Previously on Defying Gravity.
Five other focused signals...
have communicated with the Beta object...
over the years.
The Gamma object is on Venus.
I'm gonna hazard a guess it's gonna be ourjob to pick these things up.
That is the primary goal of the Antares mission.
The crew's physiology's changing, lining up like points on a grid.
We could be looking at serious medical problems down the line.
What's gonna happen when they pick up Gamma? We have to tell them.
- Is that your hallucination?
If the objects are keying on our guilt or shame, then you have to pursue it.
You're just questioning my faith because you have none of your own.
- Paula, we're not finished here. - Yes, we are.
There's a huge amount of public funding in this project.
I think the public has a right to be kept informed.
Don't you?
- She's in a coma. - Oh, my God.
Keep this to yourself. This never happened.
I may not have killed her, but she'll probably never walk again.
But nothing ever happened! Did it, Mike?
You're back on the floor starting tomorrow.
I think that's the first time we've slept together without screwing.
- Probably. - Mmm.
It was nice, Donner.
Thank you. I needed it.
I should probably get up now.
- Yes. Today's the day. - Yeah.
- Today's the day. - Yeah. Today's the day.
- Go ahead. You first. - Oh, no. Please. You look like you have a need.
All right.
- Nadia give you a send-off? - Beg pardon?
Did Nadia give you a send-off?
One last hurrah before you incinerate on an alien planet.
- I don't know what you're talking about. - Oh.
Well, you should know that a nearly-naked hallucination...
Just ran from your bay into Nadia's.
Okay. We didn't ha - It's not what you think.
Doesn't matter, Donner. Really.
Today it doesn't matter.
There are a handful of days in everyone's life...
that they can point to and say, "That day changed me. That day helped make me who I am. "
They usually happen on big event days-
day you get married, have your first kid...
the day you land on Venus.
But they can also happen on regular days...
in unlikely moments...
with events that may seem like nothing at the time.
Or they're so huge...
that they literally take your breath away.
So, are we just gonna lie here, or...
are you going to screw me again?
- Mmm?
Oh, God, woman, it feels like it's gonna fall off now.
Then don't waste my time teasing.
What's the big rush?
You know damn well what the rush is.
You're gonna make the cut.
Of course I'm gonna make the cut. I wanna know if I'm ranked first.
- Who's on the cusp? - Spence, Dereux and Barnes.
We can't add one more?
Costs $5 million to train a candidate.
"One more" isn't in the budget.
You want Wassenfelder, you have to deal.
I was 28th last time - 28th! Eight places below the line.
You've been doing great. They are not going to ax you.
Yeah, says the woman who last time was ranked 12th.
Might as well call my mother, start packing.
There's that open teaching job at the university.
Would you stop talking like that?
Okay, they know how much this means to you.
Yeah. They know how much this means to all of us. Probably look at me as damaged goods.
Yeah, or as someone who really sacrificed.
That's not the way it works. You know it, I know it.
Only thing holding me together is the eagle.
- Eagle? - Yeah.
This morning, first thing I saw when I woke up was an eagle.
- Good omen. - Well, then that's different. You're a shoo-in.
Yeah.
- Hey. - Hey.
You missed Form.
I don't think there's anything for me to do.
Anything that they trust me with.
Kinda how I feel - generally.
It is... brutal.
Yeah.
So, you know what they did?
They put us both on your classroom in space thing.
I'm, like, your new cameraman.
Do you believe in miracles, Steven?
I believe that amazing stuff goes on in the universe every single day...
but that they all have an explanation.
Miracles are...
reality with parts missing.
- So they're lies. - No, they're incomplete.
It's like we smooth over the missing stuff with what we want to believe.
It's just that...
Mintz wants me to examine every moment...
of my miracle with Hector.
So?
Who's to say that examining every moment is gonna make it any less of a miracle?
I mean, the most religious people I know are physicists.
The explanation is what makes them believe in a higher power.
This could be the most important day of all of our careers.
Not only do we have a huge task at hand...
but we have to manage and control every bit of information that leaves this building.
- Then why all the press? - Because this is history.
It's essential that the public and press witness the landing.
Now many of you are gonna be called upon for interviews.
I remind you, keep the subject on Venus.
Obviously, we don't want anyone to see the Gamma object.
So with that in mind, we've been working on a 50-50 plan-
50% live feed, 50% prerecorded.
The video is from a training we did in Arizona.
And I guess they got some movie effects people to make it look like Venus.
Basically, what it's gonna be is Zoe leaving the lander...
walking around, picking up some rocks and getting back in.
I knew the moon landing was a hoax.
It's like a bad conspiracy movie. This isn't why I signed up.
Look, it's been difficult for all of us to take this in.
- You don't seem to have a problem. - It's because I'm Hindu.
I see this as our human destiny.
But imagine the general public with this information.
It would be a disaster.
You can't want that.
What I want doesn't matter. We don't have a choice.
I'm kinda worried about Zoe.
We don't know what these things are...
we don't know what they do, we don't know what they want.
No, we don't, and it's a bitch, and it's scary and it's unfair, but we do the best we can.
You're not up here.
Believe me, it's scary down here too.
I somehow doubt that.
So I've... lost you.
I can't lose Zoe too.
You have not lost me.
Well, for the next six years.
For the next six years I will be as close to you as this damn comm will allow me to be.
And I need you as much as you need me...
so do not ever say that you've lost me.
I really should get going.
Kinda got a big day ahead of us.
- Yeah.
Thought I might find you here.
"Woman alights on the breast of Venus.
"Beauty that burns bright and hot...
and has never felt the touch of man."
Poetic.
- And slightly Sapphoerotic. - Yeah. Better than "One small step."
Or Walker's "The red planet conquered."
- Men. - Men.
Rollie's acting weird, needy.
Donner slept with Nadia last night.
You win.
And I'm oddly untroubled by it.
Warrior's last screw.
Oh, or not. Uh, no. Um, not meant that way.
That... didn't come out right.
Truly.
I would die if I lost you.
You're not gonna lose me.
It's as if I'm wearing a suit of armor today. Nothing can touch me.
Not Venus. Not Donner.
Not Beta.
Think I'm gonna be able to see this new one?
There's only one way we're ever gonna find out.
The last three months you have been poked, prodded and tested in a thousand ways.
Now 20 of you will move on.
Ten of you will accept our sincere thanks...
and go home tomorrow.
For those of you who make the cut, congratulations.
Finish your day and enjoy your weekend...
because on Monday it all gets a lot tougher.
For those of you who don't...
know that you were exceptional just to be considered.
I'd be happy to write personal recommendations for any of you.
You leave with my deepest respect...
and gratitude.
- Congratulations! - Yes! Yes!
First again.
Congratulations! You deserve it! No, you deserve it!
- Zoe - Has gotta go.
I'm so sorry.
Venus is a terrible place for human beings.
Its surface pressure is 93 times that of Earth...
and temperature on a nice day is 460 degrees Centigrade.
In fact, it's been only in the last 10 years...
that technology has advanced to a point where human landing is possible.
And even with those advances...
time on the planet is limited to 20 minutes...
after which everything will simply break down.
El planeta Venus es un planeta-
- You guys get any rest last night? - One of us did, yes.
- Why you gotta go there? - It's gonna be hot on the surface.
- I need you both to push fluids. - That's amazing.
- That is exactly what Donner was doing last night. - Hey.
...que hemos avanzado lo suficiente para que un aterrizaje en Venus sea posible.
Thermal cooling system?
- Know what really bothers me about you, Nadia?
You have no consideration for anyone but yourself.
T.C. S?
I mean, what was going through your head last night, sleeping with Donner?
Did it ever occur to you that maybe that wouldn't be the best thing for Zoe to wake up to...
and it might be a good idea for her to keep her mind on other things?
- And we didn't screw. - What?
We slept together, but we didn't screw.
You're telling me you and Donner spent the night in each other's arms and nothing happened.
Yes.
Sometimes it feels good just to be held.
How much do you know about what happened the other night?
Most of it. No one else on the floor knows anything.
The girl I hit.
- You know her name?
Rollie...
as impossible as this might seem to you, you have to let it go.
I feel like a coward.
But what we're doing here is beyond that guilt.
It's beyond our personal lives.
It's beyond our friends and family.
Do you understand? It's beyond everything.
If Zoe doesn't make it, what does that mean?
It'll probably mean my marriage is over.
I've played the trust card one too many times.
It'll probably mean the mission is over as well.
And I have a feeling somehow that the fate of mankind is mixed up in all of this.
You two are both in the astronaut program.
Would you like to be taking that walk on Venus today?
I didn't join the program to be sitting behind a desk.
We would very much like both to be on Venus today.
It's an extraordinarily hostile place to take a walk, isn't it?
I mean, is this a place that we could settle?
We can't last for more than 20 minutes on the surface. The clouds are sulfuric acid.
- Or mine? - Well, that's impractical.
And the surface elements are very similar to Earth, so there'd really be no point.
So may I ask the obvious question then-
Why are we spending all of this money and risking two human lives?
Because it's an amazing achievement.
To plant a flag?
Oh, come on. You two have personally made terrific sacrifices for this mission.
That can't be your answer.
Arnel?
Well, we have a landing to make.
Ladies and gentlemen, if I could...
I'd like to ask you to move to the press room now, please.
They both look good, Ev.
Strange, though. Zoe's heart rate is close to 60.
- Strong and calm. - Yeah.
Maybe a little too strong and calm.
You know something I don't?
Doctor?
There's some weird physiological changes happening to you guys...
that I'm not supposed to talk about.
I'm gonna send you what I have in a personal file.
Roger that. In the meantime?
They're good to go.
Zoe.
This day will pass. You may always regret it...
but you need to remember it as the day you had the strength to move on.
And that is all I've got. That is all the shrink wisdom I have.
- Good luck. - Thanks.
Yeah. It was one of those days for me.
And I've got the scar. It's kind of like a road marker, you know?
A point to move away from...
to rise above.
Okay, people, everybody on the track in two minutes.
- I'll see ya. - Yeah. Thank you.
Gotta get goin'. Scram! I'll see you tomorrow.
- See you tomorrow. - Bye.
You get to keep that.
Oh, and your bucket. Definitely keep your bucket.
I know you probably don't think you want it, but you'll wish you had it later.
Yeah.
It's pretty impressive, you just let it get away from you the once.
Yeah.
You should probably go.
You know, for what it's worth, I think they're making a big mistake.
- Don't tell me that. - Well, that's the truth.
Yeah. Well-
Not gonna be the same around here without you.
- All right. - All right.
- Just... take care. - Okay.
Donner.
Yeah?
What are you doing tonight?
Uh, nothing special.
- Major Tom's? - Yeah.
Nadia wants to celebrate and everything.
Nice. Of course.
Well, if you get bored or something...
I'm not an astronaut anymore.
- To Zoe! Her destiny is elsewhere...
But she'll always be in our thoughts.
To Zoe, who was, is and will always be out of your league.
Thanks, Wass.
To number one!
May you always ride on top of the pole!
On top of the pole!
- He's being lewd, Nadia. - Who cares? I'm number one!
More! More!
Okay, we're gonna need another round of the same. It's on me, on my tab.
- I'm gonna need help tomorrow with Zoe. Donner, Ted, you in? - Yeah.
- Do you know anybody with a truck? - I got a truck.
- That thing? Does that still run? - Of course it still runs!
You know, you're a misogynist...
and a hopeless jerk.
- Did you know that? - Hopeless jerk, maybe.
You have no right to tell a woman she can't experience...
the pain and suffering of having a relationship with a screwed-up man.
- Seriously screwed-up man. - With scars on his back.
- Who drinks to forget. - I'll take my chances.
Caveat emptor is all I'm saying.
And I'll never say you didn't warn me.
You realize this can only lead to trouble.
Bring it on.
If you don't want to be here, don't be here. You're no fun tonight, Donner.
I'll see you tomorrow.
I keep putting on fresh makeup, but I can't seem to stop crying.
♪ Thought I saw a spark ♪
#From a distant fire #
#Didn't know what my own heart desired #
♪ There must be something better ♪
♪ Than to curse the dark ♪
♪ 'Cause then she answered the call ♪
#From my #
♪ Unknowing heart ♪
#My angel #
♪ Of the night ♪
#Has brought me to #
♪ The light ♪
#She has come to #
#She has come #
♪ To light ♪
#For me #
I wish it weren't Donner.
- #For me # - It was always Donner.
Zoe and Donner.
What the hell do these things want from us?
I don't know, but they're changing you physically to do it.
Extension of what happened to Ajay and Rollie?
Only at a genetic level.
- And it's happening to all of us? - Including Eve.
How could they keep this from us? From me?
I'm sorry, Ev. Not my choice.
And they will hang me if they find out I told you.
- Understood. - We should check the crew's genomes every week.
- You'll be more secure doing it up there as part of the routine. - Yeah.
You realize this can only lead to trouble.
Bring it on.
What are you looking at?
That eagle.
Oh, yeah. It's a good omen.
He was there yesterday too.
Well...
doesn't mean he's bad.
Maybe he's trying to tell you about a new opportunity.
Maybe he wants you to stay.
You really think I'd cut it...
as an astronaut's girl and support?
- I didn't say support. - Watching you guys go to work every day.
Resenting every single mission...
not for you but because I couldn't be there too.
Just hanging out at Major Tom's and listening to all your stories.
I want my life to be my life.
My successes.
My failures. My choices.
I can't live around my dream without being a part of it.
Good-bye, Maddux Donner.
We are T-minus one hour to entry burn.
Roger that. The suit is fully pressurized. All systems nominal.
- I'm being positioned in the stand.
You're in.
So, did you figure out what you're gonna say?
Yeah. I'm thinking, uh, "I just peed in my pants."
- Memorable. - Always go with the truth.
Hey. I'll be back in a couple ofhours.
Can you bring me back one I can see?
I took it off the flight deck.
- I figured you'd need it more down here. - Thanks, Paula.
God bless you. I wish I was going with you.
You good?
Right where I wanna be. You?
Hell, yeah.
All right, guys, let's burn some fuel.
Crossbow, you are a go to start lander separation.
Cuttin' 'er loose.
Internal power and distribution bus.
Power's nominal. A.P.U. 's are nominal.
Propulsion systems?
Propellant is pressurized. All systems showing green.
Guidance set to entry and landing.
G.N.C. Set to tertiary.
Okay, last load.
Do all geologists... carry their rocks along with them?
And pickaxes and surprisingly heavy shovels.
We are pack rats, yes.
Although I was planning on staying a little longer. I'm sorry.
- What time's your train? - 6:00. She wants to get there early though.
- It's not even noon yet.
Maybe we could grab lunch or just a cool drink.
Yeah, sh - she kinda wants to get out, Ajay.
Right. Of course.
I guess Donner and Ted are a no-show.
Yeah, Ted's not picking up his phone. Shocker.
And, uh, Donner couldn't stay. Sorry.
That's okay. I don't mind.
So, you gonna tell me how it went?
Nah.
You didn't tell him anything, did you?
That'll be the last thing I do.
This one'll be the real images...
and this'll be the cover recordings of Zoe picking up the rocks.
- All you have to do - Is lie.
You do understand why we need to do this.
Till we find out what they are, the world isn't ready for the truth.
So we smooth it over a little.
That's right.
Sure. I can do that for 10 minutes.
Do you mind if we say a prayer first?
I'm not religious, but I'm a praying fool on the tarmac.
Just a cover-my-bases deal.
- Zoe and Donner, you good with a prayer? - Go for it, Paula.
I'll take any help we can get.
Lord, please protect our friends and colleagues...
Zoe and Donner...
on this difficult task.
If we're facing evil, protect us.
If we're facing you, protect us.
All we are seeking is the truth.
- And in your name we serve. Amen. - Amen.
- Amen.
Amen.
- Donner? - What? I said "amen."
How's it look outside?
Looks really kinda awesome.
It's giving me butterflies.
Seen any eagles out there?
Yeah. Yeah. Right above the clouds.
Great big one. Big ol'wingspan.
Nice.
This is one of those days.
Yes, it is.
Wanna leave some of that bag for me?
I thought you and Jen are helping Zoe move.
- I thought you had that covered. - No. She kicked me out.
When? Last night?
This morning.
So why you hittin' that bag like that?
- I always hit this bag. - No, you don't.
Not like that.
- You asked him to leave? - Yeah.
And he left. Man, you give a man an out and he will run.
No, I - I wanted him to run.
Well, Maddux Donner, Mr. I've Had a Vasectomy, tragic American hero...
is nothing but trouble for you.
I'd be miserable with him. Not being in the program, what would I do here?
So, why did you sleep with him?
Because I, uh-
I wanted to say good-bye.
Hell of a way to say good-bye.
Yeah, but I did it. I did it. I said good-bye. As soon as I saw that eagle, I knew.
Oh, the omen eagle?
This morning again. I'm lying there in his arms...
and there's the eagle, right outside the window...
just telling me to take flight and move on.
- You're not doing this because of a bird, are you? - No, I'm not-
It's a sign.
This is a turning point, like Mintz said.
So there is before-eagle, and there is after-eagle...
and I am now, you know, post-eagle.
Okay. Your rocks are all packed.
Thank you.
So, it looks like we have about five hours.
Yeah, and you're not spending 'em alone.
Excuse me. Where did you have those done?
Crossbow, you are clear for entry burn. Antares, you have the comm.
We are T-minus one minute to entry burn.
- Roger that. - Copy.
Antares, give me burn initiation sequence on my mark.
Initiation sequence ready.
And... mark.
9-6-0-2-0-3-0.
- You ready? - Yeah.
Forty seconds. Standing by.
Venus's atmosphere is extremely dense.
This makes entry all the more critical...
and communication with the ship impossible.
For the next eight minutes...
Crossbow will be out of touch.
It is as close as we humanly can come to a descent into hell.
- Twenty seconds. - Roger that.
Twenty. Attitude rate scale at five.
Donner, if anything happens, I w-
- Ten seconds. Nine, eight... - We're gonna grease this, Zoe.
Seven, six, five...
four, three...
two, one.
- Here we go.
Godspeed, Crossbow.
See you on the other side.
Seven-minute mark.
Seven minutes.
Should be soon.
Shield separation in one minute.
Zoe, what's your status?
All nominal.
Antares, this is Crossbow. Do you co-
Antares-
Antares, this is Crossbow. Go. We're in.
This is Antares, Crossbow. Glad you made it through.
You and me both. That was shake-and-bake all the way.
Smells like chicken dinner from here. Any shield damage?
Uh, negative. Negative. We got all systems in the green.
And shield separation in three, two, one-
Shield is free.
- FI DO, do we have a position on them? - Coming in now.
Flight, they've been blown out of the cone.
- How far? - Two degrees south.
Donner, we have you two degrees off E.D.L. Flight path.
Copy that. Yeah, affirmative.
We're getting a push up here from some wind. I'm gonna go to manual, try to correct.
- Paula, give me a fuel rate countdown. Watch the tanks. - Roger that.
What happens if they miss?
Well, Zoe can't walk more than a hundred meters and make it back alive.
So if we miss, we're collecting some rocks and aborting.
Donner, you're gonna get me close, right?
Yeah. We shouldn't see this much wind down at the surface.
This bus is going right to your front door.
Arnel.
Sweet, huh? Should have seen the box they had me in.
Think they give all the best apartments to the girls?
This is gonna be my marker.
- The day I moved on.
This one.
That's a big tat. I can downsize it.
This size is okay.
- Where? - Back of my left shoulder.
You wanna book an appointment? We should do this in a couple sessions.
We do it today, all at once.
Donner, you are still two degrees offflight path.
It's all I can do to keep that. We're burning through some fuel down here.
One hundred meters. Descending at seven per second.
Donner, fuel's at five percent.
Forty seconds to auto abort.
Seventy meters. Down at seven, drifting at five.
They're five degrees out.
Come on.
Oh, come on. This wind's gotta die soon.
Sixty meters. Down at seven, drift at five.
- Twenty seconds to touchdown. - Flight, he's going to miss.
Donner, you have got to get it close.
He's almost at auto abort. He can't burn any more fuel.
Donner, don't fight it. Just bring it down.
Twenty meters. Down at five. Zero, ten seconds.
- Auto abort sequence initiated.
- No! We're almost down! - Auto abort sequence initiated.
Negative. Canceling abort. I'm settin' 'er down.
Down at two.
Five, four, three, two, one.
- Contact. And we're down.
- That's what I got.
Antares, Crossbow has landed. Venus Base is secure.
- Copy that, Venus Base. - How far from the object?
How close are we, Donner?
From the object, we are-
286 meters.
Two hundred eighty-six meters.
That's too far.
We can't get it from here.
Uh, Mission Control, we copy.
286 meters from the object.
So much for destiny.
I guess... it just doesn't want us to pick it up.
Maybe it's better this way.
So that's it?
There's a crosswind, you know. You can only fight that so much in a dense atmosphere.
You never know how you're gonna react to those life-changing moments.
There was a guy in Stockton, California who won 50 million in the lottery...
and then drove himself off a cliff.
Some people react badly, no matter what the news.
What do they want us to do? Control, what do you want us to do?
Others let it roll off their backs and move on.
We got 20 minutes to get off that planet.
Let's pick up some rocks, put on a show for the folks back home...
get the hell out...
and figure out our next step once we get them back on the ship.
Let's put on a good face, people.
Zoe is now emerging from the lander.
She's being lowered by the same stand that supported her during the descent.
I am... descending to Venus.
- All is nominal.
The atmosphere is incredibly thick.
There is lightning to the right.
She's down.
Mark the day with a footprint.
A step forward in the path of man.
That was really nice, Zoe.
How's the suit?
All nominal.
Stepping away from the ship.
The fact is that, good or bad...
those days that change our lives don't go away.
You put a marker in the road, and you move on...
and hope that the next life-changing moment will go your way.
Excuse me. Somebody said they saw you talking to a blonde woman with a couple of friends.
Pressure is making the suit creak.
It's amazing.
Are you getting that, Donner?
Yeah. Video's coming in crystal clear.
No. That.
The baby.
Baby?
I'm sorry, Zoe. Can you repeat that last?
- Oh, Zoe. - Did she just say "baby"?
It's her hallucination that's talking to her.
- She's changing direction. - I don't hear anything.
Turn around and come back to the lander, Zoe.
She's going towards it. She's going towards Gamma.
Zoe, come in. Do you copy?
Come on back.
- Zoe! - I can get it.
I can get it, Donner.
She might be able to make it to the object. She'll never make it back.
Mmm. Ahh.