9بخش

Hey, Dad

Hey, Murph

You son of a bitch

I never made one of these when you were still responding because I was so mad at you for leaving

And then when you went quiet, it seemed like I should live with that decision

And I have

But today’s my birthday

And its a special one, because you told me

You once told me that when you came back, we might be the same age

And today Im the age you were when you left

So it would be a real good time for you to come back

I didn’t mean to intrude

It’s just that I’ve never seen you in here before

I’ve never been in here before

I talk to Amelia all the time

It helps

I’m glad you’ve started

I haven’t

I, I just had something I needed to get out

I know they’re still out there

I know

There are so many reasons their communications might not be getting through

I know, professor

I’m not sure what I’m more afraid of

Them never coming back or coming back to find we’ve failed

Then let’s succeed

So back to the fourth iteration

Let’s run it through some new fields

With respect, professor, we’ve tried that hundreds of times

It only has to work once, Murph

Every rivet that they strike could have been a bullet

We’ve done well for the world here whether or not we crack the equation before I kick the bucket

Don’t be morbid, professor

I’m not afraid of death

I’m an old physicist

I’m afraid of time

Time

You’re afraid of time

We’ve been trying to solve the equation without changing the underlying assumption about time

And

And that means each iteration is an attempt to prove it’s own proof

It’s recursive

It’s nonsensical

Are you calling my life’s work nonsense, Murph

No, I’m saying that you’ve been trying to finish it with one arm, No, with both arms, tied behind your back

And I don’t understand why

I’m an old man, Murph

Can we take this point up at another time

I want to talk to my daughter

Stepping out into the universe we must confront the reality of interstellar travel

We must reach far beyond our own lifespans

We must think not as individuals but as a species

Do not go gentle into that good night

TARS kept the Endurance right where we needed her

But the trip took years longer than we anticipated

We no longer have the fuel to visit both prospects, so we have to choose

But how

They’re both promising

Edmunds data is better, but Dr Mann is the one still transmitting, so

We’ve no reason to suspect Edmundss data would have soured

His world has key elements to sustain human life

As does Dr Manns

Cooper, this is my field

And I really believe Edmunds is the better prospect

Why

Gargantua, that’s why

Look at Millers planet

Hydrocarbons, organics, yes but no life

Sterile

Well find the same thing on Manns

Because of the black hole

Murphy’s Law

Whatever can happen will happen

Accident is the first building block of evolution

But when you’re orbiting a black hole not enough can happen

It sucks in asteroids and comets, other events which would otherwise reach you

We need to go further afield

You once said that Dr Mann was the best of us

He’s remarkable

Were only here because of him

And yet, yet here he is

He’s on the ground, and he’s sending a very unambiguous message, telling us to come to his planet Granted, but Edmunds data is more promising

We should vote

Well, if we vote, there’s something you should know

Brand

He has a right to know

That has nothing to do with it

What does

She’s in love with Wolf Edmunds

Is that true

Yes

And that makes me want to follow my heart

But maybe we’ve spent too long trying to figure all this out with theory

You’re a scientist, Brand

So listen to me when I say that love isn’t something we invented

It’s observable, powerful

It has to mean something

Love has meaning, yes

Social utility, social bonding, child rearing

We love people who have died

Where’s the social utility in that

None

Maybe it means something more, something we cant yet understand

Maybe its some evidence, some artifact of a higher dimension that we cant consciously perceive

I’m drawn across the universe to someone I haven’t seen in a decade who I know is probably dead

Love is the one thing were capable of perceiving that transcends dimensions of time and space

Maybe we should trust that, even if we cant understand it yet

All right, Cooper yes, the tiniest possibility of seeing Wolf again excites me

That doesn’t mean I’m wrong

Honestly, Amelia it might

TARS, chart a course for Dr Manns

Well lose about a third again

But next year, next year I’m gonna work Nelsons farm and well make it up

What happened to Nelson

Murph, would you like some more soufflé

Oh, no

I’m full, thanks

It was delicious

Coop, finish your fritter, please

Will you spend the night

Your room is exactly as you left it

It’s ready

I need to get back

My sewing machine is in there, but there’s plenty

I need to, too many memories

We might have something for that

Hey, Coop

The dust

Lois, I have a friend who could look at his lungs