PIONEER ONE: Episode 1

There are events that become pivot points in history.
We usually mark the past by the wars we fight,
where you hear people talk about things before the war and the world after the war.
The after-the-war world is born out of human struggle and cruelty.
Sometimes there are events born out of human ingenuity and courage like discovering fire,
or inventing the Internet, or walking on the Moon.
Sometimes it's a little of both.
We had no idea what was going to happen or what we were going to do about it.
And we had no idea the price we'd pay.
There was no plan...
There were no lofty thoughts about changing the world.
We just did what we thought was right at the time.
And I would do it all again, even knowing the consequences.
So, what does she expect you to do?
I'll tell you what she's expecting me to do.
She's expecting me to get another job, that's what.
Doing what I don't know.
Thinks somehow it's my fault that the economy's in the toilet.
What are you gonna do?
What can you do?
Ehi!
- What's that over there? - What?
Wow!
Meteor?
It must be. Look how it's splitting up like that.
Ladies and gentlemen, sorry to wake those of you who were sleeping...
but if you look out at the right side of the plane, you're guaranteed
a truly spectacular sight that...
you'll probably never get to see again this close...
If I couldn't jump the guy of course I would choose me.
- Choose you to get saved? - Choose me to get shot.
- Really? - Yes.
I don't even know what we're talking about right now.
Look at that!
- What is that? - I don't know!
It's so pretty.
Make a wish.
Yeah. This is Taylor.
- Do you ever sleep? - No fatalities.
Some debris came down in and around Station but it didn't hit any with people.
- An airliner? - That's what we think now
but we're trying to confirm with eye witnesses.
Have you checked with airports for any overdue flights?
Yeah, we're checking. Nothing yet.
Why would someone blow up an airliner over Montana?
Why does anyone ever blow up an airliner?
Yeah. Is Vernon and the new guy in the yet?
They're waiting for you in your office.
- What's his name again? I know you told me. - DiLeo.
- DiLeo. - There's something else though
that might turn this into a whole other thing.
I just got a call saying that hospitals in the area
are reporting multiple patients coming in
with symptoms consistent with radiation sickness.
- A dirty bomb? - We haven't confirmed that yet.
- But that's what it looks like? - Nobody really knows what that looks like.
We might find out tonight. Get the Mayor of Station on the phone
and tell him there's a quarantine in effect for Station Township
and everything within a 10 mile radius.
- Coordinate with local authorities. - We shouldn't wait for confirmation?
Do you really feel like taking chances with radiation?
But get some feet on the ground to confirm that.
But I need you to confirm that.
Sir, there are two positive cases of radiation sickness in two separate hospitals.
- How do you spell that? - I just ordered a quarantine
for Station Township and everything within a 10 mile radius.
One of the cases is from a hospital 30 miles north of Station.
I'm going to need a copy of that faxed to this office before I can do...
Thank you.
Sir, a major piece of debris, a piece of a plane's fuselage maybe
crash landed in a wooded area outside of Edmonton in Canada.
We're getting a formal request for assistance from your counterpart
in the RCMP faxed here right now.
Good, we're not passing this one off on the Mounties.
I got the Governor and the Mayor of Station waiting to speak with you on lines 2 and 4.
Vernon, you're going to stay in touch with those hospitals and the Station P.D.
give them anything they need, send me updates every half an hour.
You, I need you to send me a copy of that fax
as soon as you get it in your hands to my phone.
- Can you handle that? - Yes, sir.
Call down to the airfield for a car.
Agent Larson and I are leaving for Edmonton in 15 minutes. Make it happen.
I told you his name was DiLeo.
Yeah, I know. I only had so much room at this particular moment, so...
You good?
- Yeah. You? - Yeah.
Why are we going to Edmonton?
'Cause we're not going to be the next news media punch line
that screwed the pooch on a terrorism case.
We stay out in front of this thing
and show the country that we're actually good for something.
- How does that sound to you? - No argument here.
Good. Let's do this right.
- Yes, sir. Lines two and four. - Thank you Sophie.
Mr. Mayor, this is Tom Taylor.
We just don't know that yet sir.
And what we do know just isn't adding up to my satisfaction.
Just need a little more time to sort...
Yes, sir. That's why we're here.
Well I appreciate that, sir, yes.
Yes, sir.
You'll know as soon as I do.
Thank you.
Tom?
Jesus Christ!
- Sorry. We have... - No, it's okay.
We've got the Deputy Secretary pressuring me to announce that we've captured a terrorist.
He says it would be politically expedient to do it now before...
a whole debate over the definition of what constitutes
an act of terror starts in the media
and I'm trying to tell him...
in so many words that...
I don't want to start counting my chickens... What?
He's here.
He started yelling at us. I think in Russian before we got the hatch open.
Once we identified ourselves, he shut up...
and thats when we noticed he had a pistol in his right hand.
He couldn't raise it enough to point it at us though.
I don't know if he would have shot at us, or if he was just scared.
Does that kid look like a terrorist to you?
I don't know what he looks like.
He's stable now.
He was extremely dehydrated,
malnourished...
and I'm running every test that I can think of.
He'll live?
He's got a good shot.
The fact that he survived
all this time under the conditions that he's been living
gives me hope that he's got a chance.
But he's gonna need, I don't know, could be years of rehabilitation.
Have you ever seen anything like this before?
Frankly, no, I haven't.
The only cases...
that come close that I know of...
is severe child abuse where a child is held hostage in a room
or a basement and neglected.
It's like he's been living in a cave his whole life.
Can he talk?
He's sleeping now.
He's in shock
I can't guarantee he'll make any sense when he wakes up.
Let me know as soon as he does.
Will do.
You said he was yelling something when you found him. Do you...
remember what he was saying?
Not really. It was something in Russian, I think
She speaks about 47 languages.
Whatever you remember.
Something like...
identiforo... something.
Nikorosh vi stronia.
Nikorosh vistronia
Identifutsoro vitsebia. Could that have been the first part?
Yes. I think so, I think that was it.
Identify yourself.
What about the rest?
Which side are you?
You said he kept repeating that?
Yes, sir.
Which side are you?
Which side of what?
That's what I heard.
What does that mean? Are you sure you're translating that right?
47 languages.
He was wearing this when we found him.
Is that a spacesuit?
- May I? - It's clear.
Hello?
Look.
Maybe they just haven't sprung for new patches.
Does that kid look like he was even born when there was a Soviet Union?
Sirs?
That's no airliner.
No, it's not.
We found these in the capsule.
- Those look like rocks. - They are, rocks.
And we found this.
I guess it's also Russian.
What is it?
I'm not sure.
It looks like a page from some kind of flight manual.
There's something handwritten on the back
What?
That's the most ridiculous story I've ever heard.
Yes sir. We're investigating all the possibilities.
It sounds more like someone got their hands on some old Soviet hardware
and are using it to perpetrate an attack on the United States.
An attack on Montana, sir?
Maybe it went wrong. I don't know.
All I know is, I have sick people in hospitals
and a potential public relations nightmare.
We have to show we have a handle on the situation.
I don't need to remind you that our record on these things hasn't been exemplary of late.
With all due respect, sir. I'm not convinced we're dealing with terrorism
All we have is a sick kid, possibly a Russian national.
I don't think treating him like a criminal is the best...
He had no identification...
and piloted a craft spreading radiation over American cities.
First thing he does is pull a gun on the people who are rescuing him.
Have I got that much right?
Yes, sir. All those things are true
Then he's a criminal until we have firm evidence to the contrary.
Whatever the case
I want you to take the suspect to an American base immediately, and we'll...
I don't think that's the best course of action at this time, sir.
I'd like more time to investigate before we jump to any conclusions.
I'm not making suggestions, Mr. Taylor.
I want you to move him as soon as you can.
Yes sir.
Okay then. We'll be in touch throughout the day.
Yeah?
We've recovered another piece of the capsule outside Calgary.
There was a nuclear battery onboard; it looks like that was the source of the radiation.
It's in an unpopulated area, so there's that bit of good news.
Yeah.
What?
We're leaving.
They didn't believe it either?
I don't blame them. It's crazy.
It's also the only thing that makes any kind of sense.
Sophie. It makes no kind of sense.
What do you think? Some Al Qaeda nut job makes a play for an old Soviet space capsule
instead of a nuclear bomb,
somehow manages to launch it from a cave in Tora Bora
on a mission to scare the bejesus out of Montana.
- Where's the sense in that? - It spread radiation over hundreds of miles.
It just seems like a round about way to spread terror, if terror's your goal.
I know. I know, I...
I don't know what else to do. I don't know what else there is to do.
Well, nothing besides get some sleep.
I don't have time for that, and neither do you.
We have a sick kid in a hospital bed.
He's not a terrorist.
He's not a Martian either.
Well, maybe not.
What's that?
It's a letter from the RCMP allowing us to operate in Canadian territory
DiLeo sent it over.
I asked for this like 12 hours ago.
He said he had trouble converting it to a PDF, or something. I don't know.
He's supposed to be America's first line of defense.
- The best and the brightest. - Which one are you?
I've always been the best, but never the brightest.
Well, I've always been the brightest, but never quite the best.
You know, if this whole serving and protecting thing doesn't work out,
I think we have a sitcom in our future.
I'll make the arrangements.
Thank you.
This is Taylor.
Mr. Taylor, this is Dr. Bertram. I was the physician...
Yeah. I know who you are. How's he doing?
I've just gotten the preliminary blood work back and he has cancer.
Say that again.
I'm no oncologist, but...
but his body's riddled with it.
I've called in an expert.
Slow down doctor.
Get him ready to be moved. He's coming back with us to the States.
I don't think that's a good idea.
I didn't ask your opinion, and besides that, the decision's already been made.
We've been granted authority to operate in this jurisdiction
and whether you like it or not, you answer to me, do you understand that?
Yes.
Anything else I should know?
He's developed a respiratory infection, he's not responding to treatment.
If you put him on a plane, you could kill him.
And this is your professional opinion?
What other opinion would it be?
I'm sorry.
He's coming back with us. He'll receive treatment in the States.
- Get ready to move him. - Yes sir.
Tom Taylor.
- How'd you know it was me? - I've got caller id,
like the rest of the world.
I'm not interrupting anything, am I?
No, just about to play my round of golf;
like I did yesterday...
like I probably will tomorrow.
Sounds like the life you always wanted.
It's not.
Yeah. Sorry I didn't make it to that dinner I read about in the paper.
Congratulations.
Thank you.
That's not why you called.
Yeah. No
Messy business up there.
Please...
tell me you haven't called for a pep talk.
Yeah. Not exactly.
Then what?
I got golf to play.
Yeah. Well...
this may seem a little strange, but...
I need your insight on something.
My insight?
Yeah.
Just how crazy were the Soviets? I mean...
just how crazy were they?
You know.
You were there.
I was a kid, I wasn't on the front lines like you.
Well.
I never put anything past them, I'll say that. Never.
Naw...
some people thought we were a bunch of...
paranoid fearmongers in the agency,
but all the stuff we learned when we left after the fall. Jesus!
It was a crazy time than.
Hell, we were crazy too but...
they were crazier...
I really mean that.
Did you ever hear of a guy named Stanislav Petrov?
No.
Me neither, not until about 10 years ago.
Stanislav Petrov was in the Soviet Air Defense Force and...
he was on duty in a bunker just outside Moscow one night in 1983.
His job was to monitor OKO,
the Soviet early warning system.
Kind of like our NORAD.
They had a network of satellites up in orbit, just like we did...
to alert them if the U.S. launched their missiles.
Anyway...
old Stanislav was on duty,
eating his day old bread, drinking his Vodka, whatever they did.
He saw something he'd never seen before.
A big board lit up all red, and alarms going off...
blaring.
What it was telling him was that the U.S.
had launched their ICBM's, their...
their nuclear ICBM's at his country.
His job in that event...
was to fire his country's missiles back.
But he didn't.
He didn't believe it.
For some reason, in his gut it just didn't feel right.
So, he ignored all his orders and all his training...
and he turned the alarm off.
To make a long story short...
the sun was bouncing off some clouds or something or other...
and confused the satellite into thinking...
missiles were on their way.
If Stanislav Petrov...
had done what he was supposed to do...
we wouldn't be having this conversation right now.
And you know what happened to him?
Discharged...
dishonorably.
Probably sent to Siberia...
or somewhere. Who knows.
The man defied his country...
and saved the world.
Quite literally saved the world.
And he faced the consequences.
Because...
I think he had something the rest of his country didn't.
Imagination.
He...
could imagine the consequences of following his orders.
And those consequences were
unconscionable to him.
And that's how crazy they were.
Does that about answer your question?
I guess so.
Anyway...
It was sweet of you to...
to call an old man for his advice, Tom.
It really is.
Get out there and do a job, will ya?
Yes, sir.
Next time you're in the neighborhood...
Yeah. I'm not really much of a golfer.
Me neither.
Take care, Frank.
You should be more concerned with taking care of yourself right now.
Goodbye.
Get our people up here.
As little as possible.
We need to give them something. They're sniffing blood in the water.
Otherwise they're just going to run with whatever they can find.
- He's right. We can say... - Why don't we just say
that a Soviet satellite and old Soviet satellite...
- With a leak in the battery onboard. Yes. - Came down just like it did.
- Can you work with that? - Yes.
Great. Put something together and give it to the press.
All right, that takes care of the press. Now what about -
- Don't worry about that. - Don't worry about that?
- DiLeo, do you still have that fax? - Yes, sir.
- Alright, you never got it. - Sir?
- The right answer is, what fax? - Yes sir.
What are you doing?
I believe the technical term is gumming up the works and buying some time to investigate
before we end up shipping that kid to a federal prison.
Jesus Christ! Can we get a cup of coffee around her that tastes like coffee, please?
Send someone to Willie Horton's, or whatever they have up here.
- Get some for everyone, will you? - We need an expert in here.
Someone who knows what they're talking about, and quietly.
An expert? On what?
It's open.
Yes?
Zachary Walzer?
Dr. Zachary Walzer.
Can I help you?
Dr. Walzer.
I'm Tom Taylor.
Sorry about all the...
- I know this is a little strange. - I think I know what this is all about.
You do.
That...
dirty bomb thing wasn't a dirty bomb, was it?
- No, it was actually... - Funny thing
about that downed satellite story.
What's that?
Well, I heard about it on the news this morning and...
I couldn't help but feeling like I'd heard it somewhere before...
so I did a bit of Googling, and in about two minutes...
I found... this.
Apparently a Soviet Satellite carrying a nuclear battery
made an unplanned reentry into the Earth's atmosphere
spreading radioactive waste all over Canada.
That's right.
Look at the date.
That article is from 1979.
Two Soviet satellites...
accidentally coming down spreading radiation
all over the same part of the world?
That's some bad luck. Don't you think?
Maybe you should do a little more research before you put out a bogus cover story.
Well, as I can see, you've already gathered we're in a bit of a situation here that...
quite frankly, it's a little outside my area of expertise.
I don't doubt it.
Good.
I understand you're some kind of space buff.
I have a Masters...
in Aeronautics and Astronautics
and a PhD in Nuclear Engineering.
- There you go. - I've written three books
on celestial mechanics and manned space flight.
Two Planets, One Future, and The Case for the Red Planet.
What's the third?
It's due out next fall. It doesn't have a title yet.
What... what exactly do you have going on here?
I'll need you to sign the confidentially agreement before I can tell you anything.
You'll forgive me if I'm a little hesitant
to do anything you say or sign anything.
You're the ones who made it more of an ordeal to travel from
Seattle to Cleveland than a flight on the Moon...
doesn't exactly instill confidence.
I'm trying to protect the American people.
And what a bang up job you've done on that so far.
The fact is, we're in a bit of a spot here and we could use
someone with your knowledge and expertise on this.
If it's not you, it'll be someone else.
What could you possible want with someone like me?
Imagination, doctor.
Don't tell me it's extraterrestrial.
Really, I will turn around and walk away back out that door.
No, it's actually a little weirder than that.
Theoretically, is it possible for someone to survive on Mars?
Absolutely.
For years on you own with limited resources?
Well sure. I've written a lot about this. It's called the living off the land approach.
Like the pioneers who settled the Western United States.
All the elements for survival are there on Mars if you know how to extract them.
It's surviving the trip there that's the hard part.
You've got a million kinds of background radiation,
cosmic rays, solar flare activity, and...
nine months without a gas station to stop at if you get a flat.
What's happened to this man?
That's what I'd like you tell us, doctor.
This is your Martian pioneer.
What?
The Soviet satellite wasn't a satellite; it was some sort of capsule.
We found him inside.
We also found a note.
If it's to be believed, it was written by a Soviet Cosmonaut
who claims to have been living on Mars since the mid '80's.
According to the note, this is their child.
Wait, wait, slow down. Hang on.
You're...
really saying, seriously...
that this man has been to Mars?
We're saying he was born there.
How is that possible?
That's what we'd like you to tell us.
Dr. Walzer.
Are you all right?
Do you know what this means?
- I know. It's a little insane. - It's...
incredible.
If it's true...
I've spent my whole life...
making the case for the human exploration of Mars...
Mr. Taylor.
And this whole time...
My god.
I'm sorry. You'll have to forgive me, this is all...
I'm sorry.
Will you help us out doctor?
Absofuckinlutely!
Subtitles: zefram cochrane
::Italian Subs Addicted:: [www.italiansubs.net]
He's dying.
- Cancer? - The cancer is the least of his problems.
He's having a reaction to something, they can't figure out what.
You're the Mars guy, aren't you?
They got the Mars story.
- Where did they get it? - Wouldn't reveal their source.
- Has anyone bothered to call the Russians? - We're not there yet.
Your operation is a violation of Canadian sovereignty.
You do not set policy for this goverment on your own.
- Tell me what's going on inside your head. - I think we're out of time here.