Pale Blue Dot Page #12

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answered the phone.

LAURA (O.S.)

I know. I know. I’m sorry. I just

needed to hear your voice. I feel

so alone here. It’s like, I can’t

stand being around them and I’m a

terrible person-

MARK:

Laura, you’re not a terrible

person. You’re an incredible

person. You hear that? You’re the

sexiest, smartest, most incredible

woman I’ve ever met. And you’re not

alone.

INT. LAUNDRY ROOM - CONTINUOUS

Laura looks as if she might melt.

LAURA:

Really?

MARK (O.S.)

Really.

LAURA:

You’re not mad at me?

MARK (O.S.)

Of course not. How could I be mad

at you when it’s so good to hear

your voice?

LAURA:

I’m really sorry.

MARK (O.S.)

Don’t be. Just be careful.

LAURA:

I will.

MARK (O.S.)

I’m here for you, space girl. I’ll

always be here for you. See you

tomorrow.

70.

Mark hangs up. Laura stays in the laundry room, enjoying this

moment alone.

INT. NASA CONFERENCE ROOM - DAY

Paxton stands in front of a crowd of astronauts and other

NASA personnel. Behind him, stands a line of recruits. This

is the latest NASA class-- what will eventually be the final

class of shuttle astronauts-- and they look both terrified

and full of pride.

PAXTON:

Now, I know you all remember what

this was like, being up here. You

were nervous and proud, unsure of

what you were really getting

into...

As Paxton’s speech continues, Laura, Mark, Jim, and Pete

stand in the back of the room. They’re the cool kids,

whispering amongst themselves:

JIM:

F*** me. Don’t they already have

more of us than they could ever

send up there? Now they’re just

rubbing it in my face.

LAURA:

It’ll be fine, Jim. You’ll get your

shot.

JIM:

Yeah, a self-inflicted shot.

Straight to the temple.

PETE:

Jesus.

JIM:

Look at them. They’re all so...

LAURA:

Young.

PETE:

Clueless.

JIM:

...hungry. It’s disgusting.

71.

MARK:

I don’t know, that one on the end

there’s pretty cute.

And now we see, there at the end of the row of new recruits,

is Erin Fleetwood. She is young, hungry, and, yes, a little

clueless.

Laura clocks the way Mark is openly gawking at Erin.

PAXTON:

...don’t forget you’ve worked your

entire lives to get here. You join

a brave, select group. You have

made your families and country

proud. But your work is far from

over. In fact, it’s only just

begun.

INT. NASA MEET AND GREET - LATER

Over boxed wine and terrible cheeses, the new recruits mingle

and chat.

Laura, holds a plastic cup of wine and searches for Mark and

the others. She has no luck. They’re not here, were smart

enough to take off and avoid moments like-

PAXTON (O.S.)

Laura Pepper...

Laura turns to find Paxton standing beside Erin.

PAXTON (CONT’D)

I’d like to introduce you to Erin

Fleetwood. Pepper’s one of the best

we’ve got.

Laura and Erin shake hands.

LAURA:

Thank you, sir.

PAXTON:

I’ve assured Fleetwood here that

you’ll be looking out for her these

next few weeks. Help her learn the

ropes around this place.

LAURA:

Of course, sir.

72.

PAXTON:

Well then, I’ll leave you to it.

With that and a nod, Paxton’s off, leaving Laura and Erin

alone. It’s an awkward moment for both of them. But then,

Erin gives it a shot:

ERIN:

Pretty crazy, huh?

LAURA:

What’s crazy?

ERIN:

All of this. We’re astronauts. It

still feels unreal.

LAURA:

Well, don’t celebrate just yet.

You’ve got a long ways to go before

getting up there, where the real

work is.

Laura walks off without another word.

INT. FIRST GRADE CLASSROOM - DAY

Laura stands in front of Ed and Neil’s classroom. The boys

are their usual, fidgety selves but obviously proud of their

mother.

LAURA:

Now, I was about your age during

the Apollo 11 mission. Does anyone

know what the Apollo 11 did?

Neil and Ed’s hands shoot up but they’re the only ones. It’s

been a long time since the moon landing.

Still, Laura looks around for a hand other than her sons’ but

they get impatient, calling out:

ED:

They landed on the moon!

LAURA:

That’s right, Ed.

NEIL:

And Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin

were the first men to step foot on

the moon and you watched on TV when

you were a little girl.

73.

ED:

And that’s when you knew you wanted

to be an astronaut.

LAURA:

Yes, boys. That’s true. But why

don’t we give someone else a

chance? Someone who doesn’t see me

every single day. What do you say

guys, any questions out there?

A few hands shoot up across the room. But, Laura focuses on a

chubby girl in the back, with thick glasses. The girl,

SIMONE, barely gets her hand up before Laura points to her.

LAURA (CONT’D)

What’s your question, sweetheart?

SIMONE:

What’s it like up there, in space?

LAURA:

That’s a very good question. First

off, it’s terrifying.

Laura’s answer continues as we...

CUT TO:

INT. LAURA’S OFFICE - DAY

Laura’s getting her stuff together to leave for the day, when

she finds a card on her desk. It’s nothing special, just a

piece of folded over yellow paper.

LAURA (V.O.)

But, you hardly even notice because

you’re so busy. So, caught up in

how amazing it all is.

Inside, the card reads: “Thinkin’ bout you, space girl.”

Laura reads the card and blushes.

INT. MOTEL ROOM - EVENING

Mark picks up his wedding ring from the dresser in a cheap

hotel. He buttons his shirt as Laura, still naked in bed,

watches him with a smile.

74.

LAURA (V.O.)

Your heart’s always racing. And

every time you wake up you have to

remind yourself you’re not

dreaming. This really is your life.

You’d be one of the luckiest people

on Earth but you’re not even on

Earth anymore.

Before leaving, Mark walks over and kisses Laura on the

forehead.

INT. PEPPER HOUSE - NIGHT

Laura quietly enters her house. It is dark, everyone gone to

bed. She slowly tip toes her way up the stairs.

LAURA (V.O.)

There’s this picture of Earth--

actually, it’s a picture of a lot

of things-- called “The Pale Blue

Dot.” It was taken by the Voyager

1, a space probe, from six billion

kilometers away.

INT. LAURA AND DREW’S BEDROOM - CONTINUOUS

Laura climbs into bed beside Drew, who is still awake but not

saying anything.

LAURA (V.O.)

And the picture, it just looks like

a bunch of lines, in all these

different colors. Except, in one of

the lines there’s this little blue

dot. That’s Earth. It’s just this

tiny, little speck. You might not

even notice it if you didn’t know

to look.

EXT. PARK - NIGHT

Laura and Mark lay in the bed of Mark’s truck with blankets

and pillows. They look up at the stars.

LAURA (V.O.)

And sure, we can’t get that far out

there. Not yet, anyway. We’re just

a couple hundred miles out, but you

can still see the Earth. You can

see all of it.

(MORE)

75.

LAURA (V.O.) (CONT'D)

Everything that existed, everyone

you know, everyone you ever will

know, they’re all just on this

little circle you can cover up with

your thumb.

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