"That looks like a single platoon." "There's no pickets posted." "No pickets- I don't like it." "Maybe we just caught them napping, sir." "Easy pickings for a change." "The sun will be up soon." "Which is why we shouldn't take too long doing it over, Captain." "There's near two ton of gold bar in them there crates." "That'll keep old Jeff Davis going for a year, maybe more." "It's time to go get them, sir." "There's always time to go." "We're always on the move." "You ever notice that, Sergeant?" "Never time to just be where you are, take in the scenery, enjoy the show." "There is a war on, sir." "Yeah, there's always a war on, one way or another." "You probably haven't noticed that either, have you?" "Just out of curiosity, what'd you do before the war, Sergeant?" "I really don't remember, sir." "Oh, figured you'd say that." "Just thought I'd check." "Not inconveniencing you, are we, Corporal?" "No, sir." "Just admiring that moon." "It's big enough to reach out and touch, isn't it, sir?" "You're new here, aren't you?" "Joined the regiment at Vicksburg, sir." "Hmm." "Gentlemen, mark your targets... and watch your asses." " Let's do this." " Ya!" "Go!" "It's a trap!" "Hey!" "What is this?" "This sucks." "We waited too long." "Yeah, sorry about that, old friend." "We'll get them next time." "Jean, stop this crap already." "Wait." "All right, what'd I do wrong this time?" "There were several problems with your attack strategy." "You're not fooling anyone, Frank." "What?" "Who said that?" "I did." "What?" "You're not fooling anyone, Frank..." "Least of all yourself." "Jean, what is" "Jean, what the hell just happened?" "The enemy forces knew you were coming." "I know." "How?" "Evidence points to a confederate spy in your troops." "I understand the corporal was a spy." "What I don't understand is how he was able to call me by my real name and violate the rules of the program." "It's unclear, sir, but I suspect it's some kind of programming anomaly." "I'll try to isolate the problem." "Is there anything I can do?" "Just give me my messages." "You have two." "Dr. Meyer would like to speak with you, and Mr. Braun wanted to know if you'd had a chance to catch the results of the game." "And the results are?" "New York, 27, Washington, 10." "Oh." "We've also been experiencing some interference with our message packets." "The comm array again, right?" "Afraid so." "I suggest a remote realignment of the transceiver assembly." "Well, thanks for the perfectly obvious, Jean." "Anytime, Commander." "I'm sorry, Commander, but today is Wednesday." "On Wednesdays, our sponsor is Nu-Trec." "Right." "You're up early." "Aren't you on night shift this week?" "Couldn't sleep." "Well, since you're up, our O2 production and CO2 absorption rates" "You're in a good mood." "A lot gone wrong with this heat." "I think that we're gonna be okay." "Do I miss Earth?" "Sure." "Yeah..." "Sometimes." "The good parts- I miss the good parts." "You could say plants are better adapted to space travel than we are." "They don't need soil or any of the nutrients it provides." "They don't care if their light comes from the Sun or an L.E.D lamp." "They don't get lonely." "I'll see what's going on with the O2." "The comm array's our big worry right now, but I'm also fond of breathing." "Don't worry." "I'll look into it." "Hey, I left some greens over there." "Do you mind taking them to the guys?" "Fine." "Rika, what the hell?" "What?" "They're not mine." "Someone must've lost them." "Someone, huh?" "Desolation Jah Wobble]" "¶ Desolation ¶" "¶ Seems to be the state of the nation ¶" "¶ Desolation ¶" "¶ Everyone in isolation ¶" "¶ is the way it seems to be ¶" "¶ to me ¶" "¶ Spiritual valley ¶" " ¶ Desolation ¶" " Hey, Commander." "Hey, how's it going?" "Alice, Kenji." "We're almost finished realigning the containment field of the fusion generator." "Great." "You might want to review the mission rules about picking up after yourselves." "Someone left this in the greenhouse last night." "Yes, sir." "All your fault." "I think we're pretty lucky." "Nothing like a ten-year adventure to add a little romance, right?" "Especially with go/no go just a few days away." "I mean, it's all come down to this." "All the planning, all the training." "One last chance to take the plunge or pull the plug." "One last chance to mix our metaphors." "Hey." "That smells good." " Commander." " Fresh from Rika's garden." " He's got..." " I-I'll make the salad." "Well, that looks good." "It needs a little something?" "It's a little salty." "Mmm." "It's a bit salty, yes." "Like I tell you" "Yes, the Commander- A direct order." " You know what?" "No, no, no." " Direct order." "It needs salt." "You know, get this." "Would you like a little salt on yours?" "How about that, huh?" "Enough, enough, enough!" "Enough with the salt!" "I don't know why- You're not the head chef here!" "When I-When I was a kid, there was these- Well, these rocks that we used to dive off of." "Once, we dared each other to do it at night." "You couldn't even see the water." "You just had to keep telling yourself that it was there." " Leap of faith." " Yeah." "Faith that what we hope is out is out there and that it can turn things around for all of us." "Why am I going?" "You're asking me this now?" "I'm-I'm not here to give the old party line to the boobs back home." "Sorry." "That would be your problem." "I have problems of my own." "Dr. J." "El Jefe!" "¿como estan los niños?" "Listo para hacer un grande boom!" "Listo para hacer un gran" "So as we prepare to slingshot around the..." "As we prepare to slingshot around the iridescent planet of Neptune, slinging..." "slingshotting around the..." "Sure." "I mean, sure, I'm nervous." "I get nervous every time we make a course adjustment." "Yeah." "And now, with go/no go, I mean," "I guess we're all a little freaked out." "As Phaeton approaches our final go/no go point, where a slingshot around Neptune can send us home or launch us into deep space and the next phase of our five-year journey to Eridani, the air of tension aboard is palpable." "And here's the man who will ultimately decide whether ship and crew are fit to continue this extraordinary mission to a distant star." "It's been a team effort so far, but now go/no go rests squarely on his shoulders." "Frank..." "Uh, Commander." "Well, we could really use some more interview footage of you." "You know, the last one didn't go quite like we" "Roger?" "of every download and web stream back on Earth?" "That accusation is a direct insult to my agent, who would never accept less than 20, Frank." "Well, I hope he also got you a cut of sponsors like Nu-Trec, the finest name in uncomfortable, ill-fitting, polyester garments in the galaxy." "It it's scratchy, it must be Nu-Trec." "Oh, very nice." "I'll make a note to deal with passive aggression at our next session." "I see everything that happens on this ship." "This whole confessional was designed by me." "It was designed to be uncomfortable." "It was designed to make people feel uncomfortable in the hope that they would be more real." "Okay, let him go, Billie." "Just head up to the core." "He's the worst interview." "It's okay." "Just let him go, Billie." "We have enough." "Previously on Phaeton TV..." "Six months ago, the research vessel Phaeton was launched on an extraordinary mission to the distant star, Epsilon Eridani, in the search for intelligent life in another solar system." "But only a few months into the journey, scientists have made a shocking discovery:" "That Earth will become uninhabitable within a century." "Now this mission of exploration has become a mission of salvation." "With the hopes of billions riding on their shoulders, 12 brave astronauts now approach the most critical decision of their lives" "Go or no go," "Leave the Solar System and journey for ten years or turn around and come home." "The stakes are enormous." "The drama intense." "And you're along for every step of the way." "Edge of Never, Phaeton TV, only on FOX." "Once we passed go/no go, that's when we engaged the Orion Drive for the first time." "Uh, it's the first large-scale application of this technology, without which Phaeton would never be capable of the near-light speeds that will let us reach another star system in a matter of years, instead of lifetimes." "I grew up in a family of liars." "And I hate nothing worse than being lied to." "The physics behind it are actually quite revolutionary." "That's great, Jules." "Exactly what I needed." "Thank you." "Oh, look who owes me money." "A blocked field goal and a bad pass interference call." "That's what you call dumb luck." "Uh, no." "That's what I call Tough D, a good referee, and 5 G's you owe me, bruddah-bruddah." "I'll make it back in baseball season if we're still out here." "Oh, uh, well, she was up all night, checking the acceleration grids for erosion." "Cut her some slack." "Said she deserved to get wet." "Surfing." "Yeah." "It's her new thing." "Not enough light there, she's not." "Wake her up." "Sue." "I don't necessarily feel comfortable... talking about my feelings." "I know my place, and I understand that I am just one piece of a greater thing, but I am a really important piece." "Doc?" "Meyer?" "You home?" "Jean, can you locate the doctor?" "Dr. Meyer is in Airlock C." "Okay, Jean, tell me I'm wrong about this." "I'm sorry, Doctor," "in the basal ganglia, along with an increase in transition metals in the substantia nigra." "Is there anything else I can help you with?" "No, Jean." "That's all." "All doctors really work under pressure..." "Eh, because as a doctor, you have to respond to emergencies all the time, and we're trained to do so." "Hey, doc." "You wanted to see me?" "Yes." "Um, there's something I need to tell you." "This can't be good." "Afraid not." "All right, tell me." "A member of the crew is ill." "How ill?" "Bad enough to send us home." "Who?" "Me." "Sis, I hope you know how proud we all are of you, boldly going where no girl from the lower ninth ward has gone before." "Little Henry here will be in his teens by the time you get back, so he'll thank his big, brave aunt in person." "I better get going before I start bawling too." "Bye, sis." "Love you." "Do you and Kenji ever talk about having kids?" " Yeah." " And?" "And, I mean, you know- you know the rules." "We couldn't be on the mission if we had kids, so we decided that the mission was more important." "Alice, baby, come on." "We're on a ship." "We're gonna be here for 9 and a half years." "I'm sure that if you wanted to get pregnant, you could do whatever you wanted." "Who would want to raise a child in a metal tube?" "I mean, have this be the only world they know?" "Eight weeks?" "I'm sorry?" "Oh, you're just starting to show, so I'm guessing." "Eight weeks?" "Uh, yes." "Eight." "Oh, you won't feel anything yet, hon." "But they will be able to show you the heartbeat, and that's when it really hits you." "Trust me." "Wow." "Is this your first?" "Yes." "Wow." "Mrs. Thibadeau, it's good to see you again." "Dr. Fallon, you wanted to see me?" "Billie, good." "Come in." "Sit down." "I, uh, finished a rough cut of yesterday's shoot, and I think you should see this." "As Phaeton approaches our final go/no go point where a slingshot around Neptune can send us home..." " or..." " Oh, God." "launch us into deep space and the next phase of our five-year journey to Eridani, the air of tension aboard is palpable." "That's terrible." "Billie, you're a natural." "And it's not just me that thinks so." "Five billion viewers can't be wrong." "What?" "Five billion." "That's the best ratings we've had since the launch, and it's way better than anything I got when I was host." "What are you talking about?" "I've been talking to the consortium and... we're all in agreement." "I'm still gonna produce the show, but from now on, you're gonna be the voice of Phaeton." "You've got to be kidding, right?" "You've got something that just can't be bought." "People relate to you." "I don't think this is a good idea." "Look at it like this:" "You're doing me a favor." "I'm a shrink." "I was never any good at any of this." "As the realities of this mission sink in," "I'm gonna be getting a lot more patients through my door." "Dr. Fallon, I don't know what to say." "Well, say yes." "Yes." "Yes." "Say yes." "Excuse me, Dr. Fallon." "Manny and Val would like to speak with you." "Oh, this'll be fun." "Congratulations, Billie." "I'm really proud of you." "It's two days and counting until the Phaeton reaches Neptune, and it's the decision we've all been waiting for" "Go or no go." "And while life is sweet for Kenji and Alice, things are still salty for Val and Manny." "Are there just too many cooks in this kitchen?" "Phaeton TV, the Edge of Never." "Wednesdays at 10:00, only on FOX." "I don't want any more footage of us arguing ending up on the show." "Look, I am constantly getting notes from our network partners asking for more conflict in the series." "You're constantly making us into bitchy kings." " Queens." " Bitchy queens." "Guys, maybe things would be different if the public knew what we know, but that's not the case." "I didn't sign up for this." "I didn't sign to be an interstellar punch line..." " Alright?" " Well..." "Look, things are much worse than the public knows back home." "Dry land is becoming an increasingly expensive commodity." "The security council is considering relocation visas for anyone wanting to move from the coastal regions inland." "It is that bad?" "It will be." "Getting on one of these visa lists... is gonna be incredibly important." "I don't know why you're laughing." "I" " I have family in London," "And you have family in-in Florida, right?" "What are you saying?" "If I don't cooperate, then my family doesn't get a visa?" "The consortium is a very powerful company." "They're gonna be willing to help people who help them to make money." "Now, I know you guys are trying to paint me as the villain here, but really, I'm just trying to help you." "We'll do it." "We'll do it." "Your family will need help." "I do love you, you know." "You should." "Attention, all crew." "Please report immediately to the briefing room." "So any questions?" "Yeah, I have questions." "How long have you known about this, and why are the rest of us just hearing about it now?" "That's really not the issue." "With all due respect, sir, the hell it isn't." "Would you get that thing out of my face?" "I'm just doing my job." "Did someone give you a job to do?" "Let's just try and absorb all of the information before we make accusations, shall we?" "I'm sorry, Roger, but it's a question, not an accusation." "...and here's your answer." "Doctor came to me yesterday with his preliminary diagnosis." "I asked him to take some more time to confirm it." "He did, and now you're being briefed." "Parkinson's?" "Is it fatal?" "No." "But it can lead to some pretty serious complications." "Now, so far," "I've only experienced a few symptoms and only intermittently" "Some hand tremors, uh, cramped handwriting." "What comes next?" "Do you start drooling?" "Well, the symptoms and their rate of progression varies by individual." "But commonly, we see problems with balance, uh, mobility, later with speech and swallowing, uh, fatigue." "Billie, I am not kidding." " I will annihilate you." " Sue, just stop it." "I'm just doing my job." "Just turn it off!" "Okay, calm down, Sue." "Calm down." " Well, put it away!" " Just stand down." "Let's turn it off, Billie." "Let's just all try and stay focused." " Shall I continue?" "Please." " Sorry." "Uh, problems with short-term memory loss and dementia, including hallucinations and paranoia, are possible late-term developments." "All right, this can be treated with medication, right?" "So the only relevant question here is," ""Do we have the medications?"" "Yes..." "Well, to varying degrees." "And, yes, but only in limited supplies." "W" " We didn't plan for something like this." "Okay." "Well, we were coming up on the go/no go decision point anyway." "All this means is that we're facing a little sooner than we anticipated." "I say go." " Thank you." "Dementia, hallucinations, paranoia" "Are we all getting a vote?" " How are we supposed to..." " Wait, are we all getting a vote?" "Kids!" "No one's voting." "This isn't a democracy." "I'll make the final decision after hearing the doctor's personal and medical assessment." "Nor is anyone else gonna be briefing mission control or the consortium about this situation." "You got that, Roger?" "And by the way, this isn't the only safety issue we're facing right now." "Jean's got a list as long as my arm, any one of which can screw up this mission." "So if you want to be productive, start dealing with them." "I'm just playing a role." "We all play roles all the time." "We become more... deeply entrenched in them in moments of crisis." "I think, from an audience perspective, it's very exciting." "I think it's as real as it could possibly be, and..." "It makes very good television." "It's always so damn restful here." "Mm, not always." "Oh, there are storms sometimes." "The last one almost took out the supports under this balcony." "I'm in the mood for a storm right about now." "That could be arranged." "Talk to me." "You just gonna use this Meyer thing as an excuse to dump the whole mission?" "Excuse?" "I'm not saying that we've not had an impressive array of setbacks, but it almost seems as though you've been looking for a reason to abort." "If we're gonna go forward with this thing, we've got to be realistic about the problems we're facing." "I mean, come on." "Meyer has got Parkinson's." "Yeah, I was at the briefing." "What's going on... really?" "It's not the" "The facts of what they told us, so much..." "It's-It's the timing." "I mean, environmental disaster, okay?" "How long have we been waiting for that shoe to drop?" "But for it to go so wrong so fast, it's a lot to swallow." "And the closer we get to go/no go, the tougher it gets." "You're implying that they're lying to us." " This is a $200-billion project." " Yeah." "They're not gonna start playing games." "Maybe it's some kind of test." " Of what?" " Of me." "I've been getting this feeling for a while now that mission control doesn't exactly have the greatest faith in their commander." "Come on." "It's not said out loud on an open channel." "But reading between the lines," "I'm not so sure they wouldn't rather see someone else in command up here." "Hey..." "Look me in the eye and tell me that you believe that." "I don't know what I believe." "Maybe you're right." " Maybe I'm over-thinking this." " Yeah." "But I..." "I've got this feeling in my gut." "It just doesn't add up." "I know there's something they're not telling us." "I" " I know that" "Oh." "I'm sorry." "Do-Do go on." "You should come to my place some time." "You'd like it- Open air, interesting people." "Yeah, you know what, Frank?" "I'm bored." "Come and play with me." "You got to be kidding me." "Who's calling you here?" "I didn't program it." "Are you gonna answer it?" "Hello?" "I'm very disappointed in you, Rika." "What?" "Who is this?" "You're behaving very badly." "You know that." "Who is it?" "I don't know." "I ca" " What?" " I don't understand." "I said, "You're behaving very badly. "" " Both of you." " What the hell?" "Captain." "What's he doing here?" "Wait a minute." "He's from my module." "You brought him over here?" "I don't even know how to do that." "No one brought me over here, Frank." "I am here, and I told you before..." "You're not fooling anyone." "Ugh!" "Hey, baby, baby, it's okay." "It's okay." "Okay?" "Shh, it's okay." "It's okay." "It's okay." "Don't worry." "Hey, come on, lie down." "Shh." "It's okay." "I can't imagine the scenario in which my wife wouldn't be here with me." "And yes, it gives me some comfort." "Are we going, Frank?" "What?" "I'm sorry." "I haven't made a decision." "You'll be the first, okay?" " Really?" " Yeah." "Promise?" "Okay." "It's just the thing is, Frank, if something were to happen to you" "Hit by a bus" "If something were to happen to you," "I'm the one that has to pick up the bag, and I really should know where the bag is." "Jimmy." "I just told you I haven't decided yet." "I'll let you know, okay?" "Okay, all right." "Yeah." "I'll go, then." "I shall be tending to the children, if you change your mind." "Hurrah." "Here's a rare moment of truthfulness." "I... respect the man greatly." "I wish he respected me as much... as I do him." "Biological protection in the root zone." "I mean, I think I can fix it by introducing some protective microbes" " into the solution." " Good." "Last thing we need is a threat to our fresh food and oxygen." "Well, exactly." "Um, I mean, let me show you some of these test slides I've been working on." "What exactly happened last night?" "I have no idea." "I didn't think any of us could get into someone else's module without an invitation and an access code." "And I gather you didn't extend my invitation to your little friend." "So he could execute us in the sack?" "I'm not that kinky." "You have your moments." "You know, it's exactly the kind of stunt" "Roger would pull if he knew I was cheating on him." "No one's cheating on anyone here." "This is all just some harmless fantasy." "Really?" "Then you wouldn't mind if I told my husband," "Would you?" "Okay, fine." "He's not a software expert either;" "he's just a therapist." "Doesn't have the skills to pull off something like this." "Well, then someone else is screwing with us." "Right." "Tonight on Phaeton TV, the Edge of Never..." "It's all come down to this." "It's time for the commander's decision." "The whole reason for going on... is that we believe that we can be successful." "And if I believe that we can be successful, we will go on." "The Phaeton crew grapples with the choice that will change their lives forever and ours too." "Go/no go." "To go or no go." "Go/no go." " To go or no go." " Go." "It's the only show you can't miss." "Absolutely, there is a risk that we will go back." "Phaeton TV presented commercial-free, only on FOX." "Begin recording." "Dear Shawn," "Well, a lot's happened since my last letter." "We've, uh- We've had some bad news." "The ship's doctor is ill, and it could threaten the mission." "Yeah, we all worked so hard for this." "We, uh, competed so hard to be a part of it, you'd think that'd be the only thing on our minds right now." "But, uh..." "Well, six months in a metal tube can make you lose track of your priorities." "Y" " You start to focus on other things..." "Things that just make you crazier." "Tweety burger- What a treat." "Much more meat than you can..." "Eat!" "Now come on, Dr. J, why are you eating that crap again?" "I made a nice carbonara." "Once bitten, Manny, once bitten." "Well, let me- Let me do something to it." "Let me put, like, a little salt in there." "You want a little salt, just like a touch?" "Just a little bit?" "This guy paddles into the lineup." "Waves like I'm his bud." "He drops in on me." " Next thing I know" " Drops in on you?" "What is that?" "It means he cut me off on a wave." " Okay." " Next thing I know," "I'm stuck in water while I get drilled into the reef." "By the time I managed to rip off my headset, it felt like I really bought it." "You should reset the parameters to no generate and" "You should reset the parameters to no generate" "You think I didn't think of that?" "I programmed it for a mellow break, okay?" "Mellow, peaceful." "Someone hacked my module." "You're looking at me?" "You're the computer genius." "I didn't touch your module." "Really?" "You didn't think that maybe programming a little danger might make for a better show now that you're the new host?" "What, you think..." "I'd use your personal module just to get ratings?" "I wouldn't put it past you." "Oh." " Sue." " What?" "Look, I'm sorry, but I know a computer hack when I see one." "And that freak was half a mile away." "That doesn't mean Billie had anything to do with it." "Alice, just shut up!" "You always butt into things that have nothing to do with you." "Kenji, can you do something about your wife?" " Don't bring me into this." " She's doing it again." "No, I think a catfight is gonna happen." "Oh, no." "Babe." " Sorry about that." " Thank you." "I didn't want to eat this." "Here, here, have mine." " See you at breakfast." " Yeah, I will." "So, Sue, are you completely psychotic or only when it comes to other women?" "I don't really like women that much." "So, um- Neither do I." "That's why we get along so well." " Hey." " Hey." "Where have you been?" "I've been looking all over for you." "I'm okay." "Are you sure?" "Yeah, I'm sure." "I just needed to leave before I knocked her out." "She's got one more time to talk to me like that." "Hey, okay, okay, okay, stop." "Okay, stop." "Okay, please stop." " N-No, no, no." " Breathe, breathe." " But you were there." " Breathe." "Stop." "Is there anything I can do?" "Yeah." "Me, the core, tonight." "Ow." "You think, uh, Pike's really gonna turn us around?" "If there's any doubt, I'm willing to take odds." "The skipper knows what he's doing." "And if he thinks this problem is too big," " what do you want?" " Oh, God." "Yes, you people seem to be forgetting that there's a somewhat bigger problem back at home." "So if we have to live with a little risk," "I'd say that came with the territory, wouldn't you?" "Yeah, maybe there's bigger problems back home." "All right, Braun, what-what is that?" "I work mission control." "They're not above lying to the crew, you know, for our own safety." "Does it mean the company man's getting a touch paranoid?" "Make fun of me if you want, but it's making me nervous." "Yeah, well, Braun, if you're nervous, go to the commander and get a reassuring cuddle." "You've experienced this?" "You know what, Jimmy?" "It's very easy to play Armchair General." "Armchair what?" " He didn't mean that." " You heard me." " Tell him you didn't mean that." " Shut up, Jules." "I meant it." "Jean, identify the human figure in my landscape." "I'm sorry, Dr. Meyer, but there is no other human figure." "That's ridiculous." "I'm looking" "Never mind." "My mistake." "Must be seeing things." " That's the Aurelian Drive, right?" " Yeah, almost." "It's Orion." "It's named after the first design for a spaceship with nuclear-pulse propulsion, almost a century ago." "A century?" "That's 100 years." "Mm-hmm, that's right." "You know, sometimes it takes a long time for an idea to become a reality." "Don't you wish you were going?" "I'm a scientist, not an astronaut." "But you designed it, Dad." "Well, that, um... that private consortium I told you about, um, they're, uh, they're already, uh..." "They're-They're recruiting a topnotch, um... team." "Jean, freeze program." "Is there a problem, Dr. Braun?" "Yeah." "Yeah." "This isn't my son." "He's generic." "He could be anybody's son." "The program extrapolates as best it can, based on the data available, public records." "Yeah, look, just-Just forget all that crap, all right, Jean?" "Access me." "You, Dr. Braun?" "Yes, use my, um, my psych records, my evaluations, my family histories, and all other data available to build a more realistic version of this" "This character, and then tap into the neural interface using real-time biofeedback of my cognitive response to shape the character." "Help me." "Help me find out what he'd really be like, Jean." "Extrapolation complete." "Shawn?" "Son?" "Are you all right?" "Why do you come home every night now when you never used to before?" "What?" "Why do you come home every night now when you never used to before I died?" "Ready to replay pike simulation using reduced speed at end of recording." "What?" "You're not fooling anyone, Frank." "Least of all, yourself." "Jean, what is" "Jean, what time is it?" "18:31, ship time." "That's good." "It is, sir?" "It's true." "It's really true." "¶ When Johnny comes marching home again, ¶" "¶ Hurrah, hurrah, ¶" "¶ We'll give him a hearty welcome home, ¶" "¶ Hurrah, hurrah, ¶" "¶ Men will cheer and the boys will shout, ¶" "¶ The ladies ¶" "¶ will all come out, ¶" "¶ And we'll all feel great, ¶" "¶ When Johnny comes marching ¶" "¶ home, ¶" "There are more effective treatments on Earth, but we're here, and Rika thinks we can extract enough levodopa from the plants on board to provide an" "Great." "Everyone's here." "We've been here for 15 minutes, Frank." " Didn't you call this meeting?" " Yes, yes." "Uh, I was just trying to, uh- You okay?" " I'm fine." " You are?" "Great." " Yeah, I'm fine." " You look good." "Thank you." "Okay, uh, yeah, you all look good." "So, uh... on the- on the go/no go, um..." "I made the decision." "It's go." "We're going on." "We're not turning back." " so I want a full systems check." " Wait, just like that?" "You're really not gonna give us a say." "Wha" "Uh..." "Look, um..." "I know it's been-It's been- It's been a tough few months, and-and, uh, a lot of that's on me." "You know, I" "I've been hard on-on all of you, when the truth is you-you've just been doing your jobs." "You know, in fact... we've all just been doing our jobs, you know, focusing so hard on the tasks in front of us that-that we couldn't see clearly." "But now... uh, now it's all there, right in front of us, you know, like-like it always was." " What's in front of us?" " Well, everything." "I mean, i-it's all about to change;" "everything we know, everything we believe." "But you're right." "You're absolutely right..." "Absolutely right." "I'll make this a vote." "Yeah, right now... a go/no go vote from everyone." "We'll start with the doc." "You're the man with the problem." "What do you think?" "Huh?" "Uh..." "A few days ago, I would have said no, no way, but..." "Today, I-I had this experience." "In your virt module, right?" "Yes." "Well, kind of a glitch, actually." "There's a lot of that going around." "Well, whatever it was, it-it suddenly forced me to... let go." "Of everything, you know?" " I felt" " Alive." " Yes." " Yes." "Exactly." "Alive." "And?" "Well, I know this much" "I want to see Eridani." "Great." "So doc's made his decision." "Sue." "Thought you'd never ask." "Go." "Alice?" "Go." "Manny, Val?" "Come on, guys." "Hook me up with a double play, huh?" "I" " I say go." "Good to go, Commander." "Yeah." "Uh, Kenji, what do you say?" "Go." " What?" " Go." "Yeah." "Okay, Roger, Roger, it's your turn." "This is a sham." "We don't live in a democracy." "You've already made your mind up, Frank." "It's a vote." "Go or no go." "It's what we're here to do." "Exactly." " Rika?" " Go." "Great." "Billie?" " Um, go." " Yeah." "Jules, my man." "Well, I didn't design it to stay." "That a boy." "And finally, Dr. J." "Let's hear it from Phaeton's second-in-command." "The man who'll be left holding the bag after the bus." "Huh?" "What do you say, Jimmy?" "Seriously?" "You ready for an adventure, or..." "You want to just..." "roll on home?" "That's Moby Dick." "Yeah, yeah, go." "Hey, that's it, then!" "Okay, full systems check at 0900." "Let's do this, people." " Whoo!" " Let's do this." "Okay." " What'd you expect?" " Come on." "Eridani, here we come." "Yes." "So what's gotten into you?" "You know, I'm not sure I can put this into words, Rika." "In fact, I know I can't put it into words, but... just trust me." "It's, uh..." "It's extraordinary." "We are about to launch ourselves into deep space for the first time." "And I am here with our resident nuclear physicist," "Jimmy Johnson." "Can you simplify it for our viewers, Jimmy?" "Uh, yeah, sure, Billie." "Um..." "Basically, we gonna blow us up a bunch of big-ass bombs off the ass end of this here ship." "Them big-ass bombs gonna vaporize some big-ass alloy plates." "And the translation of all that- big-ass mass energy make us go real fast." "Real fast." " Yippee-ki-yay, mother" " All right, Jimmy." "Thanks, Jimmy." "Alive Alone Chemical Brothers]" "¶ No way of knowing, ¶" "¶ if she's ever coming back, ¶" "¶ No way of knowing, ¶" "¶ if I care or not, ¶" "¶ No way of knowing, ¶" "¶ if she's right or if she's wrong, ¶" "Pre-run systems checks complete." "Ready for slingshot." "Okay, people, report." "Meyer, Rika?" " Yeah, all set here." " Rika?" "Yep." "Alice, Kenji?" "We're ready." "Wish we had a front-row seat." "Good to go." "Got to pee, but..." "All right." "Billie?" "Yeah, ready, ready. v" "Manny, Val?" "Fearless gay duo are ready to face unknown, Commander." "Enough for now." "They're shooting this, yeah?" "Oh, well, good." "Big hello to all our interview fans." "Be sure to buy the fully articulated" "Manny and Val action figures with your next purchase of Tweety Burger Mega Meal." "Yeah, uh, Commander, we're at that point of, uh, no return, so I guess" "I guess we're ready to go." "So it seems." "Roger?" "Oh, I'm ready to record some great footage, Frank." "I'm sure you're not gonna disappoint me." "Oh, it's my top priority, Rog." "Sue?" "Uh, yeah, I'm good here, Skipper." "Navigation:" "Online." "Core interface:" "Online." "Stand by." "You hear back from mission control about Meyer and our go-about?" "No." "Of course, I didn't send the message until about ten minutes ago, which they won't get for another 90 minutes." "So we're looking at... probably another two hours for a response." "Well, I guess they'll just have to grin and bear it." "Well, I guess so." "This is the flight deck." "Initiating D-spin." "Distance now at 100,000 klicks." "Speed increasing to 30 klicks a second." "Nav, how's our aim?" "We're three milliard seconds off the "B" plane." "RCS thrusters auto-firing to compensate." "Back in the pipe, five by five, ready for slingshot." "Initiating." "¶ I'm alive, ¶" "¶ I'm alone, ¶" "¶ and I've never wanted to be ¶" "¶ either of those, ¶" "We are not gonna want for ratings this week." "It's amazing." "Just a-amazing stuff I'm getting here, guys, amazing." "I'm happy for you, Rog, but we're a little busy right now." "Nav, status?" "Perfect burn." "Slingshot complete." "¶ And she shines, ¶" "¶ And she shines for me, ¶" "Jimmy, your show." "I hope no one had a big lunch, because the ride is about to get... bumpy." "Deploying first charge." "On course." "Speed:" "19.2 million meters per second." "Roughly 1/15 flight speed." "One down, 182 to go." "Ready for another?" "Hit me." "Whoo-hoo!" "Whoa." "As I observed in chapter five..." "Long duration space missions present a psychological challenge for maintaining crew motivation, morale, and individual well-being." "Up to now, empirical knowledge of relevant psychological issues has been based on missions of only up to two years." "However, the extended duration of the Eridani mission presents unique issues, as well as promising opportunities for further study." "The re-purposing of virtual reality technology, originally designed to maintain mission-critical skills as a recreational tool is one new feature that is already showing great promise as a-as a means of ameliorating crew tension and enhancing morale." "Of course, as with any new... therapeutic technology, there are variables and-and unknowns... among them, conflicts between the client's expectations and the-the still unknown limits of the technology," "as well as problems which can't be anticipated... due to the unique fusion the technology enables between intelligent computer systems... and their biological models..." "The human mind." "Whoo!" "Nikki, we just got a fix on Lazerus' position." "He's in Shanghai." "Skip the encore." "Prep the chopper." "Daiski Tokyo!" "Whoo!" "Great show, Nikki." "This our only shot?" "Yeah, both Interpol and MI-6 believe he's changed his appearance again." "All the plastic surgery in the world won't save his ass this time." " Hell-raisers?" " Yeah!" "Let's rock and roll." "Lazerus." " He shot Rico!" " Aah!" "You're not Lazerus." "No, I'm not." "Ugh!" "Jean-Jean, that really hurt." "Can you take the physical impact down three settings?" "I don't think Jean's gonna help you today, Billie." "Jean?" "Jean?" "Jean, what is this?" "Jean!" "Jean." "Program off." "Jean..." "Freeze program, Jean." "It's your fantasy, Billie." "Why not enjoy it?" "I think we should take the entire program off-line, all the virt modules, until I can fix the problem." "I mean, what if somebody gets trapped in an even worse situation and struggles to get out of it like I did?" "There could be synaptic damage for all I know." "I think you're right, but I'm wondering if you're treating this one a little bit intellectually." "Your computer glitch that needs to be solved, rather than something very traumatic that happened to you personally." "Well, nothing happened to me, really." "I mean, physically, in reality, nothing happened." "If you think about it, it's no different than a bad dream, and dreams aren't real, right?" "Well, the events they portray may not be, but the feelings dreams evoke and the memories they leave behind, they can be as real as anything in our lives." "But I'm-I'm curious why you chose to describe it as a dream." "I'm sorry." "Uh, what do you mean?" "Well, some people believe that dreams are the mind's way of exploring things that would ordinarily be suppressed in waking hours." "You're talking about fantasies." "I don't have a rape fantasy, if that's what you're getting at." "No, I'm not getting at anything, Billie." "I'm just showing you your choice of words." "By describing it as a dream, you're implying it's something that you dreamt up, as if, in some way, you blame yourself for what happened or even feel you deserved it." "It's a computer glitch, and that's all it is." "The virt modules were your baby, Roger." "You fought to include them in the mission." "Now you want them shut down?" "Well, actually, it's the last thing I want, but the safety of the crew has to be paramount." ""In psychological terms, the Phaeton mission will amount to forced confinement for 12 people for ten years. "" "That's very clever, Frank." ""Without the ability to escape the confines of their metal tube periodically, to experience other environments and interact with other people, even if they're only computer-generated, the pressures of the mission-"" "Yeah, you don't have to read the whole thing." ""Divisions will form among the crew." ""Barely acknowledged animosities and jealousies will crop up." "Paranoid and even delusional behavior is possible. "" "I know what I wrote, Frank." "You're playing with fire." "In every sense but the physical, Billie was raped." "She's gonna feel the emotional, psychological effects of that for the rest of her life." " How is she?" " She's in shock." "Right." "She's hanging on to the virtual nature of the experience as a way of saying it wasn't real, therefore nothing happened, and she doesn't need treatment." "What do you think?" "Was it real?" "What are you asking me, Frank?" "I'm asking if you know fantasy from reality, Roger." "I think I do." "Do you know what's real, Frank?" "I'll tell you what I think." "I think this mission has changed." "I think our eyes are about to be opened and that-that- that we are on the verge of a profound awakening that-that you and I cannot even imagine." "And I think the virt modules are crucial to that awakening." "I won't shut them down." "In my professional opinion, your behavior of late has been erratic at best." "Are you saying that to mission control?" "I know the value of loyalty in any isolated crew, Frank, and I live on the ship too." "What's really going on?" "I once was lost, but now I'm found." "Was blind, but now I see." "Look, at the very least, the crew deserve to know the facts." "They're our friends as well as our colleagues." "Don't lead them into treacherous waters unaware, Frank." "You know, Roger, you're right there." "They do deserve to know the truth." "The truth shall set them free." "Whoo!" "A sexual assault?" "Could you be more specific?" "Assault against who?" "Well, there's a privacy issue here." "I'm not at liberty to describe the attack in detail or who experienced it." "But in my opinion, there is a serious defect in the virt software, and I'm strongly recommending that we refrain from using the virt modules." "Uh, for how long?" "Until we know the problem's been identified and repaired." "Can't we just upload new software?" "Not at this range and speed." "We're lucky to get simple engineering packets, let alone complex software uploads." "I don't think there's anything to fear from the virt modules." "Are we talking about a permanent shutdown?" "Possibly." "Well..." "We've all experienced computer glitches before, and just to play Devil's advocate here, isn't it possible that we're overreacting?" "You heard him say "sexual assault," right?" "Yes." "What does that mean exactly?" "I mean, there's a big difference between somebody getting a pinch on the ass and being gang-raped." "Well, someone was violated by a computer program." "Doesn't matter what it means exactly." "Um, for once, I have to agree with Jimmy here." "and I don't mean to sound insensitive or anything, but, uh, these programs are the only chance that any of us have for privacy here on the ship." "And if all we're talking about is some C.G. character copping a feel, I don't think it's a" "Wait, I'm sorry." "What kind of logic is that?" "One of these characters shot me, Jules." "Sorry, is murder a gray area for you too?" "People get shot in their action programs" " all the time." " It wasn't in an action program." "I was relaxing in my beach house." "I was supposed to be alone." "An intruder came in and shot me in my bed when I was alone." "So you were shot, and someone else was assaulted." "It's a simulation." "Look, just go back in, create a couple machine guns, take your revenge." "You'll feel better, believe me." "Look, I'm sorry." "I just don't see what the big deal is." "None of it's real." "It's all in your head." "Brilliant, brilliant." "You and I are gonna revisit this." "Well, we're still waiting to hear from you, Skipper." "Gonna shut down the modules or not?" "No, I'm not." "Knock, knock." "What?" "Can I come in?" "Yeah." "I'm sorry." "They're idiots." "I knew that." "How old are you?" "I'm 24." "I was 24 when I joined the marines." "And I was on, uh..." "I was on this training mission, and two guys from my own unit..." "They, um..." "You know, these guys- I mean," "I" " I ate with them." "I racked with them." "I" " It" "And that was the worst part, you know?" "Just the realization that none of that mattered, that I didn't even really exist to them." "That's the thing, you know." "Like, these guys..." "They don't get it, you know." "They don't get that... that even when something like this happens in the real world," "your mind is where it happens, more than your body." "I mean, when that's going on, you're not even in your body." "They've already taken that from you." "The only thing that I can tell you right now... is you're gonna be okay." "Don't listen to those asses telling you that it's not real or it's all in your head, and so it doesn't matter." "Just feel it." "You play the flute?" "Yeah." "You any good?" "I'm okay." "Yeah, you are." "So what was that conversation you had with Frank yesterday?" "There's been quite a lot going on with him." "Mm-hmm." "You've noticed it too?" "Well, yeah." "But quickly, the last few days, one minute, depressed, angry, at the-at the crew." "That's not like him, really." "He's very level." "The next minute, he's up." "He's completely high as a kite." "Just now we saw him." "He's..." " Kites..." " Well, maybe he's happy." " I don't know." " Maybe he's happy." "I" " I hope he's happy." "Something might've cheered him up." "I don't know, but something is not... quite right, and I'm not sure what to do about it." "Excuse me, Commander." "Commander?" "Yes?" "There's a call from Jules on the flight deck." "We got a problem here, boss." "Uh, we retracted the comm array so we could those air-braking tests, and now, it won't deploy again." "It could be a servo failure." "It could be a blown power supply, but I've done all I can from here." "Somebody's gonna have to take a walk, check it out." "Tell Rika, Val, and Manny to grab their pressure suits and meet in the airlock." "Jules, you're in charge of monitoring the E.V.A." "Roger." "Julia Child says that the key to making great souffle is beating of egg whites to form air bubbles that expand" " with heat from oven, yes?" " Oh, right, yeah," "I like Julia." "She came to our send-off, right?" "She's the one that brought all the" "No, no, no, that's Julia Childress." " This is different." " It's probably a fried circuit board." "I design these things to withstand a sub-zero vacuum and every stress known to man, and then some suit comes along, checks a box, and farms it out to the lowest bidder." "You think if there's one thing they wouldn't cut corners on, huh?" "Yeah, no comm array, no data uploads, no show..." "Not that I mind." "Hey." "Atlas, do you want a hand with that?" "I can manage." "Sure you can." "Lift it." "Ah, it's heavy." "Can I ask you a personal question?" " Mm-hmm." " Are you going nuts?" "Probably, but would I know it if I were?" " Uh, probably not." " No." "First clue you'd have would be us rushing at you with, uh, ropes and a syringe." "Until then, I guess you'll all just have to trust me." "Damn it." "This thing won't release." "Well" "Can you get me a pair of pliers from the locker?" "You're not serious." "No, concerned." "As a member of the crew" "I'm fine." "Now get me the pliers, please." "There we go." "One of these is a backup, and one of them is the one that's supposed to" "Let's check." "We have one, two..." "This-Did you" "Hey." "Hey." "Very funny." "Who's the joker?" "So do you, uh, want" "Open the door if you want it." " All right, seriously, Commander." " Sorry?" "So open the door." " Oh, Commander, Commander." " I can't hear you." " Come on, why don't you get out" " I can't hear you." "Attention, Airlock C outer door has unsealed and will open in 20 seconds." "No, no, no, no." "He hasn't got his helmet on." "Jean, reseal the outer door." "Unable to comply." "Outer door is not responding to computer commands." "Flight deck, we have a problem in Airlock C." "Okay, we're on it." "Something's tripped the outer-hatch release." " Jimmy, Jimmy." " I'm ahead of you." "It's coming, it's coming." "It's gonna take a second." "Pike's gonna get sucked out there." "Don't shout!" " Open the door, Jean!" " Open the door, Jean!" "The outer door is now opening." "Override command, Jean!" "Let's go, let's go!" "Rika, listen to me." " Do something!" " I cut the power bus." "The outer door is not opening anymore, but I can't shut it." "In 60 seconds, exposure to vacuum will result in Commander Pike's death." "Projecting remaining time." "Help!" "Manny, help!" " Come on, come on!" " Come on." "Hurry up!" "I'm trying, I'm trying!" "Come on!" "Helmets on, gloves!" "Come on, gloves, helmets now!" "Can't we override the system inside here?" "He's doing that right now!" " Come on!" " Get the door open!" "I'm trying to open it!" "Hurry, come on!" "Val, come on!" "Go, go, go, go, go, go!" "Come on, get it open!" "Go!" "We're in!" "Guys, I need you to do something manual in there." "Jean, is Commander Pike still on the ship?" "20 seconds." "Come on, come on, come on, come on." "Fix it!" "Door closing." "Standard atmospheric pressure is being restored." "Frank." "Val, where are you?" "Ah, so he's... gone." "And I am... in command of the mission." "Oh, happy day." "So it's Saturday." "Or Sunday." "I don't know which." "Time's different now." "Everything's different now." "Everything moves faster or slower." "I don't know which." "But it's Saturday somewhere, right?" "This makes no sense whatsoever, and it makes utter, utter sense." "I'm sorry." "It's not real." "I'm just..." "playing a role." "I even had it written down, what I was gonna say." "Because if, in some way, by controlling my emotions," "I could control the crew's emotions," "I could control your emotions." "I mean, how are we supposed to trust Jean?" "I mean, Jean knows everything." "Jean does everything, and then the outer door just opens." "Oh." "And then we're supposed to complete our mission." "We can't complete our mission with" "Oh." "What are we supposed to do?" "We have ten years." "No captain." "God, don't you touch- Touch me!" "Shh!" "Shh!" "Shh!" "Are you happy now, Roger?" "Will this boost our ratings?" "Dear Shawn," "I don't know why I'm still writing to you." "It's not as if I'm- I'm pretending that you'll ever read these letters." "But, um, I have to tell someone about this, and right now there just, uh, isn't anyone else." "There was no question about turning back." "Having passed go/no go, we're committed to the mission." "There was a brief argument about the investigation into the commander's death." "When we, uh, pulled apart the, uh, air-lock mechanism, we found a short inside one of the hydraulic relays" "A 20-cent fuse that must've overloaded." "Now, Rika felt that we should continue to study other possible causes, but Dr. Johnson..." "Dr. Johnson, who was second-in-command, declared it an accident." "Said we had no choice but to move on..." "Try and put it behind us." "Well, after that, we all just tried to get back to normal." "But what's normal?" "You got to ask yourself when you're hundreds of millions of miles from Earth, and you've just lost the one man who was able to hold you all together, and you know something that nobody else knows." "I know every inch of this ship, every system, every subsystem." "And I also know this... there is no way that that outer air-lock door could've opened on its own, no matter how many relays were shorted out." "It's impossible." "Someone had to do something deliberate that caused that door to open... which means that someone on this ship is a killer." "And because I don't know who that is..." "I can't trust anyone." "I love you." "I love you." "I love you." "I love you." "Jean." "Yes, Rika." "Whose headset is that?" "It's Commander Pike's." "What's it doing here, in my quarters?" "I don't know." "What do I do now?" "You mean, what do we do?" "Just what Jimmy said." "Get some guns." "Find that scumbag." "We kill him." "I need to see the doctor now." " Do you have an appointment?" " No." "We need to talk." "Nurse?" "A lot of wounded here." "Tell your doctors to give them their best care." "Jean, when did Frank" "Commander Pike create this character?" "I have no record of when this character was created, or by whom." "Can you take care of my men?" "I can try." "Thank you, ma'am." "Frank." "It's okay, Rika." "None of it's real." "What?" "Follow me through the mirror and down a rabbit hole, because the only way out for any of us now is to keep going." "Trust me." "It has to be this way." "Yah." "Frank!" "Do you think if I play a video game and I kill someone in that video game, should I then be tried for murder?" "I don't think it's real." "Uh, it's a game."