I'll Follow You Down Page #5

---

Play it out.

I'm serious, play it out.

We can always just suck it up

and do the banquet hall thing.

Why don't we do it

at the new place?

There's room in the back yard.

We can just keep it to

close friends and family.

Small.

Erol...

What?

What is it?

How?

It's hard to pinpoint.

It was still early

in the pregnancy.

May not have been a

fully viable embryo.

Could it have been stress?

Could have been a factor, sure.

But sometimes it's...

it's just spontaneous.

I'm sorry.

I'll check in on her

again in an hour.

Hi.

I just heard. I'm so sorry.

I figured you might come here.

Is Grace still at the hospital?

This isn't it.

My dad doesn't get

shot in an alley,

mom doesn't take those pills.

My child does not spontaneously...

Every time I try to

commit to this life,

something tells me

that I shouldn't.

Sometimes I can see all the things that

were supposed to happen so clearly.

Grace comes to Cambridge

with me, we have a family.

It can all still happen.

It has to.

Well, it's up to you, kiddo.

You said we were close.

We are, it's just this

one problem with the...

Earthquakes.

What do you mean?

We want to leave from here and

land on this spot in 1946.

Now we know how the earth moves.

We know where it will

be in its solar orbit.

Our nutation calculations

were correct,

but in calculating the

rate of the earth's spin,

I completely forgot to account

for the seismic events

that alter the balance

of the earth's mass.

And, therefore, the rate of spin.

Thirty-one events since 1946

that significantly altered

the rate of rotation.

Last year's earthquake

in Japan, alone,

shortened the earth's day by

1.8 millionths of a second.

So we add that to the known

affects of ocean currents

and atmospheric winds...

Exactly where and when we want.

The computer was

calculating correctly,

I just wasn't feeding

it the right variables.

You've done it.

Now, a couple more weeks of tests

and I guess we'll never

know this happened.

Your father would, in

theory, be the only one

who'd remember any of this,

since his life would

be uninterrupted

from the moment we

intercepted him, onwards.

So now what's the plan?

Okay.

I meet him as soon as he

gets of the plane in Newark.

I think we should let as much of that

timeline occur before his disappearance.

- Gramps.

- What?

I'm going to go, not you.

No. If this doesn't work

you still have a life.

It won't matter.

This timeline will continue.

We'll test it and make

sure everything is safe.

But even if I don't succeed,

for whatever reason,

you'll know because

nothing changes.

And, at that point, you can do

whatever you think is necessary,

but I have to try it my way.

What is your way?

Well, talking to him at the

airport isn't going to be enough.

That depends on what we say.

He has to tell Marika.

That's the key.

She has to be aware

of his intentions,

then they can play

it out after that.

No. We have to ensure that

he doesn't do it again.

If we Ebenezer Scrooge

him here and now

we could cease to exist

because he would have already

avoided the mugging.

Our only asset is that we have

his memory in 2000 and 1946.

That's the only thing that's going

to survive after the correction.

In theory.

We have to show him

the damage he's done

without removing him

from his reality.

Just sign here.

Your instructor will be

with you in a few minutes.

It's not about correcting anymore.

I'm going to make sure this

doesn't happen to us again,

whatever it takes.

Next time we meet we'll have

our whole wonderful lives

ahead of us.

I promise.

What is this?

Instructions for your

father to make sure

I visit Professor Gale's

chemistry department

on May 15, 2012.

Why?

Mrs. Moore will be

there, if you must know.

Ready?

So if nothing happens in three days

it's up to you to do it right.

Understood.

You know, if this works I'll

never be able to thank you.

No, you won't.

And I won't know if you've been

incinerated for three days.

Well, the tests went fine.

I hope you'll visit

us more, Grandpa.

See you in another life, kiddo.

See you Friday.

Okay.

Say hi to dad.

Will do.

Hi.

Come on, honey.

We got to go. Got to go.

Got to go.

Hello?

Hey, Sal, how are you?

I'm great.

Good flight?

Yes, thanks.

I'm just getting out. I'll come

by after I check into the hotel.

Perfect. See you then.

He's just growing up so fast. He's

got the same love of science as me.

But it's like Marika's

artistic flare

kind of balances him out somehow.

He's probably a better critical

thinker than I ever was.

Perhaps another student for me?

So this is the place?

Yes, indeed.

It's a dead space.

You'll be lucky if you see a

janitor down here once a week.

Some things never change.

Can I ask what this is all about?

I'm sorry.

After your dissertation I

promised never to question you

again, I take it back.

No, I just...

I guess I want somewhere

quiet to work, that's all.

- You okay for light?

- Yeah. Yeah, I'm good.

Listen, I really appreciate this.

Thank you. Do you want to

meet up for lunch tomorrow?

Yeah, sure.

Just let's touch

base in the morning.

- If you need anything else let me know.

- I will do.

- It's good to see you, Gabe.

- Good to see you too.

Good luck.

Thanks.

Hello?

Hey, sleepy.

Hm.

What time is it?

Six thirty.

How's the conference?

I'm about to find out.

You need to get up.

Talk to you later, okay?

Oh.

Okay.

Bye, my darlin'.

Bye.

If you're looking

for the Professor,

he's on his Saturday morning walk.

- Do you know when he'll be back?

- No.

Why don't you people

go to his office?

What'll you have?

Johnny.

That's right.

Coffee?

Sure.

Make that two.

They're on me.

Oh no. That's not necessary.

No, please.

Where are you from?

Well, London, originally.

Great city.

Welcome to Jersey.

Thanks Thanks, Johnny.

So what brings you here?

Work.

What kind of work do you do?

I've had a very strange day.

I don't mean to be rude.

That's okay.

You new here?

Yeah.

A wild guess.

You're in research?

Takes one to know one.

Institute or university?

I can't really talk about it.

It's okay. I can't tell you

that I'm here on a theoretical

physics scholarship.

You're very young.

What are you working on?

I'm doing a paper on a

phenomenon called wormholes.

It's purely theoretical.

My mentor, Dr. Weyl's

the real expert.

I'm just learning about it.

My name's Erol.

My son's name's Erol.

Really?

Where's he?

At home.

How long you here for?

Not long.

Well, that's good.

One thing I found in travelling is

that you can't stay away

from home too long.

Not good for family life.

If I may ask, what angle are you

researching on wormhole theory?

What the implications of

a stable one would be.

Really? What have you found so far?

Do you love them?

What?

Your family. Do you love them?

Yeah, I love my work and my family.

That must be nice.

In my experience, one or

the other has to give.

Well, it's just a matter of

Rate this script:0.0 / 0 votes