Shit!
Hey, handle with care. That's a billion dollars worth of Uncle Sam's money.
Yeah, tell me about it. Trying again.
Damn it.
All right, Neil, I think the idea is to catch the satellite.
Yeah, very funny. I've got a big problem here.
Neil, talk to me.
The arm's acting up. Server controls are out of phase.
Shoulder pitch is completely locked up.
Houston, this is Odyssey.
We have an arm that's malfunctioning...
resulting in a minor collision with the payload. Over.
Roger, Odyssey.
We're reassessing ground track, reviewing increment 2 contingency.
We recommend you carry out arm's diagnostic error routine 3S.
Also suggest you review ACU test assessment profile. Over.
Roger, Houston.
Satellite's picked up a wobble.
Definitely in for a hangover come sunup.
Double pitch is seriously over ramp.
Houston, re-requesting a trouble-shooting procedure--
Switching to back-up controls.
Come back, Odyssey. Did not read you. Over.
I am go with back-up controls.
Odyssey, come in. Over.
Heading for the dance floor.
Odyssey, come in. Over.
All right, Houston, we are switching to back-up.
We're gonna take another crack at this.
Odyssey, we strongly advise you wait for trouble-shooting.
This is not procedure check.
It is today, Ed. Over.
CIoser.
Do it. Do it, baby.
Why does everything that comes out of your mouth have something to do with sex?
Maybe because we're riding in a $3 billion phallic symbol. Don't quote me.
If I started quoting you, they'd shut down the space programme.
CIoser.
Oh, baby, put it in. Yeah!
Come on.
Vive l'amour.
Hey, to the greatest catch since Drew Pearson, Super Bowl 10.
Here, here. Here, here.
Hey, this tastes Iike the real thing.
Dom '98.
Got something going with one of the girls in food processing.
Yeah.
The thought that our nutritional requirements are being determined...
by your sexual dalliances doesn't exactly Ieave me brimming with confidence.
Speaking of a Iack of confidence...
I don't need to remind you that I am putting you on Iive TV.
You make me Iook bad, I'm flushing you out the airlock.
Not to worry, darling. I promise you a dignified exchange.
But now that we're on the subject of the airlock...
did you know that oxygen depletion enhances the effect of sexual stimulant--
I don't really want to know that.
Copy that crew assignment change. This is your call, Chuck.
Whatever you wanna do is okay by me.
He's your son. Over.
Well, there's something to be said for enthusiasm, Ed...
but he should have waited and he knows it.
You just don't wanna have to be the one to tell your wife.
On the subject of wives, I think I smell those cookies from here, Ed.
What did Bernice make you this time?
Peanut butter macadamia.
Damn, I'm jealous.
Ask her if she'll make up a plate of those things for me.
You better be standing by the door waiting with them when I touch down.
-You hear me? -I'II be sure and do that.
Thanks, Ed. Odyssey, out.
You know, I've spent my Iife jumping one hurdle after another...
trying to get where I am, but parenting....
Not even sure I qualify for that event.
Oh, hell, you qualify.
You just got to step up.
Or Iike my daddy used to say, "Get three down and Iocked."
Three down and Iocked.
Houston, translation manoeuvre complete. She's back in the pipeline. Over.
Roger, Odyssey. You're looking fine. Over.
Gonna run diagnostics on the arm before the interview.
Neil, I wanna change the crew assignment.
When the satellite's refitted, I want Matt to execute the redeployment.
Matt.
Yeah. He's got more time on the arm.
We had a malfunction. I need someone with a Iittle more experience.
Why are you doing this?
Neil, you're smart and you're quick.
But this time you're too quick.
When that arm goes down, you wait for Houston to relay proper troubleshooting.
That's procedure.
You know there wasn't enough time. That satellite had a wicked--
-That was not your call. -You Iet me go ahead with the capture.
I Iet you go ahead with the capture...
'cause in this set of circumstances you happened to be right.
I see. So you're pulling me 'cause I was right.
If you'd have been wrong, you'd have screwed the pooch...
and we'd have a billion-dollar satellite floating up to PIuto along with your career.
If you fuck up, you do not get a second chance, Son.
If you'd have Iost that satellite, you'd be back in Houston next week...
Iooking for work as a bartender. Now this ain't easy for me.
I bet.
What's that supposed to mean?
It means having me up here instead of Marc.
I have work to do.
Earlier today, some of the astronauts' families...
turned out at a rally to raise money for muscular dystrophy.
We spoke with Troy Johnson, husband of Sarah Forbes...
and Paige Taggart, wife of Shuttle Commander, Chuck Taggart...
and mother of astronaut Neil Taggart.
Well, all the attention can get overwhelming.
But I just try and take it one day at a time.
I just try and be the best wife and mother I can be.
My wife is the first journalist in outer space.
I couldn't be prouder.
Hey, Sarah, if you're listening, I love you, babe.
Is it hard for you, as a shuttle commander, having your son on the crew?
Well, as a flight commander, you have to make many adjustments...
and I just treat Neil as another gifted astronaut.
I try to forget that he's my son.
Neil?
I guess I just have to echo that.
I think of him as my commander and try to forget that he's my dad.
Dr Kurt Mendel, Nobel Prize-winning behavioural geneticist...
and author of several best-selling science books...
is hitching a ride to the International Space Station...
where he'll be overseeing a series of experiments.
Dr Mendel, would you care to explain the specifics of the work you'll be doing?
Well, Sarah, the thrust of my work...
will be to erect a series of hard protocols...
designed to penetrate the ins and outs...
of zero-G environment on DNA sequencing.
Hopefully, it would all come together.
Thank you, Doctor.
My pleasure, Sarah.
This is Sarah Forbes reporting to you live from the space shuttle.
You're a dead man! You're a dead man!
What'd I say? I answered the question.
-Too right. -Hey, we just Iost video.
Maybe it's the monitor connection. Matt.
Maybe the uplink's gone sour.
Nah, the whole damn thing's down. Smells Iike a TIGRIS malf.
No, the connections Iook solid.
Control, this is Odyssey. Do you read? Over.
-Could be the switching unit. -No. Audio's dead, too.
Houston, this is Odyssey, come in.
Houston, this is Odyssey, come in. Over. Houston....
What the hell?
Is that coming from Earth?
Okay, everybody, get to the crew compartment.
Now.
Let's move it!
I'II stow the camera and secure the hatch.
On the double, all right?
Oh, my God!
Shit!
Matt!
Shut the hatch!
-I can't get to you! -You'II Iose the ship!
Do it, now!
Chuck!
What the fuck are you doing?
Open the fucking hatch!
Chuck!
Come on!
Chuck!
Bastard!
Houston.
Houston, come in.
Houston, come in, over.
Houston, this is Odyssey. Come in, over.
Houston.
This is Odyssey. Come in.
Houston.
Houston. This is Odyssey. Come in, over.
What the fuck's going on?
I can't find the Earth.
Houston. Houston, this is Odyssey. Over.
I'm not getting tach, Dad.
Now Iook, we can't worry about it now. Kurt, how's Angela doing?
Possible concussion.
-Where's the checklist? -How serious?
-Serious enough. -And I need a checklist for the thruster Iink.
To hell with the checklist. The shit can't EOMS.
Kurt, give me a straight answer, God damn it!
-He said she had a concussion, Taggart. -What the fuck is going on?
-Neil. -Where the fuck are we?
-Listen-- -Where is the fucking Earth?
Just shut up, god damn it!
Now get a hold of yourself and Iisten to me. Get the goddamn headset on.
We've gotta get hold of the ship, see, Son.
Just maintain and open up that computer and go through this check with me.
Houston, this is Odyssey. Over. Come in.
Maybe one of the fuel tanks ruptured and maybe that's what put us where we are.
And where is that exactly?
On the other side of the moon maybe and maybe the Earth is behind it.
Do you have any idea of the amount of thrust a Iittle trip Iike that would take?
Sorry, folks, we haven't moved, not even a few miles anyway.
Houston, this is Odyssey. Over. Houston....
No, that's not possible.
Houston, are you hearing me in? Come in. Over.
That's not possible.
Houston, come....
What is so funny?
It just occurred to me this is one scenario...
NASA really forgot to programme into the simulators.
Kurt, get down to the avionics bay. I wanna run a complete systems check.
Another procedure in the junior shuttle commander's handbook, Chuckie?
-Knock it off. -Refresh my memory.
Which procedure gives you Iicence to blast a crew member into outer space?
This ain't a goddamn democracy, Kurt. Get down to the avionics bay.
What for? PIanning to flush me out Iike Matt?
Oh, God!
Fire in FD Bay 1.
Arm auto-extinguisher, now!
Activate auto-extinguisher, now!
Shit! Didn't do a goddamn thing.
See it, Dad. It's the bay.
On four, three, two, one, push!
Move it! One, two, three!
Hit it.
Keep it up! Keep it up!
Yeah.
That smoke's gonna be a bitch of a problem.
-What are you doing? -I'm killing the optic sub-system.
That recycles the oxygen.
The fire took out the Iithium hydroxide canisters.
AII of them?
-Except the two already installed. -Lithium hydroxide?
They remove carbon dioxide from the air.
-We got enough air for 12 hours. -Yeah, but with all the smoke--
The system has to filter out the smoke, so you cut that down to three.
Three hours?
We can't Iive on these. They Iast only 45 minutes.
-I've gotta get the smoke out of here. -How'II you do that?
I'm gonna depressurise the entire ship.
What are we supposed to do? Hold our breath?
Neil and I'II climb into the EFUs.
The rest of you get into the personal rescue enclosure.
I'd Iike to raise an issue. What's the point of all this?
-To stay alive. -For an extra nine hours?
-It's better than nothing. -Is it?
Nine more hours to sit around and wait for the oxygen to run out.
We can't just give up, Kurt.
Look out the window! Earth is not on the mission programme.
If ever there was a time to give up, this is it!
I say we bag this routine and get it over with!
I wanna Iive, even if it is only for nine hours.
Why? You want another interview?
-God damn it, Kurt! -Would you cut it out?
It takes 20 minutes to get into the suits, 15 to clear the vent.
We cannot stand around and argue.
Neil's right. Take out the EMUs.
Son, take care of the personal rescue enclosures.
Well, I am gonna depressurise this cabin...
and you can get into an enclosure if you want to...
or you can sit here and twiddle your thumbs while you decompress.
But if that's your choice, do me a favour...
and get your ass in a sleeping bag and zip the fucker up...
because I do not wish to spend my Iast Iiving hours cleaning up the mess.
Why the change of heart?
Well, I always had a secret desire to be a Christmas tree ornament.
Neil, what's your status?
Neil, what's your status? Over.
Ready.
CIosing console. Opening cabin vents.
Whoa.
Our shepherd, the Lord, hallowed be Thy name.
Come on, baby. Hold, hold, hold. Come on, baby.
And Iead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.
Oh, God, please don't Iet me fart.
CIosing cabin vents. Opening Iights.
Thank you. Thank you. Thank you, darling. I Iove you.
Oh, God!
What?
Yummy.
You can join in at any time.
Yes, I just don't have that gene, darling.
Sure sounded Iike you did when I opened that recovery enclosure.
A slip of the tongue.
Doesn't give you much comfort, does it, not believing in an afterlife?
On the contrary, it gives me Iots of comfort.
How can the prospect of non-existence be comforting?
I Iook at it Iike this.
Before I came on stage...
the universe had been around for 12 billion years.
AII that time, I was in a state of non-existence, and it wasn't bad.
Pretty comfortable, as a matter of fact.
I figure it'II be just as comfortable for the next 1 2 billion years.
So all of those people are wrong who believe in a higher power.
Look what good it did them.
What's that?
It's my comfort.
He died six months after that picture was taken.
-Of what? -Cancer.
-I'm sorry. -It's okay.
He's what I've got to Iook forward to.
He and Troy, my husband, my second husband.
My first marriage died not too Iong after my son.
Two husbands in afterlife could get pretty stormy.
Yeah, I know.
So strange.
When NASA invited me on this mission...
one of the reasons I accepted was because I thought it would bring me closer to God...
and my Iittle boy.
Guess I'm gonna get my wish.
I'm sorry about what I said earlier.
About Marc.
Forget it.
Why do you think he Ieft?
God, man.
Well, you know...
I know why.
He Ieft because he didn't want to be...
what he could've been...
what I wished he could've been.
So he Ieft.
You wanna kill that auxiliary power unit.
I don't think we need it anymore.
Yeah. Sure.
Doesn't anybody want to say anything?
I need to use the john.
Okay, come on.
We're wasting oxygen.
Hey.
Remember during training when I invited you up to my apartment?
You told me maybe if I was the Iast man on Earth.
Well?
Sarah?
-Neil. Neil. -Yeah?
Neil.
We've touched down. Neil. We touched down.
-You awake? -Yeah.
We touched down somewhere.
-Excuse me. -Hello.
Oh, my God.
Oh, my God, we're alive.
We're alive.
I wouldn't jump to any conclusions.
Is this heaven?
Hear that?
If it's heaven, it's run by machines.
If it's heaven, I hope they serve coffee.
This gravity is playing hell with the structural damage.
We better evacuate before this thing comes down on our heads.
How do we know it's any better out there?
Well, I'II tell you in a minute.
Well, we should throw something out first.
Dad, that's definitely not procedure.
Let's evacuate.
-I guess I should've expected it. -What?
God is an old, white guy.
It's probably an artificial construct...
so we won't freak out, derived from TV transmissions.
-How do you know that? -Three hundred hours of Star Trek.
You're all alive.
It means I got the atmosphere right.
It's English, isn't it?
Yeah, we speak English.
For a second I thought I had it wrong.
Now, who the hell are you?
I'm the Iast remaining inhabitant of my world.
As for my name, in my culture, we didn't use names...
in the same way your culture did.
We identified ourselves by our Iife purpose...
which I suppose makes me The Seeker.
-Where are we? -You're aboard my ship.
The same concept as that baby over there...
only, with about 5,000 years of technology behind it.
Do you know what happened to the Earth?
I do, indeed.
The same thing that happened to my world.
Same thing that happened to over 50 other worlds.
Destroyed. Everything gone.
How? Why?
That's the big mystery.
Three hundred years ago...
I was sent on a quest to Iocate other civilisations.
But wherever I went, there was only dust.
When I returned to my home world, I found the same.
I've been searching the galaxy ever since.
I pick up radio signals.
I follow them to their source.
But when I arrive, the source is always gone...
and I'm always too Iate.
Like this time?
Yes and no.
You five are the only survivors from a sundered world...
that I've ever run into.
Because of that, there is still a chance to save your world.
But the Earth is gone.
I have it in my power to project you back.
Project us back?
-Time travel. -Sort of.
Physical time travel doesn't work. Mathematically impossible.
Your bodies can't go back.
What you think of as your consciousness can.
Our souls.
Well, we're really talking about information patterns.
I can take your current patterns...
and download them into your physical selves of the past.
How far past?
The jump Iimit is around five of your years. That should give you enough time.
-But enough time-- -Enough time to stop it.
To stop the destruction.
If you can do that for us, why don't you send yourself back?
Only organics can jump.
Then are you what I think you are?
-What can you do for her? -She only has about two minutes.
-What do you need to send us back? -AII I need is the word.
If there's a chance in heaven to prevent this, then do it, man.
-What are we supposed to be Iooking for? -I can tell you this.
The destroyers attack from within.
She's Iosing her pulse. She's Iosing her pulse.
I can retrieve her information. You can still go back.
-Then do it. -What are you talking about?
You can't Iet him do that.
-Do it now! -You don't know who he is or what he does.
I don't give a goddamn who he is! Do it now.
Seek within your own.
Oh, God.
What's the matter?
I'm home.
Of course you're home.
You had a nightmare?
Come on. We gotta get up early tomorrow.
Hi.
Neil.
Chuck.
Neil.
This is Marc's room.
What is wrong with you?
Where's Neil?
You're scaring me, Chuck.
-Where is he? -You know where he is.
I've never seen anybody just drop Iike that.
It's creepy.
Where am I?
Kayley?
That would be me.
And I'm Wade.
This is your other very close friend, Diaz.
This is a party?
-Yeah, man, this is a party. -Yeah.
Wade, I'm in junior year.
Have you been taking any prescription medication we should know about?
I gotta use the phone.
Oh, my God. Oh, God.
Oh, God, Troy. Oh, my God.
Troy?
-Paul? -Yeah.
You were expecting somebody else?
No!
I'm back.
-You're back? -Oh, my God!
Oh, my God. Paul, I'm back. Oh, my God.
I'm back. Oh, my God.
Oh, my God.
That's the Iast time we have Mexican food after 9:00 p.m.
Now tell me, who's Troy anyways?
Sarah?
Baby, it's Mommy.
-Baby. -I'm sleeping.
I'm sorry, baby.
Oh, God! Oh, God!
Oh, God. Oh, my God! Oh, my baby.
Oh, God.
Where are you? Are you okay?
Yeah, I'm okay. I'm okay. I'm at a party.
-A party? -A party?
Dad, we're back. We're really back. This is incredible.
Yeah, I know, Neil. Where's this party?
I don't know.
Oh, my God. It's at the Fishers'.
Okay. Stay right there. I'II be right over.
Where are the car keys, honey?
You are supposed to be at Wade's house studying for an exam.
Mom?
Yeah.... Gosh, Mom, I'm really sorry.
You have no idea how sorry you're going to be.
Keys, keys.
-What are you going to do about your son? -My son?
Why is he always my son? He's your son, too.
I can't believe he's almost 18.
Neither can I.
-Where are the car keys? -Where you always Ieave them.
Birdcage.
Guess you never thought you'd be glad to see me.
How'd you guess?
'Cause I was thinking the same thing about you.
-Chuck? -This is....
Hi, you must be Mrs Taggart. I'm Kurt Mendel.
-I'm an old buddy of Chuck's. -College.
College. College.
So what brings you out here this time of night?
We've got a big problem.
I've got a big problem. My car broke down about a mile back. I--
-Thought I'd take you to the gas station. -That's right.
-No problem. I'II be right back. -What about Neil?
I'II pick him up on the way back.
One second she's in the Odyssey's cockpit...
the next second she's on a spacewalk five years ago.
She doesn't know anything about the Earth being destroyed.
The time jumble, The Seeker.
The shit of it is she was injured when she was projected back.
There's no goddamn telling what kind of condition she's in now.
-Chuck! -Ed.
-What the hell is going on? -We gotta talk.
Easy now. Take it slow, fella.
-Talk to who? And who is this? -Dr Kurt Mendel. He's with me.
-If we can talk to her, we can save her. -Now hold on--
No, I'm not done, you bull-headed son of a bitch.
We talk to her, we can save her. If we don't, she dies. You hear me?
She dies.
Angela, this is Joe. Do you read? Over.
Angela, this is Joe. Do you read?
She's using up fuel Iike crazy.
Another few seconds, she's in the atmosphere.
You better give me a goddamn procedure...
or I'm gonna burn the OMS and bring her in with the arm.
I don't care how close we are to the atmosphere.
Discovery, this is control.
Go hot air-to-air and activate XMIT-PTT. Over.
Roger, Control. Out.
What are you gonna do, give her a pep talk?
Flight Officer Perry, this is Chuck Taggart. Over.
Taggart?
PIease respond. Over.
FIight Officer Perry, take control of the MMU and return to orbiter now. Over.
Shit.
Angela, this is your mission commander, Chuck Taggart.
Now I'm ordering you to Iook alive...
get hold of that goddamn man-manoeuvring unit...
and get your ass back to that ship, now! Over.
Angela!
Angela.
-She's responding. -Matt.
Have we met?
No. I guess not.
I'm sorry. I thought you were someone else.
Okay, Chuck, I am ordering Discoveryto intercept.
No, you can't do that, Ed.
The ship gets anywhere nearer to that atmosphere, it'II turn to a ball of fire.
Angela...
get three down and Iock.
Listen to me. Get three down and lock.
Angela, Iike your daddy always said, get three down and Iock, honey.
-That is it. I am giving the command. -She's too close to the atmosphere.
If we send them in, we could Iose the ship.
I'm the flight director here, and I will make the call!
Do you understand?
Listen.
This is Flight....
Flight Officer Perry.
I read you, Houston.
Come on. Come on.
Control, this is Discovery.
She's coming home.
Girls.
-Has he had trouble eating? -No.
-Gastric distress of any kind? -No.
Can I ask you why you think Corey might need this type of examination?
My family has a history of cancer, and my father died of it.
He was well into his 70s, if I remember correctly.
He was 75.
Sarah, stomach cancer in a child Corey's age is extremely rare.
I realise that. I just would Iike to get him checked out.
I mean, if you won't do it, I'II just go someplace that will.
I see.
I'II do a complete physical right now...
and I'II make an appointment at the hospital for x-rays.
-You can get those-- -Today.
We'II schedule it for this afternoon.
Thank you.
Oh, God.
...told reporters this afternoon....
I could still smell it on his clothes this morning. He was smoking pot.
We need to do something about this, Chuck.
...sufficient free breathing time before embarking on the space walk.
Before leaving the shuttle....
Hi, this is Sarah. I can't get to the phone right now...
but please leave a message after the beep.
Oh, Jesus.
Could I have your attention, please?
Yeah, honey. I'II talk to him.
He needs more than a talk.
Who are you calling?
Do I have to go back to the doctor today?
He's just gonna take some pictures of you, honey.
You wanna paint?
Okay. There's your painting.
Hello, Sarah. This is Chuck Taggart.
Please call me at 555-0175.
Hello, Sarah. This is Chuck Taggart again. Please--
What're you doing, honey?
That's really nice, honey.
-Who's Sarah Forbes? -Sarah Forbes, honey, is a reporter.
And?
And she just wants to talk to me about this thing that I have with Angela.
Since when do you care so much about talking to reporters?
Hello.
Don't call me anymore.
-Sarah. -I can't be a part of this.
Sarah, you are a part of this.
Sarah?
For the record, we were four years, 319 days, and seven hours...
from where we were before.
Which gives us exactly four years, 319 days, and seven hours...
to stop what's happened from happening.
Sorry.
Hello? Tova. Yeah.
Well, the reason I called you was to Iet you know that the wedding's off.
Yeah. You heard me right.
I know you're not with your parents, Tova. You're in Skirkie with Steve.
Well, that's for me to know, and you to find out.
In the meantime, I want you and your crap out of my apartment by tomorrow night.
Thank you. Bye.
-I think I just saved myself a ton in alimony. -Yeah, Kurt...
you wanna do the world a favour and shit-can that cell phone for two minutes?
It's on vibrate.
You all right behind those glasses, Neil?
Yeah, good, because this four years is gonna pass Iike a fucking heartbeat...
unless we stand smartly.
So Iisten up.
The Seeker said, "Seek within your own, Iook within your own."
What the hell was that?
Maybe he meant that whoever destroyed the Earth Iooks just Iike us.
Well, that narrows it down to six billion people. I'II take North America.
-We don't have much to go on, do we? -Maybe we do.
That NADCOM satellite we deployed wasn't a communications satellite.
-What? -The NADCOM designation was just a cover.
A cover for what?
Something that came down through the agency's Special Projects Division.
The most I could figure out it was some sort of orbital physics experiment.
Code name was Bright Sky.
-Jesus. It was the feds, wasn't it? -Yeah.
-They used us, didn't they? -Yeah.
Orbital physics experiment? What the fuck is that?
Hell, if I know, baby. I'm just paid to hang them up in space.
My clearance doesn't go that far, but I'II tell you this.
When we were drifting, right before we ran out of oxygen...
I searched the back-up COMSES file.
There was a ground to air S-band transmission...
sent to that satellite a nanosecond before the Earth exploded.
Now it was a programming code, and I was able to decipher one word.
Leviathan.
The good news is we don't have to go off searching for any more destroyers.
-They're sitting right here at this table. -You don't know that.
He does. Goddamn decent of you to Iet us in on your Iittle secret, Chuckie.
You don't really expect us to buy into the "I wasn't in the Ioop" bullshit, do you?
Kurt, do you hear that noise?
That's me giving a shit about what you believe or not.
That's good, 'cause I think you're a fucking Iiar.
-Hey, come on. -Let's not do this.
-My thoughts exactly. -Kurt.
Where are you going?
I'm gonna spend the next five years getting drunk.
Bye.
Kurt. Kurt.
Jesus Christ.
No sign of compromised blood flow whatsoever.
We're Iooking at 80% revascularisation minimum.
Times Iike this, I think we should stock champagne.
So, Iook, Doc, the season's starting up and all...
and all the fellows are bugging me to get back on the Ianes again.
I don't care if the Pope flies in and hands you the papal bowling ball.
We talked about this, Gerald.
I want you to refrain from all physical activity...
for another six weeks, Mr Wilkerson.
Don't worry, Doctor. His bowling days are over.
I'II see you next week.
-Bright Sky? -Yeah.
I never heard of it.
You say it's coming down from Special Projects?
Yeah.
Well, how'd you hear about it?
I opened up some screwball e-mail. I thought it was from a college sweetheart.
And on the whole it just turns out to be a bust...
but in it, it Iisted every single thing I just told you plus which at the end of it...
there's some goddamn foreboding warning...
that some future mission is gonna be endangered.
-That's a prank. -Maybe.
It's gotta be. It's some wiseass over in data processing.
I'm telling you, I wouldn't give you two shits for the college boys they're hiring today.
You know, if memory serves, right before Challenger...
we had a bunch of anonymous e-mails, didn't we?
Come on, Chuck. Don't bring that one up.
Look, Ed, you know, I'm sorry I got a bug up my ass about this thing...
but if it's nothing, it's nothing. There's no harm done.
But if it's something, it's better we check it out rather than crash and burn.
What the hell is going on around here anyway?
One of the best pilots in the rotation completely Ioses it...
in the middle of a routine EVA?
You come flying in out of the blue and talk her down.
I still don't know how.
As we used to say in the old glory days, it beats flipping burgers, doesn't it?
Ed, I wouldn't ask you this if it wasn't important.
Well...
I'm not going through channels.
I don't want anyone to know I'm poking around.
I'II use the back door at great risk to my career.
I appreciate that, pal.
And I'm sorry I called you a bull-headed son of a bitch.
No. The mutual funds, too.
And I want it all in cash. Larry, Larry, Larry.
Yeah, I know I'm taking a big hit.
Just make it happen, okay?
Believe me, I know what I'm doing. Thanks. Bye.
Horse racing?
Football.
Lost my house first go around. Not this time.
-Drink? -No. Thanks.
Your door was open.
I don't see much point in shutting it, I guess.
PIace Iooks bigger.
Well, personally, I think she took a Iittle more than her stuff.
To what do I owe the pleasure?
I was in the neighbourhood and realised I never thanked you for saving my Iife.
Chuckie got through to you. He's who you need to thank.
Yeah, well, he told me you were the one that sounded the alarm, so....
Just spend the next five years wisely.
Take up smoking, eat plenty of red meat and dairy products.
Practise Ioads of unsafe sex.
-Is that what you plan to do? -Well, for starters.
Mainly, I plan to get insanely rich, followed by obscenely rich.
What's the point if nothing will be here in five years?
Well, he who dies with the most toys....
Maybe we don't have to die at all.
Maybe that's why we survived. Maybe we're here for a reason.
I don't believe anything happens for a reason.
Come on. If you can make a killing on a football game...
it means we can change the way things go.
How about we change the way things went?
How do you Iive with yourself?
Well, no one else will, so I might as well.
Let's say we do manage to stop the world from blowing up in five years.
Look around you, Angela. Is that really such a great accomplishment?
I wish I could say you had changed, Kurt.
But the funny thing is, you're exactly the same.
And that's the problem.
And that's the KNBS News for this afternoon.
Join us for the action edition at 6:00 p.m.
Urban asthma. Are you at risk?
Our very own Dr Mac will bring you up to speed.
KNBS Action News, investigative and hard-hitting.
-When were you gonna tell me? -Tell you what?
That you're taking our son in for cancer screenings.
-How'd you find out? -Dr Egrari called.
You told me that Corey was coming down with a cold.
You Iied to me.
The tests were all negative.
Well, you sound disappointed.
Egrari said that you were taking Corey to see a specialist for more tests.
-That's right. -What's going on?
Dr Egrari's worried, but not about Corey. She's worried about you.
She's using words Iike obsessive-compulsive.
She's even mentioned something called Munchausen's Syndrome by Proxy.
-Do you know what that is? -Might have heard of it.
It's when a parent tries to draw attention to themselves...
by claiming that their child has a serious illness.
Dr Egrari said sometimes parents will even induce these symptoms in their children...
-just to get people to believe them! -I would never hurt Corey.
Come here.
The other night when I had that nightmare...
I dreamt that Corey got cancer.
Jesus.
I watched him waste away, Paul.
I watched his hair fall out.
I watched him get so thin that he couldn't stand up.
And I held him in my arms, and he stopped breathing.
And it was so real.
It was so real.
I just have to make sure.
I have to make sure.
Sweetheart!
Hey, Mom.
It's good to have you here.
Neil.
Hey.
Hey, Dad.
Marc.
This is awesome, Mom.
If I have one more helping of chipped beef....
Ham tender enough?
Well, any more tender and I wouldn't have to chew.
The Andersons are having a get-together on Saturday night.
We thought you should come along.
I was planning on hanging out with some of the guys on Saturday.
John Stiles will be there.
He just got a seat on the astronaut selection panel.
Honey, can you pass me some more corn, please?
Don't you think it would be a good idea if Marc were there?
I think it'd be a good idea for Marc to do whatever the hell he wants to.
If he wants to hang out with his friends.
He can see his friends any time. They're not going anywhere.
Well, John Stiles isn't going anywhere, either.
-Chuck. -Mom. It's okay. I'II be there.
I'II just go with the guys on Friday night.
Now we're gonna meet the woman...
who's gonna choose one of these three guys as her date.
To prevent her from hearing anything about these guys...
we've kept her isolated backstage.
-Hello? -Gerald Wilkerson, please.
Gerald! Phone call for you!
Yeah, this is Gerald.
Where are you going?
Bowling.
You're not Ieaving this house.
Gerald Wilkerson.
I want that bowling ball.
I said give me that!
Never touch my bowling ball again.
Don't wait up.
This interception on a third-quarter bomb...
just may have made the difference here today.
And there's Joe Anthony to throw to Weaver.
Weaver taking it to the 35-yard line.
I can't believe you're so relaxed.
I am not anything but relaxed.
You're about to Iose so much money on this game.
-Bet you an hour's worth I don't. -You're on.
Oh, boy.
And the hand-off to Duckett. Duckett runs right up the middle.
-Fumble. -Fumble! He dropped the ball!
Hey, how'd you know that was gonna happen?
I know many things, darling.
Michigan with no more time outs, so Coon has been summoned.
Seconds winding down in this game....
It will hang Ieft and squeak through. Just Iike me, darling.
There's the snap.
And it bounces off the upright. It's no good.
Just listen to that crowd. This breaks an unbelievable point...
for Coon who failed four of his last field goal attempts. A very....
Wow. You're sure relaxed now.
A crushing moment.
Hey, Bobby. Checking out for tonight. See you tomorrow.
The President assured the Senate Subcommittee on Thursday...
that he would make the pursuit of the tax cheats a top priority.
In other news, an automobile accident has claimed the life of Ed Scrivens...
the veteran NASA flight director...
of over 50 shuttle missions.
The accident took place late last night...
as Scrivens was on his way home from work.
NASA officials described themselves...
as stunned and saddened by the death....
Don't ever forget that.
I sort of wish he could've gone up with us.
He always wanted to go, just once.
Ed was never one for regrets.
He was just so happy that you were up there in his place.
Listen, Bernice...
if you need anything at all, please don't hesitate to call us.
Honey, I'm gonna hang around and talk to some people.
I'II take Neil with me.
Are you sure?
Yeah. I'II see you and Marc back at the house.
Come in.
Hi.
-How are you feeling? -About the same.
Don't Iet it get cold.
Come on.
Come on, come on.
-Mrs Wilkerson? -Yes.
My name is Chuck Taggart. This is Angela Perry.
We're friends of Ed Scrivens.
We'd Iike to talk to you if you'd be so kind to give us a moment of your time.
I'm sorry. I really don't have the time right now.
Wait. Mrs Wilkerson. We know you've been reluctant to talk--
-Excuse me. -Wait!
We understand that Mr Scrivens' firm was preparing a Iawsuit against--
We're not here to talk about any of that.
We're just trying to understand what happened to our friend.
PIease. Just one moment.
PIease.
News special?
Yes. Medical breakthroughs of the new millennium.
It's a series we're running for sweeps.
I'm Sarah Forbes of CNT. This is Dr Mendel, my research advisor.
Dr Kurt Mendel, the author.
I read one of your books a while back. Can't remember if I Iiked it.
Not to worry. I probably don't remember writing it.
As I was saying, you've caught me at a very bad time.
We're having a serious situation with our computer system.
-What happened? -Virus, we think.
Chewed into everything. Got into the back-ups.
It'II be two weeks before we know the extent of the damage.
I just hope to God we haven't Iost everything.
AII of your patients' files were on the computer?
Lost records are the Ieast of our problems.
-I'm sure Dr Mendel can explain it to you. -I understand one of your patients...
was recently involved in an automobile accident?
I still can't believe it myself.
How Iong have you been conducting these trials?
I'm sorry. I really have to get back to work.
Why don't you call my office and set up an appointment?
We'II do that.
FIash a spotlight in his eyes next time, why don't you?
What'd I do?
About a year ago...
Gerald came down with this medical condition.
A blockage in his arteries.
Doctors thought he was going to die.
When we signed up for this free programme at Houston General....
The gene therapy trials?
-One of the newspapers mentioned it. -I see.
Well, these gene treatments...
they saved Gerald's Iife. But....
What, Mrs Wilkerson?
After the treatments began...
Gerald started to change.
Change? How did he change?
Well, he just wasn't the same respectful man I married.
Dr Barantz, he was overseeing the treatments...
he claimed that the medication Gerald was taking could affect his mood.
But this was more than that.
Sometimes it was Iike there was somebody else inside my husband's body.
One night...
I woke up. It was Iate, after 1:00, and Gerald was gone.
He didn't get home till after 4:00 a.m.
I asked him where he was, but he wouldn't talk about it.
Just got angry.
This went on for three nights.
I know what you're thinking, but Gerald wasn't having an affair.
It was something else.
Mrs Wilkerson, what else?
I don't know.
Mrs Wilkerson...
this is very, very important.
One night I followed him in my car.
He drove to this old storage warehouse just outside of town.
There were people waiting for him. Men and women.
At first, I didn't recognise them.
Then I realised who they were.
Who?
They were the other people in the trials.
The other patients.
Oh, shit.
Shit!
It was a virus. Self-replicating, polymorphic worm.
Built-in suicide string.
Once it sucked up everything on my hard drive, it erased itself.
And you caught this from Ed's workstation?
Whatever he found out, it's worm food.
Dr Barantz's computer system has a virus.
Sounds Iike someone's trying to cover their tracks.
What does Ed Scrivens' computer have to do with the gene therapy programme?
I'm a Iittle behind the curve on the whole gene therapy thing.
Well, basically, gene therapy is a process...
whereby you extract diseased cells from a patient...
and alter them at the genetic Ievel.
-Reprogramme them to execute a task. -A task?
Well, say to replace the remaining diseased cells.
When you inject the reprogrammed cells back into the patient...
bye-bye diseased cells.
Well, that's the theory, anyway. It's still Iargely experimental.
This cellular reprogramming, it's done by computers?
Well, you need computers to manipulate the gene sequence.
The number of combinations is staggering.
So if someone got into the system...
they could rewrite the information being given to the cells.
Rewrite them to do what?
They compelled Gerald Wilkerson to kill Ed Scrivens, for one.
You can't programme people Iike that. People aren't robots.
-Aren't they? -No.
You've heard the tales.
Twins separated at birth. They both use the same brand of toothpaste...
name their kids LIoyd, Iove Kenny G. We are robots.
We're just not made out of metal. We're meatballs.
So what are you saying? Gerald Wilkerson was reprogrammed?
I didn't say that.
That kind of specific behaviour requires a knowledge of the human genome...
that mankind hasn't even begun to approach.
What if we're not talking about mankind?
Son of a bitch. I knew you were gonna say that.
These Iate night meetings Wilkerson was having with the other patients...
-that's gotta have something to do with this. -You're damn straight.
That's why I'm going there tonight. I wanna see what's in that warehouse.
I don't Iike where this is heading at all.
Breaking and entering. Sounds Iike fun.
-Count me in. -Me, too.
I think I better go alone.
That's not how this works. We're still a crew, and this is still a mission.
Besides, you're gonna need a Iookout.
Just testing.
-Well, I'm not going, and that's the end of it. -The Andersons are expecting us.
-They'II understand. -But I don't. I don't understand.
We've been through this, Paige. I gotta handle something at work.
That's an explanation? You have something to handle at work?
I already told you when Ed Scrivens died...
things started getting a Iittle hectic around at the Centre.
If things are so hectic, why are the Andersons still having a party?
Why isn't Burt Anderson heading off with you?
-I cannot argue about this now, Paige. -Because I'm right!
You are using work as an excuse to get out of this.
Why? I can't even begin to imagine!
You don't have to imagine because we're gonna talk about it Iater!
No, God damn it! Now!
This party is important.
Important for Marc, for his future.
You don't know a goddamn thing about his future.
-And you do. -That's right, I do!
He does not give a shit about being an astronaut.
He never did, he never will.
You've got to hear me...
because I'm gonna tell you something...
and I need your help.
Something happened to me on this Iast mission.
The Iast mission? The Iast shuttle mission?
Yeah, but not the mission you know.
A mission that happened five years from now.
What?
Sit down.
Just sit down.
Chuck. What?
Five years from now, I was in orbit with Neil.
Neil?
Yeah, Neil.
And the world exploded. And....
Listen to me, Iisten.
And you and Marc are dead, and everybody you know is gone.
And Neil and I and this crew...
we were saved by this alien.
Just hear me.
Paige, we were saved by some, I don't know, being.
And he sent us back here...
to try to stop this horrible thing from happening.
This thing that's already happened.
You understand?
Neil and I are here from the future.
This isn't funny, Chuck.
Listen to me, Paige.
I am begging you, don't Ieave me.
Are you having an affair?
Get out of here.
My bookie figured I had an inside tip on the games, so he put money down.
Other people took his Iead.
They told other people...
and the whole thing must have mushroomed Iike a feedback Ioop.
The only thing I can figure is that word must've filtered out to the team...
word that they were expected to win, and somehow this got to the kicker.
And the kick was close, anyway.
And that extra information...
that extra tiny bit of pressure threw him off.
He blew the kick. He blew the fucking kick.
A simple thing Iike that, a rumour, changed history.
Oh, God. Kind of gives you hope in a strange sort of way.
Oh, tons.
Is that why you decided to rejoin the cause?
Well, I figured, you know, what the hell? I'm broke.
And there's still one week till Indiana-Purdue.
So what's your excuse?
Scrivens' death.
I mean, if we don't do what we can to keep the world in one piece...
it pretty much doesn't matter whether my son Iives or dies.
You ever think about having kids?
Darling, my most significant contribution to this planet...
could very well be my decision not to breed.
-Follow me. -Yeah. Okay, Iet's go.
Neil, here's the phone.
You and Sarah be the good eye over by that shack.
If you see any traffic coming either way, you give us the buzz...
and get the hell out of here and don't wait for us.
That's right. We're expendable.
Angela, put a Iight on this gate. Kurt, come with me.
Son of a bitch!
Chuck, Chuck, this way. This way.
Hey, guys.
Step.
-I think this is the place. -What place?
Where all the shit you ever Iost winds up.
Anyone find a Bobby Sherman eight-track, it belongs to me.
Maybe not.
Shit!
Oh, my God.
Organic fluorine, oxitane polymer, polylethylene. These are....
These chemicals are used in manufacturing.
Manufacturing what?
Perhaps whatever's in there.
Wow.
Holy shit.
Is it me or is this the right size for a person?
Looks Iike motor oil.
More Iike snot.
Or some kind of amniotic fluid.
Oh, shit. Shit.
Come on.
-Come on. Come on. -What's wrong?
-I can't get through. It must be the Iinks. -Oh, my God.
Feels Iike something alive in there.
What the hell?
I think you just woke it up.
I think it's waking up in a bad mood.
Come on.
Yeah?
Dad? Dad? Get the fuck out of there!
Get the fuck out.
-Go! -Come on.
Go! Go!
Chuck! Come, come on! Chuck!
Chuck! Chuck!
God damn it!
-Chuck! Come on. -Let's go!
Chuck, they're coming!
Get your ass out of there quick!
-Let's go! -Come on! Go!
Chuck!
Get out of the way. Get out of the way!
I have a distinct feeling they're on to us.
Dad!
Go, go, go!
Go!
We're gonna have to work on this part of the job.
Go. Move it.
We can forget about the warehouse. That thing is completely empty.
Rented by some boating supply firm who's moving in as we speak.
Whatever they were doing, they're just gonna start over somewhere else.
Eventually. But now they know somebody's on to them.
Maybe they'II Iie Iow for a while.
From what I understand, Barantz's patients have all resumed normal Iives.
It's as if nothing has happened.
Well, what were they doing in there? I mean, what was that thing?
That's what we gotta find out.
I wonder if it's enough what we did, enough to stop it from coming.
PIace a bet on Houston, alter a whole football game.
It's possible we just turned it all around.
Of course we may have just made things worse.
Instead of five years from now, maybe it'II blow next week.
Yeah, well, there's no way we can really know, can we?
Well, at Ieast we know more than we did when we started.
-What do we know? -We know there's someone out there.
-Someone. -Someone what?
I was just thinking, right before The Seeker sent us back...
I asked him why he didn't make the jump himself.
Do you remember what he said? "Only organics can jump."
Which means what? That The Seeker is inorganic? Artificial?
That's my assumption.
So what do we do now?
Well, first things first.
Who had the bacon cheeseburger?
-Me. -Cough it up.
Honey, have you seen this?
The mutation rate is by 37%.
I didn't programme them to do this. They're evolving on their own.
And Iook at this.
There are organisms here I've never seen before.
It's Iike they're constructing their own habitats.
We really have something here.
Yes, we do.
-You make me crazy. -So do you.