“Tiny Machines” is episode twelve of season four of The 4400.
Diana and Doyle are talking about RossTom; they are concerned he might be on to them. Diana says they can’t keep the pretence up and have to find a way of getting rid of the thing inside Tom. Diana thinks they need to speak to someone who knows about the Marked. How about a trip to Canada? Meanwhile, RossTom is meeting with Parrish. He tells her Isabelle is inside Promise City and when she gets close to Collier, she’ll move. Yes, she knows not to damage him. Parrish wants RossTom to take care of a potential loose end. Maia. If she has the wrong vision at the wrong time, it will be a problem. RossTom says he’ll handle it.
Curtis Peck, from “The Marked”, is shooting a film. He heads back to his trailer and finds Diana and Doyle waiting for him. He claims he made the Marked up, but is intimidated into talking. Curtis is worried because he’s sure he’s being watched. He says he burned the screenplay, but one scene he was writing was where Matthew Ross became Marked. A weird fluid was injected into his spine and the characters were talking about tiny machines in the fluid. Curtis doesn’t know what that means.
Tess finds a girl in Promise City and talks to her. The girl has the ability to play with people’s senses and can make them blind and deaf. Tess asks the girl, Sophia, to come with her, and meets Shawn and some other 4400s that are going to help them get Burkhoff, who was taken in the previous episode, “Ghost in the Machine”, out before everyone wakes up. The plan goes off without a hitch.
RossTom ‘accidentally’ meets Maia and goes home with her. He claims he’s concerned about how Diana is acting. Maia mentions that Diana talks to Doyle all the time; sometimes Doyle even comes over at night. RossTom distracts Maia, then doses her drink with a sedative. Once she’s asleep, he injects her, then calls someone and says it’s done. Maia has had a massive dose of inhibitor and won’t have a vision for a couple of weeks.
Isabelle finds Kyle with Jordan Collier, who is planning to go to the Centre to get Burkhoff back. Kyle explains about Burkhoff and Shawn, and that Shawn needs to stay out of their way.
Doyle and Diana speak to Maroc; the obvious answer for tiny machines is nanites. Though the technology doesn’t exist as yet. Or, not that they know about. Marco thinks the personality of future guy is encoded into the nanites. They replicate when injected, and once there are enough of them, the victim becomes Marked. He hasn’t a clue how to destroy them; no-one has even built nanites yet, much less worried about how to get them out. RossTom arrives at this point, with Marco’s notes still on the board. It’s claimed they were there when they arrived and that Diana was looking at property yesterday.
Shawn is telling Tess and Burkhoff to stay at the Centre; Collier can find them anywhere and they may as well stay here where there are 4400s willing to protect them. Then Shawn is told that his mother and brother are downstairs. He heads to see them, but he is busy. Shawn arranges to go home, then his mother leaves. Danny stays; he wants to talk the promicin test to see if her can take the shot. Shawn says it’s not really ready yet. Danny asks if it’s close enough to know the odds.
Maia is in bed with a temperature when Marco arrives at Diana’s. He spoke to someone about nanites. There is a theoretical way of destroying them. With a highly radioactive substance. Polonium. In a fatal dose.
RossTom has discovered that Diana and Doyle went to Vancouver when Diana arrives. He says there’s a possible breakthrough in the college promicin case and they can take a look.
Danny had a CAT scan does and shows the results to Burkhoff, who says Danny can’t help him refine the last bit of the test. Because his chances of survival are excellent.
Isabelle contacts RossTom and says she can’t get close to Collier. He reminds her about Richard. Diana then startles him; the college was a bust. A student wanted to get back at her professor for giving her a C and reported him to NTAC. RossTom says he has to go a little early. Because he’s heading to see Curtis. Curtis says RossTom was never mentioned at all; he was just asked if there was a way to take a Mark out of someone. He didn’t tell them anything. RossTom shoots him anyway.
Diana and Doyle are planning to try and un-Mark Tom. Danny is going to take the promicin. Isabelle is working to kidnap Collier. And Cassie is not telling Kyle everything.