Fauxlivia and Peter are amused by the notion that Marconi picked up a transmission before humans invented the technology to send one, but Markham's serious. He hauls out a book called The First People -- alternate credits reference alert! -- by Seamus Wiles, 1897. Sounds kinda like "Sam Weiss," no? He says it will tell them one theory as to where the numbers come from.

"By 'first people,' what are we talking about, Adam and Eve?" asks Peter, and Markham starts going on about the first people to evolve on the planet, predating the dinosaurs. "If you don't know anything, you can just say that," says Peter, but Markham's serious. Peter tries to pay him for the book, but Markham won't have it: "I don't want your money. I want protection. What if someone comes to erase my memories?" he asks, and Peter just rudely says he "should be so lucky" and then Peter and Fauxlivia peel on out of there, like so much for Markham's protection -- and it's worth pointing that it's Peter's notion that someone is trying to protect the code by wiping people's memories -- and at least Fauxlivia has the good manners to say "thanks" as they leave.

Over at the Harvard lab, Walter is unpacking the second GameCube and grumbling that he has "bookends" now, and then Nina shows up, completely turning Walter's mood around. "If I had known you were coming, I'd have baked a cake," he says, and Astrid solemnly informs Nina that Walter means it literally, and then Nina is awkwardly saying hello to Astrid, like they've just broken UP or something, and then she tells Walter that she needs to speak with him.

So they go outside and sit on a bench while Nina laments how "serious this campus has become," because I guess there aren't enough students cramming phone booths or swallowing goldfish for her to consider this a fun place anymore. Walter is actually smoking a joint now, surprising Nina, and then she takes a hit off it as the two of them bond over their prescriptions.

Then they start slamming today's generation, because all the students are "afraid," whilst they "had the courage to think against the grain of what we were told," and he kind of sounds like your grandfather, if your grandfather's complaints about young people today centre around them not smoking enough drugs and having too much respect for authority.

The smell of bullshit is especially thick as Walter says, "We let curiosity be our guide," so Nina asks why he's stopping Peter from following his. Walter grouchily says that what Peter is doing is different: "He's bent on pursuing something despite the grave risks it poses to his well-being," he says, and Nina points out that you can't create a vaccine without working with the virus. "No, but I have experienced what this kind of hubris can do," says Walter, and maybe somebody -- Nina, perhaps -- should remind him that SHE LOST AN ARM due to the "hubris" that he's regretting, but Nina herself doesn't say it. She just points out that Walter didn't listen to anyone's warnings, including her own: "You insisted on finding a way to cross over. Peter wouldn't be here now if you hadn't," she says, adding that Peter will continue to investigate whether Walter likes it or not, which he thinks will play right into Walternate's hands: "He's already built as much of the machine as he can. He gave the blueprints to Peter and asked him to complete it. Even though ... this ... it could kill him," says Walter, showing her the blueprint. She says "It's a drawing, not destiny" and tries telling Walter that with stakes this high, Peter needs Walter's guidance more than anything. "One of the things I have most admired about you is your optimism. Don't become a fatalist now," she says, without acknowledging that much of that can be attributed to recreational drug use. Walter still looks unsure.