INT. SOMEWHERE IMPORTANT – NIGHT
In media res
EPSTEIN (leans into the line, too close to the mic)
—yes, yes, he’s one of the Andreesons. Or Andresens. Might be Andre-sen. There are a few of them. Like the Dulles brothers but with hoodies.
BARAK
Is it Mark Andreason? Or Marc Andree-sheen? I don’t want to insult Silicon Valley. They are very sensitive people.
SUMMERS (pinching the bridge of his nose)
Gentlemen. There is no “sheen.” There is no “sen.” It is Andreessen. Double-E. Like Keynes, but fewer vowels and more podcasts.
EPSTEIN
Ah. Of course. Double-E. I always say double-E. Everyone knows that. I was testing Ehud.
BARAK
Testing! Yes. Naturally. One must pronounce venture capitalists correctly or the algorithms get upset.
SUMMERS
Markets react poorly to phonetic instability.
A pause. Papers shuffle. Somewhere, a missile silo light flickers for no reason.
BARAK
So, Larry, just to be clear—this Andreessen… he controls technology, defense, thought, and possibly time?
SUMMERS
He influences time. Controls is a strong word. We’re very careful with strong words now.
EPSTEIN
And he’s extremely interested in the future of—how shall we put this—advanced social coordination. Very humanitarian.
BARAK
Excellent. Then I will mention him at the dinner. Correctly. With the double-E. This is why we rely on you, Larry. For… clarity.
SUMMERS
Clarity. Stability. Spelling.
EPSTEIN
Without Larry we’d all be saying Anderson and the whole system would collapse.
SUMMERS (dry)
We came dangerously close to that in 2008.
A beat.
BARAK
One more thing. Is he “Marc” with a C or “Mark” with a K?
SUMMERS (exhales)
Ehud… please don’t make me authorize anything.
CLICK.
TITLE CARD:
“Gentlemen, you can’t fight in here. This is the pronunciation room.”
⸻
INT. SECURE LINE – FEBRUARY 2013 – NIGHT
A recorder clicks on.
Somewhere in the future, a government archivist sighs.
EPSTEIN
So—Ehud—there are two cyber companies you should look at.
BARAK
Two?
EPSTEIN
Two. Always two. One official. One you never mention unless asked directly under oath.
BARAK
I see. Go on.
EPSTEIN
Now, I’ve never met Peter Thiel.
A pause. The sentence is carefully engineered.
EPSTEIN (CONT’D)
But everybody says he jumps around. Acts strange. Like he’s on drugs.
BARAK
Yes. I’ve heard this.
EPSTEIN
However—
(this word does a lot of work)
—he has a company called Palantir.
BARAK
Palantir.
EPSTEIN
From Tolkien. Magic stone. Sees everything without blinking.
BARAK
Palantir. How do you spell it?
EPSTEIN
P-A-L-A-N-T-I-R.
BARAK
One A or two?
EPSTEIN
One A. Two would be ridiculous.
SUMMERS
It’s two A’s.
EPSTEIN
What?
SUMMERS
P-A-L-A-A-N-T-I-R. Two A’s. It’s from Tolkien.
EPSTEIN
Larry, I’ve been saying it with one A for three years.
SUMMERS
I know. I didn’t want to embarrass you in front of the board.
BARAK
Wait—so it’s P-A-L-A-A—
EPSTEIN
—no, one A—
SUMMERS
—two A’s—
BARAK
—and how many I’s?
EPSTEIN
One I. Obviously.
SUMMERS
Two I’s.
EPSTEIN
Larry, you’re thinking of Hawaii.
SUMMERS
I’m thinking of the actual company we’re discussing putting you on the board of.
BARAK
So to be clear: two A’s, two I’s?
EPSTEIN
One A, one I.
SUMMERS
Two A’s, one I.
BARAK
What about the T? How many T’s?
A long pause.
SUMMERS
…One T.
EPSTEIN
Thank God.
The line crackles. Something irrevocable quietly finalizes.
BARAK
And this company sees… everything?
EPSTEIN
Everything worth monetizing.
SUMMERS
Everything worth preempting.
A beat.
BARAK
Very well. I will pronounce it carefully.
SUMMERS
Pronunciation is governance.
EPSTEIN
Blinking is optional now. The software remembers.
A faint electronic hum. A server farm clearing its throat.
BARAK
And Peter would put me on the board?
EPSTEIN
That’s the idea. He respects seriousness. Uniforms. People who’ve already made decisions for millions of people without asking them.
BARAK
And why would he do this?
EPSTEIN
Because legitimacy is the most expensive feature. And you come pre-installed.
A rustle of papers. Someone Googles “Palantir controversy” and stops halfway.
BARAK
And what does Palantir actually do?
EPSTEIN
It connects dots.
BARAK
Whose dots?
EPSTEIN
All of them. Especially the ones that don’t know they’re dots.
BARAK
This sounds… sensitive.
EPSTEIN
Sensitivity is analog. This is digital.
A click. A third line joins. Calm. Academic. Inevitable.
SUMMERS
Sorry I’m late. I was stabilizing expectations.
BARAK
Larry Summers.
SUMMERS
Formerly. Titles are inflationary.
EPSTEIN
Larry, we’re explaining Palantir.
SUMMERS
Think of it less as surveillance and more as forecasting with consequences.
BARAK
Forecasting what?
SUMMERS
Behavior. Risk. Dissent. Regret.
BARAK
And democracy?
SUMMERS
A rounding error.
Silence. The recorder hums louder, sensing relevance.
BARAK
Jeffrey… why are you arranging this?
EPSTEIN
Ehud, please. I’m just a connector. A harmless little API between power centers.
BARAK
You sound like the company brochure.
EPSTEIN
I helped write it.
A light labeled ETHICS flickers. Goes dark.
BARAK
So, to summarize:
A man everyone says is on drugs
Runs a company named after a magic surveillance rock
Which may place me on its board
So democracies can be protected from their own citizens.
EPSTEIN
When you put it like that, it sounds negative.
BARAK
I just want to be clear.
EPSTEIN
Clarity is overrated. Plausible deniability is scalable.
BARAK
Very well. I will meet him. But only if I pronounce the name correctly.
EPSTEIN
Absolutely. Double-E. Trust me.
A distant voice, barely audible—like a ghost from a G20 summit.
SUMMERS (O.S.)
It’s always the double-E.
CLICK.
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