Downsizing Page #8

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nuclear winter, some

combination of them all.

Relatively soon the Earth will

indeed purge itself of human life,

and God knows how

many other species.

Do you really mean extinction?

What about downsizing?

Yeah, yeah, too little too late.

Only three percent of the

world has miniaturized.

There simply isn't enough time.

Not a very successful

species, these Homo Sapiens,

even with such great

intelligence.

Barely 200,000 years.

Alligator has survived

200 million years

with a brain

the size of a walnut.

People have been predicting

the end of the world

for thousands of years.

And now it's really happening.

I guess somebody

had to be right someday.

So sad.

Very sad.

Okay, I go sleep now.

Good night, Paul.

Good night, Ngoc Lan.

Ay.

You okay?

I fine.

You know, maybe I should

take a look at your leg.

Okay, yes, you look.

Oh, yup.

Wow.

That peg is really

making the skin chafe.

Okay.

You know,

if somebody told me

ten years ago

that one day I'd be

five inches tall,

divorced,

helping a famous Vietnamese

dissident get a new foot

while cruising up

a fjord in Norway

discussing the end of the

world with Jorgen Asbjornsen,

I would've said he was crazy.

I'm sorry.

I'm sorry. I-I thought--

Jesus, I'm such an idiot.

No.

Please.

I want.

Morning.

Good morning.

What's that sound?

A greeting.

Wow!

That's it, that's

the original colony.

Wait, and there's no net?

No walls?

No, we've been lucky.

We are too close to the

sea for the mosquitoes.

And over the years,

we realized

that the birds, they

preferred the lemmings.

But yes, this is

where we started

many years ago.

Jorgen, good to see you.

Welcome.

No, no.

Jorgen!

Anne-Helene!

Oh, thank God you're here!

Why didn't anyone

tell me?

Oh, I love you so much.

I love you both so much.

Oh, ever since the decision,

I didn't feel right

without you here.

And you know

how I am when I worry.

I can't eat. I can't sleep.

Ask anyone here,

they tell you.

Sorry to interrupt, Jorgen,

but we need your

advice immediately.

Yes. Excuse us, Solveig.

Of course, darling. You've

got important things to do.

Oh! Dusan, Dusan, Dusan!

Bless you for coming so quickly.

Solveig, my darling,

I'm always happy to help

in difficult times, in easy

times, in happy times.

Is always a pleasure to come and

visit you and your lovely village.

Oh, it is lovely, isn't it?

I can't bear to think

I won't see it again.

You know, I'm the one

who made this colony

possible in the first place.

I've been coming since

I was just a baby.

I remember one time--

Wait. I know you.

You were in my dream last night.

You were a horse or a pony--

something very strong.

And I mounted you and rode you

through a dangerous forest.

-Okay.

-And here you are.

Right before we leave.

Another miracle.

You are coming with us,

aren't you?

Where are you going?

In there.

Would you like to see?

Where this go?

To the vault.

-The vault?

-Oh, yes.

We've been working on it almost

since the very beginning.

When Jorgen made

his big discovery,

I said, look, Jorgen,

you're a genius,

and downsizing is a genius idea.

No one is questioning that.

But what if people

don't accept it?

What if it doesn't

come out on time?

Anyway, this is what

they came up with.

On my suggestion.

Torvald, be a sweetheart and

give our friends a little tour.

Well, sure.

The tunnel leads to a vault

1.6 kilometers inside

the Earth's lithosphere

and is encased in a double

layer of Inconel 625.

In addition to maintaining a

broad spectrum of biodiversity,

the vault is equipped with

fields for growing foods,

forests for lumber, livestock

for animal husbandry.

The residential

areas are spacious

and easily expandable to provide

for future generations.

Wait, but that's not

all underground?

Oh, yes!

Our new small size

makes it possible.

Otherwise we never could

have dreamed of preserving

so much of the world

in a single safe place.

This is brilliant.

Isn't this brilliant? It's like-

It's like Noah's Ark.

Yes. exactly!

It's Noah's Ark!

So, how-what do you do for

power, is it nuclear?

No, no, 100% geothermal.

And we have interoperable

organic systems

to manage production of

artificial sunlight,

oxygen, CO2 elimination,

water purification, and so on.

And how long will you

stay down there?

Torvald, how long is it?

8,000 years?

Well, something like that.

Just until the surface

environment stabilizes.

It's not unprecedented

what we are doing here.

Less than a hundred

thousand years ago

humans underwent

a near-extinction.

Maybe 2,000 survived.

And from that handful

came all of the billions

of people you see today.

Rebooting the species.

It's nothing new.

Yeah, exactly.

My friends.

Many years ago,

when we discovered

cellular miniaturization,

the world which had

seemed so doomed

felt suddenly so full

of possibilities.

So, until very recently,

I maintained hope

that the contingency plan

we embark upon tomorrow

could remain simply that--

a plan.

But...

history has spoken.

And this is our final dinner in

the place we've called home

for so many years.

Yes, we are sad to leave,

and terribly sad

for the reasons why.

But man is too beautiful,

too improbable a life form

to be allowed to disappear

forever from the cosmos.

Now then,

I would like to ask the

surviving members of the

original colony to stand.

Ah, look at him.

Little Ronni.

How he has grown.

I ask you again

as I asked you

so many years ago.

Generations to come,

perhaps all of humanity

will thank you

for your bravery

and commitment.

But you must ask yourself

whether you are truly ready

to enter a new world.

For there will be

no turning back.

Are you ready?

I am ready!

I am ready!

-I am ready!

-Yes!

I am ready!

Is everyone ready?

We are ready!

We are ready!

We are ready!

We are ready!

We are ready!

We are ready!

We are ready!

We are ready!

We are ready!

We are ready!

We are ready!

Paul!

Yeah.

Can you come down here?

Where you go?

I look many place for you.

I was just here.

I talk with Mr. Dusan,

he say fat lady pay,

he ready go back.

I happy for that.

Too long time away from Seor

Cardenas and Mrs. Lopez.

Oh, I worry too much for them.

Ngoc Lan, you can't just be

worried for a few little people

thousands of miles away.

You have to look at

the big picture.

Why you say like this?

Because...Mr. Cardenas

and Mrs. Lopez,

they don't stand a chance,

None of us do.

It's over.

You want go with them.

And I want you to come with me.

You crazy man!

Always I know you stupid.

Now I see you crazy too.

How am I crazy?

You heard them.

This is the only chance for

the survival of our species--

that's huge!

You want to help people?

These are the people

that you should be helping.

The future of humanity

is down that hole!

Who you help down there?

People here need help,

not down stupid hole!

Mr. Dusan, Mr. Konrad,

talk to crazy Paul.

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