"This asteroid was only the size of a small house, but generated a force 30 times greater than the bomb at Hiroshima." "How did we miss it, Neil?" "Carol, there are thousands of dangerous Near Earth Objects out there." "The problem with meteors like the one that exploded over Russia?" "We just don't even know they're there until it's too late." "All right." "Ladies and gentlemen, MIT alumnus and tech pioneer" "Darius Tanz!" "How many ways are there to die?" "Sure, there's, you know, grandmakicksthebucket, smallbore stuff, but I'm talking about the big kahuna." "Pandemics, nuclear wars, global warming, fast food." "There are infinite ways to die, of course." "You and me... we're all gonna go, somehow, some way, but the human race..." "The human race doesn't have to." "I know we all appear to be safe and cozy here on our postPaleolithic pedestal, but I assure you, things can change." "Rapidly." "Dude." "Sorry." "I was in the lab all night." "There have been at least five mass extinction events in the last few hundred million years, people." "Five." "If we don't want to end up like the dinosaurs, we need an exit strategy." "That is why colonizing Mars is not just a pipe dream." "It's a necessity." "Now I can see all these skeptical MIT faces looking back at me, thinking," ""Will you give me a job after graduation?"" "Maybe." "Maybe?" "Well, except for the guy who got here late, the one without the shoes." "But seriously, we've put all our eggs into one cosmic basket." "If the universe decides to plant its big old ass into that basket... we're toast." "Crazy." "Thanks." "We can't go up to him with our résumés now, Shoeless." "Many have tried to approach the king." "Few make it past the castle gates." "He always stays at the Royale." "We should go over there and pitch him ideas." "Way to get noticed." "Zoe, breakfast is ready!" "I'll be home around 6:00ish." "We can have an early dinner." "Mom, you forgot." "Graduation rehearsal." "How is the speech going?" "Want me to take a look at it?" "No, I got it under control." "You know, I kind of do this for a living." "Mom, don't micromanage." "And please don't give me that "I'm so proud of you" look." "This is the "I'm gonna miss you" look." "Duke is only 262 miles away." "That's what I keep telling myself." "Hey, um..." "Dad was wondering if you're gonna use that extra ticket for graduation?" "That's Kira." "I got to fly." "Just call him." "Please?" "Okay." "Are you bringing a date to our daughter's graduation?" "No, I wasn't planning on using it, Mike." "That's not the point." "These tickets are for family." "Because I don't think either of us should bring a date, Mike." "The day is about Zoe, not about us." "I can't talk about this right now." "I'm walking into a meeting." "Grace, why don't you start?" "We had a noncombat related death in Germany... a warrant officer." "Worked Intelligence at Fort Gordon." "Okay, draft a press release once the family's informed." "Will do." "Jordy, I need to brief SecDef on Russian military moves." "As of 0400, the Russians began deploying at least three divisions, about 50,000 troops, to the Ukrainian border." "They claim we've been making some unusual moves with some of our nukes." "Okay." "Grace, have your team release a statement to the media." "Stress that this is just routine maintenance of the nuclear arsenal, and our Russian friends are bent out of shape over nothing, but say it nice, like you do." " Certainly, sir." " Okay." "The world is safe for today." "Grace?" "A word in my office?" "So, I have some news." "Your transfer request came through." "Where'd you hear that?" "Well, I'm fairly high up at the Pentagon, in case you forgot." "They need someone to run Public Affairs over at Fort Myer." "This is perfect." "I'll be just up the road." "And you... won't be my boss anymore." "We can finally be out in the open." "No more sneaking around." "Yeah." "You can meet Zoe, I can meet Dylan." "We can be a normal couple." "Although, you know, sneaking around was kind of fun." "I'll miss having you here." "You'll have me everywhere else." "Yeah." "Come in." "Sir, the Joint Chief's on the line." "I'm told it's urgent." "Send it in." "Spicy chicken burritos, extra salsa, extra avocado?" "Yeah, that's me." "Dude, the threebody problem is unsolvable." "No one's ever done it." "No one's done it yet." "And I suppose you're gonna be the one?" "So far, your algorithm has turned up jack." "Josh, you wouldn't know a recursive algorithm if it bit you on your asymptote." "Actually, if we go back to secondyear astrophysics..." "Who taught the class?" "Pretty sure it was me." "Let's go back to first year." "Um, who got the highest mark in advanced physics?" "Excuse me." "I'm gonna see if I can solve the..." "the twobody problem." "Twobody problem is high school math, dude." "I need to get..." "Hi." "I see you remembered your shoes." "Yeah, yeah." "I'm Liam." "Jillian." "So you're not MIT." "Is it that obvious, or should I wear a dunce cap so people know?" "I just mean that, you know, I haven't seen you around." "And that event was students and faculty only." "Darius Tanz is the greatest mind of our time." "So I snuck in." "Sue me." "And what do you do when not committing felonious trespass?" "Guess." "Okay." "Let's see." "Um..." "I'll say you're a writer." "Scifi, perhaps." "Whoa." "How did you know...?" "You're interested in the future of mankind, but you're not an MIT student." "You carry a notebook with a quote from Asimov on the cover." ""Ideas Die Hard"?" "I extrapolated from a set of known facts and got lucky." "Honestly." "You are quite an observant guy." "Scientists need to be observant." "Especially when investigating new phenomena." "And what about you?" "What kind of, important savetheworld work are you doing at MIT?" "I'm creating a live model of the solar system inin real time, based on gravimetric data." "I'm creating a map of space." "Sounds impressive." "How's it going?" "Anything worth doing takes time." " So, in other words..." " Yeah." " It's not panning out?" " It's not panning out." "When you're passionate about something, time means nothing." "And you're passionate about celestial mechanics?" " Yeah, absolutely." " Yeah." "When two celestial bodies cross paths, it can..." "It can... change their trajectories forever." "So this is my apartment." " I like it." " Yeah." "Magic." "I don't usually do this." "I don't, either." "Are you sure about this?" "Yes means yes." "So that's how it is," "MIT?" "Sneaking out?" "No, no, no, no, no, it's not like that." "My research." "Yeah, your research that hasn't generated anything in months?" "Yes." "No, I got a hit." "I can't explain." "Can I call you?" "I'm gonna call you." "You are amazing and beautiful." "I can't wait to read your stuff." "I'm gonna call you, I promise." "Professor Croft?" "Professor Croft, it's Liam." "Liam." "What the hell time is it?" " I got a hit." " You got a hit?" " Yeah." " I'm going back to bed, and if you're lucky, I won't remember this in the morning." "Sir, if I'm right, people need to see this immediately." "You've got friends at..." "in Washington, at NASA you can call, right?" "Washington?" "What?" "Are you drunk?" "Sir, that hurts." "Well, last month, you woke me up with this theory that we're all living in a fractal holographic matrix." "Remember that?" "Yeah, well, II may have had a few that night, sir, but this is different.." "There's a significant perturbation." "Really?" "I've been running continual simulations, and there's something there that was not there three months ago." "Well, you know, a slight miscalculation could taint the results." "Why don't you give me the data?" "I'll take a look." "Yes." "It'sit's already uploaded to your server." "Okay." "Good." "Well, go home, get some sleep." "We'll discuss this after class, which starts in about five hours." "Try to be on time for once, all right?" "My God." "This is Malcolm Croft." "Yes, I know it's late, but this can't wait." "And finally, there have been some reports in the press and elsewhere concerning movement of nuclear material." "This is nothing more than routine maintenance required to keep our arsenals safe, secure and reliable." "Yes." "Grace, are you saying" "Russian concerns are completely unfounded?" "That's exactly what I'm saying, Russ." "What kind of routine maintenance requires moving nuclear weapons from the Utah desert to Florida?" "Those missiles were due to be retired." "Nothing out of the ordinary, Ms...?" "Amanda Neel, Capitol Eyes News." "And not according to my sources." "Well, Amanda Neel of Capitol Eyes News, you may need better sources." "Moving on." "We had one noncombat related death in Germany." "U.S. diplomat succumbed to injuries sustained while visiting Frankfurt." "That's it. 15minute rule." "Croft's a noshow." "Let's get out of here." "Professor Croft?" "911?" "There has been... has been a burglary, or a... or a kidnapping, or I don't..." "I don't know what." "But my professor... he..." "His place is trashed, and he didn't show up for class." "He left his glasses behind." "No." "No." "No, I'm not on drugs." "I'm sorry, Operator." "I got..." "I got to go." "I..." "Yeah, the first one is fine." "From now on, they've got to be approved by me, or..." "Good afternoon, Mr. Tanz." "Good afternoon." "We've got new people... talking about it." "Sir, my name's Liam Cole." "I'm a student at MIT." "In 186 days, an asteroid's gonna collide with Earth and we're all gonna die." "My name is Liam Cole." "I'm a student at MIT." "My I.D. is in my wallet." "It's..." "MIT grad." "Astrophysics." " The shoeless guy." " Yes, sir." "Did we have an appointment with the shoeless guy?" "Whoa!" "Easy." "I got a flash drive in my pocket with all the data." "I've been running simulations, trying to solve the Nbody problem." "How asteroids, comets interact with each other." "Everybody at NASA is studying NEOs we already know." "I've been looking for the ones we've missed, and I found one." "I got the visuals here if you want to take a look." "Whoa." "That's a holographic projector." "Yeah, it's a little toy I've been working on." "Hope to have it in stores by, um, Christmas 2020." "If the world still exists." "Let's hear it." "I'm listening." "Okay, yeah, well, this is the solar system today." "And, excuse me." "If you don't mind..." " I do." " Um, and this... is the asteroid." "Let's call it "Rocky."" "It's about 300 million miles out." "Now, my software, which I'm happy to sell to you, by the way, predicts a trajectory for this asteroid to collide with Earth, like I said, in 186 days." "Given its location and its orbital configuration, there is a 97.2% probability that this is a planet killer." "Okay." "That's your supposition... hardly proof that you or your data are correct." "No, II rechecked all my calculations last night." "They're solid." "And I showed the numbers to my advisor, Professor Croft." "Five hours later, he disappeared, and didn't show up for class." "His place was trashed." "Trashed?" "There were big, scary goons staking out his house." "They chased my ass across campus." "Now either this is an amazing coincidence, or I'm onto something that someone, somewhere, doesn't want public." "I'm telling you, Mr. Tanz, the sky is falling." "And you may be the only person that can do something about it." "Karissa, bring a car and fuel the jet." "Where are you going?" "We're going." "To Washington." "Okay, this is the Pentagon." "Wow." "MIT is admitting some big brains these days." "He's expecting you," "Mr. Tanz." "Sit." "Wait." " But..." " Trust." "Darius." "They told me you were on your way over." "Is there a problem?" "Well, I'm not sure, Harris." "It depends on whether a planetkilling asteroid is heading our way." "What are you talking about?" "Asteroid, Earth." "Boom!" "You run DOD point for all things NASA." "Okay, where are you getting this science fiction from?" "So it's not true?" "No." "Okay, then you won't mind me tweeting about an asteroid poised to slam into Earth in, say, 186 days to my 20 million Twitter followers?" "Make that 21 million." "Okay, Darius..." "So which is it?" "Science or fiction?" "So those Goliath 2 rocket engines you ordered from me on an accelerated timeline, not exactly for communication satellites, I take it." "We have the brightest minds working the problem..." "No, you don't, because you're not using me." "So what?" "Without the great Darius Tanz, we're all doomed?" "Is that it?" "The way I see it, you've got two choices:" "Tell me or kill me." "I'm going down to Joint Task Force." "Have Grace Barrows meet me there." "Who are you?" "Liam Cole, MIT grad student, sir." "He arrived at the same conclusion as NASA, but his computer did it autonomously while he was getting laid." "Get Mr. Cole clearance." "Now." "You wanted to see me?" "Darius Tanz, Grace Barrows, DOD Public Affairs." "Pleasure." "We've met before." " Croatian Embassy." " Good memory." "Photographic." "It's a curse, trust me." "Liam Cole." " He works for me." " I..." "I do." "I work for him." "Shall we?" "This is the command center for Project Samson." "Of the 30,000 people who work in the Pentagon, fewer than 40 have clearance." "Security and soundproof measures activated." "Three months ago, through the Safeguard Survey System that catalogues Near Earth Objects, NASA astronomer." "Dr. Eduard Acosta discovered an asteroid, Samson, seven kilometers wide, out near Jupiter." "Large enough to cause an extinctionlevel event." "Trajectory data has now been firmed up, and the latest calculations show that Samson has the potential to collide with Earth in 186 days." "Our simulations give it a high probability of impact off the East Coast of the United States." "So that's why you're moving those nukes." "You think you're gonna blow this fellow out of the sky." "Well, nukes won't work." "Sorry, but even if a nuclear explosion broke up the asteroid, it would create thousands of meteors that would rain down on Earth, setting in motion cataclysmic events all over the world." "Thank you, Liam." "No." "He's right." "It was explored, but deemed too dangerous." "We've been working on impact prevention since Chelyabinsk, back in 2013." "That process has now been expedited." "So what is the plan, if you don't mind me asking?" "This." "A gravity tractor." "That would deflect the asteroid using gravitational pull." "Sorry." "We position a probe next to the asteroid." "Even though its mass is small, the probe generates its own gravitational field." "Diverting the asteroid's path just enough to miss Earth." "But you need a rocket powerful enough to get it there in time, and that rocket doesn't exist yet." "Well, actually, it does." "We've modified one of your rockets, the Goliath 2." "The test phase is almost complete." "We launch next week." "We have full confidence this will take care of the problem, and no one will be the wiser." "I'm sure you understand why this needs to remain classified." "If the public were to find out..." "Of course." "Anything you need." "My entire company stands at your disposal, ready to help." "We'll take that under advisement." "Most important thing right now is that we carry on business as usual." "Liam." "Will I see you tonight at the Embassy Ball?" "Absolutely." "How about you, Grace?" "Yes." "Wouldn't miss it." "Tonight, then." "Business as usual?" "Do you own a tux?" "No." "Of course you don't." "My professor is missing, an asteroid is coming, and you're talking about going to a party." "Did you believe anything he said in there about having it under control?" "We're not gonna wait for the government to save us." "We're gonna save ourselves." "I know." "It's a lot to take in." "How long have you been carrying this?" "Three months." "So the nukes aren't undergoing routine maintenance." "If the gravity tractor fails, they're the last line of defense." "But you're confident this will work?" "Yes." "Yes, Grace." "Why are you telling me this now?" "Why bring me in?" "Because the playing field just changed." "Information got into the wild." "And you need me to contain it." "I'm sorry." "I never wanted to burden you with this." "You don't have to stay." "I can't leave." "Not now." "But, Harris, if I stay... no more secrets." "No more secrets." "I'm heading out." "I'm sleeping at Kira's." "It's not to avoid curfew." "You look nice." "Zoe, I just got a text from your father about a gap year?" "I was gonna tell you." "Tell me what?" "I applied to a community outreach program in Kenya." "It starts in September." "Africa?" "Whoawhoa..." "Okay." "WhWhat about Duke?" "They said I could defer for a year." "They were really cool about it." "Do you know how many Americans were kidnapped" " last year abroad?" " I knew you were gonna say that." "Mom, it's more dangerous to drive a car than go to Africa." "Honey, now is not the time." "You are the one who's always telling me" " it's my responsibility to contribute..." " Yes." "Yes." "To help those less fortunate." "Yes." "But not now!" "Mom." "Look, I know that this is scary for you..." "letting go." "But... you're not gonna be able to make the world safe for me, so please, stop trying." "Thank you." "New York Times, Washington Post... how am I supposed to compete with that?" "Got to get creative." "When you're the little fish, you see things the big fish miss, 'cause they're too busy puckering up to other big fish." "Whoa." "Darius Tanz." "Always wanted to meet that guy." "Hey." "Now that's where you're missing the story." "You're looking at the wrong fish." "Darius." "So, who are all these people?" "Congressmen, diplomats, heads of state, heads of corporations." "Pretty much everyone who's anyone, so that makes you... anyone." "I'm..." "I'm honored." "And this is all part of your big plan, right?" "I'm here to make certain connections, and, you're here for the free food." "Enjoy." "Great, I'll go visit with the chairman of the Joint Chiefs." "Try not to spill any wine or any national security secrets." "How you doing, sir?" "Do you mind if I steal Ms. Barrows for a moment?" "Of course." "It was nice seeing you." "Ironic, don't you think?" "People drinking, celebrating, dancing." "No idea that the world is coming to an end." "You heard what Harris said." "They have a plan." "I'm sorry, I didn't realize you believed all that crap in there." "But I don't want to cause waves between you and your boyfriend." " WWhat?" " I'm good at reading people." "It's a gift and a curse." "Well, your skills are remedial, at best." "I like you, Grace." "The way you handle yourself." "You are extraordinary." "In an ordinary way." "Wow." "Thank you." "That's the worst compliment I've ever gotten." "Which makes it an insult, actually." "No, it's a gift." "You're tough, loyal, believable." "People trust you even when maybe they shouldn't." "Darius, it was a pleasure." "Good night." "Look, I've known Harris Edwards for 15 years, ever since he was a lowly captain at CENTCOM." "He's a patriot, but he's also a bureaucrat." "Meaning?" "I don't think he's telling either of us the whole truth." "What if I told you that the government's plan was bollocks, that I have a real plan, but I need someone on the inside?" "And what is this plan?" "Are you up for some show and tell?" "This is Jillian." "Leave a message." "Resistance is futile." "Hi, Jillian, it's Liam." "I'm sorry I disappeared." "It's a long story, but," "I've been thinking about you a lot." "Disappeared on a girl?" "What does one make of that?" "One makes nothing of it, unless one's eavesdropping, apparently." "Well, that's what makes these parties go round." "So who are you?" "Me, I'm..." "I'm just a nobody." "That's a lot of tuxedo for a nobody." "All right, you got me." "I'm Darius's new head of security." "More dangerous with weapons or just your bare hands?" "You don't want to test it, trust me." "I'm Amanda." "Liam." "What brings you here, Amanda?" "I just snagged an invite from a friend." "I like to be where the action is." "Never know who you'll meet." "Sorry... my... my ride's leaving." "I gotta go." "I didn't catch your last name, Liam." "That's 'cause I didn't give it to you." "Hey, if you ever want to chat or hang out, give a ring." "Sure." "Tanz Industries." "This place is legendary." "Ten miles from D.C., but a world away..." "my home away from home." "Welcome to the Treehouse." "Hello, Darius." "I had a treehouse growing up, and it looked nothing like this." "Anything and everything you can dream up, you can design and build it here." "An inspiration factory." "Willy Wonka, without the OompaLoompas." "Okay, you win man cave of the universe award." "What was so important it couldn't wait?" "Tess, please run program T6." "Program T6 loaded." "Playback." "What are we looking at?" "My Reusable Interplanetary Vehicle, designed to be a cargo transport to Mars." "How is that gonna stop a meteor?" "It's not." "We're repurposing it... as a lifeboat... this is an ark, Grace." "It's gonna save the human race from... extinction." "You're planning for the extinction of the human race?" "No, I'm planning for the continuation of the human race." "Have you ever heard of the concept "MVP"... minimal viable population?" "Each species has a threshold." "The minimum number of individuals required" " to prevent extinction." " Exactly." "For humans, that number is 160 saved." "Just 160 wellchosen souls save the species." "So your plan is to make a getaway on a spaceship with 160 of your besties and fly to Mars?" "Well, we might have to orbit for a while until we set up shop." "This was supposed to be a sevenyear plan." "I'm accelerating it." " I'm sorry, this is..." " Nuts." "You're betting on the government to fail." " I'm not." " I don't make bets." "I make calculated decisions based on facts, and the fact is the government's plan won't work." "They need technology that hasn't been invented yet." "They won't tell you that, of course." "Or maybe they haven't even figured that part out yet." "Why did you bring me here, Darius?" "If I can expedite production, make a dozen RIVAs or more, instead of 160 people, maybe I can save thousands." "But I need access to information and resources that only a few people in the government have." "I need an inside man." "Or woman, as they say." "You're asking me to divert resources, spy on my government, commit treason for some insane narcissistic suicide mission?" "The only suicide mission is wearing blinders, Grace." "Harris assured me that they..." "Harris will trot you out to deliver his lies, the masses will believe you, and no one will be prepared for what's coming except for me and the people on this list." "I don't want to save 160 people." "I want to save everyone." "Look, man, I..." "I want to help you, but there's this girl up in Boston, and if this is really the end, I guess I," "I wanna live before I die." "Karissa, get the plane ready." "No, I'll..." "I'll take the train, thanks." " Is he available?" " He's not in, Ms. Barrows." "I didn't see anything on the schedule." "I expect him back early this evening." "So you were with Darius." "Tanz at a ball in" "Washington, D.C.?" "More of a reception." "Yeah, I wasn't blowing you off, I swear." "No, but he had offered you a job, and you said, "No."" "Why?" "Because I have unfinished business here." "Anyway, what's going on with you?" "Tell me about you." "I actually got some really good news yesterday." "Yeah?" "Yeah, this publisher liked one of my short stories." " That's fantastic!" " Yeah." "What's it about?" "What else?" "The future." "Hey, let's take a road trip." "What?" "Yeah, I want to spend all my time with you, travel, see the world before it's too late." "What about your research?" "Screw my research." "I want to have fun, enjoy life." "Sorry." "Hey, hey, hey, Liam, maybe we should go home." "No, no, the night is young." "I want to live before I..." "Hey." "You got a problem, little man?" "Yeah." "You." "Yes, sir, all the information will be sent your way." "Hey." " What are you still doing here?" " I had a few things to get out the door." "Where have you been?" "Harris, you got to keep me in the loop." "Otherwise, I can't do my job." "Yeah." "There was a burn test today of the Goliath 2 rocket engine." "The one being used to launch the gravity tractor?" "And how'd it go?" "We're right on schedule." "That's fantastic." "Yeah." "Fantastic." " Hey, Carn." " Hey." "How's the night shift?" "It's a barrel of laughs." "I need to see satellite imagery from Wallops Island from around 2:00 this afternoon." "Grace, this is the Pentagon, not Best Buy." "No uplinks without clearance or an approved telemetry request." "Clearance I have." "It's time I'm short on." "Remember when you broke your ankle playing softball?" "How long before your request for a closer parking spot went through?" "All I'm asking is to cut through a little red tape." "You're gonna owe me for this." "Nats tickets, box seats, right behind the dugout." "Okay." "What are we looking at?" "Fragments of a Tanz Goliath 2 rocket." "Can you back it up?" "Not sure what they were testing, but I'd say they failed." "With flying colors." "Shut it down, Carn." "Isis everything okay?" "I'll have those Nats tickets for you stat." "All right." "What the..." "Hey." "Hey." "You putting final touches on the speech?" "Yeah." "Zoe." "I'm sorry." "You're right." "I can't make the world safe for you." "It's your life." "I want you to live it." "Mom, are you all right?" "Yeah." "Yeah." "I just love you." "I know." "Thank you." "You see that?" "That is Mars at perigee." "It's as close as it's gonna get all year." "I don't usually drink like that." "Then why did you?" "Can I ask you something?" "If you were writing a story about a... a guy who knew the world was coming to an end, and he could either save a couple thousand people or live the rest of his days with a beautiful woman," "what would you have him do?" "It depends." "Is the character supposed to be a hero or a loser?" "A hero." "Well, then he has to sacrifice his happiness for the sake of humanity." "Even if he thinks he's in love with the woman?" "Especially if he is." "Then it's a true sacrifice." "Tell me more about the stars." "The stars, okay." "That's Sirius, aka the dog star." "It's the brightest star in the sky." "And then up here, see this one up here?" "Class of 2017, it is an honor to be able to address you all here today." "The future is not just handed to us." "We create it." "Life is filled with possibilities." "There is no tomorrow without us." "My mother taught me at a young age that, as individuals, we are powerful." "How we use that power is up to us." "I dreaded all the emotion of saying goodbye to my friends, my family." "As exciting as the future is... it's also scary." "It's the unknown." "Hello?" "But then I started realizing this isn't the end, this is just the beginning." "My challenge for the class of 2017?" "Make a difference." "There are problems big and small that need to be solved, and we can't wait for someone else to solve them." "It's up to us now." "Screw you and your ark." "Nice to see you, too." "You're right, Darius." "The government's plan won't work." "They need you." "You said the technology doesn't exist yet." "If you're so damn smart, invent it." "You've got the resources, the talent, the money." "Don't save 160 people, save them all." "Every last one." "Come work with us." "Let's do this together." "I will do whatever it takes." "I'll roll through red tape, whatever you need from me, but, damn it, my daughter deserves a future." "They all do." "And I'm not ready for all of this to end." "Grace... yyou had me at "screw you."" "Hi." "Where can I put my stuff?" "In the words of the great humanitarian Mother Teresa:" ""Yesterday is gone." ""Tomorrow has not yet come." ""We have only today." "So, let us begin.""