Defying Gravity s01e02 Episode Script
Natural Selection
T minus 120 to burn.
M.
F.
B.
go.
Hydrogen go.
Deuterium sequence started.
Stabilizers set on 1-4-0.
Positioning thrusters on 7-niner-7.
Seal generators are engaged.
Oh My God, she is out! Ted, I got Zoe out in the air-lock.
She's in the Air-lock 4.
Do you copy? Somebody get down here, stop her.
Zoe? Zoe! Hey Please, I No, no, no.
You go ahead, you look like you have a need.
OK.
Guten morgen (good morning).
Hey.
Briefing in 20 minutes.
All right.
So glad that you have joined us.
All right.
You supposed to be wearing your H.
A.
L.
O.
I'm wearing mine.
Mission control says that com channels 30 to 40 are glitchy.
I'll a look at the transmitter.
Thank you.
And Sorry! Sorry.
Thanks for joining us, Zoe.
Now, I know I may be a new guy, But I like for daily brief and for 24 rundown, to start at 07:00.
My mother called.
Won't happened again.
Is anyone noticed that com 45 is glitchy.
Yea, I'm already on it.
What? Zoe, you will be assisting Jen in N.
A.
S.
T.
E.
L.
"A" in the science lab.
That you gonna join Paula, Donner and Mintz for the Venice suit check up.
Wassenfelder, says that you are looking for D.
U.
N.
N.
O.
S.
? D.
U.
N.
N.
O.
S Dark, unknown, non-reflecting, non-detectable objects somewhere.
In another words: Dark Matter.
In another words: Nothing! If nothing is 90 percent of the universe, than nothing.
All right, guys, look I know Donner and I coming on board last minute is a little awkward.
Not for me.
Well it is for most of us.
This is huge, unexpected adjustment for all of us.
So please bear with us.
We have a lot of catching up to do.
Any questions, comments, concerns? Carry on.
Do you guys mind if we take just a minute here? I think its important no remember were we are.
You would think that there will be sadness when you start to pull away from Earth.
An ake for the mountains, whats left of the beaches.
For the sweet smell of the fresh air.
My guess, there is a little bit of that.
But, when you are an astronaut, you start asking your self question like How the hell did I get here? Is it hard work? Fate? Was it a hand of God? You ask yourself: Why am I one of the lucky suckers leaving? And not one of the poor bastards being left behind? I think that the obvious question is simply: what the hell happened? And the obvious answer is that we do not really know.
One minute we were on the mission.
The next minute we were off.
You had no warnings, no previous conditions? Well, Ajay and Rollie had small irregularities that have been exacerbated on the launch and the trip to the ship.
If this had been a shorter mission, they would still be up there.
But the fact is, this is a 6 years flight through the solar system.
This was a extremely difficult decision and the one that has been extraordinarily hard on the astronauts and their families.
Please, respect that.
So, will you two be joining the team on the floor now? We certainly hope so.
After a little R&R (rest and recovery) and life adjustment.
Thank you very much.
Thank you.
Sorry, Ajay.
As am I, Arnel.
Those were the breaks, ah? I guess my place is here, now.
Hi, students.
Welcome on 'Antares'.
And a very special welcome to the fifth graders at Lincoln Elementary in Findlay in Ohio.
I am Paula Morales.
Mission payload specialist.
And this is day three of our amazing mission through the solar system.
We are all just starting to settle into our routines and starting our science work.
Isn't that right, Jen? Yea, yea, that's right Paula.
This is our mission biologist Jen Crane.
Hi Rollie.
Hey baby.
And this is our mission geologist, Zoe Barnes.
Today Jen is starting a mission long experiment in natural selection.
Can you tell us what that is Jen? Well what we are doing is we are studying the differences in rabbits sperm and egg selection in weightless environment as oppose to the weighted one.
Does that mean you actually make bunnies? No, we harvest the DNA from the fertilized embryos and then we destroy them.
And then we start all over again using that new DNA to fertilize new embryos.
It's a pretty much as close as we're gonna get to sex in space.
Have a look.
See that? Look at that determination.
I had a boyfriend like that once and I'm telling you Booty call.
Uhmmm.
Today we will be testing your basic swim skills.
Those of you who don't have any will be packing your bags tonight, as this is a pass/fail situation.
We're gonna start you guys off treading water.
Sound simple? Twenty minutes no hands.
When you are finished you pull yourself in the life raft uneated.
It's your body.
It's your life And I'm not gonna tell you what to do with it.
Good.
Thank you.
It's just the sooner you abort the better you feel, physically and mentally.
Yes, I'm thinking about it.
We don't wont to do that if you can't swim.
Seriously, this is the end of the line for me.
Negativity prepares the mind for loosing.
You are not a looser.
I'm not a swimmer, dude.
Alright, can we start by the training underwater for zero gravity.
I feel like I'm gonna puke.
Allright, we do that with scuba gear that take adventage of neutral buoyancy.
Wow.
Anything that big still got to hurt.
How do you think he got it? It's a war injury.
Whatever happened to him, he's lucky he survived.
You should ask him.
No, you ask him.
Scars like that come with scars.
There's nothing to think about.
Honey, is this guy worthy of your gene pool? You see, if you can't answer that one quickly you should just forget about it.
I mean, I don't understand why are you protecting mystery man anyway.
If he's telling you had vasectomy then he is telling the same thing to other women and he should be outed immediately.
Questions? Group one, you're in the pool in two minutes.
Wow, wow, what group are we? Three.
Three? That's my least favored number.
You are going to be fine, Wass.
Come on.
"You are going to be fine, Wass.
Come on.
" The miracle of life.
Space baby is Rollie and I always joked there gonna be our kids.
But you destroy them to harvest their DNA.
Yea, when they are 10 cell embryos, Paula.
Thats the experiment.
However, in a way you are killing your children.
Little Miss Sunshine.
Zoe, we are going back to airlock to power up Venus suit.
We'll need you in about 20 minutes.
Copy that.
Excellent.
I'll come with you to make sure that the cameras are set up.
Happy to see him? Nadia is happy to see him.
That is all about knocking boots and you know it.
I really dont care.
I really dont.
So, you have to admit, its weird having Donner and Ted up here.
Isn't it? I couldn't even begin to tell ya.
Okay Ajay.
Take a deep breath.
We will hold off any cardiac procedures and put you guys on 'tiners' (anticoagulants).
Maybe the plaque will dissolve on its own.
How soon can I get back on the floor? Mike you can use CAPCOMS (CAPsule COMmunicators), As soon as you will feel ready.
I am ready now.
And I gonna needs your help brief Ted.
Yea, of course.
It cant be easy him, either.
It isn't easy for any of us.
Why do you think he waited so long to reject us? This is as big a mystery as the day that we found it.
All we can do is follow its lead.
And Ajay? Will he be coming back on the floor.
Goss wants to do a thural psych e val (Psychological evaluation).
If he passes? He won't pass, Rollie.
Barnes, you coming down? The suit is up and waiting for ya.
I'll be right in.
If only I could fly.
The people I know Aren't strangers.
Where I live is In a house.
Now, there is a woman who need some love.
Oh, you mean the blonde with glasses at the bar.
Aha, took it she gets an eye.
Eh, I am pretty sure that I've seen her at training center.
that puts her off-limits to you.
No, she is not off-limits unless she is a candidate.
Thats her fourth drink.
She is drinking alone, so something tells me she screw the pouch.
Did you just said "screwed the pogue"? "pouch".
I said "pouch".
Oh, oh, oh, oh.
There she goes.
Gentleman.
Be careful.
Better hurry.
She may bite.
She looks a little green.
Excuse me, do you have a Thank you.
I am a little emotional.
I'm just a I You wanna know what I did today? Do you want to know whats wrong with me? You want to know? I spent my whole freaking life Working my ass off I mean, dreaming about this, when chances one freaking chance, and I I blow it.
Hi mom.
No, it's cold up here.
I have the sniffles.
Who? No, I haven't called him yet.
I haven't had the time, mother.
Do you even remember why I came up here? It was not to meet your podiatrist's nephew.
I don't care if he's a scorpio, mother.
Cancer women have got to be compatible to another sign and I'm not No no I am not interested in a relationship right now.
I am How many times do I have to say You know what, mom? I am I am gonna go.
I am done with this.
So say "I love you".
I love you too.
Bye.
You know they are making these things for 200 years.
You think they would come up with something better then these buttons? You can get them with zippers, and this is the ladies room.
Couldn't fool me with that language.
Kiss your mother with that mouth? Thats freaking shocking.
All right, you are mocking me.
Screw you, Maddux Donner.
You're Maddux Donner.
Is that a good thing or a bad thing? Bad being A sorry excuse for a guy who left two people on Mars, or the goods, the tragic American hero you wanna take home and comfort.
That is pathetic.
You're not gonna pee? Four beers goes right trough me, but I, Cancers have the big bladders.
Are you stalking me? I probably coulda taken a pee in the mens room.
Get out! I'll be at the bar.
- Au, au, au.
- Astronauts don't say au.
Well, apparently they do now, Donner.
I just did.
I'm in.
- Control, Zoe's in.
- Roger that, Donner.
Lock and load.
Is that you, Rollie? Just came on shift.
Is Ajay back on too? Negative, Maddux.
He's got some pretty testing to go through.
- He'll be out here soon.
- Well, everybody up here thinks we're making piss poor replacements.
Well, you let us be the jugde on that.
- Helmet on? - Roger that.
The Venus suit was delivered to Antares over six months ago.
This is Zoe's chance to check out all of the critical operating systems.
The motors to help her move, the life support system and most importantly to check for any tiny leaks that may have developed in the seals.
We do this now, so if anything is wrong we have time to fix it.
Comprende? Suit's secure.
The suit is secure.
We are go for pressure.
Zoe? I'm set for a normal air mixture.
- Copy that.
- Everything is go for power up.
Executing power up.
Dr.
Mintz, can you tell us why Zoe needs this much protection on Venus? Well, the surface temperature on Venus is over 800 degrees Fahrenheit and the air pressure is that of 90 Earth atmospheres.
So even a tiny micro leak in her suit can be catastrophic.
Can you tell us how you will check for leaks? Zoe's suit can be pressurized to 5 atmospheres We're gonna drop the airlock pressure to that of a vacuum and if there is any breach at all, the air pressure will fall.
- Hey, lover.
- Hey.
We miss you a lot.
Roy made you a bowl of cereal this morning.
He forgot you were gone.
How are you holding up? I'm still in shock.
It's hard to take in within a few days.
Rollie will help you get through it.
And then you will have to help the crew when you get to Venus.
It won't be easy.
Why did it do this, Eve? You're the expert.
Why did it wait till the last minute? -Rollie was asking the same question.
- Because it doesn't make sense.
We know so little about Beta, about what it ultimately wants.
But apparently, it picked you and Donner.
For what? And why are we any better than Ajay and Rollie? - I don't know.
- Well what do you know, Eve? What do you guys know? - This is a huge mission.
- It knows.
Beta knows.
That's the leap of faith here.
We need you to visit Pod 4, honey.
It shows you.
Maybe it will give you an answer.
If you're the active cap com, then what are you doing talking to me? Well, Arnel and Donner are running suit check with Zoe So I thought I grab a little sugar with my baby.
I still can't believe you're not up here with me.
Ajay says it has to do with our true path in life.
There's nothing we could do.
Yeah, but they drag you all the way back there - and they don't do a cardiac procedure? - They have us on thinners.
They think the plague might resolve all on its own.
I'm making our babies.
I caught a little bit of Paula's show this morning.
She's explaining the Venus suit right now.
She ?waged? on me for having to kill the embryos.
An obnoxious way to put it, but she is entitled to her views.
Yeah, as am I.
And you have plenty that's why I love you.
You know I want babies with, don't you, Rol? I know, baby.
Plenty of time for that when you get back.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Couldn't you do that on Earth? Whatever it is you're doing.
The short answer is yes.
So, why do they bother launching 'your fat ass up here to do it? This conversation was old when you had your boobs done.
You are avoiding an answer.
You don't think I ask myself that question every day? Seriously.
I never should have made it through the program.
I know that.
But put yourself in my shoes.
If they offered you this, would you ever turn it down? Look at Nadia Schilling.
Her elbows are out of the water.
So are her breasts.
She is flashing the aides.
She really think that will help her get a better note? I hate men.
Group one, into the raft! Group two, into the pool! Let's go.
Come on.
Let's go.
This is so stupid.
What? I am not even gonna make it that far.
What's the point? The point is that you try.
You made it this far, Wass.
Who's to say you are not meant to go the whole way? Me.
I am saying it! It is never your own choice.
You've painted your face and went on an unauthorized EVA (Extra-vehicular activity).
Is that a rational behavior for an astronaut? I understand completely what I did was highly emotional and self destructive response.
When you feel like your destiny has been ripped from your body, you are without the rudder in a fierce wind, completely overtaken by the emotion of that moment.
How is he? Sane and moving.
For this I truly apologize.
But that wont get him anywhere, will it? Left arm forward.
Nominal.
- Arm bend.
- Nominal.
Twist on diagonal.
Nominal.
Full range of motion, thou I fill like a Michelin man.
Yea, it has always been an uncanny resemblance.
Hey! That's it for a test, Control.
We are nominal in all.
We copy that.
Zoe, you can give me a pressure reading of your heads up? - Just over 73 PSI.
- 5 atmospheres.
Perfect.
Same we got out here.
Let's see what happens in the vacuum.
Copy that.
I'm gonna try a turn around here.
Something wrong, Zoe? - Did you hear that? - Hear what? On the com? Are those glitches still there? Yeah, just a little feedback on the com.
You okay? Nominal, Donner.
I'm perfect.
Ah Rollie, just give me a second here before you secure.
Copy that.
Tether is not required, Donner.
The outside hatch is not opening.
Well, airlocks makes me nervous a lately, let just leave it like that.
Alright, Paula, let's clear.
Pod 4 engaged.
Zoe, please don't.
Flight, we have a breach.
Open the hatch! - Donner? - Zoe! The pressure blew her out.
Ted, we got a problem.
Hatch failed.
Zoe's out.
Repeat.
Zoe's out.
How's that happening? The airlock hatch opened.
Zoe's out.
She had to hit the hatch pad.
We didn't do it here.
Thank God she's tethered.
Zoe, you OK? Suit's operating? I'm a little shaken up, but everything looks nominal.
What the hell happened? I don't know.
Did you hit the hatch pad? - I did not hit the hatch pad.
- Well, I'm just asking.
Well, you don't need to ask because I did not pull the freaking - eject leaver.
- Fine.
Can you get a hold of anything? Not a chance.
I feel like a fishing lure.
Set tight.
I'm gonna roll you in.
10 bucks.
10 bucks for what? 10 bucks is a no go.
No go? He goes home alone.
Ok, here she comes.
Can I have my dept, please? He took care of it.
Tell him thank you And to go screw himself.
My man! You're losing your touch.
Yea, certainly looks that way, doesn't it? Damn.
No, no, don't give up.
I think she likes you.
You may have a better luck without the sunglasses.
Of course, if you're looking for this, you have left it with a bartender.
I think it was on purpose.
Do you bring any What? Do you have any I've had a vasectomy.
Is he in the program? Why would I tell you if he's in the program? Okay, so he's in the program.
What? It's an easy denial, Zoe.
Is it in the program? "No".
You ??? Okay So, witch one of this schmucks is dump enough to tell you he had a vasectomy? Group two, in the raft.
Group three, in the pool.
Oh God.
Is it instructor? We stop? Can we please just stop? You never gonna find out, cause I never gonna tell you.
Tell her what? Nothing.
Wass, lets go.
Wass? Wass! Did you guys see him? No.
Wass? Lets look around.
Lets go.
Come on out of the water.
Shaw, where did Wass go? Control? We are here, Zoe.
Just talking about your suit.
Thats good, because my heads-up says I am losing pressure.
Hear that, flight? We have a leak.
Copy that.
It's built like a tank.
Should hold.
Donner? Zoe, can you give me some numbers? I'm at 65 P.
S.
I.
64.
7 .
3 We could go to the O.
P.
S.
The concern down here is that introducing more pressure may cause the leak to open further.
Guys, I am coming with you to Venus.
I'm gonna need to get you back inside as fast as we can.
Okay.
We have to depressurise this compartment, so he can get out.
Lets clear the bay.
Moving, guys.
She'll be OK? Would she, Donner? Yea.
Yes, she'll be fine.
- What the hell were you doing? - I was a lifeguard, you idiot.
Have you ever heard of passive rescue? - What? Literately, you have not.
Passive rescue means not struggling with the drowning, but you rather allow him to pull you down.
When the victim tires and starts to drown, he becomes weak enough that you take control and bring him to the surface I was doing what I was trained to do.
What the hell were you doing? I tried to help you! Well, then, be a gentleman and help me to pull out of the water.
My freaking pleasure.
What!? The Canis Major.
Finding constellations at 2 in the morning with the buzz on is fun.
Not so much at 7 am with a hangover.
Yea, I'm stretching it anyway.
My Mirzam is a little far from my Sirius.
Yea, I was gonna mention that.
I haven't heard you complain.
What's the matter? The test.
Oh, come on.
Stop with the tests.
It's easy for you to say.
You've been to Mars.
This is a psych-eval (psychological evaluation).
There's no right or wrong answer.
Unless you saw the black splotches being severed body parts, you're fine.
My answers to Rotter Incomplete Sentence Blanks were something like "If only I could fly.
" OK.
"The people I know aren't strangers.
" "Where I live is in a house.
" That's what you said? All right, these are perfectly fine answers.
Maybe if you was applying for space pre-school.
Yea.
Could I've been a little bit more stupid? Well A Let me tell ya, actually ya know, couple years back, we had this candidate by the name Rogers.
Okay? I took this guy up in the trainer, and he's puking the whole time, all right? So, we set her back down again and he's so desperate to get out that he thinks that eject lever is the canopy.
He did not.
150 feet strait up 150 feet down.
Boom.
The 'chute didn't have time to open.
That's terrible.
Yea, but he was more stupid than you.
He died! Yea, but it was funny.
Donner, this is personal.
Don't you get it? That guy is me.
I am clueless dead guy.
I just pulled the eject lever.
Closest that I'm gonna get to the space program, was last night, here, screwing you.
Ou, so that's why you did it? Did what? Screw me last night.
Get your little peace of space program? I'm sorry.
Wasn't that part of your pick up line? Yea, for civilians.
You know, I though that you are a civilian.
I don't screw astronauts.
Then, why did you sleep with me? I don't know.
Drunk.
Wrong.
So Wrong! I got you! You didn't got me.
You knew! Even when I told you why I was here.
You knew! What did I know? You knew that will never make it into the program.
Zoe Barnes! Hi.
Yes.
Right.
Well, yes I am flying this morning.
Thats very nice of you to say.
Thank you.
Yes.
Thank you very much for calling.
That was Agency Administrator.
Hey, I am sorry.
Look, they There's something like a 1000 applicants for every person that makes it.
It's really brutal.
Just Kiss me.
OK? You wanna roll one more time before your flight? I don't screw astronauts, Donner.
A? I just got in.
Are you there, Donner? I'm here, Zoe.
Mission control, I am in the air lock.
Hatch is secure.
We copy that.
Ted, you guys wanna get back in the corridor, You can re-pressurise now.
Copy that.
How's your pressure, Zoe? I am at 24 23.
9 Guess what? I am looking at Canis Major.
I can see it.
That would be A perfect Mirzam-Sirius arrangement, I think.
Yes, I would.
Much better than yours.
Aldo, yours is pretty good.
OK, I'm gonna start puling you back in now.
Sure as hell, beats ceiling sparkles.
She's gone from 5 to 2 atmospheres, in less than ten minutes.
Her speech is starting to slur.
Nitrogen narcosis? Yes.
It time to start worrying about the bands.
Donner, switch to private com two.
She's gettin' a little loopy, isn't she? We have her on a normal air mixture for these tests.
She's getting the nitrogen build up in the blood, like she's on 50 meters scuba dive.
Well, I can handle her drunk.
With depressurization, Claire fears that may be getting the bands (embolism).
I'll set up the hyperbaric chamber.
Can you guys give her a pressure bust? Negative Donner.
That micro leak we have is getting bigger by the minute.
You're telling me pick up the paste little bit, aren't ya? Do you feel like we've been here, Donner? I feel like we've been here many many times before Zoe You should really conserve your air now.
Is that a euphemism for "shut up"? I need you to conserve your air, Zoe.
I did not pull the eject lever.
I knew you didn't.
Stop talking.
Oh, it was a euphemism.
Euphemism.
Get her out of the suit as fast as we can, and then we get her into the chamber.
Get off your ass and do something! What? Tell me what to do, and I'll do it.
She's down to about 10 P.
S.
I.
Her interior suit will keep the pressure up, but she's only got three minutes of air.
That's not enough time to get her in.
The floor's open.
Ideas, people? She'll have roughly five minutes, after losing consciousness before sustaining brain damage.
It might be enough time.
What about spit, Arnel? Is that you, Wass? Yea, yea.
Can she spit? A tick one may slow micro leak considerably at that pressure.
And it would find the hole on its own.
Couldn't hurt.
I think its worth a shoot.
You get that, Donner? Copy on the lugi.
Zoe, you think you can spit for me? Spit? Yea.
Spit.
Hack a lugi.
Big one.
Right down in your suit.
Are you making fun of me? No, I'm not.
I am serious.
I need to hack a big one.
Rollie Is he making fun of me? Zoe, do it.
How big? As big as you can.
Right now.
Do it.
Come one.
Right now.
Come on.
It's slowing.
It's slowing.
Holding at 7.
Oh, my God.
Wow! Very impressive, Steven, but truly disgusting.
Oh, thank you! There is a reason he's on this mission.
Donner, get her back inside before she gets the bands.
Roger that.
I was a pretty decent athlete as a kid.
Hoops, soccer, baseball.
When it came to choosing up sides, I was almost always picked first.
That leads to a certain arrogance.
It's an expectation You perform well, you win.
Cause-effect.
I always knew you'll be here.
Doesn't always prepare you well for being an adult.
Schilling.
Stellar.
Pass.
Barnes.
Pass.
Wassenfelder.
I'll send that boy back tomorrow.
I want him passed.
He can't swim.
Teach him.
Life, isn't always fair I don't understand.
I am part of this team.
I am so sorry, Ajay.
Failure can be rewarded We'll find something for you in research.
Merit can be looked at like a disease Sometimes, I think that only natural selection happens in the Petri dish.
But It's in the Petri dish, that's not really natural, isn't it? No interest in the hatch blowing.
She didn't do it.
We are lucky we found that leak today not on Venus.
Yea.
Freaky lucky.
So, the question is who or what is it whats picking the teams? And why can results seem so unfair and so painful? I have no answers.
All I know is, if they pick you first, you better come trough And you never, ever, ever pull the damn eject lever.
by Dobrivoje, Siban and friends from
M.
F.
B.
go.
Hydrogen go.
Deuterium sequence started.
Stabilizers set on 1-4-0.
Positioning thrusters on 7-niner-7.
Seal generators are engaged.
Oh My God, she is out! Ted, I got Zoe out in the air-lock.
She's in the Air-lock 4.
Do you copy? Somebody get down here, stop her.
Zoe? Zoe! Hey Please, I No, no, no.
You go ahead, you look like you have a need.
OK.
Guten morgen (good morning).
Hey.
Briefing in 20 minutes.
All right.
So glad that you have joined us.
All right.
You supposed to be wearing your H.
A.
L.
O.
I'm wearing mine.
Mission control says that com channels 30 to 40 are glitchy.
I'll a look at the transmitter.
Thank you.
And Sorry! Sorry.
Thanks for joining us, Zoe.
Now, I know I may be a new guy, But I like for daily brief and for 24 rundown, to start at 07:00.
My mother called.
Won't happened again.
Is anyone noticed that com 45 is glitchy.
Yea, I'm already on it.
What? Zoe, you will be assisting Jen in N.
A.
S.
T.
E.
L.
"A" in the science lab.
That you gonna join Paula, Donner and Mintz for the Venice suit check up.
Wassenfelder, says that you are looking for D.
U.
N.
N.
O.
S.
? D.
U.
N.
N.
O.
S Dark, unknown, non-reflecting, non-detectable objects somewhere.
In another words: Dark Matter.
In another words: Nothing! If nothing is 90 percent of the universe, than nothing.
All right, guys, look I know Donner and I coming on board last minute is a little awkward.
Not for me.
Well it is for most of us.
This is huge, unexpected adjustment for all of us.
So please bear with us.
We have a lot of catching up to do.
Any questions, comments, concerns? Carry on.
Do you guys mind if we take just a minute here? I think its important no remember were we are.
You would think that there will be sadness when you start to pull away from Earth.
An ake for the mountains, whats left of the beaches.
For the sweet smell of the fresh air.
My guess, there is a little bit of that.
But, when you are an astronaut, you start asking your self question like How the hell did I get here? Is it hard work? Fate? Was it a hand of God? You ask yourself: Why am I one of the lucky suckers leaving? And not one of the poor bastards being left behind? I think that the obvious question is simply: what the hell happened? And the obvious answer is that we do not really know.
One minute we were on the mission.
The next minute we were off.
You had no warnings, no previous conditions? Well, Ajay and Rollie had small irregularities that have been exacerbated on the launch and the trip to the ship.
If this had been a shorter mission, they would still be up there.
But the fact is, this is a 6 years flight through the solar system.
This was a extremely difficult decision and the one that has been extraordinarily hard on the astronauts and their families.
Please, respect that.
So, will you two be joining the team on the floor now? We certainly hope so.
After a little R&R (rest and recovery) and life adjustment.
Thank you very much.
Thank you.
Sorry, Ajay.
As am I, Arnel.
Those were the breaks, ah? I guess my place is here, now.
Hi, students.
Welcome on 'Antares'.
And a very special welcome to the fifth graders at Lincoln Elementary in Findlay in Ohio.
I am Paula Morales.
Mission payload specialist.
And this is day three of our amazing mission through the solar system.
We are all just starting to settle into our routines and starting our science work.
Isn't that right, Jen? Yea, yea, that's right Paula.
This is our mission biologist Jen Crane.
Hi Rollie.
Hey baby.
And this is our mission geologist, Zoe Barnes.
Today Jen is starting a mission long experiment in natural selection.
Can you tell us what that is Jen? Well what we are doing is we are studying the differences in rabbits sperm and egg selection in weightless environment as oppose to the weighted one.
Does that mean you actually make bunnies? No, we harvest the DNA from the fertilized embryos and then we destroy them.
And then we start all over again using that new DNA to fertilize new embryos.
It's a pretty much as close as we're gonna get to sex in space.
Have a look.
See that? Look at that determination.
I had a boyfriend like that once and I'm telling you Booty call.
Uhmmm.
Today we will be testing your basic swim skills.
Those of you who don't have any will be packing your bags tonight, as this is a pass/fail situation.
We're gonna start you guys off treading water.
Sound simple? Twenty minutes no hands.
When you are finished you pull yourself in the life raft uneated.
It's your body.
It's your life And I'm not gonna tell you what to do with it.
Good.
Thank you.
It's just the sooner you abort the better you feel, physically and mentally.
Yes, I'm thinking about it.
We don't wont to do that if you can't swim.
Seriously, this is the end of the line for me.
Negativity prepares the mind for loosing.
You are not a looser.
I'm not a swimmer, dude.
Alright, can we start by the training underwater for zero gravity.
I feel like I'm gonna puke.
Allright, we do that with scuba gear that take adventage of neutral buoyancy.
Wow.
Anything that big still got to hurt.
How do you think he got it? It's a war injury.
Whatever happened to him, he's lucky he survived.
You should ask him.
No, you ask him.
Scars like that come with scars.
There's nothing to think about.
Honey, is this guy worthy of your gene pool? You see, if you can't answer that one quickly you should just forget about it.
I mean, I don't understand why are you protecting mystery man anyway.
If he's telling you had vasectomy then he is telling the same thing to other women and he should be outed immediately.
Questions? Group one, you're in the pool in two minutes.
Wow, wow, what group are we? Three.
Three? That's my least favored number.
You are going to be fine, Wass.
Come on.
"You are going to be fine, Wass.
Come on.
" The miracle of life.
Space baby is Rollie and I always joked there gonna be our kids.
But you destroy them to harvest their DNA.
Yea, when they are 10 cell embryos, Paula.
Thats the experiment.
However, in a way you are killing your children.
Little Miss Sunshine.
Zoe, we are going back to airlock to power up Venus suit.
We'll need you in about 20 minutes.
Copy that.
Excellent.
I'll come with you to make sure that the cameras are set up.
Happy to see him? Nadia is happy to see him.
That is all about knocking boots and you know it.
I really dont care.
I really dont.
So, you have to admit, its weird having Donner and Ted up here.
Isn't it? I couldn't even begin to tell ya.
Okay Ajay.
Take a deep breath.
We will hold off any cardiac procedures and put you guys on 'tiners' (anticoagulants).
Maybe the plaque will dissolve on its own.
How soon can I get back on the floor? Mike you can use CAPCOMS (CAPsule COMmunicators), As soon as you will feel ready.
I am ready now.
And I gonna needs your help brief Ted.
Yea, of course.
It cant be easy him, either.
It isn't easy for any of us.
Why do you think he waited so long to reject us? This is as big a mystery as the day that we found it.
All we can do is follow its lead.
And Ajay? Will he be coming back on the floor.
Goss wants to do a thural psych e val (Psychological evaluation).
If he passes? He won't pass, Rollie.
Barnes, you coming down? The suit is up and waiting for ya.
I'll be right in.
If only I could fly.
The people I know Aren't strangers.
Where I live is In a house.
Now, there is a woman who need some love.
Oh, you mean the blonde with glasses at the bar.
Aha, took it she gets an eye.
Eh, I am pretty sure that I've seen her at training center.
that puts her off-limits to you.
No, she is not off-limits unless she is a candidate.
Thats her fourth drink.
She is drinking alone, so something tells me she screw the pouch.
Did you just said "screwed the pogue"? "pouch".
I said "pouch".
Oh, oh, oh, oh.
There she goes.
Gentleman.
Be careful.
Better hurry.
She may bite.
She looks a little green.
Excuse me, do you have a Thank you.
I am a little emotional.
I'm just a I You wanna know what I did today? Do you want to know whats wrong with me? You want to know? I spent my whole freaking life Working my ass off I mean, dreaming about this, when chances one freaking chance, and I I blow it.
Hi mom.
No, it's cold up here.
I have the sniffles.
Who? No, I haven't called him yet.
I haven't had the time, mother.
Do you even remember why I came up here? It was not to meet your podiatrist's nephew.
I don't care if he's a scorpio, mother.
Cancer women have got to be compatible to another sign and I'm not No no I am not interested in a relationship right now.
I am How many times do I have to say You know what, mom? I am I am gonna go.
I am done with this.
So say "I love you".
I love you too.
Bye.
You know they are making these things for 200 years.
You think they would come up with something better then these buttons? You can get them with zippers, and this is the ladies room.
Couldn't fool me with that language.
Kiss your mother with that mouth? Thats freaking shocking.
All right, you are mocking me.
Screw you, Maddux Donner.
You're Maddux Donner.
Is that a good thing or a bad thing? Bad being A sorry excuse for a guy who left two people on Mars, or the goods, the tragic American hero you wanna take home and comfort.
That is pathetic.
You're not gonna pee? Four beers goes right trough me, but I, Cancers have the big bladders.
Are you stalking me? I probably coulda taken a pee in the mens room.
Get out! I'll be at the bar.
- Au, au, au.
- Astronauts don't say au.
Well, apparently they do now, Donner.
I just did.
I'm in.
- Control, Zoe's in.
- Roger that, Donner.
Lock and load.
Is that you, Rollie? Just came on shift.
Is Ajay back on too? Negative, Maddux.
He's got some pretty testing to go through.
- He'll be out here soon.
- Well, everybody up here thinks we're making piss poor replacements.
Well, you let us be the jugde on that.
- Helmet on? - Roger that.
The Venus suit was delivered to Antares over six months ago.
This is Zoe's chance to check out all of the critical operating systems.
The motors to help her move, the life support system and most importantly to check for any tiny leaks that may have developed in the seals.
We do this now, so if anything is wrong we have time to fix it.
Comprende? Suit's secure.
The suit is secure.
We are go for pressure.
Zoe? I'm set for a normal air mixture.
- Copy that.
- Everything is go for power up.
Executing power up.
Dr.
Mintz, can you tell us why Zoe needs this much protection on Venus? Well, the surface temperature on Venus is over 800 degrees Fahrenheit and the air pressure is that of 90 Earth atmospheres.
So even a tiny micro leak in her suit can be catastrophic.
Can you tell us how you will check for leaks? Zoe's suit can be pressurized to 5 atmospheres We're gonna drop the airlock pressure to that of a vacuum and if there is any breach at all, the air pressure will fall.
- Hey, lover.
- Hey.
We miss you a lot.
Roy made you a bowl of cereal this morning.
He forgot you were gone.
How are you holding up? I'm still in shock.
It's hard to take in within a few days.
Rollie will help you get through it.
And then you will have to help the crew when you get to Venus.
It won't be easy.
Why did it do this, Eve? You're the expert.
Why did it wait till the last minute? -Rollie was asking the same question.
- Because it doesn't make sense.
We know so little about Beta, about what it ultimately wants.
But apparently, it picked you and Donner.
For what? And why are we any better than Ajay and Rollie? - I don't know.
- Well what do you know, Eve? What do you guys know? - This is a huge mission.
- It knows.
Beta knows.
That's the leap of faith here.
We need you to visit Pod 4, honey.
It shows you.
Maybe it will give you an answer.
If you're the active cap com, then what are you doing talking to me? Well, Arnel and Donner are running suit check with Zoe So I thought I grab a little sugar with my baby.
I still can't believe you're not up here with me.
Ajay says it has to do with our true path in life.
There's nothing we could do.
Yeah, but they drag you all the way back there - and they don't do a cardiac procedure? - They have us on thinners.
They think the plague might resolve all on its own.
I'm making our babies.
I caught a little bit of Paula's show this morning.
She's explaining the Venus suit right now.
She ?waged? on me for having to kill the embryos.
An obnoxious way to put it, but she is entitled to her views.
Yeah, as am I.
And you have plenty that's why I love you.
You know I want babies with, don't you, Rol? I know, baby.
Plenty of time for that when you get back.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Couldn't you do that on Earth? Whatever it is you're doing.
The short answer is yes.
So, why do they bother launching 'your fat ass up here to do it? This conversation was old when you had your boobs done.
You are avoiding an answer.
You don't think I ask myself that question every day? Seriously.
I never should have made it through the program.
I know that.
But put yourself in my shoes.
If they offered you this, would you ever turn it down? Look at Nadia Schilling.
Her elbows are out of the water.
So are her breasts.
She is flashing the aides.
She really think that will help her get a better note? I hate men.
Group one, into the raft! Group two, into the pool! Let's go.
Come on.
Let's go.
This is so stupid.
What? I am not even gonna make it that far.
What's the point? The point is that you try.
You made it this far, Wass.
Who's to say you are not meant to go the whole way? Me.
I am saying it! It is never your own choice.
You've painted your face and went on an unauthorized EVA (Extra-vehicular activity).
Is that a rational behavior for an astronaut? I understand completely what I did was highly emotional and self destructive response.
When you feel like your destiny has been ripped from your body, you are without the rudder in a fierce wind, completely overtaken by the emotion of that moment.
How is he? Sane and moving.
For this I truly apologize.
But that wont get him anywhere, will it? Left arm forward.
Nominal.
- Arm bend.
- Nominal.
Twist on diagonal.
Nominal.
Full range of motion, thou I fill like a Michelin man.
Yea, it has always been an uncanny resemblance.
Hey! That's it for a test, Control.
We are nominal in all.
We copy that.
Zoe, you can give me a pressure reading of your heads up? - Just over 73 PSI.
- 5 atmospheres.
Perfect.
Same we got out here.
Let's see what happens in the vacuum.
Copy that.
I'm gonna try a turn around here.
Something wrong, Zoe? - Did you hear that? - Hear what? On the com? Are those glitches still there? Yeah, just a little feedback on the com.
You okay? Nominal, Donner.
I'm perfect.
Ah Rollie, just give me a second here before you secure.
Copy that.
Tether is not required, Donner.
The outside hatch is not opening.
Well, airlocks makes me nervous a lately, let just leave it like that.
Alright, Paula, let's clear.
Pod 4 engaged.
Zoe, please don't.
Flight, we have a breach.
Open the hatch! - Donner? - Zoe! The pressure blew her out.
Ted, we got a problem.
Hatch failed.
Zoe's out.
Repeat.
Zoe's out.
How's that happening? The airlock hatch opened.
Zoe's out.
She had to hit the hatch pad.
We didn't do it here.
Thank God she's tethered.
Zoe, you OK? Suit's operating? I'm a little shaken up, but everything looks nominal.
What the hell happened? I don't know.
Did you hit the hatch pad? - I did not hit the hatch pad.
- Well, I'm just asking.
Well, you don't need to ask because I did not pull the freaking - eject leaver.
- Fine.
Can you get a hold of anything? Not a chance.
I feel like a fishing lure.
Set tight.
I'm gonna roll you in.
10 bucks.
10 bucks for what? 10 bucks is a no go.
No go? He goes home alone.
Ok, here she comes.
Can I have my dept, please? He took care of it.
Tell him thank you And to go screw himself.
My man! You're losing your touch.
Yea, certainly looks that way, doesn't it? Damn.
No, no, don't give up.
I think she likes you.
You may have a better luck without the sunglasses.
Of course, if you're looking for this, you have left it with a bartender.
I think it was on purpose.
Do you bring any What? Do you have any I've had a vasectomy.
Is he in the program? Why would I tell you if he's in the program? Okay, so he's in the program.
What? It's an easy denial, Zoe.
Is it in the program? "No".
You ??? Okay So, witch one of this schmucks is dump enough to tell you he had a vasectomy? Group two, in the raft.
Group three, in the pool.
Oh God.
Is it instructor? We stop? Can we please just stop? You never gonna find out, cause I never gonna tell you.
Tell her what? Nothing.
Wass, lets go.
Wass? Wass! Did you guys see him? No.
Wass? Lets look around.
Lets go.
Come on out of the water.
Shaw, where did Wass go? Control? We are here, Zoe.
Just talking about your suit.
Thats good, because my heads-up says I am losing pressure.
Hear that, flight? We have a leak.
Copy that.
It's built like a tank.
Should hold.
Donner? Zoe, can you give me some numbers? I'm at 65 P.
S.
I.
64.
7 .
3 We could go to the O.
P.
S.
The concern down here is that introducing more pressure may cause the leak to open further.
Guys, I am coming with you to Venus.
I'm gonna need to get you back inside as fast as we can.
Okay.
We have to depressurise this compartment, so he can get out.
Lets clear the bay.
Moving, guys.
She'll be OK? Would she, Donner? Yea.
Yes, she'll be fine.
- What the hell were you doing? - I was a lifeguard, you idiot.
Have you ever heard of passive rescue? - What? Literately, you have not.
Passive rescue means not struggling with the drowning, but you rather allow him to pull you down.
When the victim tires and starts to drown, he becomes weak enough that you take control and bring him to the surface I was doing what I was trained to do.
What the hell were you doing? I tried to help you! Well, then, be a gentleman and help me to pull out of the water.
My freaking pleasure.
What!? The Canis Major.
Finding constellations at 2 in the morning with the buzz on is fun.
Not so much at 7 am with a hangover.
Yea, I'm stretching it anyway.
My Mirzam is a little far from my Sirius.
Yea, I was gonna mention that.
I haven't heard you complain.
What's the matter? The test.
Oh, come on.
Stop with the tests.
It's easy for you to say.
You've been to Mars.
This is a psych-eval (psychological evaluation).
There's no right or wrong answer.
Unless you saw the black splotches being severed body parts, you're fine.
My answers to Rotter Incomplete Sentence Blanks were something like "If only I could fly.
" OK.
"The people I know aren't strangers.
" "Where I live is in a house.
" That's what you said? All right, these are perfectly fine answers.
Maybe if you was applying for space pre-school.
Yea.
Could I've been a little bit more stupid? Well A Let me tell ya, actually ya know, couple years back, we had this candidate by the name Rogers.
Okay? I took this guy up in the trainer, and he's puking the whole time, all right? So, we set her back down again and he's so desperate to get out that he thinks that eject lever is the canopy.
He did not.
150 feet strait up 150 feet down.
Boom.
The 'chute didn't have time to open.
That's terrible.
Yea, but he was more stupid than you.
He died! Yea, but it was funny.
Donner, this is personal.
Don't you get it? That guy is me.
I am clueless dead guy.
I just pulled the eject lever.
Closest that I'm gonna get to the space program, was last night, here, screwing you.
Ou, so that's why you did it? Did what? Screw me last night.
Get your little peace of space program? I'm sorry.
Wasn't that part of your pick up line? Yea, for civilians.
You know, I though that you are a civilian.
I don't screw astronauts.
Then, why did you sleep with me? I don't know.
Drunk.
Wrong.
So Wrong! I got you! You didn't got me.
You knew! Even when I told you why I was here.
You knew! What did I know? You knew that will never make it into the program.
Zoe Barnes! Hi.
Yes.
Right.
Well, yes I am flying this morning.
Thats very nice of you to say.
Thank you.
Yes.
Thank you very much for calling.
That was Agency Administrator.
Hey, I am sorry.
Look, they There's something like a 1000 applicants for every person that makes it.
It's really brutal.
Just Kiss me.
OK? You wanna roll one more time before your flight? I don't screw astronauts, Donner.
A? I just got in.
Are you there, Donner? I'm here, Zoe.
Mission control, I am in the air lock.
Hatch is secure.
We copy that.
Ted, you guys wanna get back in the corridor, You can re-pressurise now.
Copy that.
How's your pressure, Zoe? I am at 24 23.
9 Guess what? I am looking at Canis Major.
I can see it.
That would be A perfect Mirzam-Sirius arrangement, I think.
Yes, I would.
Much better than yours.
Aldo, yours is pretty good.
OK, I'm gonna start puling you back in now.
Sure as hell, beats ceiling sparkles.
She's gone from 5 to 2 atmospheres, in less than ten minutes.
Her speech is starting to slur.
Nitrogen narcosis? Yes.
It time to start worrying about the bands.
Donner, switch to private com two.
She's gettin' a little loopy, isn't she? We have her on a normal air mixture for these tests.
She's getting the nitrogen build up in the blood, like she's on 50 meters scuba dive.
Well, I can handle her drunk.
With depressurization, Claire fears that may be getting the bands (embolism).
I'll set up the hyperbaric chamber.
Can you guys give her a pressure bust? Negative Donner.
That micro leak we have is getting bigger by the minute.
You're telling me pick up the paste little bit, aren't ya? Do you feel like we've been here, Donner? I feel like we've been here many many times before Zoe You should really conserve your air now.
Is that a euphemism for "shut up"? I need you to conserve your air, Zoe.
I did not pull the eject lever.
I knew you didn't.
Stop talking.
Oh, it was a euphemism.
Euphemism.
Get her out of the suit as fast as we can, and then we get her into the chamber.
Get off your ass and do something! What? Tell me what to do, and I'll do it.
She's down to about 10 P.
S.
I.
Her interior suit will keep the pressure up, but she's only got three minutes of air.
That's not enough time to get her in.
The floor's open.
Ideas, people? She'll have roughly five minutes, after losing consciousness before sustaining brain damage.
It might be enough time.
What about spit, Arnel? Is that you, Wass? Yea, yea.
Can she spit? A tick one may slow micro leak considerably at that pressure.
And it would find the hole on its own.
Couldn't hurt.
I think its worth a shoot.
You get that, Donner? Copy on the lugi.
Zoe, you think you can spit for me? Spit? Yea.
Spit.
Hack a lugi.
Big one.
Right down in your suit.
Are you making fun of me? No, I'm not.
I am serious.
I need to hack a big one.
Rollie Is he making fun of me? Zoe, do it.
How big? As big as you can.
Right now.
Do it.
Come one.
Right now.
Come on.
It's slowing.
It's slowing.
Holding at 7.
Oh, my God.
Wow! Very impressive, Steven, but truly disgusting.
Oh, thank you! There is a reason he's on this mission.
Donner, get her back inside before she gets the bands.
Roger that.
I was a pretty decent athlete as a kid.
Hoops, soccer, baseball.
When it came to choosing up sides, I was almost always picked first.
That leads to a certain arrogance.
It's an expectation You perform well, you win.
Cause-effect.
I always knew you'll be here.
Doesn't always prepare you well for being an adult.
Schilling.
Stellar.
Pass.
Barnes.
Pass.
Wassenfelder.
I'll send that boy back tomorrow.
I want him passed.
He can't swim.
Teach him.
Life, isn't always fair I don't understand.
I am part of this team.
I am so sorry, Ajay.
Failure can be rewarded We'll find something for you in research.
Merit can be looked at like a disease Sometimes, I think that only natural selection happens in the Petri dish.
But It's in the Petri dish, that's not really natural, isn't it? No interest in the hatch blowing.
She didn't do it.
We are lucky we found that leak today not on Venus.
Yea.
Freaky lucky.
So, the question is who or what is it whats picking the teams? And why can results seem so unfair and so painful? I have no answers.
All I know is, if they pick you first, you better come trough And you never, ever, ever pull the damn eject lever.
by Dobrivoje, Siban and friends from