One Under the Sun Page #4

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Everyone was excited.

Elvis?

Elvis was taking selfies.

And then we saw this streak of light

coming right at us.

I thought it was a UFO.

It's not what I remember, agent Roberts.

It's what I'm learning now.

You've kept me pretty sequestered,

but I can hear the people talking.

I can hear the fear in their voices.

There weren't supposed

to be survivors, were there?

You thought you could claim

catastrophic vehicle failure

and all would be fine?

But now the Chinese diplomats

are demanding to know

what really happened.

I want to see my daughter.

I'll make a call.

You do that.

Yeah.

Sir, we've got a problem.

She remembers the missile.

That's unfortunate.

We have the contingency covered.

- Activate Shan.

- Sir, are you sure...

Oh, you have such a good heart, Wyatt.

But you have to remember

that this... this woman

is an abomination.

The whole mission is an abomination,

an act of global hubris.

An insult to the creator!

The whole issue is the whole

dominion over this life!

This earth!

Nowhere is it written that we must

spread our seed across this universe!

Activate Shan...

Or do it yourself!

What the hell are you looking at?

Good evening, Dr. Voss.

Looks like we're in for a treat tonight.

Chicken teriyaki and some rice.

But I'm a vegetarian.

Oh, darn.

Well, looks like somebody

screwed up the meal orders.

What are you doing?

Would have been a lot easier

had you cooperated.

What's in that needle?

It's a little something

to help with those memories.

Ah, the missile.

This is about the missile.

Who shot that missile?

Wrong question, Kathryn.

Aah!

- Why?

- You wouldn't understand why.

Too filled with

your faith in technology,

worshiping a false God.

Why can't you die?

Because I am supposed to do something.

It's not my time.

Stop!

You've been lying to me!

You're never gonna let me see

my family again!

You're never gonna let me go!

If you leave, you will be

putting lives into danger!

Your husband's, your daughter's!

They don't even know I'm alive, do they?

No, they don't.

Now do you really want

your little girl to know

that her mommy went to Mars

and came back a monster?

Stay, and we can answer

your questions together.

I don't think so.

Yes?

John Voss?

Wyatt Roberts.

I got it.

I want to see a warrant.

Call your lawyer if you want,

but we're taking the laptop with us.

- I want a receipt.

- Of course. Pope?

You want to tell me why

you're taking my computer?

Because we have records of transmissions

your wife sent to your daughter

that mention something strange

and wonderful going on.

Do you have any idea what that meant?

Strange and wonderful?

You mean her dreams?

Dreams?

What dreams?

Kat told Amelia

she was having these dreams,

that she was swimming in

a river of stars and galaxies.

- Is that code?

- Code?

You gotta be kidding me.

You think my wife

was sending messages in code.

What's going on here?

How come no one will tell me

what happened to the Samsara?

There was that one special

report and then nothing.

Special report. I don't know

what you're talking about.

You're lying.

And you have been lying all along.

I have.

Yeah, you, the government,

for all I know the damn Illuminati!

Someone has a vested interest

in keeping the truth from us.

If you're looking to technology

to save you, John,

you're looking in the wrong direction.

Why are the Chinese

suddenly rattling sabers?

Why have our diplomats

been expelled from Beijing?

Why are pundits suddenly rethinking

the whole space program?

Because it's an obscene waste of money

when people right here

on earth are going hungry,

and children are dying of cancer.

Get out of my house.

Don't try to leave.

Pope?

- Hey, girl!

- Hi.

- It's good to see you./ - Good

to see you. How are you doing?

- I'm doing fine.

- Good.

- See you went shopping.

- Yes.

- What'd you get?

- Check this out.

Is this real leather?

- I know, right?

- Yeah, it's so good.

Oh, and then...

So this material

is super, super soft, right?

Very soft.

Well, you didn't buy me one.

Hey!

- God, look what you did!

- Please.

Forgive me.

- Oh, my God, are you okay?

- Sorry, are you?

Oh, I'm sorry.

I'm fine.

I'm sorry.

Hey, she just took your stuff!

It's just stuff.

She obviously needed it more than I did.

Should we order?

You know, you shouldn't be touching

that with your bare hands.

Afraid it's a martian virus?

I'll take my chances.

Ooh.

Huh.

Looks like something you could

pick up in the Arizona desert.

Like a little bit like home.

Did you ever read

William Blake in school?

Sure.

"Tyger, tyger, burning bright.

In the forests of the night."

I never liked that one much.

But "auguries of innocence,"

"to see a world in a grain of sand,

and a heaven in a wildflower,

hold infinity in the palm of your hand,

and eternity in an hour."

That's beautiful.

My wife translated

all of William Blake's work.

You didn't tell me you were married.

My ex-wife.

She was politically unreliable

and I wanted to go to Mars.

And now here I am, quoting poetry

by a 19th century English mystic.

When I was a kid,

my mother won a cruise

to Australia for four.

It was one of those contests

where you fill out a form,

and you forget about it,

because no one ever wins.

- Somebody has to win.

- Right?

My mom won.

It was a trip for four,

so it was me, my parents,

and my mother's best friend, joy,

who was always up for an adventure.

And the first night we were at sea,

I went out on the deck

to look at the stars.

Even then I knew

I wanted to be an astronaut.

And I realized, I didn't

recognize any of the stars.

I'd never been in the

Southern hemisphere before.

I knew the constellations

were different,

but to look up at the sky

and not recognize

- any of the stars was...

- Disorienting?

More of a reminder

that you can't see

all sides of the universe

looking at it from one perspective.

And if we saw earth from space...

That would change everything.

I wonder what Newton

would have thought of this,

you know, of us being here.

Building a habitat on Mars is proof

that humanity

can life on another planet?

He would have been

first in line to buy a ticket.

And he wouldn't have minded

not coming back.

You betcha.

You betcha.

You need help, hon?

Oh, no, I'm...

Yes.

Yes, I do.

Do you have any shoes?

Oh, let me think.

These look to be about your size.

Thank you.

Thank you so much.

I can't pay you for anything.

Did I ask you for money?

I'm sorry.

I... I...

I'm just not good at being

the one asking for help.

I'm sorry.

It's just... I just feel out of control.

You think you're in control?

The more tightly you hold onto things,

the more they slip through your fingers.

It's like trying to stop time,

and hold off death.

Amelia.

No, hon, my name is Evangeline.

Evangeline, like the poem.

Thank you.

You said that already.

We are all in this together.

And God knows none of us

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