Phone Home

	"Phone Home"
	Season 1, Episode 10; Airdate: December 21, 2010;
	Credits
Writer(s):	Aury Wallington
Director:	Michael Robison
	Episodes
Previous; "Dreams"	Next; "Trust"

"Phone Home" is the tenth episode of season one of Tower Prep.

Ian, Suki, CJ and Gabe attempt to place a phone call to the outside world. Suki discovers that her brother, whom she believed was dead, is working with Headmaster.

Summary[]

In the observatory, Ian plays with the items and then focuses on the board with their clues to the mysteries of Tower Prep. The next morning, he wakes up and Gabe, Suki, and CJ bring him a birthday cake. CJ reads him and realizes that he's homesick, and asks if he misses the girls at home lining up to give him birthday kisses. Ian admits that he's never had a girl kiss him, and explains that he misses his parents, and the fact that his mother always told him "Merry Christmas" on his birthday because of a childhood misunderstanding. They all wish him Merry Christmas.

In Physics class, the teacher lectures about pendulums. A distracted Ian finally gets up and goes to Headmaster's office, and demands to speak with the Archers. Headmaster unlocks his desk using a thumbprint scanner, takes out a phone, has Whisper 119 place a call to the Archers, and gives the phone to Ian. Mrs. Archer wishes him a happy birthday.

Back in the observatory, Ian tells his friends what happened, and is convinced that it was a fake call created by Whisper. When Ian notes that there's always one thing that mothers remember, Suki mentions her older brother Shinji, who died and her mother always remembers him at that age. Gabe figures that Headmaster faked the call because their parents don't know where they are. Ian proposes that they sneak into Headmaster's office and use the phone to call out, and they'll have to get Headmaster's thumbprint to open the lock.

The fringers go to work and Ian slips into Headmaster's office via the secret passageway. He takes Headmaster's computer mouse, but Suki is unable to lift a clean thumbprint from it. Next, they steal his coffee mug, but have no better luck. Finally Gabe leaves his netbook behind, and gets a thumbprint when Headmaster hands it back to him.

Once they have the thumbprint, Ian breaks back into Headmaster's office and opens the lock, while Suki uses her PDA to override the alarms. Headmaster approaches and Ian ducks back into the vent as Headmaster and another man enters the room. The second man says that they have to dispose of "her," and his father insists, even though Headmaster believes the action is extreme. Ian and Suki meet up with Gabe and CJ, and Suki explains that the second man is her dead brother, Shinji. She admits that she never found out how her brother died, and her parents simply said that Shinji was taken away, but not because he was bad, and they had to move on with their lives.

Back in the observatory, the fringers figure Shinji was brought to Tower Prep, and graduated just before Suki was brought there. They wonder what Shinji is planning that is so extreme, and Ian wonders if Cal talked about what Ian told him of their escape efforts. CJ figures that they're taking Suki home, but she warns that they're doing it to keep them from escaping. Ian proposes that they figure out Headmaster's plans first. Suki hides in the vent and maintains constant surveillance on him. Eventually, Shinji meets with Headmaster and says that it is extreme for her, but things change and his father's orders are clear. Headmaster puts Shinji up in one of the teacher dorms until the next night when the operation will take place. Suki then tells the others what she heard, and that they'll be taking her out the next night. She watches her brother from the vent in his room, and sees him set a timer for midnight the next night.

Meanwhile, Ian breaks into Headmaster's office and gets to the phone. He calls out but Whisper 119 intercepts the signal. She apologizes and admits that she impersonated Mrs. Archer's voice, and that she's scared. He asks what she's scared of, and Whisper 119 warns that changes are coming.

With fifteen hours remaining, Suki tells them that she heard Shinji say that he's going to call his father when their plan is completed. She thinks they can piggyback a signal on the same frequency and make a phone call out. Suki says that she can modify the PDA to do it even if she's taken away, but Ian says that they won't let her be taken away.

Suki needs parts to build the equipment. Gabe talks to Physics and asks to do a class project, and asks for wire to build a giant pendulum. CJ takes a variable resistor from the remains of Whisper 23.

With ten hours remaining, CJ and Ian contemplate the photo of a young Ian with Cornelius Tower. He knows his grandparents and is sure Cornelius Tower isn't a relative. CJ admits that she dreamed of having grandparents. When Ian goes to help Suki, Gabe talks to CJ about her and Ian, and she accuses him of jealousy.

With eight hours remaining, Suki realizes that her equipment won't be powerful enough to jump her brother's signal unless they have a direct line to the satellite's position. The only building that will do the job is an old infirmary or lab between Tower Prep and the West Campus. It's in the forbidden zone, and Suki says she can use Sato equipment to harness Shinji's signal and boost their own.

With five hours remaining, Ian places Suki's amplifiers throughout the building. He narrowly avoids a Gnome patrol and finishes the job.

CJ and Gabe reluctantly leave Suki to check on the signal, but she says she'll be fine. Once they leave, Shinji comes in and greets her. He says that he missed her and hugs Suki, and admits that he used the observatory when he was a student. Suki asks if he's there to take her back, and he talks of taking her back to when they were both kids. Shinji warns that the authorities wouldn't tolerate him coming to see her, and says that she will have to work for their father's company. Suki refuses, and Shinji says that they have to make sacrifices to deal with their responsibilities as part of the Sato family. Suki asks him to escape with her, but he warns that there's no escape for either of them. She agrees to leave with him and Shinji hugs her again before leaving.

With an hour and a half remaining, Suki explains that she needs to pinpoint the satellite's location as it passes over Scorpio Beta. There was a star field on the ceiling of Cornelius Tower's office, but the angles don't mention. Gabe applies his lessons from Physics to suggest a way to adjust the angle and calculate the correct coordinates. They go to the physics lab and use the computer systems to find the star. The fringers then head through the hallways, since the tunnels don't extend to the old lab. Shinji intercepts them and says that he can't let Suki escape. She asks him to come with them, and become part of her new family. CJ realizes that he wants to belong to the authorities and says he still has a choice. Shinji considers, and then calls whisper. Ian attacks him and the two fight. Shinji uses his own power to hold Ian off long enough to alert the Monitors, but Ian knocks him down.

As the team gets to the old building, they check Shinji's PDA and realize he put a tracking device on Suki. With time running out, they don't have time to remove it. Running through the building, they come to a section of missing floor, several stories high. Remembering the Pendulum lesson from class, Ian pulls a cable loose and has first CJ and then Suki swing across. As CJ swings across, she kisses Ian first. Gabe tries and fails, and tells the others to go on. Ian leaps across and uses his momentum to push them both to the other side and safety.

The fringers come to a locked door, and realize the Gnomes are coming in. They try to trick Whisper 119 into opening it using Shinji's PDA and Suki's skill. However, Whisper 119 knows where they are from Suki's tracking device. Gabe begs her not to let them take Suki, and the computer opens the door.

Out on the roof, they check on Whisper 119, they realize that she's been "killed" and upgraded to Whisper 120. Shinji was talking about altering the computer, not taking Suki away. The others insist that that Ian is the one who needs to make the call. He finally gives in and calls his mother, who warns him that it's too dangerous for him to make contact with her. She wishes him Merry Christmas and hangs up. Shocked, Ian turns to the others and says that they're out of there.

Characters[]

Guest starring[]

Shinji Sato (Terry Chen)
Physics (Tim Fellingham)
Headmaster (Ted Whitall)
Whisper 119 (Peggy Jo Jacobs) (Final appearance as 119. She would later voice 120)
Lydia Archer (voice only)
Monitor (Christie Laing)

Featured Music[]

"11/22" by Buddy
"A Fistfight For Our Fathers" by The Forecast

Trivia[]

The Foucault pendulum is, as the episode explains, an experimental demonstration of the rotation of the Earth invented by Léon Foucault. On a related note, Foucault's Pendulum is also the title of a novel by Umberto Eco which focuses on a group of friends who get caught up in occult conspiracy theories.
Of the stars shown on the astronomy display, Arneb and Markab are the traditional names for certain stars, derived from Arabic. "Scorpio Beta" is not the name of a real constellation or star, but has a similar name to Scorpius or Scorpio, one of the constellations of the zodiac.

Gallery[]

Episodes
New Kid • Monitored • Whisper • Buffer • Rooks • Book Report • Election • Field Trip • Dreams • Phone Home • Trust • Snitch • Fathers