Introduction (Source Code)

Source Code is an American science fiction movie, released in the year 2011. It was directed by Duncan Jones, the British director, producer and screenwriter.

The movie source code has actors Jake Gyllenhaal playing Colter Stevens, Michelle Monaghan playing Christina Warren, Michael Arden playing Derek Frost, Vera Farmiga playing Coleen Goodwin and Jeffrey Wright playing Dr. Rutledge besides many more.

In the opening scene of the movie, a man is shown in his half-sleep, traveling in a train and hearing the vivid voices of someone directing him. The voice is directing him to return to the base as if he is a helicopter pilot in the US Air force. Suddenly he wakes up and surprisingly, finds himself on a moving train and in front of a lady passenger. The lady tells him, that she followed the advice which he gave her, and it was a good one.

He doesn’t understand what is going on, and can’t relate to the surroundings. He is just staring at everything with wonder, and can’t understand why the woman is talking to him as he doesn’t know her.

A lady drops coffee on his shoes, a person visits the toilet, a person cribbing about the delay, and a person sitting and reading something on his seat are some scenes that he can experience. The ticket collector comes to him, asking for his ticket. He doesn’t know what is going on and looks so confused.

The woman in front of him pulls out the ticket from his pocket and gives it to the ticket collector.  The woman seems to know him, as she calls him Sean and asks him about the reason for his uneasiness. He replies, that he doesn’t know her and is surprised at her calling him Sean. He tells the lady, that he is a helicopter pilot in the US Army and is posted in Afghanistan. The woman just laughs and thinks that is just silly.

An unusual first twist happens

The man gets up at the Glenbrook station and tries to figure out what is happening. He watches a student hand over a wallet to another passenger, who while boarding down, had dropped it. He even gets down from the train and asks the student about the place, to which the student replies Chicago.

Again boarding the train, he sits on the same seat but is very uncomfortable. He visits the toilet, and tries to see himself in the mirror, but is surprised to see someone else’s face in the mirror. Even his wallet shows his name as Sean Fentress and his designation as a teacher. The man gets out of the toilet, and finds the same lady in front of her, asking about his welfare. Suddenly there is a blast in the train, and the man finds himself inside a small chamber.

A voice of a lady calls him Capt. Colter Stevens, and that he is in the beleaguered castle. On recalling, he tells her that her name is Goodwin. Colter Stevens recalls that he was on a mission in Afghanistan and that he is a Helicopter pilot and suddenly found himself on the train. She asks him what he saw and who bombed the train.

Stevens tries to tell Goodwin, about the incidents in the train, to which she tells Stevens that these are just incidental, and what really matters is, who bombed the train. Stevens has many questions, but Goodwin tells Stevens to find the information about the bomb, and then he again finds himself on the same train, and with the same passengers.

Repetition of the events takes place

The incidents which happened earlier, happen again, but with some modifications this time.  The lady passenger on his front, repeating the same line that she followed his advice. She also tells him, that she will be going to India, to find a good guru. The coffee spilled on Steven’s shoe, is wiped by Christina with a tissue.

This time, Stevens remembers that his ticket is in his pocket, and gives that to the ticket checker. On this occasion, Stevens is more alert and tries to concentrate more on the surroundings. He tries to confront some passengers, to extract information about them and their possible connection with the bomb.

Stevens visits the toilet and is able to find the bomb on the ventilation panel, which is just above the sink. But he doesn’t know how to defuse the bomb, so he leaves it there only and comes out of the toilet.

Desperate to get any clue, he presents himself as a security person, and tries to prevent other passengers from using any of their electronic devices, and even punching one man in the process who was not listening. But, before he could get any more clues, the bomb again goes off and blows and engulfs the train and another one entirely.

The man feels somewhat trapped

Again, he finds himself in the same enclosure capsule. Goodwin again asks him about his experience on the train, to which he demands to be briefed about these entire happenings with him. Goodwin tells Stevens, that there was an explosion on a train in the morning at the Chicago station, and that was the train which he was in just a few moments ago. Goodwin also tells him, that a person named Sean Fentress was on that train, and that now he, replaces Sean Fentress on the train.

Goodwin goes on, that the explosion was part of a series of explosions, and there are more to come, and he should help in finding the man responsible for the bomb blast. She asks him about the bomb, and Stevens tells her that he found the bomb in the restroom, which was connected to a cell phone detonator.

Goodwin tells him that he needs to find that person, who was among the 52 callers, who were on call before the explosion took place. She tells Stevens, that he has eight minutes before the explosion takes place, and sends him again on the same train.

This time, Stevens manages to convince the lady opposite him, to get down the train along with him, at the Glenbrook station. He notices a man, who also was on the same train and boarding down along with them, at the station.

Suspicious of his movements, Stevens starts to follow him to the restroom, and to outside too. He tries to snatch his briefcase, but amidst all this, the blast on the distant train takes place, due to the bomb explosion. In the scuffle with the man, he is thrown on the tracks, and an approaching train crushes him.

Stevens again finds himself in the capsule. Initially, the power source goes off in the capsule, and the oxygen supply cuts off, leaving him shivering with cold. But he somehow manages to set it right on his own, and he confronts the person in command through the monitor. The officer asks Stevens about the bomb, to which Stevens replies that he couldn’t find the man who blasted the train, but he saved one passenger.

Stevens gets shocked to know the reality

The officer in charge Dr. Rutledge, tells him that he has saved her only in the source code, but not in reality. On Steven’s asking what is source code, Dr. Rutledge tells him, that the electromagnetic charges of the brain, remain intact even after the death of any person. Also, the brain has a short-term memory track, which lasts eight minutes after the death of the person, like a security camera, which can record only the last portion of the entire day’s happenings, on its hard drive.

Dr. Rutledge tells him that by combining the two activities, a source code is formulated, which can recreate the last eight minutes of that dead person’s life, which is subjected to this code. Dr. Rutledge clears to Stevens, that he can’t do anything to change the past event, but what he can do, is he can help to gather the information about the precious accident so that the possible future attacks can be averted.

The office tells Stevens, that the teacher Sean Fentress’s last eight minutes are the only common thread between him and Stevens. The officer says that nothing can survive outside this source code, beyond those last eight minutes.

When Stevens convincingly tells them that he saved a girl, they check on their computers and Goodwin tells Stevens, that the girl whom he saved, was 28-year-old Christina Warren, and she died in the train blast in the morning. Dr. Rutledge tells Stevens, that he has to help in saving hundreds of other lives, whose life could be in danger as they have input, that there is soon going to be another blast in downtown Chicago.

Stevens is told that they are evacuating the people, and he can prove to be a savior to them. Now, Goodwin informs Stevens, that he can have access, to the upper deck of the next carriage, in the conductor’s apartment. There he can find a strongbox containing a handgun, which he can use there.

Stevens gives it another try

He is again sent to the same train, to experience the last eight minutes before the bomb explosion, with the mission to find the culprit. This time, he is more pre-empt in his responses to the happenings on the train, to the surprise of Christina.

Stevens replies to the questions even before Christina can ask them. He is ready with the ticket before the ticket checker approaches him for the tickets. Stevens refers to the spill of the coffee before it actually happens. This surprises and impresses Christina a lot. He rushes towards the conductor’s apartment and reaches for the loaded handgun by breaking the locks.

But before he does anything, the security personnel grab him and attack him with a taser gun. Stevens is shown handcuffed with the train handle support, in front of Christina, who is asking him why did he steal the handgun. Just then, the allotted eight minutes are over, and the bomb explodes, and Stevens again finds himself back in the same chamber.

Here Stevens notices, CAOC-N, written on the badge worn by Goodwin. She again tells Stevens to look for more information regarding the suspect, and not waste time in thinking too much. Stevens is being advised to look for just anything, which the culprit might have used, such as a screwdriver, torch, any object, etc. Goodwin suggests he, check the backpacks or the briefcases carried by the passengers, which can provide him the clue.

Stevens asks her to make him talk with his father, to which Goodwin tells him that she will do so after he succeeds in his task. Again, Stevens goes back to relive those last eight minutes on the train before the bomb blast.

On the train, Steven tries to draw the logo, worn by Goodwin with CAON-N written on it, on tissue paper. Christina notices this and asks about it. Stevens tells her, that it is a military badge worn by US Military. He asks Christina if she can help him find a man, Captain Colter Stevens, who works in the US Military and has disappeared. Actually, Stevens wants to find the truth, about himself through Christina, to which she agrees. Stevens notices a man talking on the phone, and he snatches his bag to look for anything suspicious. But all in vain, as he finds nothing of his use.

Then he notices some military name on a bag, and he goes to the owner, who is a woman. Stevens shows her the military badge that he has drawn, and asks her if she knows about it. She tells Stevens that she has been working with the military, and this badge is from the Airforce and N stands for Nellis. He asks for her phone and tries to contact the Nellis Airforce base, extracting the number from the internet.

The exact truth comes out

Just then, Christina reaches up to him and tells him that she has found out that Captain Colter Stevens, has died two months ago in an army action. Stevens is flabbergasted and ends up again in the same chamber.

Stevens asks Goodwin whether the news that he is dead is true. Here, he is told by Goodwin that a part of his brain is still functioning and that he needs to focus on the job. Dr. Rutledge tells Stevens, that he should consider it an honor, to still serve the country.

On Stevens’s statement, that what the officer is doing is illegal, Officer in charge, Dr. Rutledge, informs him that this operation has been given a go-ahead, by the military court itself. He tells Stevens that after he finishes his job, he will be allowed to die. Stevens is again sent to the train, to get information about the bomber.

He spends time and then comes back. Stevens is repeatedly sent to the train, and the events repeat too, with different variations every time. Dr. Rutledge tells him, that they will continue to do so until he finds the bomber. He informs Stevens that he can even shoot anyone on the train, in his endeavor of finding the man, since they are already dead anyways.

Stevens is told to check everyone on the train and come back with some useful information. When Stevens is exhausted, they make him hear the voice of his father, who is talking about his son Steven. His father is saying, that he couldn’t understand his son and that he regrets some things, which he said to his son. Stevens is motivated and asks them to send him again on the train.

Stevens finally succeeds in tracking the culprit

On the train, he moves to the toilet and detaches the cell phone from the bomb. Stevens dials from this phone, the number which is in the call history of this phone. While calling, he moves out to find anyone who responds on the phone. He asks the person on the phone, to turn around and just then, finds that someone while talking on the phone, turns around and looks at him.

He confronts that man and tries to force him at gunpoint. But the man tells him, that he is an engineer and was talking with his wife. To recheck his statement, Stevens redials the same number again and realizes that someone outside the train has picked up the call. That same man had dropped his wallet on the train, on previous occasions also.

He moves out of the train and tries to find the person. He finds a wallet in the coach, and the identity card of the person in the wallet, whose name is Derrek Frost. Stevens tries to rush outside, but by then, the train starts to move and the doors are closed. Stevens is forced to pull the lever of the emergency door opening and jumps from the moving train.  He locates Derrek at some distance who is about to enter his van.

Derrek is confronted by Stevens at gunpoint, showing his cell phone detonator and his wallet, which Derrek had dropped on the train, so as to confirm it to authorities, about his death. Stevens discovers a dirty bomb inside Derrek’s Van. He is about to neutralize Derrek, but just then Christina comes there, calling for Stevens.

This distracts Stevens for a moment, and it allows Derrek to take out his gun, shoot both Stevens and Christina and escape from the spot. Also, the bomb has two cell phone detonators in reality, and so Derrek triggers the bomb anyways, by probably dialing on the second cell phone detonator, which is not shown, but it is understood.

The next moment, Stevens is shown again in the chamber. Stevens tells the in-charge officer, Dr. Rutledge, that Derrek is the one, and that he has some radioactive bomb with him in the rented van. He gives them the number of the Van too, which he had remembered. Dr. Rutledge thanks him, but expects him to reconsider the deal, so that he can use him for any future missions too.

Stevens tells him, that he wants to die anyways, and requests Dr. Rutledge to send him one last time to the same train, so that this time, he can try to save the passengers too. Dr. Rutledge tells him, that this is not possible, since the source code doesn’t allow to change the past.

Dr. Rutledge doesn’t let him go

They track the bomber Derrek from the database on their computer and alert the authorities. Here, Derreck Frost is tracked down and arrested by the SWAT team. Everyone congratulates the source code team, and now the source code creator, Dr. Rutledge, doesn’t want to let Stevens go, since he wants to use him for future operations too.

Stevens knows that the officer won’t let him go, so approaches and tries to convince Goodwin, to set him free. He wants to save every passenger since there was a second detonator that he didn’t find earlier. Stevens asks Goodwin to send him the last time, and then switch him off from the source code. Goodwin keeps her promise, thanking him and telling him that it was a privilege to work with him. She sends Stevens again to the train.

This time Stevens finds both the cell phone detonators in the train. He also captures and ties the mentally sick Derrek, with handcuffs, which he takes away from the train security officer. He calls the police from Derrek’s cell phone, and tells them about the bomb in the van, and that he is the person, who has been handcuffed on the train.

Stevens sends an email from the phone to Goodwin. Then, he makes a call to his father, and talks to his father, telling him that he is Sean Fentress and that he served along with his son Stevens, in the army. He tells his dad, that Stevens loved him so much. His father also reciprocates in the same way. Then he offers some money to a comedian on the train, to entertain the passengers on the train, and kisses Christina for the presumed last time.

Dr. Rutledge comes to know, that Goodwin is trying to set Stevens free from the code. He tries to stop her, but she locks herself with his body of Stevens, and cuts off his life support which sets the code off, and lets him die.

Stevens gets relief in the end

Here, on the train, Stevens realizes that eight minutes have passed, and they are all still alive. Although he is not alive in the real world, but his mind is still in Sean Fortress’s body in this parallel reality. Stevens realizes that the Source code was not just a simulation, but a time machine, that allowed for the creation of alternative timelines of reality. He goes on a date with Christina, after getting down from the train to Chicago in this alternative reality.

Here Goodwin receives the email, that Stevens had sent her. Stevens has written, that the source code works even better than Dr. Rutledge and Goodwin thought, and it is not just a recreation of the last eight minutes of the past. The source code can actually allow, target, and change an alternate reality. Stevens tells Goodwin, that you have created a whole new world. In the end, Stevens tells Goodwin through the email, that somewhere in the Source code facility, there is another Capt. Stevens waiting to be sent on a mission. And she should help him, and tell him that everything is going to be okay. The same words, which Goodwin had told him earlier.