Gravity Page #14

Ryan smiles, remembering... and then-

RYAN (CONT’D)

Tri module separation, go…

She presses the button.

OUTER SPACE.

The locks connecting the three modules of the Soyuz release.

CONTROL CABIN, AIRLOCK, and the ENGINES SEPARATE.

A mechanism pushes the CONTROL CABIN away from the AIRLOCK and

the ENGINES, and it slowly gains distance from them.

CONTROL CABIN.

Ryan scans through the complicated charts and diagrams in the

manual.

RYAN:

Okay Houston, here comes the tricky

part, the Soyuz has to think we're

only three meters above the earth.

A pause, and then-

RYAN (CONT’D)

Let's reset you then.

Using the manual as a reference, Ryan uses the cursors to select

the ALTITUDE DISPLAY on the computer screen.

The current ALTITUDE is- 2600 M.

She uses the cursors and presses a button. A WARNING on the

computer screen comes on.

She presses another button, and-

ON THE SCREEN, the ALTITUDE goes blank.

Ryan punches a new set of commands.

The ALTITUDE now reads- 3 meters.

RYAN (CONT’D)

Okay. I only have one shot at this.

One shot...

She extends her finger...

RYAN(CONT’D)

What's the point if we don't try?

SHE PRESSES THE BUTTON.

OUTER SPACE.

A THREE SECOND THRUST ignites at the back of the cabin, pushing

it at great speeds toward the Chinese Station.

SOYUZ CONTROL CABIN.

The strength of the thrust pushes Ryan back in her seat.

She looks at-

THE PERISCOPE-

The Soyuz is approaching the Tiangong. The center of the

crosshair is aiming three degrees above the Chinese Station.

OUTER SPACE.

The Soyuz is making its way rapidly towards the Chinese Station.

CONTROL CABIN.

Ryan is looking out of the window, at Earth-

RYAN:

Wow… you were right Matt… it's

magnificent….

She then turns to-

THE PERISCOPE:

The Chinese Station quickly grows in size as the Soyuz gets

closer and closer.

ALTITUDE DIAL- 155 km and dropping.

RYAN (CONT'D)

You’re losing altitude, Tiangong. You

keep dropping and you’re going to kiss

the atmosphere. But not before I get

to you. You have my last ride home.

A new sense of urgency comes up on Ryan’s face.

She unhooks the umbilical from her suit.

She unstraps herself.

She floats over and looks out of-

THE PORTHOLE-

The Chinese Station is approaching, getting closer.

She disarms the emergency exit and holds on to the LATCH.

She pauses and turns to grab the fire extinguisher and holds it

tightly against her chest with one arm. With the other arm-

She reaches for the Latch.

The Station is hovering right next to her and the cabin is going

to pass it.

RYAN (CONT’D)

Okay, I'm done with just driving.

Let's get go home.

She turns the latch, and-

PYROTECHNICS shoot the porthole into space.

The brutal force of the infinite VACUUM of space SUCKS THE AIR

out of the cabin, and-

Ryan is LAUNCHED out of the cabin at a tremendous speed.

SHE HITS HER SHOULDER as she goes through the hatch into-

OUTER SPACE.

A CANNONBALL WOMAN is launched up from the Soyuz’s hatch. She

passes the Chinese Station as she twirls up toward the Heavens.

The Soyuz continues its straight trajectory toward Earth.

INSIDE THE HELMET-

Ryan is stunned from the impact and her shoulder is in pain.

Outside-

Everything twirls.

Earth and Heavens.

An ALARM in her STOPWATCH RINGS. It’s been EIGHTY-FIVE MINUTES.

And she spins and sees-

THE TIANGONG, one mile below her. And below it-

A bright comet leaves behind a yellow scratch over the Earth. It

is-

THE SOYUZ BURNING upon contact with the atmosphere.

Ryan drifts away. She holds tightly to the fire extinguisher

with one hand, and with the other she checks her right shoulder.

IT HURTS.

But there’s no time, the Tiangong is getting farther away. She

points the nozzle of the fire extinguisher away from her and

triggers a-

SPRAY-

It acts like a thrust that pushes her toward the Station. It

helped, but she is still off target.

INSIDE THE HELMET-

She is in pain.

The glass visor is steaming up.

She begins HUMMING as she looks at-

The Station drifting ahead, less than five hundred meters away.

From this distance the damage caused to the Tiangong by the

debris is clear. The solar panels are shredded to pieces, and

several modules appear to have been badly hit.

Ryan gives-

ANOTHER SPRAY:

Propelling herself even closer to the Station.

INSIDE THE HELMET-

She stops humming. Her breath is fogging up the glass, giving

her a blurred view of-

The Station, which is less than a hundred meters away. She can

see that-

The LIFEBOAT, the SHENZHOU, a vessel very similar to the Soyuz,

is docked on a module.

It’s now clear that she’s not flying straight toward the

Station.

Ryan attempts to correct her trajectory by giving-

ANOTHER SPRAY-

But only a very SMALL THRUST comes out of the extinguisher, not

enough to push her on the right track.

She PULLS the trigger again-

But only a few dust particles come out. The extinguisher is

empty. She lets go of it and it floats away.

She drifts toward the Station, SLOWLY.

She is less than twenty meters away, and getting closer.

AND CLOSER.

And she misses it by a hair.

She drifts, very slowly, two meters above the Station.

Her arm, outstretched, tries to grab hold of anything it can.

INSIDE THE HELMET-

Ryan winces in pain and looks at-

Her outstretched arm reaching toward-

THE STATION-

She slowly drifts across the modules, the tips of her fingers

almost touching the surface of the Tiangong.

A handle passes under her, almost within reach, but she does not

manage to hold onto it.

INSIDE THE HELMET

She’s struggling, but she knows she’s not going to make it. She

looks ahead at-

THE STATIONA:

solar panel, following the rotation of the Station, comes into

view.

She stretches out her arm as she gets closer to it.

But the solar panel continues its rotation and she is

approaching very slowly.

The panel is rotating away.

She STRETCHES, and-

She GRABS onto a rod on the Solar Panel, STOPPING her momentum.

Ryan hangs from the Station. She holds her right arm tightly to

her chest.

INSIDE THE HELMET-

She catches her breath and is clearly in pain.

Ryan sees-

A LONESOME PIECE OF DEBRIS.

It hovers above the Station and glows as the sunlight hits its

surface. It passes very quickly.

And there’s ANOTHER ONE cruising farther above.

She pulls her right arm up.

RYAN:

Ahhhhhh!

The pain is excruciating, but she grabs onto the panel’s rod,

and-

SHE PULLS HERSELF UP, and clinging with her leg, she secures

herself to the panel.

INSIDE THE HELMETShe’s

panting, and through the fogged up glass she can see, far

away over the horizon-

BRIGHT DOTS.

Pieces of debris burn as they hit the atmosphere. A swarm of

incandescent locusts that-

Is coming directly at her.

Ignoring her pain but using her right arm as little as possible,

she climbs up to-

THE BODY OF THE STATION.

She goes over the module and makes her way across, pulling

herself from handle to handle.

When she reaches the end of it, with one last BIG PULL she makes

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