Orbiter 9 Page #2

They've been in there

their whole lives.

They think they're going to Celeste.

I don't follow you.

Human guinea pigs.

Did you know all along?

Yes.

Coupling initiated.

What's going on?

What is this?

Is there an assembly request?

Origin unknown, Helena.

Opening outer lock.

Maneuver completed.

I know this is going to sound

crazy to you,

but we're not where you think.

This isn't a ship, Helena.

It's a simulator.

On the other side of that door...

is Earth.

We have to get out of here

right now, Helena.

Leave. Go back to your pod.

It's been recording

since you were a baby.

There are two more in this corridor

and another in the decompression chamber.

I disconnected them.

We have to go.

I told you to leave.

It's a biowitness.

They planted it inside you

when you were born.

They check your vital signs.

Let me take it out.

It won't hurt.

Helena.

Helena... Helena!

I want you to see something.

We're going to send

your vital signs in a remote code.

Cardiac cycle correct.

Pulse normal.

Arterial pressure stable.

Rebecca?

Rebecca is a navigation robot.

She doesn't communicate

with the outside.

Are you ready?

Opening outer lock.

Let's go.

Come on, Helena.

Don't be afraid.

Come on.

Helena, give me your hand.

Good, Helena.

You're doing great.

This way.

That's it.

We're almost there.

I need you to ride

inside here, okay?

Simulation center, grid clean.

Affirmative, check the next one.

The levels are higher than normal.

It's the suit.

You left it outside.

Gate!

The same thing happened

with the other ships.

It was all agreed.

Since when?

Since before you were born.

And you coming to the ship?

That too.

The oxygen was only an excuse.

- It's checked in remote code.

- Then why did you go in?

Technical inspection

of each Rebecca unit.

I want to see them.

Nobody can know you're out.

But they're my parents.

Nobody, Helena. Especially them.

Why?

Because they're military scientists.

They've dedicated half their lives

to this project.

- But they're my family.

- No, they're not.

They're not.

- What is that?

- Thunder.

It's going to rain.

Come on.

I HAVE A MEETING

BACK IN 2 HOURS

WE LIVE HERE, BUT DON'T GO OU WITHOUT ME!

IF SOMEONE RINGS

DON'T OPEN DOOR

DOWNSTAIRS SHOWER

DOESN'T WORK

REMEMBER, I'LL BE BACK

IN 2 HOURS

PLEASE DON'T MOVE THE PIECES

What if they find out?

There's no reason they would.

That's not an answer, Alex.

What if something

goes wrong?

It's too dangerous.

I'm willing to take that risk.

Right.

That's what worries me.

Alex.

Don't look at me like that.

Did you really think I was a wolf?

No, but we're not supposed

to see each other.

My cell phone.

I have an apartment I never use

in Isaura District.

If for any reason

you need to disappear for a while,

you only have to call me.

And please don't talk about

this subject in the booth again.

Sometimes they record

the conversations randomly.

Thank you, Silvia.

Really.

Go on, get lost.

Hi.

It's weird, I've always had

the same clothes but in every size.

So, where do you want to go?

What do you want to do?

I don't know.

What's your favorite place?

Sometimes the simplest

mechanisms are actually

the most complex.

I could spend my whole life

looking at them.

They're weird,

but pretty.

Is the sea far away?

The sea isn't like you imagine it

anymore.

The acid tides destroyed everything.

If nobody fixes it, soon they'll only

be able to live in places like this.

Did you ever go in the water?

Yeah, when I was six or seven.

But I didn't like it.

I can't imagine you

at six or seven years old.

I was practically like I am now.

Shy...

Look.

I was antisocial,

Coke-bottle glasses...

A freak.

A freak?

What's a freak?

A freak is...

different.

Then I'm a freak too.

You have to hold the chopstick

with this finger.

Why do you use chopsticks?

You have to use this finger.

- Why do you eat with sticks?

- Open your mouth.

Good morning.

What's in the room downstairs?

The one I can't go in.

There are no cameras

in the bedroom or the common areas.

Only the ones you saw in the corridor

and the entrance.

I only had to hack the first one.

And when they see

I'm not getting older...

or that I always do the same thing?

We'll record your signal from here

and send it whenever we want.

It's easy.

What will they do with the rest

of the passengers in 20 years

at the end of the voyage?

The Rebecca unit will inform them

of a supposed error

in the navigation chart

and it will be extended indefinitely.

What for?

To study their vital signs longer.

How much longer?

The simulators will only

open the doors

when the biowitnesses confirm

that each passenger is deceased.

How...

How could you get involved

in something like this?

I'd like to show you something.

Hugo came into my life

shortly thereafter.

When he explained

the experiment to me,

I guess I only wanted to see

the positive side of the project.

With the Earth-Celeste

voyage simulation

we can save millions of lives

across the world...

when the trips become a reality.

That's all I took into account.

So...

you put it all on a scale

and didn't mind sacrificing ten people?

No.

I didn't at the time.

- I love it when you're upset.

- Oh, Marta.

It's true.

That's the reason I married her.

- I'm being serious.

- So am I.

12 hours with no water every day.

And we're the lucky ones,

in other sectors it's worse.

So you two met in Spain

when you were kids?

That's right.

I had no idea Alex worked here.

When I ran into him at the lab,

I couldn't believe it.

Of course.

What a surprise!

Helena's a brilliant

computer technician.

No wonder they went over there

to find her.

And you're like Alex, right?

You can't talk about

the Orbit program.

Confidential information.

What do you think, Chao?

Alex said you're not convinced

about the trip to Celeste.

Well, I think at some point

we'll have to make a decision.

Either go back to being

the cavemen we once were,

or travel to Celeste.

But you still think

things can be fixed here.

I wish we weren't throwing in

the towel on Earth.

I also don't like the idea of my son

having to spend half his lifetime in a ship

to reach a planet

we don't even know.

I don't even consider it.

Marta and I would get immediately

rejected by the boarding protocol.

The reproduction criteria

is crap.

There you go.

We're a disgusting species

and we deserve the planet

we've got.

But our kids don't.

Everything went fine.

The ten simulators are in order.

The inspection phase

was a success.

I'll take care of it.

See you after the committee.

Alex!

Can you come for a second?

- Does it hurt?

- No.

It wasn't the sun this time.

I'm going to call Chao.

Don't worry about the prick,

you won't even feel it.

Laura will take care of you,

she has hands of gold.

Laura, please treat her like family.

We'll see you in the office.

Good. Alex, over here.

Then it's serious?

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