"control, rescue team is in the main service corridor." "Affirmative, colonel." " What's it look like in there?" " The main power is out." " Switching to night vision." " Oh my dear God." " What the hell?" " control, we have massive casualties over here." "confirmed." "We expected that when we saw the hull damage." " Was it decompression?" " Negative on that, control." "It almost looks like a wild animal tore through the crew." "What the hell happened here?" " Sir, I'm showing four live ones." " Four?" "There's supposed to be 137 crewmen." "Raiders never hit a ship this big before." " We should call in reinforcements." " cut the chatter, marines." "Locate those life signs, Private." "They're in engineering." "Near the shock point core." "That's it then." "Lock and load, marines." " Hey, look out!" " What's happening?" " The engines are firing." "How is that possible?" "It's over." "They're dead." "Finally." "It's finished." "It's not finished." "This is too big to end here." "We've been in contact with a higher power." "God damn it!" "I've had enough of your crazy shit, Stross." "You can't see because you're not a true vessel." "Will you two shut the hell up?" "!" "We still need to work together, all right?" " We've got to get" " Quiet." "Listen." "Do you hear that?" "Oh my God." "They've come for us." "It can't be more of them." "We destroyed that damn thing." "I won't let them hurt her." "This is Abraxis Rescue Team." "Identify yourselves." " Thank God you're here." " l knew they'd come." "I'm Dr. Isabel cho, chief medical officer of the USG O'Bannon." "You just get away now." "Nobody's taking my baby away from me again." "Drop the weapon now!" " Nickolas, it's all right." " Kuttner, don't do it." " Put 'em down." " No, please, you have no idea what we've been through." "They sent you, didn't they?" "They think that they can control this." "They are all fools. can't you see?" "It's already happening." "convergence is here." "We shall all be made whole!" "Aggh!" "Fools." "control, we've got one blue casualty and four survivors in custody." "Bringing 'em in." "What the fuck do you think really happened over there?" "The bodies had these looks on their faces like whatever killed those people drove 'em crazy first." "What's command saying?" "command's treating the whole thing as a navigational accident." "Accident my ass." "It almost looked like they killed each other." "If you ask me, something went seriously fubar out there and the big guys back home are trying to cover their big fat ass" "Oh, excuse us." "We didn't see you." "They sent an interrogation unit all the way out here?" "What kind of shit did those bastards from the O'Bannon get into?" "I don't know, but they are righteously fucked now." "Scans confirm the target has been destroyed." "It's unrecoverable." "Unfortunate, but not a complete loss." " What of the survivors?" " Only four, I'm afraid." "I'm informed our specialist is among them." "Luckily, yes." "We're prepping for debriefing now, sir." "I am authorizing enhanced interrogation techniques." "I see." "Do you think that will be necessary?" "We don't have time for subtlety." "There have been questions raised about what happened at Aegis 7." "When word of the O'Bannon gets out, people will demand answers." "If you can't provide them, I shall be forced to re-evaluate my confidence in your abilities." "Of course, sir." "You have seven hours before your ship docks at the Sprawl." "This situation needs to be resolved by then." "Yes, sir, I understand perfectly." "What are you standing around for?" "Have the first subject brought in." "It's time to go to work." "It's everywhere, all around us," " inside us-- the patterns." " Hey!" " Guards!" " l see it all now." " Will somebody talk to me?" " Human life is only a passing phase." "I'm not supposed to be here." "Hey, is anybody out there?" "God damn it, somebody open this door." "It's okay, Vivian." "Don't worry, pumpkin, we're safe now." "Everything's gonna be just fine." "Soon we'll be back with Mommy and then we'll all be together." "This is fucking crazy." "I mean, it just doesn't make any goddamn sense." "We survived that horror show back on the O'Bannon just to be locked up here?" "You know the reason we're in here is because that fucking lunatic shot a marine." "If anybody should be in here, it's him." "It's okay, baby girl." "He's just a little scared." "Don't pay any mind." "I don't have anything to do with this crazy bastard." " l don't even know these people." " Borges, will you calm down?" "You're not helping matters." "They have deeper reasons for detaining us than Mr. Kuttner's outburst, Mr. Borges." "There's a great design behind everything that's happened." "And we're each a part of it now." "Seriously, am I the only one who didn't go batshit crazy back on that damn planet?" "Stross is right about one thing." "We might have a problem." "I did a tour on one of these with a med unit a few years ago." "We're on board a government interceptor ship in a holding cell where they detain terrorists." "So what does that mean?" "It means the government might want someone to blame for what happened on the O'Bannon." "And that will most certainly be us, Alejandro." "This may well be the last time we see each other." "Don't touch me!" "Isabel, what's the matter?" "Well, it's about fucking time." "What's going on?" " Why are you holding us here?" " Step back." "Hey hey hey, take it easy." " No problem here." " Nickolas Kuttner," " you will come with us." " Huh-uh." "I'm not leaving my little girl." "Don't do that." "Let me talk to him, okay?" "Get your hands off me!" "I'm not letting you take me away from her." "Stop." "Stop it!" "He's had enough." "You'll kill him." " What the hell is going on?" " l don't know." "Let me go, God damn it." "She needs me." "You bastards, can't you see her?" " ln the chair, if you please." " She's right there." "No no, she needs me." "I have to protect her." "She needs her father." "No no, Vivian, Vivian!" "Let me go!" "Let me go!" "Mr. Kuttner, please calm yourself." "We have some questions." "I'm not telling you shit until I see my daughter." "Mr. Kuttner, the mind holds countless rational and irrational fears." "For you, the fear is being burned alive." "No!" "No!" "That was simply an electronically induced hallucination, created in the brain, but the mind is reality, is it not?" "State your name and occupation." "Nickolas Kuttner, ex-marine, security officer on the cDc O'Bannon." "What the hell do you want from me?" "You are not here to ask questions, Mr. Kuttner." "We are going to ask the questions." "You are going to answer them honestly and completely." "Do you understand?" "Yeah, I understand." "We want you to start from the beginning." "We want you tell us about the mission to Aegis 7." "Aegis 7." "The O'Bannon got word to ship out about a week ago." "We were ordered to Titan, where we picked up a team of civilian tech heads." "Mission specs were sealed so nobody knew where we were headed." "After we were underway a few days, the captain called a briefing." "is that your daughter, Mr. Kuttner?" "She's beautiful." "My son has the exact same color eyes." "Mind your business, Stross." "He doesn't wanna talk about it, Nolan." "His little girl died in an accident back home a few weeks ago." "Oh God, that's terrible." "I don't know what I'd do if anything happened to my little boy." "Dr. cho, how's it going, girl?" "Hey, Stross, I saw your wife earlier." "She seemed a little stressed." "Alexis is always stressed." "So, Isabel, wanna go grab a drink at the Hole after this?" "They got 12-credit specials after 0500." "I'm sorry. I can't." "I've got two rookies with artificial gravity sickness to deal with." "Ugh!" "Boring, Doc." "You stay locked in med bay all the time, you'll never get a man interested in you." "Have some fun." "Personally, I think starting any mission without a drink or six is a bad idea." "I'll grab a beer with you if the offer's open." "Oh, I don't usually drink with tech heads, but sure, why not?" "I'm no lowly tech head, thank you very much." "I'm gravimetric control engineer, first class." "So what do you guys know about this mission I don't?" "That is what we called you here to tell you, Mr. Nayim." "commander Sergenko, I didn't realize you were on this ship." "Excuse me, sir." "I'm Alejandro Borges with the engineering team from Titan Station." "I understood this was just a routine gravimetric stabilization gig." "What's with all the secrecy?" "This isn't your standard asteroid patch-up job, son." "This is big time." "It must be." "Dragging our sorry asses all the way to the edge of the galaxy" "Eyes up and mouth shut, people." "Good morning, captain." "Good morning." "This is why we're here." "I'm here 'cause it's double wages." "The planet is Aegis 7." "It was virtually destroyed in a mining accident three weeks ago." "As you can see, the impact has made the planet unstable." " Unstable?" " Damn!" "That's where we come in." "Ourjob is to hold Aegis 7 together." "You've got to be kidding!" "There is no way" "The captain is not yet finished speaking." "After we achieve orbit, eight drop ships will deliver gravity stabilizers to these key points." "The artificial gravity web generated should be enough to stabilize the planet." "Are you serious?" "With only eight units?" "That planet is practically one huge bomb ready to explode." "How long do you think a few gravity stabilizers will hold something like that together?" "This is what you signed on for, Mr. Borges." "It's too late for you to back out now." "Any other questions?" "When do we drop, captain?" "0500." "Dismissed." "Stross, cho, Kuttner, Rin, we would like to speak with you." "I understand some of you have heard rumors about what happened on Aegis 7." "You can speak freely." "I've heard they found something on the planet surface so terrible a guy called clarke dropped a whole continent on it." "Something-- something alien." " Bullshit." " The rumors are true." "They discovered an alien artifact 65 million years old." "My God!" "It's actually real?" "What the hell is it?" "No one knows for sure." "It's supposed to contain certain properties." "What kind of properties?" "That's classified, Dr. cho, even to me." "And I assume the artifact was destroyed upon impact." "correct, but satellite imaging reveals fragments have survived." "Your team's mission is to locate and secure whatever can be salvaged of the artifact." "On a planet that could explode any minute?" "It will be well worth the risk, Mr. Kuttner." "Let's cut to the chase, captain." "Just how much are these fragments worth?" "Two million credits a kilo." "You know, I hear Aegis 7 is beautiful this time of year." "Shuttle 1 , prepare for launch." " We're dropping in three." " You're playing hologames" " three minutes before a drop, Pawling?" " Yeah, I can't pause it right now." "Aren't you a little young to be on this operation anyway?" " My cousin's a genius at two things:" "hologames and gravity stabilizers." "We'd be screwed without him." "The real question is, what are you guys doing here?" "You're not engineers." "We're surveying for gravity fluctuations." "Fluctuations?" "The whole planet's one big goddamn fluctuation." "What the hell are you surveying?" "Locking onto gravity stabilizer." "Releasing docking clamps." "Ready to drop." "Hold onto your breakfast, kiddies." "Shuttle 1 , drop in five, four, three, two, drop." "Entering lower atmosphere." "Here's where the ride gets fun, folks." "Yee-haw!" " l always hate this part." " crazy bastard, level us out!" "Will you look at that?" "God damn!" "Holy shit!" "This isn't a planet." "It's a freakin' disaster in process." "This is nearly total gravimetric and geothermal disruption." "It seems impossible the planet's held together this long." "Almost as if" " As if what?" " Nothing." "Nothing at all." "I need more data." "Okay, Noah, Omar, ourjob is to keep that stabilizer from overloading." "Let these guys go do whatever the fuck it is they're really doing here." "The scanners are calibrated to the frequency of the mortar fragments." "Sweep out in branching formation." "Maintain radio contact at all times." "Any questions?" "Back here at 0900." " Ho!" "This is bullshit." "Rin, come in." "This rock is getting more unstable by the minute and I haven't found a damn thing." "Kuttner, I've lost track of your signal." " Rin." " come in, do you read me?" " come in." " Rin, you copy?" " Holy shit." "Rin, come in." "I've got something." "This way, I think." "I gotta be right on top of it." "Will you look at this?" "Oh God!" "This is" "What is it?" "I don't-- l don't understand." "Ahhhh!" "d Twinkle twinkle d d Little star d" " d How I wonder what you are. d - lt can't be." "Papa, what are we, Papa?" "What are human beings?" "Vivian, no, wait!" "Where did you go?" ""Daddy will always keep you safe."" "That's what you said to me." "No, not again!" "This isn't possible." "This isn't possible." "come in, do you read me?" "come in, Kuttner." " Rin." " Where the hell are you?" "Sergenko wants us back at the ship." "This place is coming apart." " Something just happened." " Kutt, do you copy?" "Yeah." " Yeah, I copy." " Rin out." " Papa?" " Vivian." "I miss you so much, Papa." "Oh, baby, I miss you too." "Why didn't you take care of me?" "I tried to take-- no!" "Get away from her." " Get away from her, no!" "No!" "Vivian." "What's happening?" "Get away from me." "Get away from me!" "Kutt, what's with you?" "You look like you've seen a ghost." "Kuttner, all I got from you was static." "What happened?" "I'm not sure." "I saw-  l saw" " Nickolas, what's wrong?" "Are you in pain?" "He's been acting weird since I found him." " lt could be his suit pressure." "What do you want?" "Keep away from me." "Take it easy, Kutt." "Everything's cool." "Kuttner, what is that in your hand?" " lt looks like a fragment." " Papa!" "Vivian!" " They've got me, Papa." " No!" "Vivian!" " Kuttner, stand down." " Leave me alone." "They've got my daughter and I'm gonna save her." " Vivian!" " Someone stop him." " Kutt, where are you going?" " Vivian!" "He's got a piece of the artifact. lt's affecting his mind." "Get after him." "Kuttner, what are you doing here?" "You're gonna have to wait, man." "We got a problem with the power flow." " Papa!" " Vivian?" "Papa, help me." "Keep away from my daughter." " What's he doing?" "He's gone nuts!" " What the hell is your problem, man?" " l won't let them hurt you, Vivian." "I won't let you have her." "Leave her alone!" " Get away from my" "Papa!" "Papa!" "Help me, Papa!" "Leave her alone!" "My head." "What happened?" "Viv, where are you, honey?" "Noah, no!" "Shh!" "Don't speak." "You'll be okay." "I need help here!" "Borges, Pawling." "What happened?" " Did the monsters get him?" " You bastard!" "Oh, Nick." "What have you done?" "Rin, Stross, lock Kuttner in the ship now." "The stabilizer's overloading." "Noah, can you hear me?" "Noah!" " Let me see him." " Noah!" "Alejandro, you have to let me see him." "Make sure those bonds are secure." "The artifact's influence can cause homicidal outbursts." "And how do you know that, huh?" "What's really going on here?" "Rin, Rin, where's Vivian?" "We can't leave without my daughter." "What the hell happened to him out there?" "Papa." "Goodbye, Papa." "Vivian!" "Vivian!" "No!" "No!" "Let me go!" "Let me go." "No!" "No!" "Let me go!" "Let me go." "She needs me." "Let me go!" "There you are." "There you are, baby girl." " Prep the subject for cryosleep." " Wait." "Yes sir." "Mr. Kuttner will be of great use to us." "Guards, restrain the subject." "Hold it right there!" "What do you think you're doing?" "Don't hurt me, please." "I was ordered to do it." "You won't take me away from her." "She needs her father." "I have to find her." "I have to keep her safe." "Hurry, you fool." "Alert security." "Tell them he must not be harmed." "Vivian!" "Where are you, Vivian?" "It's Daddy, baby." "Don't be afraid." "Vivian." "Wait." "Don't go, Vivian." "come back." "Daddy's hurt, baby girl." "Just please." "Please wait for me." "Where did you go?" " Papa." " Viv." "No!" "Don't-- don't leave me." "Don't leave me again." "Papa, get up." "You have to get up, Papa." " Vivian." " l'm here, Daddy." "Pumpkin." "You have to hurry, Papa." "They're coming." "They wanna take you away from me." "I'm here, Daddy." "come to me." "We can be together." "Together." "Always." "Always and forever, Papa." "Always and forever." " There he is." " What's he doing?" " He's opening the airlock!" " He's gone crazy." "Stop him!" "No!" "d Twinkle twinkle d d Little star d d How I wonder what you are d d Up above the world so high d" " d Like a diamond in the sky. d" " Always and forever." "He came into direct contact with a shard." "The Overseer will not be pleased." "But we still have the others." "Bring in Alejandro Borges." "Humanity is just the beginning, the chrysalis for something greater, something older, wiser." "We will become." "We must become." "Stross, I'm serious, man." "I will pay you real money to just shut the fuck up." "What do you think those alarms were all about?" "Oh, uh, Kuttner's dead." "Stop it." "You don't know that." "But I do." "I can sense it." "We are all one." "This separate limited existence of living matter is just an illusion, a passing dream." "Great." "Thanks for creeping me out yet again, Doc." "Are you ready to cooperate, Mr. Borges?" "Okay, all right, anything." "Just no more spiders." "Tell us about the disaster on Aegis 7." "Tell us about the shard." "I... didn't even know about the damn shard." "I was just there to do a job." "Okay, Noah, Omar, ourjob is to keep that stabilizer from overloading." "Let these guys go do whatever the fuck it is they're really doing here." "Something's up with their little expedition." "Suspicious as hell." "What do you mean?" "They're here to measure gravity fluctuations?" "I don't buy it for a second." "The planet's breaking up." "Move your asses." "We got work to do." "Looks like I'm gonna have an interesting first day on the job." "I knew six stabilizers couldn't hold it." "We've got to hold her." "There are still teams on the ground." "The power flow's out of balance." "Gravity fluctuating." "Go to manual." "Noah, do you have it?" " Just a second." "Almost there." " Noah!" " Got it!" "Yes!" " Good work, kid. I'm impressed." " That's my coz." " Whoa!" "Whoa there!" "Shh." "Settle down, big boy." "That's it." "Sliced, diced, dead." "God, come on, there's gotta be a harder setting than impossible." "Eh, the movie was better." "Hey, I never asked you, Borges, how did you end up with that arm?" "Not much to tell, really." "Mining accident. I lost it when a grav stabilizer I was working blew." "My coz is being humble again, Nayim." "Alejandro there saved five guys off that rig." "He's a hero." "We lost 15 men that day." "I'm no hero." "I'm sorry." "Life takes us strange places." "I was going to be a priest when I was young." "You're a Unitologist, Omar?" "You really believe aliens" " created the human race?" " Look at us." "We have perfect symmetry and a brain as powerful as the most advanced computer." "And this came out of nothing?" "Bullshit." "Laugh if you wish, my friend, but human life was created by alien beings." "And when we die, we return to them." " Grav flux is starting up again." " We've got an overload." "Gravity web is destabilizing." "She won't hold." "We could drop a dozen stabilizers on this planet and it still wouldn't keep what's left from blowing." "We need to hold it until the teams get back." "Noah, can you balance the flow?" "Kuttner, what are you doing here?" " What's he doing?" " l won't let you!" " Omar." " Wait wait." " What the hell is your problem, man?" " We don't have time for this shit." " l won't let them hurt you, Vivian." " Run, baby, run!" " Who's Vivian?" "What the hell are you talking about?" "Monster!" "Get away from her!" " Almost got it." "There!" " Noah." "Yes, we're stable." "I'll kill you. I'll kill you all." "No!" "Noah!" "Oh my God." "Oh my God." "Noah." " Stabilize." " Don't speak." "You'll be okay." "I need help here!" "What happened?" "Did the monsters get him?" "You bastard!" " Let me see him." " Noah, can you hear me?" "Noah!" "Alejandro, you have to let me see him." "He's bleeding out." "We have to get him back to the ship." "Doc, is he gonna be okay?" "I'm so sorry." "The stabilizer is overloading. I can't hold it." "Alejandro, Alejandro, they need you." "The whole power grid is failing." "Alejandro, I'm sorry, my friend." "Automatic systems are a total loss." "It's a cascade failure." "There's nothing we can do." " We have to get out of here." " This is Sergenko." "All units evacuate." "Get back to the shuttles, everyone." "Move!" "Go go, move it!" "Run, get to the ship now!" "The lava is flowing this way." "That's Nolan and Rin up ahead." "There's a chasm ahead." "Don't stop." "Jump it, come on!" "Jump!" " This way." " l can't run anymore." " Gotcha!" "Thank you." "Rin." "Rin!" "Rin!" "Nolan." " l'm okay." " Don't stop." "Get to the ship." "Rin, I'm sorry." "You were a good soldier." " Oh my God." " Go around, hurry!" " commander Sergenko." " Too late." "Borges, take this." "It's more important than you know." "Protect it." "Get out of here, all of you." "That's an order." "Get on the ship." "Sergenko!" " What is happening?" " Gravity increasing." " ls everyone all right?" " Omar!" "Omar, above you." "Look out!" " Omar!" "Omar!" " Borges, we can't help him." " We have to go." " We must get to the ship." "What the fuck is happening?" " Get me out of this." " Shut the fuck up, you crazy motherfucker!" "Buckle up, guys." "We have to get off the planet." "Someone cut me loose, God damn it." "Hold on." "The planet's going." "Why is the engineer flying the goddamn ship?" " Borges!" " l'm barely a pilot, okay?" " l think I'm gonna throw up." " Aim for Kuttner." "Shit!" "We've lost Shuttle 4." "We must get the shard back to the O'Bannon." "What are they doing?" "The ship is too close to the planet." "They need to clear the gravity well before they shock point out." "That bastard's not leaving us behind." "Hold on!" "Borges, we have to go faster." "It's tearing apart now." "The engines-- look out for the engines." "Hold on!" " Borges!" " This is bullshit." "We're coming in too fast." "I told you we shouldn't have let him drive." "Shit shit shit!" "Get those fires out now, move it!" "come on!" "come on!" "Are you all right?" "Someone call medical." "That son of a bitch!" "Full power to the engines." "No contact with survey teams." "Are we far enough to shock point?" " You!" "You knew!" " Hold on, son." " We've got a situation here." " She's going." "Emergency power to shock point drive." " Shocking out, in eight..." " collision alert." "seven, six, five... four, three..." " We're not gonna make it." " two..." "Look out!" "Emergency thrusters." "Fly with the blast." "Ride it, ride it, God damn it!" "Firing thrusters." "Damage report." "Damage report!" "Hull breach in section B." "Shock point drive is down." "We have heavy casualties in engineering, sir." "Weapons control, vaporize any planetary debris that gets too close." "Lieutenant Marcus, send out a distress signal." "Sir, those rocks will tear us to pieces." "We won't survive very long without the shock point drive." "I understand the situation, Ensign Voigt." "Borges, get your team down to the engine room and repair that drive." "Mr. Borges, I gave you an order." "I'm not fixing shit until you explain why this fucking rock was worth my cousin's life, sir." "What are you talking about?" "captain, Kuttner had some sort of psychotic breakdown." "Engineer Pawling was killed, as were most of the engineering teams." "Follow me, all of you." "First Officer, I want a full damage report in five minutes." "Yes sir." "Okay, ladies, man your stations." "The bodies have been taken to cold storage." "Kuttner is under observation in sick bay." "captain, perhaps it would be best to keep the shard under quarantine until we know more about its properties." "Mmm, of course." "I was hoping for more, but" "You were hoping for more?" "You sent us on a suicide mission for a lump of rock?" "This is much more than just a lump of rock, son." "The high l.Q. boys back home say this will change the face of science itself" "And that's worth all the people who died back there?" "Easy, Alejandro. I'm sure the captain couldn't predict the shard's influence on Kuttner." "Look, son, the shard-- it's worth a lot of money." "Enough for you to take care of Engineer Pawling's family for the rest of their lives." "You son of a bitch!" " Borges!" " Take it easy, Alejandro." " What the fuck was that?" "Pieces of the planet are still impacting the ship." "We need to get clear of the debris field." "Mr. Borges, if I didn't need you to save the ship, you would be in the brig for that." "Now get your ass down to the engine room and repair the shock point drive, or we're all dead!" "Alejandro?" "How old was Pawling?" "About 19." "I'm sorry, Noah, I got you this job." "It's all my fault." "And you never came into direct contact with the fragment?" "No, I swear. I never touched the damn thing." "Lie detection states 99.9% truth." "He never touched it." "Thank you, Mr. Borges." "You've been most cooperative." "What's happening?" "We'll have you escorted to guest quarters for the remainder of your trip to the Sprawl." "You mean I can go?" "Seriously?" "You'll have to go through med scans of course, but you'll be back home to your family as soon as we dock." "Oh, thank God." "Thank you." "Thank you." " Right this way, Mr. Borges." " l can't believe it." "I'm actually going home." "I gotta tell you guys, a couple times back on the O'Bannon, I honestly thought I was a dead man." "Have them remains taken to cold storage" " and bring in Nolan Stross." " Yes sir." "No no, what are you doing?" "Please don't." "Don't do this!" "No!" "Stop!" "Let me out!" "No!" "I'll be good." "Let me out." "Oh God, please let me out!" "claustrophobia." "Most horrible." "Now I take it you're ready to talk sense." "We're on a bit of a deadline." "I'm sure you understand." "Yes yes, I understand-- better than you could possibly comprehend." "Dr. Stross, you have been chief research scientist on the O'Bannon for a little over a year now." "One year, two months and nine days." "And all that while you've also been clandestinely a part of our government's secret investigation into the alien marker." "is that correct?" "That's correct." "Since I was already a part of the O'Bannon's crew, they decided to send us in after the lshimura incident." "I was to examine any fragments in the marker and make a thorough report." "I see." "Now why don't you share with me the results of your investigation?" "After we returned to the O'Bannon, I went to check on my family." "My family means a great deal to me." "The shock point drive is down?" "But how are we gonna get home without it?" "An engineering team is working around the clock to fix it, Alexis." "Don't worry." "Everything's gonna be fine." " Won't it, little fella?" " Nolan, level with me." "Does all this have anything to do with that other research you're doing?" " The government stuff?" " Alexis, can you please not grill me during the few moments a day I get with my son?" "I need to go." "The captain wants me to examine the artifact" " we found on the planet." " What kind of artifact?" " The classified kind." " What about that doctor you're always with?" "is she classified too?" "Alexis." "You spend more time with her than with us." "She's a colleague." "Why would I have brought you on this trip if there was anything going on?" "Because you're the senior science officer and I pestered to come along." " l've gotta get to the lab." " You can't keep running there every time I wanna have a discussion about our relationship." "Don't wait up." " Oh, sweetie." "I'm here." "Mommy's here." " come in." "caleb, I really should be starting the analysis of the shard." "captain?" "I want some answers, Mr. Stross." "I nearly lost my ship recovering that damn thing." "I know I'm just supposed to turn it over to you." "You'll have to take that up with home base." "I have." "They tell me all matters connected with the shard are need-to-know only." "My goddamn ship's scientist needs to know more about this mission than I do apparently." "Excuse me for saying so, sir, but you don't look well." "It's the shard." "I can hear it talking to me." "caleb, have you discussed this with Dr. cho?" "Just get the damn thing out of my sight, but I'm warning you, Stross, whatever the hell is going on, you keep it in your lab." "We're in deep enough shit here as it is." "It's even more astonishing than I could have possibly imagined." "What is, Doctor?" "The structure is similar to a hologram." "Every particle contains all the information of the whole." "What made this cuneiform-like symbol?" "There's no scratching or sign of cutting-- as if the crystal itself gave birth to it." "What?" "What's happening?" "The shard, it's" "Oh, my head." "Some form of telepathic encoding?" "Dr. Stross, are you feeling well?" "I'm fine." "I'm fine." "My God, it's a form of DNA, a blueprint." "Nolan, what are you doing?" "Isabel, you won't believe it." "Sandra, that will be all." " Thank you." " But, Doctor, we need to run" " a spectral analysis" " That will be all, Miss Burns." "Isabel, it's amazing." "The shard, it's the key to an alien language, a guide to DNA chains I've never seen before." "This may contain the secret to the future of human evolution." "Nolan, are you okay?" "You seem a little hyperactive." "Try and understand, this is the finding of a lifetime." "Well, don't let it go to your head, hmm?" "But this could alter the very destiny of humanity," " change everything." " Shh!" "We'll talk about that later." "But right now..." "The shard seems to generate some sort of carrier wave so advanced my instruments can barely detect it." "Though I have a theory that when it comes into contact with dead human tissue, it reanimates the cells, possibly into a new and more evolved form." "can you explain what happened to Kuttner on the planet?" "Well, it seems most humans when influenced by the marker become hyperpsychotic." "Only a very small percent are resilient to its effects." "Kuttner was already on the edge-- his grief over his daughter." "The shard pushed him over into a delusional state." "And you believe the shard was originally created by aliens?" "A higher intelligence most definitely, what a primitive mind would call God. ( gasps )" "God, he says." "Stross, maybe you should get some sleep." "Stross, Stross?" "can you hear me?" "The shard somehow transmits nightmares, dreams and visions, but the knowledge, it emanates." "I need a test subject." "Already the signal from the shard permeates the dead flesh of the subject." "I've never seen anything transform an entire host cell so quickly." "It's-- it's beautiful." "Damn it!" "How can I be expected to complete my experiments under these conditions?" "What?" "That's not possible." " ( screams ) Oh no!" "It's all your fault, Doctor." "They will all suffer because of you." "H-hallucination." "It was just a hallucination." "The door-- l broke the seal." "I wasn't thinking. ( gasps )" "Good Lord, what have I done?" " Dr. Stross, I've got the analysis" " Sandra, get out!" "Oh no." "No, get away." "It's not my fault." "The shard-- it tricked me." "Leave me alone!" "Hold the light steady, will ya?" " lt's still after me." "Here, it won't find me in here." "No!" "Oh my God, no!" "Oh God." "Oh God." "Oh God, I need help." "The captain." "The captain." "captain, I have to tell you." "It's about the shard." "Not right now, Stross." "I've got the engine room on the horn." "I need that shock point back online now, Borges." "Thanks to that class-A clusterfuck down on the planet, captain, I barely have any engineers left." "It'll be a miracle if we can pull this thing off." "Mister, I have taken all the shit" " What the hell is going on?" " We're under attack." "Borges." "Borges!" "God damn it." "Lieutenant Marcus, take a security team down there." " captain, please, listen to me." " Not now, Stross!" "We have a code 3 emergency in the engine room." "All personnel report to their stations." "This is not a drill." "Repeat, this is not a drill." " Alexis, the baby." "Emergency stations, move it." "Move it!" "Oh oh God." "Alexis." "Lex, are you here?" "Alexis, I made a horrible mistake." "The shard." "I'm not thinking clearly." " Alexis?" "Son, son, is that you?" " Get off of me!" " Where's my son?" " Nolan!" "That's my baby!" "No!" "You monster!" "Get away from my family." "Nolan." "Nolan?" "Nolan, something's happening." "The bodies-- they're turning into creatures." "It has to be the shard." "Oh God." "Oh my God." "Seeing those dead creatures must have truly affected her." "Isabel changed after that, but I had to do it." "Those things were threatening my family." "Dr. Stross, where is your family now?" "l-- l locked them in their quarters." "Did your men find them?" "Are they safe?" "What about the baby?" " His heart rate is 160." " l need to see them." "convergence is coming." "We have to be together" " when the change arrives." " Dr. Stross, where is your family?" "In my quarters, I told you." "Yes, you did." " Where is your family?" "Safe in quarters." "Saved them-- l saved them." "Interesting." "I've never seen such a complete block before." "lncrease the voltage." "I won't!" "I won't remember." " You can't make me remember." " Really quite extraordinary." "You're just doing what it wants you to do, all of you." "You're gonna kill me now, aren't you?" "Like you did Kuttner and Borges." "We don't want to kill you, Dr. Stross." " You don't?" " Of course not." "You came into direct contact with the marker." "It actually communicated with you." "Your mind holds the key to its language." "You're exactly what we've been looking for." "What is that?" "What are you doing?" "Please stop." "I did everything I was asked to do." "Why are you doing this to me?" "Stop." "Stop it." "Please stop." "Not this, please." "Please please!" "Unfortunate..." "about the claustrophobia." "They will be pleased, won't they, sir?" "Stross is everything they wanted." "Not quite everything." "Bring in Isabel cho." "Sprawl, this is Abraxis." " Requesting permission to dock." " Permission granted, Abraxis." "Welcome home." "You are making this unnecessarily difficult, Doctor." "We merely wish to know about the shard's full effects upon the O'Bannon's crew." "You're talking to the wrong person." "Nolan studied the artifact." "And we want to know more about Nolan Stross." "Did he reveal the details of his investigation to you?" " You were having an affair." " Why is that relevant?" "Dr. cho, I have no wish to cause you further discomfort, but if you do not answer my question, I shall be forced to intensify my methods." "Do you understand me?" "Yes." "Tell me about your affair with Dr. Stross." "l-- the affair lasted several months." "We'd been working together for a year." "I didn't plan it." "It was just something that happened." "He told me he was going to leave his wife, but I didn't want him to." "I tried to stay away, but I couldn't." "For the first time in my life I was in love." "After we found the shard on Aegis 7," "Nolan started acting strange, erratic." "Do you know what's the most fascinating thing" " about the crystal structure, Isabel?" " Hmm?" "The patterns there are almost familiar, like a dream I've nearly forgotten." "I think you've lost me." "I only speak English and Korean." "This is going to shape reality itself, Isabel." "Nolan, I want you to come to sick bay." "Let me run some psych scans." "Remember what that thing did to Kuttner?" "I don't need psych scans." "You have no comprehension of what I'm doing here." "I've nearly grasped its sacred language-- the ultimate source of human life itself." "Nolan, you're starting to scare me." "I think it's time for you to leave." "I have work to do." "All right." "I need to check on Kuttner anyway." "So how's our patient today?" "Resting comfortably, Doctor." "Are you feeling better, Nickolas?" "Head hurts, still can't remember much." "Do you remember seeing your daughter?" "Of course." "She's out playing right now." " She'll be back soon." " Of course she will." "Those engineers better get the drive working." "I need to get Vivian home to her mother." "I'm sure they're doing their best. I have to go." "Try and get some rest, okay?" "Whenever I close my eyes, all I see are monsters." "All right, Doctors." "We have a dozen DOAs to process." "Ripley and Wells should have finished the prep by now." "The captain wants a full report by-- oh my God." " Good Lord." " The bodies are gone." "What could have done this?" "By the Great Marker." "is that Dr. Ripley?" "call the captain." "We've got to" "Get out!" "Get out!" "Shut the door!" "Run!" "Get out of there!" " Shut the door!" " ls that door gonna hold?" " Did everyone get out?" " What is it?" " Emergency stations." "Everyone get to your posts now!" "Move it!" " Doc, what's going on?" " My God, this can't be happening." " Doc!" " lt can't be." "Am I going crazy?" "What the fuck is that?" " Oh no." " Get me out of here." "Get me off off this table now." "It's the monsters, isn't it?" "I knew they'd be back." "come on!" "come on, you bastard." "Here I am, right here." "What the hell is it?" "The shard's behind this." "I can feel it." " Where's the rest of the crew?" " l don't know." " We have to find Vivian." " l'm sure she's safe." "Look, if the shard's doing this, then we need to find Nolan." "come on." "All this blood-- what happened to all the bodies?" "They changed." "They became one." "I saw it." "I saw it happen." "chief, is that you?" "They want you too." "They want you both dead!" " Oh shit!" " chief, what are you doing?" " Let's go." "This way." "Right behind you." " Where are we now?" " This is Nolan-- l mean, Dr. Stross' quarters." "Wait here." " Keep your eyes open." " No shit." "You think?" "Nolan?" "Nolan, something's happening." "The bodies, they're turning into creatures." "Nolan, is that your wife?" "The baby." "Nolan, what have you done?" "Isabel, we have to warn the others." " l accidentally released the infection." " Keep away from me." "Keep away from me!" " You monster!" " Doc?" " Isabel." " You monster!" "What is it?" "What's the matter with you?" " Look out." "There's another one." " How many of these things are there?" " On your left." " Aim for its eyes." " lt's still coming!" " Get out of the halls." " Get to safety." "Look out!" " lt's still coming!" " Stross, what the hell is going on?" " What are these things?" " They are the future, captain." "They're what we were always meant to become," " glorious and immortal." " God damn it, Nolan." "Get it together." "What's wrong with you, man?" "captain, we've got more company." "Too many to fight." "We need a way out." "Vivian." "Baby, is that you?" "Vivian, wait." " come back. lt's not safe down there." " Kuttner." " Where the hell's he going?" " No, he's right." " They can't follow us through there." " Then hurry." "Move your ass." " He went into the vent." " Get moving!" " l'll cover you." " Keep going all of you." " Hustle it up, Pallas." " Right behind you, captain." "No!" "Let go, you son of a bitch." " Ow!" " Officer Pallas." "caleb, get them out of here!" " Officer Pallas." "Leslie." "Leslie!" " There's nothing you can do." "She's gone." "She's gone!" "She-- she was a good officer, a good shipmate." "We need to keep going, captain." "Those things may find a way into the vent." "come on, Vivian went this way." "By all means, let's follow the ghost of his dead daughter." "I'm not entirely comfortable depending on someone who has obviously lost his mind." "Yeah, I know exactly what you mean." "Vivian says we should go down there." "I think we're over the science section." "This is your lab, right, Stross?" "Sounds quiet enough." "It's all clear." " come on." " Something's got him." "No!" "Borges, it's us." " lt's Kuttner." " l know who it is." " Take you with me." "Stop it." "Stop it!" "We don't have time for this shite!" "calm down, Alejandro." "I only want safety for my daughter." "Your daughter's dead, asshole." "Just like my cousin you killed." "No, Vivian, don't listen." "He's confused." "He's just scared." "Borges, what's the situation with the shock point drive?" "Did you get it operational?" "Fuck no." "The engine room is totally fucked!" "We barely got out." " We?" " Sorry, captain." "We were overrun." "They got the bridge as well." "Let me take a look at that arm." "Pretty rough laceration, but you'll be okay." " l'll need some help here." " l'll help, love." "Isabel, what is wrong with you?" "Keep away from me, you sick bastard, or I swear I'll throw you out there with the rest of the monsters." "Stross, we could use you over here." " Yes, captain." " What the hell is going on?" "Why is my crew turning into goddamn monsters?" "Homo sapiens are the true monster." "These are higher forms of life." "We're becoming them, and soon we will all become one." " What did you say?" " ignore him." "He's not well." "No no, there's an old Unitologist proverb:" "all forms of life will unite in convergence and we shall be one." "My mom said that we were living in the end of days." "convergence is coming soon." "By the look of things, it seems like your mom was right." "So how the hell do we stop it?" "Stross, you're the only one who understands those things." "How can we stop them?" "Nolan, look, we need you, okay?" "The necromorphs are animated by the signal from the shard." "We have to stop the carrier wave." "Then give me that goddamn thing." "I'll stop it." "Didn't even scratch it." "There's no way you can destroy it, only shatter it." "And every piece will retain the properties of the original, like a hologram." "There's got to be a way." "No no." "It was designed by an intelligence we can't begin to comprehend." "You would have to cast it into the heart of a star." "Or a reactor core?" "Yes." "Yes, that might do it." "Then we take this thing to the engine room and we destroy it." "Are you serious?" "The engine room is fucking crawling" " with those things." " Then we fight our way through them." "We don't have a lot of choice." "The ship can't take much more." "What do we have for weapons?" "Just your gun and these bone saws we grabbed in medical." "I was working on those things until you guys showed up." "Are you actually building something out of all this junk?" "Flamethrower, a few incendiary grenades." "Found some plasma cutters-- charges are pretty low." "Okay then." "can you travel, Lieutenant Marcus?" " Yes sir." " Then everybody arm yourselves." "Let's go." "God damn, it's quiet." "Those things couldn't have gotten the whole crew, could they?" " Everybody stay together." " Wait." "What was that?" "I thought I heard something." "It's clear." "This way." "I know I heard something." " Look out!" " Marcus, get out of here!" "Aw shit!" "Move it." "It's right behind you." " l think we're just pissing it off." " Got any better ideas?" " Yeah, run!" " This way!" "Hurry!" "Down here." " Jenny?" " Lana, don't get too close to it." "It's all right." "It's my roommate Jenny." "Praise the Marker." "Jenny, are you okay?" "Lana, no." "Get away from it." "Lana!" " They're right behind us." " come on, Doc, we gotta go." "Let's see if this bad boy works." "Finally." "The engine room's through that door." "We're not too far from the reactor core." "We're not there yet." "Look!" "Let's go!" "Move it!" "We've got a hull breach!" "Hold on to something." "We're losing oxygen." "Get to the engine room." "We can seal the airlock there." " Help me!" "Oh God, help me!" " Hold on." " Hang on, son." " l'm coming for you." "Almost got you." "A little closer." "No!" " No!" " Nickolas, look out!" "Kuttner!" "Got you." "Thanks." "come on, move it." "Get your asses up here." " We have a problem." " What now?" "The power is out to the airlock door." "It's damaged on our side." "It has to be closed from out there." "Anyone out there will be torn to pieces." " l'll do it." " No, you'll be trapped." " captain, we'll find another way." " You will do as you're ordered, Doctor." "You too, Mr. Borges." "Send this thing back to hell where it belongs." "And tell my wife she was right." "I should have retired before this trip." "All right, you bastards!" "come and get me!" "My God." "He's gone." "The captain's gone." " Now what?" " l'll tell you what." "We throw that damn thing into the core like he told us." "This way." "There it is." "The shock point drive." "The most powerful machine mankind has ever created." "How do we do it?" "We throw it into the core over the edge of the platform." "There." "No, the shard!" "I've got it." "Oh shit." "I am so fucking sick of these fucking things." "You and me both." "Oh shit!" "There's too many!" " No!" " Get off, you son of a bitch!" "Get away from him!" "What is Stross waiting for?" "Throw it into the core!" "Destroy it." "Stross." "Stross!" "Nolan, what the hell are you doing?" "Destroy that thing now!" " God damn it, Stross." "Gimme that!" " Don't you see, Isabel?" " lt's too important to destroy" " Oh shut up!" "( grunts )" "Throw it!" "Throw it now!" " lt's over." " They're dead." "Finally." "It's finished." "You know the rest." "It's a pity you didn't come into direct contact with the shard." "You have a fine mind and a strong will." "I'm sure it would have..." "resonated with you, as it did with Stross." "Oh my God." "You knew what would happen if we found the fragments, didn't you?" "We are not ignorant of the marker's capabilities." "You didn't just want the fragments." "You wanted us exposed to that thing!" "All that horror, all those deaths-- you did it on purpose." "You have nothing to fear." "In the end, you won't suffer." " l promise." " l don't understand." "During our session we docked at the Sprawl." "There is someone here who would like to speak to you." "Ah, my dear Dr. cho." "It's a pleasure to finally meet you." "I'm so sorry about any discomfort this process may have caused you, but you must understand how important this project is." "Project?" "What project?" "Who are you?" "I?" "I am a simple Overseer to a greater purpose." "We are working to change the face of humanity, my dear." "come with me and I'll explain." "Doctor, you and your team did a fine job." " My compliments." " Yes sir." "Thank you, sir." "I'm very happy that you're pleased." "Very pleased indeed." "Good day." "Praise the Great Marker." "I thought ourjobs might be in jeopardy." "Do you think we might be promoted?" "I'm sure the Overseer will see that we are appropriately rewarded." "As a doctor, you must see that the marker is the greatest discovery in the history of humanity." "It has the potential to alter human DNA, to save our flawed dying species." "It turns people into mindless monsters." "is that the kind of nightmare you want to unleash?" "Its power is controllable under the right circumstances." "We just need some more time to continue our research into the marker." "Regrettably, these recent events have become too public." "We need an airtight cover story and we'd like you to help us with that." "You want me to just forget everything that's happened?" "To my shipmates on the O'Bannon and all those colonists on Aegis 7?" "We have significant resources dedicated to this project, Dr. cho." "You'd be an important part of the team." "In a few years, you could be heading the whole medical sciences division." "Please consider helping us with this great work." "I won't do it." "You're playing God with human life." "People deserve to know the truth." "Isabel, I'm truly sorry you feel that way." "What-- ( grunting )" "Secure the patient." "What are you doing?" "Stop it." "Get your hands off of me." "Stop!" "Let me go!" "Everything is ready." "You may proceed." " What are you going to do to me?" " Someone has to be held responsible." " No!" "Please don't do this." "Please, oh God!" "No!" "No!" "Authorities today announced the arrest of a suspect connected to a recent series of terrorist attacks on the USG lshimura, the USG O'Bannon and a mining colony on Aegis 7." "Isabel cho, a former medical officer assigned to the O'Bannon, was rescued from a lifepod recovered after the O'Bannon's engines were sabotaged and the ship destroyed." "Interrogators have received a full confession from Miss cho, and sentencing is scheduled for next week..." "The cover story is working well." "People believe what they wish to believe, Dr. Edgars." "Yes." "Ah, it appears Dr. Stross has arrived." "Excellent." "That makes two who have come into contact" " with the marker." " Two?" "Who is the second?" "The engineer who destroyed Aegis 7." "We found him half crazed in an escape shuttle." "Imagine our luck." "Synchronicity reveals the will of the cosmos, Dr. Edgars." "Of course, Overseer." "Be gentle with the patient." "His mind is the key to the secrets of the marker." "Yes sir." "Welcome to your new home, Nolan." "Welcome to the Sprawl." "d Twinkle twinkle, little star d d How I wonder what you are d d Up above the world so high d d Like a diamond in the sky d d Twinkle twinkle, little star d d How I wonder what you are. d"