"I used to think this was the beginning of your story." "Memory is a strange thing." "It doesn't work like I thought it did." "We are so bound by time." "By its order." "It's OK." "Come back to me." "Come back to me." "Come back to me." "Stick em up!" "Are you the sheriff in this here town?" "These are my tickle guns and I'm gonna getcha!" "No." "You want me to chase you?" "You better run." "I remember moments in the middle." "I love you." "I hate you!" "And this was the end." "Come back to me." "Baby, come back to me." "But, now I'm not so sure I believe in beginnings and endings." "There are days that define your story beyond your life." "Like the day they arrived." "Good Morning." "Where is everyone?" "Ok." "Well let's get started." "Today, we're talking about Portuguese and why it sounds so different from the other Romance languages." "The story of Portuguese begins in the Kingdom of Galicia..." "Oh... sorry?" "In the Middle Ages, where language was seen as an expression of art." "Any news you wanna share?" "Dr. Banks can you turn the TV to a news channel?" "Police have already set up a blockade, here, around the area" "And as you can see, we got just about as close as we can... but unfortunately, Montana right now, is on complete lock down." "The object apparently touched down 40 minutes ago just north of I-94." "We're waiting to hear if this is perhaps an experimental vessel or..." "Hold on, it..." "I'm learning that more objects like this have landed in as many as 8 other locations around the world" "Yes?" "Henry?" "This is from a site in Hokkaido." "This is worldwide." "It is happening right now." "OK, um... so, class is dismissed." "For now, we're simply asking for cooperation while authorities assess the object." "So, you're saying its not ours?" " Do you even know if its from Earth?" " We're still collecting information." "We're coordinating with other countries." "We're not the only ones to have one of these in our backyard." "If this is some kind of peaceful first contact, why send twelve?" "Why not just one?" "I don't know, Mom." "I'm watching the same news report you are." "Well, Mom... please don't bother with that channel." "How many times I have to tell you those people are idiots?" "Yeah, well, do I sound nervous?" "Ok, exactly." "So..." "Ahm, me?" "You know me." "I'm about the same" "Mom, I'm fine." "Ok, I'll call you later." "Bye." "and at around 8 hours after landing, there's still no signs of what might be called first contact." "Now, the objects measure at least 1,500 ft. tall... two more reported to have penetrated Russian airspace:" "one in Siberia and the other off the coast of the Black Sea, suspended above the ocean." "So far there are 12 unidentified objects spread across the globe." "There is no obvious logic to their locations and no evidence that the ships are even occupi... who entertain the idea that if it is a kind of vessel, it may be unmanned." "Regardless, we have a protocol for scenarios like this." "[Russian news]" "After Tuesdays' extraordinary events, the President this morning, has declared a state of emergency with as many as 5,000 National Guard being deployed to the state of Montana, alone." "Borders are closed and flights have been grounded, stranding millions of travelers." "Panic buying of gas, water and food continues to escalate and Federal authorities have temporarily lifted all caps on overtime for law enforcement." "The ATF has put a temporary ban on new gun licenses, forcing many independent suppliers of hunting equipment and firearms to close their doors to the public." "48 hours later and no further development" "Two days... and already the public expects us to know the answers." "I'm Colonel G.T. Weber." "We never formally met, but two years ago, you did some Farsi translation for Army Intelligence?" " Oh." "You made quick work of those insurgent videos." "You made quick work of those insurgents." "You are on the top... of everyone's list when it comes to translations." "And you have another two years in the SSBI, so you still have top secret clearance." "That's why I'm in your office and not in Berkeley." "OK?" "I have something I need you to translate for me." "Why are you here?" "Can you understand us?" "Where did you come from?" "Now you heard it... what do you make of it?" "Is that...?" "Yes." " How many?" " How many what?" "H-how many, speaking?" "Two." "Assuming, they were not speaking at the same time." "Are you sure that they have mouths?" "How would you approach translating this?" "You hear any words?" "Phrases?" "I don't..." "I don't know." "So what can you tell me?" "I can tell you that it's impossible to translate from an audio file." "I would need to be there to interact with them." "You didn't need that for the Farsi translation." "I didn't need it because I already knew the language, but this is..." "I know what you're doing." " Tell me what I'm doing." " I'm not taking you to Montana." "It's all I can do to keep it from turning into a tourist site for everybody who has a T.S. clearance." "I'm just telling you what it would take to do this job." "This is not a negotiation." "If I leave here, your chance is gone." "Good day." "Colonel." "You mentioned Berkeley, are you going to ask Danvers next?" "Maybe." "Before you commit to him, ask him the Sanskrit word for war, and its translation." "An agreement on sharing scientific discoveries looks closer tonight as Russia and China join talks at the United Nations." "Meanwhile, financial markets across the world are in crisis as the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell over 2,000 points, in its worst weekly decline in..." " Good Morning." " Colonel?" "'Gavisti'." "He says it means an argument." " What do you say, it means?" " A desire for more cows." "Pack your bags." " All right, give me 20 minutes?" " We take off in 10." "Dr. Banks." "Sorry, I couldn't hear what you were saying." ""Language is the foundation of civilization." ""It is the glue that holds the people together." ""It is the first weapon drawn in a conflict."" "Louise, this is Ian Donnelly." "Louise Banks, Ian Donnelly." " That's quite a greeting!" " Yeah?" "Well, you wrote it." "Yup." "It's the kind of thing you write as a preface." "Dazzle them with the basics." "Well, it's great." " Even if it's wrong." " It's wrong?" "Well, the cornerstone of civilization isn't language, it's science." "Ian is a theoretical physicist from Los Alamos." "You'll be reporting to me, but you'll be working with him, when you're in the shell." "That's what they're calling the UFO." "Priority one: what do they want, where are they from?" "And beyond that, how did they get here?" "Are they capable of faster than light travel?" "Are they planning on... a list of questions that I want you to go over." "Starting with a series of handshake binary sequences..." "How about we just talk to them, before we start throwing math problems at them?" "This is why you're both here." "I'll bring the coffee." "Coffee with some aliens." " Alright, I want you to take these two to Dr. Kettler." " Yes sir." "Follow the captain to Medical... the procedure should take just a few minutes and then we'll get started." "They're gonna take care of your bags." "I'll get your cell phones..." "cell phones." "Follow me." "Put these on, you gotta wear them at all times." "Sir, they're here." "Louise Banks?" "Ian Donnelly?" "When was the last time, either of you have eaten?" " Last night." " Same." "When was the last time you did something stressful?" "Does now count?" "Just saying." "Who was being carted off in a med-evac?" "Not everyone is able to process experiences like this." "I'm gonna get some blood from you and give you an immunization dose that covers a battery of bacterial threats." "Could you sign these please?" "And roll up your sleeves." " Either of you claustrophobic?" " No." " No." "Currently taking any medications?" "Allergies?" " Pregnant?" " No." "The booster is a kick to your system, so you may experience some side effects:" "nausea, dizziness, headaches." "Or ringing in your ears, like you have tinnitus." "At exactly 112 minutes and 19 seconds gravity starts to shift and slides us out of the room." "Have you found a scientific explanation for it?" " Like, is it for them?" " Oh, no, we think it's for us." "The air doesn't seem to circulate inside the chamber, so... after two hours, you run out of oxygen." "It doesn't take 18 hours to pump fresh air into a room." "Atmosphere." "Excuse me?" "If their atmosphere is different from earth," "It would certainly take hours to rebalance the O2 content and pressure, for us, every time they opened their door." "So you're saying they could suffocate us if they wanted to?" "This is Agent David Halpern, CIA." " Let me get you two to your stations." " Yes sir." "Remember, we need answers as soon as possible." "What they want, where they're from, why they're here." "This is the priority." "Everyone." "This is Dr. Ian Donnelly, he'll be running this team, here." "Have they responded to anything?" "Shapes, patterns, numbers, Fibonacci?" "We can't tell what they're saying, when they respond to 'hello', so... don't get ahead of yourself." " What have you figured out?" " Just getting started." "Good Morning." "This is Dr. Louise Banks." " She'll be heading your team." " Dr. Banks, it's a pleasure" "Dr. Banks is taking over the mission from Dr. Waller." "It's the 15 minute warning." "D'you scuba-dive before?" "What kind of radiation exposure are we walking into?" "Nominal, these are just for safety." "So, is there any physical contact with the..." "Am I the only one having trouble saying, aliens?" "There's a wall, like a glass wall." "You can't get to them." "So, what do they look like?" "You'll see soon enough, hurry up." "The suits are clumsy at first, but, you get used to'em." "Haul up in the second vehicle." "We'll be there in a few minutes." "Make sure you hold onto something." "Every 18 hours, the door opens up, at the bottom." "That's when we go in." "Yeah, that just happened." "Alright, lets move." "Time is wasting." "Ready?" " You ready?" " Let's do it." "Condor, I'm proceeding first with Captain Marks, over." "Gravity, nominal in the antechamber, over." "It's all good, sir, you can proceed." "Stand by." "OK, bring it up." "You OK?" "Yeah." "Dr. Banks." "You can do this." "C'mon." "I dunno, I..." "I think... aah!" "Grab her." "Dr. Donnelly, you good?" "Yeah." "Holy fuck!" "We're gonna go down there, and you're gonna start your job." " OK." " OK." "Everybody, move out." "Alpha Team in position?" "Team's in position." "We're on the move." "Setting up equipment with telemetry, over" "What happens now?" "They arrive." "Dr. Banks." "Dr. Banks?" "You can start." "Wait, just a minute." "Am I fired?" "You're better than the last guy." "That doesn't make me feel any better." "You both have till 02:00 hours to figure something out." "OK, what happens, then?" "You go back in." "Violence continues to spread across the US, today in the wake of the 12 landings." "The President has declared a mandatory dusk to dawn curfew, after the crackdown by the National Guard failed to prevent a third night of looting across the country." "In North Dakota, 144 members of the St. Lawrence Pentecostal cult are feared dead after they set their compound ablaze." "Their website claims, the arrival of the aliens set in motion a prophecy that 12 sets of..." "Uh, we're up in 15." "You got any new intel?" "Yeah, we've been playing back some of their sounds..." "Where does that get you?" "Well, they play audio back at us, from an unseen source." "Audio of what?" "It's bits of conversations from the room, random clips of dialogue." "Really, we..." "We have nothing." "T minus 9 minutes to shell access." "T minus 9 minutes to shell access." " What's that for?" " A visual aid." "Look, I'm never gonna be able to speak their words, if they ARE talking." "But they might have some sort of written language or basis for... visual communication." "OK." "Let's get started." "Human." "Human." "I'm human." "I'm human." "Human." " Oh my God." " Are you getting this?" "Yes sir, it's all going back to base camp." "Louise, its incredible!" "Human." "Human." "Human." "OK..." "OK, slow down Louise." "I don't wanna take away from your success in there, but Dr. Banks, is this really the right approach?" "Trying to teach them how to speak and read?" "That's gotta take longer." "You're wrong." "Its faster." "Everything you do in there," "I have to explain to a room full of men, whose first and last question is, 'how can this be used against us?" "'" "So you're gonna have to give me more than that." "Kangaroo." "What is that?" "In 1770," "Captain James Cook's ship ran aground off the coast of Australia and he led a party into the country, and they met the aboriginal people." "One of the sailors pointed at the animals that hop around and put their babies in their pouch, and he asked what they were." "And the Aborigines said "kangaroo"." "And your point is?" "It wasn't till later that they learned that kangaroo means," ""I don't understand"." "So..." "I need this so that we don't misinterpret things in there, otherwise this is gonna take ten times as long." "I can sell that, for now." "But I need you to submit your vocabulary words before the next session." " Fair." "And remember what happened to the Aborigines." "A more advanced race, nearly wiped them out." " Its a good story." " Thanks." "Its not true, but it proves my point." "I think we were able to reproduce some prime number sequences back at them." "So, that's something." "Well, congratulations, you're a parrot." "It's a lot more than that, you cheeky bastard." "Don't you see?" "They can't seem to follow our algebra, but, complex behaviors; that clicks." "Well, that doesn't make any sense at all, does it?" "Problem is, not everyone shares our policy of being open with the aliens." "Have you met Gen. Shang?" "The call sign for him is 'big domino'." "Whatever Shang does, at least four other nations'll follow." " Louise, we have to gain ground today." " OK." " You have a vocabulary list for me?" " I do." "You're gonna teach them your name and Ian's?" "Yeah, so that we can learn their names, if they have names, and then introduce pronouns later." "These are all grade school words." "Eat, walk." "Help me understand." "No-no-no, not the top!" "Ok, this is where you wanna get to, right?" " That is the question." " OK." "So, first we need to make sure that they understand what a question is, OK?" "The nature of a request for information, along with the response." "Then, we need to clarify the difference between a specific 'you'... and a collective 'you'." "Because... we don't wanna know why Joe Alien is here, we want to know why they all landed." "And purpose requires an understanding of intent." "We need to find out: do they make conscious choices?" "Or is their motivation so instinctive that they don't understand a 'why question' at all?" "And biggest of all we need to have enough vocabulary with them, that we understand their answer." "I get it." "Stick to your list." "Just... don't add anything to it." "Gravity: 0.97." "Oxygen level: 21.4%, over." "Al Moony, setting up equipment and telemetry, over." "Let's get started." "Louise." "Louise, I am Louise." "What is that?" "Is that a new symbol?" "I can't tell." "I dunno, I think it's the symbol for 'human' again." "It just has a little curl on the end." "Maybe they indicate a question." "I dunno." "I dunno, Louise, I think they're getting confused." "Dr. Banks, perhaps we should move on to the next word." "Dr. Banks!" " Hey, baby." " What's going on?" "What are you doing?" " I'm fine." " Are you insane?" "They need to see me." "She's taken off her hazmat suit." "Dr. Banks!" " Are you OK?" " You're risking contamination." " They need to see me." " Dr. Banks." " Dr. Banks!" " She's walking toward the screen." "Should we abort?" "Request noted." "Stand by for flag order." "Go back to your stations." "Now, that's a proper introduction." "OK." "Louise." "I am Louise." "Ian, you wanna introduce yourself?" "Ah, yes..." "Louise." "Screw it." "Everybody dies, right?" "Sir, Donnelly is taking off his hazmat suit." "Permission to abort?" "Continue the session." "Ian." "Louise." "You?" "Who are you?" "I think those are their names." "They have names." "So what are we gonna call them?" "I dunno." "I was thinking, Abbott and Costello." "Yeah." " Yeah?" " Yeah, I like it." "I like it." "Wow!" "Team one, exit your vehicles and proceed directly ahead to the decontamination tent." "Leave your respirator on until you reach the equipment room." " All right?" " No." "Team two, exit your vehicles and continue to the decontamination tent." "Leave your respirators on, and do not hesitate until you've reached the equipment room." " How do you feel?" " Overworked." "I guess, I don't need to tell you, you're putting yourself at risk." "There's no signs of radiation poisoning, yet." "We'll see how your blood tests look." " For now, I'm gonna give you another boost." " OK." "No radiation." "Nothing else we can detect either." "But I'd give them a strong cocktail, regardless." "It's the first time we've made significant progress." "Alright." "We'll take the risk." " OK, honey..." " What is going on?" " Honey..." " Is there anything you can tell me?" " I'm fine." " You don't need to worry, OK?" " How can I not worry?" "Just calm down." "Just calm down." "Becky asked me, if the monsters are going to kill Daddy." "Honey, its not gonna happen." " Just stay safe." " You don't need to worry." "Please, I'm so scared." "Here are some of the many things we don't know about heptopods." "Greek:" "Hepta... seven." "Pod... foot." "Seven feet... heptopod." "Who are they?" "Trying to answer this in any meaningful way is hampered by the fact that, outside of being able to see them and hear them, the heptopods leave absolutely no footprint." "The chemical composition of their spaceship is unknown." "The shell emits no waste, no gas, no radiation." "Assuming that the shells communicate with each other, they do so without detection." "The air between the shells is untroubled by sonic emission or light wave." "Are they scientists or tourists?" "If they're scientists, they don't seem to ask a lot of questions." "Why did they park where they did?" "The world's most decorated experts can't crack that one." "The most plausible theory is that they chose places on earth with the lowest incidence of lightning strikes." "But there are exceptions." "The next most plausible theory is that" "Sheena Easton had a hit song in each of these sites in 1980." "So, we just don't know." "How do they communicate?" "Here, Louise is putting us all to shame." "The first breakthrough was to discover that there's no correlation between what a heptopod says, and what a heptopod writes." "Unlike all written human languages, their writing is semasiographic." "It conveys meaning, it doesn't represent sound." "Perhaps they view our form of writing as a wasted opportunity," "Passing up a second communications channel." "We have our friends in Pakistan to thank for their study of how heptopods write." "Because unlike speech, a logogram is free of time." "Like their ship or their bodies." "Their written language has no forward or backward direction." "Linguists call this nonlinear orthography." "Which raises the question:" "is this how they think?" "Imagine you wanted to write a sentence using 2 hands, starting from either side." "You'd have to know each word you wanted to use, as well as how much space they would occupy." "A heptopod can write a complex sentence in two seconds, effortlessly." "It's taken us a month to make the simplest reply." "Next: expanding vocabulary." "Louise thinks it could easily take another month to be ready for that." "Hey." " Hey." " Weber's looking for you." "Yeah, well why do you think I'm hiding out here?" "Come on up." "Nice out here, huh?" "Yeah, it's a nice view." "Away from the noise." "You know, I was just thinking about you." "You approach language like a mathematician." "You know that, right?" "I won't take that as a compliment." "Yeah, well it is." "And..." "I watch you steer us around these communication traps that I didn't even know existed." "So, why..." "I guess that's why I'm single." "Trust me, you can understand communication and still end up single." "Oh." "I feel like everything that happens in there... comes down to the two of us." "Yeah, it's a good thing, though, right?" "You and I?" "Have you seen the jokers that we're working with?" "Thank God, I got you." "Tonight, the first photograph of the aliens goes viral." ""Biological contamination is a major risk factor at the Montana site"." "So, say environmental pressure groups." "800,000 march on Washington to protest the government's handling of the crisis." "All this, and more, special coverage." "First contact with whoever it is that is inside that thing, and who do we have running the show?" "The government." "That's right, folks." "The same government who ruined our healthcare and bankrupted our military." "Look at these people." "Most of them don't even have guns." "We could be facing a full scale invasion, and our President is just willing to sit back and let them waltz in and take our country." "We are falling asleep at the wheel, people!" "You know what I'm talking about, I know you do." "What if, the smartest thing we could do, right now, would be to give them a show of force?" "I'm talking about a shot across the bow." "I wanna hear what you think." "Caller ♪ 1, you're on the air, what do you think about all this?" "What's this word?" "Planet." "Green... planet." "That's lie, um, the Earth is a planet." "Want to see my project for Miss." "Garrett's class?" "Yeah, little nose." "We had to make up our own TV show." "If we had one." " And who are those two people?" " That's you and Dad." "The show is called:" "Mommy and Daddy Talk to Animals." "Ah." "Oh, its lovely." "Ok." "Um..." " You know, it's OK to be sad that your dad and I..." " You know." "I'm not." "'Cause we both love you very much." "I know." "It's just a cartoon: not real." "Louise?" "You alright?" "Yeah." "Yeah, I-I'm fine." "I'm not sure it's something, I can..." "I can explain." "When was your last checkup with Dr. Kettler?" "I'm OK." "Gonna get some air." " I'm OK." " Alright." "How you feelin'?" "I need some sleep, but..." "I'm fine." "Yeah?" "Y'know, I was doing some reading about this idea that... if you immerse yourself into a foreign language, that you can actually rewire your brain." "Yeah, the Sapir–Whorf hypothesis." "It is a theory that..." "It is the theory, that, the language you speak determines how you think and..." "Yeah, it affects how you see everything." "It was..." "I'm curious." "Are you dreaming in their language?" "I may have had a few dreams, but I don't..." "I don't think that that makes me unfit to do this job." " Did you sleep?" " A little." "Do you know Mandarin?" "The voice you're about to hear belongs to China's military chief." "General Shang." "Put it on." "We got a satellite feed, here who he's talking to, if you want to look." "Wait, go back." "Stop." "He's saying that each of the 12 is offering advanced technology." "Back again... and play." "Our science team is attempting to decode the sets..." ""sets"?" "I don't know what that means." "Something about advantage, suits, honor and flowers." "I don't..." "I dunno, that's all." "I don't know what it means either." "An hour ago, China mobilized forces... and now Russia is following suit." "Shang is about to start something." "Following same suits... suits, honor, flowers..." "Colonel, those are all tile sets in Mahjong." "God, are they...?" "Are they using a game to converse with their heptopods?" "Maybe, why?" "Well, let's say that I taught them chess instead of English." "Every conversation would be a game, every idea expressed through opposition." "Victory, defeat: you see the problem?" "If all I ever gave you was a hammer..." "Everything's a nail." "We need to ask the big question." "Ready or not." "Heptopod's purpose." "Tell me your purpose on Earth." "What is your purpose?" "Do we only have Costello?" "Ok." "There you are." "What does it say?" "Offer weapon." " Well, you saw what they wrote!" " Using a word they don't fully understand." "Enough!" "Louise." "We don't know if they understand the difference between a weapon and a tool." "Our language like our culture is messy and sometimes one can be both." "And it's quite possible that they're asking us to offer them something, put the other way around." "Like the first part of a trade." "So how do we clarify their intentions beyond those two words?" "I go back in." "Right away we go back in and we clear this up." " It's more complicated than that." " How is it more complicated than that?" "Colonel, the Secretary of Defense is on the line for you." "We need to sit on this information till we know what it means." "So we aren't sharing it with our enemies." "We have to consider the idea that our visitors are prodding us to fight among ourselves, until only one faction prevails." " There is no evidence of that." " Sure there is." "Just grab a history book." "The British with India, the Germans with Rwanda." "They even got a name for it, in Hungary." "(Salami tactics)" "Yeah..." "We're a world with no single leader." "It's impossible to deal with just one of us." "And with the word weapon, now..." "Halpern..." "Yes General." "No confirmation, yet." "Stand by." "Anything..." "What did they say?" "China and Russia are off the grid." "They aren't speaking to anyone." "Whatever they learned in their last session has them spooked." "Yes sir..." "We have orders to do the same." " Wait these are our allies!" " Put us on radio silence!" "Do it." "We received a message from the hept..." "Dammit!" "We need to be talking to each other!" "You wanna talk to them?" "Find out what this means." "Base-camp talk is now offline." "All interpreters..." "Don't call Information, they're offline." "stand down, report to unit coordinators." "We've never re-entered a session, before." "Louise, trust me OK?" "We got time." "Just gotta step on it, alright?" ""Use weapon"," "This is the alien message, said to have provoked the Chinese government to withdraw their scientists from the international mission today." "In a statement, General Shang said:" ""China no longer trusts the aliens who want to divide us." ""Humanity must be protected."" "China has asked for immediate talks at the UN." "Alpha 1-9er, this is Condor, over." "Alpha 1-9er, this is Condor." "Come in, over." "Captain Marks, Condor, not receiving transmission." "Perhaps they can hear mine." "Captain Marks, all escorters are ordered to cease all activity." "No-no-no..." "Dr. Banks you can't go in there." " We just need to ask one question." " Dr. Banks!" "The session is finished." "You can't go back in, it's dangerous." "Look, we just need 5 minutes." "Don't sweat it." " Marks, let'em go." "Hey, Abbott." "So, what are we calling this?" "Session 37?" "Ah, no: 36, Part 2." "Ok." "Ok." "What do you know?" "We've been attempting to hail Captain Marks." "The escort units are not responding, sir." " Why not?" "Send security." "Offer a weapon... question mark." "Are you offering us something?" "Technology, apparatus, method." "Yeah, see, this is a different word." "This... this segment, it's a lot busier." "Give... technology... now." "What's he doing?" "Captain, on your 10." "Security detail inbound, sir." "T minus 4 minutes remaining." "We need to see this through." "OK, this is it, lock and load." " We just need to hold them off until it's done." " Copy, that." "Free shot, this is forward fire only*." "Load up and get to cover." "Stay fresh and we can avoid casualties." "Abbott wants me to write on the barrier." "Can you, even, do that?" "I don't know." "I can't do it with both hands." "Louise." "What is that?" "Hey!" "Hey, hey, take it easy." "You suffered a concussion." "Just lay back." "How do you feel?" " How is Ian?" " Same as you." "He's OK." "Who..." "Who did this?" "Some soldiers." "Been watching too much TV." " What is that?" " Take it easy, take it easy." "This place is no longer secure." "We're standing by to evacuate." "Where is Ian?" "Weber came and got him maybe 10 minutes ago." "He wouldn't leave until he knew you were OK." "The whole tent is on the clock to figure out whatever it is you were given up there." "This is all of it." "The feed wasn't interrupted by the explosion?" "That's right." " You see something?" " I don't know, yet." "I'm gonna need my team to get together with Louise's team." " I need everyone working on this." " We cannot leave." " Glad to see you're awake." " We need to go back in there." "We need to explain to them that this wasn't our fault." " We can't go back inside." " We have to!" "What happened in there was an attack." "We can hope for the best, but I have to prepare for retaliation." " We may have to evacuate." " That's the wrong move." "As long as they stay, we have to stay." "Well, they're not leaving." "Why does it feel worse?" "China is on the offensive." "They're positioning their military to blow the alien vessel right out of the sky." "And if this happens, we can't sit around waiting for retaliation." "So... get prepared." "The Air Force and Infantry are standing by." "Yes, sir." "Tonight, China becomes the first world power to declare war against the aliens." "Following the failure of diplomatic efforts of the United Nations," "China has confirmed that its language experts have tonight delivered an ultimatum at the Shanghai site." "In a televised statement, General Shang," "Chairman of the People's Liberation Army, said the aliens have 24 hours to leave Chinese territory, or face destruction." "And he urged all other world leaders to unite with China and take a similar stance." "With a huge build up of forces at their landing sites," "Pakistan, Russia and Sudan are thought to be following China's lead." "[NAVY MOBILIZED IN EAST CHINA SEA]" "It can't be random." "Its going to take us years." "What's this term here?" "Mum." " Mum." " Hm?" " Sweetie?" " What's this term... for that thing, like a technical term..." "Where we make a deal and we both get something out of it?" " A compromise?" " No..." " Like it's a competition," " M-hm..." "But both sides end up happy." "Like a win-win?" "More sciencey than that." "If you want science, call your father." "Thank you." "Sorry." "It's OK." "What time is it?" "It's time to open that bottle, you've been hiding." "You cracked something, didn't you?" "Yeah." "C'mere." "Take a look at this section." "It seems to be talking about time." "Their symbol for time is everywhere." "So what is this?" "A formula for faster than light travel?" "Who can tell?" "There are too many gaps." "Nothing's complete." "Then it dawned on me." "Right here." "Stop focusing on the ones." "Look at the zeroes." "How much of this is data?" "How much of it is negative space?" "So, I measured it." ".0833 recurring." "Perhaps you'd like that as a fraction." "1 of 12." "What they're saying right here is that this is one of twelve." "We are part of a larger whole." "Or we're 1 of 12 contestants for the prize." " Why do I have to talk to him?" " We're all working together here." "We need to talk to the other sites." "We need to help them with what they got from the other heptopods." "In case you don't remember, we're blacked out." "China just threatened to destroy their shell." "We're on our own." "But it says that all the pieces fit together." "And I'm telling you that no one else cares." "Two hours ago we pulled this audio off a secure channel in Russia." "Someone from the science team there was broadcasting live." "In their final session, the aliens said," ""There is no time." "Many become one."" "I feel we have all been given weapons." "If anyone is receiving this..." "Please..." "Well, I mean..." "There are a lot of ways you can interpret what he said." "I don't need an interpreter to know what this means." "Russia just executed one of their own experts to keep their secret." ""Many become one" could just be their way of saying," ""some assembly required"." "Why hand it out to us in pieces?" "Why not just give it all over?" "What better way to force us to work together for once?" "Even if I did believe you, how in the world are you gonna get anybody else to play along, and give up their data?" "We offer ours in return." "Yeah." " What, trade?" " Its a non zero-sum game." "Non zero-sum game." "That's it, yeah." "Thanks." "9 of the landing sites have gone total comms blackout." "The only way to reach them is to physically drive there and yell at the border guards which we're doing, but it won't be fast enough." "There's gotta be a way to get the message through..." "To our allies, maybe." "But at this stage, it's little too late." "What we need, is to get all the other nations online, before one starts global war." "And there's no way for us to reach them" "Wait, hold on a second." "There is." "It's right above us." "That's problematic for us right now." "The Pentagon's convinced our shell will retaliate." "My guess is, they'll order us to evacuate within the hour." "Look they're not our enemy." "They've made no act of aggression towards us." "Maybe this is their way of being aggressive." "It's not the question." "Well, what is the question?" "How do we get you back in that room when it's half a mile straight up?" "I think our work here is done." "It's in the hands of our superiors now." "What the hell is she doing?" "Costello." "Where's Abbott?" "[Abbot is death process]" "I'm sorry." "We're sorry." "I need you to..." "I need you to send a message to the other sites." "[Louise has weapon]" "[Use weapon]" "I don't understand." "What... is your purpose here?" "[We help humanity]" "[In 3000 years...]" "[We need humanity help]" "How can you know the future?" "I don't..." "I don't understand." "Who is this child?" "The show is called, Mommy and Daddy Talk to Animals." "[Louise sees future]" "[Weapon opens time]" "Wait." "No!" "Wait!" " Dr. Banks!" " Louise!" "Are you alright?" " You alright?" " Yeah." " What happened?" " Tried to figure it out, but it's too big" "Doesn't matter now." "We have orders to evacuate." " Why?" " Russia and Sudan are following China." "I don't understand why...?" "Help me, Mama." "Louise..." "Whoa!" "Mom!" "Mama!" "Sorry, honey." "What day is it, today, you know baby?" "Sunday." "Are you gonna leave me like daddy did?" "Oh, Hannah, honey, your daddy didn't leave you." "You're gonna see him, this weekend." "He doesn't look at me the same way, anymore." "Its my fault." "I told him something that he wasn't ready to hear." "What?" "Well..." "Believe it or not..." "I know something that's going to happen." "I can't explain how I know, I just do." "And when I told your dad, he got really mad." "And he said I made the wrong choice." "What?" "What's going to happen?" "It has to do with a... a really rare disease." "And it's unstoppable." "Kinda like you are." "Your swimming... and your poetry and all the other amazing things that you share with the world." "I'm unstoppable?" "Yeah." "I got you." "Oh!" "Louise." "Louise." "I just realized why my husband left me." " My husband left me." " Ah, you were married?" "Let's get outta here." " Mama." " Yeah?" "Why my name is Hannah?" "Well, your name is very special, because it is a palindrome." "It reads the same forward and backward." " Get those lights." " That goes here, in the back." "Civilian contractors must have their authorization back and..." "Evacuation underway." "All personnel evacuate." "Hey!" "We're done, here." "Let's take this with us." "I can read it." " I know what it is." " What?" "It's not a weapon, it's a gift." "The weapon is their language." "They gave it all to us." " Do you understand what that means?" " So we can learn heptopod?" "If we survive." "If you learn it..." "When you, really, learn it, you begin to perceive time the way that they do." "So you can see what's to come." "But, time: it isn't the same for them." "It's non-linear." "Look, we did our best but it wasn't enough." "The captain will load you on, and we're lifting off in 5 minutes." "Ian, Louise, it was an honor to work with you." "Good luck." "Hey, Colonel..." "I'm gonna find out where we're going." "Wake up, Mommy." "Dr. Banks." "A pleasure." "General Shang, the pleasure is mine, really." "Your president said, he was honored to host me at the celebration." " Yeah." " But, I confess..." "The only reason why I'm here is to... meet you in person." "Me?" "Well, I'm flattered." "Thank you." "18 months ago, you did something remarkable." "Something not even my superior has done." " What's that?" " You changed my mind." "You're the reason for this unification." "All because you reached out to me on my private number." "Your private number?" "General I don't know your private number." "Now you know." "I do not claim to know how your mind works, but..." "I believe it was important for you to say that." "I called you didn't I?" "Yes, you did." "Louise." "Alright, let's shut down the system." "Sir... there's a sat-line, here dialing China." "Here?" "!" "What do you mean, here?" "C'mon, c'mon." "Whose phone is it?" "It's your phone, sir." "Search base camp, now." "Find out who's using that phone." " Hold onto those co-ordinates." " Yes, sir." "What do I say?" "What do I say?" "I will never forget what you said." "Hello, who is this?" "You told me my wife's dying words." "General..." "I am in the US base camp" "General, your wife entrusted me with a dream" "Your wife's last wish is for you to gain the courage to" "She said you should have..." "We found the source of the phone call." "It's in the Clean Room." "Waiting for instructions." "...have the courage to save the world" "What are you doing?" " What are you doing?" " Changing someone's mind." " Buy me 20 seconds." " We don't have time." "No, trust me." "Buy me 20 seconds." "Do you trust me?" " OK!" " General..." " What?" "Dr. Banks... drop the phone, now, or we shoot!" "General, don't be a hero" " Drop it!" " Yeah, sorry!" "that will only leave widows and orphans." "You are committing an act of treason!" "Yes." " Drop it!" " It's done." "I'm done." "Thank you." "Thank you." "Communications blackout, from all 12 landing sites, continues this evening." "The two questions on ev..." "Hold on, we are just hearing..." "I've been told we're going to cut this report to tell you, breaking news." "Breaking, now:" "China has called an emergency press conference..." "General Shang, Commander in Chief of the People's Liberation Army, has announced in an emergency press conference that China is standing down." "China is stating that all intelligence, they have received, will be shared immediately with all the other landing sites." "Scientists from around the world are sifting through information received... the Russian armed forces are now revealing the information they've acquired from both their landing sites and one of the 12 pieces of this puzzle, that is being slowly put together." "So, Hannah... this is where your story begins," "the day they departed." "Are you alright?" "Despite knowing the journey... and where it leads..." "I embrace it." "And I welcome every moment of it." "Oo-wooh!" "Oh!" "H-A-N-N-A-H." "Now backward, H..." "A-N-N-A-H." "Hannah." "You ready, baby?" " Perfect." " M-hmm...." "All right, see-ya." "Daddy!" "You OK?" "I'm just gonna roll over ya." "Roarrr!" "Are you ready?" "Oh, guess what?" "Star stuff." " Ian." " Yeah." "If you see your whole life, from start to finish..." "Would you change things?" "Maybe I'd... say what I feel more often, I dunno." "Hm." "Y'know, I've had my head tilted up to the stars for as long as I can remember." "Y'know what surprised me the most?" "It wasn't meeting them." "It was meeting you." "I forgot how good it felt to be held by you." "You wanna make a baby?" "Yes... yeah."