Second Birthday is the third episode of gen:LOCK. It premiered on February 2nd, 2019 for Rooster Teeth FIRST members.
Summary[]
After the Union Spy's death, Marin calls Dr. Weller in to see her. She tells him that the gen:LOCK program will be moved soon, stating that the Union knew where they were, and they cannot risk another attack on the program. Weller states that the Union would not be hunting them if gen:LOCK program had not been militarized. Marin begrudgingly gives the team six months to turn the tide of the war, as by that time, according to their predictions, the Polity would be pushed out of North America.
The spy’s death has disturbed Cammie, Valentina and Kazu, and the three express doubts about undergoing gen:LOCK. They also doubt the wisdom of putting their trust in Weller. However, Weller convinces them to give it one attempt. If they did not like it, he would find a way to let them leave the Anvil and the program. Chase and Yasamin proceed to upload into their Holons.
While Chase waits for the others, he plays some basketball, while Miguel watches. As he continues to play, he notices Jodie Brennan and Worth talking about telling him about their relationship.
Cammie, Valentina, and Kazu successfully upload into their Holons. Cammie has some difficulty getting used to her Holon, and the three begin to grow accustomed to their new bodies. Weller wishes the program a happy second birthday and tells the group to play. Kazu and Chase play some baseball, while Cammie and Valentina play tag. A short time later, Miranda, Jodie, and Leon arrive up in their Striders. Weller tells the group that the Strider pilots would be helping with training. Cammie, Valentina, and Kazu’s task were to touch the flagpole without being shot by the Striders. The three made several attempts, but were unable to succeed. Chase then asks to try, and easily succeeds, moving with far greater speed and agility than the others.
Towards the end of their training, a transport arrives, and the group watches injured soldiers disembarking, and begin to feel the weight of their duty. Later, Marin notes to Weller that he did not bring up the six-month clock, but that he had the group train where the transports would be landing.
Characters[]
- Able
- Cameron MacCloud
- Rufus Weller
- Kazu Iida
- Valentina Romanyszyn
- Julian Chase
- Yasamin Madrani
- Caliban
- Raquel Marin
- Jodie Brennan
- Miranda Worth
- Miguel Garza
- Leon August
- Marc Holcroft (mentioned)
Trivia[]
- In Colonel Raquel Marin's office, she has a framed copy of Raynal and Bonne's 1780 map of the Lesser Antilles and a framed flag of Puerto Rico, a reference to her Puerto Rican heritage.
- In the episode, Cameron makes a couple of references to the "Star Wars" franchise by George Lucas:
- After Dr. Weller returns, she rhetorically asks "You think we're gonna Luke Skywalker the war for you?" Luke Skywalker is the name of a major character of the franchise's films.
- After she achieves gen:LOCK, she looks at her body and says "My bits are showing!", which could be a reference to "Star Wars I: The Phantom Menace" where the unfinished droid C-3P0 is activated and made aware that his "parts are showing".
- This suggests she's seen the Star Wars franchise and, though unconfirmed, could be a fan of it.