"And in a heartbeat, everything and everyone we knew... was gone." "There were five of us." "The crew of the space shuttle Odyssey." "And we were the only survivors." "A mysterious being who called himself The Seeker... rescued us and sent us back in time." "And now we have five years to live over." "Five years to discover who or what destroyed the Earth." "Five years to stop it from happening again." " Two minutes, everybody." " I feel something in my teeth." "Right there." "Two minutes." " Phone call, Sarah." " I can't take it right now, Walter." "It's your private line." "The guy said it was important." "Sarah Forbes." "Sarah, look at your desk monitor." "I think you'll be quite interested in what you see." "Come on, Troy, if this is you, this is no time for a joke." "We're going live in..." "Hello?" "My colleagues and I have found a specific combination of stronger..." "An improved understanding of the particular kind of cancer... and our own process of actually tailoring the treatment... to the specific needs of the child... raising that percentage to 95." " That's an amazing statistic." " Indeed." "We're very excited, and we feel that anything is possible." "Thirty seconds, everyone." "Cheryl, can you replay the special report for me when I'm out?" " Sure." "Replay what?" " The special report on cancer research." "Don't know what you're talking about, Sarah." "And we're live in five, four, three..." "Dad's on his way out, hands me the keys and says, "Wanna drive the Mustang?"" "Twenty-two years old and finally Pops lets me drive his car." "Yeah, he probably figured you'd wrap it around a lamppost." "Same reason Dad wasn't allowed near Grandpa's Corvette." " Then Grandpa himself hits a lamppost." " Tree, wasn't it?" "Don't you think it's weird that Grandpa's been dead 15 years?" "Dad decides to go up there, clean out the fishing cabin today?" " Yeah, I think they had issues." " I know the feeling." "What are you talking about?" "Dad was always proud of you." "Sure has a tough time showing it." "First he's busting my balls to get into space, he all but tells me to quit... and now he's behind me." "Marc, he just wants you to do what you really wanna do." "That's all." "I don't know what I really wanna do, is all." "What about you?" "You've been acting strange." "What's this sudden urge to take the NASA aptitude test?" "I'm just fooling around, man." "God help us if they ever let you anywhere near a launch pad." "Hey, listen, if you're just gonna drive around and suck sodas... you mind taking me home?" "I got..." " Hey, did you see that?" " Yes, I do." " Stop the car." "Stop the car." " What?" "Stop the car!" "Stop the fucking car!" " What in the hell is your problem?" " Hold on!" "Where the hell are you going?" " Here you go." " Thanks, man." " What can I get you?" " Iced tea, no sugar, no lemons." "Got no lemon." "Well, it's a good damn thing I didn't want one then, isn't it?" "Gracias." "Good draught, but not as good as German pilsner." " You know Germany?" " I was stationed there." " Eighty-six fighter wing in Ramstein." " No shit." "You're in the Air Force?" " Bird colonel, retired." " See any combat, Colonel?" "Two months in the Gulf." "F-4 Phantoms, mostly." "F-4s?" "I didn't know they had F-4s in the Gulf." "Oh, yeah." "Forty-eight of them exactly." "Man, I took a SAM hit, 20 clicks into Iraq, back in '91." "Next thing I know, I'm waking up with a broken leg in a Saudi hospital." "They transferred me to flight evaluation in Ramstein..." " and now it's just war stories." " We were stationed at Wiesbaden." "I mean, my dad was stationed there." "I was just a kid." "Your dad was a pilot?" "Yeah, he was in fixed wing, and then he was transferred to helicopters." "My name is Chuck Taggart." "Man, I knew who you were when you walked in that door." "I was at Canaveral for your very first launch." " Is that right?" "Did we meet?" " I'm John Miles." " You look familiar." " Anything is possible." "You believe that?" "I suppose I do." "Commander Taggart, speaking of Germany... man, you wanna see something really beautiful?" "Why not?" "I thought the end of the world was supposed to be in five years." " Hey!" " I come as a fan." " Oh, my first." "No smart remarks." " No, that's your department." "I think I'm gonna have my next book signing on Mars." "Oh, come on, don't sweat it." "It's the economy." "People aren't spending money on frivolous things." " Oh, frivolous, thanks." " That didn't come out right." "No, it didn't." "But I'm happy you're here." "Come in." "Tell you the truth, the idea just kind of popped into my head." "Popped?" "I remember a time when you actually enjoyed my company." "Yeah." "We had a good time on that last book tour." " You mean this book tour?" " What?" "This." "This is the book." "It just came out, remember?" " Oh, God, you're right." " Yes, it hasn't happened yet." " Yeah, because the past..." " Is now the future." "Right." "Right." " So what do you say?" " About what?" "Do we repeat the past?" "Shall we go this time?" "Oh, hell, I don't know." "I did love Shanghai." "We'll always have Shanghai." "So do we go to Shanghai again?" " Do you remember that old book publisher?" " The one I assumed spoke no English?" "And you kept telling him how beautiful his daughters were... till he punched you in the nose." "Yes." "Ruined a possibly brilliant modelling career." "Yeah." "Not to mention my favourite suede coat." "My God, Paris." "Why did you insist that we climb the stairway... to the top of the Eiffel Tower?" "Elevators are so bourgeois." "Stairways lead to heaven." "Not in the rain they don't." "I'm brilliant, darling, but I cannot predict weather." "Yeah, well, this time I'll take the elevator." "This time?" "What do you mean?" "Sounds like another fan has tracked you down." " Wait, where are you going?" " That's where I came in." "No, why don't we have lunch?" "I know this great French..." "Italian..." "No, I know this great sushi..." "No, I have..." "No, I know this fantastic French restaurant." "Okay, sweetie, I'm just gonna be over here browsing." "Relax." "Hello." " Dr Mendel, this is quite an honour." " Oh, yeah." "I am a great admirer of your work." "I am especially interested in your current project." "It is even more amazing, given the fact... that you must find a way to keep the world from exploding." " Right." " Keep up the good work." " We're counting on you." " Excuse me." "What'd you say?" "Anything is possible." "Oh, come on, this is embarrassing." "You're pulling people in off the street?" "Didn't you see him?" "A tall man, African-American man with a hat?" "No." "Hello, Neil." " You can't be real." " Do I look real?" "Yes." "But..." "Neil, what the fuck are you doing?" "Get in the fucking car." "What's your problem?" "Neil!" "A real peach, huh?" " '59?" " Yep, '59." "Bought if off an army pilot in Heidelberg." "Fella said it was the first 'Vette of its kind to touch soil in Europe." "That fella lied." "My old man had the first one in Europe." "When we were in Germany, he bet on the Irish sweepstakes, won $5,000." "Ordered the Corvette out of a catalogue, had it shipped all the way from the States." "He never let me drive it." "He let my big sister drive it." "He never let me drive it." " Where is it now?" "Did he sell it?" " He died in it." " Oh, I'm sorry to hear that." " No biggie." "It was a long time ago." "Crash landed three choppers, walked away without a scratch... then on the way to a fishing trip he hits a tree... going 10 miles an hour in the rain." "Barely dented the car." "Killed him." "Ragtop leaked." "He was probably trying to drive, shift gears, wipe the windshield at the same time." " He just probably couldn't see." " Well, hell, man, hop in and give her a spin." "Some other time." "It's a beautiful car." "Thank you." "Mommy, I don't like this place." "I wanna go home." "We'll go home as soon as we see the doctor, honey." "I promise." "Mrs Forbes, I was beginning to think that you weren't coming." "I'm Travelor with an "o." Dr Jonathan Travelor." " That is my son, Corey." " Hi, Corey." "I apologise for the absence of my secretary." "I believe she's at lunch, which is where I should be." "Oh, no, I apologise for bursting in like this." "I heard a news report on your cancer research... and I thought you might be able to help my son." " He's a fine-looking young man." " Thank you." "Mrs Forbes, if I consult with you..." "I must insist that you treat our conversation as strictly confidential... due to the highly experimental nature of our research." " I understand." " Good." "Well, let's talk about your son." "Are you sure that's what he said?" "When someone says the world is exploding, a foot away from you, you don't forget." " Who could he be?" "How could he know?" " I don't know." "And you know what?" "To be completely honest, I'm beyond it." "Beyond it." " What's that supposed to mean?" " It means that I don't care anymore." "You know... there are times when I wish the air on the shuttle had just run out." "And we had just drifted into our own oblivion." "I didn't have a choice." "I woke up to this." "So I can't second-guess fate, but sometimes, yeah..." " I wish I only had normal problems." " And normal feelings." "Personal and selfish?" "Well, now we're on the subject, I have a personal, selfish question." "May I?" "When we got back from the tour to the States, why..." " Did I break it off with you?" " Yes." "Because you were a bad risk." "And because I was falling in love with you." "Really?" "Was that so bad a risk?" "Kurt, are you kidding?" "With you?" "Come on." "You'd follow your dick off a cliff." "Christ, Angela, why don't you just take a crowbar and break my hand?" " Why don't you?" " Oh, come on." "You can't tell me that actually means something to you." "Wait a minute." "You were in love with me, and you broke it off." " To save myself." " To save yourself?" "To save yourself?" "Well, kudos to your exemplary heroism." "Bravo, Angela!" "Bravo!" "Now let me tell you one thing." "And I will tell you this once and never again." "I was in love with you, Angela." "I would have laid down on railroad tracks for you." "I would have given my life to you." "But you broke it off to save yourself." "And now here you are saving the world." "Fuck the world." "Kind of nippy for a swim." " Your dinner's getting cold." " Not hungry." "Your brother told me you freaked out today in that Mustang." "Is that right?" " Yeah." " Wanna talk about it?" "Not particularly." " Okay." " Dad." "Yeah?" "Did you ever do something so horrible that you just..." "That you just buried it?" "No." "Figured." "But I'll tell you something, Neil, I have not said things... that I'll regret the rest of my life." "And you look like you wanna tell me something." "What's on your mind?" "You remember when I was a kid... you and Mom sent me to that summer camp up at Lake Tyler?" " I was nine." " I remember." "When we got there, they gave us buddies... and I was paired with this kid named Isaac Sussman." "Became pretty good friends." "On the last day of camp they had this swim competition... from the shore out to this raft and back." "The day before the competition, Isaac chickened out." "See, I..." "I should've realised he wasn't a very good swimmer." "But I just thought he was nervous." "He was just this little guy." "Really looked up to me." "So I told him I'd take him out for a practice swim... the afternoon before the competition." "Just the two of us." "Build his confidence." " You okay?" " Yeah, I'm okay." "We made it halfway." "Let's go back to the shore." "All right?" "I can't make it, Neil." "It's too far." "Come on, skinny." "I can see the shore from here." " I can't make it, Neil." " Sure you can." "It's just a little farther." "I can't." "Isaac?" "Isaac?" "Isaac!" "Isaac!" "I just panicked." "Swam for shore... and waited for help." " Hell, Neil, you were just a boy." " Yeah." "Yeah, well, that's really easy to say now." "But he wouldn't even have been out there if it wasn't for me." "I don't know..." "I wanted to build his confidence... and instead I just..." "I took him out in the middle of that fucking lake, and I just left him there." "Dad, he died because I did nothing." "I just swam away." "Yeah, I remember when that kid was killed." "And I remember I was test flying at Fort Worth or something... and I thought it was your girlfriend or something." "I didn't know." " Why didn't you tell your mother or me?" " How could I?" "How?" "You were flying off to New Mexico." "You were in Arizona." "Eventually, I just buried it." "Until today." " Dad, I saw him." " You saw him?" "Who?" "This kid?" "Isaac." "This morning." "He spoke to me." "He said anything is possible." "Anything is possible." " He said he was an Air Force pilot." " And you believed him?" "He knew the base in Ramstein, Germany." "He had the wings on his jacket." "And Neil said he and Marc were talking about your father..." " at the exact same time you met this guy?" " Absolutely." "And the way you're describing, he sounds like the individual I met at the bookstore." "You know, "Anything is possible."" "And Neil's friend said he said the same thing to him." " Who's to say they aren't Synthetics?" " Absolutely nothing, darling." " Well, if they're not, who are they?" " That is the $64 question." "$64,000." "Here's another one." "Where the hell is Sarah?" " You're home early." " Where have you been?" "Oh, I had a production meeting." "Corey, where'd you go with Mommy?" " Doctor's office." " Paul, stop it." "Hey, big guy, go to your room for a minute, huh?" "Why do you keep taking Corey to the doctor?" "Hey, I've tried to understand everything you're going through here." "Driving me nuts is one thing... but I'm not gonna sit by and let you play mind games with Corey." " What are you trying to say?" " Oh, I'm saying it." "I love you." "But this thing, it's breaking me." "Now if I have to, to save myself, I will leave and I will take Corey with me." "No, you won't." "Hey, big guy." "Come in here a second." "Yeah." "I was just thinking that we're gonna go grab a couple slices of pizza... and check out that new karate flick down at the mall." "How's that sound?" " Is Mommy coming?" " Not tonight, big guy." "She's got a few things that she's gotta work out." "All right." "My God, you were a scrawny little kid." "You scared me." "I never knew you had all these pictures of you and your dad." "I didn't." "He kept them in his fishing cabin at the lake." "This looks like it was taken just a few months before he died." " I can't believe he kept all this crap." " Obviously he didn't think it was crap." "Well, he never let me in on that little secret." " Maybe it was your secret, not his." " What're you saying, Paige?" " Come on, you never got along." " He never got along with me." " I mean, you never got along with him." " Really?" "I think it was because you were too much like him." "Please, Paige." "Spare me the New-Age bullshit." "Yeah, every son is like his father, every daughter is like her mother." "But cantankerous, impatient, cheap and judgemental are not on my agenda." "I knew him, and he never seemed like a tyrant to me." "Paige, I lived in the land of no." ""Dad, can I?" "No." "Dad, may I?" "No."" "If it wasn't for our mother, I wouldn't have seen the goddamn moonlight." "Was it really that bad?" "When I was little it was okay, but when we got stationed in Germany... he turned into one miserable son of a bitch." "He'd fly all over the continent... he'd come home, my sister could do whatever the hell she wanted." "And he'd demand a full report from Mom about me... like I didn't live in the same goddamn house." " What happened to him in Europe?" " Hell if I know." "He'd fly all week, come home on the weekends... get in the car with Mom and be gone." "I worked like a fucking ox on that car." "He never let me drive it." "You drove your mother's car." "Paige, a teenage boy does not wanna go on a date in a station wagon... when you got a Corvette sitting in the driveway." "Shit." "Do you ever wish you could go back, live one particular moment all over again?" "What's your point?" "That's what I'm asking." "What's the point here?" "A car?" "Your father never let you drive his car?" "The son of a bitch was too cheap to buy a hardtop for it." "A hardtop." "Yeah." "A hardtop." "Or is the point... that at the age of 35 you were still so pissed off... that you refused to go on a fishing trip with him, so he went off alone... and died?" "I tried to get his attention in... baseball, basketball." "He didn't give a shit." "Straight A's." "Finally, I just gave up." "I just gave up and..." "I got back to Texas, I could not wait to get out of that house... and go my own way." "Become a pilot just like him?" "So why don't we open a nice bottle of Bordeaux... and continue where we left off?" " I wanna find my panties and go home." " Oh, come on." "Don't tell me you only came back here to get your underwear." "They're Italian, they're expensive and they match my favourite bra." " I just want them back." " You wore your favourite lingerie?" "Doesn't it even concern you... that there might be someone out there who knows about our mission?" " Don't change the subject." " I'm not." "Yes, you are." "A woman does not wear her favourite lingerie... to an afternoon book signing." "You had an agenda with me." "Admit it." " How did they get in there?" " I have no idea." "Come on, look, look, look." "How about I roll a joint, and you can wash my hair?" " How about I don't smoke pot?" "I'm a pilot." " Okay, okay, okay." "Why don't we go to this great Mexican restaurant I know... and order some homemade tamales and just talk?" " Did you hear that?" " No." "What?" "That." "Where in heaven's name did this come from?" "Neil, are you sick, honey?" "No, Mom." "I just have a headache." "I need some aspirin." "You should eat something." "You haven't eaten all day." " What do you want?" " Go back, Neil." "Anything is possible." "Go back where?" " Honey, I found some Tylenol." " What?" " Did you see him?" " See who?" "Shit." "Neil." "What is it?" "What's wrong?" "Neil." "Neil." "Go back, Neil." "Anything is possible." "He wants me to go back." "You are not going anywhere until you have something to eat." "If you're too sick to go to school, then you are too sick to go out." "You don't even have any shoes on!" "I know that we had talked about this being a possibility." " I'm not really explaining myself very well." " Mrs Forbes, it's late." " You said it was important that we talk." " Okay." "I have to know if you've spoken to your associates." "Is there a possibility for Corey?" "I mean, it's really important that... if there's any opportunity at all that I move on this right now because..." " Because of family." " No." "Because of time." "Yes." "I've spoken with my associates, and we believe that Corey would make... an excellent candidate for this new treatment." "Wait a minute." "Candidate?" "You're not sure you can help him?" "Well, there are no sure things in cancer research, Mrs Forbes." "But we would consider taking your son to London." " London?" " Yes." " In six months." " No." "Six months?" "I can't wait six months." " There is an alternative." " No, Dr Travelor, you don't understand." "My son, he's gonna die." "My son, he's gonna die unless I find a treatment for him now." "Do you understand what I'm trying to tell you?" "I can't fucking wait six months." "The alternative is China." " China?" " Yes." "The treatment originated in China." "I wouldn't be the operative doctor... but I can assure you he would be in the best of care." "It's his best chance of survival." "I can probably get him into a clinic in Hong Kong immediately." "Wait." "You expect me to take my child out of bed in the middle of the night..." " and fly him to the other side of the world?" " I expect nothing." "Paul's never gonna let me take Corey to China." "Sarah, you must do what you think is best." "Anything is possible." "Momma, Jenny won't let me play on the swing." "Jenny Taggart, you let your baby brother have a try." "He's such a brat." "Have I grown, Momma?" "Have I?" "Hold still so I can see." "Looks like 5'2.5"." " I'll never be a basketball player." " Chuck, you're only 10 years old." " Give it time." "You'll grow." " You think I can do it, Momma?" "You think I can be a pro basketball player?" "You can do anything you want." "All you have to do is believe in yourself." "But you became a pilot." " What the hell do you want from me?" " I want the truth." " What in the hell is that?" " You tell me." "Why my father resented me?" "Don't waste your time with that, Commander." "You might miss a real opportunity." "Like why you didn't go fishing with him that day." "Chuck, bring your old man a beer." "Dad?" "Shake a leg, kid." "You know, I ain't getting any younger out here." "Go back, Neil." "Anything is possible." "Go back, Neil." "Anything..." "Anything is possible." "Go back, Neil." "I can't make it, Neil." "It's too far." "Come on, skinny." "I can see the shore from here." " I can't make it, Neil." " Sure you can." "It's just a little farther." "I can't." "Isaac!" "Somebody, help!" "Help!" "Help!" "Somebody, help!" "Help!" "Somebody, help!" "Help!" " It wasn't your fault, Neil." " I should've tried harder." "You were only a boy." "There was nothing more you could do." "I wanted to help you, but I was afraid." "It's all right." "Things happen in life that we cannot control... and we cannot change." " We were friends." " We still are, and we always will be." "Nothing can change that." "Isaac." "Are you happy?" "Dad, is that you?" "Of course it's me." "Who'd you expect, Jimmy Stewart?" "Don't just stand there." "Give me the suds." "Not as good as that draught pilsner over in Germany." "No." "You take off the fuel pump and clean it?" "Problem wasn't the fuel pump, Dad." "It was the points and plugs." "But I asked you to take off the fuel pump and clean it." " Yes, sir, you did." " You didn't do that, did you?" "No, sir, I didn't." "So why didn't you just say that instead of all this bullshit..." " about the points and plugs." " I just did what I thought was best, Dad." "What you thought was best wasn't what was asked of you." " No, sir." " And that's it, isn't it?" "Somebody makes a request to you, you gotta do something different... 'cause you figure it's best." "You see the arrogance in that?" "Yes, sir." "Take that shit up into an aeroplane, Son, you're gonna crash and burn." "You should've bought a hardtop for this Corvette, Dad." " Ragtop's just fine." " Ragtop leaks." "It's raining." "It's not raining." "Anyway, who says I'm going anywhere?" "You're gonna tell Mom you're gonna take a ride in the 'Vette... but what you're really gonna do is go fishing up at the cabin for black bass... and you're gonna come back late for her party... so you're gonna ask me to go fishing with you... so when we get back she'll have both of us to yell at... instead of just you." "Why don't you go on in the house and help your mother with the groceries?" "No, sir." "I'd rather stay out here with you." "Well, I'm going fishing." "The ragtop leaks, Dad, and it's raining!" "So what if it leaks?" "It's my goddamn car." "I choose not to spend $2,000 on a hardtop." "Is that okay with you?" "You cheap, miserable son of a bitch!" "What in the hell pissed you off when we were in Germany, huh?" "I try to say something to you... you just say, "Shut your mouth." "You're catching flies."" "You're catching them now." " What in God's name pissed you off?" " You pissed me off, if you're curious." "You pissed me off, and you're still pissing me off." "Well, I'll tell you something your asinine ego won't let you believe, old man." "It ain't me that's gonna crash and burn!" " Bravo." "Seize the moment." " And fuck you, too!" "Who in God's name you think you're talking to?" "What in the hell are you doing this for?" "Doing what?" "We going fishing or not?" "These are your memories, Commander." "I'm only a tour guide." "Well, the tour's over!" " Where the hell you going?" " You can't run from this, Chuck." "That's right." "Turn a simple fishing trip into your own personal soap opera." "It's your life, Commander, no one else's." "Don't tell your mother I'm going fishing." "Okay." "Honey, come on, come on." " We gotta go." " Mommy, where are we going?" " We're just going on a little trip, honey." " What about Daddy?" " Daddy can't go on this one." " Why not?" " Because Daddy has to work in the morning." " Will he miss us when he wakes up?" "Will he be sad when he wakes up?" "Corey." "Shit." "Corey." "Corey." "You love your Daddy very much, don't you?" "Can I go back to bed now?" "Yeah." "Taggart has an encounter with a man from his past." "Neil has the same thing, and now we have this." "Kurt." "Somebody or someone is feeding off our memories here." " Kurt." " This certainly isn't part of my memory." " Kurt." " What?" " I need to tell you something." " What?" " Mommy." " Mommy?" "Oh, great." " So first we have a..." " What's wrong?" " I fell down on the sidewalk." " Did you hurt yourself?" " Angela, what's going on here?" " Look at that, you got a scrape." " You're gonna be okay, sweetie." " Angela, what's going on?" "You remember when we left Paris, and I ended it?" "Yes." "And when we got back here, I wouldn't see or talk to you." "Yes, you had the flu." " You didn't have the flu." " No, I didn't have the flu." "Oh, God." "Oh, God, this is it?" "This is it?" "This is..." " This is a glimpse of what might have been." " Or what might be." "What's your name?" " Anthony." " Anthony." " That's my father's name." " I know." "Come with me, Anthony." " Is it your birthday today?" " Yes." " How old are you?" " Five." "Look at the date on this." "August 7th, 2007." "And now we go to a live report with Sarah Forbes... aboard the space shuttle Odyssey en route to the International Space Station." "Before I show you around the flight deck, I'd like to take just a second... to introduce you to some of our crew." "Over here, we have our Mission Commander, Chuck Taggart." "Hello, Texas." " And next to him is his son, Neil Taggart." " Hi, Mom." "This is our Payload Specialist, Monica Stern." "And here we have our Science Officer, Dr Richard Palmer." "So far, it's been a fairly routine flight." "There haven't been many complications or problems." "If we're not on the Odyssey, then this is what it'll be like if we don't go." "Oh, my God." "We're living the day the Earth exploded." "Come and watch me blow out the candles, Mommy and Daddy." "It doesn't make sense." "It never does." "We can have this child, Angela." "We can have a family." "We can have five good years." "And they would be the best on the Earth, wouldn't they?" "Yeah." "What shall we do?" "This time... what do you want, Kurt?" " Chuck." " What're you doing here?" "You called me and told me to meet you here." "You said that it was really important." " Did I miss the joke?" " It wasn't me that called you." "It was him." " Who?" " You, too?" "Hello." " Now we got the whole Scout troop." " Lovely real estate." " You're drinking, Chuck?" " What's it look like?" "All right." "It's obvious we've all been experiencing... some pretty unusual behaviour." " Have you, Sarah?" " No." "I've been trying to save my son." " Yeah, from cancer, huh?" " No." "From herself." "Hello." "My friend from the bookstore." "Dr Mendel, once again." "A real honour." " Dr Travelor?" " Hello, Sarah." "Well, you are one bizarre and twisted son of a bitch, ain't you?" "I don't suppose you'd like to cut the carnival act and tell us who in the fuck you are." "Well, I could, but given the genetic limitations of the human mind... it just wouldn't make a whole hell of a lot of sense." " Try us." " I could tell you why I'm here." "There was a glitch." "There was a glitch in the time stream." "Five glitches, all travelling upstream." " I was sent to investigate." " So you're a time traveller." "No." "Travelling time, there'd have to be a beginning and an end." "And I've experienced neither." "See, my species exists outside of time." "For us, to paraphrase one of your greatest thinkers... time happens only once." " Why the head games?" " These were not head games." "Your species is bound by time." "What you do in each moment affects the course of your lives." "Each of you eventually would have bumped up against these... personal dilemmas sooner or later." "And each of them would have demanded personal choices... and those choices would have eventually sidetracked... the purpose of your return to this time." "Which is, I might remind you, to save your world." "I've simply hastened the advent of these dilemmas... and they may not yet be played out." "Well, since you know so much, what the hell's the outcome of our lives?" " This goddamn mission?" " I am merely an observer." "However, I can tell you this." "You five will become great players in the cosmic game of survival." "My advice to you is to choose well and trust." "The future depends on it." "Look, look, look." "You go on home." "I'm gonna stay." " You're gonna stay by yourself?" " Yeah." "A man let you face your demon." "I gotta face mine." "Chuck!" "Chuck, help me put this top up." "It's starting to rain." "I told you it would rain, Dad." "So now you're a weatherman." "You told me a lot of things." "Did you ever listen to anything I told you?" "Well, I listened when you told me about the stages of a butterfly... at that science fair when you were 12." "Didn't understand a word, but I listened." "You didn't wanna go to that science fair." "You're right, I didn't." "I wanted to drive to Paris with your mother." "But I stayed, didn't I?" "Went to your basketball games, your baseball games, and I'm not an athlete." "I wouldn't understand nothing, but I had to show up." "And I did." " And that was it." " What was it?" "Sometimes when a father, just for a second, wishes he never had a kid... no matter how much he loves him." "And any father who won't admit it is a liar." "With me..." "I had just gotten to Europe with your mother... pockets full of American dollars, beautiful car... all these great sights to see, and there you were." "All I wanted to do was come home after flying... grab your mother, jump into this 'Vette and head off to a hotel in the Alps... but I had this snot-nosed kid, you see?" "Who, if he wasn't getting his tooth broken in a game or busting his knee up... or trying to kill his sister with a tennis racquet... had this science fair he wanted me to go to." "Or if it wasn't that, he was tearing the TV apart... when all I asked him to do was hook up an antenna... or replacing plugs and points when all I wanted him to do was clean the fuel pump." "I was only trying to impress you, Dad." " I know that." " And you resented me for that?" "I never resented you." "What I resented was being robbed of what I thought was the great adventure of my life." "But guess what?" "You were the great adventure of my life." "I'll tell you this, nothing made me prouder than when you became a pilot." "Nothing." "You did that all on your own." "So I was an asshole for a couple of years." "You had to hang on to it for an extra 30." "Now your kids probably think you're an asshole." "Yeah." "They probably do." "So get over it." "Time is short, Chuck." "I'm going fishing." " Can't go fishing, Dad, it's starting to rain." " We gonna go round this again?" "Dad, you can't drive a car and clean the windshield and shift gears at the same time." "I have to go, Son." "Open the goddamn door, Dad." "I'm gonna go with you this time." "You can't, Son." "It's like the man said." "These events played out long before your world was born." "It's raining, Dad, don't go." "Don't go!" "Dad, don't go." "Don't, it's raining, Dad!" "It's raining, don't go!" "Dad!" "Be happy." "I love you, Son." "Dad."