The Beyond Page #7

A FAST-MOVING OBJEC HEADING TOWARDS

THE ATLANTIC OCEAN.

WE USE THIS TO:

TRACK SPACE DEBRIS,

UH, SATELLITES.

[GILLIAN] THIS OBJECT, IT HAS

THE SAME SIZE, VELOCITY,

TRAJECTORY AS THE CRAFT THA WE SENT THROUGH TO THE VOID.

[ALEX] I MEAN, WE WERE AWE

STRUCK, THAT'S FOR SURE.

I MEAN...

WITHIN A FEW DAYS

OF LAUNCHING, UM...

TO RETURN SO QUICKLY...

[MUSIC PLAYING]

WELL, WHEN WE ARRIVED, WE LIFTED

THE CRAFT OUT OF THE WATER

AND I REMEMBER SMEARING BLACK

RESIDUE OFF THE SIDE.

WELL, USUALLY, WHEN YOU SEE A

CRAFT WITH THAT AMOUNT OF AGING,

YOU WOULD EXPECT THAT THE CRAFT HAD

BEEN OUT FOR A LONG PERIOD OF TIME

AND HAD A VERY FORCIBLE ENTRY

BACK INTO THE ATMOSPHERE.

FROM MY EXPERIENCE

FROM PREVIOUS MISSIONS,

WHAT WOULD HAPPEN IS THA YOU WOULD ENTER THE CRAF AND THERE'D BE

TWO ASTRONAUTS THERE.

BUT IN THIS CASE, THE MILITARY

ASTRONAUT WAS NOWHERE TO BE FOUND.

WE NEED TO CONSIDER

THE FACT THAT PERHAPS

THAT THIS WHOLE VOID...

IS A TROJAN HORSE.

THAT...

THAT THIS COULD BE PERHAPS

A MESSAGE, A WARNING.

[GILLIAN]

I DON'T THINK IT'S A FAILURE

THAT IT'S COME BACK

IN SEVEN DAYS.

I MEAN, WE HAVE SOMETHING

THAT HAS BEEN THROUGH THE VOID

AND COME BACK.

NOW OUR NEXT STEP

IS TO START DOING TESTS.

AS STANDARD PROTOCOL

FOR ALL OUR ASTRONAUTS,

WE HAVE TO KEEP MISS JOHNSON

IN QUARANTINE:

TO PREVENT ANY FORM OF

BIOLOGICAL CONTAMINATION

SHE MAY HAVE BEEN EXPOSED TO.

WE HAVE TO PREPARE OURSELVES

FOR THE FACT THA THE MISSION IS A FAILURE.

WHAT WE NEED TO DO NOW IS

GET READY FOR NEXT STEPS.

TO BE HONEST, WHETHER SHE WAKES

UP IS ANOTHER THING.

SHE MAY PHYSICALLY WAKE UP NOW,

OR EVEN NEXT WEEK, OR NEXT YEAR.

WHEN A PATIENT HAS SUFFERED

SEVERE BRAIN DAMAGE,

THEN... THEY GO INTO A COMA

OR VEGETATIVE STATE.

IT'S POSSIBLE THA THE SUSTAINED INJURY

IS IMPAIRING THEIR NORMAL

BRAIN FUNCTION.

[ALICE] WHEN WE PLUGGED HER

INTO THE TRANSCODE BAY,

WE DISCOVERED THAT THE RECORDED

DATA IN HER BRAIN

SHOWED SEVERAL YEARS-WORTH

OF NEW MEMORIES RECORDED.

YET SHE HAD ONLY

BEEN AWAY FOR FIVE DAYS.

IT'S POSSIBLE, EVEN PROBABLE,

THAT THE TIME ON THE VOID

IS WELL DIFFEREN FROM OUR CONCEPT OF TIME.

WHAT IS A COUPLE OF YEARS

THE OTHER SIDE:

MAY WELL JUST BE

A FEW DAYS HERE.

[SOFT BEEPING]

THE TRANSCODE PROCESS WORKS BY

TAPPING INTO THE CONNECTOR

WHERE THE MEMORIES ARE STORED.

THIS IS MADE POSSIBLE BY ARTIFICIAL

INTELLIGENT CHIP IMPLANTS

THAT'S STORED

AT THE SIDE OF THE BRAIN.

SO THIS HELPS US ENCODE MEMORIES

AND ALSO STORES THEM

AS SYNAPTIC CONNECTIONS.

WHAT OUR TRANSCODE

TECHNOLOGY DOES:

IS IT UNSCRAMBLES THIS CHAIN

OF SYNAPTIC CONNECTIONS

INTO A STREAM OF DATA.

OUR SOFTWARE THEN PROCESSES

THIS STREAM OF DATA AS IMAGERY.

SO WHEN PLAYED BACK,

IT'S.. IT'S INCREDIBLE.

IT'S ACTUAL MEMORY FOOTAGE.

[BEEPS, WHIRRING]

[RUMBLING]

[DIGITAL TRILLING, WHOOSHING]

[SUSTAINED BEEP]

WE'VE TRANSCODED

BURSTS OF MEMORY.

AND, ALTHOUGH SHORT,

IT'S VERY PROMISING,

IN FACT, IT'S... I THINK IT'S

BETTER THAN ANYBODY EXPECTED.

UM, AT THIS STAGE

OF THE GAME, HOWEVER,

IT... THEY ARE SHORT BECAUSE

IT'S VERY, UH, TAXING MENTALLY

FOR JESSICA.

SO SHE NEEDS:

A CERTAIN AMOUNT OF TIME

TO RECOVER FOR THE SYNAPSES

IN HER BRAIN:

TO RECOVER FROM THE EXPERIENCE

THAT SHE'S HAD

TO, SORT OF,

RE-GATHER, AS IT WERE,

UM, AND THEN WE START AGAIN.

SO, FOR ME,

THERE'S A PRIORITY, OBVIOUSLY,

WHICH IS TO:

TAKE CARE OF JESSICA.

I CERTAINLY DON'T WAN THE INFORMATION THAT SHE HAS

TO BE COMPROMISED IN ANY WAY

BY PUSHING THIS PROCESS

TOO QUICKLY.

HOWEVER, THERE IS AN IMPERATIVE THAT WE

GET THE INFORMATION AS SOON AS POSSIBLE.

[CHIME]

WE HAVE SOME VERY WORRIED PEOPLE

HERE AT STRATEGIC DEFENSE COMMITTEE.

WITH THE HEIGHTENED

ACTIVITY IN OUR SKIES,

NATIONAL SECURITY ALER WAS ELEVATED TO CODE RED.

NOW BEAR IN MIND, WE HAVE

PROTOCOLS SET IN PLACE

FOR THIS KIND OF EVENT.

SINCE THE '40S.

[ALARM SOUNDING IN THE DISTANCE]

[MUSIC PLAYING]

[NO AUDIBLE DIALOGUE]

[NO AUDIBLE DIALOGUE]

[INDISTINCT RADIO CHATTER]

[CRACKLING]

[WARBLING]

[LOUD, DISTORTED GASP]

[DR. PATEL] SOMETHING MUST'VE TRIGGERED

HER BRAIN SYNAPSE LIKE A SWITCH.

HER BRAIN ACTIVITY

LIT UP LIKE FIREWORKS.

[SHUDDERS]

HER DIAGNOSTICS WERE NORMAL.

NOTHING SEEMED DAMAGED.

WELL, HER BRAIN DID

HAVE A LEVEL OF TRAUMA,

BUT THAT'S TO BE EXPECTED,

AND HER MEMORIES WILL

TAKE A WHILE TO RECONNECT.

DESPITE MY PROFESSIONAL ADVICE

TO THE SPACE AGENCY OFFICIALS,

NOT ENOUGH TIME WAS GIVEN

TO ALLOW FOR HER RECOVERY.

THERE WERE TOO MANY QUESTIONS.

AND EVERYONE WANTED ANSWERS.

JESSICA, I'M GONNA

ASK YOU SOME QUESTIONS

AND IT'S VERY IMPORTAN THAT YOU ANSWER THEM

AS CLEARLY AS POSSIBLE

SO THAT WE CAN PREVENT CONFUSION

WITH THE MEMORY TRANSCODES.

I UNDERSTAND.

[BEEPS, DIGITAL TRILLING]

WHAT DO YOU REMEMBER

FROM THE LAUNCH?

[JESSICA]

IT WAS SO MUCH LIGHT.

I REMEMBER THINKING

TO MYSELF THA THIS LIGHT IS GOING TO BLIND ME

IF I KEEP MY EYES OPEN.

CAN YOU TELL ME WHAT HAPPENED

WITH THE SOLDIER 2.0?

THE SOLIDER... HE REMAINED QUIE AS WE WENT INTO THE VOID.

BUT AS THE LIGHT FLASHES

BECAME MORE VIOLENT,

I... I COULDN'T WATCH HIM, I HAD

TO CLOSE MY EYES FOR A MOMENT.

AND WHEN I OPENED MY EYES,

I NOTICED:

THAT HE WAS NO LONGER

IN THE CRAFT.

I LOOKED OUTSIDE AND I COULD

SEE HIM FLOATING AWAY.

JESSICA, SORRY,

CAN YOU CONFIRM THAT AGAIN?

I SAID, THERE WAS NO WAY THAT HE

COULD'VE LEFT THE CRAFT VIA THE HATCH.

HE JUST FLOATED THERE

AS IF FROZEN.

HE HAD A LOOK OF FEAR

IN HIS EYES:

AND HE KEPT LOOKING DOWN

AT HIS ARM.

HIS ARM EXPLODED INTO

A WHITE FLASH OF LIGHT,

WHICH LOOKED LIKE

A NUCLEAR BOMB DETONATION.

AND THEN THE CRAFT BEGAN

SPINNING OUT OF THE VOID

AND TOWARDS WHA LOOKED LIKE A PLANET.

I MUST'VE PASSED OUT BECAUSE

I THEN FOUND MYSELF

ON THE PLANET'S SURFACE AND

HAD NO IDEA HOW THAT HAPPENED.

I KEPT WALKING AND WALKING.

IT WAS AS IF I WAS DRAWN TO

A SPECIFIC LOCATION.

[MUSIC PLAYING]

JESSICA,

DID YOU MAKE FIRST CONTACT?

[JESSICA]

YES.

I SAW THEM.

BUT THEY HAD NO SHAPE OR FORM.

I FELT THEIR PRESENCE AS IF THEY

WERE TRYING TO COMMUNICATE WITH ME.

[CHITTERING]

AND THERE WAS A FLASH,

AND I FOUND MYSELF INSIDE

A WHITE ENVIRONMENT.

IN THE DISTANCE...

WAS SOMETHING APPROACHING ME.

I FELT PARALYZED.

I-I JUST COULDN'T MOVE.

I KNOW I SHOULD'VE BEEN

SCARED OR TERRIFIED

BUT I WASN'T.

I ACTUALLY FELT CALM.

[SOFT TRILLING]

IT WAS JIM MARCELL.

BUT HE DIDN'T PHYSICALLY SPEAK.

I COULD HEAR HIM,

THOUGH, IN MY HEAD,

TELLING ME THAT EVERYTHING

IS GOING TO BE OKAY.

WHAT ARE THEIR INTENTIONS?

[JESSICA] HE KEPT SAYING

IT'S GOING TO BE OKAY

AND THAT OUR TIME HAS COME.

IT WAS STRANGE,

I COULD FEEL WHAT IT WAS SAYING.

IT-IT...

IT WASN'T A VOICE AS SUCH.

IT WAS JUST INFORMATION BEING

PRESENTED INTO MY MIND.

[GILLIAN] MANY IN THE

COMMITTEE ARE QUESTIONING

THE VALIDITY OF:

JESSICA'S MEMORY TRANSCODES,

IN PARTICULAR, THE APPEARANCE

OF ASTRONAUT JIM MARCELL.

UM, THEY ARE QUESTIONING WHETHER THIS

IS A MANIFESTATION OF HER IMAGINATION

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