[BELLS CHIMING]
[SIREN WAILING IN DISTANCE]
[PEOPLE CHATTERING]
[CAR DOOR SLAMS]
[SIGHS]
[PEOPLE CHATTERING]
[CHATTERING CONTINUES ON RECORDING]
[IRINA, THROUGH HEADSET] Margo.
Are you watching?
Yeah.
Uh, yes.
[THROUGH EARPIECE] Yes, I am.
[IN RUSSIAN] Ladies and gentlemen.
Please take your seats.
[CHATTERING STOPS]
[SWITCH CLICKS]
- The chair declares...
- [SWITCH CLICKS]
- ... this special meeting...
- [INTERPRETER SPEAKING THROUGH HEADSET]
... of the Mars Oversight Board
to be in session
with Irina Morozova presiding
on behalf of Roscosmos
during the month of July 2003.
All members are in attendance
and a quorum is present.
Let us begin.
[CLOCK TICKING]
[SIGHS]
♪ That's life [that's life] ♪
♪ That's what all the people say ♪
♪ You're riding high in April,
sh*t down in May ♪
♪ But I know I'm gonna
change that tune ♪
[IN ENGLISH] I'm looking forward
to finally meeting you in person.
♪ When I'm back on top,
back on top in June ♪
♪ I said that's life [that's life] ♪
♪ And as funny as it may seem ♪
♪ Some people get their kicks ♪
♪ Stomping on a dream ♪
♪ But I don't let it,
let it get me down ♪
♪ Cause this fine old world,
it keeps spinnin' around ♪
♪ I've been a puppet, a pauper,
a pirate, a poet ♪
♪ A pawn and a king ♪
♪ I've been up and down
and over and out ♪
♪ And I know one thing ♪
♪ Each time I find myself ♪
♪ Flat on my face ♪
♪ I pick myself up and get ♪
♪ Back in the race ♪
♪ That's life [that's life] ♪
Heigh-ho.
♪ I tell you, I can't deny it ♪
[CHUCKLES]
- Hey.
- Hello.
♪ But my heart just ain't gonna buy it ♪
♪ And if I didn't think
it was worth one single try ♪
♪ I'd jump right on a
big bird and then I'd fly ♪
- ♪ I've been a puppet, a pauper, a pirate, a poet ♪
- Hello.
[CHUCKLES]
♪ A pawn and a king ♪
♪ I've been up and down
and over and out ♪
♪ And I know one thing ♪
♪ Each time I find myself layin' ♪
♪ Flat on my face ♪
♪ I just pick myself up and get ♪
♪ Back in the race ♪
- [PEOPLE CHATTERING, LAUGHING]
- [MUSIC PLAYING THROUGH SPEAKER]
How's it hanging, Ilya?
Well, hello, everybody.
[CHATTERING STOPS]
How y'all doing?
Admiral.
I... I don't know what to say.
How about, um, "What'll
you have, Admiral?"
"What will you have, Admiral?"
Thank you so much for asking.
I'll have whatever he has.
Yes, sir!
♪ I'm gonna roll myself up ♪
- ♪ In a big ball ♪
- [SNIFFS]
Cheers, everybody!
- ♪ And die ♪
- [CHATTERING RESUMES]
[BELCHES]
That is some good sh*t.
- Hit me again.
- Yes, sir. [LAUGHS]
[SPEAKS RUSSIAN]
[HOBSON, IN ENGLISH]
Factoring in the increased pace
of flights and fuel refining
at Happy Valley,
we're confident of being able to launch
an asteroid capture mission
in eight weeks.
[AUDIENCE MURMURS]
That timeline is obviously
tight but we think it's doable.
But for sake of argument,
mission is successful, asteroid
enter the Martian orbit,
uh, next step will require
the developing a new equipment.
- Uh-huh.
- [ALEIDA] Yes.
In fact, we at Helios project a need
to design, build and sustain
a fleet of 200 new microgravity rovers,
capable of ongoing operations
in and around the asteroid.
We also need to design, build
and sustain two orbital platforms
as a base of mining operations,
along with 45 new MSAM hoppers
to facilitate personnel
and cargo transfers
between the expanded
Happy Valley facility
and two dozen massive cargo haulers
with nuclear fusion
reactor-powered ion drives
to transport the iridium to Earth.
- We've...
- [ISRO REP] Forgive me for interrupting,
but this is an enormous expansion
of research and development
beyond anything the world
has ever attempted.
By my count, you're saying
we need to construct
six new types of spacecraft,
over 400 individual vehicles.
- Is that correct?
- [ALEIDA] Not exactly.
This is only page 1
of the vehicle requirements.
[AUDIENCE GASPS, MURMURS]
[ISRO REP] What are the total numbers?
We project a need for 11 new spacecraft
and 2,500 individual vehicles.
[AUDIENCE EXCLAIMS]
[MARGO, THROUGH EARPIECE]
Those are conservative numbers.
I was guessing closer to 4000 vehicles.
[IRINA, THROUGH HEADSET]
Well, this will be an enormous expense.
Plus, the capital investments
to expand Happy Valley itself,
increased personnel,
training, maintenance.
And she hasn't even gotten to building
the receiving and processing facilities
we're gonna need in low-earth orbit
for when all the iridium deposits
start arriving back home.
[AUDIENCE CHATTERING]
- [CHATTERING STOPS]
- Ms. Rosales,
what is the top-line number for
total investment in this project?
For Helios to create the infrastructure
needed for basic mining operations
after the asteroid is captured,
we will require a minimum
capitalization cost of...
two trillion dollars.
[AUDIENCE EXCLAIMS]
But the asteroid is worth
at least 20 trillion, probably more.
So it's a solid investment.
[AUDIENCE MURMURING]
[PALMER] Is this for real?
[DANIELLE] It's certainly ambitious.
Twenty-five flights
in the first month alone?
- That's nearly once a day.
- And take a look at the estimate
for how much fuel we'll need
to refine just to grab it.
- Jesus f*cking Christ.
- [SIGHS]
Sorry.
Holy f*cking sh*t.
Much better, XO.
Look at the timeline
for equipment fabrication.
Skipper, we've never come anywhere
close to this pace of operation.
- I don't think we can pull this off.
- [SIGHS]
I was sent here to prove
that this base was worth the years
of blood and sweat and tears it took
to establish a Mars operation.
Good people d*ed up here,
and I knew some of 'em.
Now is our chance to show that
their sacrifice wasn't in vain.
So if the M-7 signs off on this plan,
then sends us after that rock,
I'm gonna get it.
I'm gonna get it or die trying.
Aye, aye, skipper.
[SIGHS]
[MUSIC PLAYING THROUGH SPEAKER]
- [PEOPLE CHATTERING]
- Who told you?
[SLURRED] Nobody told me.
See, I got a nose for
these kind of things.
sh*t, you think you're
the first smart guy who figured out
how to build a still out of
scrap metal and cast-off parts?
[CHUCKLES]
I've had moonshine on
carriers, cruisers, MASH units,
isolation chambers, jail cells,
churches, moon bases and space stations.
If there's a still, Ed Baldwin
is going to sniff it out.
[CHUCKLES]
Okay.
But I'll tell you one thing.
You need to switch out your filters
in your condensation line.
That's why you got that aftertaste
of cinnamon mouse-ass.
It's a telltale sign.
Cinnamon mouse-ass?
Yeah.
[CHITTERS]
I talked to the AFL-CIO rep
down in Houston.
He said we have a ton
of leverage right now too.
I don't know, a union?
[SCOFFS] Remember when they tried
to unionize the miners at Jamestown?
No, no, this is different.
They can't just shitcan us, right?
And then fly in a bunch
of scabs in two days?
They can't do it.
It's three months before they get
the replacements to Mars. Minimum.
By that time, Goldilocks
will be long gone.
If we don't band together,
they're just gonna keep screwing us
every chance they get.
I'm telling you, we're all gonna be
pulling double shifts, triple overtime,
working meal breaks,
no R and R days,
a recipe for f*cking disaster.
Earning bonuses, double bonuses,
- probably double secret bonuses...
- What?
- ... along the way.
- Yes.
People get tired. They lose focus.
They make mistakes.
- And this is when people get hurt.
- Exactly.
You gotta take some risks
if you want a big payoff.
What are you gonna do with
all that money if you're dead?
At least I'll die with
a rich man's smile.
[SCOFFS]
- [CLASSICAL MUSIC PLAYING]
- [PEOPLE CHATTERING]
She seems very confident.
[MARGO, THROUGH EARPIECE]
Well. With good reason.
She knows Helios has never been more
essential to us and the Americans
than they are now.
[IRINA, THROUGH HEADSET] Us?
I like hearing you say this, Margo.
Uh... I...
- I wasn't...
- Okay. Let us see what they're made of.
[CLEARS THROAT]
Administrator Hobson, Ms. Rosales.
On behalf of Roscosmos
and the Soviet Union,
welcome to Leningrad.
- [ALEIDA] Thank you.
- [HOBSON] Pleasure to be here.
My hotel is magnificent.
And how are your accommodations,
Ms. Rosales?
Would be more comfortable if
the bathroom wasn't down the hall.
Well, with the large size
of the conference,
we were forced to put some in
less than ideal accommodations.
To success.
[ALEIDA] Not sure how that's possible,
unless we find a trillion dollars
under someone's mattress.
[HOBSON] Well, the
problem isn't the money.
- [ALEIDA] It's not?
- [IRINA] No.
[HOBSON] Our two nations alone could
put up that amount of money.
[IRINA] And we will not, of course.
[HOBSON] Yes, we will not,
because it is the responsibility
of the entire M-7 bloc
to fund this operation.
I mean, everybody has to have skin
in the game if they want to benefit.
And believe me,
there is plenty of skin in this room
to cover the costs.
Then what's the problem?
The problem is the return on investment.
ROI.
The biggest three letters in business.
- In any language.
- I get it.
And there is a substantial return
on everyone's investment.
The cost is 10% or less of the potential
revenue of over 20 trillion dollars.
It's a huge ROI.
But not for 30 years.
[IRINA] Thirty years at minimum.
My people estimate
it's closer to 40 years
before any of our countries will see
the return on this investment.
I said 35 years was more realistic.
I can't wave a magic wand
and create entire new
fleets of spacecraft
and their associated infrastructure
out of thin air.
Hmm.
And even after it's built, we...
we still have to launch those systems
to a planet that's 30 days'
travel time away on a good day.
Oh, and then we have to
actually mine the stuff
and... oh, yeah... bring it
all the way back home.
It takes time.
Well, unfortunately,
you're making our case for us.
What case?
To drop the entire operation.
- What? No!
- No. No, no, no.
This is literally
a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
We can't pass this by.
Moscow will never agree
on waiting four decades
before seeing real benefits of
the investment this significant.
But the whole point of the project
is that it's not just for us today.
It's for the future.
No, it'll never fly in
Washington either.
Forty years is a lifetime in politics.
Think about it, 40 years ago,
Jack Kennedy was president,
the Vietnam w*r was
on the news every night,
- and Elvis was skinny.
- [CHUCKLES]
Millions of people, generations of people
who haven't even been born yet
will be affected by this.
We have a unique chance to do something
that will benefit the entire Earth.
Unfortunately, Goldilocks
is not going to Earth.
It's going to Mars.
And the only people who stand
to benefit from it is you at Helios.
You get the money for investment now,
and then we have to
wait for the benefit later.
- No, it will not do.
- Hold on a second there.
What if Goldilocks wasn't going to Mars?
We never modeled that scenario.
[IRINA] What are you talking about?
- That's why we're here.
- Wait, wait.
He might be onto something.
[IRINA] Explain what you mean.
Bringing the asteroid to Earth
instead of Mars.
Mining it in orbit. Here.
Using the existing helium-3
infrastructure from the Moon
would allow us to start
mining it right away.
And not having to send
thousands of vehicles to Mars
means a faster timeline.
And an exponentially faster
return on investment.
To everyone.
[MARGO] And it opens the door
for other companies
to make money mining it.
Not just Helios.
[HOBSON] The potential for
the global economy is staggering.
And instead of having to wait
to see benefits till the 2040s,
we start seeing them... When?
Five years.
I was just gonna say that.
[HOBSON] My fellow delegates,
I think we might have just changed
the rules of the game.
[ALEIDA] Now we just have
to figure out how to pull it off.
You see, if the vapor pressure
above the condenser's too high,
steam is gonna fill the line down there.
Okay. I'll make
the appropriate adjustments.
You should.
And you get drinks on the house.
You're g*dd*mn right I do.
You think you can get all
this advice just for free?
[BOTH CHUCKLE]
Y-You keep them coming.
[ILYA GRUNTS, SNIFFS]
[ED GRUNTS]
- One more?
- [GRUNTS] Keep 'em coming!
You drink like a Russian. [CHUCKLES]
I'll take that as the compliment
I think it was intended.
[ED GRUNTS, SIGHS]
Quite an operation you got going here.
Between this and the black-market stuff
you got rolling in from Earth,
you gotta be clearing, what,
five, ten grand a month?
- [CHUCKLES] Admiral, please.
- This isn't my first rodeo.
I've seen black-market stuff
on carriers and cruisers
- and MASH units, isolation...
- Admiral, please.
This is not topic for here.
So, how do you work it?
You got someone helping
you up on Phoenix?
Hmm?
That's the only way
to really make it work.
Right?
Hey, Faiza.
Miles. Hello.
I'm gonna need a couple of extra slots
on the next obsidian shipment out.
Weight's gonna be a bit of an issue,
'cause it's kind of a heavy consignment,
but I figure if we move around
- those last couple of...
- I cannot help you anymore, Miles.
Excuse me?
This area is off-limits
to nonessential personnel.
And you, my friend, are
nonessential from this day forward.
What's going on?
Has the new XO changed
up security protocol?
No. Palmer's got nothing
to do with this.
Sorry.
Faiza. Where you going?
Hey, let's talk about this.
Hey!
[PERSON] Nothing to talk about.
Petros. Hey.
- You are no longer welcome here.
- What's going on?
Loading dock is now closed
to you and your rocks.
As are all other aspects
of Ilya's business.
Wait a minute, wait a minute.
It's just a misunderstanding.
- I just gotta talk to Ilya...
- You will not talk to Ilya anymore.
But he can't just shut me
out of the whole system.
Man, I'm the reason
this whole operation...
Hey, hey, hey!
- [GRUNTING, CHOKING]
- You do not f*ck with Ilya's business.
Okay.
- Do you understand?
- [GRUNTS] I understand.
Do not come here again.
[PANTING]
[COUGHS, PANTING]
[COUGHING]
f*ck.
[CLEARS THROAT]
The main problem is that dragging
something of that mass to Earth
could take centuries.
Kronos was a fraction
the size of 2003LC,
and the spin rate was still a problem.
[MARGO] During the '90s, NASA used DART
to successfully simulate asteroid
impact avoidance techniques.
We might be able to use DART
to steer Goldilocks.
NASA during '90s used BART to simulate
asteroid impact avoidance techniques.
[SIGHS]
- [IRINA] This could be of use now...
- DART.
- I'm sorry. Who's Bart?
- DART.
That's what I meant.
Sorry, my English... Hmm.
[HOBSON] What's DART?
[ALEIDA] Double Asteroid
Redirection Test.
[HOBSON] Right. Right.
NASA tested eight techniques
for deflecting extinction-level
asteroids
or comets away from Earth in the '90s.
One of them might be applicable.
NASA tested eight techniques
deflecting ast... asteroids
during the DART program.
So you stole that data too?
We didn't steal anything.
Really? Like to talk about
the NERVA engine design?
This doesn't seem useful.
[ALEIDA] Sorry.
Please go on.
Tell me about our eight techniques
and how useful they might be today.
NASA openly published those tests
in scientific journals.
NASA doesn't do its work in secret
like some police state.
Your loyalties are misplaced.
You don't work at NASA anymore.
So your duty should be
to your current employer.
I'm aware of my situation,
- and who my duty is to.
- [IRINA] Furthermore,
the DART tests were
published for all to see.
- Right.
- Let's, uh... Let's refocus, please.
One of the techniques from those tests
did prove viable during
the Ranger 1 tests.
Direct engine attachment
for remote propulsion.
That was a viable option?
Strap a rocket engine to an asteroid
and... [IMITATES ROCKET BLAST]
... fire it up.
[MARGO] That wasn't
in the Ranger 1 report.
We didn't see it in the Ranger 1 report.
We moved away from it because of
misplaced faith
in porosity measurements.
Okay. So, what about
other redirection techniques?
Uh, the other options were, if I recall,
ion-beam shepherding.
[IRINA] What about ion-beam shepherding?
[ALEIDA] Uh, not enough energy
to power a beam that big.
- Kinetic impact.
- Kinetikit impact?
No time to build anything big enough,
and too hard to capture
another asteroid to slam into it.
- Nuclear expl*sives.
- No.
What?
Oh, I... I was just remembering
nuclear expl*sives option, but no.
You guys were gonna nuke an asteroid?
Hey, if the dinosaurs had nukes,
they might still be around.
But we're trying to steer Goldilocks,
not blast it into a million pieces.
The other options were focused solar,
mass driver, gravity tractor,
laser ablation...
- I know them all.
- That's true.
Not enough power, not big enough,
too slow, doesn't exist.
There's a solution here.
I know there is.
We just need to work
the problem for a while.
Yeah. We must work the problem.
Okay.
Where do you want to start?
[MARGO] Let's start by reviewing
the ion-beam collimation parameters
for shepherding.
Because if we can focus
the divergence angles,
we might be able
to generate enough thrust.
If we combine those
with multiple kinetic impacts.
I need a break.
Food?
Oh. I'm starving.
[STAMMERS] No.
[SPEAKS RUSSIAN]
[IRINA, IN ENGLISH] There's a great
restaurant across the street.
You're gonna love it.
[HOBSON] Fantastic.
Wait. I... I thought we were
working the problem.
[SIGHS]
[ED SNORTING, GROANING]
[GRUNTS]
[GRUNTS, SIGHS]
[GRUNTING]
[GROANS] Don't mind if I do,
Admiral Baldwin.
[KNOCKS ON DOOR]
[INHALES] sh*t.
[GRUNTS]
[BLOWING]
- [KNOCKING CONTINUES]
- Uh, hold up.
- [ED] What?
- Hey.
Uh, did I wake you?
What, that a problem?
Uh, no, it's just, uh... It's
the middle of the afternoon.
Yeah, I guess I'm just a lazy f*ck.
Huh, that all?
Uh, no.
I, uh... I need to publish
a preliminary schedule of operations
for department heads,
and I need you to sign off on these,
uh, base pay and bonus rates.
Paperwork is your job now, Palmer.
Uh, you're still
the senior project manager.
- Danielle shitcanned me.
- No.
She removed you as executive officer,
which means you're no longer
in the chain of command,
but you are still technically
employed by Helios,
which means you are still
a senior project manager
for Happy Valley.
Huh. Well, I guess you're right.
Thanks for letting me know.
- Bye now.
- Uh, which is why I need you
to sign off on these
base pay and bonus rates.
Oh, for f*ck's sake.
[PALMER] Now, they, uh...
They come from Helios corporate,
but I need your sign-off
before I can publish the integrated
schedule for comment.
Just need a signature.
- This from corporate?
- Yeah, yeah. That's right.
I just need you to sign
the top sheet. Right there.
As, uh, senior project
manager, I'll, uh...
- I'll take this under review.
- No...
[PALMER] Come on, Ed,
don't screw around.
g*dd*mn it.
[CHUCKLES]
[MARGO] I know we can get there.
It's just another engineering problem.
[IRINA SIGHS]
It can be solved.
We don't have time.
Soon the asteroid will be
out of our reach forever.
We need to take some...
bold action,
'cause what we're doing
right now isn't working.
So, what do you suggest?
I suggest
that Aleida and I work together on this.
No. Absolutely not.
If we do, I feel confident that
we will come up with a solution.
She believes you are dead.
She'll be upset. She'll be angry.
Why would she agree to work with you?
Because I know her.
She's an engineer's engineer.
And when she digs in on a problem,
she becomes obsessive.
Same as me. It's in our nature.
She might be upset with me.
She might hate me,
but she will not be able to let this go
until she finds a solution.
Right now, I guarantee you she's pacing
up and down in her hotel room,
trying to cr*ck this, same as me.
She will be at it all night
and all day tomorrow. So will I.
If we work together,
we can pull this off.
We must assume she will tell
the American government you're alive,
and then Moscow will
want to announce
your defection before they do.
But do you understand
that by doing this,
you're gonna unmask
yourself to the world?
That they're gonna call you
a spy, a traitor?
I've considered that.
So you're ready to be
the most hated woman in America?
I don't relish the prospect,
but I'm prepared to take that chance.
Why?
That's the only way to find a solution.
Why, Margo?
[SNIFFS]
I don't want to hide.
I don't want to hide anymore.
I want to be a part of this.
You are a part of this.
Sitting in a back room talking
to you through an earpiece?
My hands are tied behind my back.
I think I should be in charge of
Star City's Goldilocks
capture operation.
Well, now we reach the truth.
You want power... again.
It's like a drug, no?
My...
My drug is the work, this work.
Well, it will not make any
difference to these people.
For them, you're gonna
be always a traitor,
and no one will trust you
here... or there.
I don't care what people think of me.
I know what I did
in the past and why I did it.
And I know why I'm doing this now.
And that's all that matters.
[DOOR CREAKS OPEN]
Uh, hello?
- What do you think you're doing?
- I'm sorry. I didn't mean to...
[ALEIDA BREATHES SHAKILY]
Aleida.
I know this is a shock.
But I can explain.
You're alive?
Yes. Now if you'll just...
Oh.
[ALEIDA SOBS]
I can't believe it. [SOBBING]
Oh, my God.
[SOBBING CONTINUES]
- [KNOCKS ON DOOR]
- [FOOTSTEPS APPROACH]
[DOOR LOCK CLICKS]
This is, uh, not acceptable.
Well, I didn't have much
choice in the matter.
Will this impact my request?
Well, I hate to tell you this,
but Ilya hasn't been
completely honest with you.
He never had any intention
of bringing your wife up here.
[BREATHES SHAKILY] This was agreement.
Well, he was just stringing you
along to get your business.
This is not acceptable!
You're right.
It makes me sick.
Lee, I'm a man of my word.
I wish I could help you.
I think I could help you get her
up here, but Ilya's cut me out.
[LEE BANGS TABLE]
[BREATHES HEAVILY]
I will handle.
So, after I knew Sergei and his family
had escaped to West Germany,
and they were safe...
it was time to go.
I went downstairs and I walked
around MOCR one last time.
Sorta... said my goodbyes.
You were standing at the flight console.
Then I went back to my office.
And a little while after that,
I went to the cafeteria loading dock
at the back of the building,
met my contact.
He put me in a car and we left
for Sugar Land Airfield,
outside of Houston,
where they had a jet waiting.
We flew to Mexico, switched planes,
made a bunch of stops,
I don't... I don't even
remember them all.
Eventually I ended up...
here.
You defected...
to the Soviet Union?
I didn't have much choice.
You could have told the truth,
admitted what you'd done, and
dealt with the consequences.
I thought about it.
But prison?
Leavenworth?
For the rest of my life?
Just for trying to do the right thing?
The right thing?
After all this time you still think
you did the right thing?
I never shared anything that
could harm national security.
I was very careful.
- Sergei and I, we...
- You gave them our Mars engine design.
- I didn't see any other choice.
- Stop saying that.
Of course you had a choice.
You had choices all along,
but you didn't take them.
You weren't there.
I was there.
I was in the building the day
you ran off to Russia, remember?
Yeah. I know.
I don't think you do.
Because while you met your
contact down in the cafeteria
and then got on your private jet,
I was still on duty.
Doing my job.
And I wasn't the only one.
It was a full house.
Everyone wanted to be there.
And one minute
I'm looking at the big board
tracking fuel consumption rates,
and the next...
I'm on the floor, my ears are ringing
and the room is filled with smoke.
Five people k*lled instantly
in mission control.
Fourteen more d*ed of
their injuries later that day.
Another 12 over the next few weeks.
- Sharon Atkins, Bob Kipling, Molly Cobb...
- I know the names.
Bill Strausser? No. He wasn't k*lled.
He was lucky.
They had to dig through three tons
of rebar and concrete to find him.
But Peanut was lucky.
He only had his pelvis shattered
and his spinal cord severed.
I went looking for you.
Soon as I could stand.
Started walking through the building,
went to your office,
pushed through the outer doors and...
there was just open air.
Like, for a moment, I thought,
"I'm in the clouds.
This is heaven.
I must be dead".
But it was just...
the side of the building was gone.
The whole side of the building.
I don't know how long I stood
there thinking about heaven.
And I hoped... I hoped...
and I prayed...
that you were in heaven too.
Someone... some cop, or fireman,
or something. I still don't know who...
Someone came and got me and took me out.
And as I passed through
the outer office...
I saw them picking up Emma's body.
She d*ed.
Right there.
At her desk.
At her post.
For what it's worth...
I wish I'd been there.
At my desk.
At my post.
What do you want, Margo?
You really think I'm gonna work
with you on this stupid asteroid?
I think you know how big this
stupid asteroid thing is for all of us.
It'll change the world.
I'm not doing this.
Aleida...
you'll leave here, you'll go home,
and you'll be tortured by the fact
that there was a solution to be had,
and it was just out of reach.
It'll eat at you and fester,
and by the time
you finally get the solution...
because you will get the solution,
you know you will...
the window will have closed,
and it'll be too late,
- and you will regret that...
- Don't act like you know me anymore!
You don't know me anymore.
- [RUSTLES PAPERS]
- I know all about regret.
Believe me, I know all about it.
About sleepless nights spent going
over and over things in the past
that you can't change.
I know that we can do this.
We can solve this problem.
And we can change
the course of human history...
right now, tonight, in this room.
Hate me if you want,
but work the problem with me.
Ion-beam shepherding won't work.
The asteroid would skip
off the atmosphere.
[DIALOGUE FADING]
- [PETROS GRUNTS]
- [DOOR OPENS]
[IN RUSSIAN] What happened to him?
Broken arm, bruised ribs,
collapsed lung.
My God.
These types of accidents will happen
when you are working too many hours.
Accident?
This was not an accident, Doctor.
Petros says the hydraulic
lifter malfunctioned.
Milosh.
[IN ENGLISH] What is this?
You sent a man to put his hands
on my f*cking throat.
That's what this is.
You went behind me.
You lied to me,
put everything I had at risk.
I don't know you anymore, Milosh.
I haven't changed, Ilya.
Look around you.
This whole place is gonna be
swimming in money.
That's opportunity for everybody.
That's the kind of opportunity
I can't waste.
But I still want you to be part of it.
Oh. "Part of this".
I was the one who brought you in here!
- Keep your voice down.
- I...
Look, I know how much you like this bar.
I know how much it means to you.
So, you can come by anytime.
You helped me when I needed it most.
I won't ever forget that. I won't.
Okay, yeah, but there was
also a 30% increase
in accidents over the same period.
Look at Roger last week, right?
- Or Petros earlier today.
- [CREW MURMURING]
I don't know about you, but I don't
think lacerations, broken bones
and second-degree burns
are ticky-tacky crap.
It's a risky job.
Yeah, what do you think is gonna happen
when they increase shifts and-and
double up their operational tempo?
Huh? It's risky now, yeah, and
that's what we signed up for.
We're tough. But this Goldilocks thing,
it could be flat out dangerous.
I'm telling you, people are gonna
keep getting hurt, maybe k*lled.
All you're gonna do is get
the company riled up.
[DOOR OPENS]
- And then we're screwed.
- Oh, you're already screwed.
This is a private meeting.
Sorry for cutting in,
but I thought there's some
things you need to know
about these pay schedules
that you're counting on.
What's he talking about?
He's just stirring the pot 'cause
he got canned as XO. Okay?
Well, that is true.
I am an old pot stirrer from
way back when, but, uh,
this one's shaken, not stirred.
[CHUCKLES]
[STAMMERS] Never mind.
Look, the point is Helios is changing
the way they calculate bonuses.
- What?
- They can't do that. I signed a contract.
- Can they do that? What are the numbers?
- Hold on.
They're revamping the point system.
Used to be you reached the first
bonus tier at 500 points, right?
- [CREW MEMBER] Right.
- Now it's gonna take 5,000.
The bonuses themselves have changed.
First-tier bonus used to be $20,000.
Now it's 5,000.
- Look, it's all right here.
- [CREW MURMURING]
- sh*t, Sam was right.
- [ALL MUTTERING INDISTINCTLY]
It's completely changed.
They can't do that.
They just did. This new
schedule's going out
with the next integrated operational
planning document.
- How can they do this?
- They can't do that because I've signed...
We can't let them get away with this.
Of course they can get away with it.
You know why? Because our contracts
can be altered at the
company's discretion.
This is what I've been
telling you guys. Look it up.
It's all there in the 50 pages of
fine print we all
signed in our contracts.
- [ED] She's right.
- [CREW MURMURING]
They can change the terms of employment
whenever they want.
My cousin's a lawyer. We take
them to court and we sue!
You can't go to court.
Disputes go to arbitration and
the company picks the arbitrator.
Bottom line is
y'all are screwed.
And even more so now
that the M-7 announced
that they're sending this rock
to Earth instead of Mars.
So we'll only get a few months
of sh*t bonuses instead of years' worth.
Correct.
- What can we do?
- I think
you should listen to Massey.
Organize.
Unionize.
Send a message to those
pricks down on Earth
that if they want that
precious asteroid,
they gotta pay the people
who do all the dirty work.
And if that doesn't work?
Well, then we shut this place down!
- Yes.
- Okay.
- Yes.
- [CREW CLAPPING]
Strike!
Strike!
[ALL CHANTING] Strike! Strike! Strike!
[CHANTING CONTINUES]
[CHANTING FADES]
[CHRISTINE FRANCIS] Shock waves are
still being felt around the world
after Margo Madison, who was presumed
k*lled in the 1995 bombing
of what was then called
The Johnson Space Center,
was revealed to be alive
and living in the Soviet Union.
At a press conference in Leningrad,
Ms. Madison read a prepared statement
to the world press who had gathered
to cover the M-7 conference.
I made the decision to...
defect to the Soviet Union in 1995
after many years of dissatisfaction
and disappointment with both
NASA and the American government.
The space program I joined in 1966
had changed over the years
to value profit above human life,
and was more dedicated to spreading
propaganda around the world than it was
to bettering the human condition
or advancing the nobility of mankind.
Madison will now be
leading the Soviet team
charged with the capture
of the Goldilocks asteroid.
She apparently worked behind the
scenes during the M-7 conference
on the breakthrough that will bring
the Goldilocks asteroid to Earth.
It has been...
my honor
to have helped that work
in some small way
by advising the brilliant scientists
and engineers working in Star City.
And I look forward to
helping them in the future,
as we now move toward
capturing this invaluable resour...
04x06 - Leningrad
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Sci-fi series that explores the twist of what would have happened if the global space race had continued?
Sci-fi series that explores the twist of what would have happened if the global space race had continued?