Mars (2016–…): Season 2, Episode 3 - Darkness Falls - full transcript

It's important I share my experience
with you, commander to commander.

There are no real boundaries
here, not for Lukrum anyway.

We didn't sign the outer space
treaty, and we aren't even based

in a country that did sign it.

I'm pregnant.
It's not like I planned this.

No, you just planned to leave.

I don't know what to do.

I came here for the adventure.

Where you see a red,
dusty planet, I see beauty.

I just have to show progress, and I
can only do so much on the surface.

Maybe those bastards at
Lukrum had the right idea.



Did you see something?

Only what we're looking for.

Well, that was lucky.

Finding water, that was lucky.

You need to tell
us where the water is.

You're one crazy
bitch, you know that?

This planet
doesn't belong to you.

It doesn't belong to anyone,
especially if there's life here.

I thought she was sleeping.

She's not breathing.
I need help.

Because it was always my
dream to be with you on Mars.

How's your appetite?

Fine.

Are you sleeping alright?



Yes.

Any changes in mood?

Any anger? Depression, anxiety?

Nothing beyond what's
normal for the situation.

Well, though there are
some common stages of grief.

I don't think we should be talking in
terms of what's normal and what's not.

Can you tell me, have you been
having any negative thoughts?

No, not really.

What are you getting at exactly?

I'm not getting at anything.

It's been three
months since Joon died.

I'm just trying to
help you process.

What would really help is
letting me get back to work.

When a loved one suddenly dies, we
often feel more than a sense of loss.

Often, there's a sense of guilt.

And rather than dealing with the pain
of that, it becomes easier to postpone.

You have to allow
yourself to feel, Hana.

I don't have that luxury.

Not here.

Pretty sure our drones weren't
designed for stalking.

I'm just monitoring Lukrum's progress,
if that's what you want to call it.

And if I hadn't, we wouldn't
even know where the aquifer was.

They certainly weren't
going to tell us.

But what they are doing over
there isn't all bad, you know.

I mean, they can get underneath the
surface here in a way we never could.

You're right.

That's why I watch them
as closely as I do.

Not that's there's been much to
see for the last two months.

It's taking them a while to print and
assemble that drilling equipment?

Is that inside information?

Look, I know you're not a fan
of the company they work for,

but the people at Lukrum
colony are pretty great.

Spoken like someone who
is sleeping with the enemy.

Jen is not the enemy, okay.

She's someone who I
really care about.

You know what?

None of my business.

What's going on over there?

I picked their spot!

It's amazing, isn't it?

I mean, look at the face.

Well, actually I'm
looking at bone development.

And?

Within range.

Comparable to a fetus
on Earth at 16 weeks.

Thank God.

Her organs appear to be
developing normally as well.

Heart, liver.

Her?

You said her?

Yeah.

I'm sorry, I should
have led with that.

It's a girl.

It's a little girl.

It's still early
in the process, Javier.

Okay?

Okay.

Not much to get excited about.

Permafrost cap is only half a
percent smaller than it used to be.

Once they start covering a
larger area, we'll see changes.

We have to.

You okay?

Yeah, other than having to answer
that question all the time.

They've started.

I sent you the drone footage.

Did you get it?

No. What's going on?

Lukrum, they're
actively drilling.

They didn't notify you?

Marta, we've been through this.

They don't have to notify me.

Right, because nobody holds
them accountable for anything.

I don't know
what you want me to do.

Your job.

Notify the command that I need
to gather samples on site.

Immediately.

- I can't do that.
- Why not?

There's no official communication
between our colonies.

And we've been instructed by IMSF not
to interfere with Lukrum's operations.

Well, that's stupid.

And wrong.

Our mission was to explore this planet, not
to sit back and watch it being exploited

by corporate thugs.

Look, I am just as
frustrated as you are.

Do you think I want to sit by and
watch them trash the planet?

No.

I don't.

But I have trust that IMSF is doing
all they can to keep them in check.

We're talking about
finding a second genesis!

A new biochemical life form that's
unrelated to anything on Earth.

And if it is anywhere on this
planet, it's in the liquid water

that is buried deep underground.

Mhm.

So are you really going to sit there and
do nothing while they potentially destroy

all that?

Whose side are you on?

Whose side are you on?

The side of following orders!

You are not to contact or interfere
with Lukrum's activities.

Am I making myself clear?

One of the first things to understand about
Mars is whether there was primordial

life there.

I don't think there was complex life there,
but there may have been bacterial life

and there may still be bacterial
life deep underground.

So if there's some mining operation and
they find life that the previous scientific

expeditions didn't know were
there, pause for a minute.

There's a lot to be
learned from that.

I think it would be a real tension between
scientists who want to keep Mars as untouched

as a science lab, and
interests that are financial.

So scientists will have to fight to do
the scientific work that has to be done,

even if it is greeted
with opposition or fear.

Any time the process of science reaches a
conclusion that is threatening to either

an ideology or a desired reality,
you are going to face pushback.

Global warming.

It has become in effect a
religion rather than a science.

Global warming and da, da, a
lot of it's a hoax, it's a hoax.

We have had no significant
warming, since 1998.

Actually no warming. We've
been cooling in recent years.

Right now we're facing a crisis
in our society, about science.

Today, the EPA blocked its own scientists
from speaking about climate change.

CDC is now banned from using seven words
or phrases in its budget document.

It has gotten so bad now, that scientists
are being restricted in terms of what

they can say.

And if we can't hear what science is telling
us, the consequences are going to be

dire for everybody.

As you fly in, you'll be able
to see there's a big river.

I think if we can set down somewhere
there, that would be excellent.

It's so much wetter
than it was the other day.

This is going to be an
awful place to camp.

I built my career on being willing to
go into environments that other people

have considered inaccessible.

Being on the Greenland Ice Sheet's probably
about as close to going to another

planet as you can get,
and still be on Earth.

We'll be out here for a month or two months,
so we have to be completely self-sufficient.

We're basically stuck there
until someone comes to get us.

Alright, keep the
tent low. Sit on it.

Got a tap here.

It's pretty physically demanding,
it's mentally demanding.

An average person might look up and
just be like, that's a horrific place,

why would anybody
want to go there?

The scientist in me
thinks, this is data.

We're out here to figure out exactly how
fast the Greenland Ice Sheet is melting.

Ice caps are melting and temperatures are
rising according to a new UN report.

Arctic temperatures are rising about
twice as fast as the global average.

We're seeing an incredible amount
of ice loss from the ice sheets in

Greenland.

That ice is going into the ocean, which
is contributing to sea level rise.

If sea levels rise two feet, tens of
millions of people will be displaced.

Around 145 million
people around the world live

less than three
feet above sea level.

And a rising sea level threat poses
a continuing threat to cities

and industries at
low elevations.

Yes, climate change is real,
yes, people are causing it,

and we probably need to
do something about it.

A scientist is someone who
asks what is the bigger story,

what is the truth that needs to be
brought in front of the public?

For a scientist to continue to research,
in the face of either skepticism or

even out and out opposition, you've got
to be really brave to keep on doing that.

Voice comm from Cameron.

Hey I've been
looking for you everywhere.

Where are you?

Honestly, best you don't know.

Hope that means you're not doing
anything you shouldn't be?

No, just doing
what needs to be done.

Talk later.

Communication ended.

Mae, set course to
Sector 4, Lukrum drill site.

Course set.

Voice comm from Amelie.

Amelie!

You were right.

It's a girl.

I knew it.

Yeah, and so far at least, she
seems to be developing normally.

I wanted to tell you in
person, but where are you?

Never mind me.

Where are you with all this?

And how is Javier?

Well, he seems happy.

But I'm not sure how I
feel about any of it.

I'm not even sure how I
feel about him anymore.

Seriously?

We broke up, remember?

Hold on.

Comm paused.

Zoom in.

Resume.

It's more accurate to say that you broke
up with him when you decided to leave?

Yeah, but now I'm not, so, what
does that make us to each other,

other than parents to a child
who may or may not be okay?

You can doubt a
lot about this situation,

but you can't doubt
that Javier loves you.

That he respects
you and what you do.

Think before you push
a man like that away.

Marta, I had no idea
you were such a romantic.

I'm not.

I'll see you at home.

Comm ended.

Zoom in.

Recording.

Recording.

I don't know how I'm
supposed to do this alone.

I'm so sorry.

To leave you like this.

My little sis.

Hana?

You hearing any of this?

Sorry, yeah.

It's impressive.

Been a while since we've done any building,
and I think this would make a big

difference around here.

I'll run it by IMSF.

What?

I heard about you and Marta.

I've never known
you to be a yeller.

She wasn't listening.

Okay, well, I will.

Or, I would if you
actually talked to me.

You've been pulling
away from everybody.

You barely come out of your hab, and
when you do, it's just to work.

I'm your friend.

You know I'm here for you.

I know, I.

Sorry to interrupt, but there's
been a breach of protocol.

A rover was taken into the
field without authorization.

What are its coordinates?

It appears to be in Sector 4.

Lukrum drill site.

So much for taking orders.

Damn it.

Voice comm from Olympus
Town control room.

This is Command, come in.

Marta, I know you can hear me.

Explain your actions.

Mobile comm's been deactivated.

Steals a rover,
hangs up on the commander.

For all we know, she could be
sabotaging Lukrum equipment, too.

Marta's a scientist,
not an eco-terrorist.

Either way, she doesn't
respect your authority.

Solar mirror
successfully attached.

Okay, we did our part.

Copy that.

Now if you just dropped down
some Szechuan, that'd be nice.

Getting a bit sick
of the food here.

We're on the other side
of the planet at the moment.

But even if we weren't.

Activate emergency generators.

Electrical systems compromised.

What the hell?

A flare's coming in.

Electrical team,
report to command.

Everybody else, calm
down, sit tight.

Our radiation shielding's
fully functional.

You got a head count?

30 strong.

Live feed status?

Olympus
Town live feed is unavailable.

Solar radiation's
off the charts.

And we're not
even on the surface.

Okay, hey, let's put a team together
to check the damage outside.

Satellite status.

Operational.

What are the chances of something
like this actually hitting us?

A spot like this,
pretty, pretty low, actually.

How do you know that?

I read sometimes.

Communications, down too.

I hope Olympus Town's okay.

Try contacting Lukrum colony.

Radio frequency's down.

Keep trying.

Bernard, Flora, Carmela, come with me.
Shep, you too.

Yup.

No, no, Marvin, you stay.

IMSF control room.

Secretary General, all contact
with Mars has been lost.

What's happening?

Solar flare.

It's taken out our electrical grid
and our entire communications.

Surface wiring and
fuses probably got fried.

We need to get up top, have
a look at the transformers.

Where's Marta?
She was out in the field.

Okay, all set.

Mae, power on.

Warning, exterior
radiation levels high.

That's not good.

Was there a solar flare?

Mae, message to command.

Communications are
currently unavailable.

It must have affected
surface electronics.

Set the coordinates
to Olympus Town.

Terrain-relative navigation is
not operational at this time.

Are you kidding me?

Reset TRN.

Software systems failure.

Fine.

I know the way.

I'll drive there myself.

We can't ID the
non-functioning transformers.

So they'll just have to
check them one by one.

Are Robert and Javier
above ground yet?

- On their way.
- Good.

Tell them to focus on getting the
radio tower operational first.

With all due respect, shouldn't getting
off backup power be our priority?

Emergency generators will only last
so long, and we've got 200 people

to worry about here.

And we have enough power, oxygen, and
heat to last us for several days.

Marta only has enough
for a few hours.

She doesn't need to
contact us to get back.

Her TR navigation should
get her here no problem.

And what if that
wasn't working either?

It's nightfall.

If she could have been here
by now, she would have been.

And without radio beacons, we can't
find her, and she can't find us.

This doesn't look right.

It's getting too dark.

Where the hell am I?

We know what it's like
to be in a harsh environment

and to risk
everything for science.

I mean, we've been doing it up
in the Arctic for a long time.

The stakes are so high here.

You've got minus 40 degrees, you
know, horrible storms, white-outs.

There's an inability to rescue
people when things go wrong.

So for scientists the reward has to
be great for them to go up there.

I caution everybody to stay away
from the actual river bank.

If you were to slip and fall, or wind up
in the water, you're just going to get

sucked down the hole.

A lot of things could
go wrong out here.

We're taking a sensor that measures basically
how much melting that we've had on the

ice sheet, and we're lowering that into
these giant, hundreds of meter-deep

waterfalls.

The big concern any time we make an
initial approach up to the edge,

is the stability of the ice.

There's a lot of rapids that can undercut
some of the areas that we'd be standing on.

If something were to collapse underneath of
me, the water's just a fraction of a degree

above freezing.

I'd lose my ability to use my hands very,
very quickly so we always want to be prepared

in the event that
something does go wrong.

All right, so I'm going to probe out to
the edge, I'm going to come back and grab

the cable.

When we're ready to go,
I'll let everybody know.

Nobody's tried to do this here
on the Greenland ice sheet

so we're pretty
motivated to make it work.

We're all set here
to start lowering.

It's a pretty monster hole.

Looks like we can send the cable straight
down the waterfall so whenever you're

ready, I'm going
to start lowering.

The pursuit of science requires a kind
of dogged determination and passion to

find the answer to
the question you pose.

There's terrific risk going out to these
areas, but scientists become tunnel

vision, and they'll block out anything else
that's a distraction to get the answer

to that one question.

Mae, coordinates
to Olympus Town.

Navigation is unavailable.

How much power do I have left?

At this rate of speed, you
have one hour remaining.

And if I disengage the engine?

Vehicle will remain operational
for three hours, seven minutes,

and 23 seconds.

Disengage engine.

I hope to god she's still okay.

Lost count.

How many more
transformers are left?

A lot.

And any one of them being damaged
is why radio frequency's down.

Anything?

No, it's not this one.

We don't get that tower back on,
we're not going to find her beacon.

It's not this one.

No, it's not this one.

Mae, how far have I driven?

17.4 kilometers.

But what direction?

Navigation is unavailable.

I know!

I was talking to myself.

They must be looking
for me by now.

I should just stay put.

Stay put, conserve as
much energy as you can.

Mae, Mae, how much power
does my suit have left?

One hour, 22 minutes.

How long will this vehicle remain
operational if I continue using heat?

Two hours at current
interior temperature,

which is 18 degrees Celsius.

Turn off interior heat.

Damn it.

Heat off.

Mae, lower suit temperature
to five degrees Celsius.

What about using
our drones to find her?

They're practically
useless at night.

Then what about contacting Earth,
or the Chinese space station,

and using their satellites?

There are only
five circling the planet.

Searching for her that way
is a needle in a haystack.

Hopefully Marta was smart enough to stay
put and reduce her power usage when

she realized
something was wrong.

She's got at least some power in her suit,
for when exterior temps drop to 70 below.

My guess is she used
most of it collecting samples.

And since the rover's battery-powered
she could have kept driving,

thinking she could find
her way back herself.

So what are you saying?

That without navigation, she could be
miles away from where she started,

in any direction.

She could freeze to
death before we find her.

It's so cold out
here I can barely move.

I know me too.

We need to find this soon.

There we go.

Are you okay?

Yeah, let's
hurry up and do this!

Yeah. Every second counts.

Let's see what we've got here.

Looks pretty fried, all right.

Fuses, relays.

Anything can be fixed.

It's just a question of how
long it's going to take.

Marta can't have much battery
power left in the rover.

Not right now.

I'm worried.

Yeah, me too.
For her and for Hana.

Between us, I don't think she
can handle losing anyone else.

What is it?

It's not working.

Something's wrong.

I just hope to God
we can figure it out in time.

The radiation
surge has now subsided.

Radiation exposure is
the least of Marta's problems.

If she was in the rover when the
flare hit, then she'd be protected.

Suit level critically low.

30 seconds remaining.

I guess I don't
need this anymore.

Mae, switch on the light.

How much power if I keep it on?

The rover has less
than 5% remaining.

It is not advisable.

Mae.

Switch the light off.

Mars is for those who
have an adventurous spirit.

And are willing to accept a much
higher level of, of danger.

But they'd have to love the frontier and really
want to see what the universe is all about.

If there's a place you've never been,
there's a scientist who wants to know

what's there.

Just a curiosity of inquiry.

That as a general state of mind has
taken science to every frontier.

People ask me what I'm going to
do when I get back to real life,

but I feel like this is the real
life, and what I do back home is the

the alternate life.

I think scientists generally tend to
be more interested in the natural

world than they are
in other people.

True scientists need a
degree of independence.

They spend their life in search of
data and new scientific discovery.

Day after day, I
climbed into the hills.

This was where I
was meant to be.

You have the joy of saying I really
want to know what's out there.

Those are the explorers.

When you go work in these remote areas, you
know, you're away from family and friends,

and after you've had a career of doing that,
that's a pretty big sacrifice to make.

Being gone most of the year,
my family worries about me,

but they just accept
that this is my life.

When you're out here in the
absolute middle of nowhere, I mean,

you don't have all the
distractions of the outside world.

You know, you spend a lot of time just
reflecting on who you are as a person and what

really matters in life.

Science outlives all of us.

Mae.

How much power left?

2% remaining.

I'm going to Mars.

This is hard.

Yeah, the cold
makes everything brittle.

No, I'm talking
about this damn planet.

Says the father
of the first Martian.

If she's even born.

Amelie's right.

This is not a place
for human beings.

You think Earth
is any less hostile?

Solar flare hits
there too, you know.

At least here there's no war,
famine, or global warming.

Yet.

Is this your idea of a pep talk?

Well, if this doesn't make you feel
any better, hopefully this will.

Yeah, baby.

I just hope we made
it in time for Marta.

RF's back up.

Marta, this is Command, come in.

Marta, can you hear me?

If she's in extreme cold,
she might be unconscious.

The rover's had to
have lost power by now.

Hopefully the beacon's
still functional.

I think it is. I've got a ping.

My God, she's in Sector 7.

We'll never make
it there in time.

I'm going to Mars.

Is this more important than me?

This is more
important than both of us.

Don't walk away
from me like that!

Stop following me!

Yeah, there she is.

Hey, wake up.

You coming?

Alright, come on.

What are, what
are you doing here?

We're answering an
SOS from your commander.

And looking at the condition
you're in, we're going to go ahead

and let that trespassing
slide, okay? So come with us.

Come on, we're going to get
you out of here, all right?

No, no, no.

My samples.

No, it's okay, hey, calm
down, calm down, calm down.

Listen, we're going to take
them with us, all right?

We'll get you out of here.

Jen, here, take the damn bins.

You sure?

Yes, I'm sure.

I'm just not sure I
understand scientists.

Here.

See, we got them, you're okay.

We got them.

Shep, let's get her out.

Here we go.
Looks like she's fading.

Get that new
oxygen pack on there.

We got you.

Hurry, we don't have much time!
Come on.

Hey, Marta, stay with us!

Stay with us!

Science is a slow,
painful process.

I think we need
to bring it back up.

And then try to run
it back down again.

I think we're in a plunge pool.

Ready?

So you have to have a certain amount of
ruthlessness to just be so interested in

solving something that with all the
things pointing to you to give up,

that you don't give up.

Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa.

Things aren't going
so great for us today.

We fed the cable in a couple of times, but
were only able to get a couple of meters

below the water surface, so that tells us
that we're getting hung up on something.

Sometimes it takes trial after trial after
trial before we finally figure out some sort

of way of snaking the cable in.

I'm a little frustrated
that we're stuck. Again.

In order to be a top-notch scientist, you'd
have to be one of these people who's

almost immune to disappointment.

You face skepticism from the general public,
and opposition from people in power.

But you have to keep doing it and
keep doing it and keep doing it.

It's just one of those things where
you got to wake up every morning and,

you know, realize that even though
it didn't work the last 30 times,

you're going to try something
new until you make it work.

Sometimes the answers that we get, to the
questions that we're asking aren't really the

ones that society wants, but we have
to keep going out, asking questions,

trying to understand
how the planet works.

Science is the process
by which we know nature.

It is the process by which we learn
things that control our entire existence.

And most of the time, I would say
it doesn't work the way you hoped.

But the more you are defeated,
the more passionate you become.

And I think those are the kind
of people we want going to Mars.

How is she?

She's hypothermic.

But she's still full
of piss and vinegar.

- Marta, are you okay?
- I'm fine.

Body temperature,
29 degrees Celsius.

You're not fine,
you're severely hypothermic.

Heartrate, 47 BPM.

My samples.

If there's any new microbial life,
those bastards need to stop drilling.

You're welcome.

She wants you to have these.

Bring the thermal blanket.

Let's get some
warmers on her core.

Heart rate's up.

No change in body temperature.

You're lucky
there wasn't more damage.

You're mad at me.

No, I just don't
understand you sometimes.

Why would you take such a risk?

Was it worth it?

Has to be.

It's all I have, Amelie.

Okay, prep the IVs.

It's going to be fine.

Thank you, you and your
crew, for doing what you did.

You saved her life.

Can I at least offer you a drink
or something to eat before you go?

I thought we were banned here.

Not anymore.

Nice.

Boy.

You know, I have to admit that
I kind of miss this place.

Lukrum has some high-end stuff, but
the one thing we don't have is a bar.

Well, it became essential
after living underground

and in domes for years.

A place where people can relax and at
least feel a little less claustrophobic.

That makes sense.

Anyway, here's to a fresh start.

Now wouldn't that be nice.

But.

You need to get a grip
on your people first.

Excuse me?

Look, the reality is that Marta
made some choices that resulted

in us getting involved.

I mean, you said yourself,
we saved her life.

And as I said,
we're deeply grateful.

I don't need grateful.

But I may need a
favor at some point.

Some respect in the meantime.

Look, if she wanted a bag of
rocks, she could have just asked.

You could have.

Are you questioning
my leadership?

Nope.

It's just an observation.

You know, commander
to commander.

Recording.

Hey. What is it? Is Marta okay?

She will be.

Is it the baby?

No, no, no.

Actually it's me.

I haven't been fair to you.

I, I haven't been honest about
what I was feeling before.

And it's just that I was
so ready to leave, and.

I understand.

You are about to have a child
with a man you don't love.

No, no, that's not true, Javier.

I, I never said that
I didn't love you.

It's just that I was scared that if I let
myself love you, I wouldn't be able to leave.

But I'm not leaving now.

And I do love you.

But, I am scared.

Me too.

I hope you're not discouraged.

The chance of a solar flare hitting
that area again is unlikely.

So many elements have to align, and a
confluence of things have to happen for

communications to be destroyed like
they were, and where they were.

We're just really
happy you're all well,

and that the situation
was handled properly.

Good job, Commander.

Transmission ended.

You didn't tell them about Marta's actions,
about the danger she put herself in,

about the fact that she could have
got herself killed out there.

No, because I think
it's punishment enough.

Thank you, lieutenant.

Hey.

I didn't even hear you come in.

One of your techs
was leaving, it's okay.

I'm not gonna
contaminate anything.

So, how much longer
do you have to work?

Well I'm done, actually.

How much longer can you stay?

Ten minutes, maybe.

A lot can happen in ten minutes.

Yeah?

Can you, I just
need to do one thing first.

Comms, call Med Bay, ISO room.

So I've done a quick analysis.

And?

There are signs of life.

I knew it.

But identical to the
strain you already discovered.

I'm sorry, Marta.

I know how much this
all means to you.

How much you've sacrificed.

I truly am sorry.

Cameras and comms
set to private.

Privacy mode set.