One Under the Sun Page #4

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the other side of the planet.

Okay.

I wish I could go with you.

I want to float through space.

I'll make you a deal.

When I come home, we'll float together.

- Really?

- I promise.

Daddy's sad you're going away.

He says he's happy, but I can tell.

You are just gonna take care of

him while I'm gone, all right?

Make sure he doesn't eat ice cream.

And that he smiles at least once a day.

- He really likes ice cream.

- I know.

But it's not good for him,

so remind him.

Okay.

And if I'm not here,

grandma will remind him.

Grandma?

If I'm not here.

Don't be sad if I'm not here

when you come back.

I'll make you lots of pictures.

Mom?

You're squishing me.

Sorry, sorry.

- Sorry, baby.

- It's okay.

My ride's here.

Mommy's gotta go, sweetie.

- Okay.

- Okay.

- Promise you'll come home?

- I promise.

Nothing's gonna stop me

from coming home to you.

Ignition sequence starts.

Six, five, four,

three, two, one.

Prepare for separation. One.

Call to Samsara.

Crew be advised,

we are ready to initiate

the docking sequence.

All I'm saying is,

we need to think about it.

For 70 years we've been stuck with

"one small step for man,

one giant leap for mankind."

Where is the poetry in that?

Why are you worried?

You're not gonna be the first

one out the door anyway.

Okay. So what are you gonna say?

I'll think of something.

Yeah, see, that's what I'm afraid of.

Remember Yuri Gagarin.

The first words a human

ever spoke in space.

He said, "orbiting earth

in this spaceship,

I saw how beautiful our planet is.

People, let's preserve and increase

its beauty, not destroy it."

He also said,

"I looked and looked,

but I didn't see God."

Yeah, well, he was a godless communist.

- No offense.

- None taken.

Actually, he was a Russian orthodox,

and he never said those words.

That quote came

from a speech Kruschev made.

Now he was a godless communist.

Amen, brother.

My controller's here,

looking very carefully at the situation.

Obviously a major malfunction.

We have a report from

the flight dynamics officer

that the vehicle has exploded.

Flight director confirms that.

We are looking at checking

with the recovery forces

to see what can be done at this point.

If you're just joining us,

here's what we know so far.

At 2:
57pm, the Samsara Spacecraft,

returning from

its three-year Mars mission

suffered what NASA is calling

"a catastrophic event."

The craft suffered

an in-flight breakdown

as it entered the atmosphere,

leaving debris stretching

across three states.

NASA officials have confirmed

the accident was not survivable.

Mr. Voss!

Mr. Voss! Do you know anything about...

The cable went out.

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