The First (2018) s01e06 Episode Script
Collisions
1 [DOOR CLOSES.]
[DOOR OPENS.]
[FOOTSTEPS APPROACHING.]
[DOOR UNLOCKS.]
[DOOR UNLOCKS.]
[BUZZER.]
Sorry again to get you up so early, Commander.
- Not a problem.
- Right this way, Ms.
Hagerty.
I owe you one.
Follow me this way, Ms.
Hagerty.
I'm glad you called.
Thanks, Jeff.
[DOOR CLOSES.]
[BOOTS THUD.]
[DOOR OPENS.]
Nick, I think if you hold the blanket away with the claw while you're shoving the cufflink through, it might settle down that dynamic.
Copy that.
Let's move in 10 centimeters.
Tom, we're gonna need you to come up.
We're not finished.
I'm aborting the sim.
What's going on? I'll fly Matteo out to cover your position.
He could use the hours anyway.
I hate disrupting training like this.
- [BAG ZIPS.]
- We got it covered.
This doesn't have to be a repeat of last time.
Don't let that get into your head.
You just do what you need to do.
- [SIGHS.]
Thanks.
- Yeah.
- We'll do photos first? - Fine.
You can start setting up down here.
Did you enjoy your flight? - Yeah.
- Very good.
Glad to hear it.
- She's not in yet.
- Is she on her way? Mr.
Shultz, I'm Jason, Laz's assistant.
Please come with me.
Got it.
We're just gonna have to wait in this conference room here, - if you don't mind.
- Okay.
- Jason told you? - You threw your back out.
It's terrible luck.
I haven't put it out like this - for a while.
- [BEEPS.]
I can come to you.
Uh perhaps we could postpone till tomorrow.
Jason could give you a full tour, we could put you up for the night.
I have to be in Washington tomorrow.
Senator Mills, Thibodeaux, NASA.
It's a tight schedule.
It's just I don't think I can make it today, and I I don't want you to have to see me in bed.
How about we can start on the phone, and if you feel better, maybe we meet later? Perfect.
I may have to hop off for a few minutes once the painkillers kick in.
- Mind if I start recording? - Go ahead.
[WATCH DINGS.]
All right.
We are on the record now.
Well, let's start with the MAV malfunction straightaway what we think happened, and how we plan to tackle it.
- Um, there have always b - We'll get to the MAV.
I prefer to ask some questions first.
Let's start with the beginning, before VISTA.
You made your seed money through Purifair.
Terrible name.
Was that Spano or you? His team did some data analytics et voilà .
And no, I walked away without a dime from Spano.
Although I did have some personal savings, but peanuts compared to what we needed for VISTA.
In the Economist interview, you said that y Which one? 2026 or '30? The most recent.
I said I walked away with the seeds, not the seed money.
You remember your exact quote? Photographic memory.
It's a curse as much as a blessing.
- So, by seeds, you meant - Oh, people, some staff, important connections.
Ah, political connections.
The beginning of my career has been written about ad nauseam.
Should we do something different? I've been told that you hate doing press.
There are those in my field who nurture the cult of personality.
That doesn't interest me.
But things like this Well, they're part of the job, so we do what we must do.
And I'm just trying to do my job.
Then ask me something I haven't been asked a hundred times before.
- Are you happy? - [LAUGHS.]
Got my first laugh.
No, I'm not happy.
Why not? Happiness is death by complacency.
That's what you tell your children? I will leave them to draw their own conclusions.
How would your children describe you? [PHONE BLIPS.]
Aaron, can I call you back in a few minutes? - Those painkillers are quick.
- They are.
And convenient.
[PHONE BLIPS.]
I have another call I need to take.
- I'll be here.
- Thanks.
End call.
[SIGHS.]
Answer.
This is Laz.
Are we on a secure line? Yes, I'll connect you to Commander Hagerty now.
Denise? Come on.
You should eat something.
[GROANS.]
[MUMBLES.]
I'm not hungry.
[SIGHS.]
Eat anyway.
[SIGHS.]
Is there anything in here I should worry about? Does my dad know? Yeah.
He's on a plane home now.
[SIGHS.]
I wish I could draw like that.
I'm finished.
I'll leave it there in case you want some more.
I'll leave the door open.
You were telling me your thoughts on happiness.
Right.
It's a clever quote, but I think there's more to it.
I don't think your readers are interested in whether I'm happy or not.
Are you on the spectrum? [SIGHS, CHUCKLES.]
Which one? There are so many.
It's been speculated in other articles.
Standing on the shoulders of dwarves again.
I'm not speculating.
I'm asking.
Diagnosed, no.
And a anyway, what does it matter? Self-awareness.
I am quite self-aware.
I mean, sometimes I wish I wasn't.
How do you mean? Do you ever feel imprisoned? - By what? - You Your own thoughts.
Y your thoughts.
I imprisoned is maybe not the right word.
Um Um overwhelmed.
Sometimes but probably not in the same way.
I don't have the mind you do.
- Well, you're lucky.
- I think a lot of people would kill to have your mind.
Flattery won't soften me.
Let's skip that.
You softened already.
- Did I? - Show me another article where you've talked about being overwhelmed.
Why did you request me? Your editor told you.
She showed me the e-mail.
Curiosity, I suppose.
I don't buy that.
Here's what I think.
That my reporting has been critical of the Mars program, and you haven't given a major interview since the explosion, and the clicks will go through the roof.
And if you can convince me, a skeptic, then you will have public opinion on your side in case the MAV fix fails.
I also don't buy your back gave out.
- Why would I lie about that? - You tell me.
Yes, I wanted to discuss the MAV.
That is why I raised it at the beginning.
In terms of the press, I didn't give an interview since the launch because I thought it was my job to focus on the work, not to draw attention to the things that You can retreat to your talking points, but that's not how you win me over.
Some people prefer to speak on the phone where they can't be seen, where they can be less self-aware, less self-conscious.
Where they can be more in control.
We have one more shot at this mission, and it's important that we show the world it's in good hands.
- Your hands.
- Thousands of people's hands working day and night to make sure that it's a success.
You could've said the same about the first launch, and now you have a major asset on Mars that isn't working.
I'm confident the MAV will be fully functioning by the time we launch.
Confidence is an attitude, not a fact.
- You want me to prove it.
- That would be nice.
- Sleep? - Normal.
- Appetite? - Normal.
- Dreams? - None.
You're not being entirely honest.
Sorry.
I don't remember my dreams.
You're not being entirely honest.
- It's so weird.
- It's just a beta version.
How does he know you're lying? He uses facial cues, uh pulse, body temperature.
Hmm.
- Want to give it a try? - Oh.
I don't know.
Yeah.
Come on.
Go ahead.
Yeah.
Okay.
Matteo, new subject.
Begin.
I'm Matteo.
What's your name? Mm! Feels like our first date.
- Just tell him your name.
- I'm Camila Rodriguez.
- Hello, Camila.
- [CHUCKLES.]
What do you want to talk about? So, this is, like, if something happened to you, right? Or I'm not in the Hab or I'm asleep.
People respond better when they have a face to look at.
But isn't that messed up? Like, if you're If you're dead, then they're just staring at your ghost.
All right, let's depressurize.
Roger.
Go for depress.
[BEEPING.]
[AIR HISSING.]
I think it's a mistake to show him.
Laz wants to roll the dice.
Did she tell him we've only got a 40% success rate? It's 42.
8%.
And who's got to do the song and dance? The Head Engineer.
You're an engineer and an astronaut.
Okay, rock, paper, scissors.
[CHUCKLES.]
Oh, God, no.
You've got a statistically better chance at winning than getting this test to work.
It's 33%.
Isn't that six different options Okay, well, you've got a 67% chance of not losing.
But, actually, the draw's an automatic redo.
Statistically, it would be Okay, let's just do it.
Come on.
- All right, fine.
- All right.
- One, two - Wait.
It's after three, correct? - On.
- On? - Yeah.
- All right, fine.
- One, two, three.
Damn it.
- [CHUCKLES.]
Okay, two out of three.
No way.
Enjoy.
The rover should arrive at base camp in approximately 10 weeks.
We'll use its drill to get into the insulation on the cord to the mobile power plant.
Zoom in to the reactor.
The drill closes the circuit, the MAV loses power.
That triggers an automatic reboot of the CPU.
- I'm not a tech guy.
- Let's say you have a coffee maker that isn't working, and you don't know if it's making coffee or not, no matter how many voice commands you give it.
- The coffee is fuel.
- Yes, liquid oxygen.
- Okay.
- But if you pull the plug and plug it back in, maybe it starts talking to you again.
The coffee here is shit, by the way.
- [CHUCKLES.]
Budget cuts.
- [CHUCKLES.]
Can you get closer on the power cord? So, that is our plug.
But instead of unplugging it, we're shorting it.
Now pull up the simulation.
You said "maybe.
" You're not certain it'll work.
We're still running tests.
You'll see one today.
The key is to have the drill bit vaporize the instant it shorts the circuit.
Otherwise, too much current loops back on the reactor.
Bad news bears.
How bad? [IMITATES EXPLOSION.]
That's worst-case.
Uh, but we do have a manual-fix option as a backup.
- Fix it up there? - And we have MAV2 going with us.
There it is.
But that means you're launching with one broken MAV on the surface, and the one you're sending, if that malfunctions or crashes or The chances of coming back - are greatly reduced.
- Greatly.
- Yes.
- What are the odds? It's tough to put exact numbers on it.
Coin flip? Better? Worse? They wouldn't let us launch if it was worse, but it's not much on the side of better.
[CHUCKLES.]
How does that make you feel? Putting your lives at that much risk? We don't spend a lot of time thinking about it.
What about your family? All our families know what we signed up for.
[SIGHS.]
[DOOR OPENS, CLOSES.]
Hey.
- She in her room? - Yeah.
She had a bite to eat, and then she went back to sleep.
Thank you for this.
- Flaring up? - Oh, it just started.
It's fine.
We need a plan.
It's on me, I took the risk, but I can't have you leaving.
Not again.
I told you it wouldn't be predictable.
I know.
But if the last facility didn't work, then let's try a new one, or home care.
Do you think she'd be open to that? I haven't even spoken to her yet.
Tom.
I appreciate you looking out for her, but I think you should go.
I need to be part of this discussion.
No, actually, you don't need to be part of this discussion.
This is between my daughter and I.
- This is family business.
- Now it's my business, too, because you're our commander.
[SIGHS.]
Hey.
You okay? Yeah, just gonna go take a shower.
[DOOR OPENS, CLOSES.]
[WATCH BEEPING.]
[SIGHS.]
This is Laz.
We're ready.
Want me to sync you now? Do it without me and then call me after.
End call.
[PHONE BLIPS.]
That's the drill test for the Times piece.
- You need a heat pack? - No.
I got some meds in my bag.
I could've sworn Hmm.
Were you only in the kitchen and out here with your bag? Yeah.
And Denise's room, but What kind of meds? Painkillers? Yeah.
- Denise?! - [WATER RUNNING.]
- Denise, open the door, baby! - What?! Open the door.
Open it! Come on! Open the door for me! [BANGING ON DOOR.]
You have that purse in there with you?! Tom! I found it.
[WATER SHUTS OFF.]
[DOOR LOCKS.]
Okay, let's lower it.
[WHIRRING.]
We've made contact.
What am I looking for? A flash when the bit vaporizes.
[WHIRRING CONTINUES.]
Okay, power down.
It didn't work.
- No.
- Is that a fluke or We haven't achieved consistency yet.
- How inconsistent are you? - This is early stages.
There's plenty of room for improvement.
Yeah.
[DOOR OPENS.]
Are you ready to talk? I can just listen if you want.
I don't know what to say.
What happened? I don't really know how I ended up there.
I wasn't even high yet.
I just It was the painting.
I finished the one of Mom, and I just Oh, my God.
Everybody, out! Let's go! Everybody out of there.
Are you okay? Can you tell me what you took? We need an EMT over here.
No! No! No! No! No! I fought him when he tried to pull me out.
Then Then I was in the hospital and then jail.
[SIGHS.]
And why did you call Laz instead of me? You were out of town.
She wasn't.
And I was afraid.
Of what? [VOICE BREAKING.]
Of fucking everything up again.
When you OD'd back in New York I didn't OD this time.
But you could've.
You could've.
That's all I think about.
I remember you hooked up to all those machines, your skin so pale, your heartbeat s skipping.
Any m moment, it could stop.
And that's what scares me.
That I'm gonna get that call that you're gone.
[SIGHS.]
Mom and I felt that.
When you were up there.
What do we do? How do we fix this? We're working on our success rate.
- You said you were confident.
- I am confident.
- We've still got time.
- What I saw is a failed test.
The engineers tell me you're not anywhere close to consistency, and if you fail, you're putting lives at increased risk.
That's your version of confidence? I'm confident in what we're capable of achieving.
No one thought we'd raise the venture capital.
We did.
No one thought we'd get NASA on board.
We did.
No one thought we'd have a transit vehicle prototype by 2026.
We did.
Or that we'd get it built within two years.
We did.
Every asset, every satellite, dozens of launches.
I had the confidence we could.
And I was right.
70 years, NASA's had, what, a 4% fatality rate? You can't hold Mars to the same standard.
When it's people lives I sure as hell can.
You keep focusing on the explosion rather than all the success before it.
- And you keep deflecting.
- Quite the opposite.
Yes.
People died.
And people will die.
Any time people venture into the unknown, there is a cost.
Space has never been safe.
No frontier is safe.
Quote me When it comes to Mars, we must get used to death.
I believe it's worth the lives we lose.
The five astronauts you lost doesn't that eat at you? Doesn't that give you pause? Y you're asking me to weigh my entire life's work against the loss of life.
It's an impossible question.
But it's the question.
It's the question that never goes away.
It's their lives, not yours.
You don't understand.
Not finishing what I was meant to do that's worse than death.
- I can't explain it.
- If you can't explain it to me, good luck with the rest of the world.
I want you to watch another test.
I'll get Eitan to double the voltage.
I'll rig it so that you can see how it's supposed to work.
That doesn't prove anything.
All the people who have doubted me professors, investors, politicians, journalists they all said the same thing "I'll believe it when I see it.
" But that's backwards.
Belief comes first.
- Only then can you see it.
- I don't report fictions.
I'm asking you to use your imagination.
So, I'll quit.
No.
I don't want to hold you back.
- You're more important.
- I'm not.
I know you think that your mom, that I Look, I didn't mean that.
[VOICE BREAKING.]
You might be right.
I just can't change it.
And I don't want to lose you, too.
I don't want to lose you, either.
So, I'll stay.
You'd hate me.
And I'd hate myself.
[WATER RUNNING.]
Denise? We need a plan.
I'm not trying to be insensitive, but we do.
Yeah.
I'll go to Myk's.
Um, that's not a very good idea.
- She's my sponsor.
- And she's an addict.
I can't stay here anymore.
All right, then we'll just find something else, we'll rent something.
We'll get out of here for a while, - do whatever we have to do.
- No.
No, no, no, no.
I want to go to Myk's.
Denise, what was it about the last program? - What didn't you like about it? - No, no, no.
I I'm not going to rehab again.
Maybe it was just the wrong fit.
You guys are not going to ship me out! No, don't you Don't! No.
No.
I'm going.
You're not in a position to make very good decisions right now.
I'll jump off the fucking balcony if I have to! No, that you won't do.
Sit down! Tom.
This is This is my daughter.
Why won't you just let me go? You know, it would be so much easier for both of you, for everybody I can't do I can't do that! Okay? Then I never should've come back.
And what what were you gonna do? - Just be out on the street? - There's nothing for me here! There's me! There's me! No, we tried that, and it doesn't work! You know, I can't help it, but I hate your mother.
I hate your mother for putting us in this.
I Don't you dare blame her! She left! I haven't! I'm still here! You know what? She was there for me more than you will ever be! Ever! All right, you know what? All right, fine.
Fine.
Walk out the door in your bare feet.
Go drown yourself in the same goddamn river she did.
Go.
- That's enough! - No, no, I didn't mean it.
- No! Get off! - I didn't mean it.
I'm sorry.
Fuck.
Fuck! I'm sorry.
Denise.
Denise, this is what I want.
I want you to come home with me.
I have a guesthouse.
You'll have your own space, okay? Just for a few days.
Just breathe.
We don't have to figure everything out right now.
Will you do that? Okay, get your stuff.
[SIGHS.]
Drill at speed.
Okay, lower the arm.
We've made contact.
Rub two sticks together long enough fast enough your palms will blister.
You'll rub the skin right off.
Your jaw will clench from the pain.
[WIND HOWLING.]
You'll fail, and you'll fail again.
[BIRDS CAWING.]
But then where there was darkness, there's light.
Where there was cold there's warmth.
You can see every corner of the cave.
You can walk into the night even without the moon or stars to guide you.
But to get there, you had to believe.
You had to believe there was fire within the dead wood that made your fingers bleed.
No, it wasn't God that lit the way.
It was your own two hands.
It's beautiful.
Why don't you come up to the house? [CHUCKLES.]
I'll get Jason to make the arrangements.
End call.
You may want to stay put in the guesthouse when the reporter comes.
If that's all right with you.
Okay.
The fridge should be fully stocked, um, but if you want anything else, make a list, and we can get it for you.
And if you don't feel like cooking, the chef will be here from 2:00 till 10:00 p.
m.
every day.
There's a housekeeper at midday to do a tidy and take laundry.
Okay? I'll let you get settled, then.
What are you most afraid of? I'm supposed to say "losing another crew.
" What are you not supposed to say? "Being willing to lose another crew.
" [CAMERA SHUTTER CLICKS.]
Why don't you just transcribe the recording? Writing it longhand helps bake things into my brain.
How 20th century of you.
Not all innovation is progress.
I suppose if you write down everything I've said today, I won't come off very well.
Better than if you'd kept your guard up.
People respond to honesty.
But you know that.
- Do I? - It's a strategy, too.
You must think I'm very calculated.
I think you have to be.
Oh, could I have a tissue? I suppose you think this is a case in point.
She wiped all her makeup off so she doesn't look glamorous for the photo shoot.
- No, I've only got 3,000 words.
- [CHUCKLES.]
We're ready when you are, Ms.
Ingram.
Okay.
[GRUNTS.]
- Could you give me a hand? - Yeah.
Here.
I promise to make this quick.
Well, you take the time you need.
You have a job to do.
Okay.
We're just gonna run some, uh, test shots, so you might want to close your eyes while we run the flash.
- Aaron.
- Yeah? You know at the beginning when you asked me - about the seed money? - Yes.
It was my sister.
- The model? - Yes.
Not for VISTA, but for my first prototype in grad school the CO2 scrubber.
That's how Spano found me.
But I needed 200 grand, and Elena gave it to me.
Would you rather sit in the photo? - I'd rather stand.
- Okay.
We're almost done.
It disgusted me having to ask her.
There she was, earning all this money for doing absolutely nothing, just standing there, and I was trying to build something.
I resented her.
Okay, you can open your eyes.
Over time, I've come to admire her.
I mean, it can't have been easy just standing there doing nothing.
Um, being Exposed.
Exposed.
[CAMERA SHUTTER CLICKS.]
Scan.
New skin.
New subject.
Whenever you're ready to begin, just say "Begin.
" I'll leave you to it.
[DOOR OPENS, CLOSES.]
- Begin.
- Hello, Tom Hagerty.
What do you want to talk about? My daughter.
Her name's Denise.
She's my only child and I'm frightened for her.
What are you frightened of? I don't know if I can give her what she needs.
What does she need? I don't know.
The mission I know what that is.
I know what that requires.
I'm trained for it.
But with her [SIGHS.]
I don't understand anything.
[SIGHS.]
I would give it all up again, the mission.
I'd give it up if I knew that that would make her okay.
You're not being entirely honest.
[DOOR OPENS.]
[FOOTSTEPS APPROACHING.]
[DOOR UNLOCKS.]
[DOOR UNLOCKS.]
[BUZZER.]
Sorry again to get you up so early, Commander.
- Not a problem.
- Right this way, Ms.
Hagerty.
I owe you one.
Follow me this way, Ms.
Hagerty.
I'm glad you called.
Thanks, Jeff.
[DOOR CLOSES.]
[BOOTS THUD.]
[DOOR OPENS.]
Nick, I think if you hold the blanket away with the claw while you're shoving the cufflink through, it might settle down that dynamic.
Copy that.
Let's move in 10 centimeters.
Tom, we're gonna need you to come up.
We're not finished.
I'm aborting the sim.
What's going on? I'll fly Matteo out to cover your position.
He could use the hours anyway.
I hate disrupting training like this.
- [BAG ZIPS.]
- We got it covered.
This doesn't have to be a repeat of last time.
Don't let that get into your head.
You just do what you need to do.
- [SIGHS.]
Thanks.
- Yeah.
- We'll do photos first? - Fine.
You can start setting up down here.
Did you enjoy your flight? - Yeah.
- Very good.
Glad to hear it.
- She's not in yet.
- Is she on her way? Mr.
Shultz, I'm Jason, Laz's assistant.
Please come with me.
Got it.
We're just gonna have to wait in this conference room here, - if you don't mind.
- Okay.
- Jason told you? - You threw your back out.
It's terrible luck.
I haven't put it out like this - for a while.
- [BEEPS.]
I can come to you.
Uh perhaps we could postpone till tomorrow.
Jason could give you a full tour, we could put you up for the night.
I have to be in Washington tomorrow.
Senator Mills, Thibodeaux, NASA.
It's a tight schedule.
It's just I don't think I can make it today, and I I don't want you to have to see me in bed.
How about we can start on the phone, and if you feel better, maybe we meet later? Perfect.
I may have to hop off for a few minutes once the painkillers kick in.
- Mind if I start recording? - Go ahead.
[WATCH DINGS.]
All right.
We are on the record now.
Well, let's start with the MAV malfunction straightaway what we think happened, and how we plan to tackle it.
- Um, there have always b - We'll get to the MAV.
I prefer to ask some questions first.
Let's start with the beginning, before VISTA.
You made your seed money through Purifair.
Terrible name.
Was that Spano or you? His team did some data analytics et voilà .
And no, I walked away without a dime from Spano.
Although I did have some personal savings, but peanuts compared to what we needed for VISTA.
In the Economist interview, you said that y Which one? 2026 or '30? The most recent.
I said I walked away with the seeds, not the seed money.
You remember your exact quote? Photographic memory.
It's a curse as much as a blessing.
- So, by seeds, you meant - Oh, people, some staff, important connections.
Ah, political connections.
The beginning of my career has been written about ad nauseam.
Should we do something different? I've been told that you hate doing press.
There are those in my field who nurture the cult of personality.
That doesn't interest me.
But things like this Well, they're part of the job, so we do what we must do.
And I'm just trying to do my job.
Then ask me something I haven't been asked a hundred times before.
- Are you happy? - [LAUGHS.]
Got my first laugh.
No, I'm not happy.
Why not? Happiness is death by complacency.
That's what you tell your children? I will leave them to draw their own conclusions.
How would your children describe you? [PHONE BLIPS.]
Aaron, can I call you back in a few minutes? - Those painkillers are quick.
- They are.
And convenient.
[PHONE BLIPS.]
I have another call I need to take.
- I'll be here.
- Thanks.
End call.
[SIGHS.]
Answer.
This is Laz.
Are we on a secure line? Yes, I'll connect you to Commander Hagerty now.
Denise? Come on.
You should eat something.
[GROANS.]
[MUMBLES.]
I'm not hungry.
[SIGHS.]
Eat anyway.
[SIGHS.]
Is there anything in here I should worry about? Does my dad know? Yeah.
He's on a plane home now.
[SIGHS.]
I wish I could draw like that.
I'm finished.
I'll leave it there in case you want some more.
I'll leave the door open.
You were telling me your thoughts on happiness.
Right.
It's a clever quote, but I think there's more to it.
I don't think your readers are interested in whether I'm happy or not.
Are you on the spectrum? [SIGHS, CHUCKLES.]
Which one? There are so many.
It's been speculated in other articles.
Standing on the shoulders of dwarves again.
I'm not speculating.
I'm asking.
Diagnosed, no.
And a anyway, what does it matter? Self-awareness.
I am quite self-aware.
I mean, sometimes I wish I wasn't.
How do you mean? Do you ever feel imprisoned? - By what? - You Your own thoughts.
Y your thoughts.
I imprisoned is maybe not the right word.
Um Um overwhelmed.
Sometimes but probably not in the same way.
I don't have the mind you do.
- Well, you're lucky.
- I think a lot of people would kill to have your mind.
Flattery won't soften me.
Let's skip that.
You softened already.
- Did I? - Show me another article where you've talked about being overwhelmed.
Why did you request me? Your editor told you.
She showed me the e-mail.
Curiosity, I suppose.
I don't buy that.
Here's what I think.
That my reporting has been critical of the Mars program, and you haven't given a major interview since the explosion, and the clicks will go through the roof.
And if you can convince me, a skeptic, then you will have public opinion on your side in case the MAV fix fails.
I also don't buy your back gave out.
- Why would I lie about that? - You tell me.
Yes, I wanted to discuss the MAV.
That is why I raised it at the beginning.
In terms of the press, I didn't give an interview since the launch because I thought it was my job to focus on the work, not to draw attention to the things that You can retreat to your talking points, but that's not how you win me over.
Some people prefer to speak on the phone where they can't be seen, where they can be less self-aware, less self-conscious.
Where they can be more in control.
We have one more shot at this mission, and it's important that we show the world it's in good hands.
- Your hands.
- Thousands of people's hands working day and night to make sure that it's a success.
You could've said the same about the first launch, and now you have a major asset on Mars that isn't working.
I'm confident the MAV will be fully functioning by the time we launch.
Confidence is an attitude, not a fact.
- You want me to prove it.
- That would be nice.
- Sleep? - Normal.
- Appetite? - Normal.
- Dreams? - None.
You're not being entirely honest.
Sorry.
I don't remember my dreams.
You're not being entirely honest.
- It's so weird.
- It's just a beta version.
How does he know you're lying? He uses facial cues, uh pulse, body temperature.
Hmm.
- Want to give it a try? - Oh.
I don't know.
Yeah.
Come on.
Go ahead.
Yeah.
Okay.
Matteo, new subject.
Begin.
I'm Matteo.
What's your name? Mm! Feels like our first date.
- Just tell him your name.
- I'm Camila Rodriguez.
- Hello, Camila.
- [CHUCKLES.]
What do you want to talk about? So, this is, like, if something happened to you, right? Or I'm not in the Hab or I'm asleep.
People respond better when they have a face to look at.
But isn't that messed up? Like, if you're If you're dead, then they're just staring at your ghost.
All right, let's depressurize.
Roger.
Go for depress.
[BEEPING.]
[AIR HISSING.]
I think it's a mistake to show him.
Laz wants to roll the dice.
Did she tell him we've only got a 40% success rate? It's 42.
8%.
And who's got to do the song and dance? The Head Engineer.
You're an engineer and an astronaut.
Okay, rock, paper, scissors.
[CHUCKLES.]
Oh, God, no.
You've got a statistically better chance at winning than getting this test to work.
It's 33%.
Isn't that six different options Okay, well, you've got a 67% chance of not losing.
But, actually, the draw's an automatic redo.
Statistically, it would be Okay, let's just do it.
Come on.
- All right, fine.
- All right.
- One, two - Wait.
It's after three, correct? - On.
- On? - Yeah.
- All right, fine.
- One, two, three.
Damn it.
- [CHUCKLES.]
Okay, two out of three.
No way.
Enjoy.
The rover should arrive at base camp in approximately 10 weeks.
We'll use its drill to get into the insulation on the cord to the mobile power plant.
Zoom in to the reactor.
The drill closes the circuit, the MAV loses power.
That triggers an automatic reboot of the CPU.
- I'm not a tech guy.
- Let's say you have a coffee maker that isn't working, and you don't know if it's making coffee or not, no matter how many voice commands you give it.
- The coffee is fuel.
- Yes, liquid oxygen.
- Okay.
- But if you pull the plug and plug it back in, maybe it starts talking to you again.
The coffee here is shit, by the way.
- [CHUCKLES.]
Budget cuts.
- [CHUCKLES.]
Can you get closer on the power cord? So, that is our plug.
But instead of unplugging it, we're shorting it.
Now pull up the simulation.
You said "maybe.
" You're not certain it'll work.
We're still running tests.
You'll see one today.
The key is to have the drill bit vaporize the instant it shorts the circuit.
Otherwise, too much current loops back on the reactor.
Bad news bears.
How bad? [IMITATES EXPLOSION.]
That's worst-case.
Uh, but we do have a manual-fix option as a backup.
- Fix it up there? - And we have MAV2 going with us.
There it is.
But that means you're launching with one broken MAV on the surface, and the one you're sending, if that malfunctions or crashes or The chances of coming back - are greatly reduced.
- Greatly.
- Yes.
- What are the odds? It's tough to put exact numbers on it.
Coin flip? Better? Worse? They wouldn't let us launch if it was worse, but it's not much on the side of better.
[CHUCKLES.]
How does that make you feel? Putting your lives at that much risk? We don't spend a lot of time thinking about it.
What about your family? All our families know what we signed up for.
[SIGHS.]
[DOOR OPENS, CLOSES.]
Hey.
- She in her room? - Yeah.
She had a bite to eat, and then she went back to sleep.
Thank you for this.
- Flaring up? - Oh, it just started.
It's fine.
We need a plan.
It's on me, I took the risk, but I can't have you leaving.
Not again.
I told you it wouldn't be predictable.
I know.
But if the last facility didn't work, then let's try a new one, or home care.
Do you think she'd be open to that? I haven't even spoken to her yet.
Tom.
I appreciate you looking out for her, but I think you should go.
I need to be part of this discussion.
No, actually, you don't need to be part of this discussion.
This is between my daughter and I.
- This is family business.
- Now it's my business, too, because you're our commander.
[SIGHS.]
Hey.
You okay? Yeah, just gonna go take a shower.
[DOOR OPENS, CLOSES.]
[WATCH BEEPING.]
[SIGHS.]
This is Laz.
We're ready.
Want me to sync you now? Do it without me and then call me after.
End call.
[PHONE BLIPS.]
That's the drill test for the Times piece.
- You need a heat pack? - No.
I got some meds in my bag.
I could've sworn Hmm.
Were you only in the kitchen and out here with your bag? Yeah.
And Denise's room, but What kind of meds? Painkillers? Yeah.
- Denise?! - [WATER RUNNING.]
- Denise, open the door, baby! - What?! Open the door.
Open it! Come on! Open the door for me! [BANGING ON DOOR.]
You have that purse in there with you?! Tom! I found it.
[WATER SHUTS OFF.]
[DOOR LOCKS.]
Okay, let's lower it.
[WHIRRING.]
We've made contact.
What am I looking for? A flash when the bit vaporizes.
[WHIRRING CONTINUES.]
Okay, power down.
It didn't work.
- No.
- Is that a fluke or We haven't achieved consistency yet.
- How inconsistent are you? - This is early stages.
There's plenty of room for improvement.
Yeah.
[DOOR OPENS.]
Are you ready to talk? I can just listen if you want.
I don't know what to say.
What happened? I don't really know how I ended up there.
I wasn't even high yet.
I just It was the painting.
I finished the one of Mom, and I just Oh, my God.
Everybody, out! Let's go! Everybody out of there.
Are you okay? Can you tell me what you took? We need an EMT over here.
No! No! No! No! No! I fought him when he tried to pull me out.
Then Then I was in the hospital and then jail.
[SIGHS.]
And why did you call Laz instead of me? You were out of town.
She wasn't.
And I was afraid.
Of what? [VOICE BREAKING.]
Of fucking everything up again.
When you OD'd back in New York I didn't OD this time.
But you could've.
You could've.
That's all I think about.
I remember you hooked up to all those machines, your skin so pale, your heartbeat s skipping.
Any m moment, it could stop.
And that's what scares me.
That I'm gonna get that call that you're gone.
[SIGHS.]
Mom and I felt that.
When you were up there.
What do we do? How do we fix this? We're working on our success rate.
- You said you were confident.
- I am confident.
- We've still got time.
- What I saw is a failed test.
The engineers tell me you're not anywhere close to consistency, and if you fail, you're putting lives at increased risk.
That's your version of confidence? I'm confident in what we're capable of achieving.
No one thought we'd raise the venture capital.
We did.
No one thought we'd get NASA on board.
We did.
No one thought we'd have a transit vehicle prototype by 2026.
We did.
Or that we'd get it built within two years.
We did.
Every asset, every satellite, dozens of launches.
I had the confidence we could.
And I was right.
70 years, NASA's had, what, a 4% fatality rate? You can't hold Mars to the same standard.
When it's people lives I sure as hell can.
You keep focusing on the explosion rather than all the success before it.
- And you keep deflecting.
- Quite the opposite.
Yes.
People died.
And people will die.
Any time people venture into the unknown, there is a cost.
Space has never been safe.
No frontier is safe.
Quote me When it comes to Mars, we must get used to death.
I believe it's worth the lives we lose.
The five astronauts you lost doesn't that eat at you? Doesn't that give you pause? Y you're asking me to weigh my entire life's work against the loss of life.
It's an impossible question.
But it's the question.
It's the question that never goes away.
It's their lives, not yours.
You don't understand.
Not finishing what I was meant to do that's worse than death.
- I can't explain it.
- If you can't explain it to me, good luck with the rest of the world.
I want you to watch another test.
I'll get Eitan to double the voltage.
I'll rig it so that you can see how it's supposed to work.
That doesn't prove anything.
All the people who have doubted me professors, investors, politicians, journalists they all said the same thing "I'll believe it when I see it.
" But that's backwards.
Belief comes first.
- Only then can you see it.
- I don't report fictions.
I'm asking you to use your imagination.
So, I'll quit.
No.
I don't want to hold you back.
- You're more important.
- I'm not.
I know you think that your mom, that I Look, I didn't mean that.
[VOICE BREAKING.]
You might be right.
I just can't change it.
And I don't want to lose you, too.
I don't want to lose you, either.
So, I'll stay.
You'd hate me.
And I'd hate myself.
[WATER RUNNING.]
Denise? We need a plan.
I'm not trying to be insensitive, but we do.
Yeah.
I'll go to Myk's.
Um, that's not a very good idea.
- She's my sponsor.
- And she's an addict.
I can't stay here anymore.
All right, then we'll just find something else, we'll rent something.
We'll get out of here for a while, - do whatever we have to do.
- No.
No, no, no, no.
I want to go to Myk's.
Denise, what was it about the last program? - What didn't you like about it? - No, no, no.
I I'm not going to rehab again.
Maybe it was just the wrong fit.
You guys are not going to ship me out! No, don't you Don't! No.
No.
I'm going.
You're not in a position to make very good decisions right now.
I'll jump off the fucking balcony if I have to! No, that you won't do.
Sit down! Tom.
This is This is my daughter.
Why won't you just let me go? You know, it would be so much easier for both of you, for everybody I can't do I can't do that! Okay? Then I never should've come back.
And what what were you gonna do? - Just be out on the street? - There's nothing for me here! There's me! There's me! No, we tried that, and it doesn't work! You know, I can't help it, but I hate your mother.
I hate your mother for putting us in this.
I Don't you dare blame her! She left! I haven't! I'm still here! You know what? She was there for me more than you will ever be! Ever! All right, you know what? All right, fine.
Fine.
Walk out the door in your bare feet.
Go drown yourself in the same goddamn river she did.
Go.
- That's enough! - No, no, I didn't mean it.
- No! Get off! - I didn't mean it.
I'm sorry.
Fuck.
Fuck! I'm sorry.
Denise.
Denise, this is what I want.
I want you to come home with me.
I have a guesthouse.
You'll have your own space, okay? Just for a few days.
Just breathe.
We don't have to figure everything out right now.
Will you do that? Okay, get your stuff.
[SIGHS.]
Drill at speed.
Okay, lower the arm.
We've made contact.
Rub two sticks together long enough fast enough your palms will blister.
You'll rub the skin right off.
Your jaw will clench from the pain.
[WIND HOWLING.]
You'll fail, and you'll fail again.
[BIRDS CAWING.]
But then where there was darkness, there's light.
Where there was cold there's warmth.
You can see every corner of the cave.
You can walk into the night even without the moon or stars to guide you.
But to get there, you had to believe.
You had to believe there was fire within the dead wood that made your fingers bleed.
No, it wasn't God that lit the way.
It was your own two hands.
It's beautiful.
Why don't you come up to the house? [CHUCKLES.]
I'll get Jason to make the arrangements.
End call.
You may want to stay put in the guesthouse when the reporter comes.
If that's all right with you.
Okay.
The fridge should be fully stocked, um, but if you want anything else, make a list, and we can get it for you.
And if you don't feel like cooking, the chef will be here from 2:00 till 10:00 p.
m.
every day.
There's a housekeeper at midday to do a tidy and take laundry.
Okay? I'll let you get settled, then.
What are you most afraid of? I'm supposed to say "losing another crew.
" What are you not supposed to say? "Being willing to lose another crew.
" [CAMERA SHUTTER CLICKS.]
Why don't you just transcribe the recording? Writing it longhand helps bake things into my brain.
How 20th century of you.
Not all innovation is progress.
I suppose if you write down everything I've said today, I won't come off very well.
Better than if you'd kept your guard up.
People respond to honesty.
But you know that.
- Do I? - It's a strategy, too.
You must think I'm very calculated.
I think you have to be.
Oh, could I have a tissue? I suppose you think this is a case in point.
She wiped all her makeup off so she doesn't look glamorous for the photo shoot.
- No, I've only got 3,000 words.
- [CHUCKLES.]
We're ready when you are, Ms.
Ingram.
Okay.
[GRUNTS.]
- Could you give me a hand? - Yeah.
Here.
I promise to make this quick.
Well, you take the time you need.
You have a job to do.
Okay.
We're just gonna run some, uh, test shots, so you might want to close your eyes while we run the flash.
- Aaron.
- Yeah? You know at the beginning when you asked me - about the seed money? - Yes.
It was my sister.
- The model? - Yes.
Not for VISTA, but for my first prototype in grad school the CO2 scrubber.
That's how Spano found me.
But I needed 200 grand, and Elena gave it to me.
Would you rather sit in the photo? - I'd rather stand.
- Okay.
We're almost done.
It disgusted me having to ask her.
There she was, earning all this money for doing absolutely nothing, just standing there, and I was trying to build something.
I resented her.
Okay, you can open your eyes.
Over time, I've come to admire her.
I mean, it can't have been easy just standing there doing nothing.
Um, being Exposed.
Exposed.
[CAMERA SHUTTER CLICKS.]
Scan.
New skin.
New subject.
Whenever you're ready to begin, just say "Begin.
" I'll leave you to it.
[DOOR OPENS, CLOSES.]
- Begin.
- Hello, Tom Hagerty.
What do you want to talk about? My daughter.
Her name's Denise.
She's my only child and I'm frightened for her.
What are you frightened of? I don't know if I can give her what she needs.
What does she need? I don't know.
The mission I know what that is.
I know what that requires.
I'm trained for it.
But with her [SIGHS.]
I don't understand anything.
[SIGHS.]
I would give it all up again, the mission.
I'd give it up if I knew that that would make her okay.
You're not being entirely honest.