The Clotharian Contamination Protocol - Recap

Tyler and Wendy are out on a date and Wendy apologizes because she was the only one in the audience for his show. He admits that he’s been writing more then ever since they got together, and they grab some hot dogs at a street cart. They initially fail to notice two men fighting over a collision in the intersection behind them but Tyler finally goes to check it out and tries to calm them down. One driver takes out a bat and Tyler disarms him. The other man thanks Tyler in a rather overflowing tone and offers Tyler a job and his card.



The next morning at the sublet, the Middleman contacts Wendy with an emergency. As she dresses, Noser and Lacey suggest that Tyler call in his debt and check the calling card. The man Tyler saved is Manservant Neville, CEO of Fatboy Industries and creator of the solar-powered uMaster. The Middleman arrives in a hazmat suit and gets Wendy out, and explains that Voyager 2 is returning to Earth at high speed, and that means danger.

The duo goes to the crash site but is interrupted when NASA arrives. The Middleman intimidates them into backing down and leaving.



Tyler plays his music for Lacey and Noser and they’re duly impressed. Manservant Neville and two of his bodyguards arrive, and Neville insists that he knows talent and wants Tyler to work for him. After Neville leaves, Lacey insists on driving Tyler to the meeting.

At Middleman HQ, the Interrodroid 5000 wheels in a quarantine box with Voyager 2 and they open up the item and find a piece of metal saying it was made in Clothar. It’s counting down from three and they dive for cover just as it explodes, destroying the Interrodroid. Ira warns that the facility is contaminated and the Middleman seals the building. They undress and go into a decontamination chamber where they have to scrub each other down.



Lacey and Tyler arrive at Fatboy Industries where the proctor is waiting for him. Tyler wonders what he’s doing there and Lacey assures him he’s going on a great adventure. He’s called away to take a few (very bizarre) tests.



The Middleman and Wendy complete decontamination and Ida warns them she’s still trying to develop a culture. They tell her to contact the Clotharians and then the Middleman explains Code 47: a pre-recorded message released when they die. He plays his pre-recorded Code 47s back for her. Wendy refuses to acknowledge the possibility of failure and says she’s told her friends everything that she’ll ever want to.

The Middleman records a new Code 47 as Wendy watches and wonders how long they have to wait. They contact Ida who doesn’t respond and the picture is a looped tape. He activates the Nakatomi Emergency Protocol: climbing through the ventilator shafts. The Middleman explains that the emergency protocol expands all the ventilator shafts and shuts down the internal security devices. They get to the control room and see Ida and the Interrodroid 6000, the 5000’s replacement. The Interrodroid is using the HEYDAR to turn Ida into a walking bomb that will detonate in 60 seconds. Ida spots them and tells the 6000 to kill them.



With 59 minutes left, the Interrodroid 6000 tracks the duo through the corridors and into the changing room. The Middleman pulls off its head and concludes that Ida has been contaminated and duped them into a lockdown. Seeing the head, he comes up with a plan.

Tyler meets with the CEOs of Fatboy Industries who review his life and question his decision-making ability when he gave up his song “Dreams of Monica” to the group. He explains that song could only live with the band, but he notices that they can’t pronounce Manservant Neville’s name. He also notices that they all have other flaws and realizes that it’s a test. Tyler is impressed and is escorted out.

With 42 minutes remaining, the Middleman hooks the Interrodroid’s head into the phone system to call High Aldwin of the Clotharian High Council. He suggest she leave a Code 47 but she still refuses. High Aldwin appears and explains that he is now Maximum Aldwin. The Middleman invokes the Treaty of Perpugilliam to demand an explanation. Maximum Aldwin explains that Voyager 2 came through a wormhole and started taking photos of a Clotharian military base. They sent back a payload of nanobots, and the explosion will spread the nanobots across the Earth.

The Middleman suggests they hit the restart button on Ida so she can overcome the nanobots. Any attack will trigger a premature detonation so he suggests they use the HEYDAR to shrink the Middleman down to micro-size and use its particle accelerator to shoot him into Ida’s brain so he can reach her deactivation switch. Once he’s done, he’ll signal Wendy to reenlarge him. Since Ida’s wired into HEYDAR, they need Baby HEYDAR.

Wendy dresses up as the Interrodroid and goes into the control chamber while the Middleman slips in behind her and takes the Baby HEYDAR. Unfortunately, the new Interrodroid 7000 arrives. Ida destroys the real Interrodroid first and the Middleman severs the HEYDAR, knocking it down on Ida. However, Ida frees herself and prepares to shoot Wendy. The Middleman has no choice but to use the Baby HEYDAR to shrink Wendy down and shoot her into Ida’s sinus cavity.



The Middleman escapes from the temporarily stunned Ida and signals Wendy, explaining that once she hits the reset button she needs to get out of Ida’s titanium-steel body before she can be enlarged. Wendy spots the nanobots, which are superstrong and attack in swarms.

Manservant Neville meets Tyler, who turns down Neville’s offer. Neville points out that the world may not be good enough to recognize Tyler’s genius. He needs a right-hand man with music in his soul, and offers Tyler the chance to change the world.

With 17 minutes remaining, Wendy is unable to get by the nanobots guarding the hatch to the self-destruct. The Middleman notes that the nanobots can be destructed, but Ida corners him. He tries to get through to Ida, who notes that no matter what he does, she’ll detonate. He manages to knock her down long enough to slap some chains on her. Wendy distracts the nanobots and gets into the cortex chamber where she finds a miniature Ida offering her tea: a representation of Ida’s brain. Ida’s brain informs Wendy that the nanobots have trashed the reset button. She tells Wendy that she needs to be returned to their OS2TK so they can purge the nanobots and they and they have a way to contact the organization to get more equipment. Wendy contacts the Middleman and tells her to get Ida’s body to Ops and activate a secret signal revealing a pneumatic tube that goes directly to OS2TK. The Middleman puts Ida’s body into the tube and tells Wendy to get clear, but the nanobots start to break through the only door into the cortex chamber. If Wendy doesn’t get out, she’ll be sent to OS2TK… and she won’t be coming back.



With two minutes left, the Middleman refuses to send Wendy to OS2TK but she insists. She leaves her own Code 47, saying that she’s okay and the Middleman taught her there’s things worthy dying for. She admits he’s the closest thing she’s had to a father since her real father disappeared. He says he hopes he taught her not to give up and Wendy realizes the nanobots are indestructible. She tells Ida’s brain to open the hatch and the nanobots burst in. She tells the Middleman to enlarge her and he has no choice but to do so. Wendy and the nanobots are both expanded to normal size, Wendy surviving by using them as protective armor. The nanobots are now harmless, having been designed to only destroy technology from the inside out. Wendy says that she meant everything she said earlier when she thought she was going to die.



Wendy goes back to the hot dog stand where Tyler is there in a suit. He’s now the official assistant to Manservant Neville and admits that he’s happy. They share a hot dog and exchange compliments.

Back at Middleman HQ, the Middleman hangs up the Baby HEYDAR and then activates the panel to reveal the pneumatic tube. The panel opens but the pneumatic tube is gone. A restored Ida returns and is back to her normal self.

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