" Coffee." " Thanks." " Sandra, coffee." " Than k you, T anya." "No thanks." "Sandra?" "It's still quite a distance away and holding course." "How close will it pass us?" "Close." "David, have you got those figures yet?" "It's a fair size asteroid but noth i ng to worry about." "H m m." "Esti mate the damage potential j ust i n case." "There's no need." "It won't col I ide with us." "J ust i n case." "Pau l!" "RE D ALE RT" " Com puter gave the col I is ion alarm." " The asteroid's cou rse changed" "Li ke it's been pu I led." "Kano, pi n poi nt i m pact area." " Problem?" " An asteroid." "Com mander, col I is ion cou rse reaffi rmed." "I m pact area" " Al pha." " How m uch ti me do we have?" " U nder a m i n ute." "No ti me to secu re the base." "It's chang i ng cou rse!" "Com mander, it's i m poss i ble, but WE' RE chang i ng cou rse." "Switch to starboard camera." "What is it?" "Whatever it is, we' re headed rig ht i nto it." "It's rou nd." "It's h uge." "It's black." "Boy, is it black!" " What's h is pos ition?" " 7 -7 -9 -0 -4." "Where the asteroid was fi rst caug ht." "G ive me you r sensor read i ngs, M i ke." "S i r, I' m not getti ng anyth i ng." " ' Noth i ng's bou nci ng back from it. '" " Same here, no read i ngs." "' Does anyone have any idea what it is?" "'" "The last eq uation of professor Berg man is wrong." "' Deg rees of cos i ne adjacent to oppos i ng ang le of... '" "I oug ht to know better than to as k you." "It's ou r move, Com mander." "What's the power of the antig ravity screens?" "'They' re on ly on half power. '" "See how it reacts to the laser." "'Wi I I do. '" " Wel l!" "It swal lows laser I ig ht too." " 'What next?" "'" "Video reception." "Is the fau lt with h is eq u i pment or ou rs?" "There's no fau lt." "It s hou ld be clear, M ichael's between us and the object." ".. T, no T sq uared." "Of cou rse..." "Now..." "There's on ly one th i ng to do - get i n closer." " ' Negative, M i ke. '" " Al I it has is a lot of g ravity." "With my screens on maxi m u m power I s hou ld be al I rig ht." "Al pha is headed rig ht i nto it." "We have to fi nd out what it is." " Come on." " ' Hypothes is proven." "' It is you r d uty to report th is danger... '" "Y eah, one j u m p ahead of you, Com puter." "Switch i ng on anti -g ravity screens to fu I I power." " Sand ra?" " Rig ht here, M ichael." " ' Don't go away, be rig ht back. '" " I wi I I be waiti ng." "' Here I go, Al pha. '" "Mon itor h is anti -g ravity screens, they' re i n the red." "Confi rmed." " Joh n!" " Abort, M i ke." "Pu I I out, M i ke!" "You' re head i ng rig ht i nto it." "Blast you rself out of there!" "F u I I power." "F u I I power!" "T elecomand." " Get h i m out." " He's accelerati ng." "We can't hold h i m." " Why d id I wait so long?" " Now, Joh n, you d id n't know." "Neither d id l." "If anyone's to blame, it's me." "I s us pected it hou rs ago." " A black s u n." " Rig ht." "What are we goi ng to do about it?" "What can we do?" "We' I I al I be dead i n th ree days." "pred iction confi rmed, without dou bt" "It is certai n ly a black s u n, a h u nd red percent s u re" "A black s u n?" "U nfortu nately, we cou ld n't be s u re u nti I it was too late to save M i ke." "But you th i n k we can avoid it?" "Its g ravitational pu I I can become so i m mense that j ust a hatfu I of it can weig h more than several Al phas." "But it does n't stop there." "G ravity i ncreases so not rad lation, not heat, not even I ig ht can escape." "Its force is i m meas u rable." "Even Com puter can not determ i ne it." "You d id n't answer my q uestion." "Do you th i n k we can avoid it?" "I thoug ht I d id." "Pau I as ked if we cou ld avoid the g ravitational force of a black s u n." "The answer is no." "However, we may be able to use it to ou r advantage." "Victor." "These eig ht anti -g ravity towers stabi I ise ou r g ravity i n Al pha." "And we' I I use them to create an enti rely new force-field effect." "By I i n ki ng and cross" "I i n ki ng the anti -g ravity screens i n each of the towers, the force-field wi I I look someth i ng I i ke th is." "I've stri pped al l the generators out of ou r Eag les." "We' I I use them to s u pport the mai n u n its." "But Com puter wi I I have to be deactivated for the force-field." "Y es, wel l, u m..." "It cou ld do with a rest." "We' I I reprog ram ou r mai n u n it generators so that, it wi I I s i m ply reverse the press u re from the black s u n." "The closer we get, the stronger the force-field becomes." "I n theory, the press u re of the force-field wi I I eventual ly com pel the press u re of the black s u n to protect us agai nst itself." "It's a long s hot, but there's noth i ng else we can do." "It's i ngen ious." "It's i nsane." "Sand ra, I wanted you to have more rest." "I know, Doctor." "But there is so m uch to do." " Pau l, where is Com mander Koen ig?" " With the Professor out there." "Victor, we real ly s hou ld n't be out here." "It's the on ly way to make ou r poi nt." "S hal I we?" "Why not?" " F u I I power, Pau l." " Switch i ng to fu I I power." "It is beautifu l, I i ke fis h scales." "You can cut th roug h fis h scales." "'G ive me a read i ng, Pau l. '" "Maxi m u m power, steady and hold i ng." "'You've got a fu I I house, we' re al I with you. '" "Good I uck." "We' re al I set, Alan." "Com mander, you can sti I I change you r m i nd." "If we had any sense, we wou ld." "Make it good." "Come i n as low as you can." "Hang on to you r hats." "I ncred i ble stu pid ity." "The ris k to both of you." "Not that m uch of a ris k." "Com puter gave us a 98% chance." "And the other 2%?" "Then we'd have d ied one day before everyone else." "Helena, it was al I for morale." "It proved noth i ng." "The forces i ns ide a black s u n are i nconceivable." "They can bend s pace and ti me." "T u rn both i ns ide out." "Then why the force-field?" "The same reason prevents you g lvl ng u p on a patient u nti I he's dead." "I've got some work to do." "It's getti ng cold i n here." "It's gon na get colder." "The black s u n's al ready d rawi ng ou r power." "Victor bel ieves we cou ld s u rvive." "Who knows what Victor tru ly bel ieves?" " And you?" " Some of us cou ld s u rvive." "Those who aren't on Al pha 24 hou rs from now." "A s u rvival s h i p, a I ife boat." "I left one Eag le i ntact." "'Al I prog ram med calcu lations were recorded and executed for the force-field test." "' Reprog ram m i ng calcu lations confl icted with previous orders. '" "You s hou ld have said so, it's you r res pons i bi I ity." "If it takes more power, then say so." "Excuse me, M r Kano, you r friend's havi ng d ifficu ity keepi ng us warm." "Com puter's fu nction i ng fi ne." "It won't be fu nction i ng at al I soon, but you know that, don't you?" "We m ust use m i n i m u m power for heati ng d u ri ng you r force-field tests." "Al I uti I ities were on m i n i m u m power for the test." "The I ig hts, they went back on fu I I power after the test." "So d id the heati ng, it's automatic." "Even I know that." "The tem peratu re's fal I i ng because, the black s u n is d rai n i ng ou r power." " We have plenty of power." " But we won't have." "The black s u n wi I I see to that." "S h ut down everyth i ng and save it for the force-field." " S ix hou rs?" "I thoug ht we had 1 2?" " S ix" "David said it's i m poss i ble to say how m uch mass is avai lable to the black s u n." "Its g ravitational force i ncreases constantly, pu I I i ng us i n faster than we calcu lated." "We need ti me to get the s u rvival s h i p ready." "These fig u res may be the answer." "With the force-field activated, we..." "We m ig ht s low down enoug h to buy the ti me." "Pau l, I want to save power ti I I the last poss i ble moment." "It's either Al pha, s i r, or the s u rvival s h i p." "Victor, do you have the test res u lts?" "Not yet, but they' re looki ng fi ne." "Anyth i ng wrong?" "' I want to activate the force-field. '" " When?" " ' Rig ht now. '" " I wou ld n't advise it." " ' It can't wait." "'Get to the mai n power u n it and keep an eye on th i ngs. '" "Professor, the latest detai ls of the power req u i rements." "Than k you, S m itty." "Cal I Med ical." "You' I I be fi ne." "Than k you." "You r mechan ical heart saved you r I ife." "Twelve m i n utes to cou ntdown." "The report from al I sections." " Sand ra, about M i ke..." " Please, Com mander." "There's no need to say anyth i ng." "T el I the Professor to be here for the test." "We have u nder fou r hou rs before enteri ng the black s u n." "Com mander, Al pha can not s u rvive without Com puter." "Is that a fact?" "Attention al I person nel, stand by for force-field test : 30 seconds." " Pau l, what if it does n't work?" " Then ou r worries are over." " Com mander, I m ust s peak with you." " About the test?" " Not real ly." " Then it has to wait." "Kano, essential services prog ram." "Com puter on m i n i m u m capacity." "Now, we th i n k for ou rselves." "1 0 seconds." " F u I I power, s i r?" " Everyth i ng we have, Pau l." "F ive seconds, fou r, th ree, two, one, zero." "A reprieve." "but for how long?" " T ake over, Pau l." " Com mander,what about Com puter?" "It remai ns on m i n i m u m capacity." "Com mander, I gotta tal k to you." "What's th is about a s u rvival s h i p?" "Is somebody goi ng somewhere?" "Somewhere, yes." "Did you know about th is?" "You, Sand ra?" "I d id n't bel ieve it." "Eag le 5 is nearly ready to go and I was not i nformed." "None of us were." "I can't s peak for the rest... but I care about dyi ng, how I d ie." "Stayi ng on Al pha with everybody, I'd accepted that." "Now, there's goi ng to be s ix or seven I ives on that s h i p." "S ix." "Wel l, I s hou ld be one of those s ix, Com mander." "Because if anyone can get them somewhere..." "I can." "Are you th roug h, Alan?" "Attention al I sections Al pha, th is is Com mander Koen ig." "Above us agai n is the force-field, but ahead of us is the black s u n." "The real istic fact we face now... is that the force-field on ly offers us a s I i m hope that Al pha wi I I s u rvive beyond the next few hou rs." "'A few of us, however, have a chance to escape the black s u n." "' I decided to reserve one Eag le as a s u rvival s h i p." "' It has been fuel led and eq u i pped 'with s u ppl ies to carry s ix persons :" "th ree men and th ree women." "Perhaps th is effort wi I I be futi le' but I bel ieve it m ust be made." "Departu re ti me is 08 : 00 hou rs, 43 m i n utes from now." "I've i nstructed Central Com puter to select the people most I i kely, i n every way, to ens u re the s u rvival of man ki nd i n s pace." "Here are the s ix names." "The men :" "Astronaut Alan Carter." "F I ig ht E ng i neer George Osgood." "'Com m u n ications Control ler T os h i ro F uj ita. '" "The women :" "Dr Helena Russel I." "Data Analyst Sand ra Benes." "' Professor Angela Robi nson. '" "Th is I ist is fi nal." "You knew he wou ld n't go." "Noth i ng I can say wi I I alter the facts." "If you' re carefu I, you have s u ppl ies for five weeks." "If there's anyth i ng out there that can hel p you, you' I I fi nd it." "If not..." "Al I rig ht, then, that's it." "You I ift off i n twenty m i n utes." " Com mander." " No good byes, Alan, please." "Y es, s i r." "Joh n." "You' re goi ng." "I' m not goi ng." "Dr Math las can replace me." "Li ke hel I he can." "That I ist is fi nal." "Th is is n't the ti me for the noble gestu re." "I' m not bei ng noble." "If anyth i ng..." "Joh n, it's my I ife." "If it ends on Al pha or somewhere out i n s pace, what d ifference can it make?" "It makes a d ifference." "T o me." "My fig u res read less than two hou rs." "Do me a favou r, m i nd the s hop." " David." " Oh, than k you." "'Al pha Service section wi I I iss ue heavy d uty cloth i ng 'to T ech n ical section at 0830 hou rs." "' Med ical section at 0900 hou rs." "Recon naissance section 0930 hou rs." "' E ng i neeri ng section 1 000 hou rs. '" "It was thoug htfu I of you to come, Pau l." "You d id n't have to." "I wanted to." "I' I I send you a postcard." "'Alan'," " 'one m i n ute to I ift-off. '" " Rig ht." "'Th is is Joh n Koen ig." "ow I said no good byes but..." "I wis h you al I good I u" "' F ifteen seconds." "Alan?" " 'Good I uck. '" " And to you." "Al I of you." "'Attention al I stations Al pha." "' Due to the present emergency i nter -base com m u n ication system i ncl ud i ng Al pha news wi I I be s us pended u nti I fu rther notice. '" "Hey, Joh n." "Come on, put th is on." " Before you catch you r death." " Very fu n ny." "Is that what I th i n k it is?" "Joh n, I've been doi ng some u n iq ue calcu lations recently." "Not about s pace dynam ics or anyth i ng I i ke that." "Someth i ng you can't learn from books." "Victor." "No, it's al I rig ht." "I' m j ust... ram bl i ng on." "Wanderi ng a bit." "Extraord i nary th i ng, how we've s u rvived." "I mean, I put the probabi I ity th roug h the com puter." "I thoug ht it was goi ng to blow u p tryi ng to fig u re the odds." "They' re j ust about i nfl n ite." "If you' re tryi ng to cheer me u p, it's not worki ng." "Anyway, my calcu lations s how that we al I s hou ld be dead by now." " When the atom ic waste..." " What are you doi ng?" "You' re not s u pposed to s moke." "I don't th i n k Dr Russel I wou ld object." " Sand ra." " I wi I I be al I rig ht." "S u re you wi I I." "I remem ber when I was a I ittle g i rl, I was afraid of the dark." "Is n't that fu n ny?" "And I was afraid of doctors." "Joh n, have you ever wondered j ust how and why we've s u rvived?" " Not u nti I now." " You got any answers?" "You' re not referri ng to God, are you?" "Oh, I don't know." "I" " I - l' m a scientist, I don't know anyth i ng about God." "No, A sort of... cos m ic i ntel I igence is what I've got i n m i nd." "Wh ich i ntervenes at the rig ht moment?" "It's one answer." "U lti mately, I s u ppose we al I bel ieve what we want to bel ieve." "Perhaps that's what real ity is." "One th i ng thoug h, the I i ne between science and... mysticis m..." "J ust a I i ne." "Someti mes it makes me feel q u ite old." "Pau l." "Com mander." "Central Com puter's deactivated itself." "1 00% power is feed i ng the mai n generator u n its..." "The force-field is to its maxi mal power." "Pau l." "Than k you." "But there's noth i ng more you can do." " You' re rel ieved." " Very good, s i r." "Wel l, I never thoug ht it wou ld end th is way." "A good man, Pau l." "60 year old brandy." "I've been savi ng it for 1 0 years." "J ust waiti ng for a proper occas ion to celebrate." "Wel l, not everybody m ig ht th i n k th is was a celebration, but it is to me." "If ever there was an occas ion, th is is it." "T o everyth i ng that m ig ht've been." "T o everyth i ng that was." "U p 50." "Play me." "Pass." "Me too" "I raise you 1 00, S m itty." "You' re bl uffi ng." "You' I I never beat me, you know." "Pau l." "M i nd if I s hare the m us ic with you?" "J ust the th i ng to keep the cold out." "Won't be long now." "Do you know what wi I I happen to us i ns ide the black s u n?" "Whatever it is, I j ust hope it's i nteresti ng." "Y es, i nteresti ng!" "Victor, the force-field is hold i ng." "So far." "I don't feel cold." "I don't feel anyth i ng." "Of cou rse, it's poss i ble that we don't exist." "I exist." "I exist," "I exist." "' I can hear you r thoug hts. '" " 'Y es. ' - ' It's very beautifu l. '" "' I see the theory beh i nd you r force-field. '" "' It's very obvious. '" "' It ties i n with a u n ified field theory of m i ne. '" "'Oh, yeah?" "'Y es'" "' I see how. '" "'.. so that everyth i ng is everyth i ng else. '" "'That's why I said it was beautifu l. '" "' If everyth i ng is everyth i ng else, 'the whole u n iverse is I lvl ng thoug ht. '" "'That is true. '" " 'Who are you?" "' - 'A friend." "Come with me. '" "Every star is j ust a cel l i n the brai n of the u n iverse." "'That is a lovely way to u nderstand it. '" "Why have I never tal ked with you before?" "' Because of ti me." "'You th i n k at what you cal I the s peed of I ig ht." "' I n etern ity, I have no h u rry." "' I th i n k a thoug ht, perhaps, i n every thousand of you r years." "'You are never there to hear it. '" "Are you..." "God?" " ' It was good to have known you. '" " Wait." "Gone." "We got th roug h." "You r force-field held, Victor." "Somehow, we' re on the other s ide of the u n iverse." "You r force-field held!" "I wonder how?" " Than k you." " No s ig n of the s u rvival s h i p, so m uch for you r fancy theories of cos m ic i ntel I igence." "Wel l, I knew it was i m poss i ble." "Was it?" "They' re com i ng back!" "Com mander, come on." "I don't bel ieve it, you m ust have fol lowed us th roug h." " We went i n the oppos ite d i rection." " You can't have." "It is not true." " We d id." " We went th roug h it, fantastic!" "If you d id n't fol low us th roug h, how'd you fi nd Al pha?" "A m i I I ion I ig ht years!" "Rig ht across the u n iverse." "I' m an astronaut, Professor." "Not a ph i losopher." "Someth i ng... broug ht us home." "Y es." "Home."