IO

It's like we were doomed to destroy our planet.

Some say it was because of the increasing pollution.

I just call it human nature.

A few scientists predicted what would happen.

They started working on a power station that could be sent into space

to harvest geothermal energy from other planets.

But it was too late.

People would start dying in their sleep...

suffocating in the streets,

the blood in their veins turning black.

"An unexpected change in atmosphere composition," they said.

To me it was just our planet desperately trying to survive by kicking us out.

So one day, a hundred ships flew off into the sky.

It was the Exodus mission.

They turned the power station into a colony,

like a lifeboat floating above Jupiter's volcanic moon,

also known as…

What do we have here?

Audio memorandum initiated.

Begin audio log entry 46809.

Researcher ID Sam Walden.

I'm looking at what appears to be rafts of mosquito

or midge fly spawn. Period.

Something resembling blooms of black algae

identifiable in subsurface ponded water

despite minimal opportunity for chemosynthesis. Period.

That's what I thought.

Level of toxicity in ambient atmosphere: severe.

Sample 181A. Water-striding insects.

Found in a zone apparently in the presence of a strong concentration of ammonia.

Sample 181B.

Drawn from sediment strata, should confirm or disconfirm

the presence of bacterium able to use ammonium as a main oxygen source.

"A shudder in the loin engenders there,

the broken wall, the burning roof and tower...

and Agamemnon dead."

Plants are changing colors.

Elon.

I keep having this dream.

I'm on a beach.

I can feel the wind blowing in my hair,

hear the sound of the waves crashing on the shore.

I can breathe.

You won't believe what I discovered this morning.

Anaerobic reproduction in a water-striding insect colony.

Yet another new species.

Surviving.

Imagine if the bees could adapt like those insects.

It would prove that my dad is right.

Earth is not dying, it's being reborn.

I know things aren't easy on the IO Colony, but...

please write back soon.

I love you, Elon.

From Earth until the end of the universe.

Sam.

I'm sorry.

Dear Sam,

your scientific discoveries never cease to astound me.

Unearthing the last bits of life hanging onto that dying world...

that's amazing.

Imagine what you could find in a whole new galaxy.

Just a week from now, we'll have harvested enough of IO's volcanic energy

to power the entire New World Expedition fleet.

Life is in the stars, Sam.

Your father can't hold you back any longer.

Very soon, the last pocket of air on Earth will be gone.

You both need to be on the next Exodus shuttle and come here.

I love you.

From IO until the end of the universe,

Elon.

This is Doctor Harry Walden,

transmitting on frequency 90-43,

listening on frequency 95-60 kilohertz daily.

The world we once called home appears to have turned against us.

However bleak the situation may seem, death is only a part of the process.

The fundamental principle of nature is survival.

More than in our DNA, it is in our mind, in our soul,

to seek life no matter what.

Plant life has already evolved to resist ammonia toxicity.

Once bees and other pollinators adapt,

our model predicts vegetation growth

will decontaminate the air in less than 20 years.

We take to the stars in search of our salvation,

but we fail to recognize

that we are already on the most significantly equipped spaceship.

People can, and inevitably will,

adapt and flourish again on our beautiful planet.

Don't lose yourself looking into the darkness of space.

Your home is shining blue just in front of your eyes.

Safe travels and hope to welcome you here among us soon.

Generally, the queen bee is marked so she's easy to find.

But sometimes she's replaced during a season.

In thousands of bees, she blends in pretty well,

but if you look closely, you'll notice her thorax, her middle segment, is...

is not like the worker bees...

There's amazing news here, Sam.

The council officially announced the first New World Expedition.

They chose Proxima Centauri.

The exoplanet Proxima B really is a near-identical Earth twin.

It takes ten years to get there.

All my friends are applying for the mission. They need engineers.

But it has grave implications for the Exodus program.

Damn it.

The Council's decision changes everything.

Effective immediately, all spacecraft personnel,

energy, everything

has been redirected to the New World Expeditions.

The Exodus shuttles that are on Earth right now

will launch in four days

and will be the last ever sent to IO.

You have to leave with your father, Sam.

The universe is calling for us.

Can't you hear it?

A giant storm hit our camp yesterday.

My father's entire bee colony is gone.

All the progress we'd made,

dozens of new genetic strains,

all lost.

I don't know what I'm supposed to do.

Even if I accept that you might be right about going to IO,

we can't carry enough oxygen with the ATVs.

I don't think we could ever make it to the launch site.

I'm here for Dr. Harry Walden.

I heard the radio transmission.

Can I have some water?

It's only cloudy like that because of the charcoal.

We filter our drinking water through sand and charcoal. It's all it needs.

Is he in there?

I'm Dr. Walden's research assistant.

I'm sure I can answer any of your questions.

I'm here to see Dr. Walden.

Not you.

Not anybody else.

We haven't had anyone make the pilgrimage to see Dr. Walden in a long time.

Pilgrimage?

Why you're here, isn't it?

To meet Dr. Walden.

Where did you say he was again?

He's off in the mountain right now,

gathering specimens for our work.

I need you to take me to him.

I can't. I don't know his exact location.

Where's everyone else?

There is no one else.

I'll wait.

You're going to Exodus.

What?

Your balloon.

You're going to the final Exodus launch to IO?

That's right.

It sure took you long enough to decide to leave Earth.

I'll fix you some food.

No.

I'm not gonna take any of your food.

We have plenty.

You have fresh vegetables?

Yeah. I have an entire greenhouse.

It's better with that.

Huh.

Do you know if there's any animals left in the sea?

I've always really wanted to go to the ocean.

No.

There's nothing.

There's nothing anywhere.

Even the birds all died.

You'd think they could live up high like us.

Yeah. Birds gotta land too, you know.

Have you ever seen a swan?

Yeah.

Yeah, when I was a kid..

Right.

You're from before.

Yeah.

You've seen other cities?

Just from the sky.

Is it the same everywhere?

Yeah, it's the same everywhere.

I don't believe you. No way you could've seen everywhere.

When is Dr. Walden getting back?

Sometimes he's gone for days.