God created man in the form of Himself, not in the form of monkeys!
Get a job! Don't waste my tax dollars!
You look beautiful, Ellie.
- So do you. - You really do.
I read your book.
Here we go.
You want me to quote you?
"Ironically...
...the thing people are most hungry for--
--meaning--
--is the one thing science hasn't been able to give them."
Yeah.
It's like you're saying that...
...science killed God.
What if science simply revealed...
...that He never existed in the first place?
I think we need to get some air.
And a few more of these.
Thank you.
A little chilly out here.
Yeah, this is nice.
I got one for you.
Occam's Razor. Ever heard of it?
Occam's Razor. Sounds like some slasher movie.
No, Occam's Razor is a basic scientific principle which says:
Things being equal, the simplest explanation tends to be right.
Makes sense to me.
So what's more likely?
Thank you.
An all-powerful God created the universe...
...then decided not to give any proof of His existence?
Or...
...that He doesn't exist at all and that we created Him...
...so we wouldn't feel so small and alone.
I don't know.
I couldn't imagine living in a world where God didn't exist.
I wouldn't want to.
How do you know you're not deluding yourself?
I mean, for me...
...I'd need proof.
Proof?
Did you love your father?
Your dad, did you love him?
Yes. Very much.
Prove it.
Kent.
The White House.
No excuses. Whoever's responsible, I want their head on a platter.
What happened?
You were right all along.
The team at the VLA has worked around the clock...
...and the hard work has finally paid off.
This key section uncovered tonight, and obtained exclusively by CNN...
...shows an illustration of a human figure...
...inside a geometric structure of some kind.
This and other contextual clues...
...now lead scientists to believe the message is, in fact...
- President called an emergency meeting. - I imagined he would.
...designed to take a single human occupant into space...
...presumably to the star Vega.
Tell me.
They will build it.
Who goes?
The President's gone international to spread the risk and cost--
Who goes?
Well, it's complicated.
They have formed a group of international candidates.
Now, it's your discovery.
They understand that. You're at the top of a very short list.
But they're also forming a selection committee.
It's made of scholars, theologians, scientists, philosophers--
You're on it.
I've been asked, yes.
I guess that means...
...that you're a selector, I'm a selectee and we can't....
Yeah.
What you don't understand, Ellie, is--
I understand.
I want you to know, whatever happens, as far as I'm concerned....
Good luck.
Whatever you do, make sure he doesn't monopolize the committee.
He is not on the committee, Ellie.
He just resigned. He wants to be the one to go.
The President is already feeling the financial pinch.
Sources say the cost of the project is spiralling...
...to more than a third of a trillion dollars...
...making this perhaps the most expensive single project...
...in all of human history.
Months of debate finally reached...
...a conclusion last week as 10 candidates were selected by the I.M.C....
...representing a cross section of political and religious views.
Many are the same experts who have consulted...
...on the Machine's design and function.
They will actively participate on-site, during the construction process.
The choice of these 10 candidates has been controversial.
One-third of the candidates are American.
And many international observers ask why.
The U.S. is shouldering a large part of the cost--
Isn't it true that contractors, like Hadden Industries...
...are making contributions in exchange for technology rights?
Different nations are being compensated in different ways.
Japan made headlines by opting to forego candidate representation...
...in exchange for the systems integration subcontract.
On what basis do you choose...
...a human being to represent humanity?
Good question, Larry.
If nothing else...
...it should be somebody fluent in the language the message was given in.
Science, in this case.
Despite your obvious enthusiasm...
...there's been a lot of criticism...
...that this endeavor is simply too dangerous.
Some of that criticism from scientists.
One Nobel Prize winner noted, his words:
"There is every indication...
...that this is beyond our capabilities, that this endeavor will fail...
...and that the Machine's occupant will pay for it with his life."
How do you respond?
This message is from a civilization that may be anywhere...
...from hundreds to millions and millions of years ahead of us.
I have to believe that an intelligence that advanced...
...knows what they're doing.
Now all it requires on our part is....
Faith?
I was going to say, a sense of adventure.
And in breaking news...
...astronaut John Russell...
...considered to be the leading American candidate for the Machine seat...
...has dropped out of the running.
Russell met with reporters today at his Houston home.
I told my dad I didn't want him...
...to go.
Daddy, don't go.
Nothing would give me more pride...
...than to...
...represent my country.
But what can I say to this?
Consortium officials had no comment, but inside sources...
...have disclosed that Dr. Arroway...
...appears to now be the front-runner for the Machine seat.
"Meet me at noon. Must talk."
I didn't expect a message like this from you.
Thanks for coming.
Is this kosher? Fraternizing with the enemy?
Selectors and selectees mingling around?
Can we talk about Einstein?
Yeah, sure.
Special relativity. This Machine...
...if it works, you travel to Vega at the speed of light.
- When you come back-- - If you come back.
If you come back...
...you'll be 4 years older, but over 50 years will have passed here on Earth.
Basically.
And everybody that you care about...
...will be gone, dead and buried.
If you came back, if you survived at all....
Look, Palmer, nobody's saying this isn't dangerous.
The rest of the candidates and myself understand the risks we're taking.
Why?
It's a historic opportunity. The world needs--
You, Ellie. You! You personally.
By doing this, you're willing to give your life.
You're willing to die for it.
Why?
From as long as I can remember, I've been searching for...
...something...
...some reason why we're here. What are we doing here? Who are we?
If this is a chance to find out even a part of that answer....
I don't know, I think it's worth a human life.
Don't you?
You're an incredibly brave woman, Ellie.
Or incredibly nuts.
I'm really confused.
So am I.
I think I speak for us all when I thank you for your patience.
Myself, I have one final question, Dr. Arroway.
If you should meet these Vegans...
...and were permitted only one question to ask of them...
...what would it be?
I suppose it would be:
"How did you do it?
How did you evolve? How did you survive technological adolescence...
...without destroying yourself?"
That more than any other question is one I personally would like answered.
Not too bad, Mike.
I join Dr. Bergeron...
...in expressing thanks for your patience, Dr. Arroway.
We're all impressed with your candor...
...and your stamina.
I think we're ready to move on to your final statement.
I have one more question.
Yes, Mr. Joss.
Would you consider yourself...
...a spiritual person?
I don't understand the point of the question.
I consider myself a moral person.
We're sure that's the case, but what Mr. Joss is in fact asking--
Do you believe in God?
As a scientist...
...I rely on empirical evidence, and in this matter...
...I don't believe that there's data either way.
So your answer would in fact be that you don't believe in God.
I don't understand the relevance of the question.
95% of the world's population...
...believes in a Supreme Being in one form or another.
I believe that makes the question more than relevant.
I believe....
I believe I've already answered that question.
I'm proud of what we've achieved as a species...
...and as a civilization.
I would hate to see everything we stand for...
...all that we have fought for for a thousand generations...
...all that God has blessed us with...
...betrayed...
...in the final hour because we sent a representative who did not put our...
...most cherished beliefs first.
Thank you.
Why'd you do it?
Our job was to select someone to speak for everybody.
I couldn't in good conscience vote for a person...
...who doesn't believe in God.
Someone who...
...honestly thinks the other 95% of us...
...suffer from some form of mass delusion.
I told the truth up there.
Drumlin told you exactly what you wanted to hear.
With full humility and utmost gratitude...
...I accept this great honor...
...and I promise I will do my best to represent my nation...
...my planet and my God on this historic...
...journey.
I thank you from the bottom of my heart.
There's a carnival atmosphere at Cape Canaveral...
...as the International Machine Consortium...
...hosts as much a media event as a systems test.
David Drumlin is supervising the on-site portion of the test.
We spoke with him earlier today.
We'll be able to monitor the stresses and effects using the robot passenger...
...who we lovingly call Elmer.
The press wants to ask you a few questions...
...as soon as they're done with Dr. Drumlin.
When we release the pod, a substantial amount of energy will be generated.
We'll be able to monitor the stresses and effects...
...using our robot passenger, who we...
...lovingly call Elmer.
Thank you.
You're welcome.
They're ready for you out at the site.
Yeah, just a minute.
- Congratulations. - Glad you could come.
Didn't expect to see you here.
Well, I'm still...
...Crew Ops at the Control Center.
I suppose the fact that I discovered the message means I have PR value.
Of course.
I know you must think this is all very unfair.
And maybe that's an understatement.
What you don't know is, I agree.
I wish the world was a place where fair was the bottom line...
...where the idealism you showed at the hearing was rewarded...
...not taken advantage of.
Unfortunately, we don't live in that world.
Funny...
...I always believed the world is what we make of it.
Excuse me!
Good luck on the test.
Thank you.
Test director...
...everything looks good. Ready to go.
I want things double and triple checked here.
We only get one shot at this. Let's get it right.
Ladies and gentlemen, we are ready for start-up.
All controllers, I need a go-no-go for test initiation.
- Mechanical? - Go.
Electrical?
Dynamics?
Communications?
Pod systems?
Safety?
Crew Ops, verify all pre-test procedures are complete.
Yes, verified. I'm go.
Pad Leader, is everything okay with you?
Roger. The pad is a go.
Test initiation, on my mark.
5...
...4...
...3...
...2...
...1 .
Mark.
- Test start. - Rings are unlocked.
Power levels show a good start.
We've begun the test of...
...earth's first system built by sharing knowledge with a neighbor in space.
All power sources on core induction bus.
IPV power transfer.
Ring motion detect. Alpha, Bravo, Charlie.
- Gerry, how are we looking? - Looks good. We're underway.
Looks like a normal start-up.
Roger, David. It's looking good here.
We are moments away from the initiation of the drop sequence.
All systems are go.
- Mechanical, you still happy? - Roger.
It's very exciting...
...from up here.
We've got 4%.
We're confirming 4%.
Frequency 9.85.
Harmonics in the green.
G-level 1.1.
- 5%. - Confirmed. We are at 5%.
David, how's it looking to you?
Okay. I'm going to take a look and show you what we got.
Instrumentation looks good.
We have a good picture from Dr. Drumlin's PRD.
Hope you guys are seeing what I'm seeing.
All systems are go.
This is really something!
For purposes of this test...
...Dr. Drumlin will be on top of the Gantry crane that's over the Machine.
We've got some video animation...
...to show just how this Machine-- it is thought--will work.
The passenger pod will release.
It will come down through the center of the rings and into the Machine's core.
The question everyone here is asking is...
...what happens then?
Some believe the rings function as some sort of an accelerator or something...
...sending its energy into the pod...
...making it rocket away at near light speed.
Others believe it might open up a doorway to some other dimension.
Who's right?
That's what today's test is all about.
- 35%. - Subsystems ready?
40% normal acceleration.
Confirm 40%.
Controllers stand by to initiate drop sequence...
...on my mark.
All systems ready for drop sequence.
45%.
We're in 45%.
Verify closure.
46.
All controllers stand by to initiate IPV drop sequence. On my mark.
48%.
I'm feeling a very strange vibration.
- Are you feeling it down there? - Gerry, can you confirm?
Everything looks good.
Crew Ops?
Nothing wrong.
We see nothing abnormal here.
No good. Hold sequence. I'll take a direct reading.
What's he talking about?
Can anyone say grandstanding?
He sure knows he's on TV!
Back home that's what we call an overcooked ham.
I'm reading 10 kilohertz!
What do you read on the first and second order G-levels?
G-levels are right on!
We confirm Drumlin's readings. All normal. We're go.
I think we're okay, but we'll let him finish.
- Mechanical, you still okay? - Roger. Right on the money.
Security problem!
Ellie, are you sure?
He shouldn't be there. I know him.
Gerry, execute the rapid shutdown sequence.
Security, move emergency response team into position.
Get Drumlin on a secure loop.
You got him.
- Can you hear me? - Yes, I hear.
We've got a security breach here.
Behind you.
The tall guy.
The technician.
See him?
He shouldn't be there.
Something's in his hand!
Him! Take him! Security breach!
A bomb!
I want that emergency response team up on the gantry. Now!
Stage One Alert!
Move all fire and rescue personnel into position one.
All right, back to your stations.
I need you to be professional. Settle down!
Pad Leader, do you copy?
The scene earlier today, when David Drumlin...
...advisor to two Presidents...
...and winner of the National Academy of Sciences lifetime award...
...was laid to rest at Arlington National Cemetery.
In a related story...
Can I help you?
I've got some mail for you.
...the apparent suicide note of the terrorist now believed responsible...
...for the explosion in Florida this week.
What we do...
...we do for the goodness of all mankind.
This won't be understood, not now...
...but the Apocalypse to come...
...will vindicate our faith.
Welcome home.
Comrade Arroway...
...we have been expecting your call. One moment, please.
Mr. Hadden?
Doctor!
How kind of you to call.
Mr. Hadden, where are you?
The Russian government was kind enough to give me accommodations on Mir.
You're living on a space station?
It's quite simple, really.
The low oxygen, zero gravity environment...
...is the only thing keeping the cancer from eating me alive.
Actually, I quite like it up here.
My little room has one hell of a view.
I want to show you something.
Hokkaido Island.
The systems integration site.
Look closer.
First rule in government spending:
Why build one when you can have two at twice the price?
Only, this one can be kept secret.
Controlled by Americans...
...built by Japanese subcontractors...
...who also happen to be...
...recently acquired...
...wholly-owned subsidiaries...
...of Hadden Industries.
They still want an American to go, Doctor.
Want to take a ride?
Augmenting our restraint and...
...communications console subsystem...
...is your personal recording unit.
Normal, infrared and ultraviolet lenses.
Digital microchip good for thousands of hours of recording.
Okay, look, I understand...
...the reason for recording and documenting the mission.
But I just want to go on record one more time.
The transmitted specs never said anything about any chair...
...or a restraining harness...
...or survival gear.
Why can't we just trust the original--
Doctor, both the IMC Board and the SI team reviewed the material...
...and concluded that the design impact is negligible.
Bottom line is...
...we're not putting anyone aboard this Machine...
...unless there is some sort of minimal protection.
End of story.
We've given these to the astronauts since the start of the space program.
It's never been made public, of course.
It's fast and it's painless.
I'm going to travel 26 light years to commit suicide?
Something may go wrong.
There may be an unforeseen mechanical failure.
You could be marooned, unable to return.
There are 1,000 reasons we can think of to have this...
...but mostly it's for the reasons we can't think of.
Come in.
Dr. Arroway, time to get ready.
Thank you.
I know there's not much time.
As soon as I found out about it, I called the President.
I came with Kitz.
I had to see you one more time.
Oh, God, I'm sorry.
No, I'm glad you came.
There's something I got to say to you.
The reason I didn't vote for you was a good one, but not the real one.
I didn't vote for you to go...
...because I don't want to lose you.
Now you find your way home, all right?
23 hours ago, the world...
...was stunned by the announcement of the existence of another Machine...
...and its passenger, Eleanor Ann Arroway.
Now...
...the question that's on everyone's mind:
Will history repeat itself?
With a piece of engineering this complex...
...with so many unknowns, could the unthinkable occur?
The security in Hokkaido has been incredibly tight.
No reporters whatsoever have been allowed near the site.
Restraint secure. Life support functions normal.
Roger.
This is Control. Do you copy?
Reading you five-by-five.
Give me Ellie's PRD.
Video unit recording and transmitting.
- Are you reading me? - That's affirmative.
Video looks good.
Copy, Control.
Ellie, we're going to proceed to button you up.
I'm ready.
Confirming walkway retraction.
- Communications? - Go.
- Life support? - Go.
We are go for closure.
I'm go here.
Mechanical, initiate IPV closure sequence.
Let me get you a chair.
- It's nice to smell you again, Mr. Kitz. - You too.
Wouldn't peg him as a Polo man.
I got a visual on the door.
The door is looking good.
Door alignment looks good.
We're green across the board.
Copy that, Control. IPV is secure.
We are at 30%.
Copy that, 30%.
How you doing in there?
Kent?
Is that you?
That's a big affirmative.
Who let you in there?
A higher power intervened.
I'm glad you came.
35%.
Copy that, 35%.
- Mechanical? - We're good.
40%.
I'm picking up a moderate vibration.
Dynamics, can you confirm vibration?
It looks good here.
She's feeling the same thing they felt at the Cape.
Vibration's normal.
We are at 50%. All systems nominal.
Copy that, 50%.
Vibration's a little stronger now.
We're picking up some low frequency noise.
Mechanical, confirm?
It looks fine to me.
Roger. Jerry, what do you think?
I'm still go.
People, we are still go.
Something's happening.
You see that light?
I'm seeing--
I can't tell if it's daylight.
There it is again. It's coming from the bottom.
Let me show you. See that?
Negative. You're breaking up.
- Can we boost signal? - It's at maximum.
65%.
The material is changing.
It's bordering on translucence. The system's intact.
It has to be...
...some kind of electromagnetic field.
Do you read this?
We see only interference.
It's becoming translucent.
I can't describe it. I can't even explain it!
70%.
We have intermittent comm, but we are go!
Initiate secondary drive systems.
Initiating auxiliary booster sequence.
We're go for ignition.
We have auxiliary ignition.
Life support, how is she?
Heart and respiration are high but within limits.
Ellie, do you copy?
If you hear...
...I am okay to go.
80%.
All vibration and G-levels are in the green.
Control, if you're reading me...
...I am okay to go! Okay to go!
85%.
All tips are on the profile.
90%. We're detecting some structural instability.
- Is she holding? - We're within limits, barely.
I'm okay to go!
My God!
Okay to go!
I'm okay!
100% target velocity.
Tremendous EMI levels around Machine! Field measurements are off-scale.
We're approaching our abort limits.
Okay to go.
I hear her!
I hear her. Barely, but she's there.
Okay to go.
Says she's okay to go.
Steve, we're real close.
- Your core reading? - Internal environment looks normal.
Inside the core, the weather's beautiful.
I'm okay to go.
Initiate drop sequence.
On my mark.
10...
...9...
...8...
...7...
...6...
...5...
...4...
...3...
...2...
I'm okay to go.
Oh, God!
Ellie to Control.
Ellie to Control, do you read me!
I'll try...
...to keep recording!
I'm going through...
...some kind of a tunnel!
There's a light source ahead!
Brilliant...
...blue-white.
Residual radiation?
It's a star.
I must have...
...gone through a wormhole.
It's Vega!
I'm in another wormhole now!
I had no idea!
A series of them!
They're alive.
It's like...
...some kind of a transit system.
A subway!
Oh, God!
I have to keep talking.
It's a triple...
...no, a quadruple system.
Beautiful!
They're alive!
Another wormhole!
This one's much more violent!
Some...
...celestial event....
No!
No words!
No words...
...to describe it!
Poetry!
They should have sent...
...a poet.
It's so beautiful!
Beautiful!
So beautiful.
I had no idea.
Hi, Sparks.
Dad?
I missed you.
Aren't you--?
I'm sorry I couldn't be there for you, sweetheart.
You're not real.
None of this is real!
That's my scientist.
When I was unconscious, you downloaded my thoughts, my memories.
Pensacola!
We thought it might make things easier for you.
Why did you contact us?
You contacted us.
We were just listening.
There are others?
Many others.
They all...
...travel here through that transit system you built?
We didn't build it.
We don't know who did.
They were gone long before we ever got here.
Maybe someday they'll come back.
All the civilizations you find come here?
Not all.
- Is this some test? - No, no test.
You have your mother's hands.
You're an interesting species...
...an interesting mix.
You're capable of such beautiful dreams...
...and such horrible nightmares.
You feel so lost...
...so cut off, so alone.
Only you're not.
In all our searching...
...all we've found that makes the emptiness bearable...
...is each other.
What happens now?
Now?
You go home.
Home?
But...
...I have so many questions.
Do we get to come back?
This was just a first step.
In time, you'll take another.
But other people need to see what I've seen--
This is the way it's been done for billions of years.
Small moves, Ellie.
Small moves.
We've got video on Ellie!
She's through! She is in the net.
She's alive. Get the President on the phone!
What's going on? How is she?
Ellie, this is Control. You copy?
- What's going on? - I don't know.
- She's alive. - Put her on P.A.
Ellie, hold on tight.
We're still trying to determine the nature of the malfunction...
...but the important thing is you're okay.
What?
It's all right.
The important thing is you're safe.
What malfunction?
What happened?
What day is this?
I'm sorry.
Did you say what day?
How long was I gone?
The IPV dropped straight through the Machine.
You didn't go anywhere.
But I did.
I did go.
That's what I've tried to tell everyone.
But the headset didn't record a single image?
Just this.
Static.
Thank you.
Let me show you what we saw.
43 separate remote cameras show exactly the same event.
The IPV dropped straight through. Everyone saw exactly...
...the same thing.
Nothing happened.
How do you explain this, Doctor?
I can't.
I'd encourage you...
...not to inflame this situation...
...beyond the facts.
Let us deal with this on the facts.
We are monitoring what has actually happened.
We are taking what we believe are factually...
...appropriate steps.
Amid a flurry of accusations and counter-accusations...
...by the nations representing the Machine Consortium...
...the President has ordered a special inquiry.
But the appointment to the committee of Michael Kitz...
...who has resigned as National Security Advisor...
...has raised eyebrows on Capitol Hill.
I have made no decision to run for Congress, announced no candidacy.
I resigned as National Security Advisor...
...in order to devote all of my energy to this inquiry.
The people of the world have a right to know what really happened.
Yet every scientific instrument confirms...
...the IPV was out of contact for only a fraction of a second.
Isn't that correct, Doctor?
A fraction of a second Earth time, yes.
Earth time?
Senator, I believe that the Machine opened up a wormhole...
...a tunnel through space-time, also known as an Einstein-Rossen Bridge.
Due to the effect of general relativity, what I experienced as 18 hours...
...passed instantaneously on Earth.
Isn't it true these wormholes are merely theoretical predictions?
There is no evidence they actually exist?
There is no direct evidence, no.
Tell me...
...why would these aliens go to all this trouble?
Bring you thousands of light years, then send you home without proof?
They said it's how it's been done for billions of years.
You have no proof because they didn't want you to have any.
A phenomenon known in psychiatric circles as a self-reinforcing delusion.
You think I was delusional?
I do think you may have suffered some kind of an episode. Yes, I do.
I'd like to propose an alternate hypothesis...
...and I'd like you to bring your scientific expertise to bear on it.
To fake a signal from Vega...
...what would you need?
You'd need a satellite to transmit it, but it would be impossible to--
You'd need a satellite and launch capabilities to orbit it.
And the message itself. To put something like this together...
...so complex, drawing on many disciplines--
Would be impossible.
Impossible?
Is there anyone who might have been up to the challenge?
Someone with extraordinary technical expertise...
...enormous financial resources...
...someone perverse enough, eccentric enough to come up with the idea?
Hadden?
S. R. Hadden.
You're implying that this was...
...some kind of a hoax? That he engineered this?
S. R. Hadden...
...a legendary power broker in perhaps his final bid for immortality.
Maybe he wanted to exploit new technologies...
...having world governments pick up the tab.
Perhaps this was his final altruistic gesture...
...to unite the world in some common goal. Maybe all of the above.
S. R. Hadden, a brilliant...
...and complicated man.
Doctor, are you familiar with the scientific precept...
...known as Occam's Razor?
Yes.
It means the simplest explanation generally tends to be the right one.
Exactly.
You tell me. What is more likely here?
A message from aliens results in a magical machine...
...that whisks you to the center of the galaxy...
...to windsurf with Dad and a split second later...
...returns you home without a single shred of proof?
Or that your experience is the result of being...
...the unwitting star in the farewell performance of one...
...S.R. Hadden?
A man with the means and motive to play you and all of us...
...as pawns in the most elaborate, most expensive hoax of all time?
You come to us with no evidence, no records...
...no artifacts--
...only a story that, to put it mildly, strains credibility.
Over half a trillion dollars were spent.
Dozens of lives were lost.
Are you going to sit there and tell us we should just take this all...
...on faith?
Please answer the question, Doctor.
Is it possible that it didn't happen?
Yes.
As a scientist I must concede that. I must volunteer that.
Let me get this straight.
You admit you have no physical evidence to back up your story?
Yes.
You admit you may have hallucinated this whole thing?
You admit if you were in our position...
...you would be as incredulous and skeptical as we?
Then why don't you simply withdraw your testimony and concede...
...that this journey to the center of the galaxy never took place?
Because I can't.
I had an experience.
I can't prove it. I can't even explain it.
But everything I know as a human being, everything I am...
...tells me it was real.
I was given something wonderful, something that changed me forever.
A vision...
...of the universe...
...that tells us undeniably...
...how tiny and insignificant...
...and how rare and precious we all are.
A vision that tells us that we belong to something...
...that is greater than ourselves, that none of us are alone.
I wish I could share that.
I wish...
...that everyone, if even for one...
...moment...
...could feel...
...that awe and humility and hope.
That continues to be my wish.
Dr. Arroway, can I get a picture, please.
Reverend Joss!
What do you believe?!
As a person of faith, I'm bound by a different covenant than Dr. Arroway.
But our goal is one and the same.
The pursuit of truth.
I, for one, believe her.
So what happens now? We give her a medal?
I'd say at least a healthy grant.
You read the confidential report from the investigating committee?
I flipped through it.
I was very interested in the section on Arroway's video unit.
The one that recorded the static.
Continue.
The fact that it recorded static isn't what interests me.
Continue.
What interests me...
...is that it recorded approximately 18 hours of it.
That is interesting, isn't it?
And you can see over there, we're building 45 brand new dishes.
That means when you put them together with all the radio telescopes...
...all over the world...
...we'll hear farther into space than anyone has ever heard before.
Are there other people out there in the universe?
That's a good question.
What do you think?
I don't know.
That's a good answer.
Skeptic, huh?
The important thing is that you all keep searching for your own answers.
One thing about the universe, though.
The universe...
...is a pretty big place.
It's bigger than anything...
...anyone has ever dreamed of before.
So if it's just us...
...it seems like an awful waste of space.
Right?