At a research lab in Colson, Washington, intellectually disabled janitor Roland Fuller is scolded by scientist Dr. Keats for forgetting how to use the facility's keycard locks. Keats walks in on his colleagues, Frank Nollette and Ronald Surnow, as they argue over a prototype jet engine they are developing. Nollette wants to push testing of the engine to break Mach 15, but Surnow is unwilling to risk damaging the prototype. After Keats and Nollette angrily leave, Surnow enters the facility's wind tunnel to make adjustments. However, Roland activates the tunnel's turbines, sending Surnow flying to his death. Roland examines the whiteboard and makes some changes to the equations on the board, before resuming cleaning.