.
That's the only sure thing I do know.
Good evening.
Alicia, please don't be angry. I just lost track of time at work...
- Again. - Mm-hmm.
I'm sorry.
I didn't have time to wrap it.
Happy birthday.
The refractive faces of the glass create a full wavelength dispersal...
...so if you look inside, you can see...
- Every possible color. - Every possible color.
Yeah.
Remember you said that time, God must be a painter because of all the colors?
At the governor's house you said that.
I didn't think you were listening.
I was listening.
It's beautiful.
Alicia, does our relationship warrant long-term commitment?
Because I need some kind of proof, some kind of verifiable, empirical data.
I'm sorry, just give me a moment...
...to redefine my girlish notions of romance.
A proof?
Verifiable data.
Okay.
Well, how big is the universe?
Infinite.
How do you know?
- Because all the data indicates it. - But it hasn't been proven yet?
You haven't seen it. How do you know for sure?
I don't, I just believe it.
It's the same with love, I guess.
Now...
...the part that you don't know...
...is if I want to marry you.
Smile for the camera!
Well done!
Congratulations.
You look beautiful.
Hi, how are you?
- Bye-bye. - 'Bye, now.
Be safe!
CAMBRIDGE, MA - OCTOBER 1954
Get in. Hurry.
They're following us.
- Who is following us? - The drop has been compromised.
Get down!
Stay down.
- Take this. - I ain't shooting anybody.
- Take the goddamn gun! - No!
You stay back. Don't move.
John?
Hi.
Where were you?
- Sol... - Yeah, I talked to Sol.
He said you left the office hours ago.
Why didn't you call me?
Are you all right?
Honey?
John...
...please, talk to me. Tell me what happened.
John, open the door.
Come on, open the door! Let me in!
Talk to me!
John!
Open this door!
Watch for cars, kids.
John.
William.
This is not what I signed up for.
Every time a car backfires or a door slams...
I understand better than you could possibly imagine.
You need to calm down, John.
Now listen. We're closing in on the bomb...
...in large part due to your work.
Now don't you think your fear is a small price to pay?
William, my circumstance has changed.
Alicia's pregnant.
I told you attachments were dangerous.
You chose to marry the girl.
I did nothing to prevent it.
The best way to ensure everybody's safety...
...is for you to continue your work.
Well, I'll just quit.
You won't.
Why would I not?
Because I keep the Russians from knowing you work for us.
You quit working for me...
...I quit working for you.
Parcher!
John, you all right?
John?
Turn it off! Turn off the light!
Why would you do that?
- Why would you turn the light on? - What is wrong with you?
You have to go to your sister's.
I left the car out in back. Take Commonwealth, no side streets.
Stay where it's crowded.
John, I'm not going anywhere!
When you get to your sister's, wait for my call.
- Get your things. - I'm not leaving!
Stop! Stop it!
Please, Alicia.
I'll explain when I can.
HARVARD UNIVERSITY NATIONAL MATHEMATICS CONFERENCE
Uncle John!
Hey, baby girl!
Wow, someone needed a hug!
I saw you on the slate, and I thought to myself:
�How can I miss seeing a guest lecture by the inimitable John Nash?�
What's wrong?
I got myself into something. I think I might need some help.
Now you tell me, what is it?
Professor Nash!
Welcome!
After?
So, we see that the zeroes of the Riemann Zeta function...
...correspond to singularities...
...in space-time...
Singularities in space-time then...
And conventional number theory...
It breaks down in the face of relativistic exploration.
Sometimes our expectations are betrayed by the numbers.
Variables are impossible to assign any rational value.
Professor Nash!
- Hold it! - Professor Nash?
Professor Nash, let's avoid a scene, shall we?
What do you want?
My name is Rosen.
Dr. Rosen. I'm a psychiatrist.
Forgive me if I don't seem persuaded.
I'd like you to come with me, John.
Just for a chat.
It appears I have no choice.
Help me! Somebody!
Somebody!
Help me! Get off me!
I know who you are!
No, no, don't!
Charles, they're Russians! They're Russians!
Call somebody! Call somebody!
- They're Russians! - Steady the leg.
Get away from me.
Stay away from me!
There, now.
All better.
Everything's all right here.
Watch your head.
John?
Can you hear me?
Go easy now.
Thorazine takes a little while to wear off.
Sorry about the restraints.
You've got one hell of a right hook.
Where am I?
MacArthur Psychiatric Hospital.
I find that highly unlikely.
You made a mistake.
My work is non-military in application.
Which work is that, John?
I don't know anything.
There's no good in keeping secrets, you know.
Charles?
I didn't mean to get you involved in this.
I'm sorry.
Charles?
The prodigal roommate revealed.
�Saw my name on the lecture slate�?
You lying son of a bitch!
Who are you talking to? Tell me who you see.
How do you say �Charles Herman� in Russian?
How do you say it in Russian?
There's no one there, John. There's no one there.
He's right there. He's right there.
Stop! I don't know anything!
My name is John Nash.
I'm being held against my will.
Somebody call the Department of Defense.
My name is John Nash.
I'm being held against my will!
What's wrong with him?
John has schizophrenia.
People with this disorder are often paranoid.
But his work.
He deals with conspiracy.
Yes, I know.
In John's world, these behaviors are accepted...
...encouraged.
As such, his illness may have gone untreated...
...far longer than is typical.
What do you mean? How long?
Possibly since graduate school.
At least that's when his hallucinations seem to have begun.
What are you talking about? What hallucinations?
One, so far, that I am aware of.
An imaginary roommate named Charles Herman.
Charles isn't imaginary.
They have been best friends since Princeton.
Have you ever met Charles? Has he ever come to dinner?
He's always in town for so little time, lecturing.
- Was he at your wedding? - He had to teach.
Have you seen a picture, or talked to him on the phone?
This is ridiculous.
I phoned Princeton.
According to their housing records, John lived alone.
Now, which is more likely? That your husband...
...a mathematician with no military training...
...is a spy fleeing the Russians... - You're making him sound crazy.
Or, that he has lost his grip on reality?
The only way I can help him, is to show him the difference...
...between what is real and what is in his mind.
Come on.
What's he been working on?
His work is classified.
He mentioned a supervisor...
...by the name of William Parcher.
Maybe Mr. Parcher can clarify things for us.
But I can't get to him without clearances.
You want me to help you get the details of my husband's work?
John thinks I'm a Russian spy.
Is that what you think?
- What did the doctor say? - Is he sick?
I don't know.
I want to see what John's been working on.
- You can't go in his office. - It's classified, Alicia.
Stop.
Oh, my God.
Why didn't you say something?
Alicia, John has always been...
...a little weird.
He said he was doing code-breaking.
- It was eyes-only. - Top-secret, part of the military effort.
Was he?
It was possible.
Directives come down all the time that some aren't cleared for.
- It was possible. - Possible, but not likely.
Lately, he'd become much more agitated, and then when you called...
So, is this all he's been doing every day?
Cutting up magazines?
Well, not all.
- I'm so sorry. - It's okay.
I missed you.
I have to talk to you.
Okay.
Alicia, I've been thinking about it...
...and I do realize that my behavior...
...and my inability to discuss the situation with you...
...must have appeared insane.
I left you with no other choice.
I do understand...
...and I'm truly sorry. - That's okay.
Everything will be all right.
We just have to talk quietly.
They may be listening. There may be microphones.
I'll tell you everything now.
It's breaking with protocol, but you need to know...
...because you have to help me get out of here.
I've been doing top-secret work for the government.
There's a threat that exists...
...of catastrophic proportions.
I think the Russians feel my profile is too high.
That's why they won't do away with me.
They're keeping me here to try to stop me from doing my work.
You have to get to Wheeler.
- You have to find William Parcher. - Stop.
Stop!
I went to Wheeler.
Good, good.
There is no William Parcher.
Of course there is. I've been working for him.
Doing what? Breaking codes?
Dropping packages in a secret mailbox for the government to pick up?
How could you know that?
Sol followed you.
- He thought it was harmless. - Sol followed me?
They've never been opened.
It isn't real.
There is no conspiracy, John.
There is no William Parcher.
It's in your mind.
Do you understand, baby?
You're sick.
You're sick, John.
John?
John!
Code red.
Dr. Rosen, code red. Observation Room 2.
John?
The implant is gone.
I can't find it.
It's gone.
You see, the nightmare of schizophrenia...
...is not knowing what's true.
Imagine...
...if you had suddenly learned that the people and the places...
...and the moments most important to you were not gone, not dead...
...but worse, had never been.
What kind of hell would that be?
Administering insulin.
8:42 a.m.
How often?
Five times a week for 10 weeks.
PRINCETON UNIVERSITY - 1 YEAR LATER
John always spoke so fondly of being here at Princeton.
Hansen is running the department now.
So he keeps reminding us, and reminding us.
Yeah.
John won't come near the campus, though. I think he's ashamed.
Hey. Hey.
Want this?
So, Alicia, how are you holding up?
The delusions have passed.
They're saying with the medication and low stress environment...
I mean, how are you?
I think often what I feel...
...is obligation.
Or guilt over wanting to leave.
Rage against John, against God, and...
But...
...then I look at him...
...and I force myself to see the man that I married.
And he becomes that man.
He's transformed into someone that I love.
And I'm transformed into someone who loves him.
It's not all the time, but...
...it's enough.
I think John is a very lucky man, Alicia.
So unlucky.
- This is us. - This is it?
It's near where I work.
John? You have a visitor.
Hi.
I hope it's okay.
Hey, chief.
- Cigarette? - No, thanks.
I quit, actually.
- Hello. - Hey, John.
Have you met Harvey?
- There's no... - Relax, it's okay.
There's no point being nuts if you can't have a little fun.
Jesus Christ. I should have known.
Here you go.
- I can take those later. - You're supposed to take them now.
- Can I bring you something? - I'm okay.
Okay.
So, I was in town giving a workshop.
I go back tonight.
Bender really wanted to stop by...
...you know, see you. Say hi.
Squeamish?
Yeah.
I suppose I would be, too.
But, alas, I'm stuck with me.
I'm trying to solve the Riemann hypothesis.
Uh-huh.
Oh, yeah?
I figured if I dazzle them...
...they will have to reinstate me.
But it's difficult with the medication...
...because it's hard...
...to see the solution.
You know, John, you should go easy.
There are other things besides work.
What are they?
What are you thinking about?
What do people do?
It's life, John.
Activities available, just add meaning.
You could try leaving the house.
You know, maybe...
...talk to people.
You could try taking out the garbage.
And there's some more, there's some more in...
Who were you talking to?
Garbage man.
Garbage men don't come at night.
I guess around here they do.
Sorry.
Is it the medication?
I don't know what to do.
My mother's going to keep the baby a little longer tonight.
I can get three hours of overtime.
I'm going to bed.
- Good night. - Good night.
It's good to see you, John.
It's been a while.
Parcher?
Yes, sir.
You're not real!
Of course I am. Don't be ridiculous.
I don't think that I would go that way.
It's time for you to get back to work.
The bomb is in its final position here in the U.S.
Knowing your situation requires you keep a low profile, "Mohammed"...
...we've brought the mountain to you.
We've narrowed the bomb's location to somewhere on the eastern seaboard.
But we haven't been able to pinpoint its exact position.
Their codes have grown increasingly complex.
Look at this, John.
What?
- Dr. Rosen said... - Rosen! That quack!
�Schizophrenic break from reality,� right? Psychological bullshit!
Look at me, John.
John, look at me.
Do I look like I'm imagined?
Wheeler has no record of you.
Do you think we list our personnel?
I'm sorry you had to go through all this.
I've gone to a great deal of trouble to get you back.
I can restore your status at Wheeler.
I can let the world know what you did.
But I need you now, soldier.
I was so scared you weren't real.
Princeton, New Jersey - April 1956
There's a storm coming.
I'm just going to grab the laundry.
I'll draw his bath.
It's okay.
Okay.
John!
I've almost got it! Charles, you just watch the baby.
No!
I need a towel.
- Charles was watching him. He was okay. - There is no one here.
There is no one here!
He's been injected with a cloaking serum.
I can see him because of a chemical that was released into my bloodstream...
...when my implant dissolved.
I couldn't tell you, it was for your own protection!
Alicia!
- No! - Hello, I need Dr. Rosen's office, please.
You've got to stop her, John.
You leave her out of this.
- Who are you talking to? - It's not her fault.
- She'll compromise us again. - She won't.
You'll go back to the hospital.
- Answer me! - Countless people will die.
Alicia, please put the phone down.
- I can't let that happen. - Yes, hello?
Hi, I need Dr. Rosen. Is he in?
I'm sorry, John.
No!
- You know what you must do. - Get away from me.
- She's too great a risk. - Get away!
I didn't mean to hurt you!
Finish her. She knows too much now.
Uncle John?
Take care of her, you pathetic piece of shit, or I'll take care of you.
Christ, John, please do what he says.
Move, soldier.
Now.
Uncle John?
John, please!
Now!
Alicia and Charles never coexist in the same interactive field.
Parcher and Charles...
Charles and Marcee cannot coexist with Alicia.
I understand.
She never gets old.
Marcee can't be real. She never gets old.
You see them now?
Yes.
Why did you stop your meds?
Because I couldn't do my work.
I couldn't help with the baby.
I couldn't...
I couldn't respond to my wife.
You think that's better than being crazy?
We'll need to start you on a higher run of insulin shocks and a new medication.
No.
- There has to be another way. - Schizophrenia is degenerative.
Some days may be symptom-free, but over time, you are getting worse.
It's a problem. That's all it is.
It's a problem with no solution. And that's what I do, I solve problems.
This isn't math.
You can't come up with a formula to change the way you experience the world.
- All I have to do is apply my mind. - There's no theorem, no proof.
- You can't reason your way out of this. - Why not?
Because your mind is where the problem is in the first place.
I can do this.
I can work it out. All I need is time.
Is that the baby?
The baby is at my mother's, John.
Without treatment, John...
...the fantasies may take over...
...entirely.
You almost ready?
Rosen's waiting outside.
I can't go back to that hospital.
I won't come home.
He said that if you said that...
...he has commitment papers for me to sign.
Well, maybe you won't sign them.
Maybe you'll just give me some time.
I will try to figure this out.
Whatever you do...
...Rosen is right about one thing.
You shouldn't be here.
I'm not safe anymore.
Would you have hurt me, John?
I don't know.
Maybe you should let Dr. Rosen drive you to your mother's.
He told me to leave.
I understand.
Rosen said to call if you try and kill me, or anything.
You want to know what's real?
This.
This is real.
Maybe the part...
...that knows the waking from the dream...
...maybe it isn't here.
Maybe it's here.
I need to believe...
...that something extraordinary is possible.
Princeton University - Two Months Later
Come.
Hello, Martin.
Jesus Christ.
No. I...
I don't have that one. My savior complex takes on a completely different form.
I heard what happened and...
...I wanted to write, and I tried you at MacArthur's...
...but you'd left, and I just...
This is Helinger's old office.
Yeah.
Yeah, I stole it from him.
Seems that you won after all, Martin.
They were wrong, John. No one wins.
Please, have a seat.
God, it's so good to see you.
What brings you back to Princeton?
John?
John, I'm sorry, but you have to tell him.
Tell him you're a genius. You're a genius!
Tell him your work is critical. John, please!
Is there any chance that you could ignore what I just did?
Of course, what are old friends for?
Is that what we are, Martin? Friends?
John, of course.
Of course. We always have been.
Alicia and I think...
...that fitting in, being part of a community...
...might do me some good.
That a certain level of attachment, familiar places, familiar people...
...might help me...
...elbow out...
...these certain delusions that I have.
It's a lot to ask, and now that I'm here...
...I'm quite certain that you will just say no.
But I was wondering if I could hang around.
Huh.
Will you be needing an office?
No.
No, I could just work out of the library.
This guy tries to wander into the library...
- But he has no ID. - Why can't people read memos?
Then he goes totally nuts.
You're not real! You're not real.
There's no mission.
Oh, shit. Shit.
You're not real! You are not real!
Is this what you are, soldier? Some useless ghoul?
The local madman?
- I'm not a soldier. - You'll end up in a cell!
Old, worthless, discarded.
There's no mission.
While you rock and drool, the world will burn to ashes!
You are not real! You are not real!
You're still talking to me, soldier.
There's no mission! I'm not a soldier!
John? John?
John! It's okay.
I just heard what happened, I'm sorry.
- I'm not a soldier. - John. Hey, Nash.
Nash, hey. You're all right.
Nash, hey.
Ladies and gentlemen, the great John Nash!
John?
You should've seen their faces.
Everybody was just staring at me.
John, you know that stress triggers the delusions.
I know.
But then, on the way home...
...Charles was there.
Sometimes, I really miss talking to him.
Maybe Rosen's right.
Maybe I have to think about going back into the hospital again.
No. Come here.
Maybe try again tomorrow.
John, now you can't ignore me forever.
You've been a very good friend to me.
The best.
But I won't talk to you again.
I just can't.
Same goes for you, baby girl.
Good-bye.
I was wondering if I might audit your course.
It's an honor, Professor Nash.
Is something wrong?
This will be my first class.
Good morning...
...eager young minds.
It's never going to work, John.
You're just humiliating yourself.
It's pathetic!
You are being pathetic.
I'm ashamed of you!
Oh, man!
Are you coming? You're going to be late.
- Dad, you've got my book. - What?
- You've got my book. - Oh, right.
Thanks.
- Good-bye. - 'Bye.
See you tonight.
'Bye, honey.
Princeton University - October 1978
Did you just solve Riemann?
Well, what do you think?
That's an analog to Frobenius for noncommutative extensions.
Yes, it is.
But it only appears to work sporadically, so, no.
But...
...I believe I'm making progress.
You're...
You're John Nash, right?
- Toby Kelly. - Hello.
I've been studying your equilibrium that you wrote here at Princeton.
To come up with something totally original, the way you did...
You know, I was young.
I've been developing a theory.
I believe I can prove...
...that Galois extensions are covering spaces.
That everything is connected. That it's all part of the same subject.
When was the last time you ate?
- Excuse me? - You know, food.
Oh, uh...
My wife...
...she loves mayonnaise.
Thank you.
Go on.
The functor...
...is in the two categories.
Alicia!
Coming together at a maximum speed of...
...let us say, 10 miles per hour.
So you have a fly on the tire of bicycle "B"...
...and the fly, who can travel at 20 miles an hour...
...leaves the tire of �B� and flies to the tire of bicycle �A�...
...and backwards and forwards until the two bikes collide...
...and the poor little fly is squashed.
This is the important thing about actually focusing in and comprehending...
...the area you're dealing with. Mathematics is very specific...
...and it is an art form, no matter what people here will tell you...
...especially people from biology. Don't listen to those people.
Let me go back to what you were doing. I might want to steal this...
...write a book and get famous.
I was thinking that I might teach.
A classroom with 50 students can be daunting for anyone.
John, besides, you're a terrible teacher.
I'm an acquired taste, Martin.
I was hoping there still might be something I could contribute.
What about the...
Well, you know.
Are they gone?
No, they're not gone.
And maybe they never will be.
But I've gotten used to ignoring them, and I think they've given up on me.
You think that's what it's like with all our dreams and our nightmares, Martin?
You've got to keep feeding them for them to stay alive?
John, they haunt you though.
They're my past, Martin. Everybody is haunted by their past.
Well, good-bye.
John, I'll talk to the department.
Maybe in the spring.
Hey, Nash.
You, uh...
You scared?
Terrified.
Mortified. Petrified.
Stupefied by you.
Now you ought best ring Alicia, or you'll get me...
- I'll ring her. ...in a lot of trouble.
- Thanks, Professor. - Good-bye.
- Have a nice day. - Good-bye.
Princeton University - March 1994
Papers in hand, Mr. Bayer.
Professor Nash?
- Can you see him? - Yeah.
- You sure? - Yes.
Positive? He's within your vision?
Okay. Good.
Forgive me, I'm just always suspicious of new people.
- See you next week, Professor. - See you next week.
So now that I know that you're real, who are you, and what can I do for you?
Professor, my name is Thomas King.
Thomas King?
I'm here to tell you that you're being considered for the Nobel Prize.
Forgive me, but I'm just a little stunned.
Over the past years, your equilibrium has become a cornerstone...
...of modern economics.
Suddenly everybody likes that one.
What about my work on other some such projects like manifold embedding?
The application of your bargaining problem...
...to FCC bandwidth auctions or to antitrust cases...
- Antitrust cases? - Yes.
I never would have considered that.
Have I just reached some level of honesty that borders on stupidity?
- No, you haven't. - I wouldn't have thought of that.
Shall we have tea?
I don't go in there. I usually take my sandwich in the library.
Come on, John. Let's have some tea. It's a big day.
Most commercially available brands of tea are not suitable to my palate.
I'm not...
There are some Northern Indian teas which are dense enough...
I enjoy the flavor that they have. I have not been in this room...
...for quite some many years. I wonder what tea they serve.
Why, thank you, young lady.
Things have certainly changed around here. I have a son that age.
Harvard.
Hmm.
I would have thought the nominations for the Nobel Prize would've been secret.
I would have thought you'd only find out if you won or lost.
That is generally the case, yes, but these are special circumstances.
The awards are substantial.
They require private funding as such...
...the image of the Nobel is...
I see, you came here to find out if I was crazy?
Find out if I would screw everything up if I actually won?
Dance around the podium, strip naked and squawk like a chicken?
Something like that, yes.
Would I embarrass you?
Yes, it is possible.
You see, I...
I am crazy.
I take the newer medications...
...but I still see things that are not here.
I just choose not to acknowledge them.
Like a diet of the mind, I choose not to indulge certain appetites.
Like my appetite for patterns.
Perhaps my appetite to imagine and to dream.
Professor Nash.
It's good to have you here, John.
Thank you.
- It's an honor, sir. - Thank you very much.
A privilege, Professor.
Professor.
- Nicely done, John. - Thank you, Tom.
Thank you.
Thank you, Ed.
That was certainly most unexpected.
Nobel Prize Ceremony - Stockholm, Sweden
December 1994
Thank you.
I've always believed in numbers.
In the equations and logics that lead to reason.
But after a lifetime of such pursuits...
...I ask, what truly is logic?
Who decides reason?
My quest has taken me through the physical...
...the metaphysical...
...the delusional...
...and back.
And I have made the most important discovery of my career.
The most important discovery of my life.
It is only in the mysterious equations of love...
...that any logical reasons can be found.
I'm only here tonight because of you.
You are the reason I am.
You are all my reasons.
Thank you.
So nice to have met you.
I'll call for the car, Dad.
- Bye-bye. - Bye-bye.
- Are you ready to go now? - Yes, I am.
Yes, indeed, and yes, please.
Thank you so much.
Thank you.
What is it? What's wrong?
Nothing.
Nothing at all.
- Come with me, young lady. - Oh.
I have a car outside. Are you interested in a ride?
Where's it going to?
Nash's theories have influenced global trade negotiations,
national labor relations and even breakthroughs in evolutionary biology.
John and Alicia Nash live in Princeton, NJ. John keeps regular office hours
In the Mathematics Department. He still walks to campus every day.