Epsilon (1997) - full transcript

It wasn't so long ago, you know.

People really did
live their lives like that.

That's too stupid for words!

There's an old rhyme
from my childhood.

We used to sing it
when we were your age.

♪ Twinkle, twinkle little star

My dad drives a rusty car ♪

♪ Press the button
Pull the choke, ♪

Off he goes in a cloud of smoke.

♪ Twinkle, twinkle little star

- "♪ My dad drives a rusty car ♪"
- What's a rusty car?



The things they used to have
before they knew better.

- You're too young to know about those things.
- No, I'm not!

- I'm a big kid.
- Yes, you're a big kid, but you can't know everything yet.

But the point of the rhyme...

is what happened next.

- What did happen next?
- Look.

Look up there.

There's the Southern Cross.

That group of five stars there.

The small one Is Epsilon.

Which small one?
I can't see it.

It's the fifth one, the
one that's not as bright as the other four.

That's Epsilon.

I see it.



I can't.

- What's so special about it?
- I'm trying to recall.

Forty years is along time.

I met Aim
on a night like this one.

No moon, cool and clear.

He was just a man
wandering in the desert,

miles from anywhere.

Walking, wandering.

Had been for days.

He stumbled across my campsite
by accident.

I gave him something to eat,
something to drink...

and he told me
the most fantastic story.

How he had come to be wandering
all that time.

"It began" he said,
"some time before."

Days, weeks, months, years ever.

He couldn't tell anymore.

It began when "she"
came down to earth.

She... from Epsilon.

He said that she hadn't known.

Didn't know where she was...

or even how she came
to be there.

Everything was strange to her.

The smells.

The terrain.

The colors.

The light.

She was abandoned
in a place that was at once hostile...

and majestic.

Ow Drumbeats ♪

♪

Everything was strange to her.

The way time passed,

The movement of the sun
and the clouds.

The moon and
what the stars looked like.

♪

Nothing made sense.

What was this place
she had come to?

Is this a true story, Grandma,
or are you just making it up?

I have only his word for it.

But I believed him.

- I believed him.
- The wandering man?

The wandering man.

"Days were like
minutes to her," he said.

Time meant nothing.

For days and minutes,
she looked around,

Looked everywhere
without moving anywhere.

Still she couldn't find
where she was.

Still she didn't know
what had happened to her.

Why didn't she just
go back to Epsilon?

It wasn't so easy, child,

She longed to go back
to Epsilon,

but she had no way of knowing
where Epsilon was...

or how to get back there.

She was lost.

Not just lost in a place,

but lost in the whole universe.

Ow Drumbeats ♪

She stood.

She stood for another day
and another minute...

in the same place,

but somewhere else, looking.

Looking everywhere and anywhere.

Under the alien sun.

Under the foreign stars.

Until, at last, she came back
to the place where she'd landed...

and saw his fire,

and saw him.

The wandering man?

He was an ordinary man
camped in the desert.

But he was outside
that strange time of hers.

To her he looked like...

like some sort of insect.

Like a human insect.

Grandma, this is scary.

Not really scary.
More strange than scary.

- What happened then?
- She just changed time.

[ Crickets Chirping Slowly ♪

And walked
right into his campsite.

Um, good day.

- Where are we?
- Um, here... in the bush.

Um, you haven't got anything...

- This is not Epsilon, is it?
- N-No, I don't think it is.

- Here. You better put something on.
- Where?

I think we're somewhere
on Dumbulga Station.

I don't know it.

Which star system is that?

Um, are you all right?
Here, put this on.

I'll be fine
once I know where I am.

I don't recognize the stars.

Could you please tell me
which star system we're in?

I'm a surveyor,
not an astronomer.

Please, put this on. I'm having
trouble following the conversation.

- How's that going to help?
- Just do it, will ya?

There's no logical connection, but if
it will help you talk sense, okay.

- Coordinates.
- Uh, the buttons too.

I don't know what
you're talking about.

- Where did you come from?
- I'm from Epsilon.

Where's Epsilon?

That's what
I'm trying to find out.

This doesn't seem
to be helping you at all.

Let's start again.

Where... are... we?

Which... star... system?

Dum... bul... ga...

Station, here on Earth.

- Did you say "Earth"?
- Yes.

You mean...
the planet Earth?

I'll put the kettle on.
We'll have a nice cup of tea.

You idiots.

You damn, stupid idiots.
How could you?

How could you make
such a stupid mistake?

- This somebody's idea of a joke?
- Hey! Hey!

Don't you come near me,
you destroyer!

You're mad! You're mad!

Making your filth
and living in it.

And wrecking and breeding,
and wasting...

and devouring everything!

Don't you come near me,
you, you... poison!

Get me off this vile planet!

Poor man. I think
he was more confused than she.

He decided that she must've been
mentally disturbed somehow.

And he was very careful
what he said after that.

Lovely design, aren't they?

Eggs, I mean.
Nice, rounded shape.

Such a convenient size.

You're not gonna
start that again?

Nature's own
crafty little package.

Did your car break down?

Tastes bloody good.
Nutritious too.

I don't go much for all
those cholesterol theories myself.

Run out of petrol maybe?

Well, it happens, you know.

You've gotta
cook 'em right though.

Consistency of the yolk's
the key.

Did you run away from someone?

It's understandable, the things they do
to people in some of those places.

Soft...
but not too runny.

And the white has to be firm.

I've never heard of anyone
coming down out of the stars before.

How do you like yours?
Hey!

Same as mine?

- You're gonna have to help me get off.
- Me? Off where?

Here. Off here.
Off Earth.

- Oh, you mean this vile planet?
- Yes.

Looks okay to me.

- That's because you're like a frog.
- Oh, I see.

You don't see at all.
Have you ever cooked a live frog?

Why would I want to do that?

You might learn something.

When you drop a frog
into a pot of boiling water,

it'll jump straight back out
to save itself.

But if you put a frog into a pot
of cold water and heat it slowly,

it'll swim around quite happily
until the water gets too hot...

and kills it.

So?

Are you representative of the level of
intelligence here, or are you particularly stupid?

About average, Id say.

This place is worse
than I thought.

What happens to the second frog
is what's happening to you here...

right this minute.

And I want to get off
before the water boils.

Your eggs are burning.

He had the beginnings
of a real problem on his hands.

Eggs!

He wanted nothing more
than to be rid of her,

but she showed
no signs of going.

Did you some more eggs.
They're perfect.

And he couldn't
find it within himself to cast her out.

He began to consider what
his course of action should be.

He needn't have.

Events soon spiraled
out of his control.

What's this?

Bacon.

- You mean dead pig.
- It's bacon.

Why don't you call it "dead pig"
if you know that's what it is?

Why don't you let me enjoy
my breakfast?

How can you do it?

Do what?

Eat dead pig.

It's wasteful of resources.

It's cruel in the extreme,
and is symptomatic...

- of an immature and egocentric society.
- It's a lot of big words.

Oh.

In small words,
it means you're a barbarian.

I'm going. I'll take you to
the nearest town, about two hours away.

Or into the city if you're going
that far. That's the best I can do.

Not bad for a frog. Don't know
what we'll do about the clothes.

We're not going into the city. There are
too many people. They'll never find me.

Fine by me. I'm going to the city,
you can do what you like.

Are you going in this?

No, there's a helicopter
arriving in five minutes.

These things are
the most primitive,

dirty and greedy things
ever invented.

I'm not going to be an accessory
to the murder of this planet...

Oy! Oy!

Get out of it!
You're mad, you know that?

Completely mad!
We're miles from anywhere. Miles!

Come crashing into my campsite,
disturb my peace.

I lend you my clothes, you won't
eat my eggs and now you wreck my truck!

Sorry.

Sorry.

Sorry for losing my temper like that.

I didn't mean to say you're mad.

It's just, I only finished
paying it off last month.

That's all right. It's good
to give in to your feelings.

-You really like this thing, don't you?
Yes.

I've put a lot of work into it.
Well, the mechanics.

The body's next.

And you really like it here,
don't you?

Yeah, it's one
of my favorite places.

Look, I'm sorry
for pushing you like that.

I want to show you something.

Look over there.

See the contradiction?

That was a pretty good trick.

- How'd you do it?
- I'm from Epsilon.

Mmm. Sorry
I ever doubted it.

Are we actually here,
or do I just think we're here?

We're actually here.

He was finally
compelled to admit to himself...

that she might, after all,

be who she'd said she was.

Useful way to travel.

It was not the only surprise
she had for him.

I'm finding this
a bit hard to grasp.

- Lovely paradox, isn't it?
- What?

The more I slow you down,
the faster things seem to go.

You live your lives
very quickly.

Afterwards he was to say
that in these early moments with her...

he'd felt curiously composed,

as if discovering
this other world...

was no different from visiting
a new place or another country.

I think the reality was somehow
a little different.

From his memory of it.

I'm getting dizzy!

These concepts are obviously too much
for your incredibly limited intellect.

I'm not talking about that. I'm getting
dizzy with what's happening to me.

- You don't get the point, do you?
- I get the point, all right.

- It's just my brain's a bit slow catching up.
- How very perceptive of you.

We're in one place one second,

then we're somewhere completely
different in the same second.

Then everything speeds up, and it
gets dark and we're somewhere else,

and I barely know
who I am anymore!

No need to shout.

- Where are we?
- Still here.

- Still where?
- Still on Earth.

The stars!
The stars are moving.

The stars are not moving.

That's your Earth turning.

Oh.

I knew that.

Look.

[ Birds Chirping ♪

She'd returned him
to where he'd started.

But he didn't know
when anymore, or how.

Or even if
he was really there...

or somewhere strange
in his mind.

Where's my truck gone?

You just haven't arrived yet.

How am I ever going to arrive
if my truck's broken?

I thought it would be obvious
to you that I haven't broken it yet.

Not that obvious.

We'd better get back
into the present.

If I'm here before I got here,
they won't be looking for me yet.

And when later on they do look,
I won't be here for them to find me.

Yeah.

Yeah?

And then he began to think
about what was really happening to him.

This is incredible!

And what it could mean to Aim
if he wasn't imagining it.

He had an idea, you see.

Is it possible
for me to do this?

- Do what?
- You know.

Just sort of zap around from place
to place wherever I think of.

I doubt if you have the mental capacity
to learn to do it by yourself.

I thought it would be obvious to you that
I didn't mean I'd be doing it by myself,

but is it possible?

- Why would you want to?
- I've had this idea.

I guess, as long
as you're with me.

Okay.
Okay, I'll try it.

Bear with me.
It'll be worth it.

- Don't look.
- No.

Where are we?
We should be somewhere else.

You mean there?

Huh! Got us close,
didn't I?

Not bad for a first time.
Now I'll see if I can get us closer.

- Nothing happened.
- That's 'cause I don't want to go there.

Are you kidding?
That's Las Vegas!

I've always wanted to go to Las Vegas.
I've got a system.

- Have you?
- Mm-hmm.

Well, off you go then.

Bye.

Have fun.

How do I get back to normal?

Normal time, I mean.

Use your brains.

Right.

Good luck!

He admitted later
that his first thoughts had been...

how he, himself,
could benefit from this...

unusual liaison.

A night in the most acquisitive place
on Earth, however,

was to be enough
to cure him of such notions.

For a moment he considered
finding his own way home.

But the lure of possibility
was too strong,

and he found himself
returning to her.

- Sorry I kept you waiting so long.
- It was nothing, really.

Whoo-hoo!
Did I have a time of it!

- I was on a roll. It was great.
- Did your system work?

Well, it works.
Just didn't work this time.

Fun, eh?

Life is one long search for fun.

Some people never find it.

Don't knock it
when somebody does.

- Oh. So you do actually think!
- Yeah.

About life, I mean.

I just don't dwell on it,
that's all.

I got your point.
The trucks, the traffic jam.

It's just...
there's no easy answers.

He was right.

There are no easy answers.

But she was determined to force him
to think about the questions.

What do you see down there?

A city covered with smog.

Ten million frogs
slowly boiling to death.

It is, for me,

unimaginable that you people
choose to live like this.

There are ten million people
down there.

They cough, they complain,
their children get sick.

Here on Earth
you have an expression.

"Sticking your head in the sand."
The ostrich mentality,

because that's what ostriches do
to make problems go away.

In the rest of the universe, we have an
expression that means almost the same thing.

It is,
"To breathe the foul air."

If we say someone
is breathing the foul air,

we mean they have
the Earth mentality.

It is about the worst insult
you can level at someone...

because having the Earth mentality
is the one thing...

that is truly unforgivable
in the rest of the universe.

Can we go
somewhere else, please?

Somewhere where
I can see some stars.

He knew by this time...

that nothing in his life
would ever be the same again.

I feel better now.

What did you mean,
the rest of the universe?

- You know what is meant by "intelligent life-forms"?
- Of course I do.

- Well, you're not one of them.
- I'm not?

Not just you.

The human race is not considered in universal
terms to be an intelligent life-form.

- I suppose you lot are?
- Yes, of course.

One of many.

She began to talk with him.

Talk of how the intelligent life-forms
of the universe...

had concluded that Earth
was beyond help.

Earth had proved itself to be
the most irrational of all known places,

the least willing to listen
to the most obvious.

He denied it, of course.

But when she told him that Earth
had now been left to destroy itself...

by its own devices,

he fell silent.

"Why, then, had she come here?"
he eventually asked,

And she didn't know.
She couldn't answer him.

She thought
it must've been a mistake,

and she hoped she would
soon be discovered and taken off.

Knowing at least some of what she said
to have been true,

it had made him laugh.

Laugh out loud
at the bizarre turn int £175 fife.

I'm glad you're able
to take it in such good humor.

You earthlings have always been
exceptionally good at denying reality.

I think we ought to have
a relationship.

Would you mind?

Hell.
I beg your pardon?

I feel the need
to have a relationship.

We're together anyway, so it makes
perfect sense to be having a relationship.

- We hardly know each other.
- It's quite easy, really.

We'll treat each other with respect
and kindness, and have a relationship.

- Just like that, eh?
- Is that so hard?

No, no.
Suits me fine.

Some simple rules
need to be followed.

Say what you mean,
mean what you say.

Don't get offended by anything I say or do,
no matter how hard that might be for you...

until after we've agreed
to terminate the relationship.

Don't bottle up your feelings,

agree to disagree,

respect the other's
point of view.

That's the one that's going to be
hardest for me. Okay?

- Sounds easy enough.
- Good.

That's decided then.

Hmm.

If we're having a relationship,

I think you should
tuck your shirt in.

If that's what you'd like...
darling.

This is all going
a bit fast for me.

Would you mind not using that word until
our relationship's a bit better established?

- Sure.
- Thanks.

- Let's go.
- That's how it started.

But progress did not prove
to be in fine with his expectations.

Where are we now?

Still the same place.

We're obviously
in a different place.

I can't see the difference.

You Epsilonians certainly have
a different way of looking at things.

It's not us, it's you that are
out of step.

With the rest of the universe?

- Won't that affect the course of our relationship?
- No, it doesn't have to.

- Could you lend me your belt?
- What's my belt got to do with it?

You obviously
find me attractive.

So in order to help this early part
of our relationship,

Id like to put your belt around
my waist to accentuate my female shape.

When you look at me,
which you do quite often,

the signal to your brain
will be stronger,

meaning your hormone release
will be greater.

Hence, the relationship will improve...
from your point of view, anyway.

I'm not sure
what's in it for me.

Belt?

What about feelings?

I'm talking about much more powerful
things than feelings.

I'm talking about hormones.

I never think much
about them myself.

Would you mind not doing that
without giving me some warning?

It's very disorienting.

You'll get used to it.

I must say, it's about the last thing
I ever imagined.

Having a relationship
with a being from Earth.

Must be tough for your hormones,

having to cope with
a pig-eating barbarian.

- You're quaint.
- Just what I wanted to hear!

I finally started a relationship,
and she thinks I'm quaint.

How much warning do you want?

Okay.

- Where are we now?
- Same place.

No, we're not.
We're somewhere different.

We're in the same place,
still on Earth.

Yes, but where on Earth?

Do you think these trees
are trying to die by themselves?

That they've just decided
to up and perish for no good reason?

Well, do you?

Or don't you think about it?

Maybe they've got
a fungus or something.

Maybe you've got
a fungus in your brain.

He knew it wasn't a fungus.

He knew why
those trees were dying.

Like so many people
in those days,

he didn't want to admit
that he knew.

He would have condemned himself.
His whole way of life,

his friends, his neighbors.

Deep down he knew he'd killed those trees
as much as anyone had killed those trees...

though he'd never
seen them before,

never touched them.

But even then, to her,
he couldn't admit it.

So don't keep asking me,
"Where on Earth?"

- It's all the same place.
- Right.

What are you doing?

What are you doing?

What are you doing?

- Looking for frogs.
- Oh.

See any?

Not yet.

Why are you looking for frogs?

- Frogs are a measure of the health of a place.
- Oh.

I thought maybe you were gonna
boil one up for me.

- Why would I want to do that?
- I might learn something.

Hey!

No frogs around here.

That she might have
a sense of humor...

was something he'd overlooked.

She began to...
to affect Aim.

He began, in his own way,

to open up to her.

My watch is behaving pretty strangely
with all this jumping around.

And I don't want a lecture
about time.

I'm just telling you,
that's all.

Strange for me, that is.

That's nice for you.

I'm growing quite fond
of you, you know.

That must be even nicer for you.

- There's something I've been meaning to ask.
- Mm-hmm.

Are there any, like, boundaries
on our relationship?

- How do you mean boundaries?
- Well, boundaries, you know?

Like... for example,
physical boundaries.

I don't know if I've known you five minutes
or a week, my watch behaving strangely.

But I figured it wouldn't hurt
to ask, you know?

Say what you mean and all that.

What do you mean?

Well... you know.

If that's your idea of saying what you mean,
no wonder this place is in such a mess.

- Do you know where we are now?
- No, but yes.

Yes, I do.

- Where are they?
- Who?

- The people who lived here.
- Nobody ever lived here.

- They did, you know.
- Well, they don't now.

They stood together on
the threshold of the world in another time,

a lonely surveyor
and a woman from another planet.

In that moment, he said,

he felt as close
to another human as he ever had.

Only she wasn't really a human.

She was from Epsilon,

and thought that humans were foolish,
ridiculous, absurd.

He didn't let his being a human
stop him.

He was becoming enchanted
by her.

Can have my belt back?

No.

- Why do you want your belt back?
- It's my hormones.

Your womanly shape
Is driving them crazy.

And you didn't answer my question
about physical boundaries.

- You're quaint.
- Don't say that!

Why not? There's nothing
wrong with being quaint.

There is when
I'm not trying to be.

We're in a relationship. You don't
have to try to be anything.

I don't like to be considered quaint
when I'm in a relationship.

But you are.

- That always happens to me.
- What?

Women tend to think I'm
their best friend instead of...

You know.

No, I don't know.
Tell me.

I had a girlfriend once.

We eventually broke up.

A week later she came back
to visit me, see if I was okay.

She sat down at the kitchen table
and said she had a new boyfriend.

"How long has that been going on?"
I said. She said, "A week."

"That was quick, wasn't it? We only
split up a week ago. What's he like?"

She said he wasn't as nice as me,
which made me feel better.

But that he was a better boyfriend,
which made me feel worse.

"What do you mean
by that?" I said.

So she said she fancied him.

I just sort of looked at her.
I was feeling pretty hurt.

She misunderstood me and thought I
didn't know what she was talking about.

So she said, "You know, you're too nice
to excite me in bed."

So I said, pretty angry,
"What do you want? An animal?"

And she said, "Yes."

Interesting relationships
you have here.

- Are they all like that?
- Usually they're much more complicated.

More complicated?

Oh.

I hope you don't expect ours
to be in any way like that.

I don't.

- By staying within the simple rules, we'll avoid such problems.
- We will,

So don't get offended
when I call you quaint.

Shouldn't these rules have
some sort of hierarchy?

What do you mean?
Simple rules are simple rules.

Yes, but if I say I'm offended,
I'm breaking the rules...

because according to the rules
I'm not allowed to get offended.

But if I don't say I'm offended,
I'm also breaking the rules...

because according to the rules
I'm meant to say what I mean.

Your reasoning powers
are particularly underdeveloped.

Oh, so it's my fault
the rules are inconsistent.

It's not the rules!
It's the way you think about them.

The way I think
about them drives me mad!

Okay. The relationship will
work if we follow the rules, right?

Um... all right.

And you're in a position where because of what
think, you're being forced to break the rules.

- Exactly!
- So change the way you think!

- Hey?
- Change the way you think about being called quaint.

Revel in the idea.
Glory in it.

Then you won't be offended.

Then you won't break the rules.

So, you think
I'm quaint, do you?

Yes! You are.

Well, fancy that. I'm quaint!

You are.

Is that all?

What do you mean?

You don't think I'm...
very quaint?

You know, really, really quaint?

Then you could kiss me again.

What are we doing here
all of a sudden?

Same as the last place,
same as the place before.

What's that?

- Trying to find a place to get off.
- Oh.

It seems to me...

that this was really
where the difficulty started,

He hadn't thought it through:

That he was home,

but that she wanted to go home.

That he was where
he wanted to be,

but that she was somewhere
she didn't like,

somewhere that had
no future for her.

- I thought we just started a relationship.
- 50?

Well, I just thought...

- Wouldn't you want to get off if you had the choice?
- No.

- That's completely irrational.
- No, it's not.

Why not?

I like it here.

You like it here.

You like it here.

Well, not "here" here.

But, yes, I like it here.

And how much longer
is "here" going to be here?

I don't know.
But while it's here, I like it here.

Besides, where else would go?

Say you could go to Epsilon.

I don't know anything about Epsilon.
I mightn't like it there.

Do they drink beer there?

- Do they have sex?
- What a stupid question. Of course we do.

Oh! I was beginning
to think maybe you didn't.

- And what made you think that?
- Well, you don't show much evidence of it.

Neither do you!

That's easy fixed.
How 'bout it?

- How "bout what?"
- It. You know, what I said before.

- You mean sex?
- Yes.

- Between us? How 'bout it?
- Yes.

- Let's do it.
- Let's do what?

You know, sex.

How would we go about
doing... it?

You mean, how would we start?

Okay, how would we start?

Well, I'd come closer.

- Then what?
- I'd come closer still.

- Yeah? Then what?
- I'd kiss you.

- We've done that.
- You've kissed me. I haven't kissed you.

- How long would you kiss me for?
- I don't know. There's no time limit.

- Then what?
- Then...

- Well, it would just sort of progress from there.
- Progress where?

You're asking
difficult questions.

You're being very coy
about answering them.

All right then.
I think I'd start taking off your shirt.

I'm not sure, but I think
that's what I'd do.

When I first met you, all you
wanted to do was put a shirt on me.

I told you then
it didn't make any sense.

- What would I be doing while you're taking my shirt off?
- You'd be taking mine off me.

Wouldn't that be awkward, taking each
other's shirts off at the same time?

It might be awkward, but that's what
people do when they're about to do it.

- Why don't we undress ourselves?
- We could.

But it wouldn't be the same.

That would mean
it's just sex, nothing else.

Isn't that what
we're talking about? Sex?

It might be what
you're talking about.

It's not what I'm talking about.

Then I have absolutely no idea
what you're talking about.

Come on.
We'll go somewhere else.

We can't.

- Can't what?
- Go somewhere else.

We're doomed to always be
in the same place: On Earth.

You might be, but I'm not.

You might as well face it. You're probably
gonna be here for a very long time.

No, I'm not.

Certainly not.
No way!

It's not so bad here, you know.

I've got a comfortable
little house in the city.

I know the airs not perfect,
but I do okay.

Go bush quite a bit.
Catch up with friends.

Go to the footy when I can.
It's a good life.

I've got a spare room
if you'd like.

- A comfortable little house, eh?
- Yeah.

I'm pretty proud of it.

Do you want to see it?

Not yet.

I would like to go
somewhere else nice though.

- Like a tree. Do you have a favorite tree?
- Yes.

Can you show it tome?

Sure.

Once again, he had
completely misunderstood fer.

Only this time,
the events that unfolded...

were to reverberate
through his life forever.

{used to live
not far from here as a child.

I'd come to this tree,
and I'd talk to it.

"Hello, tree," Id say.

Id tell it what was great
about life that day,

or what was worrying me.

You'll think this is a bit silly, but
to me it was the brother I never had.

Look at that mark there. That's where
the tree and I exchanged blood.

Kid stuff.

But even now, I still sometimes
come here.

Do you have an ax?

- Not here. It's in my truck.
- That's okay.

I'll just get it.

- You've got my ax!
- Yes. I said I'd get it.

Why do you want my ax?

- To chop your tree down.
- You wouldn't!

Would you?
Not this tree!

Please!
Any other tree.

Pick another one.
There's forests of them. Please!

He was
without means to stop her.

She had the powers,
the strength, the ax.

He had only his grief
and his misunderstandings.

Every blow felt like a blow
to his heart.

But more importantly, every blow
was a blow to his apathy,

his indifference
to his place in the world.

But he hadn't known.

He didn't know.

He'd never met anyone like her.

Anyone so...
so certain.

Anyone so unwavering.

He watched her
cut his tree down.

He saw her anguish.

And he began to grasp
something about her...

Her loneliness.

Her isolation
from those less driven,

those like him.

But he refused to understand,

There. I've ruined
a bit of your planet now.

Satisfied?

[ Panting.

Why?

Why?

Because you want me
to stay here!

Just my staying here is going to
do that over and over again.

I'll start living like you live.
Bang! Another tree down.

I'll start wanting the same things
you want. Bang! Another tree down.

You don't need me here.

He turned her words
over in his mind,

trying to make them fit
into his limited view of the world.

But he felt too removed
from her.

And he longed to get back
to the simple,

the easy, the familiar.

You're too extreme for me.

Extreme?

I'm not extreme.

I'm perfectly normal
and sensible.

I mean your actions.
The things you do.

You're the one
with the extreme behavior.

Your whole way of life
is one of extremes.

You're wrong.

I have a perfectly normal
way of life.

It might be normal, but it doesn't
stop it from being extremely stupid.

Id like to terminate
our relationship.

Would that be agreeable to you?

- Pity.
- Why?

I was growing quite fond of you.

That must've been nice for you.

So, is the relationship
terminated?

I guess it is.

Good.

I don't respect
your point of view.

I can't agree to disagree.

I get offended by the things
you say and do.

And I don't think you say what you mean
or mean what you say any more than I do.

And I like bottling up
some of my feelings.

It causes a lot less trouble.

That stuff might work
for you on Epsilon,

but it doesn't work for me here.

Fine.

Well,

- what now?
- I'd better go.

Keep trying.

- Will you be okay?
- I think so.

It'll take me a while to figure out
how to fix that thing.

Then I'll be on my way too.

Okay, then.

Good-bye.

Good-bye.

Your clothes,
I'm still wearing them.

That's okay.
You can keep em.

- Oh.
- You never know.

You might meet someone else.
You'd need them then.

Yes. You might be right.
Thank you.

That's fine.

It was a pleasure
to have met you.

Good-bye then.

Good-bye.

"Twas funny in a way."

Neither of them really wanted
to say good-bye,

but both of them said it.

And only then were they able
to give full consideration...

to what had happened
between them.

Aha! Incredibly
limited intellect, hey?

I breathe the foul air.

What else can I do?

That's what makes me what [ am.

Hi! I'm... back.

For her,
nothing was ever too late.

There's nothing
wrong with being quaint.

- There is when I'm not trying to be.
- We're in a relationship.

- She went back...
- We don't have to try to be anything.

In time.

I don't like to be considered quaint
when I'm in a relationship.

But you are.

- That always happens to me.
- What?

Women tend to think I'm their
best friend, instead of, you know.

I know what you're saying.
But tell me.

- I had a girlfriend once.
- I know.

Do you?
How?

You...
talked about it before.

Oh.
I don't remember.

Anyway, we eventually broke up.

A week later she came back
to visit me, see if I was okay.

I sort of feel like I've
told you this story before.

- Stop me if I have.
- No, goon.

Okay.

Where was I?

You were saying she sat at the kitchen
table and told you she had a new boyfriend.

Was I?
Oh.

"Well, how long's
that been goin' on?" I said.

- She said, "A week."
- That was quick. You'd only split up a week before.

That's what I said!
How did you know?

You just told me.

Did I?
When?

Just now.

Are you sure I haven't told you
this story before?

Not before.

No, definitely not before.

I keep getting these flashes
like I have.

I get very confused when I try
and talk to you seriously.

What was he like?

- Who?
- The boyfriend,

She said he wasn't
as nice as me.

He wouldn't be.

What do you mean?

She's right.
He isn't as nice as you.

- Do you know him?
- Of course I don't.

- But you...
- I don't have to know him. I know you.

I'm sorry.

I don't think
you're all that quaint.

1 suppose it must be nice
to be able to try one set of actions,

and then, if things
don't quite work out,

dispense with the outcome
of the consequences...

and try another set of actions
for better results.

But life on Farts
is not like that.

We have to live with the consequences
of our actions.

We are normally given
only one chance.

The wandering man was given
a second chance,

although he only knew
about that afterwards.

He said it was
a most peculiar thing.

He didn't then remember any
of the things that had happened to him,

or hadn't happened,

depending on how you look
at the past.

I'm glad there's no time limit
on these things.

So am I.

Yet he still felt different.

Thought differently,

as if he'd been changed
by those events nevertheless.

But for now, for him,

there was only the present.

If it had ended there,

if somehow they'd lived
happily ever after,

the outcome would have been
very different.

The consequences
much more serious.

But it hadn't quite ended yet.

What's the matter?

I'm sad.

Don't be sad.

Of course I'm sad.

There's nothing to be sad about.

I haven't finished
being sad yet.

Oh.

Now I've finished!

What were you sad about?

I was sad about...

if I stay, I'll never
see Epsilon again.

And if I go,
I'll never see you again.

Whichever one
I thought about made me sad.

Oh.

Which one made you less sad?

Will you show me your
comfortable little house now?

The one with the spare room?

It's my hormones.
You send them out of control.

How did you know about my comfortable
little house and the spare room?

It's a bit... complicated.

You told me
in our previous past.

We've got a previous past,
you and me?

We ended up having an argument
and parting ways.

So I came back and found you before we
had the argument and here we are.

You have a fight
you wished you hadn't had,

so you just go back
and you don't have it.

Useful way to solve problems.

- What was the argument about?
- You thought I was too extreme.

I didn't!
I don't think you're extreme at all!

- I'd never think that. Never!
- I am a bit at times.

You're not extreme. You just feel
passionately about things.

Things that are important.

- Id chopped down your childhood tree.
- You what?

I chopped down your tree, your favorite
tree, the one you used to talk to.

You didn't!

- You don't mind?
- You must've had good reason.

I've been thinking about things.
You know?

All the things you've been saying
about the Earth and so on.

It all makes sense, but...

you tend to get a bit
depressed about it at first.

Thinking about how just one person
doesn't make any difference at all.

What can I do anyway?
And all that.

Then I thought about war.

When there's a war on,

when their country and their
way of life are threatened,

people don't hesitate to change
their life completely, you know?

To risk everything.

Their job, their career,

their life,
their family and friends.

Dump the lot to join in the war.

They're ready
to risk everything.

Which is how it's got to be
to win the war.

Doesn't make any sense, does it?

This is a war.

This is more than a war.

But we muck around at the edges of it
like we're just playing.

They've found me.

What?

They've found me.

This is much more serious
than any war.

We muck around at the edges of it
like we're just playing with it.

Didn't you hear what I said?

I heard what you said.

Tell them to go away.

I can't.

What if they decide not to take me now?
We can't just keep doing this.

You're right. We've got to think,
think clearly. Let me think.

We've got to go back
to your truck.

You know, in case
they do decide to take me,

you're left stranded
in the middle of nowhere.

- In the wrong time.
- Right.

Let's go.

Do you think if I just held on to you
the whole time that they couldn't...

No.

Didn't think so.

But we could try.

I wonder which one it is.

I've decided it's that one...

at the end of
that sort of trail.

See it?
That's the one I'll be looking at.

I could wave to you.

I think I might become
an astronomer if you go.

I wouldn't if were you.

Why not?

- You'll be out of a job in a few years' time.
- Why's that?

This view is disappearing.

You won't be able to see
any stars at all soon.

- Better not become an astronomer then.
- No.

I thought I might be able
to see you through the telescope.

What's that silly expression?

It's my "I'll be
a good father" look.

If we weren't gonna bring children into
the world, there'd be no point saving it.

There's no point bringing children
into the world until you've saved it.

I think we might agree
to disagree there.

We could go back
to when we first met...

and just go "round and round
in time between then and now."

I don't think they're coming.

I don't feel them anymore.

I feel you...

and here,

but not them.

I feel...

we might do
some things together.

It's a nice feeling.

Whoo-hoo!

What was that?

I call it my sharpie dance.

It was some days
after this that I met him.

Just that one time, for the few hours
it took him to tell his story.

Then he slept briefly, woke,

picked up his bag
and walked into the night...

saying he had
some stories to tell,

some stars to save.

Did he disappear?

No, he didn't disappear.

A few years later,
I saw his photo in the newspaper.

- I recognized him immediately.
- What's a newspaper?

It's a thing they used to have
before they knew better.

- You're too young to know.
- I'm not too young.

In time, he began
to appear on television.

To be written about,
talked about.

Spreading his ideas
that he said weren't his ideas.

At first, they considered him
to be a little mad himself.

"Epsi-loon" they called Aim.

Sounds like
they were madder than him.

Not all of them.
There were others like him.

Over the years, as the sense
of what he was saying just...

just couldn't be argued against,

they changed the way
they thought about him,

and they gave him
a different name.

- The Man of the Stars?
- The Man of the Stars?

You met the Man of the Stars?

I did. I was really
the first person who ever met him.

Because before that,
he wasn't him yet.

That's amazing. You don't know
how amazing that is.

Oh, I do!

They say if it wasn't for him...

you mightn't be able
to see the stars at all today.

And that would be
a pity, wouldn't it?

I can see them!

♪ Twinkle, twinkle little star

♪ How I wonder what you are ♪

♪ Up above the world so high ♪

♪ Like a diamond in the sky

♪ Twinkle, twinkle little star

♪ How I wonder what you are ♪