"THE WEST" "Our ranch was located several miles north of Divide lost in the Pioneer Mountains." "The closest thing to traffic was when Union Pacific Freight trains rumbled through the valley at 5:44 am 11:53 am 5:15 pm." "Divide was literally located on the continent of the divide." "To the east, rivers spill into the Atlantic." "To the west, it is spill into the Pacific." "One day, my brother Layton and I, decided to christen its natural water." "Look over here." "Hello Big Sur!" "Hello New Orleans!" "But Layton's favourite pastime was shooting at anything that moved." "Big loop." "Elbow up." "Ready?" "Now!" "Go!" "Stop!" "Upon my brother's request father built us a seesaw." "Slow down!" "Come on, cowboy." "My father loved Layton more than anything in the world." "Yes, good deal." "I would have liked to be a daredevil, too." "But I knew I never be upto it." "Orffyreus have five marbles trapped in tubes creating an imbalance." "This rocking motion, however caused the energy to dissipate." "Robert Flux built a mill based on the concept of perpetual rotation." "However, the inherit friction of the machine caused significant loss of energy." "Italian philosopher Marco Zimara imagined a machine that could recycle the wind." "But the force required to compress the bellows was greater than the energy produced by the windmill." "So it didn't work." "No scientific challenge remains greater most prestigious more mythical than that of finding the key to perpetual motion." "Yet some affirm that this quest is doomed to failure." "Such a machine defies the laws of the universe." "The very basis of thermodynamics assumes that all mechanism will eventually come to stop." "Given the current state of Science and Technology isn't the quest for perpetual motion better suited for idealists and poets than real scientists?" "What if imagination start it and science end it?" "Those who push the boundaries of science, what, they not all poets?" "I'm certain, that as we speak here today, that somewhere in this country a budding Leonardo Da Vinci is gaining up for the challenge." "Thank you very much." "Oh God." "Hello." "Sir, I am the Leonardo from Montana." "Oh yeah?" "What you are going to do?" "I accept the challenge." "You do?" "One afternoon in August, the phone rang while my sister Gracie and I were on the porch, shredding sweet corn into large metal buckets." "What?" "The buckets were riddled with bite marks dating back to last spring when our dog Tapioca got depressed and started eating metal." "Gracie, can you hold this for a second." "This is what I predicted." "Manticora herculeana is a subspecies of cicindeler." "Who was it that called?" "Same time, has a heart at tip of the mandible doesn't seem to have a white spot on the electra." "Mom?" "The phone, who was it?" "Oh, a call for T.S." "A call for him?" "Who was it?" "I do not know." "She is still in the line." "She is waiting." "You should probably go." "If you finish before I get back, count the number of good ears and the number of bad ones." "Why don't get the kernels, while you're at it?" "I had 3 options to get to the phone." "The corridor/kitchen way the quickest but also the most boring." "Upstairs/Downstairs route but the shift in altitude made me nauseous." "I opted for the third and riskiest particularly when father was working around the house." "The scent in the room smelled like whiskey stained leather and moldy photographs." "If you just closed your eyes you could feel the dust forming onto your prairie after a cowboy posse cavalcade." "Laytonusethisthingassettingroom, was the greatest thing since quirrell trees." "I would like to speak to T.S. Spivet, this is Miss Jibsen Under Secretary of the Smithsonian." "Hold on." "Father!" "Phone!" "My father is all yours, Ms. Jibsen." "Hello, Mr. Spivet." "Yes!" "My dad is listening." "Could you hand him the phone please." "My father is mute, Ms. Jibsen." "He can hear you but can only respond in sign language." "I will translate everything for you." "You are the T.S. Spivet that has just invent the magnetic wheel?" "One second." "Father is saying..." "Yes, I only sent you the blueprints." "Because, I didn't have the time to do it." "The quest for perpetual movement." "I mean, its the Holy Grail of inventors." "Tell me, Mr. Spivet, I take it you live in Montana?" "Coppertop ranch." "Longitude: 112° 44' 19"." "Latitude: 45° 44' 27"." "Those are the coordinates to my bedroom." "Clearly you have an eye for detail." "Which is a reckless ad for any great inventor." "Father is asking:" "so you are the head of the Smithsonian?" "Well!" "Technically, I'm the Under Secretary, but many people would say, I run the place." "Wow." "Yeah." "Look, Mr. Spivet your invention has won our prestigious Baird Award." "Spencer Baird Award?" "Indeed." "Our 150th anniversary gala is in a week's time, and this would be perfect oppurtunity for you to you know, make your acceptance speech." "Of course, we would provide you with a sign language interpreter." "But..." "I'll be in class." "I go back to school on Monday." "You must teach at the University of Montana?" "A quick phone call to your president, Jack Campbell and it will be taken care of." "I mean we are talking about the Baird Award after all." "PRAIRIE OF TRUTH" "MOUNTAIN OF LIES" "I was just thinking." "I can't come out to receive the Baird award." "I have too much work to finish." "Thanks anyway." "Have a good day." "What are you doing?" "What do you think I am doing?" "You are going to mess up my dataset." "You were in there for like 15 hours." "Who was that?" "A journalist..." "From New York." "Wants me to go there for an interview about my work." "Inside Gracie's cortex" "Just laugh in his face, its the only way to deal with this." "Clearly he is making it up." "And if it were true?" "You mean this total spass leaving Montana before us?" "Would it be so bad to be a celebrity sister?" "This total dork, invited to New York for an interview?" "You're full crap." "I told her I can't come, cause' classes are again monday." "But she was insisting." "What did I do to God for hate me?" "It's like..." ""Here, Gracie, I found you a family full of nutjobs."" ""And you are gonna live in no worse in Montana"" ""and your brother, who is a total spat"" ""is going to New York!"" "I told you, I am not going." "I've got a school." "News fash crazy New Yorkers loves spatters." "Its kind of a new trend!" "Too late." "Any chance you've got she wallowed in the role of the misunderstood actress." "She landed the lead in a retro anti establishment theater piece." "But that night I was busy working on a challenge set by Discover magazine..." ""How to drop an egg from the top..."" ""...of the Empire State Building without breaking it."" "In order to finish my project and get out of saying Gracie's blain I had to end this Tapioca to the rest field." "One night, in a Bette Davis face Gracie launched into a heated diatribe about father's museum setting hall." "Is it even conceivable that the cowboy museum or rather mausoleum could be turned into a normal living room where normal people could relax and have normal conversation?" "My father, Tecumseh Elijah Spivet was born 100 years too late." "He had the soul, stature, and mindset of a cowboy." "For him talking was a necessary chore as shoeing a horse." "Cellphone reception was nowhere to be found at coppertop ranch and father refused to install a telephone in Gracie's room." "And you heard in the voice?" "Her looks." "Yeah, its no wonder in history of Miss America Pagents, Miss Montana never won." "Except, the worst selection ever!" "Every night in his setting room father took off his boots and muttering some cryptic statements after raising glass of whiskey up to his lips precisely every 45 seconds." "A conversion from a cricket." "Crickets and insects were my mother's specialty." "Dr Clair spent most of her adult life studying tiny creatures with the magnifying glass." "Then classifying them into species and subspecies." "What if it doesn't exist?" "I mean, for a year now, you stopped everything to prove that tigermonk cicindele's exist." "Stopped everything?" "What do you mean, in a maternal sense or a scientific one?" "What is it that you want me to start doing again?" "Or else I stopped doing?" "I don't know." "Your research on the parasitic scolyte catepiller maybe?" "Your findings could've saved all the pine trees in Montana." "Every other scientific attempt have failed." "Failed?" "Form the ecologists point of view, maybe." "But from the caterpillar's point of view looks like a win win situation." "Anyway I never liked pine trees." "They're dripy and sticky." "Some things are just meant to die." "How my parents ever fell for each other is a mystery." "They were like day and night." "The human head lice, Pediculus humanus capitis belong to the Anoplura family." "A. N. O. P. L. U. R. A." "T.S., When you drawing the legs make sure you observe not just how many there are but the exact distance between them." "Yeah." "The exact distance between them." "Beware of mediocrity." "It's the fungus of the mind." "We must constantly fight against it." "Or creeping to everything we do." "Darn!" "Those got away." "A lasso to catch him." "Thanks, Dad." "A fool, by definition is the one who turns, what is beyond his middle grasp will do one big joke." "Then a few days later, at the end of the hallway their hands brushed against each other as if they were secretly exchanging a few seeds." "And then there was Layton my dizygotic twin." "That's when two sperm cells fertilize two seperate eggs." "To each his own embryo." "To each his own lucky star." "Layton got the height and I got the neurons." " Mom!" " Yeah!" "Have you ever gotten AIDS?" "What?" "!" "Angela Ashworth says AIDS are bad and you probably have them." "Well, next time, you just tell Angela Ashworth..." "Just because she feels insecure about being a little girl in a society that puts an anointed amount of pressure on moment to the baptism physical standard it doesn't mean that she had to take out her misplaced self loathing on a nicer boy like you." "You may be an inherent part of the problem, but, certainly doesn't mean you have AIDS." "I'm not sure I can remember all that." "Well, just tell her... she's fat." "OK." "But Layton died last year during an accident with the gun in the old barn." "I don't know what went wrong." "I was there too." "Measuring gun shots." "No one ever talked about it." "No one." "Not bad." "Except that we have to go over this a little bit." "Daisy..." "B+." "Solid work." "Excellent illustrations of the lake formation process." "T.S..." "C+." "Report shows undeniable qualities but as usual, is way off subject." "What does the formation of lakes in Montana have anything to do with the east-west migratory pattern of Canadian Geese." "I'm not sure if you read the introduction..." "But I..." "You think you're the smarter than everyone else, don't you?" "As for the diagram, it's very pretty but scientifically erroneous." "Really, Sir?" "Bacause I sent it to the Discover Magazine and... they like it, and they publish it." "Do not play games with me, T.S." "You're out of your league." "And what about the magnetic wheel?" "Didn't mention anything about that." "I dont give a rat's ass about the magnetic wheel." "Mr. Stenpock, how can a man like you who supposed to open our minds through scientific curiosity how can you be so aggresively narrow minded?" "If every scientist were like you there would be no penicillin no relativity or sewer trains." "Know what it would be, no chocolates or cookies!" "Superiority complex, this is what you have, T.S." "Your talents in scientific observations would be put to better use in picking your socks in the morning." "Lend me a hand for a second?" "What's your need?" "Settle out the creak." "Its drying among its pockets." "We'll get her spit up all she has got before sunset." "Com'on." "To know that my father had to resort to ask me help from me his only remaining son the one who is used to saw in the ranch filled me with sadness." "Layton should have been here, not me." "One day, he shot a coyote with his Winchester from 200 yards." "Father was so impressed." "He took off his hat and slapped it on my brother's head." "It was a special moment." "I knew it would never happen to me." "She is still runnin a bit last week." "There's no back for got some juice." "Like the... the crickets teasing me." "Couple of months earlier I had built a scale model depicting the hydrology of our valley." "You could see the various water tables, drainage trenchs, soil compositions and sweepage capacity." "Dad!" "You wanna give it a look?" "See..." "If you dig from here to there the water will be channeled to there thereby increasing the flow of water those thereby stagnating and evaporating." "'Cause the laws of fluid mechanics make it unstoppable." "You asked me, I was just pissing the can." "Open your eyes, you'll see that." "That ignorant goats." "Don't worry, I've got it." "Right." "So this used to be coyote chow." "It's okay, Stinky." "Don't worry." "I am not gonna hurt you." "Don't worry." "Maybe dying on a ranch from a snakebite is more befitting than a self inflicted gunshot going to the head by an old rifle in a cold barn." "Fixing on kissing that poison rope?" "We still got our bussiness day, isn't it?" "That was the first time my father ever patted me on the back." "But I couldn't tell who was to brush me off, to reprimand me or a substitute for a hug." "I would go to Washington DC tomorrow." "Iwasaresearcher,ascientist and they needed me there." "If I stayed here I end up turning around in circles...  ...like these bats." "I only be the echo of myself." "What's for dinner tonight?" "Puree Corn." "Hey T.S, can you take up my dish washing duties tonight?" "I will make it upto you, I swear..." "Its..." "Tonight, its Miss USA Pagent, and I really don't wanna miss the opening." "You already owe me 4." "Miss USA!" "And these women are picked for thier talents on what exactly?" "Painting?" "Yoga?" "Karate, perhaps?" "No mom." "Miss America is only the "talent" portion." "Miss USA is the beauty contest." "It's way better." "I still think its a mistake not to take into consideration these girls intellectual attitudes." "Mom, it's a beauty contest." "It's Miss USA." "Otherwise, it would be called Miss High I.Q." "Which no one would watch because it would be boring." "Like my life!" "I'm sorry Gracie, but you know what it... if you were to enter this kind of contest it would be a mistake not to showcase your talents as an actress... and as a singer you have a pretty voice..." "and you play the hobo." "I have to go to Kalispell tomorrow to collect specimens." "It'll be a few days." "I prepared all of your meals, so, all you have to do is reheat them." "Good deal." "I've been thinking about what you told me the other day about what I used to do that I stopped doing." "And I was wondering will you come with me to Kalispell?" "I would be great to have your help." "Mom, it's entertainment." "Entertainment!" "You thought about what I asked you?" "Sorry, I can't come with you to Kalispell tomorrow." "I have to finish a project for Mr. Stenpock." "Next time, I'll try to give you a notice." "You reached the Office of Ms. Jibsen, please leave a message." "By Jack Campbell speaking" "The President of the University of Montana." "I have some good news." "Mr. T.S. Spivet has managed to rearrange his schedule." "So, He will be leaving...first thing tomorrow." "He will not be reachable but will make just in time to accept the Baird award and make his speech or not." "Good night." "I mean, good morning." "I don't know if you're aware or anything, but you are talking to a garbage can." "I was terrified at the thought of having to pack my suitcase." "Evenpackingforschooleveryday took me at the very least 23 min." "Maybe 22 min." "1." "Play and replay the scenario of the trip in my head." "2." "To arrange all necessary items in order of importance." "Eight pair of underwear." "Two sextants." "Three burgundy sweaters." "One thermometer, one hygrometer, one barometer." "Only one telescope." "One frontal headlamp officially known as Tom." "Five blank red notebooks" "And five blank purple notebooks." "One tape measure." "And my set of Gillette pens." "Twelve handkerchiefs." "A box of raisins." "Twelve carrot sticks." "Eleven." "A self-defense handbook." "My sparrow skeleton." "Binoculars." "My Leatherman." "3." "Avoid thinking about a scenario for which I will need a seismoscope for a woodpecker who would be pecking beak at the tree." "4." "Pack everything and finally add my teddy bear Big Jojo." "At 4 o'clock in the morning my suitcase was finally ready." "Goodbye, Layton." "I'll be away for a while to Washington D.C." "I'll bring you back a souvenir." "I'm sorry for what I did." "Dear Spivet Family." "I'm gone for a while to do some work." "Dont worry, I'll be fine." "I do not want to bother you by telling you about it ahead of time." "Thank you for taking care of me." "You're one of the best families in the world." "Love, T.S." "Hello, Tapioca." "Hello." "I'll miss you." "Where are you going?" "To the Smithsonian in Washington D.C." "It seems like everyone ends up leaving in this house." "I'll be back." "Why had he not stopped?" "Because I was responsible for his favorite son's death and I must be banished from the ranch." "That's why." "THE CROSSING" "Sun chemical composition:" "hydrogen, helium, oxygen, iron neon, nitrogen, silicon, magnesium and sulfur." ""How beautiful the sun..." ""...when newly risen." ""And explodes in the morning greetings." ""Happy as the man who can lovingly salute its rising." ""More glorious than a dream!"" "You're officially a hobo now?" "Well, in case you haven't noticed I'm heading a freight train ride, on my way to Washington D.C." "And.." "What's an adventurer never leave aside?" "His knife, his magnifying glass his maps, his whip and his hat." "But, you have forgotten the whip." " I'm glad you're here." " Me too." "I'm glad you're here." "No!" "Not my Japanese weevils!" "These larvae.. stay survived shipment across the Pacific ocean 7000 miles, to end up in the stomach of a goat?" "It's just the ignorant Montana goats." "They dont know any better." "If you can't manage your karate goats, maybe you should consider another line of work!" "If that's what you think, you know, set the plate at the table for me." "If that's what you think, you know, set my plate at the table." "Security, track number 8." "A melancholy feeling came over me, I cannot get rid of." "The motorhome was pointed backwards." "So, I had that depressing feeling that I was traveling in reverse." "Hello, kid." "Hey..." "Kid!" "Come over." "Com'on, come over." "Com'on, get closer." "Hold it." " This is your first time?" " Yes." ""Two Clouds"." ""Two Clouds", that's my name." "I am T.S." "T for Tecumseh, S for Sparrow." "Sparrow, as in the bird?" "Yes." "At the moment of my birth, a sparrow crashed through the window and died right down the kitchen floor." "Follow me." "Step on it." "Com'on!" "You know why the right sole is more worn out than the left one?" "Because one of your legs is shorter than the other?" "Nope." "Because these shoes belong to Johnny Cash." "He always kept the beat." "You think the dead sparrow in your kitchen right when you were born is a more credible story?" "That's what mom told me." "Your mother gave birth in the kitchen?" "You see?" "What?" "The Sparrow." "Once Upon a time there was a sparrow that was very ill and didn't have the strength to go south." "Go without me, he told his children." "I'll find shelter from the cold and I'll see you in spring." "Did he survive?" "The bird went to an oak tree and asked if he could take shelter in his leaves." "But the oak was the cold and arrogant tree." "He refused." "The peach... the aspen the willow, the elm they all said no, can you believe this?" "I guess." "Don't answer the question." "It's part of the story." "Sorry!" "Then, the first snows came." "The sparrow took a last chance with the pine tree, who said:" "I can't offer you much protection." "I only have needles that let in draft." "But my answer is..." "Yes." "Overjoyed, the sparrow took refuge there and you know what?" "He survived the winter." "The children returned and wept tears of joy." "Upon seeing this, the Creator decided to punish all the other trees for their selfishness." "From that day on every tree lost it's leaves in winter except the pine, who saved the sparrow." "My grandmother told me this story." "Had you ever heard it before?" "You can answer now." "Story is finished!" "The story is very pretty." "But, the insulating properties of pine needles could not release the heat to create a warm enough cocoon for a bird the size of a sparrow." "Your grandmother lied to you." "So, where were you headed, T.S.?" "To buy me a hot dog." "The old sea dog!" "Captain's Choice!" "Quickly, it close in fifteen minutes." "Bye, Sparrow!" "See you, Bye!" "I'm sure you will find your tree." "You too!" "Dr. Clair this time, you can't stop me." "And what is the reason behind this embargo?" "T.S., do you know where this smell of those marvellous sausages comes from?" "It's from a smell factory, on the New Jersey Turnpike." "It was carefully designed and artificially synthesized to maximize their desirability." "Do you like it one?" "A drink with that?" "Sure, is that included?" "Yeah, sure." "I'm gonna give you straw and one of my best hot dogs." "I hope you like it." "Hi Marj." "I want you to look at this." "Some kid out of Montana ran away or got himself kidnapped or something." "Can I know where to put that?" " Just put up on the board." " Thanks." "I know someone who ain't gonna be happy with you." "Your mom!" "Just kiddin', young man." "But if you eat a hot dog before your dinner, you ain't gonna be hungry for the soup she made ya." "I don't have a mother around." "My parents are dead." "You take care little guy." "You see what happens to kids that go astray?" "My son!" "You have been kidnapped?" "Oh!" "Thank God!" "What a relief." "Baby, baby, you know, you're right." "I've been wasting my time on certain cicindele..." "Son, we still got a situation with the creek." "You're spot on with that covert." "What you say come right back, and, and we work on your plans together." "T.S., you have to come home 'cause you said you'll make my Halloween costume." "Com'on baby!" "." "May be somewhere in one of these houses a boy just woke up from the sound of my train." "Maybe he is wondering what it would be like to climb aboard and cross the desert." "God, I just want to switch places with him and just watch the train go awaying to the unknown." "I had to admit it." "I was not a careless drifter." "Just a tiny old boy, who ran away from home." "Any more of this, and I assume I'd be peeing on myself like when I was little and afraid of a Jack O'Lantern's deadly fangs." "Layton Age 6." "T.S. Age 6." "Patterns of cross talk and directional eyelines by T.S. Spivet." "Frequencyoffather's eye contact to T.S.:" "Nil." "Why?" "Is it that T.S. is more like me?" "He doesn't like who I am." "He doesn't love me." "Of course he loves you!" "You love each other!" "If you make a baby, it means you love each other, right?" "And they had three babies." "Ain't that right?" "I still catch myself haunting to wake him up for school." "Sorry!" "Sorry." "Stopped everything?" "What do you mean, in a maternal sense or a scientific one?" "T.S. came to see me in my study for the first time since the accident." "I'm not really there for T.S. anymore." "I'm like an empty house." "Nature had vanished." "Every millimeter of landscape was replaced by manmade constructions, ruled by the laws of geometry." "How could humans create so many right angles when their behavior is so convoluted and illogical?" "See you, old sea dog." "I'm sure you'll find your pine tree." "Playing hookey from kindergarten?" "I'm talking to you." "No, sir." "What you got in the bag?" "Spray paint?" "You vandalized in snitch, you paint that silo?" "I love Chicago." "What?" "Are you shitting me, snitch?" "Where you from?" "Chernobyl." "Oh, Yeah?" "Well..." "You little shit!" "Welcome to the great state of Illinois." "And I'm sure you're gonna get to know what really well after I book you for tresspassing, destruction of railroad priority..." "Railroad Property." "What?" "Property, you said priority." "Get in the car!" "Gotch'ya!" "Look, it's moving!" "Ok, Snitch,.." "End of the line." "Thanks for the exercise, but let's go." "What?" "What you gonna do?" "You gonna jump?" "Com'on." "Don't make me walk over there." "Hang on, Hang on, kiddie!" "Allright!" "Hang on." "Don't look down." "Don't look down." "Get your foot up." "Com'on." "Come on, You can do it, come on!" "Get your foot up." "You can do it." "You can do all up that..." "God!" "God!" "Oh!" "Oh!" "Oh!" "You little shit." "You're very good!" "Hey!" "You think you got away?" "Huh?" "Well done!" "Hey, over here!" "You think you got away with this?" "Huh?" "Is that what you thinking?" "Huh?" "No way, kid!" "Listen to, Snitch, look at me!" "Look me in the eye." "What's the matter?" "You don't wanna look in the eye?" "Right here!" "I'm gonna find you!" "How you're doin', man?" "You don't look so hot." "I'm OK." "I just fell down and hurt myself." "Where you're heading for, like this, man?" "To the Smithsonian." "Where?" "D.C. is in Washington, man." "My name is Ricky." "T.S." "Put your seatbelt on, T.S." "Show me." "That's a real deal!" "Hurt when you breathe?" "You got maybe one, two broken ribs." "You seriously need to see a medic." "No, I'll be okay." "Tough little bugger, ain't you." "Always take two pictures of hitchhikers." "One when I pick'em up one when I drop'em off." "Even in the service, I was taking pictures." "That guy was a hitchhiker too?" "Well..." "Not exactly." "What do you think?" "Join the army, see the world, meet interesting people and kill'em." "THE EAST" "Where are we?" "Not far from where you are headed." "Not sure what you are looking for, but don't change a thing." "Steady in your boots." "Good luck, man." "I'm not sure what you are looking for either, but you will sure find your pine tree, man." "Young man, are you alright?" "Are you injured?" "Cathy, I need information." "You look like you need medical assistance." "I would like to speak with Mrs. G. H. Jibsen, please." "I'm here to give a speech tomorrow night." " What's your name?" " T.S. Spivet." "Just a moment." "You're T.S. Spivet or your father is T.S. Spivet?" "I am T.S. Spivet." "He claims to be, he actually is T.S. Spivet." "He is 9 or 10 years old and very, very, very small." "Alright, that would be wonderful." "Thank you." "Miss Jibsen is on her way down." "You can have a seat over there." "You're here?" "Never too far away, you know." "Yeah, I know." "See?" "Made it to the Smithsonian." "The worst is yet to come." "Can I help you, young man?" "Ms. Jibsen?" "Hello." "I am T.S. Spivet." "I made it here." "You're the one I talked to in the phone, last friday?" "Yes." "So, where is your father?" "In fact, he is dead." "I lied to you then." "So, who sent me the prototype of the magnetic wheel?" "I did." "What, you expect me to belive that you invented it?" "Not really." "I don't invent anything." "I just transposed the principle of an electron gravitating around the nucleus." "But as you know, to simulate its perpetual motion would require the creation of a negative entropy which is simply not possible." "You must agree... right?" "This can't..." "This can't be." "How old are you?" "10." "We're not gonna be ought to turn him into great communicator but with the right clothes and some solid talking points, no problem." "Oh, yes." "In his eyes, I am the Scientific Authority and everything he admires." "Okay, I'll talk to you later." "So, you need to keep him?" "Nope." "But with multiple fractures, he needs to rest." "Avoid any abrupt movement and not cough or laugh." "Good luck." "How do you feel?" "Like that mule done kick me good." "Its my dad's expression." "Yes, you must miss your parents very much." "I'm so sorry!" "So, I talked to some colleagues at the Smithsonian and everybody is ecstatic that you've been chosen for this award." "You have to give me their names." "I'll thank them in my speech." "On that topic." "I think we can cook something up for you." "I prefer to write my own speech." "Thank you." "You certainly don't waste any time about it, do you?" "No, this is a purple note book." "If I'll be writing my speech, it would be in the red one." "Yes, of course." "And the purple one is for...?" ""General Observations."" "Such as?" "When did the child become an adult?" "And?" "When you don't get excited about Christmas." "When you wear reading glasses right a minute, but can't seem to find them anywhere." "When you pay income tax and enjoy getting angry discussing:" ""What the heck are they going to do with all your money?"" "And when you look down on children whatever is going on in their little heads." "If 2x goes into 100 and x is an integer, how many of the 2x + 2 integers will be divisible by 3n/2" "(2x-1)=(3x+1), what is x?" "How many possible integers less than 5000 are even integers out of 15 or 21." "I am like a dolphin." "Turning one side of a brain off and other one on." "So, That's what dolpins do?" "Yeah, to sleep." "You're funny." "Why?" "You travelled by yourself half across United States to end up like a lab rat?" "This defies all understanding." "Superior mental activity?" "Superior to an average of an ocean mammal that is." "You could train him like a highly intelligent seal." "I'm sorry but you don't invent the perpetual movement machine by balancing a ball on your nose!" "Thank you for evaluating my brain, Jodie." "Would you like some tuna tartare and grilled asparagus sprinkled with balsamic vinegar reduction?" "Sir, why you hiding your white glove behind your back?" "That's just how they told me to stand." "Otherwise, I'll get fired." "Well, I like your white gloves." "Congratulations." "Thanks." "I almost forgot this." "In case someone mistakes you for a kid whose parents couldn't round up a babysitter." "Sorry." "I want to be the first to congratulate you." "We are so lucky to have a boy like you!" "So lucky!" "What was your first invention?" "Do you think your parents will be proud of you?" "What is your astrological sign?" "So, any other questions?" "Did you ever think that you would find another suitable candidate?" "I remember sitting in my office before I called him on the ranch and I said to myself he is only 10 but let's do this!" "They're eating you up." "They'll love you." "In 1862 a Frenchman named Guillaume Duchenne discovered the difference between fake and genuine smiles." "Ina fakesmile,it's not just the zygomatic muscles work." "The muscles around the eyes also contract unconsciously." "Tonight,itwasentirely ocular-zygomaticus." "Ladies and gentlemen please welcome President of the Smithsonian Dr. Leonard Sullivan." "Thank you very much, ladies and gentlemen and thank you to our guest of honor." "At a time, when science is being challenged in every turn when we are witnessing a return to intellectual obscurity I can not resist the temptation to quote Albert Einstein." "He said..." ""Only two things are infinite:"" ""the universe and human stupidity."" ""And I'm not sure about the former."" "But I know a third example:" "human genius." "Our guest of honor tonight is a magnificient example of this." "I invite you to show him all the respect he deserves despite his young years." "Ladies and gentlemen, T.S. Spivet." "Hello everybody." "My name is T.S. Spivet." "I am 10 years old and I am actually in sixth grade." "Is there anyone in this room who doesn't already at least have a PhD?" "Anyone?" "So, I probably won't be teaching you much tonight." "But I like to tell you three things." "First." "Thank you." "Thank you for not cancelling my award 'cause I was younger than you expected." "Second... the wheel." "As you can see, they are powered by magnets." "Yet, as you know they demagnetize within approximately 400 years." "On a human scale, it sounds like a lot." "In geological time, it's not even a fraction of a second." "So, we're actually far from having a perpetual motion." "Any Questions?" "Yes, what is the third point?" "Oh yes, the third..." "My brother died this year." "He shot himself in the barn." "No one talks about it." "No one ever said "Layton shot himself in the barn."" "No one." "Layton and me, we were always very different." "I have been doing my scientific experiments and, he would be shooting empty bean cans and coyotes with his Winchester." "So, I came up with this idea to make sound waves match the gunshots." "That way we could play something together." "He would shoot, and I gathered data." "And one of his Winchesters has jammed." "I held the bottom of the rifle to help out." "I didn't even touched the trigger." "There was an explosion." "Layton flew across the room." "Blood dripped off the hay." "He was there but he wasn't my brother anymore." "I was alone." "I ran to the field to get my father." "His face clenched up when I said Layton had hurt himself badly." "He ran back, and I stayed there not knowing where to go." "Then I ran to the house and hid in the bathroom." "I could hear my father whispering on the phone." "And through the window, I saw the ambulance pull without the flashing lights." "After a while, Gracie showed up." "She was crying." "She sat next to me on the floor." "We stayed a long time like that." "Lying on the floor without talking." "I wanted you to know how proud I am to get this award." "I'll do my best to fulfill your trust in me and to be in the service of science." "That's all I had to say." "Thank you." "The amazing thing about water drops is that they always take the path of least resistance." "For humans it's exactly the opposite." "When Layton died Tapioca started chewing metal buckets till its gums bled." "Layton and Tapioca had been inseparable." "And then one day Gracie took him for a long walk through the meadow." "They sat for a while facing the mountains." "Gracie returned with a new kind of understanding in her eyes." "Tapioca stopped chewing metal buckets." "He went back to snapping at fireflies, just like before." "As if he had made peace with lossing his master." "Maybe someday, I'll go back snapping at fireflies too." "I swear to you." "They loved..." "They loved the kid!" "I mean granted, they are just a bunch of scientists, but if their reaction is anything like the way the general public is gonna respond we've got a gold mine on our hands here!" "People are so predictable." "It's nuts, really." "I should write a handbook on how to move the masses." "Hang on!" "Honey!" "Smile!" "You know, I think it would be better if you were sketching in your notebook." "But I didn't bring one." "Sally, can we have a notebook here, quick." "Hang on a minute, problem with the kid." "There you go." "But, it's not the right colour." "I'd never sketch on a green notebook." "This is just a photograph, nobody cares." "OK, so, where were we?" "Oh yeah." "Its amazing!" "Wow." "Thank you." "Now, I don't want to get your hopes up, but..." "Listen to this:" "The White House is sniffing around!" "The White House?" "The President stated the union addresses next week, and they and they love having talking points in the audience." "I can hear'em now:" ""Look, the American educational system is working."" "What we really need are pictures of your parents." "Especially your brother." "Preferably holding a gun, with you in the background, that would be perfect." "Tomorrow, we go to New York, do Letterman and possibly 60 minutes, although that's not confirmed up yet." "I mean, If they could just cut through the crap and make up their minds." "The eyes dont have time to delete, Ally." "There are people lining up to book us." "There you go, honey!" "You look like a movie star!" "Ok, Listen up, T.S." "This show's rating is through the roof." "But, they're gonna wanna ambush you." "It's just the price you have to pay, got it?" "He's gonna talk about Layton, for sure." "So, you saw the accident..." "You saw the accident, you didn't understand what happened you ran for help." "That's it." "Remember." "Do not express any kind of guilt." "You listening?" "Not until we consult with our lawyers." "You understood all that?" "We're live in 5 minutes." "You're gonna go back to the green room." "Well." "No, surely, it is normal for a representative of the Smithsonian..." "Miss Jibsen, you'll love our green room." "You can watch the entire show there on a monitor." "But he is only 10." "I mean..." " T.S., call me Roy." " Hello Roy." "First time on TV?" "Let's do it." "We're live in 10 seconds." "On the air in... 10, 9, 8..." "My guest tonight has dominated this week's headlines." "He is to science what Mozart is to music." "T.S. Spivet, just 10 years old and he had sprinted ahead of legions of scientists to win this year's coveted Baird Award." "T.S., you're 10 years old." "You're an orphan, you grew up on a remote ranch in Montana." "Your dad wanted you to be a cowboy." "Am I right so far?" "Hmm." "Yes." "Coppertop Ranch. 4.73 miles north of the Divide, 14.92 miles..." "Tell me T.S., how does a 10 year old win the Baird Award?" "Did the proverbial apple just fall on your head.." "...and light bulb, you invent the perpetual motion machine?" "It actually already existed." "But, we needed to invented was a system to..." "At an age when most 10 year olds are climbing trees, what do you do for fun?" "Trigonometry?" "I like climbing trees." "You've been conducting scientific experiments since the age of 4." "Last year, one of those went tragically wrong and resulted in the death of your twin brother, Layton." "I did not understand what happened." "I ran to get help, that's all." "And I believe the time has come to take a look at this extraordinary invention." "This is the first perpetual motion machine in the history of mankind." "Well, T.S., how does it work?" "Liza!" "Do you see him?" "That's is my brother." "I can't believe he is on TV!" "I mean, This is the same spice that wore Velcro on his shoes untill he was 8 years old because he couldn't tie his own laces." "He is on TV!" "He went that time when he almost electrocuted me with his seismograph." "Oh that's..." "It's not mention that on TV." "T.S., how long can the little wheel turn and produce energy without consuming energy?" "400 years, then you have to recharge the magnets." "400 years!" "So, you saying, if this machine were 100 times larger it could power all of the lights in this building for 400 years without spending a dime in electricity?" "Well, you still have to change the light bulbs." "Given the ratio of lighting square footage that's still significant cost." "I think the time has come to introduce a very special guest." "T.S.'s mother, dr." "Clair." "Hello, T.S." "Hello, Mom." "Dr. Clair, you have come here directly from Montana." "You are T.S.'s mother, correct?" "Yes." "That's right." "T.S., why did you say in the media that you were an orphan?" "Is this some spin coming from the Smithsonian?" "I don't know." "I thought they would send me back home before I could receive the award." "Dr. Clair, you must have been worried sick." "I mean, he is so small." "Yes, well, when a child disappears the world stops turning." "But, surely you must have been very angry." "When you heard..." "With all due respect you asked me a question, I would like to finish my answer." "When your child disappears well, you'll lose your sanity." "Some will channel their anger by kicking goats out of barbwire." "I'm sorry." "Goats?" "We're talking goats?" "Others will search for beetles that don't exist." "Those are just feared merely take a train that is never coming back so sometimes you just stop by the tracks and stare at the rails." "So, you read my journal." "I'm sorry." "I know it's not right." "What about giving a gun to a child as a gift?" "Or letting two kids play with a gun, in a barn unsupervised." "You think that's right?" "That's good question actually!" "T.S." "What happened in the barn?" "Wasn't your fault, T.S." "It wasn't your fault." "It wasn't." "It wasn't anyone's fault." "It was an accident." "As your father said:" ""What happened just happened."" "OK, I think..." "T.S., dr." "Clair..." "We should..." "We should have a moment." "Just...just forget the cameras and the audience and just... maybe hug?" "Cry?" "Touch, maybe?" "Actually, I wanna ask you about beauty pageants." "I know Miss America and Miss USA are different." " Mom?" " But the criteria they use..." " ...is shameful." " Why... ?" "Mom!" "Mom!" "I guess the crown necessarily be a ravishing beauty..." " Mom!" " ...underfed..." "What?" "Oh, yeah." "You will stay here or go?" "Go." "A river... of emotion." "No, no, come back!" "This is a 20 minute interview, there's 9 minutes left." "This is reality." "This is better than science!" "This is cable TV." "You're a filthy little liar." "You're a little motherfucker." "Wait!" "wait!" "Oh!" "Wait!" "Where do you think you are going?" "To Coppertop ranch." "Cut!" "You OK?" "Reckon if you're OK, that's all it counts!" "My boy's OK." "So, I'm mute and I'm dead?" "Sorry, Dad." "How come you didn't stop that morning when you saw me on the road?" "Rancher's word, I never saw you." "I need a box of biscuits, a box of mixed biscuits and a biscuit mixer." "Are you talking to me or are you talking to the peanut butter?" "Its a diction exercise, moron." "You'd be better out trying some yourself enough here or make it on TV again." "I've got some more to do in the public speaking department." "How about you just show us how it's done the day you're in a movie." "Yeah, or in the running for Miss Montana." "Or a reality show about a normal person living with a bunch of insane hostile degenerates." "Speaking of which, does anyone know if or when your father is showing up for breakfast?" "You guys don't ever made up?" "Look, I know goats eat everything, including paper..." "I get'em, I get'em." "But, the fact that one of them climbed through the kitchen window and eat all my notes... on the female Ontophagus sagittarius, and how it copulates with its horns, that is inexcusable." "It's okay, it's okay." "He's just kicking." "I thought you're going to give birth on the kitchen again?" "Again?" "I never gave birth in kitchen." "Really?" "Then, why is my name Sparrow?" "No, That was Gracie's idea." "She found a dead sparrow here in the kitchen, the day I had you in the hospital." "So she concluded that you were the reincarnation of the sparrow." "I know when I die, an elephant will be born." "Statistically speaking there are better chances that next newborn Spivet will be the reincarnation...  ...of a toaster." "And in the mean time I had only one month left to finish my plans for a new perpetual motion machine."