"We believe that this particular lot of libido inhibitors is contaminated." "Think we sold them on the halos?" "Paula can't pilot that lander." "Beta chose Paula." "It didn't injure her thumb." "My thumb!" "If she's not the one, it'll let us know." " What?" " Paula failed." "Like Job, I feel I am being tested, you see." "As if Satan himself were on this ship." "Rollie, there is a thing on board with us," "OK, a thing that you knew about and just forgot to mention to me." "So while this is thoughtful and sweet, it doesn't make that right." "When we got married, we made a rule." "We could get angry, fight, slam doors, sulk." "In three hours' time, we would come back and discuss it." "Well, what do we do after three hours up here, Rollie?" "Oh, my God." "Oh, my God." "Hey!" "I get to make a call!" "Like most kids, I used to play hide-and-seek in my neighbourhood." "Best place to hide was an old oak barrel behind the Sutters' garage." "I used to climb in and pretend I was John Glenn orbiting the earth in Freedom 7." "And I never got found." "But I did discover that after about an hour or so, an old oak barrel can get pretty cramped and lonely... just like the life of an astronaut." "So..." "Rollie didn't call me, and I didn't call him." "And I think make-up sex is probably a long shot." "I guess that's what happens when the three-hour rule passes up here." "Nothin'." "Sorry." "All right, guys, so, er, form 24 today." "We are..." "T minus 23 hours until the Venus landing and Zoe's walk." "What." "Not doing my job isn't gonna make this thing go away." "Zoe, you're under orders to rest." "Well, it's just a 20-minute walk." "In 460-degree weather." "You need to conserve energy today." "Fine." "Donner, mission control wants you to run the landing simulation." "Everyone else, T-1 standard." "Why can't we just say "business as usual"?" "Because we're astronauts." "Oh!" "Good morning, sunshine." "Morning, Steven." "I'm OK." "I'm sorry." "I..." "I got a little overwhelmed yesterday." "But I'm OK." "Good." "Now that we're all OK, let's get going." "Oh, if you need help running the sims and the lander," "I've been helping Paula all week." "I've spent some time in landers, too." "I think I can manage." "You rest." "Ted!" "I would love to do my space classroom on the Venus suit today." "Any objections?" "I don't, but mission control does." "You've been ordered to have a psych eval with our good doctor." "How are they doing?" "'They're rattled, Eve. '" "Yeah, we trained hard, but not for this." "You did." "You just didn't know it at the time." "So you are going to make history tomorrow." "We made history on Mars, too." "Ted, we are doing it right this time around." "What if we're not?" "If we're not..." "If we're not, then I was wrong." "And we have wasted billions of dollars, 15 years..." "And lives, Eve." "Lives." "Walker and Sharon..." "And Zoe, Donner?" "Ted, that is not going to happen." "We're gonna be OK." "I developed the halos that they sell at Merkmancinco, 20 years ago." "We have never, in clinical trials or active use, ever had hallucinations caused by the halos." "well, maybe one batch went wrong, and ISO got it." "No, there's thousands of halos in a batch." "We sell the things to prisons, to priests." "So the press release from ISO..." "Is a lie." "It's a total fabrication." "But you'll have to get somebody from ISO to corroborate that." "Why do you care?" "It's my retirement." "And it's my grandkids' college fund." "And i get 1% of all sales." "Kim, where's Goss?" "No idea." "You're lucky that the cop that picked you up washed out as an ASCAN back in '43, because he called me." "Your blood alcohol level was twice the legal limit, Rollie." "Is she OK?" "If that girl dies, you're looking at vehicular manslaughter." "That's 25 years." "No parole." "Mike, just tell me." "Is the girl OK or not?" "She's in a coma." "But holding on." "Oh, God." "What the hell have I done?" "Er, I-I, er, I have to talk to Jen." "No, you don't." "You are not calling Jen." "In fact, Jen is not gonna hear anything about this." "And you are gonna sit there silently while I figure something out." "'You 12 get the first shift' for sensory deprivation training." "This is how we find out who can handle the pressure of being alone in space and who can't." "What happened to "there is no I in team"?" "This is how it works." "You're in the tank until we pull you out." "It could be a half-hour." "It could be two days." "You can expect periodic noises." "We don't want anyone napping." "Why is he looking at me?" "I feel like he was looking at me when he said that." "Listen up." "This is a requirement, people." "No-one goes any further in the programme until the exercise is complete." "Is that clear?" "We'll start in ten." "Dude, this is it, man." "This is totally it!" "What are you talking about?" "Man, one of the old Als told me that after Sensdep training, everybody gets laid." "Yeah, man, it's something about being alone and then needing... to-to not... be alone?" "That doesn't sound like it's particularly scientific." "Doesn't need to be." "It's not." "Don't crush my dreams, doc." "Guaranteed sex tonight." "Guaranteed sex tonight!" "Don't leave me hanging." "There ya go!" "Hey, Mamacita." "So, er, this sensory deprivation thing..." "Handsome, vulnerable, kind of broken." "You targeting Mintz to help you blow off a little steam later?" "Don't be ridiculous." "I'm gonna be sleeping alone in my own little bed tonight." "Amen to that." "Said the bitter space nun." "What?" "Me, bitter?" "Come on!" "Not even a word of support?" "What is wrong?" "Nothing." "I'm fine." "Really." "Come on, this is gonna be like spending the afternoon in a jacuzzi." "Yeah, except jacuzzis are in open air with other people and with delicious beverages with tiny umbrellas." "OK, then once we get through this, we will go to Major Tom's, and we will consume delicious beverages with tiny umbrellas in them." "Deal?" "Deal." "Wass, tank one." "Wesson, two." "Schilling, three." "Barnes, four." "I hear tonight can't help but be hot." "Can you do me?" "I'm sorry?" "Zipper." "Are we still on?" "Uh, for tonight?" "Yeah, I'll see you at Tom's." "Great." "So I've got, er, room to spare in mine, ladies, if anybody gets lonely, wants to chat." "No?" "This is where I'm at, if you're curious." "Jen?" "Oh." "Yeah." "Good to go." "Get me out!" "Somebody get me out!" "Let me out!" "Easy, easy, easy, easy." "Easy." "Thank you." "For the record, I didn't last five minutes my first time." "But it is a requirement." "You have to pass." "Well then I guess I'm out." "Jen, i promise you, if this is the reason why you burn out of the programme, you will never forgive yourself." "You know what to expect now." "You can push yourself through it." "You-you don't un..." "you don't understand." "Look, I will get you into a later group." "You can at least try it again." "Yeah." "Sure." "Whatever." "This is exactly what we need, so as soon as you get it, let me know." "Hey." "All right, thanks." "They didn't keep you in there very long." "What happened?" "Your place." "Right now." "Will you marry me?" "Uh-huh." "30 metres." "20 metres." "10 metres." "Stand by." "Touchdown." "Landing secured, even with the musical accompaniment." "Hey." "Sure you don't need any help?" "You're supposed to be resting." "Oh." "Well, you know, talking to you isn't exactly taxing." "You're supposed to be completely off your feet, OK?" "It's a caloric burn thing." "It's like prepping for a marathon." "Why don't you go watch a movie?" "No, I'd rather not." "Well, read a book." "I've read them all." "Practise your first line." "What?" "Your line." "You know, what you're gonna say." "The first woman on Venus" " I hope you have a line." "Right?" "Yeah." "I hope it's better than Walker's "Red planet conquered," ""the warrior brought to his knees. "" "Yeah." "Of course it is." "OK." "How's he doing?" "Perfectly." "We've run three different simulations three times each, and he's nailed it every time." "Can we wrap this up, Donner?" "Let's have one more time through." "I want 549-B." "It's the last one, I promise." "549-B." "Wind gusting at 15 kilometers per hour." "OK." "Storm system moving in from the east." "And..." "I'm in." "Watch your pitch." "I got side winds coming in." "Hang on." "I'm gonna power through this." "30 metres." "20 meters." "10." "All right, going again." "I have nothing to say." "I find that hard to believe." "No." "I'm going down to Venus tomorrow, and, er, they're gonna record whatever I say when I get there in the annals of history forever." "And, er, ahem, I've got nothing." "I'm sure you'll think of something." ""Through difficulties to the stars. "" "Venus is a planet?" "It's Seneca." "It's a famous Latin quote." "Oh, see, I took Mandarin." "You know, one of the useful languages." "And by the way, aren't you supposed to be resting?" "OK, I am going to Venus tomorrow..." "I know." "We know." "The whole world knows." "Are you OK?" "I'm fine." "I'm sorry about before." "Eh." "Are you still fighting with Rollie?" "How did you get "I'm fighting with Rollie" from "I'm fine"?" "Well, just cos you say you're fine doesn't make it true." "It's OK to reach out and ask for help sometimes, Jen." "Zoe, I'm fine." "Call Rollie." "I'm leaving." "I'm gonna go." "I know I messed up yesterday." "I get it." "It's just..." "I don't know what to think about beta." "At first, I thought it was God showing me my miracle." "But then it kept me from passing my landing test." "Why would it do that?" "I don't know." "You said that you think it shows us things that we feel guilty about." "It's just a theory." "Based on what?" "Back in the war, there was a girl trapped inside a building." "I tried to save her, and... didn't." "The scar on your back?" "Yeah." "And that's what you're hallucinating about?" "Like I said, it's just a theory." "But I don't feel guilty about Hector." "Hector was my miracle." "Your miracle?" "Yes." "Beta shows me my miracle." "Hector's why I believe." "He's alive!" "It's a miracle." "Noise to keep us from napping?" "Whatever." "I could sleep through World War IV." "How was your stint in solitary?" "Easy." "I saw my miracle, and I knew I wasn't alone." "Hey, er, you wanna be my miracle, baby?" "You're disgusting, Steven." "What about you, blondie?" "You wanna be my miracle?" "I'm going to suggest that you, er, never say that to anybody ever again." "It is both creepy and gross." "Oh, yeah." "Well, that's what I was going for." "42 seconds." "I mean, I think that must be a new world record for worst performance ever by an ASCAN." "No." "No." "But you do know it is a requirement, and..." "You can get cut." "So I've heard." "Seriously, you know what you need?" "You need... mind over matter." "What the hell are you talking about?" "You don't mind, I don't matter!" "Oh, God, you are such a cheeseball!" "It's dark..." "And quiet." "It's not so bad, right?" "No." "It's not so bad under here with you." "Mmm." "My proposal is this - an evening of dangerous games, followed... by..." "Again, creepy and gross." "Come on." "I'm sorry." "How'd it go today?" "Fine." "Wow, you sound like an astronaut." "You got the one-word answer, the flat delivery." "Now you just gotta work on that drink." "You hanging out alone tonight?" "No, I'm not alone." "No, we're here." "Together." "Really?" "Hanging out, yep." "Yeah." "Yeah, we're just hanging out, man." "You guys are hanging out." "Doing what?" "We're playing darts, having some bevvies." "You don't play darts." "I love darts." "She's really, really good." "Well, let's go." "Come on." "No, now?" "Now?" "Yeah, you love darts." "Come on, honey, he can join us." "All right." "That's me." "I gotta, gotta." "Gotta." "Hey." "Oh." "OK." "OK." "It was Rollie." "He got me back in." "Bueno." "Will you, um, will you come with me?" "I mean, it might not be so bad if I know you're out there." "OK." "I'll try." "But just let me take a shower first." "Sure." "You OK?" "Yeah." "Uh, I go in in half an hour." "Schilling." "How was it?" "Like taking a nice warm bath." "So what is the miracle that beta shows you?" "Hector used to wait for me by the window to come home from school." "That day, I saw Hector by the window, like always." "Mama!" "'I walked in, and then somehow, Hector got out. '" "Hector!" "'He was dead." "I begged God to give him back to me. '" "And then he did." "God answered my prayers." "God sent Hector back to me as a reward for my faith." "I don't care what it costs to bury this." "Just make it happen." "I've been looking for you all morning." "Their genomes have held steady since that first mutation, but in the last week, they've mutated again." "We've been over this, doctor." "We could be looking at serious medical problems down the line." "What'll happen when they pick up gamma?" "We hope for the best." "we have to tell them." "I need you to go back out there to your station and do your job." "I'm trying to do my job, but you seem hell-bent on making that impossible." "Sir." "Claire, we have just regained a modicum of equilibrium up there." "If I tell the crew that their genes might be changing, what does that gain me?" "So... how was it for you?" "I thought it was kind of relaxing, once you got past the weird sensation of not knowing where your body ends and the water begins." "Kinda like having a few drinks." "Yeah." "So I've already had two glasses of wine, and if I don't get some food," "I'm liable to get to that place where I make bad choices." "Like dancing on the bar bad choices?" "It's really not pretty." "So I was wondering if you'd like to, um... save me from myself by getting some food with me." "I know this Italian place." "It's..." "Claire..." "I like you..." "A lot." "Which is why I'm gonna say no." "I'm not the guy you want to get involved with." "Well, why don't I be the judge of that?" "Trust me." "# I like it when you get there" "# Don't say you need another reason... #" "Hey." "Hey." "You ready?" "No." "That's the spirit." "Have you, um, have you seen Ted?" "No." "No, I haven't." "You OK?" "Jen, look, you are putting way too much on this." "You know, between you and me, it's kind of a stupid exercise." "ISO and the space programme have built-in redundancy." "I mean, there are nine ways to solve every problem." "You're never alone." "Somebody's always got your back." "Look..." "Try this." "Six sick slick slim sycamore saplings." "I'm sorry." "I don't even know what to say to that." "It's a tongue twister, and it's harder than you think." "Trust me." "You focus on getting that right, and you won't think about this." "And I'm gonna be here the whole time, OK?" "Six sick slick slim sycamore saplings." "Six sick slim..." "Six..." "Come on." "Six sick..." "Sick..." "S- sick..." "Sycamore..." "Saplings." "Six..." "Sick slick slim sycamore saplings." "Six sick slick slim... (Sycamore saplings.)" "Six..." "Six sick..." "Slim slick sycamore saplings." "I am talking to a bunny." "Good work." "OK." "'Hey, Jen. '" "Kim?" "I" " I'm sorry." "What...?" "Isn't Rollie there?" "He..." "he should be on shift by now." "Yeah, he had to go to Bertran HQ." "Last-minute all-day meetings, mission status updates." "Do you want me to leave him a message?" "Why don't I just call him?" "What, he's not reachable?" "Communication lockdown until he leaves Bertran headquarters." "Their rules, not ours." "OK." "All right." "Uh..." "Thanks." "Damn." "Well, that did it." "You are officially the worst darts player in the world." "You want some tips?" "No." "Oohh." "Bathroom, right now." "I don't even want to wait to get you home." "Oh, my God." "It's even better from this angle." "Is everything OK?" "Everything's fine." "Why wouldn't it be?" "Um, I don't know." "Just checkin'." "Mmm." "OK, yeah." "The only thing is I'm sort of in the middle of a game here." "How about you let me finish, and I'll, er, buy you a drink?" "What do we need to win?" "Double 20." "Mm-hmm." "Hmm." "I love darts." "I thought you got the golden ticket to do nothing all day." "It looks like you're working." "I have nothing to say." "Then say nothing at all." "Oh." "Yeah, I hadn't thought of that." "I don't know." "Uh..." "Doesn't have much of a ring to it." "What are we talking about?" "Venus." "I need an opening line." "Oh, you should totally be like..." "That isn't dirty." "I would..." "Or juvenile." "We could all..." "Or incomprehensible to anyone without five years of post-grad maths." "Yeah, I got nothing for ya." "Yeah." "Why did Donner even say anything to me?" "You know, I would've just gone down there, and something would've rolled off my tongue." "OK, take it up with him then." "He's still in the lander." "Still?" "'Simulation failed. '" "Run it again." "All right, brother." "Let's take a break." "Yeah, I'm not gonna get a break tomorrow, so I don't know why I'd take one today." "Donner, this is an insanely hard simulation, OK?" "You know the only reason it exists is to prove to dumb jock pilots that they can't land in every condition." "OK, this is designed to be impossible." "It's not impossible." "I've done it before." "Let's go!" "We would never launch in these conditions, OK?" "It would never happen." "Come on, let's take a break." "Man, let's go." "Tomorrow, I'm gonna be down there with Zoe, and you're gonna be safe and sound up here like Goss was." "I'm not Goss." "And this is not Mars." "Nadia, let's run it again." "So Hector came back to life because of your prayers?" "Yes." "OK." "How did he get out?" "Did you leave the door open when you came in?" "No." "I walked in, I closed the door and I locked it like always." "Well, how did it get open?" "Did someone else leave the door open?" "God needed for Hector to be on that street, so that I could witness that miracle." "He makes all things possible." "So Hector goes from lying in the road, dead, to the sidewalk and breathing in your arms?" "Yes." "And how does he get from the street to the sidewalk?" "That's part of the miracle." "Are we done?" "Tell me again about the door." "You doing OK, Claire?" "I'm fine." "If you need to talk to someone..." "I don't need to talk to someone, Eve." "Do you realise what we're doing here?" "This is a 10 trillion experiment without a control." "I know." "What kind of science is that?" "There's so much good could've been done with that money here on Earth." "Instead, we send eight people hurtling across the galaxy with a rock that we have no idea what it's..." "It's about faith, Claire." "And you know I'm not talking about the religious kind." "Now I don't know where I come down on God, but I have faith in those eight astronauts, and I have faith in Beta." "Yes, well, I am a scientist and a doctor, and my only concern is the well-being of that crew." "I can't just take things on faith." "And neither should you." "I walked in, and then Hector got out." "How many times do I have to tell you this?" "So you didn't forget to close the door?" "No." "Do you remember who else was home?" "I can tell you who wasn't home... my mother." "OK." "Tell me about that." "I don't want to talk about this any more." "You're just questioning my faith because you have none of your own." "Paula." "Paula, we're not finished here." "Yes, we are." "You know, you strike me as more of a usually Cabernet, never Chardonnay type of drinker." "What?" "You just don't seem like the type for whiskey shots." "Are you secretly judging me?" "No, no, no." "It sounded like judgment." "No, I'm just being..." "just being observant." "What, did Sensdep training get to you or something?" "Sure." "Let's go with that." "You know, I read somewhere that the best crew to send up into space would be a group of Buddhist monks." "Think about it." "You know, they shut off all desire, they meditate all the time and focus on their religion." "Maybe I should try that." "Mind you, it does sound really bloody boring, doesn't it?" "OK, come here." "Come here." "I'm gonna help you." "No, I don't need your help." "Yeah, no, you... you do, if only for the safety of Tommy's patrons." "OK?" "That guy was not hurt." "Uh-huh." "All right." "Your left." "Put your arm out." "Now it's all about touch." "You wanna be solid but relaxed." "All right?" "Just let the dart fly itself." "Solid but relaxed." "Take your time." "That's it." "Beautiful." "Doesn't get any better than that." "Right?" "Yeah!" "That's perfect." "Thank you." "How about you buy me one more drink and then take me home?" "OK." "Yeah, yeah." "That sounds like... sounds like a plan." "Mmm." "Uh..." "I guess, er, have a good night." "OK?" "Yeah, you, too." "Ciao." "All right." "(Solid but relaxed.)" "Oh." "Thanks." "So, er, I guess Ted never showed, huh?" "Well, there was a meeting." "He probably got pulled into it." "Right." "Hey, come on!" "You did it!" "Yay!" "Look, why don't you let me take you out for a drink to celebrate?" "Oh, I think I've been more than enough trouble for one day, Rollie." "I should just cut my losses, er, and, um, head home." "Thanks." "Jen, you are never any trouble." "I couldn't have made it through this without you, Rollie." "Thank you." "Any time." "So this is how this is gonna work." "You're back on the floor starting tomorrow." "What?" "And this cost ISO a small fortune, so we would really appreciate it if you could just keep this to yourself." "As far you're concerned, as far as I'm concerned, this never happened." "What about the girl?" "Did you hear me?" "It never happened." "This is completely messed up." "Is that what you plan to tell her family, Mike?" "You gonna tell her that nothing ever happened?" "Is that what you're gonna tell her if she ever wakes up?" "I may not have killed her, but she'll probably never walk again." "But nothing ever happened, did it, Mike?" "!" "Now I'm supposed to just walk the hell out of here, huh?" "Cos nothing ever happened?" "Go home and call your wife." "She's been looking for you." "Can I help you?" "Whoa, whoa." "Hey, those are vintage." "Hey, hey." "Ssh." "It's OK." "I... messed up." "Please just hold me." "So how's Paula?" "She's OK on the surface, but there's something underneath it all - you know, something she's hiding." "Repressing." "I think I can help her once I figure it out." "You OK?" "Yeah." "I'm... fine." "It's just one of those days." "Je t'aime." "I love you, too." "Bye." "30 metres." "Simulation failed." "All right, go on again." "End simulation." "What are you...?" "You can't be in here." "OK?" "You're throwing me off my game." "You're holding on too tight." "What?" "It's all about touch - solid, but relaxed." "All right, get outta here." "I'm not going anywhere." "20 metres." "10 metres." "Touchdown." "All right, Nadia." "Let's call it." "I think I'm good." "All good." "Isolation is a fact of life in space." "I don't know if there's any real training for it." "There certainly isn't a cure." "Most of the time isolation's self-imposed." "Sorry." "I got called into a meeting at mission control." "Jen?" "'Sometimes by shutting people out... '" "Jen, don't." "Please don't." "Jen, don't." "Jen!" "'.. sometimes by inviting people in... '" "'.. and sometimes by hiding alone in the Sutters' oak barrel. '" "'Sometimes it's by losing faith in the very things that keep us going. '" "# Dream" "# Chasing" "# You followed the sun Across mountains and oceans" "# And cities" "# And small towns" "# Stopped in" "# Someplace" "# Oh, they're glad they met you Their hearts are now with you" "# In joy" "# And pain" "# Young and plain" "# Young and plain... #" "What are you doing here?" "You were there for me before I left for Antares, so..." "I'm here for you tonight." "Er, I think..." "I think I'm OK." "Well..." "# You're on your own again... #" "I'm not." "I'm terrified." "'We lean on each other and seek solace 'where we think we'll find it." "'But sometimes it's just unavoidable." "'There's nothing to do but embrace the isolation 'and walk out into the void alone. '" "#.." "Now I'm on my own again. #"