The Beyond Page #3

[HIGH-PITCHED FREQUENCIES,

RUMBLING]

[HIGH-FREQUENCY WARBLING

OVER RADIO]

[HELICOPTER BLADES SPINNING,

PEOPLE SCREAMING]

[REPORTER] PEOPLE ALL OVER

THE WORLD ARE REPORTING

STRANGE ACTIVITIES IN THE SKIES.

CIVILIANS FROM NEW YORK,

AUSTRALIA AND ASIA

ARE REPORTING WHAT CAN

ONLY BE DESCRIBED

AS A TERRIFYING DISTORTION

OF CLOUDS.

I THINK THEY'RE DOING

SOME KIND OF PROJECT.

MAYBE THEY'RE TESTING SOME

NEW WEATHER MACHINE.

IT WAS PULSATING.

LIKE, WITH LIGHT KIND OF.

IT JUST, LIKE... YOU COULD SEE

THE CLOUDS MOVING.

IT'S REALLY SCARY.

[HELICOPTER BLADES SPINNING,

PEOPLE SCREAMING]

WE'RE RECEIVING NEW DATA

FROM THE VOID.

WE WEREN'T EXPECTING THIS.

NOT SO SOON.

[RUMBLING]

[GILLIAN]

SO OVER RECENT WEEKS,

OUR ORBITING SATELLITES

HAVE BEEN OBSERVING THE VOID

AND COLLECTING:

AS MUCH DATA AS POSSIBLE.

WE CAN SEE THAT THE VOID

HAS BEEN EMITTING

A SERIES OF INVISIBLE WAVES.

AND IT'S THIS

INVISIBLE WAVELENGTH

THAT HAS BEEN:

GROWING AND EXPANDING

AT A VERY, VERY FAST RATE.

AND WE BELIEVE:

THAT THIS ACTIVITY

OCCURRED AT THE SAME TIME

AS THE STRANGE DARK ORBS

THAT HAVE BEEN APPEARING

IN OUR SKIES.

SO WE HAVE, UM, RUN THIS

INFORMATION THROUGH

OUR SIMULATOR TO PREDIC ITS ACTIVITY

BASED ON WHAT WE CURRENTLY KNOW.

THE SIMULATION IS

FORECASTING A STORM

OF INVISIBLE FORCES,

WHICH COULD CONSIST OF

DARK MATTER AND VELOCITY FIELDS

AND OTHER UNKNOWN FIELDS

AND WAVES:

THAT WE KNOW NOTHING ABOUT.

SO WHEN THIS STORM REACHES US,

OUR PLANET WILL BE IN THE MIDS OF WHAT COULD BE

A HUGE COSMIC WAVE.

SINCE THE APPEARANCE OF

THE BLACK ORBS IN OUR SKIES,

EACH NATION'S DEFENSE DEPARTMEN HAS DECLARED THE SITUATION

AS A GLOBAL SECURITY THREAT.

THE DEFENSE DEPARTMENT REACHED

OUT TO US IN THE SPACE AGENCY.

THEY REALIZED OUR PROBLEM WITH

SENDING ASTRONAUTS THROUGH THE VOID.

THEY BELIEVED:

THEY HAD A SOLUTION

AND THEY DIRECTED US TO THEIR

TRANSHUMANISM DIVISION.

[MUSIC PLAYING]

[NO AUDIBLE DIALOGUE]

[DISTORTED VOICE] WHEN WE LEARNED

ABOUT THE SPACE AGENCY'S PROBLEM

OF SENDING ASTRONAUTS

THROUGH THE VOID,

WE OFFERED OUR CLASSIFIED

TECHNOLOGIES AS A SOLUTION,

BUT, FRANKLY, I DON'T THINK

THEY HAVE AN ALTERNATIVE.

WITHIN THE DEFENSE RESEARCH

AND TECH DIVISIONS

WERE CLASSIFIED PROGRAMS,

AND THEY WERE TAKING PLACE WITHIN

THE AREAS OF NEUROSCIENCE,

TRANSHUMANISM AND SYNTHETIC

BIOLOGY FOR ADVANCED SOLDIERS.

NOW, YOU SEE, THESE PROGRAMS

WERE CLASSIFIED:

FOR THE OBVIOUS REASONS

OF ETHICS:

AND WERE DEFINITELY NO SANCTIONED OFFICIALLY

BY THE GOVERNMENT AS SUCH.

PARTICULARLY,

THE HUMAN 2.0 PROGRAM

BECAUSE THE NATURE

OF THE TECHNOLOGY,

UTILIZING THE FUSION

OF HUMAN CELLS:

WITH SYNTHETIC BIOCHEMICAL

STRUCTURES:

TO CREATE A NEW BODY POWERED BY

THE SOLDIER'S PRESERVED BRAIN.

[MECHANICAL WHIRRING]

THE BRAIN CAN LIVE

WITHOUT A BODY,

BUT THE BODY CAN'T LIVE

WITHOUT ITS BRAIN.

IT'S THAT SIMPLE NOTION WHICH

DRIVES THE HUMAN 2.0 PROJECT.

OUR AIM WAS TO:

CREATE A PROSTHESIS

THAT COULD HOUSE

THE HUMAN BRAIN,

A SUBSTITUTE BODY.

BUT MOST IMPORTANTLY,

WE WANTED IT TO BE RECOGNIZABLE

AS A HUMAN.

OKAY, I'M GONNA UP THE BACK

IF YOU WANT TO HAVE A LOOK.

[BEEP]

OKAY, SO THIS COMPARTMEN HERE'S GONNA HOUSE THE BRAIN.

AND YOU SEE THE RED

JELL-O-LOOKING SUBSTANCE HERE?

SO THAT'S ACTUALLY

A COOLANT GEL,

AND IT TRAVELS:

THROUGHOUT THE BODY,

AND IT HOUSES MILLIONS

OF TINY FIBER OPTIC THREADS

CONNECTING THE BRAIN RIGHT DOWN

TO ALL THE SYNTHETIC MUSCLES,

AND EVEN TO REALLY

SUPERFICIAL SENSORS.

BUT THE BRAIN'S GONNA

SIT IN HERE.

AND THE GEL ALSO ACTS

AS A SHOCK ABSORBER,

SO SHOULD THE HUMAN 2.0

RECEIVE ANY IMPACT,

THE GEL WILL DISSIPATE ANY FORCE

PROTECTING THE BRAIN.

BUT HERE LET ME,

LET ME SHOW YOU THIS.

OKAY.

[BEEP, WHIR]

DON'T WORRY, HE'S NOT ALIVE.

[CHUCKLES]

THAT'S JUST A SYNAPTIC

NERVE REFLEX.

UH... BUT A TRANSPLANT HASN' BEEN MADE INTO THIS BODY YET,

SO, ESSENTIALLY,

IT'S JUST A BODY.

UM... IT'S LIKE... A BIT LIKE

A COMPUTER WITHOUT A HARD DRIVE.

[CHIME]

[GILLIAN] IN THE RECENT WEEK, WE

HAVE COVERTLY SEARCHED THE GLOBE

FOR CANDIDATES WHO ARE WILLING

TO PUSH THE BARRIERS OF SCIENCE.

NOW, OFFICIALLY, THE SELECTED

CANDIDATES WILL BE ON A MISSION

TO THE INTERNATIONAL SPACE

STATION TO CONDUCT RESEARCH.

HOWEVER, ONCE THE TRANSPLAN TAKES PLACE,

THEY CAN NEVER RETURN

TO THE LIVES THEY LEFT BEHIND.

THEIR FAMILIES WILL BE INFORMED

AND WILL BE GIVEN

AN APPROPRIATE EXPLANATION

THAT WILL, OF COURSE, PROTECT THE

MISSION AND THE SPACE AGENCY.

A CLOSED-CASKET FUNERAL

WILL TAKE PLACE:

TO PROVIDE CLOSURE

TO THE FAMILIES.

[ALEX]

NOW, FOR THE RECORD, UM...

DO YOU UNDERSTAND THE CLASSIFIED

NATURE OF THIS MISSION

AND THE LEGAL NON-DISCLOSURE

AGREEMENTS THAT YOU SIGN,

WHICH PROHIBIT YOU FROM EVER

DISCUSSING THIS PROJECTS

TO ANYONE OUTSIDE OF THIS ROOM?

I UNDERSTAND.

[ALEX] THEN YOU UNDERSTAND THE

FULL NATURE OF THIS PROGRAM?

YES, I'M FULLY AWARE.

[ALEX] AND WHAT DO YOU FEEL

YOUR STRONGEST ASSET IS

THAT'D YOU BE BRINGING

TO THIS MISSION?

I'M HOPING TO BRING TO THIS

MISSION MY VIROLOGY EXPERTISE.

MILITARY BACKGROUND,

AND IN THE SHORT TIME I'VE BEEN

IN THE SPACE PROGRAM,

I HAVE RISED THE RANKS FASTER

THAN ANYONE IN THE HISTORY

OF THE SPACE PROGRAM.

BUT YOU KNOW THIS.

IT'S... IT'S THE UNKNOWN.

IT'S THE POSSIBILITY OF

SOMETHING ELSE OUT THERE FOR US.

EVEN THOUGH THERE'S SOME...

PRETTY SCARY RISKS...

TO KNOW THAT THERE'S A CHANCE

TO DO SO MUCH MORE.

WELL, I THINK IT'S IN OUR NATURE

TO WANT TO RISE:

ABOVE OUR LIMITS.

I FEEL THAT I WANT TO DO

SOMETHING GREAT, YOU KNOW?

LIKE, I WANT TO BE LIKE MY DAD

AND BE REMEMBERED FOR SOMETHING.

SURE, I'VE SPEN THE GREAT MAJORITY OF MY LIFE

IN A CHAIR.

HALF OF MY BODY DOES NOT WORK,

I DO NOT WANT SYMPATHY FOR THAT.

I HAVE COME TO TERMS WITH THAT.

I'VE MADE MY PEACE WITH THAT.

SURE, FOR...

ALSO FOR MOST OF MY LIFE,

I HAVE DREAMED:

OF BEING AND DOING

SOMETHING MORE.

AND PART OF COMING TO TERMS

WITH MY SITUATION

IS RESIGNING MYSELF

TO THE FACT THAT THAT,

THAT IS NOT SOMETHING THAT COULD

HAPPEN, HAPPEN FOR ME.

I WILL NOT... BE...

THE PERSON I THOUGHT I COULD BE.

WHAT YOU'RE DOING

RIGHT NOW, SIR,

IS PRESENTING ME WITH A CHANCE

TO FULFILL THAT DREAM,

THAT DESIRE.

I HAVE CANCER, I...

IF MY BODY IS LIMITING ME,

THEN I NEED TO GO BEYOND THAT.

THIS IS THE ONLY WAY

I CAN DO IT.

[ALEX]

ARE YOU SURE THAT YOU'RE AWARE

THAT THIS IS...

A ONE-WAY TICKET?

WE SELECT, NOT ONLY

ON PHYSICAL PROWESS,

BUT ALSO ON:

THE ABILITY TO EMOTE,

TO... TO BE EMPATHETIC.

COULD I GO THROUGH

WITH THE PROCEDURE?

THERE'S JUST TOO MANY ETHICAL

ISSUES TO THINK ABOUT.

THERE WOULD HAVE TO BE

A MASSIVE, MASSIVE REASON

FOR ME TO GO AHEAD

WITH SOMETHING LIKE THAT.

AND, UH, I CAN'T THINK OF ONE.

[LAUGHS]

SO, NO, COULDN'T DO IT.

[CHIME]

[TREADMILL WHIRRING]

[DR. PATEL] THE SUBJECTS WOULD

HAVE TO PASS A SERIES OF TESTS

AS WELL AS INTERNAL EXAMS

FROM OUR PSYCHOLOGIST,

AND FITNESS AND MEDICAL CHECKS.

THE PROCESS IN ITSELF

IS PAINLESS.

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