"T-minus ten, nine, eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two, one, zero, ignition." "Ten, nine, eight, seven, six, five, four," " three, two, one, blast off!" " Guys, guys, please, please !" "This is very risky stuff here, and I'm a highly-trained professional astronaut." "Now, Uncle Phil will launch another rocketjust as soon as he completes his fuel intake." "Thanks, darlin'." "Now, you know, it takes six months just to reach Mars." "Then a year on the surface, six months back." "That's, like, two years, you know ?" "Anyway, I guess what I'm trying to say here is that, um, you know, this being my last night on Earth and everything, this could be a very precious memory for me." "Nice try." "William, get that thing out of your nose." "Don't you talk back to Mommy." " Hey, Woody." " Yeah ?" "Our Mars One crew won't be heading back to Earth... till ten days after you guys land at our base camp with Mars Two." "thank you, Renee." "That's a pretty long rendezvous, don'tyou think ?" "What are you suggesting, Sergei ?" "I think maybe you should bring a baseball bat." "We will play American baseball on Mars." "Our two crews." " Oh, please." " We could have ourselves a Solar System Series." " Half you guys are foreigners." "We'd crush you." " No, no, no." "Because we have equal crews." "We have three men, one woman, same handicap." "Easy now." "That's my wife you're talking about." "Terri just happens to be one hell of a shortstop." "Fast-pitch, no steals, batter calls his own strikes." " Thousand bucks make it interesting ?" " Winner take all." "Good." "You bring the balls." "The best thing about our mission-- On Mars Two, technically I outrank her." "So for the fi rst time in our marriage, she's gonna have to do everything I say, right ?" " Yes, honey." " "Yes, honey, sir, " with a little salute helps." " Yes, honey, sir." " Yeah." "I like it." "It's good." " Take that corn up there, all right ?" " Yes, sir." "I'm not sure how I feel about NASA allowing couples... to go on this type of mission together." "Nothin' personal, Terri." "I mean" "It's just that it's a funny feeling for those ofus staying behind." "Yes, but all the research shows that marriage will provide stability... on these long-duration trips." "Then they haven't studied some of the couples I've known." "Luke." "Come on, baby." "He's not coming." "This isn't right." "I mean, Jim deserves this too." "All of his friends are here." " I know." " It's my last night here." "Hey !" "It's your last night with us too." " I know." "I'm sorry, baby." " Mm-hmm." "I love you, Deb." "I love you too." "Maybe you should spend some time with Bobby." " Yeah, where is he ?" " Up in his fort." "Oh." "Okay." "Millions of miles away." "Deep space." "So lonesome, so cold." "So lame, Nick." "Knock, knock." "Bobby ?" "Your friends are out there playing." "What are you doing up here ?" "Who's gonna read to me now at bed time ?" "Your mother will." "But..." "I like when you do it." " Now we're never gonna finish our book." " Bobby." "Listen, I've been thinking about that too, okay ?" "And what I figured out was" "How about if I bring along my own copy ?" "Then, every night, wherever I am, I'll read a little bit more ofit." "And you and Mommy can read a little bit more of it wherever you are." "It'll be kind oflike we're reading it together. 'Cause I don't know aboutyou, but I'm kind of anxious to find out how old Ben Gunn got marooned on that island." "You think that's a good idea ?" " Yeah." "Yeah." "Yeah." " Yeah ?" "Yeah ?" "Okay." "Well, we were afraid you wouldn't come." "I caught a whiff of your barbecue." "Uh-huh." " After that," " Yeah ?" "I was, uh, helpless." "Tsk." "All the way out in Galveston ?" " Something like that." " Mmm." "It's his night, Deb." "I didn't want to spoil it." ""Spoil it" ?" "He has been going crazy looking for you." "Don't ever do that to me again." " How ya doin' ?" " Hey, I'm doin' good." " Here." " Thanks, man." " A lot of people are gonna be glad to see you, you know that ?" " Yeah." "Come on." "Let's go in." "You remember him ?" " Just let that go." " As soon as you admit that it was a no-go situation." " It was a go situation." " Three months, no data stream," "you're gonna land the ship ?" "Just 'cause you keep bringing it up doesn't make you right." "Just because you get loud doesn't make" " Jim, settle it." " No, don't" "Just because you get loud doesn't make" " Jim, settle it." " No, don't" " Settle it." " Don't look at me." " It was a go situation." "This is exactly what I'm talking about." "It's hard to admit, I know that." "Three commanders, one ship." "I don't think that's gonna work." "There's not enough rocket fuel in the world to get those egos off the ground." "Come on." "Ah, we would've made a great crew." "Maybe." "If this man was left seat." " Yeah." " Guys, come on." "I'm a pretty good stickjockey." "Call me if you want a flight test." " What is a stickjockey ?" " "l'm a pretty good stickjockey."" "Come on, Mr. Cover of Time Magazine." " The guy who landed the crippled Block Il shuttle." " Yeah." " That's the stickjockey." " The stickjockey did that." " Yeah, Mr. StickJockey." " Okay, I made a little noise, but putting the first footprints on Mars ?" "That's for guys who wrote their Ph.D. thesis on how to colonize the place... and for guys who read too much science fiction as a kid... and still wear these little Flash Gordon rocket ships around their necks." " Very mature." " You read every damn science fiction book I did, and you'rejust not man enough to wear jewellery, that's all there is to that." " Yeah." " You knowyou want Flashy." "Ain't gettin' him !" "Maggie would have loved to see you two clowns just one more time." "I'm gonna go and get a beer." "I don't know, Woodrow." "I think it's about time you donated this baby to the museum." "Internal combustion, boys." "Accept no substitutes." "Jim, listen." "If there's, um" "If there's anything Terri and I can do, you call us, all right ?" " I'm okay." "Really." "Thanks." " All right." "Luke." " Yeah ?" " I'll see you when I get to Mars." "Listen, don't solve all the mysteries of the universe." " Leave a little something for the next guys." " I'm not promising anything." "Just bring some expensive beer." " All right." "Will do." "Godspeed." "Thanks, buddy." "It should've been your mission, Jim." "Yours and Maggie's." "Nobody ever wanted Mars the way you two did, not even Woody." "You two were 1 2 years training for this thing, hoping for this assignment." "Well, that's-- that's all over now." "If Maggie hadn't gotten sick, if you hadn't pulled yourself..." " out of the rotation to take care ofher, you" " Luke" "No,Jim." "Wait a minute." "I wanna say this." "Look, I wanted this assignment, all right ?" "But not like this,Jim." "I would give all of this up in a second ifit would bring Maggie back to us." "I know that." "Look, all the years of training and planning for this mission have been a privilege." "Mars is yours now." "Go get it." "I will." "You take care of yourself, Jim." "You too, buddy." "Okay." "I'll see you when I get back." "Hey, Luke." "Have a great ride." "I always do." "Luke, youreadme ?" "Here, Renee." "Luke, ljustgot aRES-8 on-line, and" "Well, we thinkyou're gonna want tosee this for yourself." "Okay, copy that." " Now, is this the cinder cone ?" " No, it's too smooth." " It's too angular." "Volcanic upwelling, maybe." " No." "No fissure, no caldera." "No, it's an upwelling for sure, but maybe not volcanic." "Look at the color and how shiny it is." "That almost looks like" "It looks like ice." " This far south ?" " Impossible." "You can't have ice at this latitude." "I mean, not unless there's, like, a" "Okay, how far away is that ?" "Sixteen kilometers, northeast." "Take us 20 minutes to get there, chief." "We're gonna send a packet to Micker." "We're going out there." " Keep working." " Okay." "Careful." "Watch your step." " Is it possible to take picture ?" " Oh, picture." " Here we go." " Let's have a picture." "Say, "Cheese."" "This is a truly anomalous formation." "It's unlikeanything everseenso far." "The structure appears to be crystalline, at least from the angle that's displayed by ARES-8." "We're trying not to go too nuts up here, but we think there's a good chance... that this could bean extrusion from some subsurface geothermal column of water." "And, of course, if that's correct, then we may have found the key to permanent human colonization." " We thinkit wise to suspend judgement" " Let geology and hydrology... know we need to scramble on this-- full court press." "So we're gonnaheadout thereASAP and takealookat this thing, tr yand getanidea ofits composition." "By the time you receive this, we should just about be on site." "Anybody else hearing that ?" "Yeah." "Whatis it ?" "Idon't know." "Itsounds like interference from therover." " Can you fix it ?" " Hey, skip, I can fix anything." "Love that modesty." "Break out theradar." "Let's see what this thing's made of." "Oh, there's onemore thing." "This is a very important, very special day fora good friend of ours back home." "We knowhe's there right now." "He hates it when anybody makes any kind of a fuss abouthim, so I'm not gonna mention his name." "Because the last thing I would want to do would be... to embarrass someone likeJim McConnell !" "Was that loud?" "Oh, well." "It's done now." "It can't be right." "It says there's metal under there." " Solidmetal." " No, that doesn't make any sense." " You're reading a vein ofore, Renee." " No, it" "It says it's under the whole mountain." "All right." "Move it closer, up the power, and we're gonna try it again." " Hey." " Happy birthday to you" " Happy birthday to you" " Okay, everybody." "I want you to take a look at Jim." "Is heallredwith one of those fake "Oh, I'm-a-good-sport" grins onhis face ?" "That's right." "Now, everybody, take a look at Ray." "Does he have one of those..." ""This-wasn't-in-my-mission-plan" looks on his face ?" "Uh-huh." "I thought so." "There's nothing you can do about it, Ray." "We're a hundred million miles away!" "Okay, let's blow it out." " We're all set here, chief." " Let's crank up thejuice, see what's in this sucker." "What happened ?" "Oh, my God !" " Are you getting that, Sergei ?" " Uh-huh." "Oh, my God !" "Renee !" "Oh." "Oh, my God." "Oh,Jesus." "Oh,Jesus." "Ahhh !" "Problem..hatch door malfunction, backup power fail, manual override fail." " Solution ?" " Replace optical relay." "Piece of cake." "God, who dreams up these nightmares ?" " Don't try to change the subject." " I'm not." " We're talking about your sister's wedding." " No, we're talking about... dancing lessons before my sister's wedding." "Do you mind ?" "I'm in the middle of a catastrophic power failure here." "Check." " Not effective." " Not effective ?" " Replace optical relay." " You're distracting me." "We're a married couple." "Would it kill you to invite me... out on the dance floor just once in a while ?" " We danced at our wedding." " No, that's not dancing." "That's you shuffling your feet around while you grab my butt." "I'm talking about real dancing, you know ?" "Cha-cha-cha, rhumba, jitterbug." "Darling, face it." "Some couples dance, some go to Mars." "That's life." " Test." " Effective." "I'm serious." "As soon as we get back home, we're starting lessons." "Woody, if we never dance, people are gonna think there's something wrong." "If they see me dance, they'll know there's something wrong." "This is highly unprofessional." ""This is highly unprofessional, sir." You keep forgetting that "sir."" "Cockpit, this is Control." " Cockpit, this is Control." " Control, this is Cockpit." "Terri, it's Phil." "They want us all to report to Micker ASAP." " Who says to report to Micker ?" " The little men who live in my head." "That's a negative." "We're in the middle of a catastrophic power failure right now." "Yeah, Woody, it was Ray Beck." "He told me to round up the team, now." "The exact same moment we lost the data stream, they picked up this intense burst of energy from Mars." " What do you mean "intense" ?" " Catastrophic." "What about the crew ?" "The level ofenergy in the pulse... didn't seem survivable." "How about the REMO ?" "It went into Mars' orbit last week." "Maybe it could give us some clue." "That's just what we tried next." "Right." "The, uh, resupply module checked out fine." "No instrument failures." "Orbit holding steady." "But there was something else." "The REMO's computer contained an uplink message-- a very faint, highly-distorted transmission from Mars One base camp." " Someone's alive." " Yes, yes, yes." "Put up the message." "Still concentrating on the audio, but we've got a long way to go." "Show us whatever you've got." "Show us." "I have to make this-- make this fast." "I may not get another chance to-- tomake--another chance-- chance-- to thesite--site." "There was a low sound that-- alow sound--sound--alow sound" "Something came out of the top of the mountain, and it hit us." "And... it hit us-- it hit us" "Oh, my God !" "They're dead." "God." "Nick-- Man !" "Dead." "That's it." "I don't know." "Luke must be in pretty bad shape... if he hasn't just blasted out of there in the Earth Return Vehicle." "That thing's designed so even one crew member can fly it back to Earth." "Even if Luke was in great shape, he couldn't get home." "An energy pulse of that magnitude would have fried the E.R.V's computers." "Other than the computers, how do we think the E.R.V. fared ?" "So far, our modelling says it should be in pretty good shape." "Which means it's gonna be up to us to get new motherboards, drives and sof tware to Mars as fast as we can." " Right." " Slow down, slow down, slow down." " It's gonna take us weeks just to analyze this data." " Right." "But in the meantime, we've gotta be working up a mission plan." " Luke needs us now." " Luke may already be dead." "And even if he's not, it's doubtful he is going to be able to transmit again." "So... we wouldn't know whether it's safe to land... until we were almost there." "What about SIMA ?" "What about SIMA ?" "The Saturn imaging probe." "It's gonna slingshot around Mars on its way through the solar system." "It could be retasked to take pictures, read radiation levels of Mars One base camp." "Wait, wait, wait." "We are getting ahead ofourselves." "You're forgetting the bigger problem." "The orbits are all wrong." "Our first decent launch window is almost eight months from now." "Yes, but we can go earlier and get there faster... ifwe reconfigure the payload for extra fuel." " We've modelled that, Ray." "I've modelled it." " On paper, yes." "But those stresses have never been tested in space." " The ship can take it." " Oh, "ship can take it."" "I wasn't thinking of just the ship." "You're right." "I know the protocols for a Mars recovery mission better than anybody... because I designed them." "And I'm telling you, these guys can do it." "He's right, Ray." "We've got a real shot here." "Hmm." "Well." "Give me an updated mission plan by 0800 tomorrow." "You'll have it by 0600." "Let's go to work." "Chief, can I have a word ?" "Go ahead." " I no longer have the right crew." " What do you mean ?" " Bjornstrom can be up here on the next shuttle." " Bjornstrom is a geologist." "He's good, but not for this." "My people just lost eight months of training." "This is a different mission with a different objective." " I haven't approved the mission yet." " Yes, but whenyou do, it ought to be given its best chance for success." "I want McConnell to fly right seat." "Oh." "Jim McConnell is no longer on mission status." " Yeah, because you washed him out." " He washed himselfout." "He only had to pass a few more psych evaluations, but... he refused to take them." "His wife was dead." "He didn't want to lay on the couch and share it with strangers." "That was his call, butlhad tomake one too!" "It was tough as hell, but I'd do it again !" "For Christ's sake, Ray." "She wasted away in front of his eyes." "What was he supposed to do, suck it up ?" "Get with the program ?" "What was his crime ?" "That he showed a little emotion ?" "I couldn't trust him !" "When Maggie died, it knocked the hell out ofhim." "It knocked the hell out of all ofus." "Butyou know and I know he's still the best we've got." "He and Maggie wrote the book on Mars." "He's had more hours in the sims than the rest ofus put together." "We can do this." "You give me McConnell as copilot, and we will bring Luke home." "It's a promise." "Hey." " What's that ?" " That is the exact genetic composition... of my ideal woman." "Hmm." "Hey, hey, hey." "Hey." "My baby." " Now what is it ?" " A frog ?" " Hey, skip." " Hey." "Take a look." "Damn." "What do you make of that ?" "Duststorm." "Southern hemisphere, coming from the east." "Big fella too." "Headed straight for Mars One base camp." "Yep." " Could get a little hairy right about landing time." " Yeah." "Listen, we're gonna have to be able to move fast." "Maybe even advance our E.T.A." "These bad boys can cover a whole planet and last up to a year." " When does SI MA do her flyby ?" " Tomorrow morning, 0600." "That's when we find out whether we've come all this way for nothing." "My money's on Luke." "All those interested in dance lessons, please report to the promenade deck." " And what, may I ask, brought this on ?" " Zero "G," my friend." "My last chance to be graceful." "Once we're in Mars' gravity, it's back to shuffl ing my feet and grabbing her butt." "Incoming packet." "Incoming packet." "It's SI MA." "Enhanced look at base camp." " lt looks deserted." " It's still standing, though." "So's the E.R. V. And look, there's the green house." "Well, we know Luke survived for at least a few hours." "Now, are there anysigns of recent activity ?" "There." "Scan northe astern quadrant of base camp." "What the hell are those ?" "Graves." "Wait a minute." "There's only three of them." "That means Luke's still gotta be alive." "Phil, no, no." "Itjust means there was no one lef t to bury him." " Check the radiation levels." " Check rad levels." "Normal." " Go to disaster site." " Go to 41 by 9." " What's wrong ?" " l don't know." "Magnetic interference ?" " Go infrared." " Switch to infrared." "It's gotta be a problem with SI MA." "I don't see how an earthquake six months ago could cause this kind ofdistortion." "That was no quake." "We are going to continue analysing this data... and try to determine what the problem is with those images." "We agree that the evidence of the graves is, uh, inconclusive... and that a groundsearch is advisable." "Frankly, we are as stumped asyouguys, but we'llkeep onit." " Beware there are little sand storms kicking up..." " Bureau babble." "near Mars One base." "But the big one youspotted is turningsouth." "Itshouldn'tbe a factor." "We are all pretty excited around here, and we are sure you must be feeling the same." " Enjoyyourmeal, and get a goodnight's sleep." " Say it." " We anticipate..." " Say it." " that tomorrow morning..." " Say it." "you will be go." "Yes !" "Yes !" "thank you." "thank you." "Hooray for baby Jimmy !" "Yes, Jim's first spaceship was seriously underpowered." "Maggie was always a little starstruck." "Show us those beautiful teeth." "I am gonna get you guys for that !" "When they met at the Air Force Academy, it was love at firsr flight." "Woody's line." "Later, during NASA training, things got a little tough." "Yes, Maggie always did keep jim on a short leash." "Jim was always trying to explore a heavenly body." " Where are the ygoing ?" " Ten thousand mile-high club." "Until" " Mission accomplished !" " Oh !" "Man, what a fun wedding !" "I was so whacked." "Uh, I'm going in." "T-minus three," "T-minus two, T-minus one, contact." "Oh." "Okay, we can stop there." "Stop it there." "Fast forward." "Okay, you guys." "They are adding a wonderful chapter to their incredible story, and it's a pretty historic one." " To the newly appointed co-commanders of Mars One, Jim and Maggie !" " Hear, hear !" "I will drink to that." " Thank you." " Hold it." "It's not over." " Show 'em, show 'em." " Yeah, we got a little addendum." " Check this out, guys." "Here we go." " It's Phil's best work." "Look, it's Mars." "You can pick up these postcards atyour local NASA souvenir shop." "When you two land up there, it will prove once and for all..." " that there really is no intelligent life on Mars." " All right, touché." " You're gonna eat those words." " I don't think so." " Give me the camera." " Uh-oh, here we go." " What if I'm right ?" " What if she's right ?" " You okay ?" " Can't it just be about science ?" " We'll do the science, and do it really well," " Yeah." "because that's what we've trained for." "But what if there's more ?" "In all our myths, in every human culture, Mars has always held a special attraction." "I mean, what if that means something ?" "The universe is not chaos." "It's connection." "Life reaches out for life." "That's what we were born for, isn't it ?" "To stand on a new world and look beyond it to the next one." "It's who we are." "You know, she may have been right." "If that wasn't a quake down there, then something else caused it... or planned it." "You're thinkin' the same thing." "It's never been out of my mind." "I think she knew something, Woody." "She was the only one ofus who ever really believed... there might be something down there." "Yeah, well, we're not leaving till we fi nd out." "Deal ?" "Deal." "Range: 6,783 and closing." "Sixty-five minutes until Mars Orbital Capture." "Okay, people, let's look sharp." "We're gonna run this simulation onemore time." "Remember, if we overshoot, there's no coming back." "Yeah, and drifting through eternity will ruin your whole day." "Okay, Delta-Vsystems initialized." "Charge primary A.P. U." "Engaged and charged." "Select H.P. U. fuel cells forrun." " Engaged." " Tie main bus to systems." " Power ready." " Select H202 H.P. U. and fuel cells for open." "H202 fuel valves open." "Charge flow." "Chargedandon-line." " ResetP." "W." " Set." "Transfer protocol data from E. V.A. station." "Transferred." "Awaiting track confirmation." " Ah !" "Jesus." "Oh !" "Micrometeoroids." "Kill those alarms!" "Critical systems alert." " Critical systems alert." " Breach hit's in the hull." " We're outgassing, losing pressure." " Woody, seal the breach." "Itlooks like it's behind jim 's helmet." "Ninety percent atmosphere." "Critical systems alert." "Critical systems alert." "We're losing pressure fast." "We're gonna decompress." "Computer, how long till zero atmosphere ?" "Four minutes, nine seconds." "We're still outgassing in the lower hab." "There must be another hole down there." "It's gotta be a big one." "Everybody switch to suitoxygen." "Jim, you've got the ship." " I'm going E. V.A." " Copy." "Come on, people." "Let's work the problem." "Eighty percent atmosphere." "Jim, you've got to go get your spare helmet." "Copy that,Jim ?" "There's no time." "All the systems have crashed." "I gotta shut down the hab from below." "We're losing pressure,Jim." "You could embolize." "Seventy percent atmosphere." "Phil, you've got to get the nav computers back on-line." "Uh,Jim, I've got an idea." "If you guys can save enough atmosphere," "I'll disconnect the power in the main computer bay and jump-start the systems." " I'd basically be doing a hard boot." " Has that been tested ?" "Are you kidding ?" "These machines are way too expensive." " Do it." " Okay." "I think this'll work." "Sixty percent atmosphere." "Jim, how we doing on the A.G. ?" "Just... hang on one second, Woody." "Fifty percent atmosphere." " Come on!" "Jim, I've got oxygen." " Come on." " Voice print identification." " Mc" " McCon" " Not accepted." "Voice print identification." " McConnell !" " Accepted." "Shut down... gravitational rotation." "Shutting down artificial gravitational rotation." "Jim, I've got the oxygen for you." " Hang on !" " Forty percent atmosphere." " Are you okay ?" " Yeah, yeah, I'm fi ne." "I'm topside,Jim." "Do you know which sector ?" "I'm working on it." " You'd better get some oxygen,Jim." " Yeah." "Yeah, I'm fine." "Come on." "Jesus." "It's likelooking foraneedle in ahaystack." "Okay, come on." "Come on." "Where are you, you little bastard ?" "Give me some light on the hull so I can locate it." "I got a better idea." "Gotcha !" "Terri." "Squeeze out the liquid !" "S-S-Stay there !" " Squeeze itout!" "Jim." "Okay." "Okay." "Please work." "Thirty percent atmosphere." "Woody, the breach is between sectors five andsix." "Five and six." " Do you copy ?" " Copy." "I'm heading there now." "Son of abitch." "We never did that in the simulator." "Twenty percent atmosphere." "Jim ?" "Ten percent atmosphere." "Jim !" "Jim, talk to me." "It's Terri." "Jim." " Come back." " Breathe !" " Come back !" "Gotcha." "Pressure stabilizing." "Pressure stabilizing." "Jim ?" "Twenty percent atmosphere." "Hi." "Welcome back." "Thirty percent atmosphere." "It worked !" "Yes !" "It worked !" "Way to go, everybody !" "All right !" "Yeah !" "There's a lot of scarring out here." "I'm gonna check for other punctures." "Orbital insertion proximity alert." "Orbital insertion proximity alert." "Negative, Woody." "That is a negative." "You have to get back inside." "We have to do our checklist for orbital insertion." "Copy." "I'm on my way." "Hello, beautiful." "Prepare to initiate burn." "Prepare to initiate burn." "Okay, we're ready to light this candle." "Go/no go for braking burn and M.O.I. Engines." " On-line." " Go." " Systems." " On-line." " Go." " Nav." " On-line." " We are go for the burn." "I am fuelling engines." "Flow charge on-line." "Flow charger activated." "Optimum angle ofentry in minus seven degrees." "Countdown to initiate burn for orbital insertion." "Six." "Five." "Orbital insertion proximity alert." " Four." " Optimum insertion angle approaching." "Jim ?" "Three." "Optimum insertion angle imminent." "Two." " One." " Let's go to Mars." "Jesus !" "Attitude incorrect." "Shut down the engines." "Engines negative." "No response." "I have got no attitude control." " Manual separation." " Negative." "The control module... doesn't have enough thrust to correct this rotation." "We're too steep." "We're falling into the atmosphere." "Christ, at this angle we're gonna burn up." " How much time we got, Phil ?" " I don't know." "Three minutes ?" "I don't know." " Where's the REMO ?" " The resupply module ?" "Why ?" "There's no way to link up." "Where is it ?" "Resupply module located." "Resupply module located." " It's close." " How close ?" " I don't know." " Figure it out." " We don't have time, Phil." "Figure it out now." "Jim, we're dead stick." "There's no way to maneuver this ship into linkup." "Not theship." "Justus." "We go E. V.A." " You want us to transfer in suits ?" " Ifwe don't make it" " Ifwe miss the REMO" " There's no other choice." "Phil, howclose ?" "lntersection orbit with REMO." "Course intersectionplotted." "One kilometer." "That's the best I can do." "Prepare to abandon ship." "Let's go!" " What are you looking for?" " Earth." "Hey." "When we get back home, we really will have to try this out in the sim." "How are we doing on the fuel, Woody ?" "I'm at 50 percent." "I don't see the REMO." "There it is." "Forty-five left, forty-five down." "Oh, Jesus." "She's not where I thought she'd be." " We're gonna miss her." " What do you think ?" "You can't catch it." "Not like this." "Use the tether." "You'll have one, maybe two shots before she's out of reach." "Negative." "It's toorisky." "If we miss it, we gotnothin'." "I'll leave you the gun." "Run a line out to the REMO." "I got enough fuel left for that." " You'll be goin' too fast." " I'll aim to overshoot." "I'll brake like hell and arc it in." "Piece of cake." "I'll see you in a flash." "Unhook me." "Good to go." "Okay, I'm on a path to overshoot." "I'm going to take the edge off." "I'm out of fuel." "Coming in hot." "Still long." "Abandoning the unit." "I'll brake with suit jets." "Jesus." "Jesus." "Suit jets gone." "I'm gonna make contact." " What velocity ?" " Impact's gonna be a little rough." " At what velocity ?" " Thirty-two." "I'm gonna use the gun to slowyou." " If you slow me, I'll fall short." " It's too fast, Woody." "No choice !" "I'll be okay." "Here we go !" "Gotcha." "Woody !" "Woody !" "Woody!" "Woody!" "Woody!" " Woody!" " No, no, no, no, no." "No, no, no." " Terri." " What ?" "Take the gun." "Take it." "Phil, hang on." "Go !" " Woody, what'syour status ?" " Well, uh, my suitjets are gone, and I'm still carrying a good deal of velocity." "Soon as we get hooked up, I'll come getyou." "I'd have to say negative on that,Jim." " Negative on the transmission ?" " No, I heard ya." "Negative on the maneuver." " I am not retrievable." " Woody, you're not going that fast." "Well, it all comes down to the amount of fuel, honey." "Suit jets are designed for attitude control, not travel." " Retrieval just won't work." " Well, it's gotta work." "Hey, listen." "I don't like it any more than you do." " Run the numbers,Jim." " I am." "You hang tight, Woody." "We'll get in the REMO, drop her down and come scoopyou up." " Sounds good,Jim." " It's gonna take half an hour... to get the REMO reoriented." "Woody will be in the atmosphere by then !" "Then we'll just have to get her moving faster." " We don't have time." " Listen to Jim, honey." "It's a good plan." "No." "We're gonna come getyou." " Okay, get ready for brakes." " Come on, now." " On my mark." "Three, two, one." " You can do it!" "You can do it!" " Come on!" "Come on!" " Mark." "Yeah!" "Yeah!" " Everybody good ?" " We're on,Jim." "Way to go." "Way to go." "Good job." "All right." "There won't be enough room for us inside." "Soon as I get the hatch open, let's start dumping the cargo." " Copy that." "Hang on, Woody." " Will do, Jim." "Hello, beautiful." " Come on." " All right." "It's open." "Terri, no !" "Terri !" "Come back !" " You'll never make it!" " Terri, what are you doing ?" "I'll tell you what I'm not doing, Woody." "I'm not gonna watch you die." " Terri." " You'd do the same for me." "Phil, get inside, dump the cargo and start the systems." "Now !" " No, I wouldn't." "Not if it was impossible." " I can do it !" "No, you can't!" "You don't have enough fuel to come get me and get us back." "Listen to me, goddam it." " You have to stop, and you have to stop now." " He's right, Terri." "It's no use." "Okay, honey." "You gotta go back now." "The hell I do." "Yeah." "What are you doing ?" "I'm gonna jet in a little closer and try again." "Terri, you spend any fuel getting closer, you won't get back." "And if anyone tries to get you, they'll die too." "Honey, please." "Please go back." "Go back and help the others to the surface." "I am not losing you !" "I can't let you do it." "I can't let you die." "I'm sorry." "Wait." "What are you doing ?" " I Love you, honey." " Woody !" "No!" "No!" " God, how I love you." " Woody!" "Don't!" "Woody!" "Woody!" "Woody !" "Don't !" "No !" "No !" "Please, God, no !" "Woody." "Woody." "Come back, Terri." "He's gone." "No." " No !" " Terri." " We need you." " Woody." "No." "No." "No." "No." "No." "Please, Terri." "Come back." "Ray, we've got some new data just coming in." "Wejust-- It doesn't make any sense." "We're not sure how to read this." " Data ?" " Yes." "Telemetry reports the REMO left its orbit and reached the Martian surface." " Crashed ?" " No, sir." " Under power." " What ?" "Sixty-three minutes after Mars Recovery went off-line." "Sir, the graph shows a controlled descent, but that doesn't make any sense." "They used the REMO as a lander." "It's" " It's jim McConnell." "It's got to be." "Nobody else could have pulled this off." "Nobody else." "Son of a bitch." "I've got access to the E.R.V. I'm going to go inside." "Terri, is the oxygen generator okay ?" "Yeah." "It's gonna take a while to get it back to 1 00 percent capacity, though." "Okay, I'm entering the hab." "There's still oxygen in here." "This is a little spooky." "I don't like the dark..." "at all." "Need some lights." "Need some lights." "Okay." "Where are we ?" "Here we go." "E.R.V. appears to be structurally intact." "Yeah, but just as we thought, the computers are fried." "Copy that." "I got busted fi lters here." "Clogged intakes." "Hell of a cleanup job, but so far, no major damage." "I'm in the greenhouse." "You gotta see this." "What is it,Jim ?" "It's working." "I'llbe damned." "Luke." "You're not here !" "You are not here !" "Your wife is Debra !" " Your son is Bobby!" " No !" "You're reading Treasure Island with him." "Luke" "It's all right." "It's me." "Jim ?" " Yeah." "No, wait !" "No, no, no, wait, wait !" "He's all right." "He's all right." "Phil." "Terri." "Jim--Jim, what are you-- What are you doing here ?" "You're not supposed to be" " You're not supposed to be here." "How are you here ?" " How are you here ?" " This is a rescue mission." "Woody wanted me right seat." "I can't" "I can't believe" "Well, where is he ?" "Where's Woody ?" "He didn't make it." "God." "Ohh." "Ohh." "Oh, no." "No." "Oh, God." "Oh, no." "Well, it works, you know ?" "I give them..." "CO2 and light, and they give me oxygen and food." "It's" " It's actually not a bad arrangement." "It's like a marriage, really, except not as many-- not as many fights." " I mean, some fights." " Luke." "Tell us what happened here." "We fi red the radar, and it-- it came and..." "they all died." "They all-- They all died." "W-What do you mean ?" "What came ?" "The force came out of the top of the mountain and-- and-- and... everybody died, but I was spared." "Why ?" "Why ?" "Ithad to be forareason." "And then all of a sudden, I knew the reason why." "It's so someone would be left to figure out the secret." "You know, it's" "J-J" "Just come." "Just come, come, come, come." "Come, come." "Is itjust me, or is he a few meal packs short of a picnic ?" "Long-term exposure to low gravity can have an adverse impact on the brain." "Or then, he could be suffering from some form of asphyxia." "Or maybe his whole crew died, and he's been marooned alone on Mars for a year." "It's a miracle he survived this long." "I'd better bring him up to speed." "Great." "Great." "Great, great, great, great." "So, let me be sure I understand this." "Your ship blew up with all its supplies, then you emptied all the cargo out of the REMO, and it was totalled on landing." "You got no food, no water, no spare oxygen." "Nothing other than what I'm looking at right here." "What k" " What kind of rescue mission is this,Jim ?" " That kind." " Check it out." "New nav boards for the E.R.V." "I got four round-trip tickets, baby, right in here." "Thank you, God." "Oh, thank God." "When I came to and dug myself out of the sand, my faceplate was cracked." "It was..." "Ieaking, leaking badly." "I barely made it back to base." "It was weeks before I could work up the nerve to go back out there... and look for" "and look for their bodies." "Renee was the only one I could find, but itjust... didn't seem right somehow tojust dig one grave." "Oh, God." " Has it been blowin' like this for a while ?" " Yeah." "We saw a big storm on our screens, butMickersaid it was turningsouth." "Ifit holds course." "Luke, this-- this whatever it was-- this-- this force" "You said it came directly out of the top of the mountain ?" "Don't you believe me ?" "That's okay, Jim." "You don't believe me, that's okay." "But I'm not crazy, I know that much." " I'm not crazy." " What'd you mean by its "secret" ?" "What secret ?" "Listen, hundreds of millions of years have gone by, okay ?" "You've got erosion," "lava flow, sand storms, meteor impacts." "Hell, in that time the whole surface of the planet would have changed, so it's no wonder we never saw it before." "I mean, we saw it, but not like they meant us to." "There was too much dirt on it." "Saw what, Luke ?" "Saw this." "Jesus." "Oh, my God." "Luke, what are you trying to tell us ?" " Are you trying to tell us that's a face ?" " That's the face." "It's the face." "It's real." "Somebody put that thing there, andit's notus." "Jim" "It's not possible." "Jesus." " Look at that." " My God." "I know." "Luke, what about that sound you heard before the explosion ?" "Oh, yeah, good,Jim." "That's the key." "That's the key." "You hear that ?" "Yeah." " Those pauses." "Do you hear the pauses ?" " Mm-hmm." "See, that's what made me realize it's a pattern." "It's a repeating pattern." " Mathematical ?" " Mm-hmm." "That occurred to me too." "There are distinctblocks within eachpattern, and within each block, the tones come in groups of three." "It's three-three-three, three-three-three." "Always three-three-three." "It's always thesame." "Formonths, lstruggled toanalyze it, trying different constructs, and then I thought about dimensions." " X-Y-Z coordinate." " Exactly." "Three groups equals three dimensions." "So l-l assigned different graphic values to each block, group and tone, and I came up with this." " Hello." " Oh, my God." "Is that what I think it is ?" " DNA." " You see it ?" "Yeah." "It's a model of DNA." "So--So somebody left that thing here." "Okay." "Somebody other than human." "But, uh, what is it ?" "It's a signature." "It's a self-portrait ofwhatever species created the face." "Yeah, but that DNA looks human." "No, it's not." "It's missing the last pair of chromosomes, see ?" " lt's close." "It's damn close." " Close ?" "The difference between man and ape is less than three percent genetic material." "But that three percent gives you Einstein, Mozart." "Jack the Ripper." "Yeah, he's right." "Four pallets, oral, topical medications, splints, bandages, one complete med pack." "With eight tubes of antifungal cream." "Well, at least we won't rash to death." "Luke." " How do you feel ?" " Lighter." " A lot lighter." " Welcome back." "Thanks, man." "The backup generator is salvageable." "So are two of the solar panels." "I'm pretty sure I can get the oxygen still back into production." "So we're not in such bad shape, considering." "That's good, Terri." "Good work." "Jesus." "Look at this." "Phil's idea of absolute essentials." "Ofcourse." "Hey, hey, hey !" "Hey !" "My baby." "It's not a signature." "What ?" "The noise from the face." "It's not a signature." "It's a test." "It's asking us for the right answer." "It wants us to put in the missing pair ofchromosomes." " Why ?" " To prove that we're human." "We fi red radar into that thing, concentrated radio waves, and you're saying" "Which it interpreted as the wrong answer." "It's" " It could be like a security alarm." "When it gets an incorrect response, it defends itself." "So what happens when it gets the right answer ?" "Well," "I don't know that, Phil." "But we gotta find out." "Luke, what ifwe work this the otherway ?" "We figure out which tones would be equivalent to the missing chromosomes, and then dub them into your recording of the signal." " Is that possible ?" " Yeah." " Yeah, l-l think so." " Good, good, good." "What about the radar gun ?" "Will it accept the input... so we can transmit a completed signal back to the face ?" "Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa." "Hold on, Jim." "What if you're wrong ?" "Whoever goes out there" "I mean, what if you're wrong ?" "Three people have already died over that thing." "Four." "Terri." "Ifwe leave here without getting some answers, they all died in vain." "We don't" "We don't have to go out there." "Got a lot of static here." "Something's interfering." "Yeah." "The antenna got knocked around pretty badly in the blast." "This is the best resolution I thinkwe're gonna be able to get." "All right, guys." "I got the nav boards." "I'm sealing the air lock." " Check the video feed." " Video feed looks good." " How close do we have to get ?" " I'm not sure." "Maybe I'll stop it right over there by that rock." "Do it." "Good." "Okay." "Here we go." "Look at that, Jim." "It worked." "Oh, God, it worked." "Guys, I don't know what the hell wejust did, but does that look to you like a hostile gesture ?" "No." "More like an invitation." "Oranothertest." " Check for radiation." " Normal." "Seismic normal." "Anemometer steady." "Luke, does the rover still work ?" "Phil, do you read ?" "Yeah,Jim." "Your signal's breaking up a little in the storm, but I read you." "We're at the face." "We're gonna need a few minutes here." "Same deadline." "Launch at 1 950 with or without us." "Copy ?" "Copy that." "Jim, you sure you want to do this ?" "I'm not sure about anything any more." "But I didn't come 1 00 million miles just to turn back in the last ten feet." "Yeah." "Please work." "This is gonna work." "Yes." "Yes." "Computers are on-line." "I am going to start loading software." "The surface... seems firm and level." "Roger that." " The texture's smooth." " I've got good footing." "No obstructions." "Let's check our P.S.I." "Guys, I gotta tell you" "We're losing visibility here really fast." "Over." "It's solid." "We're trapped." "Don't move." "Just keep this orientation." "Guys ?" "Luke ?" "Terri ?" "Jim ?" "Phil, can you still hear me ?" "Is anyone there ?" "Over." "God." "That's it." "There's no handles." "We're not gettin' out ofhere unless they let us out." "Jim, whatare you doing ?" " What are you doing ?" "Stop it !" "Stop it !" " You're depressurizing !" " Seal your suit now !" " There's pressure in here." " Above Mars atmospheric." "It's impossible." "We're millions of miles from Earth inside a giant white face." "What's impossible ?" "There's 12 P.S.I. in here." "Nitrogen and oxygen." "Otherwise known as air." "Hey, wait Jim." "I haven't checked for lethal trace gases, and I haven't" "What the hell." "Look." " Is that what I think it is ?" " Yeah." "It's Mars." "That's where they went." "Look." "One stayed behind." "Earth." "Before the continents separated." "My God." "That's it." "Hundreds of millions of years ago, there was a sudden explosion of life on Earth." "The first multi-celled plants and animals appeared." "No one has ever understood why or how it happened." "They seeded Earth." "They seeded Earth." "They're us." "We're them." "Luke ?" "Terri ?" "Jim ?" "Anyone ?" "E.R.V. to rover." "Rover, this is E.R.V." "Does anyone copy ?" "Does anyone copy ?" "E.R. V. torover." "Rover, this is E.R. V." " Do you copy ?" " Phil ?" " Oh, thank God." " Phil, we read you." "Listen, this storm is getting really bad." "It's going to totally sock us in in a few minutes." "You've got to get back." " Phil ?" " I repeat.." "You've got to getback to theship." "Phil ?" "We're in a ship." "This... is a ship." "And the..." "countdown's already started." " He's right." " Yeah." "Yeah, let's get the hell outta here." "Jim ?" "Jim ?" "Come on, we gotta go." " I'm not comin' with you." " What ?" "What are you talking about ?" "You've gotta get home." "That's where I'm going." "Don'tyou see ?" "That's" " That's what all this is for." "Terri, you were right." "This is an invitation." "This is aninvitation for us to follow them home." "I'm going." "It's what I was born for." "Like Maggie said." "To stand on a new world and... and look beyond it to the next one." "I know this is right..." "for me." "You're running out of time." "You gotta get back to the E.R.V., and you gotta get off this planet." "Thank you for saving my life, buddy." "It was a privilege." "I wish Woody were here to see you." "He is here, Terri." "We wouldn't have made it without him." "He would have wanted you to have this." "E.R.V. to rover." "Rover, this is E.R.V. Do you copy ?" "E.R.V. to Rover." "Rover, this is E.R.V. Do you read me ?" "Phil, this is Luke." "Do you copy ?" " He's not reading me." " I can barely read you." " Let's get the hell out ofhere." " Yeah." "I've lost the base camp beacon." " We're driving blind." " I'm just going to keep going on a straight line, okay ?" "That's our only chance." " 1949, Terri." "We're notgonnamake it." " No." "I've worked with Phil for four years, and I knowJim gave him a direct order, but he is not gonna leave without us." "Please." "Luke ?" "Terri ?" "Jim ?" "E.R.V. to rover." "Rover, this is E.R.V. Do you read me ?" "Phil, do you read?" "This is Luke." "We're coming in." "Phil ?" " Phil ?" " Phil isn't here right now." "He, uh, left for Earth five minutes ago !" "Please leave a message after the beep !" "Where is jim ?" "He caught another ride." " Dear God, look at that." " Is that him ?" "Have a great ride, Jim."