[A DEEP THRUM CONTINUES FOR JUST A LITTLE LONGER THAN IS COMFORTABLE]
[An electric whirr and a heavy, mechanical KA-CHUNK]
[We hear a soundscape of heavy, old machinery working not entirely as intended. Gears grind against each other slowly.]
[A door opens with a depressurising hiss. From it, LUNA stumbles a few steps and collapses onto the cold metal floor.]
LUNA
Help… Help.
[Gradually, four more depressurising hisses as pod doors open, then footsteps.]
LEVI
Is everyone okay?
RILEY
Over here! Someone’s hurt!
ZACK
Hi there, can you tell me your name?
LUNA
Luna.
ZACK
Nice to meet you, Luna. I’m Zack. Are you hurt anywhere?
LUNA
No… It’s really cold.
ZACK
Hm, I think there should be some blankets around here somewhere.
MIRA
Are you a doctor?
ZACK
Er… Yeah. I think I must be.
LEVI
(to Riley and Mira) Come on, let’s leave them to it.
MIRA
We need to check the other pods anyway.
[Footsteps as the others leave]
LUNA
Where am I? What’s going on? I can’t think…
ZACK
It’s okay. This happens sometimes. Waking up can have a really disorientating effect. It should start to fade in a few hours.
LUNA
You’ve seen this before?
ZACK
Well, technically I haven’t seen anything before. But I remember doing it plenty. What about you?
LUNA
I don’t know. My memories don’t make sense. I’m planting seeds. Making clouds. Or… I remember a laboratory. Was I a farmer? Or, no, I used to work with geology? It’s all a mess.
ZACK
It’s okay, they should start to straighten out soon. Not exactly surprising the wake-up can leave you jumbled. Being born is hard enough when you do it as a baby!
LUNA
What?
ZACK
Sorry. Bad joke.
LUNA
It feels like they’re not my memories.
ZACK
No, not originally. But they’re yours now.
LUNA
I don’t know if I like that.
[Zack doesn’t know what to say to this.]
ZACK
Hang on, I’ll see if I can find you one of those blankets.
[Meanwhile, in another area of the awakening room:]
RILEY
So how do we open all these?
LEVI
They’re supposed to open automatically, like ours. We should wait for Zack before we do anything that might interfere with the stasis procedure.
MIRA
We don’t know how long he’ll be. That confused woman might –
LEVI
Her name’s Luna.
MIRA
Of course.
LEVI
I’m Levi, by the way. Good to meet you both.
RILEY
Right! Yes. I’m Riley.
MIRA
Mira. Anyway, we should see what we can do about these pods ourselves.
LEVI
Do you know anything about stasis tech?
MIRA
Well, this software interface is familiar, so…
[Mira taps the screen a few times]
MIRA
…But I’ve no frame of reference for the read-outs. There’s definitely someone inside, and I think the stasis field is active.
RILEY
Guess your skills are more software than wetware.
MIRA
Seems so. (calling over) Doct– Zack, can you have a look at this please?
[Zack jogs over to the pod.]
ZACK
Yes, how can I help? I found some blankets, by the way, if anyone’s –
MIRA
Perhaps later. Can you determine if this person is still alive?
LEVI
There’s no reason to think they’re dead, Mira. That’s just what suspended animation look like.
MIRA
None of us have ever done this before. It’s at least worth having someone with medical knowledge check them out.
RILEY
So, what do we do if they’re dead?
[Zack taps at the pod’s controls]
[An ‘EEEHHHH’ error sound]
ZACK
Looks like the terminal’s not fully working. There’s not really any way to tell without opening it up. Sleep and death are, well –
MIRA
I understand, thank you.
LEVI
No need to be rude.
MIRA
I’m not being rude. This isn’t right. We’re all supposed to wake up at the same time. The sooner we can figure out what’s gone wrong, the better we can address it.
RILEY
Are we sure this isn’t normal?
MIRA
Yeah, we’re supposed to – It just… feels like we’re all supposed to be here.
LEVI
Together. Yeah, I feel that too.
ZACK
Do we know how many of us are there supposed to be?
LEVI
Let’s see. There are about twenty pods, and space enough for, what, fifty?
RILEY
Well, there are five of us.
LEVI
More once we get the other pods open. Somehow.
RILEY
Okay, maybe I didn’t get the right memories or something, but you both seem to have a much better handle on how this is all supposed to go, so…?
MIRA
Look, as far as I’m concerned, there should be fifty of us awake right now, and once the doctor has checked us over we make our way to see the Commander. But we can’t go anywhere until we’re all awake, so we need to get as many of these pods open as possible. In the meantime, we figure out the situation.
RILEY
The situation is that everything’s broken.
LEVI
Then we fix it. Once everyone’s awake, then we can decide whether to panic. As a team!
RILEY
I’m not panicking, Levi.
ZACK
Right, if I’m not needed right now, I should go check on Luna.
LEVI
How is she?
RILEY
She seemed kind of upset when she woke up.
ZACK
I think it’s just memory troubles. Sometimes, with long periods of suspended animation, the mind kind of… mixes everything up.
LEVI
I suppose that’s the risk with implanted memories.
ZACK
They don’t always merge how they’re supposed to, especially if they aren’t being drawn on. Now she’s conscious, she should be able to start making sense of things soon.
RILEY
I think I might have that too, ‘cause, to be honest, I’m feeling really out of my depth.
ZACK
We can check. What’s your name?
RILEY
Riley.
ZACK
What’s your designation?
RILEY
GT-97221.
ZACK
Do you know where you are?
RILEY
The Ozymandias Contingency Seed Vault.
ZACK
What’s our next task?
RILEY
Find the Commander.
ZACK
Do you remember your parents?
RILEY
Uh… Yeah. Yeah, I think so.
ZACK
How many?
RILEY
How many… parents?
ZACK
Uh-huh.
RILEY
Two.
ZACK
And do you know their names?
RILEY
…No. No, I don’t remember their names!
ZACK
That’s okay. That’s right. That’s how it’s supposed to be, your different memories have merged and shed the specifics. It’s the most common failure point for the process.
RILEY
Oh. Right. Okay.
ZACK
So there’s nothing obviously wrong. Can you do two clockwise pirouettes for me, then one anticlockwise?
RILEY
What?
ZACK
It’s a calibration test. Right…
[Riley spins twice, then one the other way]
RILEY
Indigo! …Why did I say that?
ZACK
It means the test has worked and you’re fine. I think you’re all good.
RILEY
But I still feel… Confused? And sort of sick?
ZACK
I think that might just be anxiety.
MIRA
We’re all anxious. This isn’t how the wake-up is supposed to go.
LEVI
There are meant to be more of us.
MIRA
Actually Zack, could you bring Luna over here? I want to take stock of who we have.
[Footsteps as Zack departs]
LEVI
Give her a minute, she’s still recovering.
MIRA
We don’t know what’s going on yet, but so far the five of us is all we have. I mean to find out what resources we have available.
[More footsteps as Luna and Zack rejoin]
LEVI
Luna, how are you feeling?
LUNA
Alright, I think. A bit weird.
ZACK
The memories should be starting to settle down.
MIRA
Speaking of, what mix does everyone have? I’m mainly remembering administration and programming and I think I might have some memories of being a naval captain. My current instinctive priority is to report the Commander, so I assume I’m meant to be in a leadership position.
LEVI
Hang on, I also feel a need to report to the Commander. What does that have to do with leadership?
RILEY
Me too. It might just be a general urge everyone gets when we wake-up.
ZACK
Well, I think my priority is to ensure you’re all healthy and well, but that’s probably a specific “medical staff” thing. I definitely remember being in front of a classroom, too. Rows of smiling faces. So I think there’s some teacher in there as well.
MIRA
Right. Levi? Who are you? What’s your role?
LEVI
I don’t know about my “role,” but I definitely remember a lot of… academics, I suppose. Psychological studies, engineering projects, city plans…
MIRA
Not much immediately useful, then.
LEVI
I guess not.
RILEY
Uh, right. So I’ve got… I remember… There’s a lot of physics in my head. Did I win some kind of prize? Well, someone won a prize, I suppose. There’s also some robotics in there, but it’s…
MIRA
What?
RILEY
– mainly theoretical.
LEVI
That’s alright, Riley. I’m mainly theoretical too.
MIRA
Look, I’m just trying to make sure we know who we are. Or at least what we can do. Sorry if I’ve been curt. I know it’s a high-pressure situation for all of us.
(gentler) Luna, do you… Can you remember anything besides… this?
LUNA
(pauses) I was thinking I might be a farmer? I can remember being outside. The rain. Weather. I feel like I want to… coax things back to life again. Does that make sense?
MIRA
Sounds like terraforming to me.
LUNA
Maybe.
ZACK
Well, that’s a pretty good spread of skills long-term.
LEVI
We don’t know what the others can do yet – we need to figure out how to wake up them up before we can consider long term.
MIRA
They’re safe for now. If we don’t have anyone who knows how to work a stasis pod, then our immediate duty is to report to the Commander.
ZACK
Yeah, chances are they’ll know what to do next.
LEVI
I’m not leaving until we figure out how to get the others out.
MIRA
And how do you propose to do that?
LEVI
Well, ours activated automatically. Maybe we just need to trigger the right sequence. You and Riley have some technical know-how, maybe you can –
MIRA
Hang on. Where is Riley?
LUNA
I think they snuck off.
LEVI
Probably exploring. I say let them have some space. They’re having a difficult time of it as well.
MIRA
We’re all having a difficult time.
ZACK
Okay, then maybe let’s you and me have a look at this pod.
MIRA
Fine.
[Meanwhile, in the corridor just outside the awakening chamber:]
[Exploring footsteps, curious but uncertain]
[They pick up a broken device and examine it]
RILEY
Hm.
[They tinker with it for a few moments]
[There is a small whirr as it starts to activate]
RILEY
Hah! Got it.
[The whirr stops abruptly]
[Clunk, futz, and brief sparking]
RILEY
Shit.
[Riley discards the device and continues exploring]
[In the distance: a strange discordant WHISTLE, almost too soft here]
[Riley stops to listen]
[The whistle comes again – unnerving, not quite musical and faintly organic]
RILEY
Hello?
[Silence, aside from Riley’s footsteps]
[A dripping noise]
RILEY
Hello? Is there – Urgh!
[Squelch – their hand touches something wet and biological on the wall]
RILEY
The fuck…?
LEVI
(calling from a distance) Riley!
RILEY
(calling back) Yeah, Levi! I’m here!
[Footsteps as Levi approaches]
LEVI
You okay?
RILEY
Yeah…
LEVI
You wandered off.
RILEY
I didn’t – I just wasn’t sure what I could do back there. Thought I’d see what the rest of the station’s like.
LEVI
And?
RILEY
Broken. Same as the room. Same as the pods. I really don’t like this.
LEVI
Want to know a secret? Neither do I. None of this feels right, does it?
RILEY
No.
[The whistle comes again.]
RILEY
What is that noise?
LEVI
Hm? What?
RILEY
It’s like a whistling.
LEVI
I didn’t – Just now?
RILEY
Uh-huh.
LEVI
Maybe one of the station systems?
RILEY
Yeah. Maybe. And what’s this?
[Levi considers]
LEVI
Slime? I guess?
RILEY
Well, what do we do about it?
LEVI
We don’t touch it and worry about it later. We can explore properly when we’re all together. We shouldn’t wander off alone just now, okay?
[Riley is still preoccupied with the slime.]
LEVI
And stop touching that slime!
[We’re now back in the awakening room]
[Periodic ‘EEEEHHHH’ error noises from the pod controls, until finally:]
MIRA
Damn it!
[She kicks the pod]
[Another error noise]
LUNA
Is there anything I can do to help?
MIRA
Do you know anything about these stasis systems?
LUNA
No. Right now I don’t really know anything at all.
MIRA
Then unless we want to try and force the pods open… Urgh!
[Another error noise]
LUNA
How long have they – have we been in there?
MIRA
I don’t know. I can’t get access to the time logs. A long time.
LUNA
Years?
[Mira exhales]
MIRA
A long time. Not much point to a place like this if it activates as anything other than a last resort.
LUNA
Where were we before?
MIRA
Before what?
LUNA
Before here.
MIRA
We weren’t. We were made, or… more like… grown here and stored for when – Well, I don’t know exactly what’s happened out there but if we’re awake, we’re probably all that’s left.
LUNA
All that’s left of what?
MIRA
Civilisation. We’re a sort of… last resort. For humanity. If something really catastrophic happened. You really don’t remember any of this?
LUNA
Maybe. It sounds familiar, but I can’t quite reach it.
MIRA
It’s a lot to take in. Are you ok?
LUNA
I think so. Or…I will be.
[Beat]
So we’re not real?
MIRA
Of course we’re real. Just because we’ve been made with a purpose doesn’t mean we’re not real.
[Footsteps as Zack comes up to them]
ZACK
Hey, great news! I found one of the storage cupboards and it’s still stocked with water. Here.
[The sound of clinking glass as he hands over two bottles]
MIRA
Thanks.
[Drinking noises]
MIRA
What’s the state of the supplies? Are they still in decent condition?
ZACK
There’s a lot missing.
MIRA
That doesn’t make sense. Who else would have taken them? It doesn’t –
[The sudden sound of electric sparking from machinery]
MIRA
Shit, the pod. One second.
[She hops over to the pod]
[More error sounds as she starts pressing buttons]
LUNA
Mira, is everything alright?
MIRA
I don’t know. Zack, can you check on the woman inside?
ZACK
Yeah, she looks –
[A popping sound, then the noise of something igniting.]
ZACK
Mira, look out!
MIRA
I’m looking out! Everyone get back!
[An alarm begins to sound]
COMPUTER
Please stand away from the doors.
[A sudden loud slamming noise: the doors have come down]
[Crackling as the fire spreads]
MIRA
What the hell?
ZACK
I think we’re sealed in!
COMPUTER
Fire suppression system unresponsive.
ZACK
Seriously?
LUNA
Nothing in here works.
COMPUTER
Possible fire containment breach. Preparing full oxygen vent. Please evacuate chamber.
ZACK
(to computer voice) How can we evacuate when you’ve sealed the doors?!
MIRA
Then we’d better get them open. And fast.
[Back in the corridor, LEVI and RILEY are walking back towards the awakening room]
[An alarm starts to blare]
RILEY
What’s that?
[The door in front of them slams closed]
RILEY
Levi!
LEVI
I see it.
[Metallic banging noises]
LEVI
Hey! Hey, open up! Everything okay in there?
[Silence as the alarm continues]
RILEY
Do you think they did it on purpose?
LEVI
No, probably something to do with the alarm.
RILEY
What’s happened? Do you think it was a hull breach or something?
LEVI
No, no way they’d put a room like this close enough to the outer hull for that. Maybe a leak?
[He bangs on the door again, frustrated rather than expectant]
LEVI
We’ve got to get back in there!
RILEY
Hang on, I think there’s… Ah!
[Machinery noises as they pop open a panel, then press the button inside]
RILEY
Hello? Can anyone hear us? Hello?
[No response]
LEVI
Try again.
RILEY
Hello? Zack? Mir–
LUNA
(crackly, speaking over an intercom) Riley! Where are you?
LEVI
We’re outside the door. It just slammed shut.
RILEY
What’s going on?
LUNA
(over the intercom) Something went wrong with one of the pods. Fire’s spreading everywhere.
LEVI
(to Riley) Did you catch that?
RILEY
Something about a fire.
LEVI
(into the intercom) Did you say a fire? Can you get it under control?
ZACK
(over the intercom) It’s spreading really quickly. The computer’s going to vent the oxygen.
LEVI
Zack? That you? Is anyone hurt?
RILEY
Did he say something about oxygen?
LUNA
(intercom, heavy crackling) We need to get the door open. Mira’s trying to get the controls working.
LEVI
What about the others? The pods that are still asleep? Have you been able to get to any of them?
[No response]
[Frantic button-pressing sounds]
[Still no response]
RILEY
It’s dead.
[Back in the awakening room]
[The crackling sounds of fire are getting louder. More machinery is burning]
LUNA
Levi? Riley? They’re gone. Mira, have you found anything in there?
MIRA
(muffled slightly – she’s leaning into machinery) I’m trying. There’s not much light in here.
ZACK
Any idea how long until –
COMPUTER
Oxygen override in five minutes. Please evacuate chamber.
ZACK
Right.
MIRA
I don’t have the equipment for this, and the whole system seems to have locked up. Any thoughts, Zack?
ZACK
Well, with the materials and chemicals stored in this room the smoke is probably going to be pretty toxic…
MIRA
Try not to breathe. Got it.
LUNA
That’s not going to be a problem in a few minutes.
ZACK
Can we turn off the emergency venting?
MIRA
I wouldn’t know where to start. The door’s a better option.
ZACK
What about the others?
MIRA
We can’t help them if we’re also dead.
LUNA
Can we force the door open somehow?
MIRA
It’s completely sealed and not designed to be opened manually. I have to do it through the system.
ZACK
You said the system was fried.
MIRA
It managed to seal us in here, so it must be able to let us out again, if I can –
[Electric sparks indicating that she, in fact, can’t.]
MIRA
Ow! Shit!
LUNA
What happened?
ZACK
Are you hurt?
MIRA
I’m fine. Just give me a moment to focus.
[Their speech audibly starts becoming more labored as the fumes get thicker]
LUNA
(to Zack) Look, maybe we can lift it if we get a bit of purchase.
ZACK
I think there are hydraulics keeping it in place.
LUNA
Mira, can you break the hydraulics?
MIRA
What?
LUNA
You said you can’t fix it – can you break it more?
MIRA
I can try.
[Thunking as Mira moves around in the access hatch]
[There’s a fttz and chnnk as something breaks]
[A hiss as the door lifts slightly]
LUNA
There! I think I can – Zack, give me a hand.
[Luna and Zack strain to lift the heavy door]
[Voices are audible through the new gap:]
RILEY
It’s moving!
LEVI
I see them! (calling, muffled) Are you alright?
ZACK
We’re okay, but we can’t get out –
LUNA
Help us lift this door.
[More straining noises as the door is lifted]
[The flames crackle louder as a rush of new air enters the room]
LEVI
Where’s Mira?
MIRA
I’m here.
[Footsteps as Mira moves to the door to help]
[The door creaks as it is lifted higher – then stops]
LUNA
I’ve got it – you two head under.
MIRA
You sure?
LUNA
Yeah, I think –
COMPUTER
Oxygen vent initiated.
ZACK
What?! You said we had five minutes!
LUNA
Go!
[Hurried footsteps as Mira and Zack duck under the door]
[Machinery starts to whirr… then sputter and die]
LEVI
Come on!
[Another creak as Luna lets go of the door and starts moving through the gap]
[The others cry out as they strain to catch the door]
RILEY
(strained) Come on.
LUNA
Clear!
[The door is released and slams shut]
MIRA
What happened in there?
LUNA
I don’t know. It just… Nothing happened.
RILEY
Everything’s broken.
MIRA
So the fire’s still going?
LEVI
What about the others? The ones still asleep?
MIRA
I’m sorry, Levi, but there’s nothing we can do.
LEVI
No, we can’t just let them –
MIRA
If we open up the door again the fire could spread to the rest of the station. And that would be really, really bad.
LEVI
Maybe we could go back, fight the fire.
MINA
With what? I didn’t see any extinguishers in there… There was barely any water.
LEVI
There must be a system –
RILEY
(repeating) Everything’s broken.
[Beat]
ZACK
Mira’s right. Even if we could stop it, the fire’s caused too much damage by now. Anyone still in their pod is probably already dead.
LEVI
It can’t just be us. This isn’t how it’s supposed to be.
ZACK
I’m sorry, Levi.
MIRA
We need to seal off this area and get to the Commander. Something’s obviously not right here and we need to check in.
LEVI
…Okay.
[He takes a moment to steel himself]
LEVI
Come on, then. First priority is making sure the fire’s contained. Then we need to find some food and water. Then we can look for the Commander. Agreed?
MIRA
Agreed.
RILEY
There’s a doorway through the corridor not far from here – maybe we can seal it, if we need to block this section off.
LEVI
Right, then. Let’s go. Maybe then we can figure out what’s going on.
LUNA
And what happened to everyone else.