An astronaut sent to the edge of the solar system to collect mysterious ancient dust finds his earthly life falling to pieces. He turns to the only voice who can help him try to put it back together, which happens to belong to a creature from the beginning of time lurking in the shadows of his ship.
* * *
[mysterious music playing]
[stream gurgling]
[operatic music playing]
[man over comms] Jakub. Are you joining this broadcast?
We need to patch you in.
Hang on.
[switch clicks]
[mysterious music intensifies]
[metallic creaking]
[whirring]
Come on.
[breathing heavily]
[whirring intensifies]
[whirring stops]
[machine starts]
[electrical buzzing and beeping]
[Jakub] Peter.
[Peter over speakers] Patching you in now.
[people applauding]
On behalf of the Euro Space Program and the Czech people, 189 days into your solo journey, welcome back, Commander Procházka.
Commissioner Tuma. Hello from the outskirts of Jupiter.
I’m very excited to be talking to you from here.
It’s so great to see you again. You look well.
It seems like the long wait is coming to an end.
[chuckles softly] Yes, that is correct.
The reason for this journey is right in front of me.
I’m sure the images I’ve sent back doesn’t do it justice.
But the Chopra Cloud is more astonishing than what you could ever imagine.
I wish you could all see it the way I do.
[Tuma] This phenomenon has haunted our skies for the past four years, and now your images have captivated the world.
Truly spectacular.
[chuckles softly]
Well, in less than a week, I will collect and analyze the particles that make up the cloud.
We still don’t know what they are or where they come from.
But as I enter the Chopra Cloud, I might just unravel some mysteries of the universe.
Commander, would you mind taking a few questions from the people of the world?
I’ll do my best.
[girl] Hello, my name is Anna.
I’m in sixth grade.
And I read that you’re the loneliest man in the world.
[chuckles softly]
I think what Anna here is saying is that the commander is the farthest away from anyone in history.
Is that what you mean?
Does it make you sad to be so far away?
Well, I am some 500 million kilometers away.
And yes, this is a solo mission, but I know I’ll be coming back soon.
I’m nearing the halfway mark for my scheduled return to Earth, and I have so much work to do.
And I get to talk to people from all over the world like you and Mission Control.
And your wife, Lenka, of course.
She and I can talk over the CzechConnect Quantum faster than the Speed of Light Phone, which keeps us connected.
We talk every day.
What I’m doing is for everyone back home, and that makes me very proud.
No, I’m not the loneliest man in the world.
Thank you, Anna.
And thank you, Commander.
We’re going to take a short break here, and we’ll be back after a word from our generous sponsors.
[audience applauding]
[upbeat music playing]
[narrator] Non-drowsy Antiquease, the official nausea medication of the Jakub Procházka Mission to Chopra.
[melancholy music playing]
[Lenka] You’ll be all right, Jakub.
You’re not afraid to be on your own.
I was afraid, but I’m not anymore.
[sniffles]
[sobbing] I love you.
But people change.
And if you don’t let them change, they die.
[sniffles]
[cries] I have to leave you.
I’m so sorry it has to be now, but…
[beeps]
[line ringing]
[man] Yes?
Lenka problem.
[machine whirring]
[whirring intensifies, stops]
Peter, would you be so kind to approve another repair to the toilet?
[sighs] Let me see if I can get engineering to clear that.
Did you replace the O-rings like we suggested?
Yes, I did.
And it’s still screaming.
Maybe you and I can troubleshoot it later.
But the orders are that the broken cameras take priority over the toilet, so…
When did you take your sleep drops last night?
8:30. Why?
You don’t look so good. Did you sleep?
I tried.
But just maybe I look like shit because the toilet keeps fucking up my nights.
[Peter] Okay, I hear you.
But try to find time for a nap. You need rest.
[Jakub] Have you guys heard from Lenka?
No. Why?
[melancholy music playing]
[treadmill whirring]
[breathing heavily]
[machine whooshes]
[Lenka over laptop] I know you can feel the silence.
[sniffles]
[sighs] Oh my, oh my.
[Lenka] We’re both on the CzechConnect and…
there’s just silence.
So what’s the point?
He is under tremendous pressure. He isn’t sleeping.
He’s not getting this message.
We’re holding it back?
[Tuma] Hm.
[sighs] He’s already concerned he hasn’t heard from her.
He’s not getting this message.
I’ll go talk to her.
I’ll think of something to tell him.
[phone ringing]
[phone beeps]
[automated voice] Lenka is not answering. If you’d like to leave a message…
CzechConnect keeps you connected.
[CzechConnect theme music plays]
[somber music playing]
[music intensifies]
[machine whirring]
[Jakub whimpers]
[Jakub groans]
[groans and pants]
[whirring continues]
[whirring stops]
[breathing heavily]
[gasping]
[breath trembling]
Oh…
Ah!
What?
[grunting]
[eerie music playing]
[choking]
[screaming]
[groans]
[treadmill whirring]
[Peter] You are clear
for the Chopra Sample Collection Simulation.
Confirming scenario beta 3-3.
[Jakub] Sample collection simulation confirmed.
Peter, are you reading?
[Peter] Still no Camera D?
Yes. Electrical fine. Camera dead. Same story.
[Peter] That’s half the ship’s cameras malfunctioning.
I don’t understand what’s happening.
I’ll file another report. [sighs]
I’m sure that’ll be very effective.
[melancholy music playing]
[Jakub] Can someone go to my home?
[Peter] Why?
[Jakub] Still haven’t heard from her.
[Peter] Okay, we’ll find her. Don’t worry.
[phone beeping]
[automated voice] Lenka is not answering. If you’d like to leave a message…
[static buzzing]
[eerie music playing]
Lenka?
Hello?
[man over CzechConnect] Hello.
Who is this?
Who do I have here?
[man] Can I help you?
Who the hell is this?
Hello?
[man] My apologies.
Peter, are you on?
[Peter] Yes.
I’m getting interference.
[Peter] That’s very strange.
Could someone have hacked the CzechConnect?
[Peter] Mmm, not likely. Our system is secure.
If there’s interference, it’s over the radio, but…
Was it Korean?
[Jakub] Why would it be Korean?
[Peter sighs] There are indications the South Koreans are closing in.
It’s not Korean.
Someone probably just left the channel open here.
And what do you suggest?
[Peter sighs] I’ll look into it.
You doing okay? Is everything all right?
Yes, Peter, everything is very good.
[Peter] So listen, we’ve just learned
that Lenka’s on her way to visit her mother.
She’ll be back in a couple of days.
[Jakub] Yeah? Get her to call me.
[object thuds]
[thuds]
[door opens]
[suspenseful music playing]
[machine whirring]
[sighs]
[gasps]
What the fuck?
Control, do you have a secret camera in the head?
[Peter] Why?
You do?
[Peter] Yeah. Well, it’s a safety issue.
Pull it up right now.
[Peter] But it’s out. It was one of the first ones to go out.
You gotta be kidding me.
[Peter] Jakub, what’s going on? Hello?
Jakub, why aren’t you responding?
[spider] I was lulled by the meditative sounds of your tube.
I did not intend to frighten you, skinny human.
[Peter] Jakub, what’s going on?
[spider] Do not be afraid.
[Peter] Hello?
[Jakub] I’m losing my mind.
[Peter] Why are you in the airlock?
[Jakub] We have to decontaminate the ship!
[Peter] What? Why?
As a precaution. In case we have any onboard contaminants.
[Peter] Well, we’re not seeing anything on our sensors down here.
[Jakub] I have been getting some very strange readings,
and I need to be certain before the critical stage of the mission.
I’m suiting up.
All right, you’re the commander.
Give me a minute to clear this.
[switch clicks]
[Jakub] Peter, I need word.
I… [sighs]…just got a reluctant confirmation.
I’m hearing from corporate sponsorships
that they want you to say the slogan first.
[Jakub] What?
[Peter] Before you deploy the decontaminant.
The Bomba slogan.
Two, three…
Bomba is 99.999% effective
in killing any and all airborne microbial elements.
Even in space, don’t let germs ruin your day.
Bomba, away!
[clicks tongue] All right. Very good. Clear to go.
[beeps]
[machine hissing]
[somber music playing]
[Lenka] You go where I go,
and I go where you go.
Right, Spaceman?
[Peter] Jakub?
What?
[Peter] Are you okay?
What’s going on?
[Jakub] Something’s not right.
[Peter] What’s not right?
Jakub?
[Jakub] I’m fine.
I need to talk to Lenka.
[Peter] You need to talk to me.
I know, I know.
[Peter] Your well-being is my responsibility.
You need to be transparent with me.
I know, and I am.
[Peter sighs] Okay.
The atmosphere should be back to normal in a couple of minutes.
What are your sensors saying?
[Jakub] Hm.
[Peter] See anything unusual?
[Jakub] Not right now.
[suspenseful music playing]
[Peter] We can have Dr. Kuřák come in if you need someone to talk to.
I don’t need a psychiatrist. I’m… I’m fine.
I don’t want your mental well-being to call this mission into question.
Agreed.
You don’t need to worry about me.
[Peter] That is what my job is.
Six months apart in isolation, you start thinking too much.
[Jakub] Yeah, I need to get back out there, Peter.
[Peter] Okay.
[spider] I sense your fear.
But I do not mean you any harm.
You needn’t worry.
I experienced no pain in my encounter with Earth’s cleaning agents.
Only…
[sneezes]
[breath trembling]
[spider] My apologies.
You do not need your protective shell.
I will neither consume nor contaminate you.
Ah. You wish to know if I am real.
Are you?
[spider] I am as real as you are.
[Jakub] You can’t be.
[Peter] What was that, Jakub?
No, no, no, no, no.
Peter, it’s nothing.
[spider] I would prefer you do not do that.
It is not customary for my tribe.
The body must not be violated.
[spacesuit hisses]
[breath trembling]
Why are you here?
[spider] I am like you, an explorer.
But why are you on this vessel?
[spider] I was traveling to the edges of your solar system
when I felt the pull of humans.
I surveyed your Earth from orbit, studied your history,
learned your languages.
Yet having accessed your knowledge,
I still did not understand.
That is when I encountered your ship.
Your loneliness intrigued me.
I intended to study you a day or two, but then I wished to know more.
You compelled me.
I’ve come to understand that I might be of help.
I have to… [breathes shakily]
[spider] Human?
Skinny human?
I will leave you alone.
[Jakub] What’s happening to me?
[mystical music playing]
[Lenka] This is going to be our home, Jakub.
[gasps]
[suspenseful music playing]
When you love someone, you’re meant to amputate
a piece of what is you and replace it with a piece of the other.
[spider] Do not be afraid.
[Jakub] What is this?
Do you get that I fucking amputated so much of myself
I don’t even know who I am anymore?
What have you given up, huh?
Whatever.
Are you doing this to me?
[objects clattering]
You go where I go, and I go where you go. Right, Spaceman?
[spider] I wish to assist you in your emotional distress.
It seems your mate is pulling away.
Perhaps my presence can lessen your solitude.
I don’t need your help.
But you do.
[melancholy music playing]
There’s a place in the country for pregnant women who are alone.
They live together, eat together,
support each other through the birth and the first few weeks.
I… I don’t understand.
You’d rather be surrounded by strangers in a forest?
I already canceled my lecture in Hamburg…
Be on my side, please.
I am.
I always am.
But, baby, this is a crazy time to make big decisions.
It’s a crazy time to leave him.
I know.
I should have done it a long time ago.
[melancholy music playing]
[inaudible]
[door unlocks, opens]
[spider] Skinny human?
No! No!
[spider] I need to ask about your mate.
This room’s off limits.
[distant whirring]
[whirring continues]
[spider] There is a picture of you.
You are an honored member of your tribe?
This room is also off limits.
Give me those.
You have many boundaries, skinny human.
Perhaps they are the cause of your loneliness.
Get out.
[sighs]
[spider] Do you have any ova?
Of the avian variety.
Skinny human?
Are you referring to eggs?
[spider] Yes, I wish to sample them.
You set them in such regard.
I don’t have any. They don’t travel well.
[spider] Oh.
Do you want to sample this?
[spider] Hmm.
Mmm.
Rich and creamy like the shtoma larvae back home.
Where is home for you exactly?
[spider] It is lost.
The Gorompeds came for us.
Just like you, I fled my planet.
Through galaxies, through black holes.
I fled through the universe, through time, looking for solace.
But then I found you.
Is this how your kind treats your feelings of loneliness?
It’s one way I suppose.
[rotor blades whirring]
[Tuma] She knew who she married.
All the qualities that make him capable of spending a year alone in space
makes him, uh…
peculiar.
[woman] Will she even talk to you?
She’s very pregnant and very alone.
And when you’re alone, you think.
She’s had too much time to think.
[spider] We have work to do.
[Lenka] You have time for this?
Thought you’d be staring up at your cloud.
[Peter] Jakub.
Jakub.
What?
[Peter] We’ve identified some issues with Lenka’s CzechConnect.
[Jakub] Okay.
[spider] Come.
[Jakub] When is it fixed?
[Peter] Our engineers are on it.
Yeah? Thank you.
Look, Peter, I got to get back to it.
[Peter] You do that.
[Jakub] This cloud…
it’s beautiful to you too?
[spider] It holds much wisdom, skinny human.
When I was young, I caught its grains on my tongue.
They are from the Beginning.
These particles…
They are from the origin of the universe?
Is that what Chopra is?
[spider] Perhaps.
And you were there?
How old are you?
Do your kind not die?
[spider] Everything that begins must end, skinny human.
Even the universe itself.
It’s pulling us in.
Is there something inside?
[spider] Yes.
[Jakub] What is it?
[spider] The Beginning.
The Beginning.
What is this?
I have a proposition for you.
You go where I go.
And I go where you go.
Deal?
Yeah.
[chuckles]
[Jakub] Where are you taking me?
[Lenka chuckles] Trust me!
[Jakub] Okay, I’ll go where you go.
[spider] I don’t understand.
Why commit to a promise if it can readily be broken?
What purpose does such a commitment serve?
Are you creating these thoughts?
[spider] No.
These are your thoughts.
I am simply finding them with you.
No, no.
I’m not allowing that.
Stop what you’re doing.
[spider] Why do you resist this exploration?
Let me help you.
I don’t love water.
I’m a lifeguard. I could be a lifeguard.
I will save you.
[spider] You long for your mate only once she leaves.
Suit yourself.
[spider] Why?
Where was this yearning when you were together?
I don’t have any answers for you.
[spider] This strife with your Lenka,
it stirs something in me I do not recognize.
Your memories are making me…
depressed?
But the spread made of hazelnut
did make my realization seem less unpleasant.
Maybe we need to save some for later then.
Ever felt like you might evaporate?
That’s how I felt.
And I have hope.
It’ll get better soon.
I’ll get it together. I’m not going to evaporate.
It’s just that…
he can’t see me.
Not really. The world down here…
We’re just dots. [sniffles]
You’re not a dot.
[Lenka] I know.
That’s what I worked out.
I do exist.
Raising a kid alone is hard.
[birds chirping]
[Lenka sighs deeply]
Have you thought about what you’re going to tell the baby?
I’ll tell our daughter the truth.
When I married her father…
I loved him.
I loved that he was ambitious.
I was wrong.
Young people are wrong all the time.
People are wrong all the time.
[Lenka sighs]
Do you have a name?
What am I supposed to call you?
[spider] I have never had a name.
Would it help you to give me one?
It would.
[spider] Then name me.
Can you think of one that becomes me?
How about Hanuš?
[spider] Hanuš…
[Jakub] My father told me about him.
He built the astronomical clock in Prague.
It measured the movements of the stars and the planets.
It was like nothing else in the world.
[spider] What happened to your Hanuš?
Some king poked his eyes out.
Jealousy, I believe. It threatened his legacy.
[spider] Curious.
And the timekeeping machine?
It works now.
But I’m not sure if Hanušbuilt it…
or if someone else did…
or if Hanuševen exists.
I will be called Hanuš.
Good.
Hanuš.
[operatic music playing over speakers]
[whirring]
[music volume increases]
[whirring stops]
[Hanuš] This is a tragic opera?
What is it about?
[Jakub] This is Rusalka.
A water nymph who falls in love with a mortal man.
But they can’t be together.
[Hanuš] You see yourself in the star-crossed lovers.
[Lenka] Don’t be scared.
[Jakub] I’m a cosmonaut in training. I’m never scared.
[Lenka] Did you always want to be a cosmonaut?
[Jakub] Well, I was supposed to raise pigs.
[Lenka] Really?
But after my father died, my dreams got bigger.
My father’s dead too.
[Jakub] Where are you taking me?
[Lenka] I thought you might want to see something.
What is this?
It’s a secret place.
[Hanuš] There was so much love.
Where did it go?
Please stop doing this to me.
[Hanuš] We must persist, skinny human.
[squeals]
[gasps]
[pigs squealing]
[Gustav Husak, in Czech] Fellow citizens, dear comrades.
The people no longer trust in the rule of the Communist Party.
Today, I speak to you to ensure we can avoid a lawless state.
I will abdicate my role as the president of the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic.
I hope for a successful democratic development of our state and its people.
[machine whirring]
[whirring stops]
[in English] Were you just here listening to that all night?
I find the vibrations soothing.
At first, I entered your thoughts with you.
But I felt uncomfortable.
Your kind carries a great deal of guilt.
Yours doesn’t?
No. Why should we?
The universe is as it should be.
I am removing your ban on this room, Hanuš.
For soothing purposes.
[treadmill whirring]
[Hanuš] What purpose does this serve?
I have to do this two hours a day to keep my bones from decaying.
[Hanuš] You chose to flee your planet,
yet that act is destructive to you.
Your father. May I ask about him?
[pigs squealing]
What about him?
[Hanuš] What happened to him?
He was killed for what he believed was the truth.
[Hanuš] Your father was a martyr?
He was on the wrong side of history.
Papa!
[Jakub] My dad was a good man who did bad things.
He was an informant for the Party.
You believe this great mission will atone for the sins of your father.
You should focus more on the living, skinny human.
It’s your turn to be a father now.
[knock at door]
[softly] Baby, someone’s here to see you.
[Tuma] You want to leave your husband?
I have left him.
[Tuma] No, you left him a message.
But the thing is I haven’t given it to him.
Of course.
My job is to protect him.
I’m trying to protect the mother of his child.
Your mission is safe.
I assure you Jakub will be fine.
He’s good on his own.
I’m sure that he’s hard to live with.
But he’s not doing well.
What does that mean, “he’s not doing well”?
[Tuma] He misses his wife.
Then he shouldn’t have left.
I’m not giving him your message.
[chair scrapes]
[Tuma] There are people now at your home disabling the CzechConnect.
If you won’t protect Jakub, I will.
Right now, he needs to believe
that the two of you are still a love story.
[Lenka] I’m not sure he does.
You don’t leave your husband when he’s in a dangerous place.
I didn’t put him there.
Why can’t you wait until he comes back?
[inhales deeply] I’m sorry. I can’t help you.
You know, Lenka, the silence is the point.
What?
“We’re both on CzechConnect and there is silence,
so what is the point?”
The silence is the point.
The two of you together,
silent, lost, afraid, in the dark,
holding on.
That is the point.
[Jakub] Speed at zero.
[Peter] Confirm SSR.
[Jakub] SSR on target. Rotation, 12 degrees. FSC engaged.
Contact. Done.
[Peter] FERDA Collection Simulation, Scenario Beta 3-3 concluded.
Great, Commander. That’s perfect.
Six months in here. I know this, Peter.
[Peter] I know, but 45 hours to go.
And you’ll be there first.
We’re very proud of you down here.
[Jakub] Yeah.
[Lenka] Hello?
Earth to Jakub?
[Jakub] Will you stop? I really don’t have time.
[Hanuš] I am not the cause of this.
[Lenka] Are you there?
[Jakub over speakers] I’m sorry.
I’m just tired and lonely.
[Lenka] I can relate.
[Jakub] I know.
Maybe you could just talk to me.
[Jakub] What do you want to talk about?
[Lenka] Anything.
[Hanuš] What is this?
You should tell me a secret.
[Jakub] Lenka, please.
This is an old conversation from months ago.
[Lenka] Remember when you…
finally told me what happened to you when you were a boy?
[Jakub] What about it?
[Lenka] How they threw you in the river because of your dad?
[Jakub] And I still don’t want to talk about it.
I’m just trying to make sense of who you are, Jakub.
[Jakub] How is this even playing?
[Jakub over speakers] Who have you decided I am?
All I know is that you’re someone who says that you want to come home
and then says they want to see what’s beyond Jupiter.
[Jakub] Am I not allowed to dream?
Fuck!
When you dream, you leave.
[Jakub] Whatever.
[whirs]
[Jakub] Hanuš, is that…
[Hanuš] A grain from the Beginning!
It’s Chopra!
[warbling]
[pulsating]
[warbling reduces]
Unbelievable!
Yes!
[breathing heavily]
[warbling intensifies]
[Hanuš] It cannot be held, skinny human.
No! No!
[tense music playing]
[machine whirring]
[rattling]
[thumping]
[Hanuš] You have silenced my tube.
Your shameful waste will not hold what you are looking for.
[Jakub grunts]
[grunts]
Peter, I think we have an issue here.
Peter?
Peter, what the fuck?
[ominous music playing]
Control, Control. Do you read?
[clicking]
[ominous music continues]
[Jakub] Control?
Peter, do you read?
[ominous music playing]
Hanuš, do you see that?
[Hanuš] The Beginning approaches.
Should I be concerned?
You have nothing to fear, skinny human.
The Beginning will not cause any harm.
It is merely a repository.
Of what?
[Hanuš] The words of your tribe cannot describe this.
Perhaps we will experience it…
together.
[birds chirping]
[ominous music playing]
Control, do you read?
[Hanuš] Skinny human.
I must ask something that may upset you.
What?
The upcoming arrival of your offspring,
why should it cause your Lenka such distress?
It doesn’t.
[Hanuš] Yet the flavor of her feelings is one of dread.
You mated again to create this offspring.
You speak of this offspring with excitement.
We’ve experienced things to fear.
[Hanuš] Show me, skinny human.
I wasn’t there.
[whirring]
[tense music playing]
Hanuš, how can I even see this?
[Lenka groaning]
[Jakub] I wasn’t there.
[Hanuš] Your thoughts have been there, haven’t they?
[Lenka crying]
[Hanuš] You had the event described to you?
[crying hysterically]
I just want you to come home.
But you know I can’t do that.
[Lenka] I bet you could.
[Jakub] Lenka, what is Dr. Cerný saying?
[Hanuš] You were absent when your mate lost your first offspring.
You were absent thereafter.
That broke my soul.
I just feel so alone, Jakub.
[Jakub] Oh shit! Shit!
I’m having an emergency.
Let me call you back.
[Lenka] You do that.
CzechConnect keeps us connect…
[Hanuš] Again, she is with your child, and you are not there.
What for?
The pain that it causes, it is of value to you?
[melancholy music playing]
[woman] It’s an honor to have you with us.
[Lenka] I’m sure my being here
is no different to anybody else, but thank you.
Hm. Of course, but we say this to all our patrons, and we mean it.
We are humble to our task.
Whether it’s by choice or by necessity,
this is not an easy thing to carry on your own.
Útočiště is your sanctuary or hinterland,
whatever you need it to be.
[Lenka] Thank you.
[whirring]
[tense music plays]
[Hanuš] With all our findings,
you are still focused on your great discovery.
[Jakub] I’m focused on a way to reach Mission Control.
[Hanuš] We’re not done.
[Jakub] Are you at least happy for me?
Yeah.
Of course I am. [sniffles]
I’m happy and proud of you. [sniffles]
They chose you.
[Jakub] We’ll make it work.
We’re together in this. You and me.
[Lenka sniffles]
[Lenka] Promise me one thing.
Promise me we’re still going to do all the things we talked about.
[Jakub] Of course. I promise.
[Hanuš] She feels your lies inside her.
[Jakub] You don’t know what you’re talking about.
[Hanuš] You welcomed her sadness.
All these broken pledges
except for the one you made to your great discovery.
How could you fail to see
that she, one day, would lose the will to believe in you?
[keypad beeping]
[line ringing]
Come on, come on, come on.
[Peter] This is Peter.
Peter, it’s Jakub. I’m calling from the CzechConnect.
I found a way to reconfigure it.
The radio’s down, but this seems to work.
I don’t know if you can hear me. Peter?
[Peter chuckles nervously] We thought we lost communication.
Everyone here has been on comms duty since you went dark.
And you hacked the CzechConnect? That’s unbelievable.
Yeah.
Are you okay? Is the ship okay?
Yes, everything is…
[static]
[Hanuš] There is more I want to see.
[Lenka] Please don’t keep saying everything will be fine.
[Jakub] But it will.
You think too much.
I know it’s a year, but we know how to do this.
[Lenka] Things happen when you’re alone.
[Jakub] We’ll get through it.
This is the last time.
[Lenka] You keep saying that too.
Are you frightened?
[Jakub] I told you there’s nothing to be afraid of.
[Lenka] Don’t you ever think about the cost?
The price we have to pay for it all?
You and me.
I’m worried. I don’t know what lies ahead.
Why aren’t you?
[Hanuš] With great conviction,
you do not even try to understand your mate.
To what end?
It is impossible to connect with someone
who does not want to see anything but himself,
who only wants to connect when it serves him.
At first, I thought it was your kind’s nature,
selfishness, shortsightedness.
But through your Lenka, I now see it.
It is you.
Your loneliness is self-inflicted.
I will leave you to your mission.
What? Hanuš!
[Hanuš] My interest in you has expired.
[Jakub] You can’t leave me.
I need you.
You’re helping! I’m listening to you!
[Hanuš] You can’t be helped.
No!
[thuds]
[Hanuš] I prefer you do not place your hands on me.
[straining]
[panting]
You can’t leave.
I need to…
[Hanuš] You need to come back with a very different discovery,
but all you can see is yourself.
Good luck, skinny human.
Hanuš.
No! Wait!
Hanuš?
Hanuš, please.
I’ll do anything.
Hanuš, please. I promise.
[captivating music playing]
[Jakub] What is this?
It’s a secret place.
What do you think?
I think I want to live here.
[Lenka] Maybe you’d like to go on a mission together.
Maybe you’d like to trade secrets.
Maybe you’d like to kiss me.
I would.
Nice.
[music crescendos]
[cries softly]
[music fades]
[phone ringing]
[Jakub] Peter!
What the hell? Where did you go?
There is a severe panic down here for all reasons I’m sure you can imagine.
Peter, everything is okay.
Nothing is deviating from plan.
The ship is doing what it was designed to do.
There’s a course of action for when or if communications break down,
and I am following each of those rehearsed steps,
including fixing that problem.
Calm the fuck down.
Give me a heads-up.
Before anything, I want you to go and see Lenka.
What? Why?
Right now we have a lot going on.
Peter.
The South Koreans are right behind you.
You are gonna go.
[Peter] To do what?
[all breathing deeply]
Lenka Procházka?
Oh, he’s alive.
For fuck’s sake, Peter!
[sighs in relief]
I need to talk to you, Lenka. Five minutes, please.
I’m not here to interfere.
Whatever is going on, that’s between the two of you.
But in the interest of the safety of the mission and the stakes,
I need to do what I can to alleviate Jakub’s mental state right now.
I hope you can understand that.
Peter…
I can’t.
He wants you to listen. That’s all.
[Peter breathes deeply]
[phone keypad beeping]
[Peter whispers] I’ll be outside.
[Jakub] Lenka, I hope you’re there.
I get it now. I do.
Do you remember when I said I wanted to see beyond Jupiter?
I can’t imagine anything worse now.
I just want to come home.
When we met, I felt safe for the first time in my life.
And now I can’t, for the life of me, understand why I kept leaving you behind
when you’re the only thing that matters.
You tried hard to know me.
I am so sorry I never made a real effort to know you.
You were right there in front of me, and I didn’t see you.
I have lived a life for all the wrong reasons.
What a fucking waste.
I don’t deserve you.
And I never have.
[sighs]
[Jakub] If I could do it again, I’d do it better.
[Lenka sniffles]
[Jakub] And that’s a promise I would never ever break.
If I… If I could do it again.
I’m sorry.
I’m so sorry.
[melancholy music playing]
[crying]
[melancholy music continues]
[music fades]
[Jakub] Hanuš?
I can feel you poking around.
Are you still here?
[Hanuš] You should rest now.
I… I’d really like that.
[Hanuš] Rest.
You have purged, skinny human.
I saw it.
Rest.
[Hanušbreathing heavily]
I did not mean to wake you.
Don’t do that to me again.
Don’t leave me.
[Hanuš] I cannot let you face the Beginning alone.
I’ve come to understand that I don’t want to be alone for that either.
Are you okay?
[Hanušwheezing]
Wha… What’s happening to you?
[Hanušinhales shakily] I was not entirely honest with you before.
About what?
I told you the Gorompeds came for us.
They consumed our offspring, our elders.
So I fled my world.
But I fled too late.
You’re scaring me.
[Hanuš] Why fear a truth?
This is not the way of my kind,
but it is the way of humans.
I’m starting to understand why daydreams and nightmares,
they are both of essence.
[Jakub] Why didn’t you say anything?
You never asked about me.
[Hanušwheezing]
[Jakub] Hanuš, please.
You should rest, skinny human.
Tomorrow, we enter the Beginning.
[crickets chirping]
This all feels like an unreal, dreamy story we tell the kids.
“The year you were born the sky was purple.”
“No one knew why.”
They think it’s particles from deep space.
[woman] Can you imagine being up there?
No gravity. You can float away.
[Lenka] That’s how I feel here sometimes.
I’d rather be here than chasing space dust.
It’s a very glittery dust. [chuckles softly]
[captivating music playing]
[Hanušbreathing shakily]
Skinny human, it is time.
Your great discovery awaits.
Thank you.
[Hanuš] The hot bean water, it is a sacred ritual.
[Jakub] Tastes like home.
[suspenseful music playing]
Test, test, test!
[Peter] Yeah, still reading you.
Commander, I need to tell you
we initiated the broadcast of your latest pre-recording.
We all know it was an important moment for you to do that live, in person.
We had no choice with the cameras down.
You’re really good in it.
It’s okay, Peter.
[Tuma] Commander Procházka,
thank you for taking the time in these precious moments.
How are you feeling?
[Jakub] Commissioner Tuma, I am humbled, awed, and focused all in one breath.
To think a kid growing up in the countryside
would one day partake in this.
In just a few moments, we will deploy FERDA into Chopra,
but before that,
I just have to say how grateful I am for the support of the Czech people.
This mission is dedicated to the people of the world
and the funders and sponsors,
and to Lenka, of course.
For her endless support.
[Tuma] Two lovers connected across the stars.
I’m sure she’s looking forward to having you home, safe and sound.
Everyone here on Earth is watching.
Because in just a few minutes,
the Jan Hus 1 and Commander Procházka
will be entering the Chopra Cloud.
The Czech Republic has proudly beaten the South Korean mission
to be the first to investigate the purple specter
that has haunted our sky for these past four years.
[Jakub] Arming hydraulics.
[mechanical humming]
Green board.
[Hanušwhispers] We are on the doorstep to the universe.
You are ready, skinny human?
Yeah. Yeah, I am.
[Peter] Green board here, Jakub.
Count yourself to sample collection in T minus ten.
[Jakub] Speed zero.
[Peter, distorted] SSR under 20.
[Jakub] SSR at 20.
Releasing gates.
[suspenseful music playing]
[Jakub] Arm engaged.
Rotation, eight degrees.
FERDA is deploying for collection.
But it might be a pointless endeavor.
[Peter, distorted] We can’t hear you, Jakub. Our… [static] …irregularities.
Control, we’re getting some interference.
[Peter] We read… We read you now.
[distorted] Clear for the sample collection.
[Jakub] FSC engaged.
Contact.
Attempting collection.
[Hanuš] Skinny human.
[wheezing]
I’ve never heard such silence before.
[grunts]
[warbling, pulsating]
[alarm blaring]
[Hanušgrunting]
Hanuš!
[Peter] Commander, what is happening?
[Peter] We have negative reading…
Hanuš!
…from sample collection.
Something is wrong.
Hanuš!
[Peter] System failure from FERDA.
Abort sample collection immediately.
Hanuš!
[Peter] We are recording numerous malfunctions, Commander.
You have to pull out immediately.
Abort the mission!
[distorted chatter over CzechConnect]
[Peter] You have catastrophic system failure.
Jakub, we cannot hear you.
The indicators are showing irregularities.
[Hanuš] Fear not, skinny human.
[Jakub] Hanuš! Hold on! I’m coming!
[Peter] Abort the sample collection
and engage thrusters.
No! No, I can’t.
[Peter] What are you doing with the Bomba?
Commander, pull out now! Please repeat!
[tense music playing]
[Peter] Commander, what is happening?
[alarm blaring]
[Peter] Why are you in the airlock?
Suit sensors are engaged.
Peter, I’m going out!
Are you fucking crazy?
Forget Chopra, Commander.
Pull out! Save yourself!
[Jakub] There’s something I’ve gotta do! I’ll be right back!
[Peter] Commander, we can’t read you!
Come in, Commander!
[airlock hissing]
[Jakub] Come on, come on, come on!
[tense music continues]
[Jakub] Hanuš!
[panting]
[grunts]
[panting]
[Jakub] Hanuš!
Are you okay? Did the Bomba work?
[Hanuš] Skinny human, your efforts with the decontaminant were heroic.
But soon, the Gorompeds will weaken me enough to consume my flesh.
But we have a little time.
Death will not yet find me.
[melancholy music playing]
[Jakub breathing heavily]
[Jakub] Hanuš.
I almost drowned when I was a boy.
This reminds me of that.
I could see the sun through the water, green and flickering.
I knew then I was drowning, but the sun would go on shining.
Oh, Dad. I absolve you of your sins, and I absolve me of them too.
[Hanuš] Beautiful.
This isn’t such a bad place to end things.
[Hanuš] This isn’t the end.
Come. Let me show you.
[captivating music playing]
[girl singing indistinctly]
[Jakub] We only just met but I’d be okay with it.
[baby crying]
[vehicle horn blares]
[Jakub] This is why I don’t tell the truth.
What is this?
[Hanuš] Skinny human, this is it.
This is everything.
This is the Beginning and the ending.
[child laughs]
[Hanuš] Every vibration of all time.
It is all contained here.
[Peter] Great, Commander. That’s perfect.
[Hanuš] Your past and your future.
[boy] Hey! Wait for me!
[Hanuš] Me, you, your Lenka…
[Lenka] You go where I go, and I go where you go. Right, Spaceman?
[Hanuš] Your father.
[man] Jakub!
[Hanuš] Every promise. Every heartbreak.
[Lenka] Earth to Jakub?
[Hanuš] Every atonement.
[boy] I’m coming!
[Hanuš] Everything is permanent, yet nothing ever is.
[Jakub] Really? It’s tiny?
That is the truth of the universe.
[warbling]
[Lenka] You ever think about
what you’ve learned a little bit late in life?
[Jakub] Maybe I’m not at that point yet.
[Hanuš] No one has to hurt, not here where you can see everything.
[fireworks bursting]
[groaning]
[screaming]
[heartbeat thumping]
[baby crying]
[operatic music playing]
[panting]
Hanuš! Incredible!
[Hanuš] Skinny human, the universe is as it should be.
[Jakub] Yes, it is.
How little I knew.
But there’s one thing I’ve always known.
Come, let me show you.
[Hanuš] This is the Beginning.
With your Lenka.
You all right there, Spaceman?
[Jakub] The first moment I saw her, I knew I wanted good things for her.
If I don’t know anything else, I know that.
If only I saw her always like I saw her then.
[Hanuš] That you saw her at all is a miracle.
[Jakub] It’s all so unlikely that she and I would meet, that you and I would meet.
[Hanuš] Yet here we are.
You thought this was everything you wanted, so what’s not here, Jakub?
[Jakub] She’s not here.
It’s time, isn’t it?
I feel you slipping away.
[Hanuš] Yes, it is inevitable.
It’s not without some fear, but I can leave you now.
[Jakub] I brought something for you.
For soothing.
[Hanuš] Thank you.
I begin and I end here.
[Hanušgasps] But perhaps this is not your ending, skinny human.
Now I feel fear.
[Hanuš] As you do.
But you also feel hope for you, your Lenka.
That is the wisdom of your tribe.
Can you hear her?
[Jakub] I can’t hear anything.
[Hanuš] Listen to the silence.
Thank you, Hanuš. For everything.
[Hanuš] Tastes like home.
[somber music playing]
[Jakub gasps]
No.
No!
No, no, no, no, no, no.
Oh, Hanuš.
[somber music continues]
[Jakub] Rusalka…
I just want a kiss.
You know that will kill you.
[softly] I’m good with that.
Lenka.
Jakub.
[indistinct radio chatter]
[phone ringing]
[woman speaks Korean over phone]
[Jakub] Thank you.
If I had known then what I know now,
I never would have left.
If I had known then what I know now, would I have kissed you?
Would you?
Would you kiss me again?
It was a really good kiss.
[“Don’t Go Away” playing]
♪ Don’t go away, don’t go away Don’t go away, don’t go away ♪
♪ Don’t go away ♪
♪ Please don’t go ♪
♪ I’d be all alone ♪
♪ I need you ♪
♪ I need you ♪
♪ Please don’t go ♪
♪ I’d be all alone ♪
♪ I need you ♪
♪ I need you ♪
♪ Don’t go away, don’t go away Don’t go away, don’t go away ♪
♪ Don’t go away ♪
♪ Don’t go away, don’t go away Don’t go away, don’t go away ♪
♪ Don’t go away ♪
♪ You seem to know me ♪
♪ Better than I know me ♪
♪ Better than I know myself ♪
♪ You seem to know me ♪
♪ Better than I know me ♪
♪ Better than I know myself ♪
♪ Don’t go away, don’t go away Don’t go away, don’t go away ♪
♪ Don’t go away ♪
♪ Don’t go away, don’t go away Don’t go away, don’t go away ♪
♪ Don’t go away ♪
♪ Please don’t go ♪
♪ I’d be all alone ♪
♪ I need you ♪
♪ I need you ♪
♪ Please don’t go ♪
♪ I’d be all alone ♪
♪ I need you ♪
♪ I need you ♪
♪ Don’t go away, don’t go away Don’t go away, don’t go away ♪
♪ Don’t go away ♪
♪ Don’t go away, don’t go away Don’t go away, don’t go away ♪
♪ Don’t go away ♪
♪ Deep, dark skies ♪
♪ Where the sun don’t rise ♪
♪ I need you ♪
♪ I need you ♪
♪ If you leave ♪
♪ You will jeopardize ♪
♪ Hope for me ♪
♪ Hope for you ♪
♪ Don’t go away, don’t go away Don’t go away, don’t go away ♪
♪ Don’t go away ♪
♪ Don’t go away, don’t go away Don’t go away, don’t go away ♪
♪ Don’t go away ♪
♪ You seem to know me ♪
♪ Better than I know me ♪
♪ Better than I know myself ♪
♪ You seem to know me ♪
♪ Better than I know me ♪
♪ Better than I know myself ♪
♪ Don’t go away, don’t go away Don’t go away, don’t go away ♪
♪ Don’t go away ♪
♪ Don’t go away, don’t go away Don’t go away, don’t go away ♪
♪ Don’t go away ♪
♪ You seem to know me ♪
♪ Better than I know me ♪
♪ Better than I know myself ♪
♪ You seem to know me ♪
♪ Better than I know me ♪
♪ Better than I know myself ♪
[song ends]
