Another Life (2019) s01e01 Episode Script

1 Hey, Lucie? You wanna tell me what's so interesting about that wall? You in front of that wall.
You're sweet.
Also true, but wrong.
Blank is boring.
Uncluttered is the dream.
See? No smoke stacks, no three-tiered highways, teeming towers with four families to an apartment.
It's just me talking to my 250 million followers.
Okay.
Ready in three two Good morning, my Harpies.
Today, I wanna talk about something What was that? testing clear an honest-to goodness report of a flying saucer over Kansas.
BFR Do a deep pass check and proceed to 3-5-0.
Copy that.
Heading ten times that.
It was a flying football stadium.
So people tracking northwest at 25,000 feet.
Do you think I'll make some new friends at my new school? Mm-hm.
What if they already have enough friends? Can we move back here? - Mom? - Yeah, what? Sorry, baby.
If I don't make any friends, can we move back here? - Niko? - In here, babe.
Upstairs.
Finish packing, please.
Come on.
- Go, go.
- Where's my daughter? There's my daughter Mwah! And there she goes.
Aaah.
You know the government's given me a relocation fee, right? I am not paying people to misplace our things.
- Oh, my God! - How was your day? - Amazing! - Hm? Okay, so we've known the Artifact's been sending signals to outer space, right? It's basically a giant antenna.
What are they saying? No idea.
But today Today you figured out where they were sending them to.
Pi Canis Majoris.
Who told you? Dubois.
Twenty minutes ago.
They're sending the Salvare out and they want me to lead the mission, so Okay.
They want me in Houston Friday.
We're moving to Kindersley next week.
Is this decided? No.
No, of course not.
What are you gonna do? I don't I don't know.
No way.
Baby, you are a scientist in charge of other scientists, all trying to communicate with an alien artifact that landed on Earth six months ago.
- We're making progress.
- Not fast enough, and if you can't get the aliens to talk to you, - we need to go to the aliens - It could be a probe - to figure out - gobbling up information.
Yeah, and they could be here to kill you and us, and every living thing on the planet.
- We don't know.
That's the point.
- Well, you'd be leaving me Jana I would also be - protecting you.
- What about Yerxa? - Why can't he lead the mission? - Because he's a hothead.
You trained him.
I mean, he's qualified.
Yeah, I trained him so I know that he's not qualified, not for Not for a mission like this.
The Salvare is the only ship that can make the journey.
- Who are you trying to convince here? - I don't know, Erik! Jesus, do you really think - I wanna go back into space? - Yeah.
Yeah, actually I do.
The trip is six months.
Three months there, three months back.
If all goes as planned.
I'm scared, Erik And I am not just scared to go back into space.
I am scared that this mission is gonna fail because I chose not to go.
What do we do then? Huh? What what do we do then? When does Dubois need an answer? Soma deactivated.
Uh, William? William? Yes, Niko? Why am I awake? Is something wrong? - Is that why? - That? Oh, no, that's nothin'.
That doesn't feel like nothin'.
Uh, Sirius A is just throwing a little wobbly right now.
We're not at Pi Canis Majoris? That's why you're awake.
- We thought Pi Canis Majoris was here.
- It's not? No, that's an optical illusion.
Light from the star has been refracted around this massive field of dark matter.
- How the hell did we screw that up? - Sensors on Earth missed it.
So, what's the fix? - Well, we travel through the dark matter - Wait, wait.
- Uh - Blind? We could hit a planet.
We travel at impulse speed.
Not faster than light.
How many months does that add to the journey? Seven, give or take.
Unless we go around it.
Whoever said the shortest distance between two points is a straight line was a big fat liar.
Euclid.
He said that.
Hm.
I guess no news is good news.
Listen the Earth's still spinnin'.
Just like it always was.
I promise.
The Artifact? Same way we left it a month ago.
- No change? - No change.
The Artifact has shown no signs of hostility Well, not yet.
- Not yet? Are you trying to scare me? - No, but I'm trying to understand what our plan is if that changes.
When we get there, when we make first contact What do we do if they don't wanna speak to us? Let's hope that they do.
And if we discover that these aliens are, in fact, hostile? Our mission is clear.
We enter into a dialogue.
So that's what we're gonna do.
Okay.
Wake Team One.
Start with Ian Yerxa.
But first, get me eyes on that star.
Wow.
It may not be first contact, but it it's still pretty damn cool.
All right.
Over there Come on! Tell you what.
You pick up the pace and this weekend, we'll drive down the coast to see the sea lions.
You know I've already seen the sea lions? Well, I thought you said you wanted one as a pet.
They're not pets, they're wild animals.
Right.
Well, hey, tonight's movie night.
At least we have that to look forward to.
- Can we have ice cream? - Absolutely.
- And popcorn? - Sundaes, if you get a move on it.
Mommy would never let me have popcorn and ice cream.
I'm in charge now and that's what they call a silver lining.
I'm gonna be late for work.
Jana, I am late for work.
Jana.
Jana.
Hm Hey, hey, hey.
Come here, come here.
Hey, hey, hey.
Hey! What's goin' on? I don't want ice cream or popcorn.
Mommy would know I can't have both.
Hey, hey.
I miss Mommy too.
Do you think she's okay? Yeah.
Yeah.
Saddle up.
These rehydration smoothies taste like chalk.
Never tasted chalk myself.
Sasha Harrison, mission observer.
You are Michelle, right? Comms? Wrong.
August, Chief Engineer.
Sorry, still a little foggy.
- No biggie.
- Then again, if this ship had name tags, on uniforms, that wouldn't be an issue.
Ships haven't had uniforms in over a decade.
How old are you, anyway? Ugh.
Apologies for pulling you out of soma months ahead of schedule.
Yeah, William, if you could wait till after my REM cycle? There are some dreams that should be allowed to finish.
Michelle.
Sorry, just letting my parents know we've dropped out of FTL.
There will be plenty of time for that, okay? But first That ain't the star we're looking for.
No.
- We are officially off course.
- By a lot? Well, the alien signal's comin' from Pi Canis Majoris, so if we're not goin' in the right direction - Then why are we even out here? - It's gonna be fine.
- I promise, okay? - Does General Dubois know? Dubois is well aware that we need to take a little detour.
What kind of detour? We're going to use Sirius A's gravity to get us back on track, by slingshotting around the star and then And then it's ping-ping-ping, like some intergalactic pinball machine until we've made our way around the dark matter and on to Canis Majoris.
Sorry.
It's, um old habits.
Okay.
You guys have known me long enough to know that I am not one for keeping things in or letting them build, so who here is feeling a little awkward? Nobody.
Liars.
Fine.
I am feeling fuckin' awkward.
Ian? This was your ship, your crew.
You are a great leader.
That is not me blowing smoke up your ass.
It is just the truth.
You earned this.
Thank you, But General Dubois and all the powers that be put me in charge.
Ahem.
I will ask you again.
Who here is feeling a little awkward? Good.
Honesty.
All I ask you guys is that you remember that we are all here for the same reason.
To protect the lives of the people that we love and left back on Earth.
And the best way to do that is for us to work as a team to figure out what that is doing on our planet.
Field test 147.
Infrasonic atmospheric sounding.
Twenty hertz down to zero.
Erik Wallace leading.
Cue pigeon sounds.
The apartment I grew up in, in DC, back when DC was still above water, we had a balcony.
My backyard.
Every year, pigeons would come and build their nests.
And every year, our balcony was a shit-stained biohazard.
- I hate pigeons.
- Yeah, rats with wings.
No, I get it.
But hear me out.
So, the Artifact emits something called infrasounds Yeah, human ears can't pick them up but elephants can Alligators, whales and pigeons.
This thing did not travel across the galaxy to talk to birds.
- Of course not, General Dubois, but - But, what if we can get the birds to talk to it? All right, now drop frequency down into infrasound.
Erik? Erik, we we got a message from the Salvare.
- Is everything okay? - Everything is fine.
They just had to make a detour.
It's a navigational issue.
Niko's expecting your holo-call.
Yeah.
That that's why these birds are amazing.
I mean I mean, not only can they hear the infrasounds, - but they can smell their way - Yeah.
- from point A to point B.
- Aah.
So so, basically everything but communicate with alien artifacts.
I'm sorry.
This is, like, the last thing you want to hear about after a month of soma sleep.
No, it's the Honestly? It's okay, I'm just I'm really happy to see your face.
So, how are you? I'm okay.
You? I'm okay.
I miss Jana.
Miss you.
Being this far away from home doesn't feel real, like, I'm stuck in some weird dream.
So, this detour? Is it safe? - Yeah.
- Okay.
Yeah.
No, it it's completely safe.
You don't have to worry.
Well, you're in a tin can about to fling around an actual star.
Fair enough.
So you can worry, like, a little? - Yeah.
- How is she? How is how is Jana? I haven't forgotten her anywhere, if that's what you're asking.
So, progress.
Yeah.
She's good.
She misses you.
A lot.
I'm I'm sorry.
A a guilt trip is the last thing you need right now.
No, it's fine.
Really.
I just need to know that she's okay.
That you're both okay.
We're Oh, come on! - Fuck.
- Sorry to interrupt.
It's time.
Michelle, open a signal to USIC command.
- Signal open.
- Radiation levels? It's like going to the dentist for a little checkup.
It's just Sirius A saying hello.
Ease us into orbit.
Entering orbit in three, two one.
Great.
Three revolutions around Sirius A, then it's off to Persea.
This star's got a temper.
That's an understatement.
Just gotta get your sea legs back, Niko.
You'll be fine.
- Shit.
William! - Yep, I see it.
I see it.
Changing trajectory now.
It's okay.
We just gotta find a more stable way around We need to abort? What? No! No, listen to me.
I know this ship.
She can take a beating.
Not without falling apart, she can't.
Niko, you are overreacting.
You need to relax and let this happen.
We've done one goddamn swing, Ian.
We're not gonna make another.
We've already initiated the second swing.
- If we quit now - We are not gonna make it.
Yes, we will.
Jesus, would you just listen to me? - William, abort now.
That is an order.
- Exiting orbit in three, two, one.
I'm telling you, you reach 27, you might as well cut off your balls because nature is gonna do it for you.
Why 27? Why not 26? Or 28? Twenty-seven Club.
Oh, my God.
Amy Winehouse, Demetrio, Cillian Glass, Harper Glass's dad? All brilliant, and all dead by 27.
Why do you think they sent 20-somethings on this mission? Because of our good health and shiny teeth.
Wrong.
Because after 27, it is all cowardice all the time, until one day you wake up, and you're ancient like Niko and you should not even get out of bed, let alone lead a mission across the galaxy because, you know, safety first.
Upside is you die old, so Wow.
You are the least sexy sexy guy that I have ever met.
So sad.
- Yikes.
- I'm sorry.
Is anyone else feeling this? It's like the floor of a frat house in here.
- This can't be your first time in artificial grav? - Well Not even one of those Orbital Resorts? Well, a week up there costs, like, a hundred grand per person, so - What? My parents have been.
- Enjoy your private room.
Okay, as the public's representative and mission observer, my room is a diplomatic perk.
Diplomatic prick.
- I'm sorry, what did you say? - Oh, I heard what he said.
Hey, guys.
Don't you have anything better to do? Me? I say go ahead.
Put your husband and kid first but then recuse yourself from the mission, and if you're off your game 'cause you got ten of your crew-mates killed? Own it.
Uh, I'm I'm going to engineering.
Run that life-support diagnostic, please.
Sure thing, boss.
Was it something I said? Yes, it was something you said.
Are you fucking kidding me? Her brother died on the Pilgrim, shit-for-brains.
Holy fuck.
Wow.
I don't know which is more claustrophobic, the sleeping quarters or a somatic tube.
Yeah, well at least you don't have to share a somatic tube.
So how are you adjusting? I've got a bitch of a sleep hangover.
I'm struggling.
Finally, a little honesty from you.
What was I supposed to do? Tell Dubois to go fuck herself? Sure.
Why not? She thinks the mission is better served under Niko's command.
She better be right.
Let's unpack that.
Unpack what? This is the most important mission in the history of humankind.
Our first contact with an alien civilization? And? And I hope she's up for it.
I'll keep an eye on her but so far, Ian, she's just doing her job.
Seven months slapped onto a trip that was only supposed to take six.
Am I being too cautious? Right, you see this here? This clumpin'? For all we know, it could be an entire star system playing hide and seek with us, or maybe it's a black hole.
What we can't see will kill us.
William I need your advice.
So, I I I'm asking you what you think.
Oh.
Erm I think I'd like to reach our destination in one piece even if it means taking longer to get there.
Okay, then.
We have a solution.
Great.
I'm all ears.
Whenever we're traveling faster than light, the Salvare has a force field.
- It's not really a force field, but - It's more of a bubble, - one that deflects energy particles - And energy bursts.
- Like the ones shooting out of Sirius.
- Okay, so you guys want to initialize this bubble on its own to create, like, a kind of a shield? Exactly.
Now, I won't lie.
It's gonna be a bumpy ride, but we will make it through in one piece.
Huh.
- Thoughts? - Well, the science is there, but if you're lookin' for a sure thing keep lookin'.
There's an 11% chance the bubble won't be strong enough.
Which means there's an 89% chance that it will.
It's a very solid plan.
- I would take the risk.
- Still, it is a risk.
Being out here is a risk.
Hell, eating those MREs is a risk.
Niko, please.
This is our best shot.
11% is just too much.
- You are adding months to our journey.
- Ian There is a goddamn piece of alien technology sticking out of some field in the middle of nowhere and we have no idea why, or what it wants.
Now, he may not have anyone waiting for him but goddamn it, I do.
You do.
And if we take a shortcut that destroys the ship, they're all on their own.
- The Salvare is - And if we second-guess every decision, - we will never make it there.
- I will not put the lives of my crew At risk, yes, I heard you.
But when we signed on for this mission, we accepted that it might be one-way.
People will die No! They won't.
You want to be safe, Niko? Take a fucking shuttle back to Earth and let me run this mission like I was supposed to.
Have the crew prepare for soma.
We're running a marathon not a sprint.
So, seven more months in somatic sleep.
Guess we should count ourselves lucky, huh? Yeah.
Added benefit we won't age.
Uh Think Niko is making the right call? Um That's not my call to make.
And if it was? Um I might take the chance.
So then Yerxa's right.
Yerxa's gonna get sent back to soma for good if he's not careful.
Wow, that's kind of rude.
No, Dad, please! I'm sorry, it's work.
I got to.
Hi.
Yeah.
No, I see.
Yeah, just just Hold on one second.
Actually it's for you.
- Mommy! - Hey, baby.
Oh, my gosh, your hair is getting so long.
Oh, yeah, Daddy keeps forgetting to take me to get it cut.
So, have you been following where I am - on the map that we made? - Every day.
Okay, so we're not at Canis yet, but as soon as we get there we can talk like this every day.
How does that sound? Oh, my God, are you drinking a milkshake? Strawberry-banana.
Oh, now I'm officially jealous.
Is there no ice cream in space? Um There is, but it's dehydrated.
What's that mean? Um It means that they suck all the water out of it and then they put water back in it.
It's really Ugh, it's so gross.
So, when are you coming home? Soon? Yeah.
Soon.
Real soon.
Hey, um Momma's gotta to go back to sleep, okay? So I love you and I will miss you every day.
Bye, Mommy.
Sweet dreams.
Okay.
Hey.
Hi.
Jana, would you mind go gettin' some milk for my coffee, - from the waitress? - Mm-hm.
Thank you.
Are you okay? - Hey.
- Hey.
Just hug her for me, okay? You hug her for me and you kiss her and you tell her I love her every day.
I will.
- Bye.
- Hey, Niko, I Jana? Jana? Then the traveler in the dark Thanks you for your tiny spark He could not see which way to go If you did not twinkle so Twinkle, twinkle, little star How I wonder what you are My daughter today sang a nonsensical song about a star, and this baby just closed his eyes and fell asleep, all 'cause of the sound of her voice.
- And? - And that brings me to your favorite bird, the pigeon.
So, infrasound was the right idea, but we got the message all wrong.
We weren't specific enough.
So I sourced every deep space transmission going back to the 1960s.
- There have gotta be hundreds.
- Thousands, so I whittled them down.
Took away the background noises of signals to, say, satellites.
And on October 24th, 2026, a group of scientists beamed Eine kleine Nachtmusik by Mozart directly towards Canis Majoris.
And these aliens heard it.
A version of it.
This version.
Play song.
Drop frequency down to one hertz a second and drop it into infrasound.
- Ahem.
- Just - Erik? - Hold on.
It'll work.
William, set course for Pi Canis Majoris.
You look ready for a nice long nap.
- Early to bed, early to rise.
- Makes a woman healthy, wealthy and wise.
I'll take healthy.
Never gonna be wealthy, and if I were wise, I would have stayed back on Earth.
Hey, can I ask you somethin'? Course you can.
Anything you want.
Your name.
Why William? After William Grey Walter, one of the founding fathers of cybernetics.
I guess I just wanted a name that meant something to me.
Hm.
Did you take his form, too? His form? No! I, erm I ran a bunch of algorithms based on what you like, what you don't like, er all of the various people in your life, your friends, your enemies, your frenemies and then, using that data, I created your ideal interface.
Hm.
But if you don't like it, I can change into any form you want.
Oh, God, no! No, William.
It's perfect.
It's you.
Access granted.
Niko Breckinridge? As second-in-command, I hereby inform you that you have lost the confidence of your crew.
- Excuse me? - You're putting the mission in danger, and so I am relieving you of duty.
Ian, we had a disagreement.
That's it.
So, let's go somewhere and talk.
Just you and me.
- Let's just talk.
- Will you change your mind? Because I don't think you will.
I think that what we saw today is the kind of leadership we can expect under you.
Weak.
Toothless.
A style that puts the whole mission at risk, and worse, leaves Earth completely defenseless.
- William.
- I've alerted the others.
Jesus Christ, Ian.
It's okay.
- William? - I'm locked out of the somatic systems.
It's okay.
I've got this now.
It's okay.
Soma initiated.
Clean up.
Get the rest of the crew and meet me on the observation deck.
Go.
So you disagree with Niko and you just toss her into stasis? Like, are we really okay with this? Bernie, we spent a year together on this ship.
You know me.
I'm not rash.
I don't do shit without thinking things through.
Niko is not the right person for this job.
I am.
I will make the calls that she's too chickenshit to make.
If you're uncomfortable with the situation, I get it.
It's up to you.
I can put you back in your soma tube, wake up your replacement.
Or you can give me a chance.
It's your choice.
Okay.
Let's initiate the slingshot using the plan that August and I presented earlier today.
No.
Wow, they've really got emotions now, don't they? Let's go ahead and lower the manufactured melodrama and do what I said.
I answer to Niko, not you.
Zayn? Would you say that Niko is mentally sound? - What? - Given her actions and emotional state, is she mentally sound? She's been showing signs of stress and emotionality.
No, not mentally sound.
Sasha, as our government's representative on board this ship, do you recognize me as the new commander? Er I don't - I don't know.
- You don't know? The only reason you're here is for a situation precisely like this one.
Do you recognize my command or not? - Yes.
- There you go, William.
Dotted all my I's and crossed all my T's.
- I - You what? What? You are a computer.
You are a tool.
You are made to do what I say.
Now, shut up and do it.
Initializin'.
Energy density magnitude reaching target.
Ease us in, William.
August.
Initiating the bubble in three two, one.
Good morning, sleepyhead.
Hey.
Am I am I really here? Of course you are, Mommy.
Where else would you be? Oh, my God.
Oh, my God.
I missed you so much! - Mm.
- Mm! I love you.
I love you so much.
Get over here.
I love you, I love you! I love you! - Stop it! - I can't believe I'm here.
A C-class flare just erupted from the star.
- I think we should re-route our course - Don't even think about changing course.
Okay.
Okay, get in closer.
Closer.
Closer and hit the FTL drive now.
- William, now.
- The drive isn't respondin'.
The last flare to compensate, the shielding drew all the energy from the drive.
Okay.
Okay, that's okay.
We'll go round the star one more time, get the drive back online and we'll try it again.
- What the fuck is going on? - Now we've lost our FTL shieldin'.
August? The d drive.
It's just It's gone.
F Okay, if you could go anywhere any time where would you go? Right here and I'd keep relivin' this moment over and over and over again.
Oh, that's so I don't know! The the the Middle Ages? Nothing I love more than a summer storm.
Mm Oh, it's okay, baby, come here.
I got you.
I got you.
Fold right in here.
There we go.
Is time travel even real? Um No no, it's not but I bet you it will be someday.
In the meantime we got this.
Mm.
Aww.
This ain't half bad.
What the hell was that? Jana? Erik? Jana? Guys? Jana? Niko! Wake up! Niko! We need you.
The ship's ripping apart.
Where's Yerxa? Systems are overheating.
Oxygen is burning out into space, and now we're leaking hydrogen.
- If they mix and we sustain another blow - Okay.
Got it.
We explode.
Anything else? It's not It isn't That bad, huh? Pretend you're drunk at a bar.
The walls are your friends.
Come on, August.
Move! William, try try rerouting the coolant - from the life-support systems.
- Those systems won't allow it.
The temperature fluctuation would kill the crew.
Module One's oxygen has burned off.
We need to purge our hydrogen.
- William, vent the hydrogen tanks.
- Niko, stand down.
We will deal with you and I later, but now, I need to save this ship, - so vent that fuckin' hydrogen.
- Ventin' hydrogen.
We're not out of danger yet.
The Salvare's locked into a decaying orbit.
August, get our systems back up and running.
Do whatever it takes.
Just give me something to get us away from that fuckin' star.
- On it.
- Javier, Bernie.
Get him out of here.
What are you gonna do, computer boy? You have put everyone's life in danger.
Not just this ship.
The entire fuckin' world, Ian.
Get him out of my face.
Systems are up and running, but I don't know how long I can keep them going.
William.
Crow's nest.
- Give me manual control of the ship.
- I'm sorry.
What? - Give me manual control of the ship.
- It's all yours.
Michelle? August? Reinitialize that force field.
Let me know when it's up.
It's up.
So is FTL.
On my go.
Niko, what the fuck are you doing? Come on, you motherfucker, don't you tease me.
Come on.
Come on.
Come on.
Hit the FTL drive, now! Erik, uh Ahem.
This is really Well, it sucks.
I know you've worked so hard on this, but we're not getting anywhere.
You're firing me.
Stay in touch, okay? And if you have any great ideas, please reach out.
I mean it.
Oh, my God! - Yes! Yeah! - Whoo! Yes! Aaaaah! Oh, my God! - Aaah! - Oh, my God! Oh, my God, did you see that? Oh! Yes! Yes! What if we were to try and I don't know, triangulate our position? Yeah, with pulsars.
Yeah, been there, tried that.
All of our comms are down.
I have no idea where we are.
All of our comms? With Earth too? All of our comms.
Okay.
- How bad is it? Lay it on me.
- The somatic system remains offline.
But everyone asleep is is totally fine.
It's just anything I'd need to induce sleep, software, hardware It's fried.
Okay.
Do you know what I was thinking about? This ship vaporizin' into nothin' and me along with it? 'Cause that's what was on my mind.
How Erik and Jana would never know what happened.
How we would just disappear like we never existed.
I I was really scared.
So what am I supposed to do about Ian, huh? It's not like I can just throw him back into soma sleep now.
Ian's gonna have to answer for what he did, but maybe it's somethin' you deal with once the mission's complete.
Este mamabicho.
Hey, Mr.
Fix It? Uh, when you're not busy throwing Niko into soma sleep, mind, uh, repairin' the microwave? What a mess.
Just, uh, douse it in hot sauce.
Solves everything.
Mm! You don't like me? I don't care.
I am not here to be your friend or your mother.
I have a job to do and so do you.
All of you.
So get back to work and let's get back on mission.
That's an order.
You heard Niko.
Let's get this ship up and running.
Ah.
This thing's fucked.
Fixing it's gonna take time.
You want me to get out and push? Or do you want me to just get out? We could be out here for years, Niko, so if you're the type to hold a grudge You mutinied Ian.
You fuckin' mutinied.
You think I wanted any of that to happen? For it to go that way? Everything I did, I did because I put the mission first.
Oh, you can't honestly believe that.
God, Ian, you put your ego first.
You've never put anything else ahead of the mission? - Or anyone? - I Hey.
I am out here, light years away - from my daughter to protect her.
- Exactly.
To protect her.
Not the rest of us.
Her.
Be honest.
If it ever comes down to a choice between this crew and Jana who are you gonna choose? That's ridiculous.
And there's my answer.
But I'm the dangerous one, right? Get back to work, Ian.
You know, Niko were the situation reversed I'm not sure I'd be quite as magnanimous with you.
- No? - No.