Orbiter 9

ORBIT 9

Oxygen level at one percent.

The capsule will arrive in 17 hours.

I know.

You'll breathe better soon.

You're going to meet the first human being

in your lifetime.

The third.

Don't be angry, Helena.

It depends how you count.

I'm not angry.

Your mother and I have

discussed it a thousand times.

We've repeated the calculations

over and over again.

It's the best solution.

The three of us on the ship would

have oxygen for a little over a year.

But if you travel alone,

the levels would last

four or five times longer.

Helena,

I wish I could have hugged

and kissed you one last time,

but I know you.

And I know you wouldn't

have let us do it.

Please, be strong.

Hang on until the engineer arrives.

I know you'll make it.

We love you very much.

Time to get up, Helena.

Day 7,409 of your voyage.

Reserve oxygen activated.

Weekly medical check-up waiting.

Cardiac cycle correct.

The ankle fissure

has almost closed.

Don't push it the next few days.

Coupling initiated.

Maneuver completed.

Opening outer lock.

Robotics engineer 11 beta 57.

Helena.

Nice to meet you, Helena.

I only have 50 hours of autonomy.

It's that way, right?

We never found out why

the oxygen matrix got misconfigured.

It was sudden, not even the Rebecca unit

found an explanation.

Right.

It's rare but it happens sometimes.

Even in bigger ships

than this one.

Can you fix it?

Yes.

I'm the only one left.

Three years ago...

my parents left

so that I could survive.

I'm sorry.

What's it called?

It's called Kubic.

It's a defective connection tracker.

It'll help me work faster.

Let me know if you need anything.

Thanks.

What's your name?

Alex.

Shall we have dinner together, Alex?

No, I can't.

I have too much work.

It's just that... I've never had a guest.

Or eaten with anyone

besides my parents.

You have to have dinner, right?

In half an hour?

They did the navigation calculation

and realized

that traveling alone was the only way

to make it here.

Where someone could

come and help me.

Actually you were lucky, Helena.

Yes, if the failure had occurred

at any other point in the journey,

nobody would have heard

our distress call.

That's right.

You've really never been curious

to see Celeste?

I don't have the strength

you colonists have.

I've never seen anything else.

I came on the ship as a baby

and if everything works out

I'll be over 40 years old

when I get out.

Sometimes I think it makes no sense.

Spending half your life

cooped up trying to get somewhere.

But then I remember that

my parents were colonists.

And that I am too.

And that I have to reach Celeste,

even if it's only for the sacrifice

they made for me.

Time to get up, Helena.

Day 7,410 of your voyage.

Oxygen reserve deactivated.

Hi.

I can breathe better.

I'm almost finished.

It'll be ready tomorrow.

I don't understand a word you say.

Hi, Helena.

I wanted to say I can't

have dinner tonight.

Why not?

I have 2 or 3 more hours

with Rebecca and I need to rest.

Of course.

Good night.

Good night.

Cardiac cycle correct.

Pulse slightly high.

Arterial pressure normal.

What are you doing?

Looking at you.

Why?

I've never kissed anyone.

Helena...

I'm going to spend

the next 20 years in here.

By myself.

But if you want me to leave,

I will.

You're leaving without saying goodbye?

I didn't want to wake you.

I'm sorry about what happened

last night.

I'm not.

Opening outer lock.

AUTHORIZED PERSONNEL ONLY

ORBIT PROGRAM HEADQUARTERS

Base code in hangars 1,

4, 7, 11, 12.

The turbine matrix reached 100

in the scale model.

You know what that means,

right?

That with a little luck we'll see

the first ships take off in 20 or 30 years.

With a little luck and some care

we'll probably still be alive

and see it with our own eyes.

I thought you'd be more excited.

I am excited, Hugo.

You don't look it.

What's wrong?

I don't now.

What?

We've never wondered about

the passengers in the simulators...

All the time.

That's why we have the data

from their biowitnesses.

But those are numbers.

Yes, numbers. The most precise

language that exists.

- But we're talking about something else.

- What?

We're talking about people.

We've always talked about people.

But not about ten people.

We're talking about 8 billion people.

Alex, I've dedicated

half of my life

to this project.

And although you've only been

with us for 5 years,

I know this is just as important

to you as it is to me.

Pick up the Orbit 10 dossier,

go home and get some rest.

You have only one simulator left.

When you've closed that last door,

you'll see everything differently.

Clean!

The Ministry of the Environment

announces that next week

it will create more artificial storms

in all the northern districts of the city.

They will be nocturnal rains that will

occur every Wednesday next month.

Temperatures tomorrow...

Why don't you take this

to Monica?

I don't think she'll like it.

Come by the 99 one of these nights.

We miss you, man.

The test results came in yesterday.

Come by the clinic anytime

to pick them up.

Why don't you save me the trip?

Your bones are fine, the analytics too.

You have radiation in your body

but within normal parameters.

You shouldn't have entered the simulators,

but you're a lucky bastard.

Why don't you come over

for dinner tonight?

- Monica will be happy to see you.

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