Original subtitles

Sorry.

Sorry.

Yesterday, we were talking about the Fermi Paradox.

Right.

The Fermi Paradox.

Of course.

The contradiction of having a high probability of life existing elsewhere in the

universe, while having no actual evidence to prove it.

The Drake Equation gives us every reason to believe that

life should be common in our galaxy.

It's exciting, right?

So why haven't we found anything?

There's over 100 billion stars in the Milky Way, the vast majority of which host

planets, many of those planets capable of supporting life,

and still we have found nothing.

No sign of anyone or anything.

And believe me, we're looking.

Night after night after night, we are staring up at the sky, we're burying

ourselves in mountains of data, all because we know

that one day we will crack this thing.

And if we don't, you will, right?

Yeah, go ahead.

Didn't NASA predict we'll find everything?

Is there any evidence life exists beyond Earth within the next decade?

After you've been in this field a while, you learn

to take those predictions with a grain of salt.

Okay, but the game is changing, though.

The TESS and the James Webb telescopes launch soon.

We'll stand a much better shot at finding something.

It just seems like you're...

Oh, please, don't stop.

It was just getting interesting.

If you're frustrated that you personally haven't found anything, then maybe it's

pointless for you to keep looking.

Hmm.

Curious, is that a fact or is that just your opinion?

Look, I just think... You think, so it's your opinion.

Yeah.

If this is a dead end to you that wastes your time, might as well do other things.

What other things could be more important to humanity than

answering the question, are we alone?

Uh, reproduction?

Or, like, love, even?

Love?

That's pretty good.

Remind me of your name.

Kiefer.

Nice, Kiefer.

Uh, you seeing anyone, Kiefer?

No, not really.

Hmm, okay.

Why don't we do what scientists do?

Let's take a look at the data.

All right.

L is the value of love.

Now, we have 250 students in this class, or at least enrolled in this class.

And 4 out of every 5 of you, statistically, will get married.

So that's 200 students married.

Now, last year, we learned that 2 out of every 5 marriages will

end in divorce, which gives us 120.

120 of you who will fall in love and stay married.

That's less than half the people in this class.

But that's just marriage.

You're absolutely right.

Let's talk about the 85% of relationships that end in breakups.

Or the 20% of breakups.

Or the 20% of breakups that lead to depression.

Or the 3% that lead to suicide.

Or wait, let's talk about the 56% of people who admit to a history of infidelity in

their relationships.

Those are just random statistics.

They don't actually prove anything.

Proof.

Good.

I want to ask you guys something.

And be honest.

Raise your hand if you've ever been hurt by love.

Plug in values to the Drake equation.

Sure as hell get a number higher than zero.

You get to choose what you waste your time on, Kiefer.

Outer space is a safer bet.

Is that a fact?

Excuse me?

Is that a fact or is that just your opinion?

It's an educated opinion.

Let's open up our books to page 237.

I was reading this article online about life hacks.

I read one that says increase productivity and maximize your health.

With a 30 minute bike ride every morning.

And I'm like, that's not a life hack.

That's just something you can do.

It's just exercise.

Hey.

Those aren't images from the galactic center.

Nope.

Isaac.

You can't just be shifting the telescope to fish for Earth masses.

This is your advisor's grant money, not yours.

Switch it back.

I did.

Relax.

I'm still there.

Switch it back, please.

Is that time stream data transfer data?

It says one minute.

I don't know why you can't just wait for the test to launch.

Like everybody else.

I'm just getting a head start.

While every citizen scientist and their dog wait for that data, I can actually

be looking for a habitable planet.

Come on.

You're telling me you just want to be another guy sitting at

home looking at test data in his underwear?

Actually, yes.

That's a life hack.

And my co-commando.

Just a robe.

Get a nice breeze going.

Hey.

Joel, hi.

Hey.

You didn't hear what we were just talking about, did you?

Doesn't matter.

Um.

Just a second here.

Um.

I'll be right back.

All right.

Now, your error calculations were great, but you mislabeled

the axis on your plot, but I didn't dock you for it.

It's just something to keep in mind for the phone report.

Shh.

Okay?

You should be happy.

You did well.

You're falling apart, Isaac.

What were you thinking?

Misappropriating telescope time like that.

It's not acceptable.

I know.

You'll be replaced on your advising professor's project.

That won't be necessary.

Look, I have been detecting planet transits on my own time, right?

It was never my intention to sabotage anyone else's project.

Right now, we insist that you take a break.

What happened at yesterday's lecture?

There were complaints.

It's nothing.

It was a bad day.

It's been more than one day.

You're right.

It's been about two years.

I know that things have been tough, but I have to draw the line somewhere.

Use your break to get this wild beast chase out of your system.

Well, I'd still like to be in the lab on the weekends.

You aren't listening.

Facilities are for active staff only.

Yes, we're inviting astronomers from all around the

world to participate in this effort.

Our data is your data.

Any one of you can lead us to what I believe

will be the greatest discovery of our time.

You see, TESS will observe hundreds of thousands of

stars during its revolutionary mission.

And this means an enormous amount of data.

And we're going to need your help to analyze every bit of it.

Jimmy, I need access to the cluster.

Otherwise, I have only my home computer and my laptop to

run through these TESS data sets.

I...

There's a lot.

It's going to take me a thousand hours to do all of that work here, but...

We would like everyone involved in this community-wide

effort to go ahead and reach out to others.

No matter what level of astronomer you are,

professional, academic,

independent, you can contribute to this search from work, from

home, wherever you like.

So we're encouraging you.

Prepare yourself.

Mark your calendars.

Get excited.

Because in the coming weeks,

we'll be releasing the first segment of data.

And I want to remind everyone that the search will enter its

second phase when the James Webb telescope launches next year.

It is 100 times more powerful than Hubble.

And will allow us to see into the atmospheres of planets

discovered by TESS for signs of life.

So we're looking forward to a very exciting future of planet hunting.

And if something else is out there, we'll soon have the capability to find it.

So, nobody wants to be an unpaid intern, huh?

It's better than dealing with pretentious millennials all day.

Okay.

First of all, you are the most pretentious person that I know.

Thank you.

Second, we get to teach people about space.

I mean, what's bigger than that?

Literally, that's the biggest thing there is.

All we get to do is teach it.

And then this small, tiny amount of time they give us for original research.

What are we supposed to do with that?

That's not enough time to make any significant discoveries.

Who said we had to?

No one.

Don't you want to?

I'm good.

Charlie, we work in a field where we can push the boundaries of everything we know.

I'm sorry, I just don't feel like we can do that from a classroom.

Wow, that's an incredibly reductive way to talk about the thing that I love doing.

Charlie, that's not what I meant.

That's not what I like to teach,

you know what I mean?

Can you give me a big shot of that?

You know that's not what I meant.

Uh-huh.

Come on, Charlie, you and I both know that there is something out there.

You can't just stop looking.

Okay.

And besides, if someone doesn't do this kind

of work, then you'll have nothing to teach.

Jeez.

See?

Pretensions.

Oof.

Hey, you wanna, you wanna ride?

No.

No, I'm good.

I'll walk.

You sure?

My car's just right over there.

Hey, listen, um, you wouldn't have any interest in

helping me out with my data, would you?

It could be, like, old times.

Undergrad labs.

I think I just want the baby coming.

Right.

There's not gonna be a lot of time.

I'm sorry.

No, don't be.

Anyway, uh, thanks for the drink.

Yeah.

Hey, are you sure you're okay?

Yeah.

I will be.

See you around, Charlie.

Hey, we should do this more often, huh?

Call me back once in a while.

Dr. Bruno.

Stay.

Stay.

How'd you know I live here?

Uh, oh, I, um, I was hoping to apply for your researcher position.

What's your name?

Clara?

Clara.

It's late.

Right.

I'm sorry.

I can come back tomorrow if that would be better for you.

Um, but this is Eva.

And I was just wondering, would it be at all possible to get her some water?

Please.

All right, so, um, what level of post-secondary education do you have?

Uh...

Wait, you did go to school, right?

Yes.

I had bits of high school here and there, but I moved around a lot.

Okay, so you're not a student.

Have you worked professionally in any field of science before?

I haven't.

No.

Can you program?

Write data handling code?

Or have any qualifications at all?

Look, I'm underqualified.

For sure.

But I'm a fast learner.

And I work very hard.

Especially when it comes to things that I care a lot about.

And I've wondered almost every single day of my life what else could be out there.

Haven't you?

Okay, um...

Well, I guess I'm going to need some time to consider this.

Yeah.

I'll give you a call tomorrow.

What's your phone number?

Um... I don't have a cell phone.

Or a landline.

I'm guessing you saw I had a room available in my ad.

Do you have many other applicants?

Are you fielding a lot of other options?

You know what, I'm sorry, but I don't think this is going to work out.

That is an incredible vinyl collection.

Thanks.

Can I?

Just like one song.

Yeah.

Great.

Did you paint the helix?

That mural?

At school?

You like Dylan?

Yes.

Is this an original?

It's one of my favorites.

Why is it empty?

We lost it when we moved in here.

Who's we?

My wife and I.

Where is she?

She's gone.

Well, thank you.

Yeah.

For... thank you for everything.

Come on, Eva.

Come on.

Would you be able to start first thing tomorrow?

Yeah.

Good.

Let me show you your room.

Where?

Oh, thank you.

Shh.

It's okay, girl.

Where's my room, that's so normal.

Good.

Okay.

I'm going to leave you two now.

Bye.

See you.

An extra shot.

And a warm water with honey.

Thank you.

Here, can you take that?

Thank you.

Thanks.

You sure that's all you want?

Yeah, this is perfect.

Sorry, so the basics.

Basics.

Um, do you know what the transit method is?

Uh, hopefully I will soon.

It's a good place to, uh, start.

Alright, um, let's pretend that this is a star.

Now this is a transit.

It's anything that passes in front of the star.

In this case, a planet that dims the light that we receive from the star.

This is the light dimming while the transiting object passes in front of the star.

So, we measure the brightness over time so that we can determine the different

qualities of that planet.

You know, the size, even temperature.

Just by analyzing curves of light.

Okay?

Okay.

Alright, so...

Go.

Find the transit.

There.

That's a new planet.

What?

Mm-hmm.

That is amazing!

It's incredible, right?

So, uh, you are gonna be finding the dips.

I will be vetting the data.

And then how are we gonna know which planets have life?

Well, we're the only planet that we know capable of sustaining

life, so we're the best reference point for it.

We'll use this light data to find other planets that are as similar as possible to

Earth in mass and temperature.

It's an oversimplification, but.

..

We find another Earth... We can find life.

Now, next year, the James Webb Space Telescope is gonna launch,

and we need our planet candidate to be the first follow-up observation.

Alright.

Good.

Can I ask you something?

Yeah.

Why is finding life out there so important to you?

You know what people are scared of most?

Death?

The unknown.

Which, unfortunately,

this universe is chock-full of.

I'm sure we've been chipping away at it for thousands of

years, but we still basically know nothing.

So how do we process that?

We do what we've always done.

We make things up.

Create these elaborate bedtime stories to explain it all.

But if we found something...

I mean, even the smallest clue that something else exists out there.

Something entirely different.

Well, we wouldn't be in the dark anymore.

We wouldn't have to be scared.

So...

Wait.

You think that the only reason that we tell stories is because we're scared?

Terrified.

Okay, but what if telling stories is just a part of human nature?

I'm done playing pretend.

I think we all should be.

Okay.

Okay.

What about this?

Let's say there is a scientist who.

..

who is brilliant and very well-respected, who makes game-changing, world-altering

advancements in his field.

But he's also religious.

His driving force is his faith, his belief in God,

a bedtime story.

But the result of his work is science and progress.

What would you say to him?

What would I say?

Yes.

I'd say skip church and get back to work.

You'll get more done faster.

Well, I think he did just fine.

What?

Sir Isaac Newton.

I think he did just fine.

All right, we got work to do.

These are M-dwarf stars.

Smaller, dimmer than our own.

Now TESS mainly focuses on brighter, bigger stars like ours,

but that means one transit roughly every 365 days.

Now these M-dwarf stars,

planets orbit them in a matter of weeks.

So less waiting around.

Exactly.

So if we focus on these stars,

we have an edge over everyone else looking through this data.

That's it.

That's one.

So is that going to be a planet again?

Really?

Yeah, we got one.

That's so cool.

Why the rush?

The James Webb Telescope will follow up on planets discovered by TESS.

Now if we're the first ones with a perfect candidate, we

have a chance to be a part of something huge.

You mean when we find out we're not alone?

Mm-hmm.

There.

Is that a planet?

No.

You see that sharp drop?

It's probably nothing.

Keep looking.

Okay.

So do you ever eat or does doing this just completely sustain you?

Food?

What's that?

Hi.

Hey.

So that strange dip you caught?

It's a planet.

A promising one.

Look.

Right there.

Unfortunately, TESS's cadence missed the full transit, so we'll need to get a new

transit ourselves to help prove it.

Which means we're going to need a telescope.

Thank you.

Anything?

No.

You're supposed to apply for telescope time months in advance.

Well, what about that one?

We need one like the one I used to operate through the university.

So why don't we use theirs?

Keep an eye out for campus security.

This is going to take a while.

Okay.

Okay.

Go.

Where's the telescope?

A lot of our research is based on the galactic system.

The galactic center, which is only visible from the southern hemispheres.

The one we use is a remote robotic telescope based in Chile.

Normally, I'd access it with just a couple of clicks, but

given my current employment status, I've got to make a phone call.

Hello.

Hi.

Hola.

My name is Dr. Bruno.

Dr. Isaac Bruno.

I last accessed the telescope on March 14th at approximately 3 a.m.

Si, si.

Could I have the telescope shifted to new celestial coordinates?

No, no, I have permission.

From... it...

Dr. Charles Durant.

Yes, ID number 917836497.

No, he's not... he...

Listen, this is only going to take a couple of hours, okay?

And then we'll put the telescope back and...

Hola.

Buenas noches.

Me llamo Clara.

Soy un asistente de investigación trabajando con el Dr. Bruno.

¿Cuál es tu nombre?

María.

¿Cómo te va el día?

Qué bien.

Es bueno escuchar eso.

Yo sé que será difícil por su lado sin autorización.

Sí, solo unas pocas horas.

Bueno.

Muchísimas gracias.

Hey, nos hiciste el día, María.

Chao.

All right.

She said it'll take 15 minutes,

but it'll be ours.

What did you say?

I asked her how her day was.

I was about to get to that.

Yeah.

I know you were.

The observatory is pre-processing the images now.

It's going to be a little while until we can download the data.

What are these rocks you take everywhere with you?

This is obsidian from the Waiwash Pass in Peru.

Amethyst from Zambia.

Celestine from Australia.

It's really rare there, actually.

This was a gift.

Pyrite from Nava Yun.

This piece is pretty impure, but I washed them, chipped

them out of the ground like they were designed, printed like perfect cubes.

What about this one?

You're going to like this one.

It's a meteorite from Antarctica.

Called the Chondrite.

Wow.

Yeah.

You know this is older than the sun?

Yeah.

Mm-hmm.

Why didn't you go to Antarctica?

That was actually the one continent that I couldn't get to.

But that was my first one.

That's what made me want to travel.

Why?

I grew up around here.

Group care, foster homes.

And they were not great for the most part, but they used to

let us go on these trips to the waterfront or to the island, you know.

And me being me, I would sneak off and I would find these families with really nice

beach towels and snacks.

And I would sort of befriend them and pretend that they were my friends.

And I would be on my own.

And anyways, one day we went to the pier.

And when I snuck off, I met this guy who was a sailor.

He was this huge Icelandic guy with this big red beard and

these glacial blue eyes like yours.

And he let me help get his boat ready to sail.

He taught me all about the proper rigging and even how to signal with Morse code.

And I loved that as an eight-year-old.

And when we were done, to say thank you, he gave me that.

And he told me that not only did it come from the opposite

side of the planet, it came from the stars.

Meteors aren't stars.

It had a story.

He had a story.

And a life.

And I promised myself right then and there that when I grew

up, I was going to travel the world and I was going to make my own stories.

And when I'm done being on the move, I'll throw them in the ocean.

Give them back to the Earth.

For right now, they're all I've got.

They're my pieces of home.

So, uh, when did you move back?

A year ago.

All of the bouncing around really started to take a toll on me, so I decided it was

time to come back.

Been selling paintings to get by and.

..

And also I found Eva, so we've just been taking it easy, hanging out.

Uh-huh.

So you speak Spanish.

What else you got?

Excusez-moi.

Pouvions-nous utiliser votre télescope, s 'il-vous-plaît?

It's French.

Easy.

Japanese.

German?

Afrikaans.

People pretend that we're all so different, but really

everybody just wants the same thing.

They all want to hear, thank you.

They want to be asked how their days are.

They want to hear, I love you.

Sounds like there's a story there.

More than one.

Oh.

But I never really let anything get too far.

Whenever the conversation turned to marriage and

kids, I would know it was my time to go.

Hm.

Not the right version of my life, you know?

Yeah.

I do.

Campus is closed right now.

You're not supposed to be in here.

Shit, Clara.

Clara, hey, come on.

Who?

Campus security.

We'll have to find a way to get the data later.

Go.

Okay.

Go, go, go, okay?

Don't you ever use my name for something so stupid and irresponsible again.

Do you realize you put my career in jeopardy?

Hello.

Hi.

Charlie.

Clara.

Clara, Charlie.

It's nice to meet you, Charlie.

You too.

I hope he hasn't made your life a living hell yet.

Thank you.

You've definitely got something.

Is it a nose mask?

But...

But?

It's contaminated with stellar activity.

Plus, you're gonna need a spectrum if you want the mass

and all that other fun stuff.

No one's gonna give you any telescope time now.

Unless you get someone with considerable clout to help you out.

No.

No.

We'll find another option.

There aren't any, genius.

Sorry, guys, what are we talking about?

After Isaac's little stunt,

it'll be a cold day in hell before he books telescope time again.

You need a good rep and referrals for that sort of

thing, and Isaac just took a dump all over that.

Charlie?

We have a friend.

Isaac's ex-wife, Rebecca.

She's an endowed chair at Caltech.

She got poached, went to California, she's kicking ass.

As long as you don't put her career at risk, too, she could

probably get your time on the Keck telescope.

I mean, if you're not too proud to ask for help.

Isaac, let's talk to Rebecca.

Thanks for the data, Charlie.

Look, if you make things right with her, you can catch

the next transit three days from now.

Charlie, this is the part where you stay out of it.

You're just making things harder for yourself, asshole.

Believe it or not, he's the smartest guy I know.

Was it as bad as I thought?

I think it was.

The worst.

Hey.

Hey.

Um, do you have any extra pajamas?

Other than band t-shirts?

Uh...

Yeah.

There should be, uh...

There should be something in your closet.

Some stuff that Rebecca never wore.

Are you sure?

Yeah.

Actually, um...

Here.

I got you this...

I got you this.

It's not gonna bite you.

Come on.

It's not an original, but...

It's not an original, but... It's a piece of home.

If you're traveling in the North Country fire While the winds hit heavy on the

borderline Remember me to one who lives there She once was a true love of mine

Here we go when the snowflakes

storm A little pause... and we are back.

Isaac, are you sure that this is okay?

Yeah.

Yeah, it's fine.

You look nice.

Isaac, you need to go see Rebecca.

I'll let Dr. Jenkins know you're here.

Can I get you anything?

No, please.

Isaac.

Isaac.

Hey.

I have a meeting in a few minutes.

I'm just finishing up my lunch.

Went back to Jenkins, huh?

It's new.

A little contradictory,

don't you think?

In our field.

So you never answer any of my phone calls and then you just

show up here out of nowhere?

Rebecca, I need your help.

I need to prove that the planet I found is habitable.

And I'd assume you'd want that too.

Okay.

Test has just launched.

James Webb to follow.

Ground telescopes are gonna be fighting for renewal.

We're always fighting for renewal.

Exactly.

Oh, okay.

So, you're here to help me.

You're obsessed, Isaac.

You used to want this too.

I used to want a lot of things.

Sorry.

It's just a bad idea, I'm gonna go.

Isaac.

Finding some other life forms isn't gonna bring him back.

I know that.

But it's all I have.

I can get you three hours with Keck.

It's the best I can do.

Rebecca... Promise me it stops after this.

For you.

Yeah.

Here.

I know you.

I'm sorry, Isaac.

Look.

Oh my gosh.

It was right on time.

Mag 13.5.

Just right for a James Webb follow-up.

And the planet's diameter is... 12,800 kilometers.

Sound familiar?

With a density of 5.

4 grams per second.

Per centimeter cubed.

It's definitely an Earth mass.

Yeah.

And the planet's distance to the star?

0.5 astronomical units, which gets me around 303 Kelvin.

Inside the habitable zone.

20 light years away from us.

You might have just discovered Earth 2.

0.

Thank you, Rebecca.

Oh.

All right.

I need to submit this to NASA immediately.

Of course.

You owe me a sandwich.

Oh my God.

Oh my God.

I want to show you something.

I found our star.

It's a little hard to see with all the city light, but...

it's there.

I've got an idea.

Sorry, the resolution's not great.

There's software that's gonna virtually catalog all of the stars discovered by TESS.

It'll be like a map of the galaxy.

This is just a Hubble Deep Field image.

I'll have to do it for now.

Yeah, it'll do.

Seems too beautiful to just be random.

It's beautiful because it's random.

Doesn't it seem like there's so much intention behind all of it?

Like... like somebody painted this canvas?

If some god was trying to paint the perfect universe, it'd be a pretty shitty job.

Just look at the way things happen.

Supremely unintelligent design.

Well, I know that I feel a connection to all of this.

I mean, people use all different kinds of words for it, but there is something else,

something that reaches out to me, and I don't know how to explain it.

Clara, that connection you feel.

..

basically just boils down to a release of chemicals in the brain, like serotonin.

There's more to it than that.

There really isn't.

Look, if some incredibly advanced species out there confirmed some metaphysical

connection, to everything that exists, then maybe I'd take a look at the data.

But for now, it's just an unproven, human-made concept.

Wouldn't you want there to be something more to all of this?

Wouldn't you want that comfort?

The certainty of knowing that we're going to be okay, or that

we don't just fade away into the darkness when all of this is over?

It's not about what I want.

I can't just choose to believe that and believe otherwise.

I'm sorry.

Well, I've always had the feeling that the universe can still surprise us.

You can't prove something based on a feeling.

Did you feel that?

Prove it.

I...

I'm sorry.

Why do you keep moving those around?

Um... It just helps me figure out where I need to get to next.

What do you mean?

I mean, you said it yourself.

We're not friends.

We're not roommates.

We're research partners.

And we made our discovery, so... Exactly.

Finding the planet candidate is just the first step.

I mean, there's still plenty of analysis to do.

There's...

I mean, you don't have to leave.

I'm sorry for last night.

I shouldn't have done that to you.

No, I made you uncomfortable, and I.

..

No, you didn't.

Okay, then.

We should go tell Charlie the good news.

Charlie...

be mid-lecture by now.

Okay, so we'll crash it.

I... I don't really want to be seen on campus.

Hence...

crashing.

If you only look up from your phones to glean one piece of

information from me all semester, let it be this.

Data.

Data is everything to us.

Yes?

Without data, we wouldn't understand what we're looking at.

But if you're like me, and staring at graphs all day is not a lot of fun to you,

well, there's a way to make it fun.

Sonification is the process of converting data into sound.

What we are listening to right now are vibrations from Saturn's rings.

Consider what you're actually listening to.

.

It's pretty trippy, right?

Let's switch it up.

Listening to data is very useful for detecting patterns.

If you think about it, basically every song on your radios, on your streaming

devices, can be broken down into data.

Now, I've put the mp3 of this sonified track on E-Class.

What I want you to do is go home and reverse the sonification process.

Convert the sound back into data.

That's it.

Get the hell out of here.

So, this is how you think college students dress?

You look like you're about to drop a really, really obnoxious mixtape.

Hey, Dr. Rickman from Tess is coming.

I give a lecture next month.

You guys should sneak into that as well.

I recommend dressing exactly like this.

You may need to talk to him a little sooner.

What are you talking about?

We found our planet.

Seriously?

Yeah.

Are you kidding me right now?

Hang on a second.

Hello?

Now?

Like, right now?

Yeah, yeah, okay.

I'm coming.

I'm coming.

I'm having a baby.

Hi.

My wife is having a baby.

Our baby.

It's Maya.

Durant.

M-A-Y-A.

I'd just love to know what floor she's on, please.

Isaac.

You're going to be a father.

Isaac.

He's not breathing.

I don't want to do this.

No!

Just give us some space.

Just focus on me.

Still no heartbeat.

No!

I'm so sorry.

Isaac.

No!

What are you thinking about?

I thought it's all just luck.

All of this.

Us.

It's just this total cosmic accident.

It's just one minuscule variation, a slight shift, one way or another.

In the last 13.8 billion years, it could have gone an infinite number of ways.

Here we are, recycled matter, dust.

So many things have to go right to make anything.

And Adam, a star, a tiny

person, he was ours.

For years.

For less than a minute, he was ours.

And then, he wasn't.

Isaac, I wish I could tell you why bad things happen to good people.

Our life just stops.

But I can't.

I only know that the universe went our way.

And we're here.

And so was he.

He was here.

His atoms were here.

And they're not gone, they've only changed.

I read somewhere that once two atoms come in contact with one

another, they can become linked, intertwined, and then no matter how far they're

separated, they still know one another's state.

Instantly, over light years.

Quantum entanglement.

Yeah.

You're still connected to him.

I'm not sure that's how that works.

Yeah, but you feel him, don't you?

Well, maybe somewhere,

somehow, he still feels you.

Now you've got one from every continent.

This one will be both of ours.

Maybe that means you can stay.

Stop looking at what you're drawing and just feel it.

Feel it?

Yeah.

I'll just draw the bite out of you.

It's gonna fall.

Now you gotta wear it till it falls off.

Uh, fire.

And that's earth.

And this is air.

My tooth went through my lip.

I need something out of it.

It's kind of Wonder Woman-y.

Hello?

Yeah, it's me.

What are you talking about?

That doesn't make any sense.

No, we gave you all of our data.

It's been...

Go back.

Take a look.

Hello?

Hello?

What's going on?

Somebody discovered our planet candidate using the test

data and they submitted it a week before us.

Some, some guy from Ladakh,

India is gonna be credited with our discovery.

Not us.

Okay, but we still found it, right?

I mean, it doesn't really matter whose name goes on what.

Yes, yes, yes, it does.

It really does.

It means that we're not gonna be a part of the next couple of years of analysis.

What do you mean, the next couple of years?

And if they find signs of life?

I mean, we're definitely not gonna be a part of that.

Okay.

Well then, why don't we just find another candidate?

No, no.

Just start the whole process over again.

Stop, stop, stop.

At this point, finding a better planet candidate in time for

James Webb is basically impossible.

Isaac.

It's over.

It's over.

We made our most intriguing discovery.

So far, TESS-421a.

And 421a, it orbits Nemdorf.

It's in the Goldilocks zone,

where the temperature is just right for liquid water.

It's about 20 light years away.

And its size is closer to Earth's than any other planet recorded.

Has TESS found any initial evidence to suggest that there is life on this planet?

No, that's not the primary objective of TESS.

I mean, we're merely... we're a survey mission.

A search for Earth-like planets.

Webb's infrared capabilities will allow us to... The objective of TESS is to find

Earth-like planets.

...its atmosphere.

So, determine composition,

identify biosignature gases.

..

Wait, every... everyone is looking for Earth-like planets.

They're all... they're all looking for circumstances that are right.

But what... what if we look for things that are wrong?

What do you mean?

Even if a planet has life, it could just be microbial.

It would be too small.

We wouldn't be able to see it.

The only way to truly know if we find an advanced species is to

see the result of their existence.

Atmospheres affected by fossil fuels, or large megastructures that are big

enough to make a transit, or, uh, uh, solar energy harvesting.

You know, footprints.

Older and more evolved civilizations are bound to have produced unnatural phenomena.

Anomalies.

How would we even start?

We download the next batch of TESS data.

And we go through all of it.

The process of elimination.

Okay.

I'm done being a hermit.

I need to get out of this apartment.

Uh, I'm making real progress here.

Come on, just... I'm sorry, I can't tell you.

What?

I'm going out!

Where?

Dancing.

You need a Tylenol or something?

Mm-mm.

What are you doing?

Uh... drawing.

Evolution.

Oh.

Nice.

You know, Eva's much closer to me these days.

Oh, yeah?

When I found her, she was a stray.

She was wandering without a home.

Maybe it's her who found me.

And I'm a stray.

Holy shit.

I think I found something.

I found something.

What am I looking at here?

You'll see it.

This is bad data.

What are you talking about?

Look at this.

The data captured over these days.

Look at this.

The strange periodic dimming of the light.

That suggests strategically scattered objects orbiting this star.

This is too intentional to be debris.

This could be some sort of partial Dyson sphere.

Some advanced civilization harvesting their star's energy.

Charlie, would you look at this?

You know aliens are always the last thing you're supposed to consider, right?

Charlie, this is not natural, man.

It's bad data.

There was movement on the planet.

There was movement on the spacecraft.

This batch is riddled with errors.

I'm surprised you don't know that.

Oh, shit.

I think you might be too close to this.

Everything okay?

Hey.

I heard you were under the weather.

You look like you're on the mend.

Not really.

But I just came in here to get a glass of water and then I'm

going to go back to bed.

How's Maya?

Good, good.

I mean, Maya's a little nuts, you know.

It's kind of hard to get any sleep when the baby's crying every seven days.

I'm afraid I'm going to come home one day and she's going to

have a note taped to the kid's forehead that says she's

moved to Puerto Plata and she was never really into dad bod.

Come on.

But besides that, we're good.

Well, if she needs a tour guide, just toss her my way.

You know, sometimes I miss being on the move.

Good night, you guys.

Hey, good night.

Hey.

What the hell's the matter with you?

Charlie, not now, please.

She's sick and you're looking at shit data?

You should be making her soup.

You spent all your time looking up at the stars, you're going to miss what's

right in front of you.

Again.

All right, this whole hiatus thing bore fruit, right?

You met Clara.

You got closure with Rebecca.

I mean, she's moving on with her life.

You deserve that, too.

What do you mean by that?

She got in touch with Maya to say congratulations on the baby.

And?

And she asked our opinions on the best online baby registries.

Hey.

I mean, you don't have to stop.

It's fine.

How are you feeling?

You don't have to worry about me.

What I do is for you.

It's not great.

I tried to do everything you told me.

I got charcoal all over my hands.

I just figured, you know, you're

never in any of your own sketches.

You're always busy observing everything else.

I just wanted to let you know that I see you.

And I know I've been distracted lately.

I've been thinking about that look on Charlie's face when he.

..

when he was holding his baby for the first time.

Everything just made sense to him.

And I realize that all this time, I've just been chasing that look.

I thought that this, you know, I thought all of this, you know, the work.

I thought maybe if I could find life somewhere.

If I could just find something living and maybe... Isaac.

I think it's time to give up.

I tried, but I failed.

Get up.

Come on.

What?

Come on, get up.

Look, we are going to try to find something tonight, but this time no more data.

I need you to trust something more than just your eyes.

I don't understand.

You said that there was a virtual map created from the test data, right?

Yes, but only two batches of data have been released so far.

Set it up.

We're gonna pick a star.

At random?

No.

Not at random.

Give me your hand.

Here.

I want you to see what I see.

What?

You said it yourself, right?

We're dust.

We're made up of the same stuff that this universe is.

You're not just in it, Isaac.

It's in you.

So find it.

Use it.

All right, this is crazy.

Trust me.

All right.

I'll try.

Close your eyes.

Come on.

Close them.

Let yourself drift...

to where you've been,

and where you can go next.

Turn it off.

Isaac.

I can't believe I let you talk me into that.

Huh.

I saw you feel something.

We just need to try this again.

When are you going to get it?

You want the world to be this magical connected place,

but you know that it's not.

And so you sugarcoat it with these bullshit philosophies.

Because the truth is, you can't stand it.

Just like the rest of us.

Isaac, I saw you feel something back there.

I saw you feel something inside of yourself that you couldn't explain.

So what do you do?

You reject it because you can't prove it.

You trust your data more than you trust yourself.

Because I'm objective!

No, because you're lost.

And I care about you.

And all I wanted to do was... What, you wanted to make me

another chapter in your scrapbook?

Come on.

You wanted to have some great experience and then up and

leave just like you always do?

No.

But it's like you said, you miss being on the move, right?

You want to talk about trust?

I trusted you.

Right up until the moment that I realized that I'm just a pit

stop on your way to somewhere else.

Isaac.

Eva!

Come on girl, I want to go!

Eva!

Where is she?

Clara, she's right there.

I don't know.

Eva.

What's going on?

Eva.

Clara, Clara, Clara.

Eva.

Hey, hey, hey!

What's happening?

What's happening?

I don't know where I'm going.

Clara, stop, stop.

No, no, no!

No, no, no!

No, no, no, no!

No, no, no, no!

Clara, wake up!

Clara!

Help!

Mr. Bruno.

She's awake now.

What's wrong with her?

We, um...

We think it's some sort of rare autoimmune disease.

Her skin is being affected,

her muscles are atrophying, her connective tissue is breaking down, and her organs.

It's her heart, her lungs, her kidneys.

They've been failing for some time now.

No.

No.

No.

No.

This doesn't make any sense.

She...

She... She's been tired.

She's... been a little under the weather.

Other than that, she's been fine.

Fine.

The state that you brought her in here, I'm surprised she can even walk and talk.

The corticosteroid she was taking might have relieved her symptoms, but...

Mr. Bruno, it was only a matter of time.

We'll do what we can for Clara.

Clara.

Clara.

I'm sorry.

Clara.

Why didn't you tell me?

It wouldn't have made any difference.

I was always gonna end up here.

I brought you these.

I don't want to go.

I want to stay.

I want to stay.

At least you know you're not going anywhere.

Because there is nowhere for me to go, right?

I didn't say that.

I'm sorry.

I'm sorry.

You're pretty entangled, huh?

Clara.

What are you doing?

I don't need to move them anymore.

What?

Clara.

You gotta rest, okay?

Just remember them like that?

For me?

Yeah.

I will.

Clara.

Isaac.

No, no.

Something's wrong.

Something's wrong.

Nurse!

Hey, nurse!

Nurse!

Hey.

Hey, something's wrong, okay?

I'll be right back.

Don't go.

Don't go.

I wish I could see your face when you see it.

What?

You're gonna have to stand the slack on.

You have to step aside.

Clara?

Clara, can you hear me?

Clara?

Okay.

Mr. Bruno?

Mr. Bruno?

Her belongings.

I'm so sorry.

Bake!

Forget this, OK?

All right, let's thank Dr.

Reppman for coming to speak with us today.

Please.

.

Excuse me.'ll be right back.

Excuse me.

Isaac.

Isaac, what are you doing here?

You didn't return any of my calls.

What's going on?

I need to speak to Rickman.

Jesus, you look like you haven't slept.

Are you okay?

I'm fine.

Well, did they figure out what she had?

Charlie, I'm serious.

I need to speak to Rickman.

Now.

I don't think that's a good idea.

Charlie... Isaac, you need to stop this.

You are not thinking straight.

This is real.

Please.

As I said, my wife's a huge fan, so.

..

I mean, so am I.

Dr. Rickman, this is Dr.

Bruno.

I, uh, thought you two should meet.

Gentlemen, I have a plane to catch at 7.

I don't have time for this.

Dr. Rickman, please.

I...

I found an anomaly in the most recent batch of test data.

What kind of anomaly?

Uh, it's a nearby system.

Orange dwarf star.

Jupiter-mass planet orbiting just outside the...

No, we're not interested in Jupiter masses.

They're uninhabitable.

Yes, but I think you might be interested in what I found orbiting with it.

This step.

Right here.

The algorithm skipped right over it, but I...

I got lucky.

Happened to notice it.

It's most likely an exomoon.

Which is a nice find, Dr. Bruno.

But it's nothing anomalous.

That's what I found.

And then I accessed the online Kepler data archives,

and I found this.

And this.

And these.

Multiple transits from this star, with this same... period.

And this step?

It's in the exact same spot,

relative to the planet.

It's not a moon.

I checked.

And double-checked.

And triple-checked.

This guy checks.

Hmm.

Hmm?

Looks like I am missing my flight.

You know, that whole aliens are the last thing to consider

business is getting harder by the minute.

Yep.

Charlie, I got another favor to ask you.

If this thing checks out, I want you to take the lead on it.

What the hell are you talking about?

This could save your career.

This is your big discovery.

No, it doesn't belong to me.

It's hers.

Well, that's why you should share it.

I just did.

Look, I'll see this part through.

Besides, you'd look a lot better on the front of the paper anyway.

Well, there is definitely...

There is something there.

But we vet the data with our full attention.

But for now, we cannot draw any wild conclusions.

With all due respect, Dr.

Rickman...

Yes, we can.

Here.

Look.

This planet is orbiting the star.

Just outside the habitable zone.

Now, this object is orbiting with the planet, closer to the

star, and inside the habitable zone.

Now, if we take gravitational pull and the gradient points into consideration,

it seems fairly obvious that whatever this object is, it's

stuck at the L1 point of this planet.

Yeah, but L1 is unstable.

I mean, if it happens, if it ended up there, why hasn't it drifted off?

So when we launch the James Webb, and it's orbiting Earth

at our L2 point, which is also unstable, it's just gonna drift off?

No.

I mean, everything we have at L1 and L2 is an artificial satellite.

They all have thrusters.

They're...

under control.

So...

something is keeping it there.

What?

Good morning, everyone.

Good afternoon or evening to many of you who are watching

this from around the world.

50 years ago, we sent astronauts to the moon as the whole world watched.

And then after that, we stopped watching.

We stopped looking up.

Well, not everyone, but we as a species, we lost interest in what was above us.

But in recent years, that has.

..

it's begun to change.

Finding flowing water on Mars, soon sending men and women to live there.

Space is once again uniting us

as curious human beings.

Well, today, our curiosity has paid off.

Ladies and gentlemen, let me present first TESS 1417.

It's 200 light years away.

It's home to four exoplanets, one of them a Jupiter mass.

And then... this.

It's a large, large object.

It orbits with the planet,

within the habitable zone.

For the past two years, SETI has monitored the constant radio

signal created by the object's presence.

Although nothing in the signal suggests communication,

there are frequent shifts that indicate the object's movements.

It adjusts itself with the utmost precision.

And therefore, we have concluded that this artificial,

artificial object, it's the result of intelligent life.

Uh, panel now to take questions.

Uh, yes.

Can you elaborate on what you believe this artificial object to be?

We cannot begin to comprehend the architecture of an object

this large, but that does not change the fact that this

megastructure is being commandeered.

We believe it to be some sort of space station.

It is shaped by light and a transparent rubber-like.

In addition, objects such as

object and a light-ception can be and separated standing in a point in the of

the It is created by a switch What are

these rocks you take everywhere with you?

They're my pieces of home.

It

seems too beautiful to just be random.

This one will be well the worse.

Isaac...

I wish I could see your face when you see it.

Isaac!

How are you?

I'm good.

How's your son?

Great.

Paul will be too in a couple of weeks.

He's getting big.

Wow.

Sorry for being so cryptic on the phone.

First contact isn't something you spill the beans about on an open line.

They made contact?

That's what it seems.

Two weeks ago, an electron spin detector at Los Alamos was

observing a particle for an unrelated project.

The particle started spinning bizarrely.

Soon we realized it was being manipulated to get our attention.

They must have exploited entanglement to instantly send

us data through quantum states.

Wait, wait, wait.

I don't understand.

What kind of data could you send through spinning particles?

The particle would vary between two specific transformations only, so we

assigned zeros to the first spin and ones to the other.

Binary.

Not just that.

The zeros and ones were in Morse code patterns.

It's beyond us how.

But they must have found a way to probe us relatively recently if they're using

Morse to send a message.

Well, what did the message say?

I don't understand.

Somehow they know all about us.

About you.

We figure they can anticipate you listening for the next message.

Let's find out.

How?

Stand by, Isaac.

Los Alamos is detecting transformations again.

It's not Morse code.

Maybe they're building a file?

Then we need a format.

Okay, try a text file.

Try an audio format.

Okay.

Play it.

Remember me to one who lives there.

Oh.

Oh.

Ah, yes.

Yes.

Yes.

Yes.

I know.

You say it in the next song.

Oh, my god.

And

I'll be right in the future.

All right, let's go.

We've called it.

It's the best, isn't it?

Yeah, it is.

You're playing new songs.