Clara (2018) Movie Script
(INTENSE CLASSICAL
MUSIC PLAYING)
(SNIFFING)
(CLEARING THROAT)
Sorry.
Uh, yesterday,
we were talking about the, um...
The Fermi paradox.
Right, the Fermi paradox.
Worse.
The, uh contradiction of having
a high probability
of life existing elsewhere
in the universe
while having no actual evidence
to prove it.
The Drake equation.
It gives us every reason to believe
that life should be common in our galaxy.
Exciting right?
So why haven't
we found anything?
Over 100 billion stars
in the Milky Way,
the vast majority
of which host planets,
many of those planets
capable of supporting life
and still we have found nothing.
No sign of anyone
or anything else.
And believe me, we're looking.
Night after night, after night,
we're staring up at the sky,
burying ourselves
in mountains of data.
All because we know one day,
we will crack this thing.
And if we don't,
you will right?
(CLEARS THROAT)
Yeah, go ahead.
Didn't NASA predict
we'll find evidence life exists
beyond Earth within the next decade?
After you've been
in this field a while
you'll learn to take predictions
with a grain of salt.
But the game is changing though.
The TESS and James Webb
telescopes launch soon,
we'll stand a much better shot at finding
something. It just seems like you...
Please. Don't stop.
This is getting interesting.
If you're frustrated
that you personally
haven't found anything,
then maybe it's pointless
for you to keep looking.
Hmm.
I'm curious, is that a fact
or just your opinion?
Look, I just think...
- You think. So it's your opinion.
- Yeah.
If you feel this is a
dead end that wastes your time,
might as well do other things.
What other things could be
more important to humanity
than answering the question,
"Are we alone?"
Uh, reproduction?
Or like, love, even?
Love? That's pretty good.
Remind me of your name.
Kiefer.
Nice, Kiefer.
Uh, you're seeing
anyone, Kiefer?
- No not really.
- ISAAC: Hmm.
Okay. Why don't we do
what scientists do?
Let's take a look at the data.
All right.
I is the value of love.
Now, we have 250 students
in this class, or...
At least,
enrolled in this class.
Four out of every five of you
statistically will get married.
So, that's 200 students married.
Now last year we learned that
two out of five marriages
will end in divorce.
Which gives us 120.
One hundred and twenty of you who
will fall in love and stay married.
That's less than
half the people in this class.
But that's just marriage.
You're absolutely right.
Let's talk about the 85%
of relationships
that end in break-ups.
Or the 20% of breakups that lead to
depression, or the 3% that lead to suicide.
Well, wait. Let's talk
about the 56% of people
who admit to a history of
infidelity in their relationship.
Those are just
random statistics,
they don't actually
prove anything.
Proof?
Good.
I wanna ask you guys something.
And be honest.
Raise your hand if you've
ever been hurt by love.
(CLASS MURMURING)
Plug values into
the Drake Equation,
we'll sure as hell get a
number higher than zero.
You get to choose what you
waste your time on, Kiefer.
Outer space is a safer bet.
Is that a fact?
Excuse me?
Is that a fact or is that
just your opinion?
(ALL LAUGHING)
It's an educated opinion.
Let's open up
our books to page 237.
I was reading this article
online about life hacks.
I read one that says
increase productivity
and maximize your health with a
30-minute bike ride every morning.
I'm like, that's not
a life hack.
That's just something
you can do.
Just exercise.
Hey, those aren't images
from the galactic center.
Nope.
Isaac, you can't be shifting the
telescope to fish for Earth masses.
This is your advisor's
grant money, not yours.
- Switch it back.
- I did. Relax.
It's still there.
Switch it back, please.
I don't... Is that time stream
data transferred yet?
It says one minute.
I don't know why you can't just wait for
the TESS to launch like everyone else.
I'm just getting a head start.
While every citizen scientist
and their dog wait for that data,
I can actually be looking for
a habitable planet.
Come on, you're telling me
you just want to be another guy
sitting at home looking at
TESS data in your underwear?
Actually, yes.
That's a life-hack.
I might go commando.
Just a robe.
Get a nice breeze going.
- Hey, Joelle. Hi.
- Hey.
You didn't hear what we were
just talking about, did you?
Doesn't matter. Um...
This is somewhere here.
Ah! All right, now, your error
calculations were great,
but you mislabelled the axes on your plots.
I didn't dock you for it.
Just something to keep in mind
for the formal report. Okay?
You should be happy.
You did well.
(SCRAPING)
(BELL DINGING)
(INDISTINCT CHATTER)
You're falling apart, Isaac.
What were you thinking?
Misappropriating
telescope time like that,
it's not acceptable
I know.
You'll be replaced on your
advising professor's project.
That won't be necessary. Look, I've been
detecting planet transits on my own time.
All right? It was never my intention
to sabotage anyone else's project.
Right now we insist
that you take a break.
What happened at yesterday's lecture?
There were complaints.
Nothing. It was just a bad day.
It's been more than one day.
You're right.
It's been about two years.
I know that
things have been tough,
but I have to
draw the line somewhere.
Use your break to get this wild
goose chase out of your system.
I'd still like to be
in the lab on weekends...
You aren't listening.
Facilities are for
active staff only.
(SNIFFLING)
MAN: Three, two, one...
and lift off...
The Falcon 9 rocket carrying
the TESS telescope.
Dr. John Rickman from TESS
joins me.
DR. RICKMAN: Yes.
We're inviting astronomers
from all around the world
to participate in this effort.
Our data is your data.
Any one of you can lead us
to what I believe
will be the greatest
discovery of our time.
You see, TESS will observe
hundreds of thousands of stars
during this
revolutionary mission.
And this means
an enormous amount of data.
And we're gonna need your help
to analyze every bit of it.
Jeremy, I need
access to the cluster,
otherwise I have only my home computer and
laptop to run through these test data sets.
There's a lot. It'll take me a thousand
hours to do all of that work here...
We would like everyone involved.
In this community-wide effort
to go ahead
and reach out to others.
No matter what level of
astronomer you are,
professional, academic,
independent,
you can contribute
to this search.
From work, from home,
wherever you like.
So, we're encouraging you,
prepare yourself.
Mark your colanders.
Get excited.
Because in the coming weeks,
we'll be releasing
the first segment of data.
I want to remind everyone that the
search will enter its second phase
when the James Webb telescope
launches next year.
It is 100 times
more powerful than Hubble.
And allows to see into the atmospheres
of planets discovered by TESS
for signs of life.
(VOICE MESSAGE)
You have no messages.
So we're looking forward to a very
exciting future of planet-hunting.
(POP MUSIC PLAYING)
So nobody wants to be
an unpaid intern huh?
It's better than dealing with
pretentious millennials all day.
(LAUGHS) Okay. First of all, you're the
most pretentious person that I know.
Thank you.
Second, you get to
teach people about space.
I mean, what's bigger than that?
Literally that's the
biggest thing there is.
Yeah, but all we get
to do is teach it.
And in this small, tiny amount of time
they give us for original research...
What are we supposed to
do with that?
That's not enough time to
make any significant discovery.
Who said we have to?
No one.
But don't you want to?
I'm good.
Charlie, we work in a field where we can
push the boundaries of everything we know.
Sorry, I just don't feel like
we can do that from a classroom.
Wow. That's an incredibly way to talk
about the thing that I love doing.
Come on, Charlie,
that's not what I meant.
(MUTTERING) Sure,
got a big shot over here.
You know
that's not what I meant.
Uh-huh.
Come on, Charlie. You and I both know
that there's something out there.
Can't just stop looking.
Okay.
And besides, if someone doesn't do this kind
of work then you have nothing to teach.
(LAUGHS) Jeez.
See? Pretentious.
(POP MUSIC PLAYING)
Ooh. Hey, you wanna...
You wanna ride?
No. No, I'm good. I'll walk.
You sure?
My car's right over there.
Hey listen, um, you wouldn't
have any interest in
helping me out with my data,
would you?
It'd be like old times.
Undergrad labs.
You know,
just with the baby coming.
There's not gonna be
a lot of time. I'm sorry.
No. Don't be.
Anyway, uh,
thanks for the drink.
- Yeah.
- Hey, are you sure you're okay?
I will be. Hmm.
See you around.
Hey, we should do this
more often, huh?
Call me back once in a while.
(POP MUSIC PLAYING)
Dr. Bruno.
Stay. Stay.
How'd you know I live here?
Uh, oh. I, um...
I was hoping to apply
for the researcher position.
What's your name?
Clara.
Clara.
It's late.
Right. I'm sorry. I will come back
tomorrow if that would be better for you.
Um, but this is Eva.
And I was just wondering would it be at
all possible for her to get some water?
(DOG WHINING)
Please?
All right. So, um...
What level of post-secondary
education do you have?
Wait. You did go
to school right?
Yes.
I had bits of high school here and there.
But I moved around a lot.
Okay, so you're not a student.
Have you worked professionally
in any field of science before?
I haven't. No.
Can you program or
write data-handling code?
Or have any
qualifications at all?
Look, I'm under-qualified.
For sure.
But I'm a fast learner.
And I work very hard.
Especially when it comes to
things I care a lot about.
I've wondered almost every single day
of my life what else could be out there.
Haven't you?
Okay. Um...
Well, I guess I'm gonna need
some time to consider this.
Yeah.
I'll give you a call tomorrow.
What's your phone number?
Um...
I don't have a cellphone
or a landline.
(DOG WHINING)
I'm guessing you saw I had
a room available in my ad.
Do you have
many other applicants?
Are you fielding
a lot of other options?
Well, I'm sorry, but I don't
think this is going to work out.
Wow.
That is an incredible
vinyl collection.
Thanks.
Can I?
Just, like, one song?
- Yeah.
- Great.
(OPENING RECORD PLAYER)
(LAUGHS)
(BLUES MUSIC PLAYING)
Did you paint the Helix?
That mural in school?
(MUSIC CONTINUES)
(SIGHING)
You like Dylan?
Yes.
Is this an original?
It was one of my favorites.
Why is it empty?
We lost it
when we moved in here.
Who's we?
My wife and I.
Where is she?
She's gone.
Well, thank you.
Yeah. (CLEARS THROAT)
Thank you for everything.
Come on, Eva, come on.
Would you be able to
start first thing tomorrow?
Yeah.
Good.
I'll show you your room.
(MUSIC CONTINUES)
(DOG WHINING)
Shh. It's okay, girl.
Before we start,
a couple ground rules. Okay?
We're gonna keep this
objective and professional.
We are not roommates,
we are not friends.
We are research partners.
All right?
- Got it.
- Good.
So, I think we should start
something we're gonna be doing.
Americano with
three extra shots.
And the warm water with honey.
Thank you.
Can you take that?
- Thank you.
- Thanks.
You sure that's all you want?
Yeah. This is perfect.
Sorry. So the basics.
Basics. Um, do you know
what the transit method is?
Uh, hopefully I will soon.
It's a good place to start.
All right. Let's pretend
that this is a star.
Now, this is a transit.
It's anything that passes in front
of a star, in this case, a planet,
that dims the light we receive
from the star.
This is the light
dimming while the transiting
object passes in front of the star.
So, we measure the brightness
over time
so that we can determine different
qualities of that planet.
The size, even temperature,
just by analyzing
curves of light.
- Okay?
- Okay.
Right. So...
Go. Find the transit.
Hmm. Here.
That's a new planet.
- What?
- Mmm-hmm.
That is amazing.
- It's incredible, right?
- (LAUGHS)
So, you are gonna be finding the
dips, and I will be vetting the data.
And then how are we gonna know
which planets have life?
Well, we're the only planet that we
know capable of sustaining life, so...
We're the best
reference point for it.
We use this light data
to find other planets
that are as similar as possible
to Earth in mass and temperature.
It's an over-simplification,
but if we find another Earth...
We can find life.
Now, next year the James Webb
Space Telescope is gonna launch
and we need our planet candidate to
be the first follow-up observation.
All right.
Good.
Can I ask you something?
Yeah.
Why is finding life out there
so important to you?
You know what people
are scared of most?
CLARA: Death?
The unknown.
Which unfortunately this
universe is chock-full of.
Sure, we've been chipping away
at it for thousands of years,
but we still know
basically nothing.
So how do we process that?
We do what we've always done.
We make things up.
Create these elaborate bed-time
stories to explain it all.
But if we found something,
even the smallest clue that
something else exists out there,
something entirely different,
we wouldn't be the dark anymore.
We wouldn't have to be scared.
So...
You think that the only reason
we tell stories
is because we're scared?
Terrified.
Okay, but what if telling stories
is just a part of human nature?
I'm done playing pretend.
I think we all should be.
Okay. Okay.
What about this?
Let's say there's this
scientist who is brilliant,
and very well-respected
who makes game-changing, world-altering
advancements in his filed.
But he's also religious.
His driving force is his faith,
his belief in God,
a bedtime story.
But the result of his work
is science and progress.
What would you say to him?
- What would I say?
- Yes.
I'd say "Skip church and get back to work.
You'll get more done faster."
Oh, I think he did just fine.
What?
Sir Isaac Newton.
I think he did just fine.
(CHUCKLES)
All right, we've got work to do.
ISAAC: These are M dwarf stars.
Smaller, dimmer than our own.
Now, TESS mainly focuses on
brighter, bigger stars like ours.
But that means
one roughly every 365 days.
These M dwarf stars,
planets orbit them
in a matter of weeks.
So, less waiting around.
Exactly. So if we focus on these
stars, we have edge
over everyone else
looking through this data.
That's it. That's...
So is that gonna be a... Really?
- We got one.
- That's so cool.
CLARA: Why the rush?
The James Webb telescope will follow
up on planets discovered by TESS.
If we're the first ones
with the perfect candidate,
we have a chance to be
part of something huge.
CLARA: You mean when we
find out we're not alone.
ISAAC: Mmm-hmm.
(CHUCKLES)
(SIGHS)
There. Is that a planet?
No. You see that sharp drop,
it's probably nothing.
Keep looking.
CLARA: So, do you ever eat,
or does doing this just
completely sustain you?
ISAAC: (CHUCKLES)
Food? What's that?
- Hi.
- Hey.
So, that strange dip you caught,
it's a planet. A promising one.
Look. Right there.
Unfortunately, TESS' cadence
missed the full transit,
so we need to get a new transit
ourselves to help prove it.
Which means
we're gonna need a telescope.
Thank you.
Anything?
No.
We're supposed to apply for
telescope time months in advance.
Well, what about that one?
We need... We need one like the one I
used to operate through the university.
So why don't we use theirs?
Keep an eye out for the campus security.
This is gonna take a while.
Okay. Got it.
(SIGHS) Okay.
Come on.
- (DOOR BEEPS)
- Go.
(ISAAC CLEARING THROAT)
Where's the telescope?
A lot of our research is based
in the galactic center,
which is only visible from
the southern hemisphere.
The one we use is a remote robotic
telescope based out of Chile.
Normally we access it
with just a couple clicks.
But given my current
employment status,
I gotta make a phone call.
Hello. Hi, uh, ola.
My name is Dr. Bruno
Dr. Isaac Bruno.
I last accessed the telescope on
March 14th at approximately 3:00 a.m.
Si, si. Uh, could I have the telescope
shifted to new celestial coordinates?
No, no. I have permission.
From... Uh...
Dr. Charles Durant.
Yes, ID number 917836187.
No, he's not...
Listen, this only gonna take
a couple of hours, okay?
And then we'll put
the telescope back...
- Clara, hold on, what are you...
- (CLARA SPEAKING SPANISH)
(CONTINUES SPEAKING SPANISH)
All right, she said it will take
15 minutes, but it will be ours.
What did you say?
I asked her how her day was.
I was about to get to that.
Yeah. I knew you were.
The observatory is
pre-processing the images now,
It's gonna be a little while
until we can download the data.
So what are these rocks you take
everywhere with you?
This is obsidian from
the Huayhuash pass in Peru.
Amethyst from Zambia.
Celestine from Australia.
It's really rare there,
actually, this was a gift.
Pyrite from Navajun.
This piece is pretty impure,
but I watched them chip them out of
the ground like they were designed,
printed as perfect cubes.
What about one?
You're gonna like this one.
It's a meteorite
from Antarctica.
BOTH: Chondrite.
- Wow.
- Yeah.
You know this is older
than the Sun?
Mmm-hmm.
Why did you go to Antarctica?
That was actually the one
continent that I couldn't get to,
but that was my first one.
- That's what made me want to travel.
- Why?
I grew up around here,
group care, foster homes.
And they weren't great
for the most part,
but they used to let us go on these
trips to the waterfront or to the island.
You know, and me being me
I would sneak off,
and I would find families with
really nice beach towels and snacks
and I would sort of befriend them
and pretend they were my own.
And anyway,
one day we went to the pier
when I snuck off, I met
this guy who was a sailor.
He was this huge Icelandic guy
with this big red beard
and these glacial blue eyes,
like yours, and...
He let me help
get his boat ready to sail.
He taught me all about the proper rigging
and even how to signal with morse code.
And I loved that
as an eight-year-old.
And when we were done, to say
thank you, he gave me that.
Then he told me that not only did it
come from opposite side of the planet,
it came from the stars.
Meteors aren't stars.
It had a story.
He had a story.
And a life.
And I promised myself right then
and there, that when I grew up,
I was gonna travel the world and
I was gonna make my own stories.
And when I'm done being on the
move, I'll throw them in the ocean.
Give them back to the earth.
But for right now
they're all I've got.
They're my pieces of home.
So when did you move back?
A year ago.
All of the bouncing around
really started to take a toll on me,
so I decided it was time to come back.
And selling paintings
to get by...
And also, I found Eva, so we've just
been taking it easy, hanging out.
A-ha. So you speak Spanish.
What else you got?
(SPEAKING FRENCH)
That's French. Easy.
(SPEAKING JAPANESE)
Japanese.
(SPEAKING AFRIKAANS)
German?
Afrikaans.
(CHUCKLES)
People pretend that
we're all so different.
But really, just everybody
wants the same thing.
They all want to hear
"Thank you,"
they wanna be asked
how their days are.
They wanna hear "I love you."
Sounds like there's
a story there.
- More than one.
- Oh.
But I never really
let anything get too far.
Whenever the conversation
turned to marriage and kids,
I knew it was my time to go.
Hmm.
Not the right version
of my life, you know?
Yeah. I do.
- (KNOCKING AT DOOR)
- MAN: Uh, excuse me.
Campus is closed right now.
You're not supposed to be...
Shit. Clara.
Clara, hey, come on.
Campus security. We'll have to find
a way to get the data later. Go.
- Go, go, go.
- Okay, okay.
Don't you ever use my name for something
so stupid and irresponsible again!
Do you realize you put
my career in jeopardy?
Hello.
Hi.
ISAAC: Charlie, Clara.
Clara, Charlie.
- Nice to meet you, Charlie.
- You too.
Hope he hasn't made
your life a living hell yet.
Thank you.
You definitely got something.
Is it an Earth mass?
(SIGHING) But...
But?
It's contaminated
with stellar activity.
Plus you're gonna need a spectrum if you
want the mass and all the other fun stuff.
No one's gonna give you
any telescope time now,
unless you get someone with
considerable clout to help you out.
No.
No.
We'll find another option.
There aren't any, genius.
Sorry, guys, what are we
talking about?
After Isaac's little stunt,
it will be a cold day in hell before
he books telescope time again.
You need a good rep and
referrals and that sort of thing.
And Isaac just... Splat.
Took a dump all over that.
- Charlie.
- We have a friend.
Isaac's ex-wife, Rebecca.
She's is an Endowed Chair
at CalTech.
She got poached, moved to
California, she's kicking ass.
As long as you don't put
her career at risk too,
she could probably get you time
on the Keck telescope.
- I mean, if you're not too proud to ask for help.
- Right.
Isaac, let's talk to Rebecca.
Thanks for the data, Charlie...
Look, if you go make
things right with her,
you can also catch the next
transit three days from now.
Charlie, this is the part
where you stay out of it.
You're just making things harder
for yourself, asshole.
Sorry.
Believe it or not
he's the smartest guy I know.
Was it as bad as I think it was?
The worst.
Hey.
Hey.
Um, do you have
any extra pajamas?
Other than band T-shirts.
Uh...
Yeah. Should be... Should be
something in your closet.
Some stuff
that Rebecca never wore.
Are you sure?
Yeah.
Okay.
Actually, um...
Here. I got you this.
Something for you.
It's not an original.
But it's a piece of home.
(GIRL FROM THE NORTH COUNTRY
BY BOB DYLAN PLAYING)
If you're travelin'
in the north country fair
Where the winds
hit heavy on the borderline
Remember me
to one who lives there
She once was
a true love of mine
If you go
when the snowflakes storm
When the rivers freeze
and summer ends
Please see she has
a coat so warm
To keep her from
the howlin' winds
Please see for me
if her hair hanging long
If it rolls and flows
all down her breast.
Please see for me
if her hair's hanging long
Isaac?
Are you sure this is okay?
That's the way
I remember her best
(CLEARS THROAT)
Yeah, it's fine.
You look nice.
Many times I've often prayed
Isaac, you need to
go see Rebecca.
In the darkness of my night
In the brightness of my day
MAN: I'll let Dr. Jenkins know
you're here.
Can I get you anything?
No, thanks.
(TELEPHONE RINGING)
(TELEPHONE CONTINUES RINGING)
(INDISTINCT CHATTER)
Isaac.
Hey.
I have a meeting in a few minutes.
I'm just finishing up my lunch.
Went back to Jenkins, huh?
That's new.
A little contradictory,
don't you think?
In our field.
So you never answer any of my phone calls and
then you just show up here out of nowhere?
Rebecca, I need your help.
I need to prove that
the planet I found is habitable.
And I'd assume
you'd want that, too.
TESS has just launched,
James Webb to follow,
ground telescopes, you're gonna
be fighting for renewal.
We're always
fighting for renewal.
Exactly.
Oh, okay.
So you're here to help me?
You're obsessed, Isaac.
You used to want this, too.
I used to want a lot of things.
I'm sorry. This...
This was a bad idea.
I'm gonna go.
Isaac.
Finding some other lifeforms
isn't going to bring him back.
I know that.
But it's all I have.
I can get you
three hours with Keck.
It's the best I can do.
- Rebecca...
- Promise me it stops after this.
For you.
Yeah.
Here. I know you.
(SOBBING)
(MOURNFUL CLASSICAL
MUSIC PLAYING)
(SOBBING)
(EVA WHINING)
It's okay.
(RUMBLING)
(CLASSICAL MUSIC
CONTINUES PLAYING)
No one will blame you
for not finding anything.
I'm sorry, Isaac.
Look.
Oh, my gosh.
It was right on time.
Mag 13.5. Just right
for a James Webb follow-up.
The planet's diameter is...
Twelve thousand eight hundred
kilometers. Sound familiar?
With a density of 5.4 grams
per centimeter cubed...
It's definitely an Earth mass.
Yeah.
The planet's distance
to the star?
0.5 astronomical units.
Which gets me to around 303K.
Inside the habitable zone.
Twenty light-years away from us.
You might've just
discovered Earth 2.0.
Thank you, Rebecca.
- (CHUCKLES)
- (SIGHING) Oh, man.
All right, I need to submit this
to NASA immediately.
Of course.
You owe me a sandwich.
(DOOR CLOSES)
Oh, my God! Oh, my God!
(BOTH LAUGHING)
I wanna show you something.
I found our star.
It's a little hard to see
with all the city light. But...
It's there.
Got an idea.
Sorry, the resolution's
not great.
There's software that's gonna
virtually catalog
all of the stars discovered
by TESS.
I'll be like a map
of the galaxy.
This is just a
Hubble deep field image.
It'll have do for now.
Yeah. It'll do.
Seems too beautiful to
just be random.
It's beautiful
because it's random.
Doesn't it seem like there's so
much intention behind all of it?
Like somebody
painted this... Canvas.
If some God was trying
to paint a perfect universe...
They did a pretty shitty job.
Just look at the way
things happen.
Supremely unintelligent design.
Oh, I know that I feel
a connection to all this.
And people use all different
kinds of words for it,
but there is something else.
Something that
reaches out to me.
And I don't know
how to explain it.
Clara, that connection you feel
basically just boils down to a release of
chemicals in the brain, like serotonin.
- There's more to it than that.
- There really isn't.
Look, if some incredibly
advanced species out there
confirmed some metaphysical
connection to everything exists,
then maybe I'd look at the data.
But for now...
It's just an unproven,
human-made concept.
Wouldn't you want there to be
something more to all this?
Wouldn't you want that comfort?
That certainty of knowing
that we're going to be okay?
Or that we don't just fade away into
the darkness when all this is over?
It's not about what I want.
I can't just choose
to believe otherwise.
I'm sorry.
I've always had a feeling that the
universe can still surprise us.
We can't prove something
based on a feeling.
Did you feel that?
Prove it.
CLARA: Wait.
I'm sorry.
(CLATTERING)
Why do you keep
moving those around?
Um, it just helps me figure out
what I need to get to next.
What do you mean?
I mean, you said it yourself.
We're not friends, we're not
roommates, we are research partners.
And we made our discovery, so...
Exactly.
Finding a planet candidate
is just the first step.
I mean, there's still
plenty of analysis to do.
You don't have to leave.
I'm sorry for last night.
- I shouldn't have done that to you.
- No. I made you uncomfortable.
No, you didn't.
Okay, then. We should
go tell Charlie the good news.
Charlie?
He'd be mid-lecture by now.
Okay. So we'll crash it.
I don't really wanna be seen
on campus.
Hence crashing.
CHARLIE: If you'll only look up from your
phones to glean one piece of information
from me all semester,
let it be this.
Data.
Data is everything to us. Yes?
Without data we wouldn't
understand what we're looking at.
But if you're like me and staring at
graphs all day is not a lot of fun to you,
well, there's a way
to make it fun.
(ETHEREAL SOUND PLAYS)
Sonification is the process of
converting data into sound.
What we're listening to right now
are vibrations from Saturn's rings.
Consider what you're
actually listening to.
Pretty trippy, right?
Let's switch it up. Hmm.
(CHIMING SOUND PLAYS)
Listening to data is very
useful for detecting patterns.
If you think about it, basically
every song on your radios,
on your streaming devices,
can be broken down into data.
Now, I've put the MP3 of this
sonified track on e-class.
What I want you to do
is go home and reverse
the sonification process.
Convert the sound
back into data.
That's it.
Get the hell outta here.
(INDISTINCT CHATTER)
So this is how you think
college students dress?
You look like you're about to drop
a really, really obnoxious mix tape.
(CHARLIE AND CLARA LAUGH)
Hey, Dr. Rickman from TESS is
coming to give a lecture next month.
You guys should sneak
into that as well.
I recommend dressing
exactly like this.
We may need to
talk to him a little sooner.
What are you talking about?
We found our planet.
- Seriously?
- Yeah.
(CELL PHONE RINGING)
Are you kidding me right now?
Hang on a second.
Hello. Now?
Like right now?
Yeah. Yeah, okay.
I'm coming. I'm coming.
I'm having a baby.
(INDISTINCT CHATTER
OVER PA SYSTEM)
Hi, my wife is
having a baby. Our baby.
Uh, it's Maya Durant. M-A-Y-A.
Just love to know
what floor she's on, please.
(DISTANT BEEPING)
(MONITOR BEEPING)
(PULSING)
(MOANS SOFTLY)
(INDISTINCT CHATTER
OVER PA SYSTEM)
(TELEPHONE RINGING)
(ELEVATOR CLANGING)
(ELEVATOR DINGING)
(ELEVATOR STOPS)
(DINGS)
(DOOR OPENS)
(AMBIENT MUSIC PLAYING)
REBECCA: Isaac.
You're gonna be a father.
DOCTOR 1: He's not breathing.
DOCTOR 2: I don't
have a heartbeat.
REBECCA: Isaac. (SOBS)
(SOBBING) He's not breathing.
(SOBBING HYSTERICALLY)
NURSE: Just give her
some space. Just focus on me.
DOCTOR: Still no heartbeat.
REBECCA: (SOBBING) No!
NURSE: I'm so sorry.
CLARA: Isaac?
CLARA: What are
you thinking about?
That it's all just luck.
All this.
Us.
(ISAAC LAUGHS SARDONICALLY)
It's just this total
cosmic accident.
Just one minuscule variation,
a slight shift,
one way or another,
and the last 13.8 billion years
could have gone in infinite
number of ways, but...
Here we are. (LAUGHS CYNICALLY)
Recycled matter.
Dust.
(SCOFFS)
So many things have to go right
to make anything.
An atom, a star, a...
A tiny person.
He was ours.
For less than a minute,
he was ours.
And then...
He wasn't.
Isaac?
I wish I could tell you why bad
things happen to good people.
Or why life just stops.
But I can't.
All I know is that
the universe went our way
and we're here, and so was he.
He was here.
His atoms were here.
And they're not gone.
They've only changed.
I read somewhere
that once two atoms
come in contact
with one another,
they can become
linked, intertwined.
And then no matter
how far they're separated,
they still know
one another's state,
instantly, over light years.
Quantum entanglement.
Yeah.
You're still connected to him.
I'm not sure
that's how that works.
Yeah, but you
feel him, don't you?
Maybe somewhere, somehow,
he still feels you.
(INHALES DEEPLY)
Now you've got one
from every continent.
This one will be both of ours.
ISAAC: Then maybe
that means you can stay.
(SOFT MUSIC PLAYING)
CLARA: Stop looking at what
you're drawing and just feel it.
- ISAAC: Feel this?
- Yeah.
ISAAC: Let's draw the bite
out of your apple.
CLARA: Mmm.
It's gonna fall.
(CLARA GIGGLING)
CLARA: Now you gotta
wear it till it falls off.
Uh, fire, and that's earth,
and this is air.
My tooth went through my lip.
ISAAC: (LAUGHS)
Get something out of it.
CLARA: It's kind of
Wonder Woman-ey.
(MUSIC CONTINUES PLAYING)
(CARS HONKING)
(CELL PHONE RINGING)
Hello?
Yeah, that's me.
What are you talking about?
That doesn't make any sense.
No, we gave you
all of our data. It's been...
Go back. Take a look. Hello?
Hello?
What's going on?
Somebody discovered our planet
candidate using the TESS data
and they submitted it
a week before us.
Some guy from Ladakh, India,
is gonna be credited
with our discovery.
- Not us.
- Okay.
But we still found it, right?
I mean, it doesn't really
matter whose name goes on what.
Yes, yes, yes it does!
It really does.
It means that we're
not gonna be a part
of the next couple
of years of analysis.
What do you mean
the next couple of years?
And if they find signs of life?
We're definitely not
gonna be a part of that.
Okay.
Well, then why don't we
just find another candidate?
- Just start the whole process over.
- No, no, Clara, stop!
Stop! Stop!
At this point, finding a better
planet candidate
in time for James Webb
is basically impossible.
Isaac.
It's over. (SCOFFS)
It's over.
DR. RICKMAN: We made our most
intriguing discovery so far.
Uh, TESS 421a.
And 421a, it orbits an M dwarf.
Uh, it's in the Goldilocks zone
where the temperature,
you know, is just
right for liquid water.
It's about 20 light-years away.
And, uh, its size
is closer to Earth's
than any other planet recorded.
REPORTER: Has TESS
found any initial evidence
to suggest that there
is life on this planet?
Uh, no, that's not
the primary objective of TESS.
I mean, we're merely
an Earth survey mission
to search for
Earth-like planets.
Webb's infrared capabilities
will allow us...
The objective of TESS is to
find Earth-like planets.
Its atmosphere will
determine composition,
identify bio-signature gases...
(LAPTOP THUDS SHUT)
Wait. Everyone is looking
for Earth-like planets.
They're all... They're all looking
for circumstances that are right,
but what...
What if we look
for things that are wrong?
What do you mean?
Even if a planet has life,
it could just be microbial,
it would be too small.
We wouldn't be able to see it.
The only way to truly know if
we find an advanced species
is to see the result
of their existence.
Atmospheres affected
by fossil fuels
or large mega-structures that
are big enough to make a transit.
Or, uh, uh,
solar energy harvesting.
You know, footprints.
The older and more
evolved civilizations
are bound to have produced
unnatural phenomena.
Anomalies.
How would we even start?
We download the next
batch of TESS data
and we go through all of it.
Process of elimination.
(UPBEAT CLASSICAL MUSIC PLAYING)
Okay.
I'm done being a hermit.
I need to get out
of this apartment.
Uh, I'm, I'm making
real progress here.
Come on, just...
I'm sorry. I can't tonight.
CLARA: (INDISTINCT)
Okay, well, I'm going out.
- What?
- CLARA: I'm going out.
- Where?
- Dancing.
(DOOR BANGS SHUT)
(MUSIC CONTINUES LOUDLY)
(CLARA BREATHING HEAVILY)
(TAP RUNNING)
(EEVA WHINING)
(EXHALES)
(TAP DRIPPING)
(STONES CLATTER)
(BREATHES DEEPLY)
You need a Tylenol or something?
Mmm-mmm.
What are you doing?
Uh...
Drawing... Evolution.
- (PENCIL SCRAPING)
- ISAAC: Huh. Nice.
(EVA WHINING)
(PANTING)
CLARA: You know, Eeva's much
closer to me these days.
Oh, yeah?
CLARA: When I found her,
she was a stray,
just wandering without a home.
Maybe it's her who found me.
Maybe I'm a stray.
ISAAC: Holy shit!
I think I found something.
I found something.
CHARLIE: What am I
looking at here?
You'll see it.
This is bad data.
What are you talking
about? Look at this.
The data captured
over these days...
Look at the strange, periodic
dimming of the light.
That suggests
strategically scattered
objects orbiting that star.
This is too intentional
to be debris.
This could be some
sort of partial Dyson sphere.
Some advanced civilization
harvesting their star's energy.
Charlie, would you look at this?
You know aliens are always the last
thing we're supposed to consider, right?
Charlie, this is
not natural, man.
It's bad data.
There was movement
on the spacecraft.
This batch
is riddled with errors.
I'm surprised
you don't know that.
Oh, shit.
I think you might be
too close to this.
(SIGHS)
CLARA: Is everything okay?
CHARLIE: Hey, I heard you were,
uh, under the weather.
You look like
you're on the mend.
CLARA: Uh, not really,
but I just came in here
to get a glass of water
and then I'm gonna
go back to bed.
(TAP RUNNING)
How's Maya?
Uh, good, good. I mean, Maya's
a little nuts, you know.
It's kinda hard to get any sleep
when the baby's crying
every seventh minute.
- CLARA: Mmm-hmm.
- I'm afraid I'm gonna come home one day
and she's gonna have a note
taped to the kid's forehead
that says she's
moved to Puerto Plata
and she was never
really into dad-bod.
CLARA: Come on.
But besides that, we're good.
(LAUGHS)
Well, if she needs a tour guide,
just toss her my way.
I guess sometimes
I miss being on the move.
CLARA: Goodnight, you guys.
CHARLIE: Hey, goodnight.
Hey!
What the hell's
the matter with you?
Come on, Charlie,
not now, please.
She's sick and you're
looking at shit data?
You should be making her soup.
You spend all your time
looking up at the stars,
you're gonna miss what's
right in front of you.
Again.
All right? This whole hiatus
thing bore fruit, right?
You met Clara.
You got closure with Rebecca.
I mean, she's moving on
with her life.
You deserve that, too.
What do you mean by that?
She got in touch with Maya
to say congratulations
on the baby.
And?
And she asked our opinions on
the best online baby registries.
(SIRENS WAILING IN THE DISTANCE)
(SNIFFLES)
(PENCIL SCRAPING)
ISAAC: Hey.
Oh, I mean, you don't
have to stop. I...
It's fine.
(SIGHS)
How are you feeling?
You don't have
to worry about me.
But I do.
(ISAAC BREATHES DEEPLY)
This is for you.
It's not great.
I tried to do
everything you told me.
I got charcoal
all over my hands.
(ISAAC CHUCKLES SOFTLY)
I just figured, you know, you're
never in any of your own sketches.
You're always busy
observing everything else.
I just wanted to
let you know that...
I see you.
And I know I've been
distracted lately.
I've been thinking about that
look on Charlie's face when he...
When he was holding
his baby for the first time.
Everything just
made sense to him.
And I realized that
all this time, I...
(SCOFFS) I've just been
chasing that look.
I thought that this,
all of this, you know,
the work, I thought that maybe
if I could find life somewhere,
if I could just find something
living, then maybe...
Isaac...
(SIGHS)
(CLARA SIGHS)
I think it's time to give up.
- I tried but I failed.
- Get up.
- Come on.
- What?
Come on, get up.
Look, we are going to try
to find something tonight,
but this time no more data.
I need you to trust something
more than just your eyes.
I don't understand.
You said that there was a virtual map
created from the TESS data, right?
Yes, but only two batches
of data have been released...
Set it up.
CLARA: We're gonna pick a star.
ISAAC: At random?
CLARA: No, not at random.
Give me your hand.
Here.
I want you to see what I see.
- What?
- You said it yourself.
Right? We're dust.
We're made up of the same stuff
that this universe is.
You're not just in it,
Isaac. It's in you.
So find it.
- Use it.
- Clara, this is crazy.
Trust me.
All right.
I'll try.
Close your eyes.
- Come on...
- CLARA: Close them.
(ISAAC BREATHES DEEPLY)
CLARA: Let yourself drift...
To where you've been...
And where you can go next.
(SOFT MUSIC PLAYING)
(RUMBLING)
(MUSIC STOPS)
(PANTING)
Turn it off.
Isaac...
ISAAC: I can't believe
I let you talk me into that.
(SIGHS)
I saw you feel something.
You just need to try...
When are you going to get it?
You want the world to be this
magical, connected place,
but you know that it's not.
And so you sugarcoat it
with these
bullshit philosophies.
Because the truth is
you can't stand it
just like the rest of us.
Isaac, I saw you feel
something back there.
I saw you feel something
inside of yourself
that you couldn't explain,
so what do you do?
You reject it
because you can't prove it.
- No, because...
- You trust your data
more than you
trust yourself. It's sad.
- Because I'm objective!
- No. Because you're lost.
(SIGHS)
And I care about you.
And all I wanted to do was...
What, you wanted to make me
another chapter in your scrapbook?
- CLARA: Come on.
- Huh?
You wanted to have
some great experience
and then up and leave
just like you always do?
- No...
- It's like you said,
you missed being
on the move, right?
(SOBS)
You wanna talk about trust?
I trusted you.
Right up until the moment
that I realized
that I'm just a pit stop on
your way to somewhere else.
(STONE CLATTERS)
Isaac...
(CLARA TREMBLING)
Eva.
Come on, girl, I wanna go.
- (WHINING)
- Eva!
(SOBBING) Where is she?
Clara, she's right there.
(EVA WHINES)
CLARA: Eva?
- What's going on?
- CLARA: Eva?
- Clara! Clara!
- (CLARA GASPS)
- Eva...
- Clara? Hey, hey, hey!
- What, what is happening?
- Isaac...
What's happening?
I don't know where I'm going.
Clara! Stop, stop!
- Hey, no, no!
- (EVA BARKING)
No, no, no. No, no, no, no...
Clara, wake up! Clara!
Help! Help! Clara!
(TELEPHONE RINGING)
(BREATHING SHAKILY)
(FOOTSTEPS APPROACHING)
DOCTOR: Mr. Bruno?
She's awake now.
What's wrong with her?
We, um...
We think it's some sort of
rare auto immune disease.
Her skin is being affected,
her muscles are atrophying.
Her connective tissue's
breaking down
and her organs...
It's her heart, her lungs,
her kidneys,
they've been failing
for some time now.
No, no. This, this doesn't
make any sense. She...
She... (SCOFFS)
She's been tired. She's...
Been a little under the weather.
Other than that,
she's been fine.
Fine?
The state that you
brought her in here,
I'm surprised
she can even walk and talk.
The corticosteroid
she was taking
might have relieved
her symptoms, but...
Mr. Bruno, it was only
a matter of time.
We'll do what we can for Claira.
Clara.
I'm sorry. Clara.
(FOOTSTEPS RECEDING)
(MONITOR BEEPING)
(DOOR OPENS)
(DOOR SHUTS)
(BREATHES DEEPLY)
Why didn't you tell me?
It wouldn't have
made any difference.
I was always gonna end up here.
(SNIFFLES)
ISAAC: I brought you these.
(CLARA INHALES SHARPLY)
(SHAKILY) I don't wanna go.
I really wanna stay. (SOBS)
I wanna stay.
ISAAC: Hey, hey.
I wanna stay.
You're not going anywhere.
(BREATHING SHAKILY)
Because there is nowhere
for me to go, right?
I didn't say that.
(SIGHS) I'm sorry.
I'm sorry.
Pretty entangled, huh?
Yeah.
(STONES CLATTERING)
Clara?
What are you doing?
I don't need to
move them anymore.
What?
(ISAAC SNIFFLES)
You gotta rest, okay?
Just remember them like that.
For me.
Yeah. I will.
(ALARM BEEPING RAPIDLY)
(INHALES SHARPLY)
(ALARM CONTINUES BEEPING)
Clara?
Isaac?
No, no. Something's wrong.
Something's wrong.
Nurse? Hey, nurse?
Nurse! Hey. Hey,
something's wrong, okay?
- I'll be right back.
- Don't go. Don't go.
(CLARA SIGHS)
I wish I could see your
face when you see it.
- (FOOTSTEPS APPROACHING)
- What?
(DOOR OPENS)
DOCTOR: You're gonna
have to stand aside...
- Sir, step aside, please.
- ISAAC: All right.
- Clara?
- (ALARM BEEPING)
DOCTOR: Clara, can you
hear me? Clara. Clara!
DOCTOR: Okay.
(BEEPING CONTINUES)
(BEEPING STOPS)
NURSE: Mr. Bruno?
Mr. Bruno?
Her belongings.
I'm so sorry.
(FOOTSTEPS RECEDING)
(SIGHS)
- (KEYS JANGLE)
- (ISAAC SNIFFLES)
(SNIFFLES)
- (SOMBER MUSIC PLAYING)
- (ISAAC CRYING)
(CONTINUES CRYING)
(EVA WHINES DEEPLY)
(SOBBING)
(MUSIC CONTINUES)
(EVA WHINING)
(SWITCH CLICKING)
(SOFT MUSIC PLAYING)
(CELL PHONE CHIMES)
(BREATHES DEEPLY)
(EXHALES)
CHARLIE: I'd like to thank Dr. Rickman
for coming here to speak with us today.
- Please. A round of applause.
- (ALL APPLAUDING)
Thank you for being here, sir.
Thank you so much.
(INDISTINCT CHATTER)
CHARLIE: Um, can you excuse me
for a second, Dr. Rickman?
I'll be right back.
Excuse me.
Hey, Isaac, man,
what are you doing here?
You didn't return any
of my calls. What's going on?
I need to speak to Rickman.
Jesus. You look like you
haven't slept. Are you okay?
I'm fine.
Did they figure out
what she had?
Charlie, I'm serious.
I need to speak to Rickman now.
I don't think
that's a good idea.
- Charlie.
- Isaac,
you need to stop this.
You are not thinking...
This is real.
Please.
(BREATHES DEEPLY)
(FOOTSTEPS APPROACHING)
(DOOR OPENS)
My wife's a huge fan.
And so am I.
Um, Dr, Rickman,
this is Dr. Bruno.
I thought you two should meet.
Gentlemen, I have a plane to catch at 7:00.
I haven't time for this.
Dr. Rickman, please. I...
I found an anomaly in the most
recent batch of TESS data.
What kind of an anomaly?
Uh, it's a nearby system.
Orange dwarf star.
Jupiter mass planet
orbiting just outside the...
No, we're not interested in Jupiter masses.
They're uninhabitable.
Yes, but I think you
might be interested
in what I found
orbiting with it.
ISAAC: This step, right here.
The algorithm skipped
right over it, but I...
I got lucky.
Happened to notice it.
It's most likely an exomoon,
which is a nice find, Dr. Bruno,
but it's nothing anomalous.
That's what I thought.
And then I accessed the
online Kepler data archives
and I found this.
And this.
And these.
Multiple transits from this star
with this same period.
And this step...
It's in the exact same spot
relative to the planet.
It's not a moon.
I checked.
And double-checked.
And triple checked.
This guy checks.
Hmm.
Hmm. All right.
Looks like I'm
missing my flight.
You know, that whole aliens-are-the-last-
thing-to-consider business
is getting harder by the minute.
Yup.
Charlie, I got another
favor to ask you.
If this thing checks out,
I want you to take
the lead on it.
What the hell are you
talking about?
This could save your career.
This is your big discovery.
No, it doesn't belong to me.
It's hers.
Well, that's why
you should share it.
I just did.
Look, I'll see
this part through.
(CLEARS THROAT)
Besides, you'd look a lot better
on the front
of the paper anyway.
Well, there is definitely...
There is something there.
But we vet the data
with our full attention,
but for now,
we cannot draw
any wild conclusions.
With all due respect,
Dr. Rickman,
yes we can.
Here.
Look.
This planet is orbiting the star
just outside the habitable zone.
Now this object
is orbiting with the planet,
but closer to the star, and
inside the habitable zone.
Now if we take
gravitational pull
and Lagrangian points
into consideration,
it seems fairly obvious
that wherever this object is,
it's stuck at the L1
point of this planet.
But L1 is unstable.
I mean, if it ended up there,
why hasn't it drifted off?
So when we launch
the James Webb,
and it's orbiting Earth
at our L2 point,
which is also unstable,
it's just going to drift off?
No, I mean, everything
we have at L1 and L2
is an artificial satellite.
They all have
thrusters, they're...
Under control.
So, something
is keeping it there.
(CHUCKLES)
(LAUGHING)
(CHARLIE AND ISAAC LAUGH)
DR. RICKMAN: Good morning,
everyone.
Or good afternoon or evening
to many of you who are watching
this from around the world.
Fifty years ago, we sent
astronauts to the moon,
as the whole world watched.
And then after that
we stopped watching.
We stopped looking up.
Well, not everyone,
but we as a species,
we lost interest
in what was above us.
But in recent years
that has begun to change.
Finding flowing water on Mars,
soon sending men
and women to live there,
space is once again uniting us
as curious human beings.
Well, today, our curiosity
has paid off.
Ladies and gentlemen,
let me present first,
TESS-1417.
It's 200 light-years away.
It's home to four exoplanets,
one of them a Jupiter mass.
And then, this.
It's a large object.
It orbits with the planet
within the habitable zone.
REBECCA: For the past two years,
SETI has monitored
the constant radio signal
created by the
object's presence.
Although nothing in the
signal suggests communication,
there are frequent shifts that
indicate the object's movements.
It adjusts itself
with the utmost precision.
And therefore we have concluded
that this artificial object,
it's the result
of intelligent life.
(REPORTERS CLAMORING)
DR. RICKMAN: The panel
will now take questions.
Uh, yes.
Can you elaborate
on what you believe this
"artificial object" to be?
We cannot begin to comprehend
the architecture
of an object this large,
but it does not change the fact
that this mega-structure
is being commandeered.
We believe it to be some
sort of space station.
(REPORTERS CLAMORING)
(STONES CLATTER)
(BIRDS SCREECHING)
REBECCA: Isaac finally picks the
right star and all this happens.
CHARLIE: It's crazy, right?
You still never told me
how he did it.
I guess he just knew
where to look.
(CHUCKLES SOFTLY)
CLARA: What are you
thinking about?
(SWITCH CLICKING)
ISAAC: It's all just luck.
This is this total
cosmic accident.
What are these rocks you
take everywhere with you?
(STONES CLATTER)
CLARA: They're my
pieces of home.
Oh, my God. (LAUGHS)
It's seems too beautiful
to just be random.
This one will be both of ours.
Isaac?
(CELL PHONE CHIMES)
(CLARA GASPS)
I wish I could see your
face when you see it.
(SOFT DRAMATIC MUSIC PLAYING)
(SPLASHING)
(GIRL FROM THE NORTH COUNTRY
PLAYING ON GUITAR)
(SIRENS WAIL IN THE DISTANCE)
(CELL PHONE RINGING)
(BIRDS CHIRPING)
REBECCA: Isaac.
- How are you?
- ISAAC: Good.
How's your son?
Great.
Paul will be two
in a couple of weeks.
He's getting big.
Wow. (CHUCKLES)
Sorry for being
so cryptic on the phone.
First contact isn't something
you spill the beans about
in an open line.
They made contact?
That's what it seems.
Two weeks ago,
an electron spin detector
at Los Alamos was
observing a particle
for an unrelated project.
The particle started
spinning bizarrely.
Soon we realized
it was being manipulated
to get our attention.
They must have
exploited entanglement
- to instantly send us data through quantum states.
- Wait, wait, wait.
I don't understand.
What kind of data
could you send through
spinning particles?
The particle would vary between
two specific transformations only.
So we assigned zeroes to the
first spin, and ones to the other.
Binary.
REBECCA: Not just that.
The zeroes and ones were
in Morse code patterns.
It's beyond us how,
but they must have found a way
to probe us relatively recently
if they're using Morse
to send a message.
Well, what did the message say?
(SIGHS)
(BREATHES SHAKILY)
Bec...
I don't understand.
Somehow they know all about us.
About you.
We figured they
can anticipate you
listening for the next message.
Let's find out.
How?
REBECCA: (ON INTERCOM)
Stand by, Isaac.
(RAPID BEEPING)
TECHNICIAN: Los Alamos is
detecting transformations again.
(SIGHS) It's not Morse code.
REBECCA: Maybe they're
building a file?
TECHNICIAN: Then we'd
need a format.
Okay. Try a text file.
(BEEPS)
(SIGHS)
Try an audio format.
(TYPING)
(CHIMES)
Okay.
(DOOR SHUTS)
(CLEARS THROAT)
REBECCA: Play it.
(CLICKS)
(CRACKLING STATIC)
(STATIC CONTINUES)
(GIRL FROM THE NORTH COUNTRY
PLAYING SOFTLY)
If you're traveling
In the north country fair
Where the winds
Hit heavy on the borderline
(BREATHES SHAKILY)
Remember me to one
Who lives there
(SOBS)
She once was
A true love of mine
(WHIMPERS AND SOBS)
(SOBBING AND LAUGHING)
Thank you.
(SOMBER MUSIC PLAYING)
MUSIC PLAYING)
(SNIFFING)
(CLEARING THROAT)
Sorry.
Uh, yesterday,
we were talking about the, um...
The Fermi paradox.
Right, the Fermi paradox.
Worse.
The, uh contradiction of having
a high probability
of life existing elsewhere
in the universe
while having no actual evidence
to prove it.
The Drake equation.
It gives us every reason to believe
that life should be common in our galaxy.
Exciting right?
So why haven't
we found anything?
Over 100 billion stars
in the Milky Way,
the vast majority
of which host planets,
many of those planets
capable of supporting life
and still we have found nothing.
No sign of anyone
or anything else.
And believe me, we're looking.
Night after night, after night,
we're staring up at the sky,
burying ourselves
in mountains of data.
All because we know one day,
we will crack this thing.
And if we don't,
you will right?
(CLEARS THROAT)
Yeah, go ahead.
Didn't NASA predict
we'll find evidence life exists
beyond Earth within the next decade?
After you've been
in this field a while
you'll learn to take predictions
with a grain of salt.
But the game is changing though.
The TESS and James Webb
telescopes launch soon,
we'll stand a much better shot at finding
something. It just seems like you...
Please. Don't stop.
This is getting interesting.
If you're frustrated
that you personally
haven't found anything,
then maybe it's pointless
for you to keep looking.
Hmm.
I'm curious, is that a fact
or just your opinion?
Look, I just think...
- You think. So it's your opinion.
- Yeah.
If you feel this is a
dead end that wastes your time,
might as well do other things.
What other things could be
more important to humanity
than answering the question,
"Are we alone?"
Uh, reproduction?
Or like, love, even?
Love? That's pretty good.
Remind me of your name.
Kiefer.
Nice, Kiefer.
Uh, you're seeing
anyone, Kiefer?
- No not really.
- ISAAC: Hmm.
Okay. Why don't we do
what scientists do?
Let's take a look at the data.
All right.
I is the value of love.
Now, we have 250 students
in this class, or...
At least,
enrolled in this class.
Four out of every five of you
statistically will get married.
So, that's 200 students married.
Now last year we learned that
two out of five marriages
will end in divorce.
Which gives us 120.
One hundred and twenty of you who
will fall in love and stay married.
That's less than
half the people in this class.
But that's just marriage.
You're absolutely right.
Let's talk about the 85%
of relationships
that end in break-ups.
Or the 20% of breakups that lead to
depression, or the 3% that lead to suicide.
Well, wait. Let's talk
about the 56% of people
who admit to a history of
infidelity in their relationship.
Those are just
random statistics,
they don't actually
prove anything.
Proof?
Good.
I wanna ask you guys something.
And be honest.
Raise your hand if you've
ever been hurt by love.
(CLASS MURMURING)
Plug values into
the Drake Equation,
we'll sure as hell get a
number higher than zero.
You get to choose what you
waste your time on, Kiefer.
Outer space is a safer bet.
Is that a fact?
Excuse me?
Is that a fact or is that
just your opinion?
(ALL LAUGHING)
It's an educated opinion.
Let's open up
our books to page 237.
I was reading this article
online about life hacks.
I read one that says
increase productivity
and maximize your health with a
30-minute bike ride every morning.
I'm like, that's not
a life hack.
That's just something
you can do.
Just exercise.
Hey, those aren't images
from the galactic center.
Nope.
Isaac, you can't be shifting the
telescope to fish for Earth masses.
This is your advisor's
grant money, not yours.
- Switch it back.
- I did. Relax.
It's still there.
Switch it back, please.
I don't... Is that time stream
data transferred yet?
It says one minute.
I don't know why you can't just wait for
the TESS to launch like everyone else.
I'm just getting a head start.
While every citizen scientist
and their dog wait for that data,
I can actually be looking for
a habitable planet.
Come on, you're telling me
you just want to be another guy
sitting at home looking at
TESS data in your underwear?
Actually, yes.
That's a life-hack.
I might go commando.
Just a robe.
Get a nice breeze going.
- Hey, Joelle. Hi.
- Hey.
You didn't hear what we were
just talking about, did you?
Doesn't matter. Um...
This is somewhere here.
Ah! All right, now, your error
calculations were great,
but you mislabelled the axes on your plots.
I didn't dock you for it.
Just something to keep in mind
for the formal report. Okay?
You should be happy.
You did well.
(SCRAPING)
(BELL DINGING)
(INDISTINCT CHATTER)
You're falling apart, Isaac.
What were you thinking?
Misappropriating
telescope time like that,
it's not acceptable
I know.
You'll be replaced on your
advising professor's project.
That won't be necessary. Look, I've been
detecting planet transits on my own time.
All right? It was never my intention
to sabotage anyone else's project.
Right now we insist
that you take a break.
What happened at yesterday's lecture?
There were complaints.
Nothing. It was just a bad day.
It's been more than one day.
You're right.
It's been about two years.
I know that
things have been tough,
but I have to
draw the line somewhere.
Use your break to get this wild
goose chase out of your system.
I'd still like to be
in the lab on weekends...
You aren't listening.
Facilities are for
active staff only.
(SNIFFLING)
MAN: Three, two, one...
and lift off...
The Falcon 9 rocket carrying
the TESS telescope.
Dr. John Rickman from TESS
joins me.
DR. RICKMAN: Yes.
We're inviting astronomers
from all around the world
to participate in this effort.
Our data is your data.
Any one of you can lead us
to what I believe
will be the greatest
discovery of our time.
You see, TESS will observe
hundreds of thousands of stars
during this
revolutionary mission.
And this means
an enormous amount of data.
And we're gonna need your help
to analyze every bit of it.
Jeremy, I need
access to the cluster,
otherwise I have only my home computer and
laptop to run through these test data sets.
There's a lot. It'll take me a thousand
hours to do all of that work here...
We would like everyone involved.
In this community-wide effort
to go ahead
and reach out to others.
No matter what level of
astronomer you are,
professional, academic,
independent,
you can contribute
to this search.
From work, from home,
wherever you like.
So, we're encouraging you,
prepare yourself.
Mark your colanders.
Get excited.
Because in the coming weeks,
we'll be releasing
the first segment of data.
I want to remind everyone that the
search will enter its second phase
when the James Webb telescope
launches next year.
It is 100 times
more powerful than Hubble.
And allows to see into the atmospheres
of planets discovered by TESS
for signs of life.
(VOICE MESSAGE)
You have no messages.
So we're looking forward to a very
exciting future of planet-hunting.
(POP MUSIC PLAYING)
So nobody wants to be
an unpaid intern huh?
It's better than dealing with
pretentious millennials all day.
(LAUGHS) Okay. First of all, you're the
most pretentious person that I know.
Thank you.
Second, you get to
teach people about space.
I mean, what's bigger than that?
Literally that's the
biggest thing there is.
Yeah, but all we get
to do is teach it.
And in this small, tiny amount of time
they give us for original research...
What are we supposed to
do with that?
That's not enough time to
make any significant discovery.
Who said we have to?
No one.
But don't you want to?
I'm good.
Charlie, we work in a field where we can
push the boundaries of everything we know.
Sorry, I just don't feel like
we can do that from a classroom.
Wow. That's an incredibly way to talk
about the thing that I love doing.
Come on, Charlie,
that's not what I meant.
(MUTTERING) Sure,
got a big shot over here.
You know
that's not what I meant.
Uh-huh.
Come on, Charlie. You and I both know
that there's something out there.
Can't just stop looking.
Okay.
And besides, if someone doesn't do this kind
of work then you have nothing to teach.
(LAUGHS) Jeez.
See? Pretentious.
(POP MUSIC PLAYING)
Ooh. Hey, you wanna...
You wanna ride?
No. No, I'm good. I'll walk.
You sure?
My car's right over there.
Hey listen, um, you wouldn't
have any interest in
helping me out with my data,
would you?
It'd be like old times.
Undergrad labs.
You know,
just with the baby coming.
There's not gonna be
a lot of time. I'm sorry.
No. Don't be.
Anyway, uh,
thanks for the drink.
- Yeah.
- Hey, are you sure you're okay?
I will be. Hmm.
See you around.
Hey, we should do this
more often, huh?
Call me back once in a while.
(POP MUSIC PLAYING)
Dr. Bruno.
Stay. Stay.
How'd you know I live here?
Uh, oh. I, um...
I was hoping to apply
for the researcher position.
What's your name?
Clara.
Clara.
It's late.
Right. I'm sorry. I will come back
tomorrow if that would be better for you.
Um, but this is Eva.
And I was just wondering would it be at
all possible for her to get some water?
(DOG WHINING)
Please?
All right. So, um...
What level of post-secondary
education do you have?
Wait. You did go
to school right?
Yes.
I had bits of high school here and there.
But I moved around a lot.
Okay, so you're not a student.
Have you worked professionally
in any field of science before?
I haven't. No.
Can you program or
write data-handling code?
Or have any
qualifications at all?
Look, I'm under-qualified.
For sure.
But I'm a fast learner.
And I work very hard.
Especially when it comes to
things I care a lot about.
I've wondered almost every single day
of my life what else could be out there.
Haven't you?
Okay. Um...
Well, I guess I'm gonna need
some time to consider this.
Yeah.
I'll give you a call tomorrow.
What's your phone number?
Um...
I don't have a cellphone
or a landline.
(DOG WHINING)
I'm guessing you saw I had
a room available in my ad.
Do you have
many other applicants?
Are you fielding
a lot of other options?
Well, I'm sorry, but I don't
think this is going to work out.
Wow.
That is an incredible
vinyl collection.
Thanks.
Can I?
Just, like, one song?
- Yeah.
- Great.
(OPENING RECORD PLAYER)
(LAUGHS)
(BLUES MUSIC PLAYING)
Did you paint the Helix?
That mural in school?
(MUSIC CONTINUES)
(SIGHING)
You like Dylan?
Yes.
Is this an original?
It was one of my favorites.
Why is it empty?
We lost it
when we moved in here.
Who's we?
My wife and I.
Where is she?
She's gone.
Well, thank you.
Yeah. (CLEARS THROAT)
Thank you for everything.
Come on, Eva, come on.
Would you be able to
start first thing tomorrow?
Yeah.
Good.
I'll show you your room.
(MUSIC CONTINUES)
(DOG WHINING)
Shh. It's okay, girl.
Before we start,
a couple ground rules. Okay?
We're gonna keep this
objective and professional.
We are not roommates,
we are not friends.
We are research partners.
All right?
- Got it.
- Good.
So, I think we should start
something we're gonna be doing.
Americano with
three extra shots.
And the warm water with honey.
Thank you.
Can you take that?
- Thank you.
- Thanks.
You sure that's all you want?
Yeah. This is perfect.
Sorry. So the basics.
Basics. Um, do you know
what the transit method is?
Uh, hopefully I will soon.
It's a good place to start.
All right. Let's pretend
that this is a star.
Now, this is a transit.
It's anything that passes in front
of a star, in this case, a planet,
that dims the light we receive
from the star.
This is the light
dimming while the transiting
object passes in front of the star.
So, we measure the brightness
over time
so that we can determine different
qualities of that planet.
The size, even temperature,
just by analyzing
curves of light.
- Okay?
- Okay.
Right. So...
Go. Find the transit.
Hmm. Here.
That's a new planet.
- What?
- Mmm-hmm.
That is amazing.
- It's incredible, right?
- (LAUGHS)
So, you are gonna be finding the
dips, and I will be vetting the data.
And then how are we gonna know
which planets have life?
Well, we're the only planet that we
know capable of sustaining life, so...
We're the best
reference point for it.
We use this light data
to find other planets
that are as similar as possible
to Earth in mass and temperature.
It's an over-simplification,
but if we find another Earth...
We can find life.
Now, next year the James Webb
Space Telescope is gonna launch
and we need our planet candidate to
be the first follow-up observation.
All right.
Good.
Can I ask you something?
Yeah.
Why is finding life out there
so important to you?
You know what people
are scared of most?
CLARA: Death?
The unknown.
Which unfortunately this
universe is chock-full of.
Sure, we've been chipping away
at it for thousands of years,
but we still know
basically nothing.
So how do we process that?
We do what we've always done.
We make things up.
Create these elaborate bed-time
stories to explain it all.
But if we found something,
even the smallest clue that
something else exists out there,
something entirely different,
we wouldn't be the dark anymore.
We wouldn't have to be scared.
So...
You think that the only reason
we tell stories
is because we're scared?
Terrified.
Okay, but what if telling stories
is just a part of human nature?
I'm done playing pretend.
I think we all should be.
Okay. Okay.
What about this?
Let's say there's this
scientist who is brilliant,
and very well-respected
who makes game-changing, world-altering
advancements in his filed.
But he's also religious.
His driving force is his faith,
his belief in God,
a bedtime story.
But the result of his work
is science and progress.
What would you say to him?
- What would I say?
- Yes.
I'd say "Skip church and get back to work.
You'll get more done faster."
Oh, I think he did just fine.
What?
Sir Isaac Newton.
I think he did just fine.
(CHUCKLES)
All right, we've got work to do.
ISAAC: These are M dwarf stars.
Smaller, dimmer than our own.
Now, TESS mainly focuses on
brighter, bigger stars like ours.
But that means
one roughly every 365 days.
These M dwarf stars,
planets orbit them
in a matter of weeks.
So, less waiting around.
Exactly. So if we focus on these
stars, we have edge
over everyone else
looking through this data.
That's it. That's...
So is that gonna be a... Really?
- We got one.
- That's so cool.
CLARA: Why the rush?
The James Webb telescope will follow
up on planets discovered by TESS.
If we're the first ones
with the perfect candidate,
we have a chance to be
part of something huge.
CLARA: You mean when we
find out we're not alone.
ISAAC: Mmm-hmm.
(CHUCKLES)
(SIGHS)
There. Is that a planet?
No. You see that sharp drop,
it's probably nothing.
Keep looking.
CLARA: So, do you ever eat,
or does doing this just
completely sustain you?
ISAAC: (CHUCKLES)
Food? What's that?
- Hi.
- Hey.
So, that strange dip you caught,
it's a planet. A promising one.
Look. Right there.
Unfortunately, TESS' cadence
missed the full transit,
so we need to get a new transit
ourselves to help prove it.
Which means
we're gonna need a telescope.
Thank you.
Anything?
No.
We're supposed to apply for
telescope time months in advance.
Well, what about that one?
We need... We need one like the one I
used to operate through the university.
So why don't we use theirs?
Keep an eye out for the campus security.
This is gonna take a while.
Okay. Got it.
(SIGHS) Okay.
Come on.
- (DOOR BEEPS)
- Go.
(ISAAC CLEARING THROAT)
Where's the telescope?
A lot of our research is based
in the galactic center,
which is only visible from
the southern hemisphere.
The one we use is a remote robotic
telescope based out of Chile.
Normally we access it
with just a couple clicks.
But given my current
employment status,
I gotta make a phone call.
Hello. Hi, uh, ola.
My name is Dr. Bruno
Dr. Isaac Bruno.
I last accessed the telescope on
March 14th at approximately 3:00 a.m.
Si, si. Uh, could I have the telescope
shifted to new celestial coordinates?
No, no. I have permission.
From... Uh...
Dr. Charles Durant.
Yes, ID number 917836187.
No, he's not...
Listen, this only gonna take
a couple of hours, okay?
And then we'll put
the telescope back...
- Clara, hold on, what are you...
- (CLARA SPEAKING SPANISH)
(CONTINUES SPEAKING SPANISH)
All right, she said it will take
15 minutes, but it will be ours.
What did you say?
I asked her how her day was.
I was about to get to that.
Yeah. I knew you were.
The observatory is
pre-processing the images now,
It's gonna be a little while
until we can download the data.
So what are these rocks you take
everywhere with you?
This is obsidian from
the Huayhuash pass in Peru.
Amethyst from Zambia.
Celestine from Australia.
It's really rare there,
actually, this was a gift.
Pyrite from Navajun.
This piece is pretty impure,
but I watched them chip them out of
the ground like they were designed,
printed as perfect cubes.
What about one?
You're gonna like this one.
It's a meteorite
from Antarctica.
BOTH: Chondrite.
- Wow.
- Yeah.
You know this is older
than the Sun?
Mmm-hmm.
Why did you go to Antarctica?
That was actually the one
continent that I couldn't get to,
but that was my first one.
- That's what made me want to travel.
- Why?
I grew up around here,
group care, foster homes.
And they weren't great
for the most part,
but they used to let us go on these
trips to the waterfront or to the island.
You know, and me being me
I would sneak off,
and I would find families with
really nice beach towels and snacks
and I would sort of befriend them
and pretend they were my own.
And anyway,
one day we went to the pier
when I snuck off, I met
this guy who was a sailor.
He was this huge Icelandic guy
with this big red beard
and these glacial blue eyes,
like yours, and...
He let me help
get his boat ready to sail.
He taught me all about the proper rigging
and even how to signal with morse code.
And I loved that
as an eight-year-old.
And when we were done, to say
thank you, he gave me that.
Then he told me that not only did it
come from opposite side of the planet,
it came from the stars.
Meteors aren't stars.
It had a story.
He had a story.
And a life.
And I promised myself right then
and there, that when I grew up,
I was gonna travel the world and
I was gonna make my own stories.
And when I'm done being on the
move, I'll throw them in the ocean.
Give them back to the earth.
But for right now
they're all I've got.
They're my pieces of home.
So when did you move back?
A year ago.
All of the bouncing around
really started to take a toll on me,
so I decided it was time to come back.
And selling paintings
to get by...
And also, I found Eva, so we've just
been taking it easy, hanging out.
A-ha. So you speak Spanish.
What else you got?
(SPEAKING FRENCH)
That's French. Easy.
(SPEAKING JAPANESE)
Japanese.
(SPEAKING AFRIKAANS)
German?
Afrikaans.
(CHUCKLES)
People pretend that
we're all so different.
But really, just everybody
wants the same thing.
They all want to hear
"Thank you,"
they wanna be asked
how their days are.
They wanna hear "I love you."
Sounds like there's
a story there.
- More than one.
- Oh.
But I never really
let anything get too far.
Whenever the conversation
turned to marriage and kids,
I knew it was my time to go.
Hmm.
Not the right version
of my life, you know?
Yeah. I do.
- (KNOCKING AT DOOR)
- MAN: Uh, excuse me.
Campus is closed right now.
You're not supposed to be...
Shit. Clara.
Clara, hey, come on.
Campus security. We'll have to find
a way to get the data later. Go.
- Go, go, go.
- Okay, okay.
Don't you ever use my name for something
so stupid and irresponsible again!
Do you realize you put
my career in jeopardy?
Hello.
Hi.
ISAAC: Charlie, Clara.
Clara, Charlie.
- Nice to meet you, Charlie.
- You too.
Hope he hasn't made
your life a living hell yet.
Thank you.
You definitely got something.
Is it an Earth mass?
(SIGHING) But...
But?
It's contaminated
with stellar activity.
Plus you're gonna need a spectrum if you
want the mass and all the other fun stuff.
No one's gonna give you
any telescope time now,
unless you get someone with
considerable clout to help you out.
No.
No.
We'll find another option.
There aren't any, genius.
Sorry, guys, what are we
talking about?
After Isaac's little stunt,
it will be a cold day in hell before
he books telescope time again.
You need a good rep and
referrals and that sort of thing.
And Isaac just... Splat.
Took a dump all over that.
- Charlie.
- We have a friend.
Isaac's ex-wife, Rebecca.
She's is an Endowed Chair
at CalTech.
She got poached, moved to
California, she's kicking ass.
As long as you don't put
her career at risk too,
she could probably get you time
on the Keck telescope.
- I mean, if you're not too proud to ask for help.
- Right.
Isaac, let's talk to Rebecca.
Thanks for the data, Charlie...
Look, if you go make
things right with her,
you can also catch the next
transit three days from now.
Charlie, this is the part
where you stay out of it.
You're just making things harder
for yourself, asshole.
Sorry.
Believe it or not
he's the smartest guy I know.
Was it as bad as I think it was?
The worst.
Hey.
Hey.
Um, do you have
any extra pajamas?
Other than band T-shirts.
Uh...
Yeah. Should be... Should be
something in your closet.
Some stuff
that Rebecca never wore.
Are you sure?
Yeah.
Okay.
Actually, um...
Here. I got you this.
Something for you.
It's not an original.
But it's a piece of home.
(GIRL FROM THE NORTH COUNTRY
BY BOB DYLAN PLAYING)
If you're travelin'
in the north country fair
Where the winds
hit heavy on the borderline
Remember me
to one who lives there
She once was
a true love of mine
If you go
when the snowflakes storm
When the rivers freeze
and summer ends
Please see she has
a coat so warm
To keep her from
the howlin' winds
Please see for me
if her hair hanging long
If it rolls and flows
all down her breast.
Please see for me
if her hair's hanging long
Isaac?
Are you sure this is okay?
That's the way
I remember her best
(CLEARS THROAT)
Yeah, it's fine.
You look nice.
Many times I've often prayed
Isaac, you need to
go see Rebecca.
In the darkness of my night
In the brightness of my day
MAN: I'll let Dr. Jenkins know
you're here.
Can I get you anything?
No, thanks.
(TELEPHONE RINGING)
(TELEPHONE CONTINUES RINGING)
(INDISTINCT CHATTER)
Isaac.
Hey.
I have a meeting in a few minutes.
I'm just finishing up my lunch.
Went back to Jenkins, huh?
That's new.
A little contradictory,
don't you think?
In our field.
So you never answer any of my phone calls and
then you just show up here out of nowhere?
Rebecca, I need your help.
I need to prove that
the planet I found is habitable.
And I'd assume
you'd want that, too.
TESS has just launched,
James Webb to follow,
ground telescopes, you're gonna
be fighting for renewal.
We're always
fighting for renewal.
Exactly.
Oh, okay.
So you're here to help me?
You're obsessed, Isaac.
You used to want this, too.
I used to want a lot of things.
I'm sorry. This...
This was a bad idea.
I'm gonna go.
Isaac.
Finding some other lifeforms
isn't going to bring him back.
I know that.
But it's all I have.
I can get you
three hours with Keck.
It's the best I can do.
- Rebecca...
- Promise me it stops after this.
For you.
Yeah.
Here. I know you.
(SOBBING)
(MOURNFUL CLASSICAL
MUSIC PLAYING)
(SOBBING)
(EVA WHINING)
It's okay.
(RUMBLING)
(CLASSICAL MUSIC
CONTINUES PLAYING)
No one will blame you
for not finding anything.
I'm sorry, Isaac.
Look.
Oh, my gosh.
It was right on time.
Mag 13.5. Just right
for a James Webb follow-up.
The planet's diameter is...
Twelve thousand eight hundred
kilometers. Sound familiar?
With a density of 5.4 grams
per centimeter cubed...
It's definitely an Earth mass.
Yeah.
The planet's distance
to the star?
0.5 astronomical units.
Which gets me to around 303K.
Inside the habitable zone.
Twenty light-years away from us.
You might've just
discovered Earth 2.0.
Thank you, Rebecca.
- (CHUCKLES)
- (SIGHING) Oh, man.
All right, I need to submit this
to NASA immediately.
Of course.
You owe me a sandwich.
(DOOR CLOSES)
Oh, my God! Oh, my God!
(BOTH LAUGHING)
I wanna show you something.
I found our star.
It's a little hard to see
with all the city light. But...
It's there.
Got an idea.
Sorry, the resolution's
not great.
There's software that's gonna
virtually catalog
all of the stars discovered
by TESS.
I'll be like a map
of the galaxy.
This is just a
Hubble deep field image.
It'll have do for now.
Yeah. It'll do.
Seems too beautiful to
just be random.
It's beautiful
because it's random.
Doesn't it seem like there's so
much intention behind all of it?
Like somebody
painted this... Canvas.
If some God was trying
to paint a perfect universe...
They did a pretty shitty job.
Just look at the way
things happen.
Supremely unintelligent design.
Oh, I know that I feel
a connection to all this.
And people use all different
kinds of words for it,
but there is something else.
Something that
reaches out to me.
And I don't know
how to explain it.
Clara, that connection you feel
basically just boils down to a release of
chemicals in the brain, like serotonin.
- There's more to it than that.
- There really isn't.
Look, if some incredibly
advanced species out there
confirmed some metaphysical
connection to everything exists,
then maybe I'd look at the data.
But for now...
It's just an unproven,
human-made concept.
Wouldn't you want there to be
something more to all this?
Wouldn't you want that comfort?
That certainty of knowing
that we're going to be okay?
Or that we don't just fade away into
the darkness when all this is over?
It's not about what I want.
I can't just choose
to believe otherwise.
I'm sorry.
I've always had a feeling that the
universe can still surprise us.
We can't prove something
based on a feeling.
Did you feel that?
Prove it.
CLARA: Wait.
I'm sorry.
(CLATTERING)
Why do you keep
moving those around?
Um, it just helps me figure out
what I need to get to next.
What do you mean?
I mean, you said it yourself.
We're not friends, we're not
roommates, we are research partners.
And we made our discovery, so...
Exactly.
Finding a planet candidate
is just the first step.
I mean, there's still
plenty of analysis to do.
You don't have to leave.
I'm sorry for last night.
- I shouldn't have done that to you.
- No. I made you uncomfortable.
No, you didn't.
Okay, then. We should
go tell Charlie the good news.
Charlie?
He'd be mid-lecture by now.
Okay. So we'll crash it.
I don't really wanna be seen
on campus.
Hence crashing.
CHARLIE: If you'll only look up from your
phones to glean one piece of information
from me all semester,
let it be this.
Data.
Data is everything to us. Yes?
Without data we wouldn't
understand what we're looking at.
But if you're like me and staring at
graphs all day is not a lot of fun to you,
well, there's a way
to make it fun.
(ETHEREAL SOUND PLAYS)
Sonification is the process of
converting data into sound.
What we're listening to right now
are vibrations from Saturn's rings.
Consider what you're
actually listening to.
Pretty trippy, right?
Let's switch it up. Hmm.
(CHIMING SOUND PLAYS)
Listening to data is very
useful for detecting patterns.
If you think about it, basically
every song on your radios,
on your streaming devices,
can be broken down into data.
Now, I've put the MP3 of this
sonified track on e-class.
What I want you to do
is go home and reverse
the sonification process.
Convert the sound
back into data.
That's it.
Get the hell outta here.
(INDISTINCT CHATTER)
So this is how you think
college students dress?
You look like you're about to drop
a really, really obnoxious mix tape.
(CHARLIE AND CLARA LAUGH)
Hey, Dr. Rickman from TESS is
coming to give a lecture next month.
You guys should sneak
into that as well.
I recommend dressing
exactly like this.
We may need to
talk to him a little sooner.
What are you talking about?
We found our planet.
- Seriously?
- Yeah.
(CELL PHONE RINGING)
Are you kidding me right now?
Hang on a second.
Hello. Now?
Like right now?
Yeah. Yeah, okay.
I'm coming. I'm coming.
I'm having a baby.
(INDISTINCT CHATTER
OVER PA SYSTEM)
Hi, my wife is
having a baby. Our baby.
Uh, it's Maya Durant. M-A-Y-A.
Just love to know
what floor she's on, please.
(DISTANT BEEPING)
(MONITOR BEEPING)
(PULSING)
(MOANS SOFTLY)
(INDISTINCT CHATTER
OVER PA SYSTEM)
(TELEPHONE RINGING)
(ELEVATOR CLANGING)
(ELEVATOR DINGING)
(ELEVATOR STOPS)
(DINGS)
(DOOR OPENS)
(AMBIENT MUSIC PLAYING)
REBECCA: Isaac.
You're gonna be a father.
DOCTOR 1: He's not breathing.
DOCTOR 2: I don't
have a heartbeat.
REBECCA: Isaac. (SOBS)
(SOBBING) He's not breathing.
(SOBBING HYSTERICALLY)
NURSE: Just give her
some space. Just focus on me.
DOCTOR: Still no heartbeat.
REBECCA: (SOBBING) No!
NURSE: I'm so sorry.
CLARA: Isaac?
CLARA: What are
you thinking about?
That it's all just luck.
All this.
Us.
(ISAAC LAUGHS SARDONICALLY)
It's just this total
cosmic accident.
Just one minuscule variation,
a slight shift,
one way or another,
and the last 13.8 billion years
could have gone in infinite
number of ways, but...
Here we are. (LAUGHS CYNICALLY)
Recycled matter.
Dust.
(SCOFFS)
So many things have to go right
to make anything.
An atom, a star, a...
A tiny person.
He was ours.
For less than a minute,
he was ours.
And then...
He wasn't.
Isaac?
I wish I could tell you why bad
things happen to good people.
Or why life just stops.
But I can't.
All I know is that
the universe went our way
and we're here, and so was he.
He was here.
His atoms were here.
And they're not gone.
They've only changed.
I read somewhere
that once two atoms
come in contact
with one another,
they can become
linked, intertwined.
And then no matter
how far they're separated,
they still know
one another's state,
instantly, over light years.
Quantum entanglement.
Yeah.
You're still connected to him.
I'm not sure
that's how that works.
Yeah, but you
feel him, don't you?
Maybe somewhere, somehow,
he still feels you.
(INHALES DEEPLY)
Now you've got one
from every continent.
This one will be both of ours.
ISAAC: Then maybe
that means you can stay.
(SOFT MUSIC PLAYING)
CLARA: Stop looking at what
you're drawing and just feel it.
- ISAAC: Feel this?
- Yeah.
ISAAC: Let's draw the bite
out of your apple.
CLARA: Mmm.
It's gonna fall.
(CLARA GIGGLING)
CLARA: Now you gotta
wear it till it falls off.
Uh, fire, and that's earth,
and this is air.
My tooth went through my lip.
ISAAC: (LAUGHS)
Get something out of it.
CLARA: It's kind of
Wonder Woman-ey.
(MUSIC CONTINUES PLAYING)
(CARS HONKING)
(CELL PHONE RINGING)
Hello?
Yeah, that's me.
What are you talking about?
That doesn't make any sense.
No, we gave you
all of our data. It's been...
Go back. Take a look. Hello?
Hello?
What's going on?
Somebody discovered our planet
candidate using the TESS data
and they submitted it
a week before us.
Some guy from Ladakh, India,
is gonna be credited
with our discovery.
- Not us.
- Okay.
But we still found it, right?
I mean, it doesn't really
matter whose name goes on what.
Yes, yes, yes it does!
It really does.
It means that we're
not gonna be a part
of the next couple
of years of analysis.
What do you mean
the next couple of years?
And if they find signs of life?
We're definitely not
gonna be a part of that.
Okay.
Well, then why don't we
just find another candidate?
- Just start the whole process over.
- No, no, Clara, stop!
Stop! Stop!
At this point, finding a better
planet candidate
in time for James Webb
is basically impossible.
Isaac.
It's over. (SCOFFS)
It's over.
DR. RICKMAN: We made our most
intriguing discovery so far.
Uh, TESS 421a.
And 421a, it orbits an M dwarf.
Uh, it's in the Goldilocks zone
where the temperature,
you know, is just
right for liquid water.
It's about 20 light-years away.
And, uh, its size
is closer to Earth's
than any other planet recorded.
REPORTER: Has TESS
found any initial evidence
to suggest that there
is life on this planet?
Uh, no, that's not
the primary objective of TESS.
I mean, we're merely
an Earth survey mission
to search for
Earth-like planets.
Webb's infrared capabilities
will allow us...
The objective of TESS is to
find Earth-like planets.
Its atmosphere will
determine composition,
identify bio-signature gases...
(LAPTOP THUDS SHUT)
Wait. Everyone is looking
for Earth-like planets.
They're all... They're all looking
for circumstances that are right,
but what...
What if we look
for things that are wrong?
What do you mean?
Even if a planet has life,
it could just be microbial,
it would be too small.
We wouldn't be able to see it.
The only way to truly know if
we find an advanced species
is to see the result
of their existence.
Atmospheres affected
by fossil fuels
or large mega-structures that
are big enough to make a transit.
Or, uh, uh,
solar energy harvesting.
You know, footprints.
The older and more
evolved civilizations
are bound to have produced
unnatural phenomena.
Anomalies.
How would we even start?
We download the next
batch of TESS data
and we go through all of it.
Process of elimination.
(UPBEAT CLASSICAL MUSIC PLAYING)
Okay.
I'm done being a hermit.
I need to get out
of this apartment.
Uh, I'm, I'm making
real progress here.
Come on, just...
I'm sorry. I can't tonight.
CLARA: (INDISTINCT)
Okay, well, I'm going out.
- What?
- CLARA: I'm going out.
- Where?
- Dancing.
(DOOR BANGS SHUT)
(MUSIC CONTINUES LOUDLY)
(CLARA BREATHING HEAVILY)
(TAP RUNNING)
(EEVA WHINING)
(EXHALES)
(TAP DRIPPING)
(STONES CLATTER)
(BREATHES DEEPLY)
You need a Tylenol or something?
Mmm-mmm.
What are you doing?
Uh...
Drawing... Evolution.
- (PENCIL SCRAPING)
- ISAAC: Huh. Nice.
(EVA WHINING)
(PANTING)
CLARA: You know, Eeva's much
closer to me these days.
Oh, yeah?
CLARA: When I found her,
she was a stray,
just wandering without a home.
Maybe it's her who found me.
Maybe I'm a stray.
ISAAC: Holy shit!
I think I found something.
I found something.
CHARLIE: What am I
looking at here?
You'll see it.
This is bad data.
What are you talking
about? Look at this.
The data captured
over these days...
Look at the strange, periodic
dimming of the light.
That suggests
strategically scattered
objects orbiting that star.
This is too intentional
to be debris.
This could be some
sort of partial Dyson sphere.
Some advanced civilization
harvesting their star's energy.
Charlie, would you look at this?
You know aliens are always the last
thing we're supposed to consider, right?
Charlie, this is
not natural, man.
It's bad data.
There was movement
on the spacecraft.
This batch
is riddled with errors.
I'm surprised
you don't know that.
Oh, shit.
I think you might be
too close to this.
(SIGHS)
CLARA: Is everything okay?
CHARLIE: Hey, I heard you were,
uh, under the weather.
You look like
you're on the mend.
CLARA: Uh, not really,
but I just came in here
to get a glass of water
and then I'm gonna
go back to bed.
(TAP RUNNING)
How's Maya?
Uh, good, good. I mean, Maya's
a little nuts, you know.
It's kinda hard to get any sleep
when the baby's crying
every seventh minute.
- CLARA: Mmm-hmm.
- I'm afraid I'm gonna come home one day
and she's gonna have a note
taped to the kid's forehead
that says she's
moved to Puerto Plata
and she was never
really into dad-bod.
CLARA: Come on.
But besides that, we're good.
(LAUGHS)
Well, if she needs a tour guide,
just toss her my way.
I guess sometimes
I miss being on the move.
CLARA: Goodnight, you guys.
CHARLIE: Hey, goodnight.
Hey!
What the hell's
the matter with you?
Come on, Charlie,
not now, please.
She's sick and you're
looking at shit data?
You should be making her soup.
You spend all your time
looking up at the stars,
you're gonna miss what's
right in front of you.
Again.
All right? This whole hiatus
thing bore fruit, right?
You met Clara.
You got closure with Rebecca.
I mean, she's moving on
with her life.
You deserve that, too.
What do you mean by that?
She got in touch with Maya
to say congratulations
on the baby.
And?
And she asked our opinions on
the best online baby registries.
(SIRENS WAILING IN THE DISTANCE)
(SNIFFLES)
(PENCIL SCRAPING)
ISAAC: Hey.
Oh, I mean, you don't
have to stop. I...
It's fine.
(SIGHS)
How are you feeling?
You don't have
to worry about me.
But I do.
(ISAAC BREATHES DEEPLY)
This is for you.
It's not great.
I tried to do
everything you told me.
I got charcoal
all over my hands.
(ISAAC CHUCKLES SOFTLY)
I just figured, you know, you're
never in any of your own sketches.
You're always busy
observing everything else.
I just wanted to
let you know that...
I see you.
And I know I've been
distracted lately.
I've been thinking about that
look on Charlie's face when he...
When he was holding
his baby for the first time.
Everything just
made sense to him.
And I realized that
all this time, I...
(SCOFFS) I've just been
chasing that look.
I thought that this,
all of this, you know,
the work, I thought that maybe
if I could find life somewhere,
if I could just find something
living, then maybe...
Isaac...
(SIGHS)
(CLARA SIGHS)
I think it's time to give up.
- I tried but I failed.
- Get up.
- Come on.
- What?
Come on, get up.
Look, we are going to try
to find something tonight,
but this time no more data.
I need you to trust something
more than just your eyes.
I don't understand.
You said that there was a virtual map
created from the TESS data, right?
Yes, but only two batches
of data have been released...
Set it up.
CLARA: We're gonna pick a star.
ISAAC: At random?
CLARA: No, not at random.
Give me your hand.
Here.
I want you to see what I see.
- What?
- You said it yourself.
Right? We're dust.
We're made up of the same stuff
that this universe is.
You're not just in it,
Isaac. It's in you.
So find it.
- Use it.
- Clara, this is crazy.
Trust me.
All right.
I'll try.
Close your eyes.
- Come on...
- CLARA: Close them.
(ISAAC BREATHES DEEPLY)
CLARA: Let yourself drift...
To where you've been...
And where you can go next.
(SOFT MUSIC PLAYING)
(RUMBLING)
(MUSIC STOPS)
(PANTING)
Turn it off.
Isaac...
ISAAC: I can't believe
I let you talk me into that.
(SIGHS)
I saw you feel something.
You just need to try...
When are you going to get it?
You want the world to be this
magical, connected place,
but you know that it's not.
And so you sugarcoat it
with these
bullshit philosophies.
Because the truth is
you can't stand it
just like the rest of us.
Isaac, I saw you feel
something back there.
I saw you feel something
inside of yourself
that you couldn't explain,
so what do you do?
You reject it
because you can't prove it.
- No, because...
- You trust your data
more than you
trust yourself. It's sad.
- Because I'm objective!
- No. Because you're lost.
(SIGHS)
And I care about you.
And all I wanted to do was...
What, you wanted to make me
another chapter in your scrapbook?
- CLARA: Come on.
- Huh?
You wanted to have
some great experience
and then up and leave
just like you always do?
- No...
- It's like you said,
you missed being
on the move, right?
(SOBS)
You wanna talk about trust?
I trusted you.
Right up until the moment
that I realized
that I'm just a pit stop on
your way to somewhere else.
(STONE CLATTERS)
Isaac...
(CLARA TREMBLING)
Eva.
Come on, girl, I wanna go.
- (WHINING)
- Eva!
(SOBBING) Where is she?
Clara, she's right there.
(EVA WHINES)
CLARA: Eva?
- What's going on?
- CLARA: Eva?
- Clara! Clara!
- (CLARA GASPS)
- Eva...
- Clara? Hey, hey, hey!
- What, what is happening?
- Isaac...
What's happening?
I don't know where I'm going.
Clara! Stop, stop!
- Hey, no, no!
- (EVA BARKING)
No, no, no. No, no, no, no...
Clara, wake up! Clara!
Help! Help! Clara!
(TELEPHONE RINGING)
(BREATHING SHAKILY)
(FOOTSTEPS APPROACHING)
DOCTOR: Mr. Bruno?
She's awake now.
What's wrong with her?
We, um...
We think it's some sort of
rare auto immune disease.
Her skin is being affected,
her muscles are atrophying.
Her connective tissue's
breaking down
and her organs...
It's her heart, her lungs,
her kidneys,
they've been failing
for some time now.
No, no. This, this doesn't
make any sense. She...
She... (SCOFFS)
She's been tired. She's...
Been a little under the weather.
Other than that,
she's been fine.
Fine?
The state that you
brought her in here,
I'm surprised
she can even walk and talk.
The corticosteroid
she was taking
might have relieved
her symptoms, but...
Mr. Bruno, it was only
a matter of time.
We'll do what we can for Claira.
Clara.
I'm sorry. Clara.
(FOOTSTEPS RECEDING)
(MONITOR BEEPING)
(DOOR OPENS)
(DOOR SHUTS)
(BREATHES DEEPLY)
Why didn't you tell me?
It wouldn't have
made any difference.
I was always gonna end up here.
(SNIFFLES)
ISAAC: I brought you these.
(CLARA INHALES SHARPLY)
(SHAKILY) I don't wanna go.
I really wanna stay. (SOBS)
I wanna stay.
ISAAC: Hey, hey.
I wanna stay.
You're not going anywhere.
(BREATHING SHAKILY)
Because there is nowhere
for me to go, right?
I didn't say that.
(SIGHS) I'm sorry.
I'm sorry.
Pretty entangled, huh?
Yeah.
(STONES CLATTERING)
Clara?
What are you doing?
I don't need to
move them anymore.
What?
(ISAAC SNIFFLES)
You gotta rest, okay?
Just remember them like that.
For me.
Yeah. I will.
(ALARM BEEPING RAPIDLY)
(INHALES SHARPLY)
(ALARM CONTINUES BEEPING)
Clara?
Isaac?
No, no. Something's wrong.
Something's wrong.
Nurse? Hey, nurse?
Nurse! Hey. Hey,
something's wrong, okay?
- I'll be right back.
- Don't go. Don't go.
(CLARA SIGHS)
I wish I could see your
face when you see it.
- (FOOTSTEPS APPROACHING)
- What?
(DOOR OPENS)
DOCTOR: You're gonna
have to stand aside...
- Sir, step aside, please.
- ISAAC: All right.
- Clara?
- (ALARM BEEPING)
DOCTOR: Clara, can you
hear me? Clara. Clara!
DOCTOR: Okay.
(BEEPING CONTINUES)
(BEEPING STOPS)
NURSE: Mr. Bruno?
Mr. Bruno?
Her belongings.
I'm so sorry.
(FOOTSTEPS RECEDING)
(SIGHS)
- (KEYS JANGLE)
- (ISAAC SNIFFLES)
(SNIFFLES)
- (SOMBER MUSIC PLAYING)
- (ISAAC CRYING)
(CONTINUES CRYING)
(EVA WHINES DEEPLY)
(SOBBING)
(MUSIC CONTINUES)
(EVA WHINING)
(SWITCH CLICKING)
(SOFT MUSIC PLAYING)
(CELL PHONE CHIMES)
(BREATHES DEEPLY)
(EXHALES)
CHARLIE: I'd like to thank Dr. Rickman
for coming here to speak with us today.
- Please. A round of applause.
- (ALL APPLAUDING)
Thank you for being here, sir.
Thank you so much.
(INDISTINCT CHATTER)
CHARLIE: Um, can you excuse me
for a second, Dr. Rickman?
I'll be right back.
Excuse me.
Hey, Isaac, man,
what are you doing here?
You didn't return any
of my calls. What's going on?
I need to speak to Rickman.
Jesus. You look like you
haven't slept. Are you okay?
I'm fine.
Did they figure out
what she had?
Charlie, I'm serious.
I need to speak to Rickman now.
I don't think
that's a good idea.
- Charlie.
- Isaac,
you need to stop this.
You are not thinking...
This is real.
Please.
(BREATHES DEEPLY)
(FOOTSTEPS APPROACHING)
(DOOR OPENS)
My wife's a huge fan.
And so am I.
Um, Dr, Rickman,
this is Dr. Bruno.
I thought you two should meet.
Gentlemen, I have a plane to catch at 7:00.
I haven't time for this.
Dr. Rickman, please. I...
I found an anomaly in the most
recent batch of TESS data.
What kind of an anomaly?
Uh, it's a nearby system.
Orange dwarf star.
Jupiter mass planet
orbiting just outside the...
No, we're not interested in Jupiter masses.
They're uninhabitable.
Yes, but I think you
might be interested
in what I found
orbiting with it.
ISAAC: This step, right here.
The algorithm skipped
right over it, but I...
I got lucky.
Happened to notice it.
It's most likely an exomoon,
which is a nice find, Dr. Bruno,
but it's nothing anomalous.
That's what I thought.
And then I accessed the
online Kepler data archives
and I found this.
And this.
And these.
Multiple transits from this star
with this same period.
And this step...
It's in the exact same spot
relative to the planet.
It's not a moon.
I checked.
And double-checked.
And triple checked.
This guy checks.
Hmm.
Hmm. All right.
Looks like I'm
missing my flight.
You know, that whole aliens-are-the-last-
thing-to-consider business
is getting harder by the minute.
Yup.
Charlie, I got another
favor to ask you.
If this thing checks out,
I want you to take
the lead on it.
What the hell are you
talking about?
This could save your career.
This is your big discovery.
No, it doesn't belong to me.
It's hers.
Well, that's why
you should share it.
I just did.
Look, I'll see
this part through.
(CLEARS THROAT)
Besides, you'd look a lot better
on the front
of the paper anyway.
Well, there is definitely...
There is something there.
But we vet the data
with our full attention,
but for now,
we cannot draw
any wild conclusions.
With all due respect,
Dr. Rickman,
yes we can.
Here.
Look.
This planet is orbiting the star
just outside the habitable zone.
Now this object
is orbiting with the planet,
but closer to the star, and
inside the habitable zone.
Now if we take
gravitational pull
and Lagrangian points
into consideration,
it seems fairly obvious
that wherever this object is,
it's stuck at the L1
point of this planet.
But L1 is unstable.
I mean, if it ended up there,
why hasn't it drifted off?
So when we launch
the James Webb,
and it's orbiting Earth
at our L2 point,
which is also unstable,
it's just going to drift off?
No, I mean, everything
we have at L1 and L2
is an artificial satellite.
They all have
thrusters, they're...
Under control.
So, something
is keeping it there.
(CHUCKLES)
(LAUGHING)
(CHARLIE AND ISAAC LAUGH)
DR. RICKMAN: Good morning,
everyone.
Or good afternoon or evening
to many of you who are watching
this from around the world.
Fifty years ago, we sent
astronauts to the moon,
as the whole world watched.
And then after that
we stopped watching.
We stopped looking up.
Well, not everyone,
but we as a species,
we lost interest
in what was above us.
But in recent years
that has begun to change.
Finding flowing water on Mars,
soon sending men
and women to live there,
space is once again uniting us
as curious human beings.
Well, today, our curiosity
has paid off.
Ladies and gentlemen,
let me present first,
TESS-1417.
It's 200 light-years away.
It's home to four exoplanets,
one of them a Jupiter mass.
And then, this.
It's a large object.
It orbits with the planet
within the habitable zone.
REBECCA: For the past two years,
SETI has monitored
the constant radio signal
created by the
object's presence.
Although nothing in the
signal suggests communication,
there are frequent shifts that
indicate the object's movements.
It adjusts itself
with the utmost precision.
And therefore we have concluded
that this artificial object,
it's the result
of intelligent life.
(REPORTERS CLAMORING)
DR. RICKMAN: The panel
will now take questions.
Uh, yes.
Can you elaborate
on what you believe this
"artificial object" to be?
We cannot begin to comprehend
the architecture
of an object this large,
but it does not change the fact
that this mega-structure
is being commandeered.
We believe it to be some
sort of space station.
(REPORTERS CLAMORING)
(STONES CLATTER)
(BIRDS SCREECHING)
REBECCA: Isaac finally picks the
right star and all this happens.
CHARLIE: It's crazy, right?
You still never told me
how he did it.
I guess he just knew
where to look.
(CHUCKLES SOFTLY)
CLARA: What are you
thinking about?
(SWITCH CLICKING)
ISAAC: It's all just luck.
This is this total
cosmic accident.
What are these rocks you
take everywhere with you?
(STONES CLATTER)
CLARA: They're my
pieces of home.
Oh, my God. (LAUGHS)
It's seems too beautiful
to just be random.
This one will be both of ours.
Isaac?
(CELL PHONE CHIMES)
(CLARA GASPS)
I wish I could see your
face when you see it.
(SOFT DRAMATIC MUSIC PLAYING)
(SPLASHING)
(GIRL FROM THE NORTH COUNTRY
PLAYING ON GUITAR)
(SIRENS WAIL IN THE DISTANCE)
(CELL PHONE RINGING)
(BIRDS CHIRPING)
REBECCA: Isaac.
- How are you?
- ISAAC: Good.
How's your son?
Great.
Paul will be two
in a couple of weeks.
He's getting big.
Wow. (CHUCKLES)
Sorry for being
so cryptic on the phone.
First contact isn't something
you spill the beans about
in an open line.
They made contact?
That's what it seems.
Two weeks ago,
an electron spin detector
at Los Alamos was
observing a particle
for an unrelated project.
The particle started
spinning bizarrely.
Soon we realized
it was being manipulated
to get our attention.
They must have
exploited entanglement
- to instantly send us data through quantum states.
- Wait, wait, wait.
I don't understand.
What kind of data
could you send through
spinning particles?
The particle would vary between
two specific transformations only.
So we assigned zeroes to the
first spin, and ones to the other.
Binary.
REBECCA: Not just that.
The zeroes and ones were
in Morse code patterns.
It's beyond us how,
but they must have found a way
to probe us relatively recently
if they're using Morse
to send a message.
Well, what did the message say?
(SIGHS)
(BREATHES SHAKILY)
Bec...
I don't understand.
Somehow they know all about us.
About you.
We figured they
can anticipate you
listening for the next message.
Let's find out.
How?
REBECCA: (ON INTERCOM)
Stand by, Isaac.
(RAPID BEEPING)
TECHNICIAN: Los Alamos is
detecting transformations again.
(SIGHS) It's not Morse code.
REBECCA: Maybe they're
building a file?
TECHNICIAN: Then we'd
need a format.
Okay. Try a text file.
(BEEPS)
(SIGHS)
Try an audio format.
(TYPING)
(CHIMES)
Okay.
(DOOR SHUTS)
(CLEARS THROAT)
REBECCA: Play it.
(CLICKS)
(CRACKLING STATIC)
(STATIC CONTINUES)
(GIRL FROM THE NORTH COUNTRY
PLAYING SOFTLY)
If you're traveling
In the north country fair
Where the winds
Hit heavy on the borderline
(BREATHES SHAKILY)
Remember me to one
Who lives there
(SOBS)
She once was
A true love of mine
(WHIMPERS AND SOBS)
(SOBBING AND LAUGHING)
Thank you.
(SOMBER MUSIC PLAYING)