2010: The Year We Make Contact Page #3

---

...doesn't mean that we have to.

We're scientists, not politicians.

-How fast?

-Dr. Floyd, I am also an officer...

...of the Soviet air force.

-How fast?

-One meter per minute.

Don't worry. I'm just observing.

-Towards the sun?

-Yes.

That's incredible.

We are going to send a probe down.

Good.

[SPEAKING IN RUSSIAN]

[SPEAKING IN RUSSIAN]

Oxygen?

Color.

-Chlorophyll. Chlorophyll.

-Chlorophyll.

Jeez.

[BEEPING]

-Is it organic?

-I think so.

I'll bring the probe lower.

FLOYD:

It's down in that crater.

There. There.

Let me get this straight:

-There's no telemetry?

-It's all gone.

-What about the backup device?

-Nothing. Everything was erased.

There was an electrostatic buildup

of some kind.

We'll probably find more of it

when we get close to lo.

It has happened before?

There was something down there.

It was organic. There was life.

-You don't know that.

ORLOV:
I believe that.

-What are you suggesting we do?

-We should send another probe.

We are getting farther away from Europa.

It'd be difficult.

ORLOV:
Can we slow down?

-No, we don't have the fuel.

How do we know the same

wouldn't happen again?

Electrostatic buildups don't occur

that often.

It wasn't any buildup.

Oh, really, Dr. Floyd?

And just what do you think it was?

A warning.

Oh, there's something down there,

all right.

We all saw it. We read the data.

We know it's there.

But suppose, just suppose, that it had

something to do with the monolith?

Now, before you get that look on your face,

just listen to me for a minute.

We've been sending probes out here

since the '70s.

So have you guys.

But none of us have ever encountered

even the slightest signs of chlorophyll...

...on any of Jupiter's moons. Never.

And we certainly were close enough,

weren't we?

Nine years ago

the monolith was detected here.

Discovery was sent up and everything

went wacko. You catching my drift?

Here we are, nine years later,

trying to figure out...

...what the hell happened

and what the monolith is all about.

And guess what we discover

along the way?

The possibility of life of some kind

where it never existed before.

I don't think it's electrostatic anything.

I think something wants us

to stay away from Europa.

FLOYD [OVER TRANSMISSION]:

Dear Caroline, I miss you terribly.

The time has come to put ourselves

in an orbit around lo...

...which is where the Discovery is.

And we don't have enough fuel

to slow ourselves down so...

...we are about to use a technique

called aerobraking.

The theory is that we will enter

the outer layer of Jupiter's atmosphere...

...using what is called

a ballute for a shield.

The atmosphere will slow us down,

and Jupiter's gravity will grab hold of us...

...and slingshot us around

behind the dark side.

If all goes well,

we'll wind up in a gentle orbit around lo.

It's dynamite on paper.

Of course, the people who came up

with the numbers on the paper aren't here.

Since no one has ever done this before,

everyone up here is as scared as I am.

The difference is they're busy.

I have nothing to do

but wait for it to happen.

And I hope this is all worth it.

MAN [OVER PA]:
Aerobraking in

two minutes. Two minutes to aerobraking.

One minute, 50 seconds.

One minute, 40 seconds.

One minute, 30 seconds.

One minute, 20 seconds.

[SPEAKING IN RUSSIAN]

MAN:

One minute, 10 seconds.

Aerobraking in one minute.

Aerobraking in 50 seconds.

Forty seconds.

Thirty seconds.

Twenty seconds.

Ten seconds.

-You speak English?

-No English.

MAN:
Six. Five.

-Swell.

MAN:

Four, three, two, one, zero.

[CREAKING]

[SPEAKING IN RUSSIAN]

[SPEAKING IN RUSSIAN]

Okay?

[SPEAKS IN RUSSIAN]

Okay.

BOWMAN [ON RECORDING]:

My God, it's full of stars.

My God, it's full of stars.

My God, it's full of stars.

My God, it's full of stars.

MAN [OVER PA]:

Dr. Floyd to the Medical Bay.

Dr. Floyd to the Medical Bay.

-How do you feel?

-Ah. Like sh*t.

-That's about right.

-I have this terrible taste in my mouth.

Takes about 12 hours, it goes away.

-Everything all right?

FLOYD:
Yeah, everything's fine.

We there yet?

FLOYD:
Well, we should reach the Discovery

by tomorrow morning.

-How was aerobraking?

FLOYD:
We're here, so it worked.

-Oh, I wish I could see that.

FLOYD:
I wish I could've slept through it.

Oh, by the way, all your messages

are in the Communication Bay.

They're probably decoded and copied.

I hope you didn't have anything private.

There's a certain paranoia here.

Yeah, what the hell is going on?

This doctor....

-What's his name?

FLOYD:
Rudenko?

Rudenko. Yeah, he acted like

he'd found us under a rock.

-It's the Honduras thing. It's getting worse.

-Still?

FLOYD:
There's a blockade.

The Russians tried to break it.

I don't know. It doesn't look good.

Do we have all the telemetry

on the Discovery and the monolith?

They're all in your cassettes. Don't expect

too much cooperation from this crew.

Don't know what's the matter with them.

It's not their fault. Well, maybe it is.

Oh, God.

If it has to taste like this, I don't care

if my electrolytes are balanced or not.

FLOYD:

There's more.

Something extraordinary

has happened on Europa.

But we shouldn't talk here.

FLOYD [OVER TRANSMISSION]:

Dear Caroline...

...the first part

of this journey is coming to an end.

We are about to rendezvous

with the Discovery.

The race will be on now.

We're going to send a boarding party over

to climb inside this...

...800-foot-long shipwreck

floating over lo...

...to see if she can be rescued

before her orbit gives out.

There are nine years of secrets inside...

...including a sleeping computer

who knows the answers.

My past is also inside,

and I want those answers.

CURNOW:

I'm not an astronaut.

I'm an engineer. What am I doing here?

-Temperature's good.

-Yeah.

You know, I hate heights.

So do I.

We've picked good jobs, huh?

Well.

-All right.

-Good show.

[ALARM WAILING]

Don't forget to write.

MAXIM:

Don't breathe too deep.

Breathe normal.

[CURNOW PANTING]

FLOYD:
They can't stay exposed

to radiation for more than 15 minutes.

-How's his pulse?

RUDENKO:
It's high. Not to worry too much.

MAXIM:
Hey, do you speak any Russian?

CURNOW:
No.

MAXIM:

That's okay. I speak English well.

CURNOW:

I'm fogging up.

FLOYD:
Hey, Curnow, have you heard the one

about the marathon runner and the chicken?

CURNOW:
Don't patronize me.

I'm getting nauseous.

MAXIM [OVER RADIO]:

If he vomits, he will choke.

FLOYD:

And don't close your eyes.

Look at the middle of Discovery.

The middle, not the ends.

Look at the part where it's moving

the least. Don't take your eyes off it.

CURNOW:
I'm gonna throw up.

I'm an engineer, goddamn.

Maybe you'd better patronize me a little.

-What about the marathon runner?

FLOYD:
Uh, I made it up.

CURNOW:

I'm looking amidship now.

-Do you see any lights?

CURNOW:
No. No lights.

MAXIM:
Seventy meters.

FLOYD:
You're almost there.

-How's that for patronizing?

Rate this script:0.0 / 0 votes