Disclaimer: real people have been used in the story.
However, their personalities and actions are fictitious here.
SUBTITLE: April 2022.
Space. Silent ocean of infinity.
Stars don't twinkle, more numerous than on a clear night.
The sprawling International Space Station floats above Earth.
We're approaching the ISS...
Then the ISS's founding Russian modules, "Zvezda"...
| ~ | The incident occured while fitting the data unit. A six-hour mission. Here, on the upper flank of Zvezda. |
The Soyuz MS-21 spacecraft is docked to the station.
On a module, a mess of tubes, cables and protective plates...
|
| ~ | First, it took an extra two hours to redirect the power cables. |
In the "Zvezda" Multipurpose Laboratory Module.
On the walls: a Christian cross, images of saints and family, a Russian flag and mostly technical gear.
Three Russian men, almost superhuman in skill and composure, float in zero gravity.
They study and points diagrams of the Russian Service Module, relaxed.
They chat too, but the scene is silent.
Astronaut DENIS MATVEEV (39), network expert.
He trained hard, and wants to show what he can do.
|
| ~ | Denis Matveev was the best expert for this first job. |
Astronaut SERGEY KORSAKOV (37), flight engineer.
Too talented, promoted to astronaut, but didn't ask so much.
|
| ~ | Sergey Korsakov oversaw operations. |
Astronaut OLEG ARTEMYEV (51), veteran mission leader.
He's said to be fearless and optimistic, and if a tiger faced him...
The animal would run away scared, or beg to be his pet!
|
| ~ | And I, Oleg Artemyev, led the spacewalk. |
The space station, orbiting the Earth 16 times a day, enters the shadows...
Oleg wears his space suit, helmet open.
Sergey helps Denis put his on.
| - | Eight hours. That'll be the ultimate autonomy limit. |
| - | No worry. I'll finish the first job in ten minutes. |
|
| - | (smiles) Of course, Denis. |
Sergey exits the airlock.
He closes the hatch from the adjacent module.
Denis and Oleg don breathing masks.
Pshhh... Pure oxygen enters.
Sergey checks their vital information on a screen.
|
| - | Nitrogen levels are dropping. Just thirty more minutes. |
ISS emerges from Earth's shadow, glistening with sunlight...
Shhh... Air's sucked out of the room, filled with space gear.
Denis and Oleg's spacesuits are closed, toolboxes attached.
They unplug their umbilicals from the airlock power supply.
Fasten their safety tethers to the outer hatch handrail.
Lower their golden, reflective sun visor.
|
| - | (taps a camera fixed on his helmet) Do you receive the video? |
On a screen: the airlock, from Oleg's helmet camera.
|
| - | 5 out of 5, Oleg. |
On another screen: PAUL DYE (60s), NASA flight director.
|
| - | All set. Over. |
Sergey displays on one of the giant screens, in the huge ISS control room of Houston.
Dozens of NASA technicians monitor mission parameters at consoles.
At the flight director's desk, calm and professional:
| - | MCC here. Optimum parameters. Start mission. Over. |
A giant screen displays Oleg and Denis in the airlock.
NASA technicians look at them with quiet admiration.
Everyone here weighs up the courage it takes to spacewalk.
|
| - | I'm going out. (unlocks external hatch) |
On a screen: the ISS module and airlock seen from space.
Paul Dye and technicians focus, with inevitable apprehension.
Silence, vacuum, blinding sun and 100° heat.
The module's hatch opens slowly inwards...
Denis climbs out into space.
He levitates along the module, clinging to its rail...
Sunlight floods the room. Oleg exits into space...
Denis hooks his safety tether to the Service Module.
He attaches a counterforce footplate to a rail.
Oleg floats towards Denis, his safety tether loosening.
He ties his toolbox to a rail, then returns to the airlock.
Steady on the footplate, Denis pulls pliers from his toolbox.
As he examines the module's cables, the view recedes, and...
... We see Oleg and Denis working in accelerated mode.
https://youtu.be/T5bp0h8FFOs?t=8
They move around the module like ants.
ISS orbits Earth at lightning speed.
Continents and seas pass by.
Days and nights alternate. Blinding sunrises flash.
To a dawn sun, acceleration suddenly stops--
Using an automatic screwdriver, Denis fixes a data box.
|
| - | It's almost done. |
Levitating nearby, Oleg checks the sockets on the box.
|
| - | It's when I'm here that I realize how much I love my wife and kids. |
|
| ~ | Hey, wouldn't it be easier when she's in your bed? Or when you're driving your kids to school? |
|
| - | Shut up, Sergey. Start by getting married! |
|
| - | Ooowh! |
A screen displays Denis and Oleg faces, via internal cams.
|
| ~ | You know, Sergey, wives can be scary. And children even more so! |
|
| - | Ah ah! Should I adopt a bear instead? |
|
| ~ | Ah ah ah! |
Tak!!! A sound of impact!
|
| - | !!! (immediately on alert) |
|
| - | What's going on, Sergey? |
|
| - | ... ?! (straightens head, intuition of danger) |
Sergey consults an ISS damage report screen:
An external panel flashes red, at "Mobile Servicing System".
|
| - | A piece of debris has hit the MSS! |
|
| ~ | What damage? |
On a screen: an USA ASTRONAUTE, in an ISS central module.
| ~ | Debris impact here. No damage, shielding held. |
|
| - | Why didn't the detection work? |
|
| ~ | Dust, too small. That's why there's no damage. |
TAK!!! A louder impact sound!!!
Oleg, !!!, sees ten meters away: a silent impact on a plate.
Like a sniper's bullet! On the Functional Cargo Block.
Debris from the damaged plate vanishes into space.
|
| - | Impact of debris on the FGB! |
Sergey opens the incident reports, but immediately--
Tak! Tak! Tak! Multiple impact sounds!!!
Denis and Oleg see impacts, all over the space station!!
ISS on a giant screen: dozens of flashing red dots.
Technicians are in a frenzy!
|
| - | Safety compromised! Abort mission! |
From deep space, a multitude of dust rush towards the ISS...
|
| - | Get back to the airlock! Quick!! Hurry!!! |
Denis and Oleg clip their tethers to a long rail.
They hurry along the module towards the airlock, when--
Skriiiiiiii... An impossibility happens.
A scream!!! In space, where there can be no sound!
Acute, prickly, abrasive, flaying, piercing.
It penetrates their helmets. Pain! Disorientation!
Skriiiiiiii... The scream from space shrieks here too!
Sergey reflexively clamps his hands over his ears.
Skriiiiiiii... The scream saturates speakers and earpieces.
Technicians wince in pain, remove their headphones.
Shrishhh... Screens blur, communication with ISS is lost.
|
| - | (?!) Re-establish contact!! |
Dust storms towards the station...
... like the vanguard of a threat approaching behind.
A strange shiny grey rock, bristling with spikes, far away.
SKRIIIIIII... The scream from space grows louder!
Denis and Oleg let go of the rail.
They gesticulate in pain, waving hands helplessly around their helmets.
SKRIIIIIII... The scream slaughters any other sound!!!
|
| - | AAAAARH!!! |
Sergey spins anarchically, hands clasped to his head.
Blood gushes from his nose and ears! Spreads as bubbles.
Just as scary, his voice fades away as he continues to howl.
|
| - | ......... |
SKRIIIIIII... All sounds fall silent, except this one.
A giant reflective metallic sea-urchin flies towards the ISS.
Its spines often morph, over a yellow ethereal energy core.
Let's call this alien entity: THE SCREAM.
SKRIIIIIII... Denis and Oleg, mad with pain.
Their noses and ears bleed, as bubbles in their helmets.
Oleg, !!!, sees The Scream closing in like a missile!
Impact! Impact! Impact! Dust strafes the module around them.
IMPACT!!! Dust blows through Denis's leg!
Oleg, !!!, sees The Scream about to hit them, but--
SKRIIIiiiiiiii....... It overtakes them and flees into space...
... And SILENCE returns! Oleg, ...?!!
Impact! Impact! Impact! Dust destroys solar panels.
IMPACT!!! Dust destroys Denis's safety tether!
He's ejected into space! Oleg, ...!!!
Sergey comes to his senses... sees a new alarm on a screen:
Information from Denis's spacesuit, "Oxygen 0%"!
He contacts Oleg, speaks... No sound flows from his mouth!
Stupefied, he screams! Total silence!!!...
Dust storm ceases.
Denis suffocates, his face blisters.
Oleg leaps into space towards him...
He shouts in his mic but makes no sound. "What???"
Denis lets out a silent scream, then faints.
In thirty seconds, he will be dead.
The Scream stops short. No inertia! It turns around.
Its core glows PINK, it seems to gaze at ISS in the distance.
Oleg's about to catch Denis but--
(!!) Snapped back by his tether, too short!
Denis drifts further away, his tether in his wake.
Oleg, !!!, grabs the tether!
But it slips through his hands. Too stiff gloves!
He tries to wrap an arm around it--
Too late, the last end escapes.
Denis flies away...
Oleg... Just one second to take a risky decision.
He unties his safety tether! Extraordinary self-control.
He grabs the control box of his SAFER.
(Simplified Aid for EVA Rescue: backpack propulsion system.)
Pshht, Pshht... Smoke jets spit from Oleg's backpack.
He lunges towards Denis, without seeing behind...
A piece of solar panel flutters towards them!
Spinning, fast, a guillotine blade at the wrong angle.
SMASH!!! The solar panel shatters against Oleg's backpack.
No cut, but it transfers its angular momentum.
Oleg spins at breakneck speed, loses control of his SAFER.
He sees Earth, space and ISS spinning ten times a second.
He struggles, clenches teeth. But faints! Blackout!!!
Denis falls inert towards Earth...
Oleg spirals towards deep space...
The Scream hurtles towards ISS. Instant acceleration!
The Scream slowly approaches Denis, five times his size.
One of its spines creeps limply around his leg...
Near the hole in the spacesuit. Curious, hesitant...
The spine reaches in, and as if the hole had suction power--
The Scream becomes liquid and is siphoned into the suit!
Inside the helmet, Denis's face is submerged...
... and replaced by an ethereal metallic mush.
Oleg whirls away from ISS and Earth...
His rotation stops abruptly!
Caught by Denis, unaffected by counterforce.
Then, he takes Oleg to the ISS...
... Without jets in the back, without using his SAFER!
Denis brings Oleg into the airlock with him...
He checks their vital information on another screen:
OLEG: Oxygen 5%, 0.4 atm, Compression time required 00:15.
DENIS: NO DATA... Sergey, ... ??!
He pushes on a wall and floats towards the airlock hatch...
Denis is upright and motionless, facing the inner hatch!
The reflective gold of his helmet masks his face.
Wondering, "Why is he doing nothing??"
Sergey mimes to Denis by hand, "close the airlock".
(We see all mime and sign "texts" displayed as SUBTITLES.)
A safety light glows red: Latch override. Outer hatch open.
Without propulsion, he levitates towards the outer hatch.
Slowly grasps the hatch... clumsily closes it.
Denis swivel to face him.
Sergey wonders "Cognitive disorder?".
He mimes by hand "lock the handle".
Sergey nods "Yes, that way", points to the outer hatch.
Denis swivels, grabs the outer hatch and locks it.
Sergey sees Denis levitate towards the inner hatch.
A second of incomprehension, "What about decompression???".
In doubt, he punches the airlock ventilation button!
Denis grabs the inner hatch.
Sergey sees it through the porthole, panicked!
When Denis opens the hatch--
SHOCK! Air from the lab invades the airlock.
Sergey's shaken but holds on!
Denis pivots, levitates to pick him up.
Sergey stares at them worriedly as they enter the lab.
Denis drops Oleg, who floats slowly, then stays motionless.
Oleg recovers, looks around, assimilates the situation...
Sergey notices him, reassured.
He sees Denis, floating unnaturally, perfectly static.
They communicate in military sign language.
Oleg: "He was down. How did he bring me back?"
Sergey: "I don't know. He has cognitive sequelae."
Oleg: "No sound. An UFO outside."
(!) Sergey: "He's got 0% oxygen. Plug his umbilical into--"
Denis grabs his helmet, tries to take it off.
Sergey, !!!, "Decompression will kill him".
He rushes to Denis, grabs his arm to stop him.
But to no avail! Denis has superhuman strength.
Unable to open the helmet properly, he forces on it.
CRACK! Denis shatters the helmet's opening.
As the broken helmet floats around the room...
Oleg, Sergey, !!!, retreat by reflex, stunned.
It's not Denis! It's The Scream!!!
Head covered with an ethereal, morphing metallic substrate.
The Scream transforms into fluid and...
Siphons itself out of Denis's spacesuit...
Reconstitutes itself in sea-urchin shape alongside...
Smaller and more compact than in outer space.
Its substance finally leaves Denis's face... intact!
Oleg and Sergey feel the irrational dread of the unknown.
An alien entity: there's no protocol for that!
They remain calm. Outstanding psychological stability.
Cautious, Oleg waves slowly: "It's not hostile."
Sergey, joining hands: "Let's pray it's true."
Sergey, hesitant... slowly floats towards Denis.
He glances fearfully at The Scream, nearby.
Puts a finger under Denis's nose. Feels his breath!
Sergey gives Oleg a thumbs-up. "He's fine."
The Scream levitates towards the airlock, enters it...
... Then waits by the outer hatch, its core glowing yellow.
Its spines caress the hatch, but have no physical hold.
They understand in wonder and mime: "Now it needs us".
Oleg: "I'll go in and help it out."
Sergey: "Roger that."
Oleg closes the inner hatch, hangs his safety tether.
Pshhh... Air is drained out of the airlock.
Frightened briefly, he floats to the outer hatch...
Bravely approaches within inches of the alien entity.
The Scream's core glows PINK. It seems to EMPATHIZE with him.
Oleg unlocks the outer hatch and opens it wide.
The Scream leaps into space at full speed.
|
| ~ | The Scream had not visited Earth. |
Oleg sees it getting smaller and smaller on the horizon.
|
| ~ | Perhaps we were insignificant. But not so insignificant as to consider our lives worthless. |
Hhhh... Oleg hears his own breath. Silence is gone.
The Scream leaves Earth's orbit... hurtles into deep space...
|
| ~ | The Scream continued its journey into infinity. |
THE END.