Original subtitles

Nature,

the universe,

our own existence,

are ruled by laws that are well known.

Laws that nothing

and nobody can escape.

Nevertheless, the scientific community had overlooked something until now:

the strange and deep relationship between those laws

and our own emotional behavior.

You are about to find out how the laws of physics

can be applied to the emotions that rule our daily routine.

And including, especially,

those of a much lesser-known discipline:

Thermodynamics!

Okay, what are thermodynamics?

Can any of you tell me?

Don't everyone raise your hand at once,

you'll confuse me.

As the name indicates, thermodynamics

is the study of the movement of heat.

Specifically, the ways in which energy is transformed.

Because as you already know, energy can take many forms.

This is Manel Suarez,

he'll be my assistant during the course.

Please go easy on him.

Manel spent his weekend building

this little steamboat for you,

which works thanks to the laws of thermodynamics.

Please, everyone come closer.

Quickly.

Take these seats.

Manel, explain how it works before the demonstration.

Okay, um...

This little bowl contains the fuel that will feed the flame,

the flame will heat the water in this tank...

Once heated, the water will expand

and come out of these two small tubes, propelling the boat.

That's so, Manel.

Beautiful.

Let's try it out.

Here, take mine.

Looks like it won't light...

That's all right.

What you're seeing

also responds to the principles of thermodynamics.

The principles we're talking about not only rule our lives

completely, they will also finally determine

our fate and that of the entire universe.

Prepare yourselves, on the shoulders of giants,

for a new leap in the history of science.

Welcome to the passionate and terrifying world of...

THE LAWS OF THERMODYNAMICS A DOCUMENTARY BY MANEL SUAREZ

In order to discuss thermodynamics,

we need to refer to a system.

In this case, let's take the "humanity" system,

with its thousands of individual particles

moving and interacting with each other.

And we'll focus on a few of those particles.

For example, the Manel-particle...

and the Elena-particle,

who still haven't met.

The first thing we must know

is that all thermodynamic systems tend towards equilibrium.

But don't be fooled by how nice this word sounds.

It's precisely the lack

of equilibrium that could give the Manel and Elena particles

the chance to meet and interact,

to build something together.

Equilibrium in this case means the dispersion of the particles

and the absence of activity, of heat exchange.

Unfortunately, that's what we tend to move towards.

You're sleeping over at my place tomorrow. I have to get up early.

Me too.

How was your first day of class?

Did the boat work?

Wonderfully, like an outboard.

My super physicist aeronautical naval industrial nuclear engineer.

I bet all the girls were making eyes at you.

One of them did.

I love how you lie to me to make me horny.

Have you done everything yet?

Wash the dishes, sweep the floor, air out the flat,

lock the front door twice?

Then the Raquel-Manuel physical system is ready to fuck.

You still need to get your things ready for tomorrow.

And super romantic.

You've got it all.

But let's go straight to heat exchange

and the laws of thermodynamics.

What?

It simply what?

It's transformed, it's turned into something else.

ONE MONTH LATER

Into what?

- I don't know, into affection. - Affection?

That's what I feel for my dog.

Not that kind, it's more special.

But last night we fucked and you said you loved me.

I was your proton and you were my electron.

- You called me pickles. - Well, I mainly called you Raquel.

What are you talking about? What happened?

Love doesn't just transform overnight!

Well, it wasn't overnight.

Oh, it wasn't overnight.

No, it wasn't.

ONE YEAR LATER

We decided to take a break 3 months ago.

Two months, 18 days and 6 hours

since you asked for time.

Exactly, it wasn't overnight.

- You're not telling me the truth. - What?

I'm saying I don't love you anymore.

No, you're not telling me the whole truth.

What else do you want me to say?

- Why did your love transform? - I already told you.

Love doesn't just transform overnight!

- You're going into a loop. - No, I'm not.

- Say it. - Say what?

What your love has really turned into.

- You really want to know? - You owe me that.

Into indifference.

You think I'm stupid?

Indifference is what's left when love has turned into something else.

I don't understand you.

You understand me perfectly. Say it.

Please, say it.

Please.

Say it!

There's someone else.

There's someone else.

ONE MONTH LATER - ONE YEAR LATER

Which brings us to the second law of thermodynamics.

- Wait a second! - Wait a second!

But let's not get ahead of ourselves.

To fully understand what's happening,

we have to go back in time

to the moment where it all began.

Inertia. That's what's acting on the Manel-body at this moment.

And in general, up until this moment.

- Do you love me? - Madly.

But let's continue with the laws of motion.

The girl you see now, or Eva-body,

will help us explain the second law.

In this case, the force propelling Eva is named Rosa, who is also her mother.

She's been waiting for her for 15 minutes to have lunch.

And here we can see the effects of the third law.

Action,

reaction.

But Newton's huge contribution doesn't end here,

nor the event that triggered our story.

Allow me to introduce the Pablo-body

and one of the key laws of physics and of this story:

The law of gravity

or attraction of bodies.

This law is so important that we should stop here for a second.

A body's gravity depends on its mass,

which we mustn't identify by its weight,

rather by the amount of attractive material.

That's why the Pablo-body and the fatso-body are the ones attracted,

the ones that fall towards the super-massive Elena-body,

and not the other way around.

Gravity.

It alone can set us in motion,

change the direction of our path,

or disintegrate us.

God, what happened?

I'm sorry, are you hurt?

- What a blow. You okay? - Yeah.

Jesus Christ, I cracked your head open. Why are you on the ground?

It had to be you.

You two know each other?

Did you do this on purpose?

I wouldn't be surprised if you planned it.

You're the one with the twisted mind here.

And no, it wasn't on purpose. I wasn't that bent on meeting you.

And yes, I'm okay. Are you?

Seeing stars, but okay, yeah.

I'm so sorry, I don't know what I was thinking.

We're okay, thank you!

Thank you.

Thanks.

We were meeting for a drink on the terrace.

Would you two like to join us while we recover?

Sure, no problem.

Okay, until my friend gets here.

That's Manel, I'm Pablo.

I'm Eva. Nice crashing into you.

Likewise.

I'm Manel.

No, thank you.

Elena, right?

You look great in all the photos. Spectacular.

But the campaign's a bit dull.

You know we publicists criticize everything.

Really? I never noticed.

What do you two do?

I'm a criminal lawyer. I recently opened

- my own office. - How brave.

You have no idea.

And you?

I'm an astrophysicist.

I'm writing a thesis about thermodynamics in complex systems.

Yeah?

- How interesting. - He's a genius at what he does.

Here is where it all began. Luckily gravity

isn't the only force of nature.

And how do thermodynamics work

- in complex systems? - It's very easy...

It's too bad there are so many super-massive bodies in the universe.

Oh, hi.

How are you?

Look, Pablo, Eva and...

Manel.

You ready? The others all came too.

Okay, I'll be right there.

- Don't worry about it, I've got it. - Thanks.

Well, it was nice crashing into you guys.

- Likewise. - A pleasure.

Shell-shocked.

Bye.

Elena!

Take my card.

Give me a call when the swelling goes down and we'll celebrate.

Right? All four of us. We're having fun.

Sure, whoever recovers first can call.

Okay, it's a deal.

Bye.

She's gorgeous, huh?

Yeah, she's okay.

You're not so bad yourself. Besides brave.

I'm going out for a drink tonight with Pablo.

And some people from his agency, I think.

Maybe Pablito will find himself a girlfriend...

Do you realize you've created a mini solar system on the dance floor?

You have a ton of planets of all types.

Look, giant planets...

Desert planets...

Gaseous planets...

Red planets...

Even inhabited ones.

I was inhabited when I was 16 too.

For real.

Are you a planet too?

I'm Mercury. I'm burning up

as we speak.

Look, you even have a planet

with its own moon.

Look at that, I think your admirers are even following the same laws

as the planets around the sun.

- You're crazy. - Seriously. Kepler's laws.

If you watch closely, they're not going around in circles.

When they're behind you, they move further away.

And when they pass in front of you, they move closer.

So you'll look at them. They're actually following an ellipse.

They're filling the dance floor.

But since they don't want to look too desperate,

when they pass in front of you, they walk a little faster.

Are there more laws?

One more.

Planets which orbit further away

move more slowly. Probably because

you make the closer planets more nervous.

So if you get closer you'll get more nervous?

I'll start emitting ultraviolet radiation.

Here?

Here we're risking a cosmic collision.

You're crazy... but cute.

- Wait a second! - Wait a second!

Who is it?

- Who is who? - Who do you think?

What does that matter now?

It's "Leoreennazo," right?

How do you know?

- You can't even lie. - What a shitty liar.

The bill... you asked me for.

Manel, don't do it.

Please, think about it.

I know you, she's not right for you.

Do whatever the fuck you want, I don't care.

But I'm telling you, that guy is going to fuck you up.

She's a top model. Mulatto. Everybody wants her.

An actor and a model. You know what that means?

His job is to fuck anything that moves!

You think she'll put up with your order and your obsessions like I do?

That she'll appreciate your absurd theories

about love and the laws of physics?

You think he'll settle for one model

when he can have one every day who are also actresses?

You're going to suffer even when you're on top.

I'll sit outside my door and watch your cadaver walk by.

I told you this would happen.

And while you were insisting that you needed to reflect,

you were fucking that jerk?

The fucking stud.

Thank God I saw it coming and had my guard up.

Otherwise you'd dump me and I would feel like shit right now.

But we're getting ahead of ourselves again.

Before we continue with thermodynamics,

we need to go back in the relationship and science

to the period of happy discoveries and faith in knowledge,

to the sweet peak of classical physics.

You're a grandfather!

This is my favorite corner.

Shit!

- Damn it! - Gross!

Please...

Don't touch me with that!

Gravity is a powerful force

when it comes to attracting bodies to each other.

But it stops being one once they've already been brought together.

So let's study these forces

in relation to our particular Manel-Elena atomic system.

Here we're risking a cosmic collision.

You're crazy... but cute.

Chemistry.

Chemistry is what made Elena choose me instead of Pablo that night.

It's also what makes everything flow smoothly between particles.

Okay, Elena...

It was a pleasure. You can call Pablo, you have his number,

- if you want to hook up sometime. - You don't want to come with me?

Good morning.

Or what causes that tingle

whenever we're about to see the other particle.

- You can't come in here. - I'm here to see Elena.

You're Manel?

Go ahead, you can stay on that side.

When the chemistry is intense,

you really feel the electricity.

I'll be done in a little while.

You're very organized, aren't you?

No. You think?

- Where's dinner? - In the oven.

And the dirty pans?

Or clean ones?

It's a question of method.

How about some wine, Mr. Method?

What's fascinating about science is everything can be explained.

For example, don't you think it's strange

that with all the advances we've made in biology,

we still don't know what life is?

That the famous mystery still hasn't been revealed?

I don't know, is it?

Maybe there's nothing to reveal.

That's what's amazing.

Life is probably just a consequence of how atoms organize themselves,

another step in the evolution of complex systems.

That's why I study them.

You're the one who's a complex system.

We're just a bunch of organized atoms.

Even if we think there's something divine about life and we're in charge,

everything is predetermined by a few basic rules.

How sad, right?

I don't know, I'd rather think there is a mystery

and that life is special.

If not, what's the point?

This bunch of organized atoms has decided it needs to go to the bathroom.

Actually, you didn't decide.

It was already decided before you decided.

You were saying?

No. No, I forgot.

I'll start emitting ultraviolet radiation.

Actually, weak force isn't so weak nor difficult to detect.

You just need to be in the right place.

Within the atomic system, that force

is felt with great intensity.

Tell me you don't snore.

PHASE 1

Hi!

This is where you're preparing your thesis?

I got you a present, I couldn't help myself.

What? Why?

Because it's not your style...

And it proves that Mr. Method is not a lost cause. There's still hope.

It's beautiful.

It's identical, how did you do it?

I had to take the sculptor to the park and make a cast.

- Seriously? - Yeah.

We almost got caught. It was fun.

I think it's the best present anyone's ever given me.

Get a room!

Let's go to your place and pick a spot for it.

Most people would say that strong nuclear force is love

because it makes particles inseparable.

But more careful analysis demonstrates

that it's actually more of a dependence.

Have a happy day.

You too.

The farther away the other particle gets,

the more you need it.

And when the rubber band breaks,

things like the atomic bomb happen.

- Wanna hear a secret? - Please.

You're the first person I'm telling.

I want to be an actress.

Actually, it's what I've always wanted to be...

because I love the idea of stopping being myself

and pretending I'm someone else, living other lives,

meeting different people with stories to tell...

Do you remember the guy

I was talking to after the photo shoot? With the black hat?

The one who was devouring you with his eyes?

Yeah, that one.

He offered me the starring role in a short film.

I haven't read the script yet, but I just decided I'm going to do it.

Thanks for telling me your secret.

The question you're probably asking yourselves

is if two particles have the same forces acting on them,

do they feel them with the same intensity?

I like y... being with you.

Look what pretty bikes!

There you see.

Some signs indicate that these forces

might not have exactly the same effect on both particles.

Tell me you don't snore.

For the other particle, the weak nuclear force might be too weak.

I'm sorry, but I have trouble sleeping in the same bed with someone else.

Or the electromagnetic charge might not be

complementary enough.

Or the strong force rubber band might be too elastic.

I missed you so much.

For me the week flew by!

Not to mention that gravity never stops acting on us.

You already hold hands in the street?

Just the other day and she found an excuse

- right away to let go. - But you see each other a lot.

No, she's always too busy.

Damn, this chick is hot.

Sure you don't want to see? She's a bombshell.

They offered Elena this campaign, but she couldn't do it.

Better.

You have no idea. The other day after the photos,

when we finished...

Manel, you might be picking up signals that aren't there.

You're grabbing at straws.

You guys have fun together, right?

I do.

Maybe she's just a little spooked.

No, you notice stuff like that.

Your body can tell if the other person is falling in love or not.

Damn, those are big words. You're falling in love?

I fell in love the day we crashed into her.

What about you?

What about me?

- With Eva. - Fine.

We hang out, have sex, good vibe.

But are you...?

What?

No way.

I wouldn't mind because she's fantastic, but no.

- What about her? - Her? No, she isn't either.

Well, I don't think so.

I hope not, she hasn't said anything.

Damn.

No, I don't think so. No.

No, definitely not. Hell no.

No, no, no.

- At six? - Yeah.

Hi. What's up?

Oops, sorry.

Take my hand or I'll make a huge fucking scene you won't believe.

You're a son of a bitch.

Why? I behave myself. I treat her like a queen.

- Like you do all the girls you fuck. - Sure, I'm a gentleman.

Thanks.

Look, Manel.

I think you need to relax and give Elena time.

Play it cool, make her miss you.

Go out more, go to the gym, meet women too...

It won't matter, the scale is already tipped.

I think Elena and I have reached our peak of happiness.

Damn, with that attitude no wonder she got spooked.

It's not an attitude, it's science. It's in the books.

You don't know because all you think about is getting laid, but the initial

conditions within a system are what determine its evolution.

Huh?

What?

It's very simple. We have a system

and two parts with different temperatures.

So the second law of thermodynamics is already set in motion.

What was the second law?

Why aren't you answering?

But what is entropy?

Get ready to understand once and for all

something you'll never forget.

How hard is it to send a message?

There's someone else.

But there's still more.

There's another way to look at entropy

and it's even more troubling, even more devastating.

I was up all night gluing it back together.

You didn't have to.

It doesn't look so bad.

- After all you went through to... - It's okay.

It has even more personality now.

It wasn't such a pretty sculpture.

I can't see you this week, Manel,

I'll be too busy with the short film.

You can visit me on the set, but I can't spend any time with you.

You're leaving already? You just got here.

I'm sorry, I can't stay. I have a rehearsal.

- Is everything okay? - I don't know.

Is everything okay?

You didn't answer my messages yesterday.

I didn't. Wow. I'm sorry I'm so busy.

- Really. - Is that all?

That's all. Don't freak out.

You might be going a little fast for me. But everything's fine, okay?

See you on Sunday. Come up with some law of physics to explain to me.

Wish me luck.

Good luck.

Hi, excuse me. I'm here to see Elena, I'm Manel.

Manel? Manel who? They already left.

But they told me they were here ten minutes ago.

They're shooting the rest of the day somewhere else, like two hours away.

Maybe we could do a threesome.

PHASE 2

I don't mean to...

I didn't mean to startle you, but I must say that your thesis

is coming along more slowly than expected.

It sucks.

It could also be expressed that way, yes.

Right now a lot of people are working

on thermodynamics in complex systems.

If you don't hurry up, someone might beat you to it.

I'm sick of thermodynamics and complex systems.

Did you know that a large number of physicists

who developed thermodynamics committed suicide?

Or even worse, they tried unsuccessfully.

Some even lost their wives and children while trying.

The statistics are staggering.

No, I didn't know.

I'm telling you because you don't look very enthusiastic.

- I'm just tired. A bad night. - Anyway,

I only wanted to tell you that your thesis is very promising,

but you mustn't lose your edge.

We're anxiously awaiting your results.

I'll tell you about my night.

Remember, we're talking about disorder and lost energy here.

Have a seat! This is ready and it gets cold fast!

Hello?

Shit, it's overdone.

I'm sorry, I was in a hurry and everything came out backwards.

- If you'd told me a little sooner... - Hi.

Go on, sit down.

It won't be great. What are you drinking, wine?

- I brought you a bottle. - Open it and I'll start serving.

I have a casting for a movie on Monday.

I'm a little nervous, so let's not get overwhelmed, okay?

I'll help you clean up after.

Yeah, okay. I just wanted everything to be perfect

- when you got here. - I came to see you.

And I'm sure your dinner is great.

Wait, let me get this.

My love, let's have dinner and have a nice chat.

- Okay? - Okay.

I'll make coffee.

I'm not finished yet.

That way it'll be ready when you are.

I'll clear the table while I'm at it.

It's not the smoke, it's the smell of food, it's too stuffy in here.

I love this song.

I'll turn it down a bit, you hear everything up here.

At least until we close the windows. I'll do that in a second.

Don't take the wine. Please.

Yeah, right, sorry.

You're fascinating, you know that?

Look at your home.

Your books arranged by subjects,

your figures always perfectly placed,

your pajamas neatly folded by the bed...

I admire you.

I really do.

But my love, I think you need a little...

What was this called again?

Entropy?

Sorry.

I'm sorry!

Wow.

I wouldn't just call it entropy.

I'd also call it... joy!

Joy!

What are you doing?

- Will you stop? - Joy!

- Calm down for a second! - Fly!

Elena, please...

Not the drawers... Okay, okay...

- I was dying to do this. - We have to talk.

No, not the books, they're in order...

- Come on, be happy with me. - No, hold on.

Wait, let's talk... Damn

I'll stop cleaning up, I promise!

That's enough, knock it off!

- We can't sleep, damn it! - Elena, please...

Some people have to work!

- Sorry! - Come here...

Let me free you, Mr. Scientific Method!

Elena, let me go!

You're repressed, don't you see?

What's your problem? You spoiled brat!

You see? You never think of the consequences!

It's better than being 15 moves ahead all the time!

You've got Kasparov Syndrome!

Yeah? And what's your thing called?

When people only care about themselves?

Don't change the subject, Mr. Method.

You're turning into a pain in the ass!

Oh, yeah. It's called "egocentritis."

When your ego is bigger than your head.

What am I doing here with a stick in the mud like you?

You're here because nobody can stand you.

Your ego absorbs everything like a black hole.

And yours doesn't?

All you want is for me to follow you around like a puppy dog.

Oh, great. Now you're leaving, right?

I think that's enough disorder to keep you busy for a while.

You see? That's what you're like.

Things get messy and you leave me here to clean it up.

It's your mess.

Give me the key, please.

I gave you a copy, remember?

I lost it, I forgot to tell you. Will you please open the door?

You lost the key to my flat?

Great. Well, I don't know where I put mine, I'm sorry.

No, I'm sorry, for being so clumsy...

Please, go ahead and leave. Everything is fine.

Thanks for coming, it was a pleasure.

No, thank you, I had a blast. You're a laugh a minute.

You're too kind!

No, really. I love being with you. I'm going to miss you so much.

Me too!

I love you!

Damn it! I am such a fucking idiot!

What was that?

That was thermodynamics reacting on my coffee pot.

Thanks.

I'll help you clean up, okay?

No. Don't even think about it.

Yes, we both did this.

No, you have to get up early tomorrow.

I said I want to help you clean up!

- No, damn it, I don't want you to. - Why wouldn't you want me to?

- Because you clean badly! - I know!

No, I'm okay. It's fine, we'll hook up another time.

Yeah, don't worry, we'll talk later.

I'm fine. You do your thing.

Everything's fine, really.

It's just a little dog shit that got stuck in my hair

when I fell headfirst into shit because I was chasing you

like I do all the fucking time while you do your own fucking thing!

Fuck!

Sorry.

You don't deserve me, you bastard!

You don't...

Oh, yes, yes, like that!

This is all you want me for.

You only want me for sex, damn it!

I'm going to leave you...

I swear, I'm going to leave you...

Bastard, I swear I'm going to...

I'm going to... I'm going to...

leave... you... you... you.

I got the part!

What part?

Remember the casting I did?

Oh, right.

I'm so happy! In two months I'll be shooting a movie!

I'm sorry, we'll have to cancel our vacation.

Isn't it incredible? The director called me to tell me!

Daniel Sánchez Arévalo. What's this?

It was to say I'm sorry.

Sorry? What for?

Hey, I can't stay home tonight.

I'm meeting the director and some people from the crew to celebrate.

You can sleep over

but I don't know what time I'll be back.

No, that's okay, I have things to do at home.

- Okay. You're not mad? - No.

Why don't you make something to drink while I get dressed?

I need a drink!

Entropy advances slowly.

Sometimes it's nearly impossible to detect.

But it's unstoppable.

To eliminate it, you'd have to stop

particles in motion,

fix them somehow to some unalterable structure.

And even then you'd never be able to eliminate it completely.

Sooner or later,

entropy destroys the efficiency of the system...

and the machine stops working.

I think we should give ourselves some time.

And even though one formula calculates entropy

in terms of probability

and the other in terms of energy,

even calculating such different things,

the results match.

Isn't that fascinating?

No?

I don't get it, teach.

You know me, I study all the time,

but thermodynamics is too much for me.

What is it you don't get?

Any of it. To start with, I don't get the point of any of this.

Maybe you don't get it

because you've missed a subtle but important detail.

That all of this doesn't only affect the substances we use in the laboratory.

It affects you, it affects me,

it affects everyone.

The second law of thermodynamics

explains why a glass you drop smashes into pieces on the floor

but if you drop the pieces they don't form a glass.

It explains why machines stop working if you don't use them,

why sand castles never last

and why we always end up forgetting everything.

It explains why what you wanted to do

becomes the mess you end up making

and why your girlfriend gets bored with you and finds someone else.

It even explains why we can't go back in time

and fix the things we screwed up with her.

It explains practically everything you do wrong.

Because it applies to all systems,

starting with the universe itself and ending with your own life

and the shitty social system you're wasting away in.

Think about it.

Bring me a book report next week.

HEY, WHAT'S UP?

No, damn it!

No, damn it!

Elena?

No, this isn't Procrastinators Anonymous.

Sadly, my friends, in the very long term

there won't even be super-massive and wonderful beings like Elena

to make us suffer.

But we're getting ahead of ourselves again.

Let's go back one more time

to understand what really happened,

where classical physics started going wrong

and brought us to the current state of things.

Hey, hi! Great!

- And you? - Great.

Manel, this is Lorenzo. He's my co-star in the movie.

- How are you? - Fine.

Pablo... Pablo!

Eva!

Eva!

Over here!

Pablo!

Eva!

Sweetie, call him!

Look who's there!

He's so crazy!

I don't understand how Eva goes along with it.

Over here!

Pablo!

Handsome!

Let's consider an event.

In this case, it will happen in about eight seconds.

And let's suppose we have two observers,

one standing still and the other in motion with respect to the event.

Let's see how each one observes the event.

From the girlfriend's point of view,

Pablo falls in a straight line towards the ground.

For his lover, however,

since the bus is moving,

Pablo falls following a curve.

The curve is obviously longer than the straight line,

so his lover will see him fall at a greater speed than his girlfriend.

I felt like I was in the air forever.

Does it hurt a lot?

What were you thinking, son? How could you fall off a bus?

Where is Eva?

Okay, everyone.

I have to wash him. This can be very unpleasant.

- What should we do? - Leave.

Go outside and shut the door, I'm going to scream.

Can you ask Eva to come and help, please?

I'm right here.

For me the week flew by!

You're leaving already? You just got here.

You might be going a little fast for me.

But everything's fine.

Just to clarify:

Falling in love has the same effect as running faster than you're supposed to.

In both cases, your heart races and wants to jump out of your mouth.

Hi, Manel.

Hi.

We agreed not to speak, that we needed to reflect.

Yeah, but I wanted to say that I've reflected.

A lot.

And I can't bear the thought

of losing you. I'll do anything you want not to lose you.

I know, Manel, but...

that's not how it works.

The scene you made the other day... That's not the Manel I like.

I like the one from the beginning, before you started freaking out.

I think you need to keep reflecting.

In other words, stars like Elena deform

the spacetime around them with their mere presence.

And planets like Manel think they're free

and moving in a straight line

when they're actually trapped,

orbiting around their star.

I'm fine, really.

I feel awesome.

I don't even miss her anymore.

My life is finally straightening out.

Did you know that quantum physics started when a scientist...

Ernest Rutherford was his name...

got the idea to imagine the atom like a miniature solar system,

with particles orbiting around each other?

What a son of a bitch.

Let's consider Elena and Manel again as a system of subatomic particles.

The evolution of his visits to her flat

will serve as an example of the implausible quantum laws.

I got an urgent job, I'll see you tonight!

OPTION 1

OPTION 2

I was thinking you could have keys to my place as well.

OPTION 3

Use the keys I gave you! Dinner is burning!

OPTION 1

Happy birthday, Mr. Method!

OPTION 2

Did you check if dinner is burning?

OPTION 3

What are you doing?

Sorry!

Even if you have keys, you can ring the doorbell first!

I'm going to the bathroom.

But the uncertainty arises

not only from the fact that you can't know what it's doing,

but from something much more disturbing.

What are you doing?

What did you say?

What are you doing?

What, you want details about what I do in the bathroom?

And your cell phone?

I left it in the bathroom.

You're going to leave it there?

Do you mind? Do you want me to go get it?

But this phenomenon is merely a consequence

of the deepest and most terrifying truth

presented by quantum physics:

wave-particle duality.

What did you do last night?

Why?

You were with Lorenzo, right?

Are you seriously asking me?

You were with Lorenzo.

I was with you.

Please, don't change the subject.

I was with you!

I don't care if you were with me! You fucked him! Go on, say it!

You fucked him!

Normally I'm not like this, you know.

But there's something I haven't told you yet.

Let's go back to my visits to Elena's flat

so you can finally understand what happened.

Manel, we have to have a serious talk.

You were shitting yourself, eh?

I got an urgent job, I'll see you tonight!

I got the part!

But studying a sufficient number of particles

is the same as studying the same particle

a sufficient number of times.

Manel!

And relationships in particular

offer us enough time to study the particle

a lot of times.

At the exact moment you observe the particle,

the cloud and the rest of the possibilities disappear.

The particle stops behaving like a wave

and it's really doing what you see.

Lorenzo is hot.

He hasn't stopped hitting on me since we met

and he's hot.

You already said that.

I flirt with him too.

Sometimes I've even thought about fucking him.

Especially when I'm having doubts about you.

But I don't fall in love with someone because he's hot

and I don't want a boyfriend who's a model or an actor.

That's the last thing I want.

I want someone who thinks about other things,

about things more important than ourselves,

who doesn't spend all day seducing people

or have an ego bigger than his own head.

- Like yours. - Like mine, yeah.

I want a boyfriend who explains weird things to me,

over and over again because I don't understand them

and nobody else does either, but I love it.

A thermodynamic boyfriend who I can call Mr. Method.

A clean freak who makes me show up on time

and watch documentaries and go to bed early.

Even if he always falls asleep before I do.

Don't give up yet, just be a little patient with me.

Okay?

But don't be fooled by her sensationalist little speech.

The course of our relationship would have been marked anyway.

That money is mine, rookie!

Cut!

They say quantum physics put an end to scientific determinism.

Elena!

But that's nothing but a wrong assessment.

You were perfect.

Probability, let's repeat,

is just as determinant over time as the most exact of all laws.

It's infallible.

And even worse, it leaves you with no weapons to fight it.

Good, you?

In the end, probability always puts you in your place.

Especially when you can't see where the other particle is.

Which takes us back to the second law of thermodynamics.

Why do you think entropy always marks the worst direction possible?

Because the chances of things turning out the way you want

are ridiculous compared to the chances they won't.

I don't care if you were with me! You fucked him!

Go on, say it!

You fucked him!

The chances of the other particles

being where you want them to be will always be extremely small.

I think we should give ourselves some time.

I need to reflect and...

and you need to reflect.

There's another quantum phenomenon that clearly explains

what happens during periods of reflection between couples.

Or did you actually think these periods have ever been used to reflect?

HELLO! HOW ARE YOU? I WOULD LIKE TO TALK TO YOU...

Complementary states doesn't mean

they're the same, don't you see?

Fine, I'm not okay.

I feel like shit.

And that's exactly why I know, I'm positive that she's happy.

That son of a bitch Rutherford.

I'm going to the bathroom.

- Okay, but you didn't decide that. - Fine.

Look, Manel. We've been friends for a long time.

I've always listened to your theories and I've even shown interest.

But I can't take it anymore. You're a pain in the ass.

Thanks, buddy. That's just what I needed to hear.

Maybe it is. Your determinism stinks.

Since everything is determined, nothing is up to you.

You leave no room for free will.

Free will is an illusion, I already told you that.

It might be an illusion, but people keep fucking each other.

Look at Eva.

She had it much worse than you with Elena, but she never gave up.

And here we are.

She's had to swallow her pride over and over again

because I treated her like shit,

but she hung in there and fought for what she wanted.

- I fought too. - No, you complained, it's not the same.

Eva knew I'd hooked up with the girl from Gay Pride,

and still there she was in the hospital every day

taking care of me.

Eva is fucking awesome.

Damn, Pablo. You're really shitfaced.

Tell me one thing. Will that change anything?

Yeah. When the model came to the hospital and she caught us...

Hold on, the model caught you?

Eva caught us.

Then she disappeared

and that's when I realized how much I missed her.

What's up?

I'm sorry, you can't go in there.

Hey, I said you can't... She's in a meeting...

You can't...!

I'm sorry, I couldn't stop him.

I know you don't want to see me or talk to me.

I just wanted to say

I'm a jerk. I know I screwed up and I don't deserve you, Eva.

But I love you.

I love you and I want to live with you.

And if you give me a chance,

I promise I will never do what I did again.

I can't live without you, Eva.

I don't want to live without you.

If you want me to take you back,

sign this.

It's a contract obliging you to be faithful with your assets as collateral.

I'm kidding, you dipshit.

The model is gorgeous.

And the one at the parade is too, amazing in bed.

But Eva has... She's...

I've decided to stop fooling around and finally settle down.

I know what you're going to say, but no, I'm serious.

I'll tell you what you're going to say.

That I'm saying this because I'm on crutches

and can barely fuck, that the accident affected my brain,

that I always said this would never happen to me,

not if I could still get women, not before age 50,

that I see storm clouds on the horizon

and I'm scared of ending up alone,

that settling down means giving up, being stingy,

that it means rejecting our essence,

freedom and true love,

which is absolutely disgraceful,

sad, pathetic...

No, that's not what I was going to say.

What's disgraceful and pathetic?

Manel, who else?

I'm telling him that he hides behind his laws so he won't have to do anything.

Manel, you give up when it's time to give up, not before.

In fact, I was thinking something in the bathroom.

That law of quantum entanglement.

You say that if you change the state of one particle,

it changes the state of the other one too, right?

Then if you change yourself to a more positive state,

if you take care of yourself and surround yourself with good vibes,

then maybe Elena won't be

as happy and she'll start missing you.

I hadn't thought of that.

It might work, right?

But she has to see you like the Manel from the beginning.

Before you freaked out.

Of course! That's what I've been telling him all along.

To have fun, to go out more, damn it.

To go out and get dressed up and flirt with other chicks, right?

Go to the gym,

I don't know, live a little.

And have sex, right?

Fuck tons of chicks, hump as many as you can.

You see, Manel?

I told you, Eva is the best. How could I not be crazy about her?

You're the best.

Because you already know, or at least you should know,

that thermodynamics...

We know she's totally hot. If we multiply her attractive mass

by the speed of light squared, we get an immeasurable amount of energy.

LIFE IS WONDERFUL!!!

Hey.

Here we go.

Then there's the type of woman I call a super-massive black hole.

She's not just hot and totally sick,

she thinks she's the center of the galaxy, everything revolves around her.

In theory she could even become a worm hole.

She can rip you out of your world and transport you

to a parallel universe. She's the hole, I'm...

the worm.

Do you have a girlfriend and you're a little burnt out?

Girlfriend, me? No, no. Yeah, okay. A few.

Tons. You.

What's a girlfriend?

You'll tell me later. Guys are so weird.

Where are you taking me?

I don't know, wherever you want.

Hi, Elena.

Manel, hi.

- How are you? - Fine, you?

Fine, awesome. You?

Fine, great.

I'm glad to hear it. I'm great too.

- This is Alba. - Hi.

- You're Elena Baocchi, right? - Yes.

Wow, I didn't know I was going to meet a celebrity!

My latest fling, a student. We're doing great.

Well, we're starting.

She's barely of legal age, but she's very smart.

And we're both into science.

She understands almost everything I explain to her.

Right, Alba?

Alba's cool.

Maybe we can have a threesome tonight.

Okay, actually...

it's my first time out with her.

All this time reflecting is killing me.

We came here because I wanted to see you.

I need to know how much longer...

Do you remember Lorenzo?

Hi.

I remembered you taller.

And you didn't want a boyfriend who was a model or actor.

That's the last thing you wanted.

You wanted a thermodynamic boyfriend, remember?

To explain the laws

of physics to you. Well, there's still a lot left to explain...

It was true at the time.

You were nice to me, you explained interesting things to me,

we had a great time, but...

But people can't always be right.

Who do you mean, you or me?

Manel, you have a problem.

You explain things like your laws are real,

but they're only in your head.

You don't see reality.

I'm not a bunch of organized atoms.

And the proof is I've decided to leave you.

You think you've decided to leave me.

I'm sorry.

I have more things in common with Lorenzo.

He helps me with work, he gives me confidence,

he's calm and sure of himself.

Yeah, I get it.

You're right.

Although you've forgotten one small detail.

It's no coincidence that he's another super-massive body.

You see?

That's what I mean, you can't control reality

and you never stop trying to.

When reality resists, you try twice as hard

to make it fit into your shitty laws.

What? Forcing reality to fit?

You don't even understand what you're saying.

Hey! Aren't you going to pay?

Elena, wait!

What do you mean, I force things?

Seriously? Pablo isn't the one you like?

It's normal, he's very handsome. Admit it, you like him more.

I don't mind, really, we're great friends.

You like Pablo more.

Explain it to me? How do I force reality?

This isn't going to work, I'm telling you.

I know it's the second time we've slept together,

but we're totally different. You with that job, traveling all the time,

and me... You'll get bored with me as soon as the novelty wears off.

Please! Elena!

The one with the hat? Are you sure he wants to make a short film?

Or maybe he wants to get in your pants. I hope the script is good,

but come on, a guy who looks like that can't be a good writer.

Everything I did was because I'm crazy about you!

WHERE ARE YOU? WHERE ARE YOU? WHERE ARE YOU? WHERE ARE YOU?

And now you say I force things?

Come on!

Elena!

Action!

Cut!

Wait. Please, don't leave me.

Elena...

I've already left you, Manel! I've already left you.

You know why? Because that's what you wanted.

You wanted this to fail from the very beginning.

Because you're incapable of winning, you only know how to lose.

Because it confirms how smart you are and how great your theories are.

And I'll tell you another thing.

You can't apply the laws of physics to love!

You can't! It's madness! It's total bullshit!

You can't!

PHASE 3

No need to pretend, Mr. Suarez.

You know that the electromagnetic field passes through walls.

From my office I could detect that today yours is a brown color,

nearly black.

I'm surprised I even still have an electromagnetic field.

You might lose it completely when you hear what I have to say.

You can't continue as my teacher's assistant.

University rules prohibit relations between teachers and students.

One of our pupils reported you to the dean.

- But nothing happened... - No, there's no need to explain.

Life, unfortunately, doesn't work like science.

The truth is not what matters most.

Whether it's true or not, there's nothing you can do now.

Don't martyr yourself.

Your pay was crap.

And of course, your classes were in line.

Which means they sucked.

Everything passes, Mr. Suarez. Don't forget that.

Even those personal issues that are upsetting you so much.

That law has less exceptions than any other I know of.

Would you like to have lunch with me later?

I'm not trying to make friends,

I only want to make sure you're not planning

to pad the statistics on thermodynamic suicides.

Don't worry, I promise not to, at least until I finish my thesis.

I'm glad to hear it.

In any case, you won't be eligible for that statistic until it's finished.

There you have it, my friends.

The universe is drifting away and it's going to leave us even more isolated.

At one time

all of the bodies in the universe were very close,

squeezed together in the form of pure energy.

This beautiful theory foresaw that everyone,

even Elena and me, would be brought back together

in a warm and eternal embrace.

The Big Rip.

At this point that ending sounds about right to me.

The force causing this acceleration has been called dark energy,

basically because we don't know what it is.

Because it's a mystery.

Maybe I can shed some light on this point.

This force that distances us

is the same force that stopped the Manel-body

from truly giving himself to the Elena-body

and seeing things as they really were.

It's the same force that destroys true love

and strengthens mediocre relationships, makes us selfish,

petty and suspicious.

Fear.

Fear.

Fear is what made me hide behind those laws,

I see it clearly now.

So I wouldn't have to face my own mistakes, my failure.

Elena was right,

thinking they can be applied to love is insane.

Though the coincidences are pretty amazing, aren't they?

What do you think? I'm a mess.

My wife looked to me like a pretty massive star when she was young.

But she didn't turn out so massive to become a supernova.

She came out a brown dwarf.

So it's not that bad, right?

I mean, I thought he would diagnose you with schizophrenia or something.

Are you sure you don't want to take a look? She's tremendous.

You're the one who'll end up schizophrenic

if you keep talking to people while looking at photos

of hot women.

I don't want to forget there's a world out there.

Because there's something worse than dark energy.

Shit, Pablo. I can't mix physics with my feelings anymore.

Dark matter is much worse.

No!

You two are having a baby?

Eva was right when she said down deep I'm a great dad.

Congratulations, man!

We don't know what dark matter is either.

What we do know is that the universe behaves like there was more gravity

than corresponds to the bodies we can see.

That means we attract and cling to each other

more than we should according to how attractive we are.

Here's your lunch.

Good lord, what am I doing?

Things were going so well, why did I have to fall in love?

You say that dark energy could be fear.

Well, I say that dark matter is necessity.

And necessity sucks.

What I liked was entropy, disorder.

That was my territory. And I'll tell you something else:

with less entropy, there's less freedom, because the particles

are tied down!

Isn't that right?

Am I right or not?

I don't know, I'm not listening.

For God's sake!

I need entropy back in my life!

There's still one law missing to complete our voyage through science:

the third principle of thermodynamics.

- We'll be at the bar. - Okay.

That's right,

we'll never be able to completely forget.

We'll never reach that temperature that stops

our atoms from vibrating when we see her.

Congratulations, Elena.

Thanks for coming.

It was very important to me.

Congratulations.

I hope you two are very happy.

It's Manel, my ex.

Manel, thanks for coming.

I hope you enjoy the party.

- Elena, look who's here! - Victor, great to see you!

Congratulations, beautiful.

Hi.

Raquel?

What are you doing here?

Small world, huh?

I'm a friend of Lorenzo's.

Well, actually we had our own quantum entanglement.

He's a good guy.

And he's very hot.

But I liked you more.

There you have it.

Once thermodynamics comes into your life, it never leaves.

Hey, it's Raquel!

- Pablito! - How are you?

The best girlfriend this bum ever had!

This is Eva, the best girlfriend this bum ever had.

- Nice to meet you. - Likewise.

Although, thanks to my therapy, I was able to reflect

and I've discovered the law that truly rules over all of our actions.

It's no doubt the most amazing law of all time.

But we'll leave it for next time.

THE LAWS OF THERMODYNAMICS II