Transcription
How's it going? We've compiled the latest telemetry which shows us to be at about 96% of optimum. It's well done.
Patal, I understand that you finished recalibrating the sensors. Yes, I have. Show me the last transmission. We're getting first-rate data now. Some kind of opportunity is considered. We lost the signal from the probe. Let me replay the data from the auxiliary sensors to see where the problem lies. A CME. We may have lost the probe for good. What the hell? But we've had no advanced warnings of CME activity.
This morning, Dr. Lucas Foster, the billionaire entrepreneur, is spending nearly $100 million of his own money to launch the Galileo, [music] a man's scientific exploration vehicle, also known as a MAV, which he hopes will help mankind survive what he calls an uncertain future, but which his critics are calling Lucas's folly. Stay tuned for a press conference followed by the space launch here at Foster Aeronautics.
I don't care what you do up there, Joe. Just make sure you bring back, bring back some hard data we can use to convince these geniuses. Better get up there. Have yourself a hell of a ride. I will. [music]
Heat. Heat. Hey Jim, check the Q7 read-out. It looks a little high to me. Yeah, she's been in flux all morning. Don't worry though, she's still well within operating parameters.
So, you're going to talk to the vultures out there? Vulture is such a dirty bird, Jim. Say it with me. The media is our friend. You really want me to say it with you? Yes. The media is our friend. I was kidding. Jim, you need to relax. Yeah. Yeah. Relax. Nothing really happening here today, right? Not at all.
Good morning, everyone. I'm afraid my remarks are going to be abbreviated because launching a vehicle into orbit is a complex job, especially when I have to make every penny count, unlike my former employers in the public sector. But the question which is really on your minds is why would anyone be damn fool enough to waste $100 million to send a vehicle into low Earth orbit to study greenhouse gases. We all know how man-made pollutants are wreaking havoc in our atmosphere and how these deadly emissions are increasing exponentially the more fossil fuels we burn. What you don't know is that last year alone, methane concentrations inside our atmosphere tripled with potentially disastrous consequences for the environment. We need to do something. The problem is we don't know what. My pilot, Joe Johnson, is taking the Galileo up to collect data so that we may find that answer.
Any questions? Yes. Um, your old boss, Bradley Stamp, categorized this launch as sheer lunacy. Is he right? It isn't the first time he's called one of my ideas crazy. I think Brad is still a little upset I didn't let him invest in my company before I went public. Hilarious.
Can you explain why you're using a Russian-built craft today instead of an American one? It was cheaper. But the MAV Joe will be piloting doesn't skimp on quality or safety. Russian-built products are as good as anything we can make in the West. I'm sorry we had to cut this short, but time is money and I've got to go burn both. Thank you. Thank you. Man's a magician. That was Lucas Foster. Lucas is making $98 million go up in smoke.
Control, this is carrier 1. We are on the taxiway. Ready for takeoff. Need clearance. Galileo, how's the startup coming? So far so good. How's it compared to the simulator? You remember having a bit more leg room on the test launch? Lucas, next time the Russians offer you a deal, make sure it's one designed for humans, not chimpanzees. In your case, there might be some confusion.
Where is this from? Brun Island's radio spectrometer. This is huge. Yes, too huge. It must be an error. Brun's not known for their errors. You think the probe was in direct line of this CME? Patella, a normal CME is an ejection of supercharged particles from the sun's surface. If this is correct, then that is not just a coronal mass ejection. That's a solar explosion on a scale we've never seen before. Check the databases. [music]
In your 12 years here, have you ever seen a CME this big? No, let's not jump to conclusions. I'm not jumping to conclusions yet. The NSO in Japan has offered to send us data. [music] So is Anchorage. So is Chile. So, so the probe was taken out 46 hours ago, and this just showed up from Brunie. If this is accurate, and it looks like this thing is heading [music] right for us. I'm not going to sit on my hands and wait for this thing to hit. We need to talk to the Europeans again and call the NSO and find out where the data is that they promised me hours ago.
Gentlemen, this bird is in flight. At 10:15 Eastern Standard Time, we have the launch of Lucas Foster's manned aerospace vehicle. As we can see in this replay, the MAV is being carried piggyback by a converted 727, but will climb to an altitude of 38,000 ft where the Galileo will separate from the carrier plane. It will then fire its own rockets and ascend into the high reaches of the upper atmosphere to fulfill its mission.
According to Dr. Foster, the focus of this mission will be to measure methane levels in the thermosphere. The Galileo will be visiting areas Dr. Foster's team believes to have high concentrations of these deadly gases in order to prove once and for all that he is a self-absorbed lunatic. [laughter]
Harrier 1 has reached launch altitude. MAV, I have you at 38,000 ft. And I'm initiating the drop countdown in t-minus 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1. Carrier one beginning roll-out. The sky is yours, Galileo. Roger that. Separation successful. Firing booster rockets. And we had MAV ignition. That a boy, Joe. All onboard systems are well within the operating parameters. Damn. This is one hell of a ride, Lucas.
This is where he always screwed up in the flight simulator. Oh man. What's that red light? It's in the rear-view coming up fast behind me. It's a cop. I must have broke the speed limit. Galileo is out of visual range. Switching to tracking display. Tracking telemetry operational. Climbing to 80 miles altitude. He's very close to the first methane checkpoint. He should be reaching it in 6.3 seconds. Exactly.
Jill, how you doing there? Just fine. I'm about to switch all the sensors and monitoring equipment. Uh, Larry, we have an alarm in sector 3. Maybe a malfunction. Give me a reset and a full diagnostic. Joe, do you read me? We're showing an alarm at sector 3. Give me your status. We've lost telemetry. Probably rerouting it. 4. Joe, where'd he go? I don't know. Get him back, Jim.
This is Galileo. Come in, ground control. A power outage. How the hell could that be possible? It's got to be an instrument malfunction on every instrument. No way. Get me radio communications now. This is Galileo. Come in, ground control. Telemetry is back up. We're getting a signal. Joe, can you hear me? Come in, Galileo. What the hell happened, Lucas? I had a full system shutdown. We lost you here. You just vanished from the tracking screens. What's going on? I don't know. Everything just shut down. All the instrumentation, life support, booster rockets, everything. It's not possible. What was it, Lucas? Tell me you got this under control. We're working on it, Joe. As soon as I, Joe, Joe, the base, Galileo, the base, do you copy? [screaming] Joe, we have full signal loss. No telemetry. Larry, check the emergency transponder frequency. No. Go.
Satellite tracking indicates multiple targets on Galileo's flight path. We have confirmation that Lucas Foster's space launch turned tragic. Half an hour after launch, these images were filmed over California detailing the doomed mission. Foster Aeronautics won't comment on the status of pilot Joe Johnson and whether he was able to safely. What happened due to the low atmosphere? Just lost the MAV. Joe's. What about Joe? Officials are calling. There's no sign of an ejection pod. Here he comes. Here he comes. Mr. Foster. No comment. I don't have any comments anymore, sir. Mr. Foster, please. Lucas.
Hello, Joanna. Lucas, I just heard. I'm so sorry. Did Joe get out? Is there any way he could have ejected? It doesn't appear so. We're assuming the worst. If there's anything that I can do, thanks. But for now, uh, there isn't. Lucas, I'm just trying to help you out here, please. What do you need? Access to all the data that you have. Uh, tracking, flight logs, SIMs. All right. Just before the explosion, there was a brief power loss. A power loss? I have no idea what caused it or if it's related. Let me just cut out for a second. Joanna. Yeah. This isn't a Brad thing, is it? It's you that's asking. Yeah, Lucas, it's me. And I am so sorry. Thanks. Are you alright? It's a hell of a time for something like this. A Russian-built vehicle as well. It's going to do wonders for the president's stress level.
Excuse me, Admiral, but I fail to see the relationship. The Russian submarine fleet has run maneuvers off the Greenland coast. Colonel Albi, they've got 12 submarines in the water. It's a Security Council approved exercise, Admiral. Exercise. Sure. See, the thing is, we don't want them backsliding into communism. So, we say, "Sure, go ahead. Have fun." I still don't see what that has to do with the MAV explosion. If they so much as float a boat, even an inch over approved lines, I want to know about it. Do y'all hear me? Yes, sir. Yes, sir. I want to know because the president expects me to know. Now, [snorts] these exercises aren't hostile, but we have good reason to suspect that three of their subs are carrying nuclear missiles. Now, if a Russian-built space vehicle blows up in midair, Colonel, are you going to be the one to trust Russian subs with onboard nukes? I see what you mean about stress levels, Admiral.
Lucas, I've been looking all over for you. You need to see this. What is it? I just started getting the feeds from the MAV. It picked up a methane spike. It's off the charts. Sensors must have failed in the explosion. This can't be. Yeah, but look at all the other data. It's right on. This is crazy. This can't be right. Joanna, this transmission just came in from Japan. This is the very latest data. And this is from the Southern Observatory in Chile. And this is Anchorage. The photo you're looking at is the CME that we believe took out the solar probe. According to calculations, the mass from this emanation would have hit the Earth's atmosphere right about the time that Lucas lost his nav. Yes. These new views show the sun emitting multiple CMEs in a short time span. The sun has never done anything like this before. Well, not in recorded history, anyway. How long has this activity been going on? 72 hours. If these motion calculations are accurate, then the CME cluster is on the ecliptic heading towards sector 12, which brings the Earth directly into its line of fire. Yes.
Joanna, you know, I've been looking all over for you. Brad, we have a big problem. How big? Where'd you get this? Why didn't we have this? A friend of mine at the Southern Observatory heard about the MAV and he thought that we might be intrigued, is what he said. These are huge. It's like the sun is shedding its skin. Yeah, but why hasn't Joanna? She would have known about this. Are you sure this is right? Well, it's accurate. Let's run it again.
Lucas, what are you doing here? You scared the hell out of me. Well, don't worry. I'm about to scare the hell right back into you. Right. Why didn't you tell me about the CMEs? Absolutely. When every news reporter in town has turned your building into an impenetrable fortress. You're no longer answering your cell phone and your secretary. Oh, excuse me. Secretaries. All four of them happen to think that you're out of the country even though you're doing a press conference in the same building. Did you know? Tell me you didn't know. I just found out about it an hour ago. Look, Lucas, power failure in the MAV had to have been caused by this. The CME was hitting the same area. It's the only explanation. The CME didn't just cause the electrical failure. The CME obliterated the MAV. That's impossible. These solar events do not just randomly blow things up. The CME didn't blow it up. It ignited methane in the upper atmosphere and that blew up the MAV. Oh, no. No. You did not come down here just to start in on this again, did you, Lucas? Joanna, before the MAV blew, it took a methane reading that was off the charts. There's been a shift going on in the atmosphere, the likes of which we've never seen. You mix that in with this solar event, and you have a recipe for destruction. Yes, I know, Lucas. I lived with your theories for 6 years. Joanna, if my theory is right, this event is no recipe for destruction. This is a recipe for extinction.
Lucas, what happened yesterday was a tragedy. It was a horrible freak accident, but the MAV was outside of the D7 belts. It was above the ozone. It was vulnerable. We are not. The CMEs that I saw are like nothing we've ever encountered before. Not only will they take out anything in the outer atmosphere, they're packing enough power to break through the ozone, especially with those cute little holes we keep punching into it. I'm done listening to this. This is unsubstantiated conjecture. Of course, it's unsubstantiated. The man was destroyed before I could collect the evidence to prove it. Joanna, if we don't act now, we won't be here long enough to say I told you so. Lucas, I have always been intrigued by your theories, but we deal with hard facts and reality here. That is our business. You've been working here too long, Joanna. You sound just like Stamp. Well, I've got to run a bit of a media nightmare on my hands today, as you are well aware of. Oh, and about me being tough to reach these days. When you called my cell yesterday, right after the MAV was destroyed and I was in total crisis mode, I answered on the first ring. Hi there. Hi. Can I have a hot dog, please? Okay. Lots of onions. [screaming] Somebody, [screaming] Lucas. It happened again. What? You quoting policy like Stamp? Look, an old weather satellite just crashed in the middle of downtown Detroit. Its orbit took it directly into the path of a CME. They're already reporting eight known casualties, 17 wounded and more missing. [music] I'm taking your theory to Stamp. I thought that you should be there. Okay. We're going to need to go over everything you've got on the CME cluster, the updated telemetry and tracking from the network.
These CMEs are being tracked by the European Solar Imaging Probe. Could you show us the closest one, Patel, please? Look at the size of that thing. Yeah, it is by far the biggest CME that we've ever recorded. Could you highlight the incoming trajectory? What's that in its path? A satellite. A Russian satellite. Not just a satellite, Joanna. That is the [music] primary Russian comm set. All the military communications go through it. How many more CMEs are you picking up now? Dozens. More than we've ever recorded. But the real problem is that the Earth's orbit is bringing us directly into their path. We're going to be hit repeatedly over the next 48 hours. What could possibly be causing this? We don't know. No one does. My, my, my. To what do we owe the gift of your presence, Dr. Foster? This isn't ex-employee appreciation day. Uh, no, I think it's uh security, remove someone who has no clearance to be here day. Not bad. That was pretty funny coming from you, Stamp. Look, uh, Lucas, I, uh, I know you've been through a lot in the last few days, so I'm willing to take that into account, but please, you're going to have to excuse us. Actually, I asked him to be here. I believe he has a theory that we need to explore. You have no authorization to do that. I hate to interrupt this fascinating scientific discussion, but the president of the United States is on video conference. Shall I patch him through? Uh, no. Keep him on hold for a few minutes. He gets such a kick out of that. Hang on.
Brad, I allocate billions of dollars to the agency. I would hope at least that it would buy me some advanced notice when satellites come raining from the sky. Mr. President, I promise you we are on to this. You have the full breadth and scope of our resources. Great. Now, let's start with a simple explanation. There might be some people around here that don't know the difference between a CME and a BLT. BLT, sir. Coronal mass ejections, or CMEs, are solar explosions. During these explosions, highly charged solar particles are hurled into space at colossal speed. Sir. I take it these, uh, explosions are quite powerful. They can pack up to 100 megatons of TNT, maybe more. How many of them are there? Well, we are tracking several, sir, but uh we have everything under control. There's really nothing to worry about. Mr. President, if you'll excuse me, uh Dr. Parks, one of these CMEs is currently headed for the primary Russian comm set, and there are many more of these phenomena, all bigger than we have ever seen. Our updated calculations show that some of them are going to hit the Earth. Doesn't the uh ozone layer protect us from stuff like that? Well, it's hard to say. Theoretically, yes. But the problem is that all of our satellites operate well beyond the ozone barrier. What's the uh potential damage assessment? Sir, the potential energy of one of these CMEs could destroy every satellite in its path. We could be looking at major communication disruptions. Entire hemispheres could go dark. Please forgive this. My associate is blowing this out of proportion. We may lose some uh satellite communication, sir. There may be some more crackle in your radio, but we're going to be okay. The ozone will hold. Excuse me. Lucas. Mr. President. What are you doing there? I'm trying to avoid more casualties, sir. Mr. President, what you haven't been told is that this is a disaster scenario. Sir, as we all know, man-made chemicals like chlorofluorocarbons have infiltrated the upper atmosphere and weakened the ozone, put holes into it. The energy that this bombardment of CMEs is carrying can and will penetrate the ozone at these weak points. But that is just the beginning. Our atmosphere has always been a mix of nitrogen, oxygen, and 2% other gases. That 2% has gone to 5% in the last 10 years. And most of that is methane. Highly volatile, highly flammable methane. So when those CMEs break through the ozone, they will ignite pockets of methane and literally set the sky on fire. That fire will consume the world's oxygen supply within a few hours. All living things will literally suffocate to death. Mr. [clears throat] President, with all due respect, Dr. Foster's elaborate claims are entirely based on speculation. Well, uh, we all agree that these things are coming our way, right? Yes, we do. What's the time frame? Well, the first CMEs have already begun to hit and it will get increasingly worse over the next 48 hours. I will take all this under consideration. Uh, you'll let me know immediately if you have any further information. Yes. Thank you for your time, sir. How dare you use this agency and its good name for your Armageddon propaganda. Bradley, his theory is valid. I want you out of this building. Thank you, Dr. Foster. This is going to be bad. What do you mean, Admiral? Never seen signs of fear before. Now, if this is going to continue for the next two days and Detroit cannot have been an isolated incident. Couldn't agree with you more, sir. If a single CME brought down that satellite, imagine what a storm of them can do. Exactly. Let's scramble the R-15s. Give us some sky cover. Where are you going, sir? I'm going to see what those Russian subs are up to. We're losing our satellites. I want to be able to track them the old-fashioned way. Captain, this just came in. Lieutenant Troy. Yes, sir. Set new coordinates. 10° south, 5° west, increase speed 5 knots, and take us [music] to 300 m. Captain, he's going to take us closer to the international boundaries. That is correct, Lieutenant. Yes, sir. 10° south, 5 degrees west. Increase speed five knots. Take us to 300 m. Captain, what is going on? Officially, nothing. Unofficially, we're going to show the world that Russia will not be intimidated. Anyone believe you? I don't know. At least the president isn't just getting Stamp's version. Oh, yeah. Where'd you lose him? Right around the part where the sky catches fire. That's the tough part. All right. So, what do we do now? I'm the big money loudmouth guy that gets us into trouble, Jim. I pay you to come up with the answers that get us out of trouble. Then we're in a lot of trouble. We can do this, Jim. Come on, Yuri. Our experts tell us that a huge solar flare is headed right toward your main communication satellite. Now, when they collide, it's going to knock your satellite right out of the sky. Our scientists have not been able to verify these claims. Well, you've got all the data we have, Yuri. What more do you want? Our satellites could also be knocked out. You know what'll happen then? We will all be in the dark. Now, I don't have to tell you what will happen when uh our two fleets are operating in close proximity with one another without the ability to get direct commands from us. I agree. Call back your fleet and we will do the same. On the contrary, you're you're the one who is operating with armed submarines near the international border. It is you who must pull back first. I have full permission from the other members of the Security Council for these exercises. If and when we are convinced of the authenticity of this threat, we will join you in taking the appropriate measures. Authenticity? Yuri, four hours ago, a satellite dropped in downtown Detroit. If you want to know about casualties, it's on every major network. I'm deeply sorry for the tragedy in Detroit. But my first responsibility is to my country. Yuri, there's an old saying, after pride comes a fall. Now, why don't we both put our pride aside and work together to prevent further casualties? How about that? Okay, Ryan. I will order my subs to pull back. I trust you will do the same with your fleet. You have my word, Yuri. It will be done. Thank you, Yuri. Colonel, is there any way to prevent the satellite from coming down? No, sir. Its orbit is directly in the path of the CME. Admiral, what do you take? If we position ourselves in a perimeter in the North Atlantic, our subs can monitor any breach of international waters by their subs during the communication blackout. Then do it. But alert our commanders that we may also lose communication and that they should keep their cool. Yes, sir. I know any trigger-happy idiots out there. No one is going to believe us. Not a word. Yep. No one will ever give [music] me as much as a dime for future projects. Yep. You're going to be working fast food for the rest of your life. Yep. You think there could possibly be another way? No. No. Once the CMEs clear the ozone, the methane will ignite. There won't be a lot of time to put it out. I agree. Maybe 24 hours before total [music] flashover. Well, we better get going. Where? Back to the space agency. When you put this matrix through some real simulations, we don't have the processing power here. Lucas, they just kicked you out of there. Jim, it's a space agency. It ain't the Kremlin. Come on. Joanna, we're a team here. All of us are part of one big team. If a member of that team starts screaming like Chicken Little that the sky is falling, then the whole team stands to lose. That could mean millions of dollars in funding. I can't believe that you're talking about funding at a time like this. Have you seen the data? We have an obligation. First and foremost, to your job, to your co-workers, to the people that pay your salary, not to some crazy radical who thinks he's important just because he has some money. Not to some pseudo-scientist, and not to an ex-husband who you may or may not still have feelings for. How dare you say that I would let my relationship with Lucas sway my opinions or my actions? You know what, Brad? What? You're being blinded by jealousy. The only one whose judgment is being compromised here is you. Dr. Parks, you wait. Excuse me. The next of the CMEs has started to hit. I, I think the Russian primary comm set is about to be annihilated. Come on. It is not going to stay up there. It's too much. We're going to have to get NORAD on the phone. The satellite's [music] coming down. NORAD confirms the probable point of impact of the satellite just east of Lake Erie. Copy that. We have two F-15s on intercept. This is Delta patrol. We've got cloud cover, but I have the object on my radar. We see it. Can you intercept? I think so, sir. If you can't, we're going to lose a section of downtown Buffalo. Let's do it. Delta 2. Copy that. Bogey 10 miles from Buffalo inbound. Presently at 18,000 ft and climbing. Satellite at 40,000 ft. Satellite [music] at 33,000 ft. Roger that. We're at 27,000 ft. Satellite's coming in hot at 29,000 ft. Take a shot. I've got visual. Arming. Missile. It's not a clean kill. [music] We've got debris. Still debris. Get it. Delta 2. I'm on it. It's into the clouds, but I've got a signal. Roger that, Delta 2. Satellite 253. Tracking target. Missile away. I don't have, I do not have impact. Come on, gentlemen. You can do it. You've only got one shot [music] to do this. Satellite 74. I've got visual. Missile up. Yeah. Yes. This is the second satellite that's been destroyed by a CME. Brad, and there is no way to know how many others will be affected as the rest of the CMEs hit. We need to get better informed. I want a direct feed from every observatory that you can get a hold of. And I want them patched in here as soon as possible. Anchorage, Noricora, Las Campanas. I don't care. My nephew in his backyard with a pair of binoculars. I want them all online. I want to know if so much as a bottle rocket goes off. All right. Anchorage. They'll never let us in. I have an update from Anchorage. They're on line three. Let's get them pizza from. You guys are missing one hell of a light show over here. So, I heard. How soon can you get us visuals, gentlemen? We're still working on it. We've been trying to patch them through, but our satellite connection is down. Oh my god. Anchorage. Hello. Can you hear me? The sky is glowing. Anchorage. Anchorage. What's this? I hear about a glowing sky. Hello. Uh, Lucas. Sorry, sir. I, I couldn't stop. Should have shot him. Give me confirmation on Anchorage. I need to know what happened there ASAP. Brad, I don't have to tell you this is bad and I think you now know it's going to get worse. The ozone will not hold and we have to prepare for that. All right. Thank you. And where are we? We just lost Anchorage. The observatory or the whole city? We don't know yet. Show me that. Admiral, what is it? The Russians promised they were going to downgrade the combat status of their subs, and they didn't. Not quite. Their comms went down before they could contact the final sub. So, this sub has zero contact with their commander. It gets worse. [sighs] The order to recall ourselves to safe water was in transit. Now our comms are down. Not all of them received instructions. Not all of them. How many? Two. The uh Okala was just north of the Azores Islands. Yes. Lancing was off the coast of Greenland monitoring the Russian fleet maneuvers. So, two of our subs are out there somewhere, just waiting for a Russian sub to cross the safe water boundary. I just pray to God those men, theirs and ours, show a little judgment. Anything? No, sir. We're not picking up this thing. It's not an equipment malfunction. No, sir. Everything seems to be functioning perfectly. Everything but our satellite. We have no outside communications, only what we can pick up on shortwave. What about sonar and radar? It's operational, but there is a great deal of interference. Makes it really difficult to say the least. Scientists say this massive display of northern lights is a visible indication of the bombardment of supercharged [music] solar particles. These particles are shorting out satellite circuitry and causing energy surges in electrical transmission lines. Due to mounting satellite losses, global government agencies have taken the unprecedented step of commandeering the use of deep sea communication cables that are shielded from interference to allow communication to continue as this worldwide crisis deepens. The internet. Mainland China just went dark. Not 100% certain. It could have been an accident or it could have been as Lucas predicted. We're trying to get some hard data, but with our satellites down right now, we're running deaf, dumb, and blind. The power of these images is clear in this recent footage from Eastern Europe. Mr. Throughout the night, the blow of [music] supercharged northern lights shone on scenes of increasing unrest. In Berlin, government buildings were set ablaze by protesters demanding action. Mass demonstrations of public unease over the solar crisis also drew police or military responses in Poland, Romania. Captain, there is still no response. I cannot reach anyone. There must be equipment malfunction. I have run full diagnostics twice. There is nothing wrong with our system. There must be. Run them again. Yes, sir. All stations to full alert. I do not wish to be caught by surprise. Lieutenant. Yes, sir. Take us to 100 m. These are not our orders, sir. I know this, but perhaps our communications will clear up at the shallow depth. Or maybe we will be sitting duck, captain. 100 m. Lieutenant. Yes, sir. 100 m. Speed 45°. Mr. President, these CMEs that have overloaded power grids and knocked out our communication satellites are nothing compared to the last few that are going to hit our northern and southern hemispheres. I'm certain these CMEs will breach our ozone. In the after-effects, uh, now disastrous. Far worse than disastrous, sir. The burning methane fires in the stratosphere will increase in intensity and magnitude until they reach a point of flashover. We'll have complete and total oxygen depletion. As we scientists call it, sir, an e, an extinction-level event. That's the bad news, sir. The good news is we believe there's a way out, Jim. Well, sir, Mr. President, if we're facing the world's biggest fire, then what we need is the world's largest fire extinguisher. Uh, the most probable point of penetration is wherever the ozone is the weakest, and that would be over the poles. Now, this is a good thing. We've calculated that a 20-megaton nuclear device detonated closest to the entry point of the CME will bring enough water vapor into the atmosphere to uh extinguish the flame. Wait a minute. Are you serious? You want You're asking me to nuke the North Pole? You out of your mind? It's the only scenario which will work, sir. Dr. Parks, what do you think of this theory? Sir, if the ozone layer doesn't hold, the solution proposed is a viable one. Stamp. Sir, this is uh not in my scenario nor uh my solution, but I feel in light of what we're dealing with, you should hear it all, sir. Okay. Okay, sis. So, let's not say I approve this order. Then I authorize an ICBM strike on the polar ice cap. Uh, no, sir. Uh, because our outer atmosphere is so unstable, an ICBM won't work. It has to fly too high. We should launch from a submarine at close distance. The only subs we have close to the North Pole don't have that payload. But we know of a Russian sub in that general area. The Vosnesk. And it's loaded. The Vosnens. We can make this work, sir. We need to get that sub. Even if we were to act on this elaborate fantasy. We can't contact our own subs, let alone the Russian subs. As Admiral Lawrence points out, there are difficulties with your proposal, Lucas. Okay, look. We're only going to have to take all of this into consideration and get back to you. Mr. President, time is one thing we don't have. We need to get this plan into action now. If we wait, it'll be too late. Sir. Lucas, what you propose is very risky. I want to weigh all these options and I will get back to you. He's not going to do it. Do you blame him? I will when we all die. You made your pitch. The president has all the information. He doesn't realize we're out of time. Excuse me. Lucas, where are you going? The Vosnesk. The what? Look, I know that Russian sub commander, Joanna, before the MAD was airborne, it was tested for splashdown in the North Atlantic. The man in charge of the test was a Russian sub captain named Gregorovich. After the final test, he was assigned to the Vosnesk to do routine patrols in the Arctic. If that's him, there's a chance, however slight, that I will be able to board that sub. Look, I know you have a relationship there, but they're on high alert. No Russian submarine commander is going to let an American on board his sub. That's the best shot we've got. Look, we don't have much time before the largest of the CMEs hits. The real job is yours. We can't figure out the coordinates to launch the ordinance until we know exactly where that CME has penetrated its speed and trajectory. Jim, you need to run the calc with Joanna. Pinpoint me a location. We'll only have one chance at this. You really think they're going to let you on a Russian sub? I'm going to give it a shot. Get their last known coordinates. Take my jet to Iceland and charter a helicopter from there. All right.
Heat. Heat. I see. No, thank you, sir. She's got a fragmentary communication. Not quite sure. Brad, what is it? I think New Zealand was just obliterated in firestorm. There are unconfirmed reports from Sydney, Australia, today that the sky to the southeast in the direction of New Zealand was seen to [music] erupt in flames. Communications from New Zealand, including deep sea cable, have stopped, and scientists are suggesting a CME may have breached the ozone, causing unforeseeable damage. My god. What is certain is that until now, the human component of this solar storm has been the most unpredictable. Complete civil unrest has broken out in several countries, leading to the imposition of martial law. But as events in the Republic of Georgia and [music] South Africa show, even military curfews have been ineffective against the near hysterical [music] spread of panic and violence as people fear the end of the world has arrived. Mr. President. Yeah. We have absolute confirmation that New Zealand's been destroyed. Foster was right. The ozone has been breached. You know, uh, Frank, I've known Lucas Foster for more than 20 years, and he's been right more times I can remember. Sir, Lucas Foster has gone off the reservation. What are you talking about? I've received word that he's trying to link up with a Russian sub. You don't mean that Russian sub that's off the coast of Greenland. Yes, sir. I've also received confirmation that this Russian sub is armed with nukes. Where is he now?
Captain, you need to take a look at this. We've got massive interference on the sonar. What the hell? We're losing power, sir. How is that possible? Get me a read on that sonar. Get our damned radio to work. Yes, sir. Get me the engine room. I need to know what's going on with the power. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Calling Russian Navy submarine the Vosnesk. This is Lucas Foster. I'm in a civilian helicopter. Do you read me? Calling the Vosnesk. This is Lucas Foster. Do you read me? Calling Russian Navy submarine the Vosnesk. This is Lucas Foster. I'm in a civilian helicopter. Do you read me? Captain, we have an incoming craft. I believe it is a helicopter, sir. Helicopter. All the way out here. Are you sure? Yes. I can hear it. A helicopter. Lieutenant Rice. Yes, sir. Take us to periscope depth immediately. We need visual confirmation. Call in the Vosnesk. This is Lucas Foster. Do you read me? Vosnesk. Captain, this is the radio room. We have an incoming transmission. Patch this through speakers. It's coming in over the shortwave, sir. Captain, we reached the periscope depth. Lieutenant must see this. What's happening up there? Calling Russian Navy submarine. Sir, it must be a trap. Americans have disabled our communications and this is just a ploy to get us to the surface. Russian Navy submarine. The is that? It is civilian helicopter. This is Lucas Foster. Misha, if you can hear me, I've got your favorite Cuban hand-rolled by Castro himself. Take her up. Captain, please reconsider. This is against military protocol. You are correct, Lieutenant. Surface now. You beat me. I will not repeat the order again. Hey, sir. Is anyone out there? Surfacing? Lucas, my friend, we are receiving you and I have given the order to surface. Yes, Misha, you are a lovely sight. Let's take it down. Yep.
Admiral, intel has been picking up chatter around the globe. Several regions in the northern hemisphere are reporting [music] fires in the sky. Clouds spontaneously combusting. Do we know Foster boarded the Russian Soviet? No. No. I guess we'd better get ready for hell on earth. Captain. Lucas, I hope you understand. I'm in violation of strict orders having you aboard this vessel. I assure you, Captain, it's for a good [music] reason. Besides, you're not able to communicate with the command operations, are you? How do you know this? Because your main comms dropped out of the sky. What is going on up there? The communications, the sky. We're being assaulted by a massive solar storm. I don't have time to give you a detailed explanation, but it's bad. It's real bad. And I'm going to need your help and your trust if we're going to stop it. Joanna Parks. Clock is ticking. You heard from Lucas? Not yet. Don't worry, he'll call. I hope so. I just got the final trajectory. I'll have the launch coordinates soon. Hang in there. Okay. Target the polar ice cap with our nuclear missiles. Captain, the sky that you saw was only a glimpse of the worldwide destruction that's been going on. Why not an American sub? Yours was the closest armed sub to the target. You cannot launch from the United States. No. An ICBM launched from the States would have to leave our atmosphere. Once it did, its guidance system would be knocked out by the solar storms. It must be launched at low altitudes at close range. That's where you come in, sir. Captain, this is the only chance we have. This disaster, it's accelerating, moving toward flashpoint. If we don't stop it now, sir, it can't be stopped. I could not possibly authorize such an act. Not without approval of my commander. Captain, how about if you talk to the President directly? Would that work? How? Captain, we are approximately here. If we can get to here, the transatlantic cables, we can tap in and call the Kremlin. I've compiled the data sent by the observatories before they went offline into a simulation of the methane ignition pattern. Put it on screen. The cable is somewhere around 800 m deep. Approximately 2500 ft. That is very deep for a sub of our class. Captain, that's the closest and shallowest point to the cable. Captain, if we go below 700 m, there's a really good chance that the ship's hull will crumble from the pressure. When the fires in the sky intensify, they will deplete our oxygen. All life on this planet will suffocate in a matter of a few hours. We have to act now. Lieutenant, set course for these coordinates. Initiate deep dive precautionary measures now. Lieutenant. Yes, sir. Initiate deep dive precautions. Sir, I'm picking up another sub. It's American. Captain, if we make contact, there'll be no time for explanations. Rig for silent running. Yes, sir. Rig for silent running. Oh my god. It's heading for us. [cheering] 450 m. Captain, the American sub is getting closer. 8° south, 30° west of our position. Captain, do we keep with this dive? What depth are they at? 275 m. Close enough to shout. But they have not heard us, have they? They're not behaving as if they have. Stay in the dive. Keep it smooth and very quiet. Hey, sir. Stay in the dive. Somebody here. Just breathe in. Grab the bike. Relax. Come on. Come on. Let's go. 700 m. [music] Captain, I don't think she can take too much more pressure. She will have to. And so she will. Captain, we have a leak at level three. Torpedo bay 4 is flooded. Seal it off. Hi, sir. Seal it off. 800 m. Mark reached. Full stop. Hold up. Oh no. Oh, no. Please work. Please work. Oh, thank God. What the hell just happened up there? We got hit. The program. Is it still running? Yeah. Yeah, it's still running. Uh, just under 11 minutes. Thank God. [sighs and gasps] I'm on my way. President Lucian, this is Lucas Foster. I need your help, sir. Mr. Foster, I believe I know why you are calling. I've spoken with President Gordon. We will approve your plan. My submarine is at your disposal. That's very good news, Mr. President. May I put you on with Captain Gregorovich, commander of the Vosnesk, please? Thank you, sir. Dr. Park, you can't go down there. Ned, it's not safe. Walls are collapsing. That's a chance I'm going to have to go. Dr. Parks. [music] It's Lucas. He's on the sub. Thank God. [panting] Lucas. [sighs] Joanna, it's good to hear your voice. And yours. You got those launch coordinates? Yeah. Here we go. Latitude 86° 43 minutes 17 seconds north. Longitude 41° 19 minutes 4 seconds west. Joanna, good work. I've never seen anything like this. This wasn't supposed to happen. There's still time to stop it. I got the coordinates to Lucas on the sub. Lieutenant, what's the status on our comm? The radio's still down, sir. No satellite guidance to speak of. I know we're still down, Lieutenant. I want an ETA and when they'll be restored. I wish I could give you that, sir, but every indication leads us to believe that this is an external problem. External? Sir, I mean, the problem is not with our comm equipment. The problem is with the source. Are you telling me the world's biggest superpower is just lost its satcom? Maybe it was a test. I have
Advanced notification of all maritime scheduled tests.
Either way, we would have had communication, which means the only reason we haven't heard from headquarters is that they went dark themselves.
Are you insinuating we may have been attacked?
Sir, we did experience a power surge and interference consistent with nuclear EMP. Captain, we may be picking up another sub.
May be picking up another sub. I want a confirmation on that and I want it now.
Yes, sir.
100 m from missile launch depth. Sir, input target coordinates. Lieutenant launch coordinates are set. Captain, how soon until we reach launch position?
In 15 seconds, sir.
Unlock missile launch codes.
Sir, sonar is picking up a Russian sub.
Are you sure?
Positive, sir.
What's their position? Sir, they're over the safe water boundary inside Icelandic territorial waters.
On my mark. 3 2 1 mark. Input launch code. Now measles are armed. Sir, prepare to fire. Captain, the Americans, they have located us. Sir, we have an incoming message from the Americans on a short wave. They say we have drifted off course, that we are in violation of Icelandic territorial waters and are ordered to surface immediately.
Tell the Americans we are acting under direct orders of both President Illutian and President Gordon.
Sir, they say they're acting under the direct orders of both President Delucian and President Gordon, and that they're running a Cold Black scenario.
What kind of game are they playing? They are at missile launch depth. Sir, tell them we have no way to verify their claims. They need to surface immediately. Any failure to comply will be deemed an act of aggression.
Yes, sir.
They are giving us one minute to surface and prove the authentication of our orders.
If we surface now, sir, it'll be too late. The window of opportunity has almost closed. We must do this now, sir.
Send another message. Tell the Americans we are on a timeritical mission and that we pose no threat. Send this.
Yes, sir. American submarine, we are on a timeritical mission and our operation poses no danger to your vessel.
Let them know we mean business.
Yes, sir.
On my mark, Captain. They're opening their torpedo bay doors.
Lieutenant Troka, I will not fire missiles. Sir, give me your key. We cannot do that. This is suicide. Lieutenant, don't lock Lieutenant Troy Scott in his quarters.
Yes, sir. Lock him up.
Now, Captain, firing missiles 1 through five. Sir, the Russians just launched five missiles.
What a god's name.
Sir, awaiting your orders, sir.
Prepare to fire. We're taking them out, sir. Yes, sir. Prepare to fire.
Send another message. Tell them we are surfacing.
Fire when ready. Fire when ready.
It's too late. Torpedoes in the water. Prepare counter measures. Fall ahead. Down right angle 45°.
Fire counter measures. Fire counter measures.
Sir, the Russians have launched countermeasures and are moving away at full screws.
Prepare to fire again, sir. Yes, sir. Prepare to fire.
Captain measure successful. Fire when ready. Fire when ready. Captain, the Americans have fired two more torpedoes. All hands to damage control stations.
Fire counter measures on my mark and then hard turn 90° starboard.
800 m. 700 m. Not yet. 600 m 500 m.
Fire counter measures. Initiate turn order. A little more dear. God help us. Sir, the torpedoes have missed their target. There is no return fire.
Low torpedoes. Prepare to fire again.
Damage report. Suble one has minor hole breaches in the pump room. Sir, plug them and evacuate.
Yes, sir. Give me the shortwave radio.
American sub commmander, this is Lucas Foster. I'm on board the Russian submarine Vosninsk. Hold your fire, sir. You better hear this. Hold your fire. This is Lucas Foster. You didn't succeed.
We don't know that yet. Face it, Joanna. The calculations must been off. Or maybe there was human error. Maybe you didn't get the missiles off.
He did. I know he did.
Mr. Foster, your presence does merit the sessation of hostilities. However, you must warn the Russian captain to maintain a neutral posture, to surface immediately, and to surrender. We're demanding your immediate surrender.
Never.
Captain, it's just a formality. Send the message back. Tell them we will comply.
But sir, someone has to take Mr. Foster home. Come on.
All right.
He did it.
Yeah. really did it.
All right. Yes, Mr. President. It worked. Lucas has done it.
Yes, Captain. I owe you one. If there's anything I can ever do for you, do not be such a stranger, Lucas Foster. The next time you are in the neighborhood, drop by. Oh, and uh I believe this is yours.
Uh Sector 2. All clear. Lucas. Hey. Come on.
Oh, I'm so glad you're back. Thank you. Great job. Thank you. Hey, welcome back. Thank you. So, where's the rest of the welcoming committee? We're having lunch with the president, Lucas. What more do you want? I don't know. Marching band would have been nice. Yeah. Let's get out of here. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat.