Another Earth

I saw this image when I was a kid. The photograph of Jupiter taken by NASA's Voyager. Beautiful, but nothing special until shown in rapid succession. Suddenly Jupiter was alive, breathing. I was hypnotized. I was 17 when I got my acceptance letter to MIT. - One, two, three, MIT! - Okay. Wait... I felt like anything was possible. I don't want to eat the apple of cynicism. And it was. - # Flava # - # Flava # - # Flava # - # Flava # Yo, what's up, baby? It's your boy Flava... F-L-A-V-A. That's your dude with the big mouth! Yo! I don't know if you heard the news, but the scientists say... they just discovered another planet super close to us... with the conditions that could support life? Really? Well, now it's visible up in the night sky. They say if you look just east of the North Star, you'll see it. It's a little blue spot. I want all you lovers out there to make a wish... on a tiny blue star... as I play this hot joint for you right now. It's your boy Flava! That's easy. What rhymes with..."honey"? "Bunny." He's like, "All right, enough with it!" What rhymes... Let's do some animals. - You wanna give him some animals? - Yeah. - What rhymes with... - "Lion"? Oh, my gosh. - "Pion." - A pion. A small puma of the high Himalayas. Did we figure out what this guy's name is? - Bob. - Bob the robot. He looks to me like a Bob. Go ahead. Feel her. She's in there, all right. I hope so. What rhymes with... "light"? - "Light"? - Oh, that's a good one. And by all appearances, the, uh, planet... seems to be a mirror to our own, from the continental structures to the oceans. Even their cities are our cities. And where are we in terms of communication? That's exactly my point. If this planet is sustaining intelligent life... of comparable levels to our own... That's a very significant point. So far we have nothing. We have a jumble of radio signals, the strongest of which are military radars. But even those radio signals are not something we can parse out and understand. We don't even know it really exists. It could be some cosmic mirror of sorts. You've written extensively about that... as the most likely explanation for why it's identical to our own planet. This planet exists. It has mass and it has a clearly detectable orbit. It's even having radio signals. So did you have a crew on the inside? Do you have any tattoos? - Jeffrey! - I'm just taking. You hear about that guy who's having the contest to go to the other Earth? I mean, it's so stupid. They're gonna get sucked into a black star and die. Hmm. Is it good to be home? Yeah. You know, if you need anything... Oh. Towels. Night. Good night, Mom. Three, two, one. Booster ignition, and liftoff. This will be a trip like no other. We will give those that travel with us a unique and life-changing experience. Travel to Earth Two. Now booking. I was thinking I would like to do something with my hands. You know, maybe... maybe outdoors, maybe not. Come on. I mean, you could do something with your hands, but you have such a great mind. I don't wanna really be around too many people or do too much talking. All right. Well, there's a maintenance position open at West Haven High School. Just imagine that you're asleep and then you wake. You're not sure where you are. You're not sure if anyone else is around. What would you probably do first? You likely would look around and say, "Hello? Hello?" You're attempting to find, "Am I alone?" We here on Earth would like to know. Me and Rob got into this huge, stupid fight last night. Really? About what? I don't know. We were hanging out, and he just started fighting... - Hey. - Oh, hi. - What are you guys doing? - Um, skipping Chemistry. - Really? - Yeah. Guess who just texted me. - Who? - Kyle. Is he gonna pick us up? Yo! It's the winter solstice. That's right. The shortest day of the year, which means it will also be the longest night of the year. So take advantage. You know what I'm talking about. Also, today marks the anniversary of the discovery of Earth Two a few years back. Can you remember what you were doing that night? I know I remember. I met this girl from Bridgeport... that had a thing for the Flava! That's right, baby. You know how we do. Baby, if you're still out there, boo, holler at your boy. Flava, F-L-A-V-A. Yeah. Not only do I got a big mouth, I got a... Uh. You know my number. Call me. Mmm. ...company that's underwriting civilian travel to Earth Two. Keith, with all the risks... and all the unknowns, why are you doing this? I don't think governments should dictate exploration. And I don't think we should automatically ban average citizens... from being the first to see this new world. When early explorers first set out west across the Atlantic, most people thought the world was flat. Most people thought if you sailed far enough west, you would drop off a plane into nothing. These vessels sailing out into the unknown... they weren't carrying noblemen or aristocrats, artists, merchants. They were crewed by people living on the edge of life... the madmen, orphans, ex-convicts, outcasts... like myself. As a felon, I'm an unlikely candidate for most things. But perhaps not for this. Perhaps I am the most likely. Rhoda? Hi. Alex. I know who you are. How are you? How... How is everything? It's great. You celebrating? Yeah. I just got into business school. Boston. Hey, I couldn't get arugula, but I found this spring mix. That's good. Uh, this is Rhoda, an old friend of mine from high school. - Oh, hi. - Hi. - I'm Claire. - Hi. So, are you working? West Haven High. Yeah? What do you teach? - I clean. - What? I clean the school. Oh, that's cool. That's probably very therapeutic. All right. Well, it was good to see you, Rhoda. Yeah, it was nice to meet you. Nice to meet you. How do you know her? High school. Yeah? - Mr. Burroughs? - Mm-hmm. I, uh... - What? - ...came to... I came to tell you about... What? Tell you about a tri... a free trial of our cleaning service. What? I'm from Maid In Haven. We're a cleaning service. - We're looking to expand our territory and our... - No, thank you. Wait. Did you say "trial cleaning"? - Did you say "trial cleaning"? - Yeah... - God. - Sorry, it's a t... - Is it definitely free? - Yeah. Fine. Let's go. Come on. Come on. You can start in here. Did you say "Maid In Haven"? - Yes. - Like New Haven? Yes. You're pretty far from New Haven. There's a lot of competition in town, so we're offering the free trial as a... Where are your supplies? Uh, normally, the first time is a consultation. Okay. Well, you're already here, so why don't you just... clean this for a start? Okay? There's mops and things in there. Okay. I'm gonna be in that room. - Is everything okay? - Yes. Scientists have said there is overwhelming evidence... that the two Earths... All right, that's enough. It's time for you to go. So... Wait. Is that it for the free trial? Yeah, it's a one-day trial. Um, all right. So I'll see you next week. I'll let them know. They might send someone else. - Okay. - Same time, same... Yeah, this is a good time. This is a good day too. So, Jeff, I think we've got a pretty important toast in order. - What do you think, huh? - Hey, hey, hey! Hold on, hold on! I just got the cider. Come on, guys, it's not that big of a deal. - Oh! - It is a big deal. You've shown perseverance in the face of adversity. You deserve to be saluted for that, Son. Come on, Rho-tard. Aren't you gonna ask what happened? What happened? - I got into UConn. - And we are so proud of you! Hear, hear! Chin-chin! Cheers. Mr. Burroughs? I came to tell you that I saw you at the site of the accident. And I'm sorry for what happened to you and your family. It was my fault. Mr. Burroughs. - Oh. Good. - Mr. Burroughs. - I... - Come on in. You can start where you finished. I was wondering if I could talk with you about something. Not now. A little bit later. I'm finished. Check's on the kitchen table. We're not real. W-We're not real. We're a projection of the imagination of Earth Two. Hmm. This is Dr. Joan Tallis of SETI, the United States, planet Earth. Do you read me? This is Dr. Joan Tallis of SETI, the United States, planet Earth. Do you read me? Is anyone out there? Let's try another channel. I repeat... this is Dr. Joan Tallis of SETI, the United States, planet Earth. We... you. We read you. ...clear... Copy. Verified? This is Dr. Joan Tallis of SETI. Is someone there? Do you read me? This is Dr. Joan T-Tallis. We're getting feedback. Hello? Hello? My name is Joan Tallis. - Whoa! No way! - I am the director of SETI. - Dude! - In Mountain View, California. When were you born? May 7, 1954. When were you born? May 7, 1954. Mount Pleasant, New York. Robinson Hope Hospital. I took a trip to Cape Canaveral when I was a kid. Did you? Yes. I was 11. What did you buy at the gift store? Space food. I thought I would be going to space. I bought these... astro strawberries. - What? - Oh, come on. - No way, dude! No way! - What does that... What does that mean? It's... It's... Listen. What does that mean? I don't understand what that means. Kimberly, it's just an elaborate hoax. - There's gotta be an explanation. - We're all gonna die. - Wait, wait! - We are all gonna die. It would be very hard to think "I am over there"... and "Can I go meet me?"... and "Is that me better than this me?" "Can I learn from the other me?" "Has the other me made the same mistakes I've made?" Or, "Can I sit down and have a conversation with me?" Wouldn't that be an interesting thing? The truth is, we do that all day long every day. People don't admit it and they don't think about it too much, but they do. Every day, they're talking in their own head. "What's he doing?" "Why'd he do that?" "What did she think?" "Did I say the right thing?" In this case, there's another you out there. Wanna take a look? My God. Yeah. Wow. You're up there and I'm up there. It's just too much. I wonder if I'm cleaning your house. Ha! Maybe. - Total's 29. - Thank you. Can you hand me a paper towel? Thanks. If you wanna join me... Round one. You can come in. Knockout. You wanna play? I don't know how. It's easy. It's easy. You're a fighter, I'm sure. The controller's up on the... Hold the big one in your right hand. - You okay playing boxing? - Yeah, yeah. Okay. To block shots, you put your hands up. Face. And you... You know, you lean and stuff. And then for swinging, you just swing. That's it. All right? - Round one. - Fight. You gotta fight back. Don't forget your uppercut. - One! Two! - My guy's, uh, on the ground. That's it. - Knockout! - God. How do I hook my... You gotta swing. You gotta swing. It's okay. Easy. Yeah. Try and break through this. Okay. That one... I gave you. Knockout! - Player one wins! - Okay. Well... That it, or you got another one in you? I thought so. I didn't see your car. I take Metro-North. I'll give you a lift. No, that's all right. No, it's too cold to wait for the train. I don't mind the cold. Really, it's okay. Okay. It's typical for planets... like Mercury, Venus, Mars and Jupiter... to have a period during their orbit... in which they are obscured by the sun... and no long observable from Earth. It's called superior conjunction. If they remain behind the sun... So, are you from New Haven? Yeah. - Still have family there? - Mm-hmm. You like working at Maid in Haven? It's all right. Yeah. Have you been doing it long? Couple months. - You see that Joan Tallis broadcast? - Yeah. - It's crazy. - I can't stop thinking about it. Another me up there somewhere. If you met yourself, what would you say? "Hey, you up for a video game?" Probably beat me. What would you say? "Better luck next time." - Really? - No, no. No, I mean... I'm sure I'd be speechless. Up at the corner here is good. Right here, and then you can just... No, I'll take you to your house. Is this it? Yeah, okay. Right. Turn. - Yeah, just to the side behind tha van. - Okay. - All right. So I'll see you next week. - Yeah. - Thanks for the lift. - Sure. Oh, um, you know... I'm sorry. My memory's not what it used to be. I forgot your name. I don't think I ever told you. Really? That's not very polite of me. So, it's... Rhoda. Rhoda. All right. Good night, Rhoda. I'll see you next week. Good night. Listen to me. Keep your mind clear. And that's it. You will have peace of mind. My dear, don't worry. Learn to adjust yourself. The distance is not inordinately great. But one of the challenges you have... on interplanetary travel... Is prolonged weightless conditions. You're in zero "G." There is a possibility of cosmic rays coming from stars, and that could be dangerous to them. But once there, you have no idea what you're about to encounter. What really are the beings on this other planet like? What happened? I tried to do too much. Thanks. You know that story of the Russian cosmonaut? Mm-mmm. Thanks. - So, the cosmonaut. - Mm-hmm. He's the first man ever to go into space. Right? The Russians beat the Americans. Mm-hmm. So he goes up in this big spaceship, but the only habitable part of it's very small. So the cosmonaut's in there, and he's got this portal window, and he's looking out of it, and he sees the curvature of the Earth... for the first time. I mean, the first man to ever look at the planet he's from. And he's lost in that moment. And all of a sudden this strange ticking... Begins coming out of the dashboard. Okay. Yeah. Rips out the control panel, right? Takes out his tools. Trying to find the sound, trying to stop the sound. But he can't find it. He can't stop it. It keeps going. Few hours into this, begins to feel like torture. A few days go by with this sound, and he knows that this small sound... will break him. He'll lose his mind. What's he gonna do? He's up in space, alone, in a space closet. He's got 25 days left to go... with this sound. So the cosmonaut decides... the only way to save his sanity... is to fall in love with this sound. So he closes his eyes... and he goes into his imagination, and then he opens them. He doesn't hear ticking anymore. He hears music. And he spends the remainder of his time... sailing through space in total bliss... and peace. Why... are you cleaning houses? I like to clean. Nobody likes to clean. Some people build houses, some people decorate them, some people clean them. How old are you? Did you go to college? No. I read. A wise choice. I was a college professor. You learn more doing it by yourself. Did you hear about that contest? Mmm? - The shuttle to Earth Two? - Mmm. I submitted an essay. You did? It's silly. You'd go? Yes. You don't know what's out there. That's why I would go. It's a bad idea. In Plato's allegory of the cave, the people living in the cave... All they knew, what was in the cave, and one day one of them gets out... and goes out and... sees the real world, comes back and tells the others. You know what happened to him? They beat him up. They didn't believe it. "T hat can't be," they said. I don't think we're ready to know what's out there. It's a bad idea. So you'd rather stay in the cave? I mean, if Galileo had felt that, we'd still think we're the center of the universe, that the sun is orbiting us. I mean... They tried to burn him at the stake for that. Yeah, maybe they should have. We still think we're the center of the universe. We call ourselves Earth One, and them Earth Two. You think they called themselves Earth Two? - Probably not. - Did you wash that? - Did you wash that sweater? - Yeah. Yes. I didn't dry it. I... - I laid it... - Give me that. Why did you wash that? Stop washing things. Just stop washing things! Leave them alone! Please! Just go! This isn't a planet with little green men and blue avatars. It's essentially a mirror Earth. If we strike them, they could strike us. If we attempt to enslave them, they could enslave us. It's the perfect scenario for mutually assured destruction. Preparations are nearing completion... for interplanetary travel to Earth Two. The modified Saturn 5 rocket has undergone rigorous testing... to meet federal aerospace guidelines. Protesters are calling this a modern-day Tower of Babel. Where's Purdeep? Checked out. When's he coming back? I don't think he is. Poured bleach in his ears. What? Yeah. Why would he do that? Look. I don't know. I mean, why'd he pour bleach in his eyes? - He blinded himself? - Yeah. You didn't know? He said he was tired of seeing himself everywhere. - Hi. - Hi. Um, would you mind coming around to the passenger side? - Just 'cause there's traffic and... - Oh. I tried to reach you at your work, but they said they had never heard of you. Um, management changes there all the time. Is that why none of my checks have been cashed? That's weird. L... It must've slipped through their books. I mean, I've been getting paid, so... Okay. Well... Anyway, that's... That's not why I'm here. I wanted to apologize for the other day. - You know, I just... - I'm sorry. I shouldn't have been... ...touching things in your room. - No, it's not... It's not your fault. I should not have gotten upset. I'm sorry. Can I take you somewhere... and show... show you something? Right now? Yeah. - I have to help my mom out, but... - Please, come with me? The best seat in the house is this row, right here. Uh, it's the one in the middle. Okay. Just a little out of tune. That's better, huh? I'd finally got to a content place in my life. Our son was five, and my wife was pregnant with a girl. And then... they were killed. Drunk driver. A teenager. I was in a coma. And I was sleeping all the time. And I was so... angry. So afraid of what I might do to that kid. You know? So I made sure my brother got all the court documents. The driver was a minor, so I never found out the name. Are you still there? He can't hear or see anything. Okay. - Thank you. - You're welcome. Rhoda. You are wondering why. No. No. No. You know why. Oh, Rhoda. Yeah, I got some information you might want to hear. Shoot a three for it. Okay, okay, okay, okay, okay, okay. Wait. Wait. Um, I'll give you a hint. Do you wanna get high? With you? No, no. Do you want to get high? They called. Number's on your door. Seriously? Seriously. Wait. Hey. You better write back to me this time, okay? United Space Ventures, Keith Harding's office. Hello. This is, uh, Rhoda Williams. My brother gave me this number. Rhoda, yes. Just a moment. - Rhoda? - Yes. Hi. It's Keith Harding. I got your letter. I was very moved by it. You know, when I was 15, my headmaster said to me... he said, uh, "Harding, you'll either go to prison or be a millionaire." Yeah, well, I'm... I'm grateful it was the latter. But, uh, it's a fine line. And finer than you would think. You still want to go to space, Rhoda? Do I... Yes. Well, you can. The seat is yours. Kerry'll be in touch with you with the details. I'll see you soon. Within our lifetimes, we have marveled... as biologists have managed to look at ever smaller and smaller things. And astronomers have looked further and further... into the dark night sky, back in time and out in space. But maybe the most mysterious of all... is neither the small nor the large. It's us, up close. Could we even recognize ourselves? And if we did, would we know ourselves? What would we say to ourselves? What would we learn from ourselves? What would we really like to see... if we could stand outside ourselves... and look at us? Hi. A nice surprise. You're all dressed up. Do you remember that essay contest I told you about? Travel to Earth Two? Uh-huh. I won. I'm gonna go to space. You won. That's great. That's fantastic. We have to celebrate. Come here. Come on. We have to. Come here. We have to celebrate. First things first... is to start with a drink. We have to celebrate. I can't believe... How many people... How many people wrote in? That is... I'm so happy for you. To the coming true of your most improbable dream. Congratulations. Next step is a feast. - I'm gonna cook you a celebration feast. - Yeah. - Okay? - Okay. Okay, uh, food. We need food first. And... do they know how prepared you are? I mean, with the Joan Tallis costume, for Halloween? I will be fully trained in the Mojave Desert. Oh. Well, that's comforting. They made me sign this waiver. Basically every other line of it says, "If you die, it's your fault." And you seem... you seem totally okay with that. You know, you'll need an executor for your will. Do you have one? No, but I don't have anything. Okay, so nothing to no one. Sounds pretty easy. I think I could handle that. Um, burial or cremation? I think my body would probably burn up on reentry. Or be lost in space, so... Okay. Ashes to ashes, dust to dust. We'll have to hold a memorial service. Who would you like to attend? I don't know. You? Don't go. Please don't go. We're so close to something here. We can't. Why can't we? - You know that we can't. - I know that we have. Stay, please? Let me tell you a story. And if, after, you still want me to stay, I will stay. It's about a girl. At the start, she's... naive, reckless. She does something that is... unforgivable. And one day, she goes to apologize. But she loses her nerve. She's weak. She lies to him. And then... she thinks that she might, in the smallest ways, be able to make his life just a little bit better. And so she wakes up every day just to do that. And some days she thinks it's for him. Other days, she worries that it's for herself, that it was really just a way to survive what I have done. But I think that I do make you happy. Oh, my God. I know that you make me happy. It was my fault. I killed your wife and your son. You better leave. Get out. Get out now! Now! The mystery flight member is 21-year-old Rhoda Williams, who is rumored to be an ex-convict. Her records are off-limit to the public, as the alleged crime occurred when she was under age. There are reports of offers up to three million dollars on the Web... for a ticket aboard USV's flight. We're getting word now that she's arriving at her residence in New Haven, ...where Robert Hughes is standing by. - Oh. Oh. Can you get... Right here. Rhoda, are you going to space? - Rhoda Williams. - Rhoda. Just one photo. Rhoda. You couldn't have told us? - We had to find out from the media? - I ju... I just found out. I wasn't sure I wanted to go. I didn't... Are you going? I'm gonna go. Well, now... now, wait a minute. I mean, don't you think we... we should have a discussion about this? Oh, they're in the backyard now. Look, Rob... Rhoda. Rhoda. Joining me now from Washington, D.C., astrophysicist Dr. Richard Berendzen, the original proponent of this extraordinary Broken Mirror Theory. Dr. Berendzen, tell me the significance of this theory, why it excites you and how this changes... the possibilities of the planet known as Earth Two. In the grand history of the cosmos, more than 13,000 million years old, our Earth is replicated elsewhere. But maybe there's another way of seeing this world. If any small variation arises... they look this way, you look that way... suddenly, maybe everything changes, and now you begin to wonder, what else is different? Or one might say that... you have an exact mirror image which suddenly is shattered, and there's a new reality. And therein lies the opportunity... and the mystery. What else? What new? What now? Stay away! Get away from me. - Please let me in. Please. Just... - Stay... Stay away from me! Stay away! John? - John? - Stay away from me. John, please let me in. - Stay away from me! - Open the door. - I'm warning you, stay away from me! - Please. I have something I have to explain. I have to tell you. Please. Wait. Okay... John. Do it. I heard on TV about a theory. They think... that the moment we first saw the other Earth... was the moment our synchronicity was broken. That was just over four years ago. Maybe they're up there. Maybe not, but... maybe. We are just days before the launch... of the United Space Ventures' civilian shuttle. Members of the crew of this dangerous voyage... have been training intensely here at the Mojave Spaceport. The media blackout was finally lifted... with a press conference early this morning. I'm feeling privileged, and, oddly, I'm proud. And, of course, nervous and excited. The modified Saturn 5 rocket... - See you, Freddie. - ...has undergone rigorous testing...