The Beyond Page #8

OR A KIND OF MIRAGE,

IF YOU WILL.

HOWEVER, I HAVE TO WONDER WHY

HE APPEARED IN THE FIRST PLACE.

AND, TO ME, I THINK

IT'S IMPORTANT TO, PERHAPS,

EXAMINE THE IDEA THA ASTRONAUT JIM MARCELL

IS ALIVE AND WELL,

AND ON THE OTHER SIDE

OF THE VOID.

HE'S NOT DAMAGED IN BODY

OR MIND, SEEMINGLY.

SO PERHAPS THIS WOULD INDICATE

THAT THEIR INTENTIONS TOWARDS US

ARE POSITIVE AND THA THEY MEAN US NO HARM.

[ALEX]

WE HAVE TO BE EXTREMELY CAUTIOUS

IN OUR RESPONSE:

TO JESSICA'S STATEMENTS.

WE HAVE TO RUN...

A WHOLE LOT OF TESTS

TO ASCERTAIN WHETHER

OR NOT SHE'S SUFFERING

FROM ANY FORM OF

POST-TRAUMATIC STRESS.

SHE'S BEEN THROUGH ONE

HELL OF AN EXPERIENCE.

IT'S BOUND TO HAVE

SOME SIDE EFFECTS,

EVEN IF THEY ARE TEMPORARY.

WE HAVE A LOT AT STAKE HERE.

AND WE CAN'T AFFORD TO MAKE ANY

RASH CONCLUSIONS AT THIS STAGE

ABOUT WHAT THE TRANSCODES ARE

AND WHERE THEY COME FROM.

ARE THEY REALLY JESSICA'S

OWN ORGANIC MEMORIES?

OR ARE THEY IMPOSED,

PLACED THERE,

BY SOMEONE OR SOMETHING ELSE?

[CHIME]

[SOFT HIGH-FREQUENCY TONE

REPEATING]

[RUMBLING GROWING LOUDER]

[INTERMITTENT BOOMING]

[CHIME]

[MUSIC PLAYING]

[RUMBLING]

[WOMAN] THIS IS ISS, BE

ADVISED OF INCOMING DEBRIS.

THE BLOWBACK DOES NOT LOOK GOOD.

MULTIPLE COLLISIONS WITH OUR

OUTER-ORBIT SATELLITES

AND THE DEBRIS SPEED IS

ACCELERATING RAPIDLY.

[STEADY BEEPING]

IT'S HEADING RIGHT AT US.

STANDING BY FOR COLLISION

AVOIDANCE MANEUVER.

100 METERS AND CLOSING.

75 METERS AND CLOSING.

50 METERS AND CLOSING.

25 METERS AND CLOSING.

TEN METERS AND CLOSING.

FIVE METERS AND CLOSING.

THREE METERS.

BRACE FOR IMPACT.

[CHITTERING, CRACKLING]

[MUSIC PLAYING]

[NO AUDIBLE DIALOGUE]

[GILLIAN]

WE WERE SO WRONG.

[SOFT CHUCKLING]

WE COULD NOT HAVE BEEN

MORE WRONG ABOUT...

ALL OF THIS.

[CHUCKLES]

[SNIFFS]

WE WERE SO BLINDED

BY OUR OWN PARANOIA

THAT WE COULDN'T SEE

WHAT WAS REALLY GOING ON.

WE THOUGHT THA WE WERE BEING ATTACKED.

IT DIDN'T OCCUR TO US

IN OUR WILDEST DREAMS

THAT ACTUALLY:

WE WERE BEING SAVED.

THAT THOUGH NEVER CROSSED MY MIND.

AND I AM FEELING...

UH, HUMBLED I THINK

IS THE WORD THAT COMES TO MIND.

AND... UM, YOU KNOW,

YOU SEE SOMETHING,

I GUESS YOU CAN'T HELP BU QUESTION EVERYTHING THAT YOU...

YOU THINK YOU KNOW.

REPORTER:
BREAKING NEWS,

TODAY, NOT MATTER WHICH RACE,

RELIGION OR POLITICAL VIEW

YOU HOLD,

OR WARS WHICH YOU ARE FIGHTING,

EVERYONE ON THIS PLANE IS WITNESSING

A HISTORICAL EVENT,

WHICH EXPERTS ARE CALLING THE

COSMIC EVENT OF OUR LIFETIME.

[GILLIAN] SINCE THE EVENT,

JESSICA'S MIND IS LESS CONSTRICTED

AND MORE MEMORIES

HAVE BEEN TRANSCODED.

THE MORE WE'VE TRANSCODED,

THE MORE WE'VE LEARNED ABOU JESSICA'S FIRS CONTACT EXPERIENCE WITH THEM

AND THEIR INTENTIONS.

[DIGITAL CHIMING]

[DIGITAL TRILLING]

[JESSICA] HE SAID THAT THIS

IS ALL PART OF THE CYCLE.

A PROCESS CREATED BY THEM

TO KEEP THE UNIVERSE STABLE

AND WORKING.

I HAD TO ASK, "WHY US?

WHY DID THEY SAVE US?"

WHATEVER THEY:

LEARNED ABOUT US...

[PEOPLE LAUGHING, CHATTERING]

PERHAPS MADE THEM DECIDE

THAT WE WERE A SPECIES

WORTH PRESERVING AFTER ALL.

[EXPLOSIONS, GUNFIRE]

REGARDLESS OF OUR FLAWS.

HE SAID THEIR WORK IS DONE

AND, IN TIME, THEY WILL RETURN.

I NEVER THOUGHT THA THE GAD WOULD'VE PLAYED

SUCH AN IMPORTANT PAR IN SAVING HUMANITY.

WE DESIGNED IT TO INFORM

EXTRATERRESTRIAL INTELLIGENT LIFE

IF THEY BOTHERED READING IT.

UH...

IT HAPPENED, THEY DID.

HUMAN BEINGS,

WHEN FACED WITH THE UNKNOWN,

THERE'S AN IMMEDIATE REACTION

TO GO ON THE OFFENSE.

YOU HAVE TWO CHOICES REALLY:

FIGHT OR FLIGHT.

THAT WAS OUR MINDSET.

OF COURSE,

HAVING THE MILITARY INVOLVED,

THAT'S GOING TO BE PART OF HOW

WE APPROACH THESE THINGS.

AND I THINK FROM EARLY DAYS,

YOU KNOW,

SINCE THE BEGINNING

OF THIS DISCOVERY,

WE GRADUALLY ENTERED

ONTO THAT PATH:

OF FEELING THA WE WERE UNDER THREAT.

AND I HAVE TO SAY IT NEVER

REALLY CROSSED OUR MINDS

FOR ONE SINGLE SECOND

THAT THERE WAS SOMETHING OU THERE THAT WAS HELPING US.

NOW, I DON'T KNOW WHY THA DIDN'T OCCUR TO US,

BUT MAYBE IT'S A QUESTION

WE NEED TO ASK OURSELVES.

IS EVERYTHING:

THAT WE DON'T UNDERSTAND,

IS IT SOMETHING TO BE FEARED

RIGHT OFF THE BA AS A KNEE-JERK REACTION,

OR IS THERE SPACE THAT WE CAN

MAKE TO CONTEMPLATE

THAT THERE COULD BE

FORCES OUT THERE

THAT REALLY ARE ON OUR SIDE,

AND THAT ARE PART OF

HELPING US EVOLVE?

[MUSIC PLAYING]

[JAKOB]

NOTHING...

WE THOUGHT WE KNEW

ABOUT PHYSICS, SCIENCE...

ABOUT INTELLIGENT LIFE,

NOTHING THAT WE'VE THEORIZED

COULD EVER HAVE:

PREPARED US FOR THIS.

THERE'S NO PHYSICAL,

SCIENTIFIC EXPLANATION FOR THIS

OR WHY IT HAPPENED.

ALTHOUGH THE SCIENTISTS AND OTHER

MEMBERS OF THE SPACE AGENCY

ARE OVERWHELMED BY THIS EVENT,

THE DEFENSE DEPARTMENT CAN' HELP BUT ASK THE QUESTION

ABOUT THESE ALIENS.

IS IT IN THEIR BEST INTEREST...

[CHITTERING]

IF THE HUMAN RACE SURVIVES?

EVERY ASTRONAUT IS FITTED

WITH A TRACKING DEVICE.

SO, IN THE EARLY HOURS

OF THIS MORNING,

THE MILITARY HONED IN

ON A TRACKING SIGNAL

THAT WAS CONSISTEN WITH THE DEVICE

CARRIED BY ASTRONAU JIM MARCELL.

[INDISTINCT RADIO CHATTER]

THEY FOUND HIM WANDERING AROUND

IN A STATE OF COMPLETE SHOCK

IN THE ARIZONA DESERT.

AND, UM, WE HAVE NO IDEA

HOW HE GOT THERE.

I THINK MAYBE:

WE CAN ASSUME THAT,

NOW THAT THE VOID

HAS DISAPPEARED,

HIS ROLE AS A CONDUI IS NO LONGER NECESSARY.

UNFORTUNATELY, UM, JIM MARCELL

HAS NO RECOLLECTION

OF WHAT HAPPENED TO HIM

ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE VOID.

AND HE WILL NEED SOME TIME TO

COME TO TERMS WITH RECENT EVENTS.

WE REALLY HAVE NO IDEA

WHAT HE EXPERIENCED ON

THE OTHER SIDE OF THE VOID.

[MUSIC PLAYING]

[CHIME]

[ALEX] SINCE THE

DISAPPEARANCE OF THE VOID

AND THE BLACK SPHERES, WE'VE

BEEN NOTICING A LOT OF STRANGE

AND FASCINATING ACTIVITY

ABOVE OUR PLANET.

AN AFTERMATH OF RECENT EVENTS.

THIS SWIRLING CLOUD OF GAS,

AND DUST AND ICE

COULD BE SEEN PRODUCING

WHAT APPEARED TO BE PLANETS

AND THEIR MOONS BEING PULLED

DOWN INTO THEIR OWN GRAVITY.

[MUSIC PLAYING]

IT'S NOW LOOKING LIKE

WE HAVE A NEW SOLAR SYSTEM.

THE FACT THA IT'S ACTUALLY HAPPENED,

UNSETTLING ON, SORT OF,

THE DEEPEST LEVEL

BECAUSE IT THROWS INTO QUESTION

EVERY SINGLE THING

THAT I AND MY COLLEAGUES

HAVE LEARNED ABOUT OUR EARTH,

OUR SOLAR SYSTEM,

SPACE AND BEYOND.

[ALEX] WHAT RESULTED WAS THE

FORMATION OF A NEW PLANET...

RIGHT NEXT TO OURS.

LIKE A SISTER PLANE DIRECTLY IN OUR ORBIT.

OUR UNMANNED PROBES PERFORMED

ATMOSPHERE AND SURFACE SCANS.

AND THE RESULTING DATA INDICATED

THAT THIS NEW PLANE HAS ALL OF THE INGREDIENTS

REQUIRED TO SUSTAIN HUMAN LIFE.

FROM SURFACE TEMPERATURE,

TO MAGNETIC FIELD,

WATER, OXYGEN.

IT WAS AS THOUGH THIS PLANE WAS CUSTOM-BUILT JUST FOR US.

THIS NEW PLANET AND ITS MASS,

IT'S ALMOST IDENTICAL

TO OUR PLANET.

WITH A 10% VARIATION IN SIZE.

THAT'S WHY WE'RE STARTING TO

REFER TO IT AS "EARTH TWO."

FUTURE WORLD POPULATIONS

PREDICTED TO SOAR

ABOVE 12 BILLION

AND RESOURCES ARE RUNNING OUT,

IT'S IMPOSSIBLE TO

ACCURATELY DETERMINE

HOW LONG WE'LL ACTUALLY

Rate this script:0.0 / 0 votes