Sci Fi Science: Physics of the Impossible (2009–…): Season 2, Episode 2 - Galactic Colonization - full transcript

IT'S SCI-FI'S MOST INSPIRING VISION...

THE COLONIZATION OF THE GALAXY...

AND I'M GONNA SHOW YOU
HOW IT COULD COME TRUE.

Dr. Kaku: ALONG THE WAY, I MEET
A MAN WHO WANTS TO DIGITIZE ME

AND BEAM ME TO THE STARS...

SO YOU COULD PUT ME ON A DISK?

...I GET SOME ADVICE FROM
THE SCI-FI-LOVING PUBLIC...

IF I DON'T WANT TO BE AN OLD
MAN BY THE TIME I GET THERE,

I GOT TO SUSPEND MY ANIMATION.

...AND I USE THE POWER OF OUR
SOLAR SYSTEM'S BIGGEST PLANET

TO HELP ME EXPLORE THE
FURTHEST REACHES OF SPACE.



I'M DR. MICHIO KAKU.

I'M A THEORETICAL PHYSICIST
AND A SCIENCE-FICTION FAN.

JOIN ME AS I SHOW YOU
HOW TO MAKE SCI-FI SCIENCE.

Dr. Kaku: IMAGINE IF THE
EARTH WASN'T OUR ONLY HOME.

IMAGINE IF WE COULD POPULATE
THE ENTIRE MILKY WAY GALAXY

WITH A VAST NETWORK OF HUMAN SETTLEMENTS.

NOW, OF COURSE, ALL
OF THIS IS JUST A DREAM,

BUT I AM CONVINCED THAT THIS
DREAM COULD BECOME A REALITY,

AND I'M GONNA FIND OUT HOW.

I'VE ALWAYS BEEN HOOKED ON
THE IDEA OF COLONIZING SPACE.

Narrator: YOU'LL LIVE A
STRANGE, TOPSY-TURVY LIFE

OF MEN WHO LIVE AS NO
OTHER MEN HAVE LIVED BEFORE.

[ RUMBLING ]

Dr. Kaku: IN THOSE OLD SCI-FI MOVIES,



ASTRONAUTS RISKED THEIR LIVES
TO SPREAD LIVE TO OTHER WORLDS.

BUT COMING UP WITH A MASTER
PLAN TO COLONIZE OUR GALAXY

IS A MIND-BOGGLING CHALLENGE.

OKAY, HERE'S THE PROBLEM. WE
WANT TO COLONIZE THE GALAXY.

HOW ARE WE GONNA DO IT?
WHAT ARE THE PROBLEMS WE FACE?

ANY THOUGHTS?

UNLESS IF YOU COULD FABRICATE
SOME KIND OF WORMHOLE

CONNECTING ONE POINT IN
THE GALAXY TO ANOTHER...

JUST TELEPORT.

ZORDON TELEPORTS US WHEREVER WE GOT TO GO.

SLINGING AROUND PLANETS LIKE THEY
DO FOR THE MOON ON THE MOON MISSIONS.

WOULD YOU GUYS BE WILLING TO SIGN UP

FOR A MULTI-GENERATIONAL
TRIP TO THE NEARBY STARS?

I CAN'T SEE THAT OUT OF THE
REALM OF POSSIBILITY AT ALL.

LIKE THE SPACE FAMILY ROBINSON.

[ LAUGHS ]

LIKE THE SCI-FI FANS, I'M GONNA THINK BIG.

I'M GONNA BUILD

A GIANT, GALACTIC
REPUBLIC OF HUMAN COLONIES

THAT GOES WAY BEYOND EVEN
THE FEDERATION IN "STAR TREK."

MY PLAN HAS TO MEET THREE BASIC OBJECTIVES.

FIRST, SCOUT THE ENTIRE GALAXY

AND FIND SUITABLE PLANETS
FOR HUMAN COLONIZATION.

AND, SECOND, BUILD
SELF-SUFFICIENT SETTLEMENTS

COMPLETE WITH RESOURCES AND INFRASTRUCTURE.

AND, THIRD,

SAFELY TRANSPORT HUMAN
COLONISTS TO POPULATE THEM.

OKAY, SO THIS IS WHAT I'M TAKING ON...

THE MILKY WAY GALAXY...

A GIANT SPIRAL OF STAR SYSTEMS AND GASES

100,000 LIGHT-YEARS ACROSS...

OUR PLANET... ONE TINY SPECK
TOWARDS THE OUTER EDGE.

THE IDEA OF COLONIZING THE ENTIRE GALAXY

GOES WAY BEYOND ANY
CHALLENGE EVER UNDERTAKEN.

IT'S A REAL TALL ORDER.

THE MILKY WAY GALAXY CONTAINS A
MIND-BOGGLING NUMBER OF STARS...

ANYTHING UP TO 400 BILLION.

NOW, THAT'S FOUR TIMES

THE NUMBER OF PEOPLE WHO HAVE EVER LIVED.

SCI-FI HAS ALWAYS ASSUMED

THAT WE'LL EXPLORE THE
GALAXY IN MANNED SPACECRAFT.

BUT WITH AS MANY AS 400 BILLION
STAR SYSTEMS TO VISIT, NO WAY.

HOUSTON, WE HAVE A PROBLEM.

DR. PEI ZHANG OF THE
CARNEGIE MELLON UNIVERSITY

IS THE BRAINS BEHIND A NEW
GENERATION OF ROBOTIC DRONES,

OR SWARMBOTS.

THEY'RE JUST LIKE TOY HELICOPTERS

IN THE SENSE THAT THEY'RE CHEAP.

THE DIFFERENCE IS, THESE
THINGS ARE SOMEWHAT SMART

AND THEY HAVE SENSORS.

WHAT KIND OF SENSORS ON THESE THINGS?

YOU CAN PUT ANY SENSORS YOU WANT.

SO YOU CAN SENSE TEMPERATURE,
YOU CAN SENSE LIGHT.

YOU CAN ACTUALLY TAKE PICTURES.

AND THEY CAN DO MORE THAN THAT.

THEY SHARE INFORMATION
USING ONBOARD RADIOS.

THE RADIOS WILL SAY, "HERE'S A WALL.

STAY AWAY FROM THIS PLACE."

AND TO SENSE A WALL, IT JUST HIT THE HALL.

AH. SO THEN ONE OF THEM LEARNS

AND THEN TELLS THE OTHERS, "WATCH OUT."

EXACTLY. IT'S LIKE AN ANT.

THEY LEAVE A PHEROMONE
TRAIL, AND THE REST CAN FOLLOW.

CAN YOU IMAGINE MILLIONS OF THESE THINGS

BEING SENT INTO OUTER
SPACE? WELL, CERTAINLY.

SPACE IS A VERY HOSTILE ENVIRONMENT.

A FEW OF THESE THINGS CAN GET DESTROYED,

BUT THE ENTIRE SYSTEM IS STILL WORKING.

SO INSTEAD OF SENDING
CAPTAIN KIRK INTO OUTER SPACE,

WHICH IS WASTEFUL,

WE JUST SEND MILLIONS OF THESE THINGS

THAT ARE VERY CHEAP,
EXPENDABLE, AND INTELLIGENT.

CAPTAIN KIRK MIGHT NOT
BE TOO HAPPY, BUT SURE.

[ LAUGHTER ]

THESE SWARMBOTS ARE AMAZING.

ALREADY THERE ARE PLANS
TO USE THEM UNDERWATER,

ON THE BATTLEFIELD, IN
FIRES, EVEN HURRICANES.

IN THE FUTURE, IT'S GONNA BE OUTER SPACE...

BECAUSE MY PLAN

IS TO USE SWARMBOTS TO
SEARCH FOR HABITABLE PLANETS.

BUT HOLD ON.

HOW AM I GONNA MAKE ENOUGH OF THEM

TO EXPLORE 400 BILLION STAR SYSTEMS?

WELL, THAT PROBLEM HAS
ALREADY BEEN SOLVED FOR ME

BY MOTHER NATURE.

THE VIRUS... ONE OF THE
MOST SUCCESSFUL ORGANISMS

KNOWN TO MAN.

THE SECRET TO ITS
SUCCESS... SELF-REPLICATION.

VIRUSES HIJACK THE
MACHINERY INSIDE LIVING CELLS

TO CRANK OUT COPIES OF THEMSELVES.

WHAT MAKES THE VIRUS
SUCH A FORMIDABLE ORGANISM

IS THE SPEED AT WHICH IT MULTIPLIES.

ITS GROWTH IS EXPONENTIAL.

TO UNDERSTAND THAT,
LET'S START WITH ONE BOWL.

AND THEN IN THE NEXT
GENERATION, IT REPRODUCES ITSELF.

SO THEN WE HAVE TWO BOWLS.

AND THEN EACH BOWL,
IN TURN, DOUBLES ITSELF.

SO THE NEXT GENERATION, WE HAVE FOUR BOWLS.

AND THE GENERATION AFTER THAT, EIGHT.

NOW, A REAL VIRUS CAN PRODUCE
UP TO 100 OR SO COPIES OF ITSELF.

SO FROM 1 VIRUS, WE GET 100,

THEN 10,000, THEN 1 MILLION, 100 MILLION.

THEN WE GET GET 10 BILLION.

STARTING FROM 1 VIRUS,
WE GET, IN 5 GENERATIONS,

10 BILLION VIRUSES.

THAT'S THE POWER OF EXPONENTIAL GROWTH.

IF MY SWARMBOTS COULD MIMIC

THE ABILITY OF VIRUSES TO SELF-REPLICATE,

EXPLORING THE ENTIRE GALAXY
WOULD BE AN ACHIEVABLE GOAL.

WE MAY HAVE THE CAPABILITY
TO DO THAT VERY SOON,

THANKS TO NANOTECHNOLOGY.

NOW TECHNOLOGY IS THE EMERGING DISCIPLINE

OF THE CREATION OF MACHINES THAT
OPERATE AT THE MOLECULAR LEVEL.

WE'LL BE ABLE TO CREATE
MICROSCOPIC, NANOSCOPIC ROBOTS

THAT ESSENTIALLY CAN TAKE

THE RAW MATERIALS THEY FIND AROUND THEM

AND RE-CREATE, REPLICATE THEMSELVES
OVER AND OVER AND OVER AGAIN,

SUCH THAT THEY HAVE OVER TIME A
MASSIVE NUMBER OF THESE DEVICES

THAT CAN OPERATE IN PARALLEL.

WORKING TOGETHER, HUGE
NUMBERS OF THESE TINY MACHINES

WOULD HAVE ALMOST LIMITLESS POWER

TO SHAPE THE WORLD AROUND THEM.

A SWARM OF NANOBOTS WOULD HAVE ENOUGH TOOLS

TO CREATE AN ENTIRE COLONY
SUITABLE FOR HUMAN HABITATION.

THEY'LL BEGIN BY SEARCHING THE GALAXY.

MANY PLANETS WILL BE
UNSUITABLE FOR HUMAN LIFE.

THE SWARMBOTS WILL MINE THEM

FOR THE MINERALS THEY NEED
TO REPLICATE BEFORE MOVING ON.

WHEN THEY FIND HABITABLE PLANETS,

THEY'LL START BUILDING.

WELL, I SOLVED ONE PROBLEM...

USING SELF-REPLICATING
SWARMBOTS TO EXPLORE THE GALAXY.

BUT NOW I HAVE AN EVEN BIGGER PROBLEM...

THE PROPULSION SYSTEM.

I MEAN, AFTER ALL,

THE MILKY WAY GALAXY IS
100,000 LIGHT-YEARS ACROSS.

TO EXPLORE THAT, I NEED NEW PHYSICS.

COMING UP NEXT,

I FIND OUT HOW THE MILKY
WAY'S GIGANTIC NATURAL MAGNET

WILL HELP SLINGSHOT MY SWARMBOTS

TO INCREDIBLE SPEEDS...

"APPROACH THE SPEED OF LIGHT."

I MEAN, THAT'S HUGE, RIGHT?

...AND I MEET SOME WOULD-BE SPACE PIONEERS.

HOW MANY OF YOU BELIEVE THAT
ONE DAY WE WILL BE AMONG THE STARS?

[ CHEERS AND APPLAUSE ]

WE SCIENTISTS DON'T SPEND ALL OUR TIME

BURIED UNDER A BOOK, STUCK IN A LABORATORY.

SOMETIMES WE LIKE TO DO
SOMETHING COMPLETELY WILD

TO GIVE US A FRESH, NEW PERSPECTIVE,

AND I LIKE TO SKATE.

I DESIGNED AN ARMY OF
SELF-REPLICATING SWARMBOTS.

THEY'LL SEEK OUT HABITABLE PLANETS

AND MANUFACTURE ALL THE INFRASTRUCTURE

OUR FUTURE COLONISTS WILL NEED.

BUT THERE'S A HUGE PROBLEM TO OVERCOME.

THE DISTANCES MY SWARMBOTS
WILL HAVE TO COVER ARE IMMENSE.

LET'S SAY ONE CIRCUIT AROUND THIS ICE RINK

IS EQUIVALENT TO THE DISTANCE
FROM THE EARTH TO THE SUN.

THAT'S 93 MILLION MILES.

IN COMPARISON, TO REACH THE
NEAREST STAR, PROXIMA CENTAURI,

I'D HAVE TO TRAVEL AROUND THIS RINK

A QUARTER OF A MILLION TIMES.

AND IF I WANTED TO REACH THE
OUTER EDGES OF OUR GALAXY,

I'D HAVE TO DO MORE
THAN 6 BILLION CIRCUITS.

EVEN FOR HAN SOLO, IT'S A BIG TASK.

I NEED TO FIGURE OUT

HOW I'M GONNA COVER THESE HUGE DISTANCES.

THIS GUY'S GONNA SHOW ME.

MEET MASON PECK... SPACECRAFT
ENGINEER AND SCI-FI FAN.

Peck: WE'VE GOT PLAIN WATER HERE.

I'M GONNA ADD SOME BAKING SODA TO IT.

THAT DISSOLVES IN THE WATER

AND SEPARATES INTO CHARGED PARTICLES.

THEY'RE ATTRACTED TO
THESE TWO ELECTRODES HERE...

POSITIVE AND NEGATIVE.

NOW, THERE'S A CURRENT NOW
FLOWING THROUGH THIS WATER.

IF I ADD A MAGNET,

THE MAGNET CAUSES THE PARTICLES
TO MOVE IN A CIRCULAR PATH.

NOW, IT'S A LITTLE DIFFICULT TO
SEE, SO LET ME ADD SOME PEPPER.

MAYBE THAT'LL HELP ILLUSTRATE

JUST WHERE THESE PARTICLES ARE MOVING.

IF YOU LOOK CLOSELY,

YOU'LL START TO SEE THE SWIRLING MOTION.

THAT'S THE LORENTZ FORCE,
RIGHT? EXACTLY RIGHT.

CHARGED PARTICLES MOVE IN A CIRCLE IN
A MAGNETIC FIELD. THAT'S EXACTLY RIGHT.

SO THE MAGNET IS WHAT MAKES THIS POSSIBLE.

NOW, HERE'S THE KILLER QUESTION.

HOW CAN YOU USE THIS AS A PROPULSION SYSTEM

TO SHOOT THINGS INTO SPACE? RIGHT.

YOU'D NEED A HUGE MAGNET,

AND FORTUNATELY WE HAVE
ONE IN THE SOLAR SYSTEM,

AND THAT'S JUPITER'S MAGNETIC FIELD.

WHAT WE'D HAVE IN MIND
WOULD BE TO MAKE A SPACECRAFT

SMALL ENOUGH THAT CAN
ACT AS A CHARGED PARTICLE

IN THE MAGNETIC FIELD OF JUPITER.

ANY SMALL SPACECRAFT
WITH AN ELECTRIC CHARGE

WILL STICK LIKE GLUE TO
JUPITER'S MAGNETIC FIELD,

WHICH MEANS THAT I COULD ACCELERATE THEM

TO HIGH SPEED AS THEY ORBITED THE PLANET.

AT SOME POINT, YOU TURN OFF THE CHARGE.

WHEN YOU TURN OFF THE
CHARGE, THEY GO ZINGING AWAY.

HOW FAST CAN YOU PROPEL A
CHIP OR A PARTICLE THIS WAY?

WHAT WE THINK WE KNOW HOW TO DO NOW

IS MAYBE A FEW THOUSAND MILES PER SECOND,

AND THAT'S A NOTICEABLE
FRACTION OF THE SPEED OF LIGHT.

A FEW HUNDRED YEARS
FROM NOW, I DON'T SEE A LIMIT.

THERE'S NO REASON WHY THIS
COULDN'T APPROACH THE SPEED OF LIGHT.

"APPROACH THE SPEED OF LIGHT."

I MEAN, THAT'S HUGE,
RIGHT? IT'S A LOT OF SPEED.

JUPITER'S HUGE MAGNETIC FIELD

IS 20,000 TIMES MORE POWERFUL
THAN THAT OF THE EARTH.

MASON'S IDEA TO USE IT AS A
SPRINGBOARD FOR MY SWARMBOTS

MAY BE CENTURIES INTO THE FUTURE,

BUT IT'S A STROKE OF GENIUS.

IF I GIVE MY SWARMBOTS AN ELECTRIC CHARGE,

I CAN BIND THEM TO THE
MAGNETIC FIELD OF JUPITER.

ONCE I'VE ACCELERATED
THEM TO NEAR LIGHT SPEED,

I CAN SWITCH OFF THE CHARGE

TO SLINGSHOT THEM IN ALL
DIRECTIONS ACROSS THE GALAXY,

WHERE THEY'LL BUILD
COLONIES ON HABITABLE PLANETS.

BUT AS SCI-FI FANS KNOW,
POPULATING THEM WON'T BE EASY.

WHEN YOU GET ON THAT SHIP,
YOU'VE JUST ACCEPTED THE FACT

THAT YOU'RE PROBABLY NOT
GONNA SEE THAT OTHER PLANET,

AND MAYBE YOUR KIDS WON'T,
AND MAYBE YOUR KIDS' KIDS WON'T.

BUT SOMEWHERE DOWN THE LINE,

MAYBE ONE OF YOUR DESCENDANTS
IS GONNA SEE THAT OTHER PLANET.

LET'S TRY NOT TO MOVE EVERYBODY IN

AND NOT REALIZE IT'S A COLONY OF BUGS

OR A COLONY OF KILLER CREATURES

THAT'S GONNA COME OUT
AND MAUL YOU TO DEATH.

[ SPEAKING NATIVE LANGUAGE ]

GALACTIC COLONIZATION
SOUNDS LIKE SUCH A CRAZY IDEA.

NOW, I CAN SEE HOW WE MIGHT
USE ROBOTS TO EXPLORE THE GALAXY

IN THE COMING CENTURIES.

BUT HOW DO WE TRANSPORT
HUMANS TO COLONIZE IT?

THAT'S A WHOLE NOTHER BALL GAME.

THE NEAREST POTENTIALLY HABITABLE PLANET

OUTSIDE OUR SOLAR SYSTEM
IS 20 LIGHT-YEARS AWAY.

EVEN IF WE COULD TRAVEL
AT 1% OF LIGHT SPEED,

IT WOULD STILL TAKE
2,000 YEARS TO GET THERE.

BUT THAT'S 25 HUMAN LIFE SPANS.

THE CREW WOULD NEVER
MAKE IT TO THE STARS ALIVE.

BUT MAYBE THEIR DESCENDANTS MIGHT.

IN FACT, MAYBE THAT'S THE TRICK...

A MULTI-GENERATIONAL STARSHIP.

IT'S A CONCEPT THAT RESEARCHERS
ARE ALREADY WORKING ON.

THE SIZE OF THE STARTING CREW

DEPENDS ON HOW FAR YOU WANT TO GO,

HOW MANY GENERATIONS WILL BE REQUIRED.

AND, OF COURSE, THERE'S
MORE IN THE STARTING NUMBER,

DEPENDING UPON HOW MANY GENERATIONS

ARE GOING TO BE IN SPACE.

TO REACH EVEN THE NEAREST
DESTINATIONS IN OUR GALAXY

WOULD REQUIRE A CREW OF PERHAPS 160 PEOPLE.

WHAT WE HAVE IN MIND

IS A COMMUNITY VERY MUCH
LIKE A COMMUNITY ON EARTH

IN WHICH GRANDPARENTS WILL HAVE
AUTHORITY OVER YOUNGER PEOPLE.

WE'RE FORESEEING KIND OF A
SPACE TRAVEL THAT WOULD BE FUN.

I LOVE THIS IDEA.

IT REMINDS ME OF A FAMILY BUSINESS

THAT'S PASSED DOWN FROM
ONE GENERATION TO THE NEXT.

Dr. Kaku: BUT, HEY, LET'S BE REAL.

MOST FAMILY BUSINESSES DON'T LAST

BEYOND THE THIRD OR FOURTH GENERATION.

BICKERING, JEALOUSY COMES INTO THE PICTURE.

PEOPLE LOSE THEIR FOCUS.

IT'S A SHAME,

BUT MULTI-GENERATIONAL SHIPS WON'T WORK.

TO POPULATE THE GALAXY, I'M
GONNA NEED A SCI-FI SOLUTION

THAT'S EVEN MORE OUTLANDISH.

IN SCIENCE-FICTION MOVIES
LIKE "ALIEN" AND "2001,"

THE HERO GETS FROZEN SOLID,

AND THEN THEY THAW HIM OUT YEARS LATER.

WELL, HANG ON.

THERE IS A PROBLEM,
AND THAT IS ICE CRYSTALS.

LET'S SAY THAT THIS BAG

REPRESENTS ONE OF YOUR CELLS IN YOUR BODY.

AS YOU FREEZE IT, ICE
CRYSTALS BEGIN TO FORM,

WHICH EVENTUALLY RUPTURE
THE CELL WALL, KILLING YOU.

SO SUSPENDED ANIMATION
COULD BE A DEATH WARRANT.

BUT I THINK THERE'S A WAY AROUND THIS.

TRADITIONALLY, WE MAKE ICE
CREAM BY FIRST TAKING LOTS OF ICE

AND THEN ADDING A
SECRET INGREDIENT... SALT.

NOW, WE KNOW THAT WATER
FREEZES AT 0 DEGREES CENTIGRADE.

BUT WHEN I ADD SALT,

IT CHANGES THE FREEZING
POINT TO 16 DEGREES BELOW ZERO.

SO WE HAVE A LIQUID
SOLUTION AT -16 DEGREES.

SO THEN WE ATTACH IT TO MILK.

THE MILK IS EXPOSED TO
SUPER-SUPERCOLD LIQUID,

AND IT FREEZES, GIVING US ICE CREAM.

IN THE FUTURE, WE'LL ALSO BE ABLE TO LOWER

THE FREEZING POINT OF
BLOOD... NOT WITH SALT

BUT BY GENETICALLY MODIFYING OUR BODIES...

SO WE CAN FREEZE PEOPLE
WITHOUT KILLING THEM.

SUSPENDED ANIMATION IS A GREAT CONCEPT,

BUT THERE ARE BIG RISKS.

SPACE RADIATION DESTROYS
CELLS AND BREAKS DOWN DNA.

EXPOSURE OVER LONG PERIODS COULD BE LETHAL.

THE LAST THING I WANT IS
FOR MY CREW TO DIE IN TRANSIT.

TO FIND OUT MORE, GO TO...

I'M STILL WRESTLING WITH THIS PROBLEM...

HOW DO YOU SAFELY TRANSPORT
COLONISTS ACROSS THE GALAXY?

YOU KNOW, MULTI-GENERATIONAL SHIPS,

SUSPENDED ANIMATION...
THEY'RE JUST TOO RISKY.

I NEED AN EVEN MORE RADICAL SOLUTION.

AND MY FRIEND MAX TEGMARK
SAYS HE'S GOT ONE FOR ME.

SO, MAX, YOU'RE AN ASTROPHYSICIST.

WHY ARE YOU PLAYING WITH LEGO?

I WANT TO SEND A COPY OF
YOU TO ANOTHER SOLAR SYSTEM.

AND HOW ARE YOU GONNA DO THAT?

WELL, IF I WANT TO SEND AN
APPLE PIE TO A FRIEND IN CHINA,

I'M NOT GONNA PUT IT IN
A BOX AND MAIL IT THERE.

LIKEWISE, I DON'T WANT
TO PUT YOU IN A SPACESHIP

AND HAVE YOU SIT THERE
FOR THOUSANDS OF YEARS.

I'D NEVER MAKE IT.

IT MAKES MUCH MORE SENSE
TO SEND THE BLUEPRINTS OF YOU.

AND THE RECIPE, YEAH? YEAH.

AND THE RECIPE FOR BUILDING YOU

IS THIS DNA MOLECULE I'M
PUTTING TOGETHER HERE.

RIGHT NOW, I'M WORKING ON THE BLOOD.

SO THIS IS THE CODE OF LIFE. THAT'S RIGHT.

AND ONCE I'M FINISHED WITH THIS...

IT TAKES UP LESS THAN 2 GIGABYTES.

SO YOU GONNA PUT ME ON A DISK?

I CAN PUT YOU RIGHT
HERE ON MY U.S.B. DRIVE.

IT'LL FIT, AND THIS IS VERY
STRAIGHTFORWARD TO E-MAIL,

WITH SOME LASER TECHNOLOGY,
TO A DISTANT SOLAR SYSTEM.

E-MAILING MY DNA BY LASER ACROSS THE GALAXY

TO A COLONY WHERE AN ARMY
OF SWARMBOTS WILL USE IT

TO BUILD A PHYSICAL CLONE
OF ME IN AN INCUBATOR?

IT'S AN OUTRAGEOUS IDEA.

I LOVE IT.

NINE MONTHS LATER, THERE'LL
BE... [IMITATES BABY CRYING]

[Chuckling] A LITTLE BABY MICHIO THERE

WHO WILL BE EXACTLY IDENTICAL,
WITH EXACTLY THE SAME BODY.

WHAT ABOUT MY MEMORIES AND
PERSONALITY? YEAH, THAT'S THE CATCH.

IT TAKES MUCH MORE THAN 2 GIGABYTES

TO STORE THE MEMORIES OF YOUR BRAIN,

AND THE BABY MICHIO WILL BE A BLANK SLATE.

SO THE EASIEST WAY TO REMEDY THIS

IS TO IMPLANT MEMORIES
STRAIGHT INTO HIS BRAIN.

IF WE COULD E-MAIL MY
MEMORIES AND PERSONALITY, TOO,

THEY COULD BE DOWNLOADED

INTO THE BRAIN CELLS OF MY GALACTIC CLONE.

SO, LET ME GET THIS STRAIGHT.

YOU'RE GONNA TAKE MY GENETIC CODE,

E-MAIL IT TO A COLONY ON
THE OTHER SIDE OF THE GALAXY,

INCUBATE ME, HATCH ME,

AND THEN, LIKE THE MOVIE "MATRIX,"

YOU WOULD JACK IN ALL MY MEMORIES

AND THERE I AM... ON ANOTHER STAR SYSTEM.

I'M NOT SAYING IT'S EASY OR
EVEN POSSIBLE, NECESSARILY,

BUT THIS IS CLEARLY THE BEST
SHOT WE HAVE OF DOING THIS.

THIS IS IT.

THIS IS THE MOMENT WHEN
I FINALLY FACE THE FANS.

WELL, FOR US, IT'S NOT COLONIZING A PLANET.

IT'S TAKING OVER A PLANET.

I'M REALLY EXCITED TO TALK TO MICHIO.

LIKE, HE'S JUST SUCH
AN INSPIRATION TO ME...

ALL HIS BOOKS AND TV SHOWS AND EVERYTHING.

Woman: EXTREMELY SMOOTH COMPLEXION.

Dr. Kaku: HOW MANY SCIENTISTS
HAVE THEIR MAKEUP DONE?

SO, AM I BEAUTIFUL YET?

YOU KNOW, I TRULY BELIEVE
THAT OUR DESTINY IS IN THE STARS,

BUT WHAT MAKES ME NERVOUS IS THIS...

WE'RE TALKING ABOUT TECHNOLOGIES
CENTURIES IN THE FUTURE.

WE'RE STICKING OUR NECKS OUT ON THIS ONE.

[ CHEERS AND APPLAUSE ]

OKAY.

LADIES AND GENTLEMEN,

TODAY I'M GONNA GIVE YOU A
PLAN TO COLONIZE THE GALAXY.

[ CHEERS AND APPLAUSE ]

HOW MANY OF YOU BELIEVE THAT
ONE DAY WE WILL BE AMONG THE STARS?

[ CHEERS AND APPLAUSE ]

WELL, ME TOO. HOWEVER, THERE'S A PROBLEM.

THE MILKY WAY GALAXY HAS
HUNDREDS OF BILLIONS OF STARS,

TRILLIONS OF PLANETS.

HAN SOLO WOULD BE AN OLD MAN

GOING FROM PLANET TO PLANET, STAR TO STAR.

THERE'S GOT TO BE A BETTER WAY.

SO LET'S HAVE STEP 1... SWARMBOTS...

CHEAP, EXPENDABLE...

BY THE BILLIONS BEING
SENT INTO OUTER SPACE.

AND STEP 2... WHAT IS THE ENERGY
SOURCE OF THE PLANET JUPITER?

THE MAGNETIC FIELD IS HUGE AROUND JUPITER.

THEY WHIP AROUND JUPITER,

REACHING NEAR THE SPEED OF LIGHT,

AND THEN WE AIM THEM TO THE NEARBY STARS.

THE NEXT STEP... THEY BEGIN TO
SCOUT OUT THE DIFFERENT PLANETS.

MOST OF THEM ARE UNSUITABLE.

SO THEY MAKE COPIES OF
THEMSELVES, LIKE A VIRUS...

FROM 1 SWARMBOT TO 2 TO 4 TO 8 TO 16...

AND THEY TAKE OFF AGAIN,
LOOKING FOR THE NEXT PLANET.

ONCE THEY FIND A SUITABLE PLANET,

THEY CREATE INCUBATORS TO CLONE HUMANS.

AND THE LAST STEP IS,
FROM THE PLANET EARTH,

WE SHOOT OUT INSTRUCTIONS FOR OUR DNA

AND EVEN OUR PERSONALITY AND OUR MEMORIES.

THE SWARMBOTS RECEIVE THE SIGNAL

AND THEN BEGIN THE PROCESS OF CLONING YOU,

AND, JUST LIKE "THE MATRIX,"
PUTTING IN YOUR MEMORY.

THIS IS HOW TO COLONIZE THE GALAXY.

[ CHEERS AND APPLAUSE ]

THE THOUGHT THAT MY GRANDKIDS

COULD POSSIBLY BE A PART
OF SOMETHING LIKE THAT...

I THINK THAT'S BEAUTIFUL.

IT'S VERY SCIENTIFICALLY PLAUSIBLE,

BUT IT RAISES SO MANY ETHICAL QUESTIONS.

WHAT, WITH ALL THEM
SLINGSHOTTIN' 'ROUND JUPITER

AND STUFF, DR. MICHIO KAKU, I
THINK YOU GOT THAT ROCKETRY.

SIGN ME UP! GIT-R-DONE!