Colter and Russell eventually track down Ashton’s former Chrono Stasis colleague, Dr. Serena Jukic (Jeri Ryan), living in seclusion in Northern Nevada with her boyfriend, Paul (Jerry Trimble). And according to Serena, their father’s paranoia was rooted in something very real.
Serena explains that Ashton was part of a DARPA-funded research initiative studying neural augmentation, astral projection, remote viewing, and savant syndrome — focused on identifying and enhancing extraordinary cognitive abilities. After Berkeley denied Ashton tenure and refused to fund his work, the government stepped in, and the work took a darker turn.
According to Serena, the program began experimenting on children with high degrees of brain plasticity — a line Ashton believed should never have been crossed. Then came the Alaska accident, in which a child test subject died under mysterious circumstances. Though officials claimed the death was unrelated to the testing, Ashton attempted to shut the program down, leading the government to discredit and target him.
Serena, meanwhile, stayed with the program and eventually became attached to one of the child subjects: an extraordinarily gifted boy named Danny Kellerman. She later discovered the government had staged the deaths of Danny and his father to throw his mother off the scent — and later had his mother killed, too — in order to retain control of the boy.
By the time Serena realized the full scope of what the operation had become, it was too late. The program had expanded beyond its original subjects, pairing gifted children together and forcing them to use their abilities in real-world situations tied to Department of Defense applications.
Serena attempted to protect Danny, but DARPA took him away and revoked her security clearance. She admits she has no idea what became of him — prompting Colter to vow that he and Russell will try to find him themselves.
Russell is understandably hesitant about going up against the same operation that destroyed their father, especially with no guarantee Danny is even still alive. But Colter insists the boy — now an adult — deserves to be found, arguing that Danny is ultimately another victim of the program Ashton fought to expose.
Meanwhile, Paul reveals that he and Serena have recently been surveilled by a mysterious van with no license plates, suggesting “Uncle Sam” may still be watching. So while Colter and Russell head off in search of Danny, Paul and Serena flee someplace more remote to evade danger.
