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Wow.
Oh, yeah!
This is nice.
Oh wow. I'm gonna get the stuff.
- Just up there. - Yeah.
- This is great! - Yeah!
Oh yeah.
- What's down there? - Couple of bedrooms, bathroom, laundry.
- Is there anything else to bring in? - Yeah, just the provisions.
- Yeah, don't worry. I'll get 'em. - Okay.
Check it out!
- Where'd you get that? - Welcome gift!
Huh!
Looks better than the stuff that we brought!
No signal.
Yeah, they did say that when we booked.
Yeah, I thought it'd be like "crap" signal, not "no" signal.
Have you got any?
We're on the same plan.
Uh, yeah, so...
No, no signal, just a load of missed calls.
I guess we must've got a faint signal on the way up here.
From that Ricky guy.
He's the one I told you about, who's obsessed with cracking codes.
- Do you remember? - Very vaguely. What's his deal?
I've never actually met him.
He's like a professional code cracker or whatever.
Like, he's worked for security agencies and stuff.
Like national security or mall security?
To be honest, he comes across as a bit of a nutter.
I've helped him out a bit, but we're not exactly mates.
Hmm, maybe it was just a butt dial.
No, he's texted as well, but just asking me to pick up
- or call him back. - Mm.
Which is weird, because he's always been a text or email kinda guy.
I honestly wouldn't be surprised if he's in jail or something and needs
to be bailed out, and I'm the closest he's got to an actual friend.
- Really? How do you even know him? - He got in touch after that talk
- I gave on junk DNA. - The one where you kept telling everyone
not to call it junk DNA.
Yeah, like uncoded DNA.
Yeah. The one with the label sticking out the back of your shirt the entire time.
- No, what? - Yes.
No, come on. No, it wasn't. I would've noticed that.
Anyway, he saw that and latched on. He must've looked me up
on the faculty website cos he just started emailing me.
He's trying to find a pattern in the data He's got no actual interest in genetics.
I think he just sees it as the ultimate challenge.
I guess Sudoku wasn't cutting it for him anymore.
Maybe we could go down to the village, see if there's any signal there.
Or find somewhere with internet, try and find out what he wants.
This is so typical. I knew this would happen.
We get a cabin with no signal, on purpose, in order to relax
and spend the entire time getting stressed that we don't have a signal.
- It's been five minutes! - No, it was a suggestion,
I don't actually wanna do it. And I'm genuinely not stressed.
I'm unstressed. I'm unplugged, and I'm loving it.
Right? Fuck that codes guy. We are out of office.
- This is just how I thought it would be. - Yeah.
I'm so glad we got this one and not that one with the hot tub.
Mm.
Like, it had a hot tub,
but it was just a house with a hot tub.
Whereas this is different.
Yeah, no, definitely.
The hot tub would have been pretty sweet, but...
Well you say that, but like, I don't know.
Your own hot tub is sweet, but like,
a hot tub in a short-term rental?
I'm thinking that might be kinda nasty.
Like, how often do they change the water in those things?
I'd feel like I was marinading
in some random genital soup.
Okay, yeah, when you put it like that,
I could probably do without the...
- Gooley Goulash? - Yeah, thanks for that image.
Ball bag broth?
Penis Colada?
Okay, well look, I can get over the hot tub
but still wouldn't say no to just a tiny bit of internet.
Yeah, I know, but like, don't you think it's great?
Like, this is an opportunity to be totally disconnected.
Which is getting rarer.
Like, while we're up here, we're blissfully ignorant
of what could be going on in the world.
Anything could be happening.
Endless possibilities.
Maybe like...
Maybe there's like, a war's broken out
and like missiles are in the air,
and like, we just don't know.
Until we're halfway down that mountain
and, like, our phones start
binging and bonging back to life,
and you find out that everything's
just carried on without missing a beat.
Endless possibilities.
You know how like
even when you're not making a choice
you're still making a choice?
Cos you're choosing to do nothing?
Right.
You okay?
Mm.
Leo, we've been together three years.
I can tell when there's something on your mind.
Two years, 363 days, because...
What is it?
I guess I just...
I don't know if I'm doing the right thing
like plodding on with this uncoded DNA research.
At the moment, I'm this
average size fish
in the small pond of uncoded DNA research,
which is perfect for me and I love the field, but
I guess I just don't know how long it can really go on.
Banham's been dropping hints that our funding might dry up.
Oh really?
I mean, I'm not the best at taking hints but...
Like... face it, no one funds research
for the sake of knowledge anymore.
You gotta be able to monetize it. And there's no money in junk DNA.
There's no profit in junk DNA.
I mean, the clue's in the name!
So what, it's time for that bigger pond?
I don't want to, but...
Look, if you decided you needed to move,
back to the UK, whatever,
I'd come with you.
It's been three years. It's probably about time
we started thinking about... where we wanna be.
Well yeah, in fact, I...
What?
Yeah, I, I...
I just wish I'd found something in my research.
I just can't help thinking I peaked at the symposium.
Oh, the sweater tag symposium?
What? No, why do you keep, calling it that?
- Cos you-- - Right, right, okay.
Where are you going?
It's not the sweater tag symposium!
We haven't got any signal!
You really think I wouldn't have that saved?
Maybe you don't know me as well as you thought.
- Show me this so-called tag. - Okay.
"So I'm here to talk to you today
about what you might refer to as junk DNA
but I'd like to address whether we should be calling--"
Yeah, it's a bit further forward.
"...maybe it once had a purpose but that had been superseded or deprecated."
Bit further.
"...we found was that even though there's no
evidence of an effect of this sequence of DNA
its presence, for some reason appears to be vital."
- Further. - "A prerequisite.
The 'terms and conditions', if you will,
without which that organism is not permitted to function."
That was the best line of the talk.
People were coming up to me after and going--
Shh. Shh!
"So if we take a look at each of these components individually--"
There it is.
Oh shit.
I told you so.
- Ahh, has that always been there? - How did you not notice it?
That was in front of literally dozens of people.
Look, don't worry.
You know, if you didn't notice, maybe nobody else did.
What are you doing?
Just having a little check.
How dare you? Genuinely, how dare you?
But what if I did peak with that talk?
No!
Maybe there's another universe
where I'm a big-shot geneticist for a flashy
biotech firm with a sports car.
Mm, do you think you'd still be with me in that universe?
Maybe that's why the whole...
Multiverse and alternative universe thing has gone so mainstream.
Maybe it's about... forgetting our dreams and...
accepting our lot comforted by the fact that somewhere out there...
... we're actually living them.
Hm, maybe.
Always bothers me they always push the premise
that every possibility has to exist.
That's a pretty bullshit interpretation of infinity.
Yeah. Yeah.
Wait, what?
You know, they always insist that every possible
permutation definitely exists
when there's no reason why that's the case.
Isn't there?
No! Are you serious? Think about it.
There are infinite numbers between four and five,
but none of those numbers is three.
It's like you can't assume your Social Security Number's gonna crop up in pi.
Won't it?
No! I mean, it might. It probably would,
but it doesn't have to.
Oh.
So there could be infinite universes
and none of them in which I have tenure.
Yeah, maybe.
Well, what gets me is when multiverses stray
outside the bounds of what's actually possible.
Like, if you're telling me there's an alternate universe
with a completely different law of physics, like...
Sorry, guys, you just lost me.
Well those guys are laughing all the way to the bank.
Yeah, yeah, I know, I know. But it's the same with this reality.
All these fanciful notions of what's out there beyond the stars.
Whatever's out there's gonna share the same limitations we do.
Mm, I quite like that, though.
Find it comforting.
You know, a connection between us and other life in the universe
even if we'll never, ever reach it.
You always find a bright side to look at.
I wish I did.
I just feel like we were born too late to explore the Earth,
too early to explore the galaxy,
but just in time... to see the last vestiges of mystery extinguished.
Jesus Christ.
It's a bit much, isn't it, that?
Have we got any ice cream?
I'm gonna get some ice cream.
Morning.
Hey [laughs].
- Did you sleep all right? - Mm.
Uh-uh.
Ahh!
You have an addiction.
- A habit. - Mm-hm.
Wow, I could get used to waking up to this view.
Me too.
Shut up.
- I'm just gonna go for a quick run. - Seriously?
Yeah!
I was just gonna do breakfast. Should I...
Oh, just carry on.
I'll be like 15 minutes, unless you want to come with me?
Nah. I thought we're supposed to be on vacation.
- Yeah. What's the doorcode again? - Want me to write it on your hand?
I can probably remember four digits, thank you.
What's this all about? Is this vacation beard happening?
I wish. You know, I used to hate facial hair.
- Oh? - And then it grew on me.
- Such a dad joke! - Yeah? That's an endorsement of quality!
Yeah, well you'd make a good dad.
D'you think so?
Cos I've got the jokes for it or...
- We can talk about it later. - Yeah, all right.
- That's what I'm saying. - I'm gonna go for a run now. So...
- Okay, bye. - Goodbye.
Bye.
Fucking hell.
Just four digits, huh?
Leo? Uh... It's me! Ricky.
Ricky?
- You're Ricky? - Mm-hm.
But I thought...
Oh, did you think I was a guy?
- Well, yeah. - Yah, I get that a lot.
Um... what the fuck are you doing here?
Oh, I went to the university and you weren't there.
So I talked to that old guy. Uh...
- Banham? - Mm.
Yeah, I gave him the address, but only for an emergency.
Oh, well yeah, this is an emergency.
Wh-What emergency?
I told him I was your sister, and there had been an accident.
What? Hold on a minute.
Oh, no there wasn't an accident. Don't worry.
It's the junk DNA.
Uncoded DNA.
Yeah, so I found something.
I cracked the code.
And I need to show you. I need your help.
Ricky, you don't crack the code. It's not that sort of code.
I've tried to explain that to you. Look, you can't really be here.
I'm on a weekend with my girlfriend. I've got the whole thing planned out.
So you kind of need to...
- Okay... - Leo? Whose car is that in the driveway?
Okay. Uh, Naomi, this is Ricky.
The guy? Uh, the codes guy, remember? I told you about.
You're... you're Ricky?
Yeah, so Ricky just showed up, um...
I don't actually really know what's going on.
Ricky, do you wanna maybe...
Who is this?
Okay. This is my girlfriend.
She's called Naomi, and she's supposed to be here
because we're on a relaxing getaway.
- Relaxing? - Yes.
I'm gonna make myself a cup of tea.
So...
Right, the old guy mentioned that.
Ugh, so I'm meant to apologize for intruding?
Well, yeah.
Okay. I am sorry.
I'm not really good at that kinda thing. I should point that out.
But anyway, I really need to talk to you
because I found something and it can't wait.
Absolutely not, and that's final!
If you just give me a chance to explain
you'll understand what a big discovery this is.
All right, five minutes.
And that's final.
Okay.
Yeah, so yeah, take a seat.
I don't know where to start.
Um. Oh, actually, first, before I tell you this,
you have to promise to keep it a secret.
- Um. - Until we know more about it.
Yeah, I can do that.
Okay, um...
It's fine.
Okay!
Okay, so I've been looking at the DNA.
Right? The 'terms and conditions' bit.
Which, by the way, doesn't really fit.
I think you meant something else.
I dunno. Everyone else seem to think it was--
Yeah, anyway, um, okay, you found it!
- Found what? - The sequence.
And the marker to look for.
Without that it's like looking for a needle in a haystack.
Well, more like a cornflake in a cereal factory.
But even then I got so bogged down trying to convert
base pairs into conventional numerical or alphabetical--
Wait, hold on, wait. Um...
Could you just cut to the chase?
We said five minutes, remember?
Yeah, yeah, okay, okay.
Forget how I found it, what I'm getting to is there is a code in this DNA.
One that once you decode it, you can plot it.
Like a graph?
Like co-ordinates.
You know what voxels are, right?
Yeah. Yeah, my dad used to drive one.
Leo, what's up with the tea?
Didn't we bring our own tea bags?
Oh, no, that is our tea.
Yeah, I noticed that too. I think it's the altitude.
The boiling point of water's gonna be lower.
Must mess with the brewing.
So, what, you found some sort of correlation?
N- No.
Not a correlation [laughs].
Uh, I'm not being clear enough.
It's not data. It's not data that tends toward a line.
It is a code that draws deliberate straight lines.
Here.
Oh.
Uh.
I've only done a little bit because it's kind of slow going
and I wanted to show you as soon as I found it, but...
Sorry, I'm, I'm not sure what you've... latched on to here
but I'm pretty sure it's a case of user error, so look--
Please, just check, check my work.
Just try my algorithm.
You'll see that I'm not lying, and I'm not mistaken.
Why would I drive all the way out here?
And you'll see there's more left to find,
more that I haven't unlocked yet.
But when we do it'll be the biggest discovery of your career.
All I'm asking for is maybe like 30 minutes, and you'll see.
I guarantee it.
Hey.
I'm gonna have a quick shower, so can you get this wrapped up?
Yeah, yeah, yeah, we're just finishing, yeah.
Okay.
Um.
Okay, I'm gonna approach this scientifically.
and take the position that I don't believe you and need to disprove you.
Which by the way is true.
So, you walk me through your algorithm step by step
and I'll create a routine for it.
Of course.
And we use my genome data sets.
Everything from scratch, like...
nothing of what you've already done.
Yeah, that's the way, so there can be no doubt.
Okay.
Oh wait! We need an air gap.
You have to turn off your wireless network. Or any other comms.
I don't think there's any signal here anyway.
Okay. Ah... oh, and can you set up a virtual machine you can run it on?
I can...
- Y-Yeah. - Good.
Yeah, we can do that.
Oh, you're, you're still here.
Oh yeah, I was just taking a quick look while you were in the shower
- but I think we're nearly done. - Okay, mind if I join you?
- I'm not intruding or anything, am I? - Oh God, no, I mean, of course not, no.
So, um...
so...
Okay, so when I execute, it's gonna perform each function
in sequence, and then it's gonna save that output to a new file.
Yeah, sounds good. Let's do it.
Ricky, can I grab you a plate?
Oh no, I'm good.
It's no bother.
Oh, I don't need one. I'm almost done.
Okay.
Okay, so...
Well it ran. No errors.
Cool. Okay, so we all done then?
Soon. That output is basically co-ordinates.
We just need to plot those, right?
Should be pretty easy.
Actually, can you write something to do that?
Right yeah it's just you said half an hour
and it's already been more than that so...
Oh, yeah, Leo wanted to go back to basics,
so took a little bit longer.
Yeah, well yeah, a little longer, Nay.
But I mean, we're honestly, we're nearly done.
Maybe we should just plot a few points manually.
Like I did, just so you can see.
No, no, it's okay. There's software for stuff like this.
So what's this, a load of three-digit numbers? Some positive, some negative.
Yeah, so filter out the negative ones, then plot the positive ones like normal.
Like X, Y, Z coordinates.
- That's it? - Yeah.
Okay.
So three axes, X, Y, Z, that's okay?
That works.
Okay... there.
You can plot it?
Should be able to.
Just importing the data.
Weird.
Find something?
Yeah, come and, come have a look.
It's a box.
Yeah.
But do you see the significance?
It's a box encoded in DNA [laughs].
Why's that?
Well, I don't know, but can't you see why
I thought you might wanna help me figure it out?
You wanna work on it, right?
The thing is...
Like, I followed your process step by step.
But I couldn't really follow what you were doing.
So, what if it's the algorithm that generates the cube,
rather than something to do with the DNA?
- Can't you test on different data? - Yeah, that's what I was thinking.
Like, choose a different part of the genome, run the same transformation and...
See what happens. Okay, so that bit.
Okay so that'll do.
No errors.
Nothing.
Noise. Random noise.
I already knew that.
But I didn't want you to take my word for it [chuckles].
So, it really is in the sequence?
Not in the algorithm, but... that doesn't make any sense.
That is amazing, though, right? That that is in our DNA?
Well, it's not necessarily in our DNA.
It's in the sequence.
Data that scientists have compiled, based on cellular DNA.
Right.
Important distinction.
Okay. But there's more. Can I tell you?
Yeah.
Okay, so the negative numbers, that we ignored,
If you plot those, they show up outside the box
just like that random noise you just saw.
And I think there's something in that. Like, if I can modify the algorithm,
I think I can find more co-ordinates from the same data.
Like, uh, harmonics in a sound wave.
So, yeah, that's why I'm here. That's what I wanna do.
And I could really use your help finding my way around it.
And I just, I can't really do this alone... any more.
So what do you say?
Jesus, um, I'm gonna need a minute.
Just, just give me a minute.
Have you heard of trap streets?
No, what's that?
Comes from cartography. Mapmaking.
So, obviously it takes a huge amount of work
to survey and document an area, right?
And if you do that work, you wanna make sure
that no one steals it and starts selling your maps as their own, right?
But you can't really copyright a map, right?
Because someone who's also legitimately done the work
is gonna end up with the same map.
So, what they did is they put in a fake street.
Or way back when, like a tiny little fictional island
Somewhere really out of the way so it wouldn't
interfere with anyone actually trying to use the map.
But, if someone were to try and re-create the map,
Steal your work. Well, they're gonna re-create
the fake street as well. So, you've got 'em.
Yeah!
Yeah, I mean, I bet that's what it is.
It's like, um, it's like a watermark.
And where better to hide it than in junk DNA?
Uncoded DNA.
- Yeah. - That's a good theory.
Huh, maybe that is all it is.
She's good. What's her name again?
My name's Naomi.
Nice. What's your area?
I'm just an academic as well. Anthropology and associated disciplines.
Well, I'm glad your here. Hmm.
Is she taking the piss out of me?
No.
Dammit. Sometimes I come across the wrong way.
I'm-I'm not good with people.
Okay.
No, yeah, you're cool.
Good.
Okay, well, I guess that's done.
So... we could just clear up the breakfast stuff, probably.
Oh, I can help you.
Leo?
Um, yeah, I'm just gonna...
I just have to quickly, um, yeah, hang on.
So, Ricky. Is that short for Erica?
Oh no, that's just my nickname.
My real name is Jenny.
Huh. How do you get Ricky from Jenny?
Uh, well it was a game a few years back.
Where you get assigned a character and a random name,
and I played it so much that it's just kinda who I became.
Yeah, and I never really felt like a Jenny, so I just go by Ricky.
Man, I miss that game.
When they shut it down, it's like I lost a part of me.
So was it a, uh, a long drive?
Yeah, pretty long, from California.
You drove here from California? Just to speak to Leo?
Yeah.
How long did that take?
Uh, about 16 hours.
Wait, ah - you didn't think to just wait 'til you could get him on the phone?
I couldn't wait [laughs].
Don't you ever get like that? Where you can't think about anything else?
No.
You're smarter than Leo.
Aren't you?
I can tell.
Did you hear Ricky drove all the way through the night to get here?
- Hmm? - Oh, well, with a couple stops.
Oh, yeah yeah yeah.
Look, I was just,
I was thinking about that trap streets thing.
Yeah?
Okay. The Human Genome Project's a collaborative effort.
Lots of different groups contributing to it.
I don't know which group worked on this particular section.
I don't have that to hand, and I can't look it up.
But anyway, since then, the race is on to sequence more species.
It's like a gold rush, and I have junk DNA excerpts
from a few of them here with me.
And check this out.
The same cube.
But that's in Canis lupus lupus.
- The same. - Yeah. Chinchilla chinchilla.
And,
Cerata thu... serum.
Cerata thrium sim...
White rhino. Anyway, the point is,
the same cube appears in the junk DNA
of each of these animals.
I mean, like, the sequence is a bit different, but the output's the same.
Yeah, that's totally possible, this type of algorithm.
So, including human beings, this is four totally unrelated mammals.
And get this.
I scrounged these sequences myself from the researchers.
And each of these were sequenced by a different lab.
So if it's a watermark, how is it in genomes
made by four different biotech companies?
Right. So maybe it actually is in the DNA.
No, hang on. We're still talking data, not DNA.
I mean, let's go back to the trap streets.
The only way to check if a street is real is to go there and walk down it.
Sequence the data ourselves.
But like, obviously, we can't really do that.
But my thing is, if someone put it there deliberately,
it'd only be their sequences, right?
No. No, think about it.
In what circumstances would a watermark show up on someone's work?
If they were guilty of the thing the watermark is meant to protect against.
Plagiarism.
- Oh. - Oh.
Ah, okay.
Hm.
Okay, but this would have been picked up, though, right?
When a mapmaker sees a competing map,
first thing they would do is check for their own trap streets, no?
Biotech's just a pretty secretive industry.
For all we know, there are lawsuits and settlements
and legal proceedings going on behind the scenes
and we just don't know about it.
Nah, I bet that's it.
Fuck.
Guys, listen, maybe that is it.
Okay? But there is so much more to this code in there.
I mean, maybe it will just tell us
'Property of Whoever-the-fuck Biotech Incorporated',
but at least we would know.
And that still might be something worth uncovering, right?
Industry-wide plagiarism? Yeah, sure.
That's a scandal that'd shake the world.
Mm-hm.
The world of specialized genome researchers, but yeah.
Shaken to the core.
Guys, there's no doubt that this is all really interesting.
This is great. I'm just thinking maybe you get on with it back at the university.
You'll have the resources, the right people around you
And might just be a better time to focus on it.
Yeah.
Or, if you wanted to keep this momentum going,
I could stay the night. There's another room, right?
Um. Ah. I don't think...
I'm not sure if we're allowed to use that because when we booked
we might have said there were only two people.
Yeah, and now I'm thinking about it, there was a rule about guests.
Yeah I think they start saying that it's like, you know, a party or...
- Mm. - Um.
I really need someone to collaborate with in person.
You know, cos...
Maybe I should head back down to the university?
Is there someone else you might recommend?
There's probably a ton of people who'd be really excited to hear about this, right?
Um, I don't know whether actually
people would be that interested in it, apart from... me.
It's just it's quite a small field, and like I'm...
Okay, yeah, I should probably just head back before it gets too dark.
Is it okay if I just use your bathroom first?
Yeah, yeah, go ahead, yeah.
Oh, uh.
D'you think we should let her stay? She's had a really long drive.
Fucking joking? She's weird.
I understand she's a fucking weirdo--
Where's the bathroom again?
Um, yeah, no, yeah, it's down the stairs, straight ahead.
Oh, down here.
Yeah.
- Got it. - Great.
Cool, okay.
Yeah, I know she's weird, but like
you and I can't exactly claim to be normal, can we?
No, okay, but she's next level.
In the kingdom of the blind, the one-eyed king, etc.
One-eyed king?
What, is that like a dick euphemism? You don't need to--
I don't wanna talk about dicks. Can we just--
Say we did like one more hour,
just to confirm the watermark theory.
Just 'til dinner.
We'll work 'til dinner, and then she leaves first thing.
What, in the morning?
Yeah, first thing. First thing, yeah.
I mean, if I was the suspicious type I would be...
Suspicious? What? Suspicious of what?
Oh, can she stay over? Please can she stay over?
I thought she was a man 'til an hour ago!
What are you accusing me of?
So I'm gay, first of all. That's been concealed from you.
I'm a gay man.
And I'm conducting an affair on the internet
with a woman who's catfishing me as a man,
and when she turns up presumably I'm disappointed she's a woman.
Yeah, the logic falls down the minute you flesh out the--
- I'm not, you know. I'm... - Leo, I would like to spend time with you.
I wanna spend time with you as well.
Alone.
Okay, yeah. Okay, yeah, no I see. Alone.
All right, fine, I'm gonna... I will ask her to leave.
I just thought [sigh], I thought maybe we were,
I thought maybe we were on to something here, and I just...
No, I'll go and tell her to fuck off.
Okay, sit down. Sit down.
You can work on it until dinner.
Then you stop. Then we have a nice time.
- She goes first thing in the morning. - Just 'til dinner.
- Crack of dawn. - Crack of dawn, she goes. Okay, um.
Hey, Ricky.
We were just thinking, um...
You've had a long drive.
Why don't you stay here tonight?
And that'll give us a bit more time to work on this.
Just 'til dinner, right?
We don't wanna work all night. We are actually on holiday.
And then, you and I will carry on working on this once we're back.
That sounds great.
Oh, I need to deal with the toilet first, it seems to be blocked.
Oh no, fuck!
It's the septic tank.
Sorry, no, it's just... Ah, it's on a fucking septic system.
Okay, hang on.
- Where? - Uh... in the bathroom.
Did you flush any of those wipes that say they're flushable?
Cos everyone knows they're not flushable.
No.
How can they say they're flushable when they're not?
It's a disgrace. They put it all over the packaging even thou--
oh my...
What?... the fuck?
Yeah, I didn't use any wipes. It's just blocked. That's all.
I think I need something to like cut it?
What should I use? Maybe something in the kitchen.
How did she do that?
She's...
so small.
It's like something a bear would do.
It's like something a bear would give birth to.
This should do.
Ah, 'scuse me.
Ah, that should do it.
There we go.
One more flush and we should be good.
Did you think I'd flooded the place or something, Leo?
Ricky, are you...
okay?
Yeah.
That seemed a bit large.
Oh yeah, I probably skipped a few bathroom breaks on the way, but...
You're not...
injured?
No.
I'm fine.
Okay, well, if we only have 'til dinner, we should get a move on.
Hmm.
Wait, where are you going with that?
Oh, I'll just put it in the dishwasher.
Oh, no no, I'll uh, take that.
Okay, well I guess uh... we've said you can stay already,
So you can just pick either of these rooms
and, you know, I guess try and recover,
Just so you can get on the road nice and early tomorrow morning
and, um... we can...
Yeah, groovy.
I like that room.
Oh, I think I like this one.
Ca-, oh.
Oh, d'you need to borrow any clothes or anything?
Oh no, I got some stuff.
You brought...
So you were planning to stay?
No, I just always have a Go bag in my car.
Go bag?
What's a Go bag?
It's a thing for emergencies.
You keep it prepacked, so you're always prepared?
You got four liters of water, change of clothes, toothbrush, stuff like that.
It's basically the bare minimum you need for survival and defense.
What do you people call it?
Uh... nothing.
I guess you have to think about wildfires, earthquakes, stuff like that.
Well, yeah, but I'm a little more worried about the collapse of society,
once people decide they've had enough.
Right.
Yeah, yeah. Capitalism is not a stable perpetual state.
It is a process with a conclusion.
The system demands more and more wealth shifts
from young to old and from poor to wealthy 'til eventually the
younger generations decide not to dance for the older ones.
That's when shit hits the fan. So to speak.
Right, yeah.
Actually, I'm, I'm with you on that.
Yeah, yeah. I'm talking guillotines in Times Square.
You got the breakdown of the--
Cool! I guess you guys finish your puzzle, and I'll get dinner ready for seven.
Yeah. Hard cutoff at seven.
Yeah?
Yeah yeah, yeah. I'll go get my stuff.
Here.
- Is that the new algorithm? - Yeah. Do your magic.
Why do they call you Leo?
Um, because it's my name?
Yeah, but...
Why? Is it cos it's like your star sign or something?
Um, it, no, it's just my name.
It's short for Leonard.
Oh, I thought Lenny was short for that.
Um, I think, either's allowed.
Hm.
So you're not a Leo?
No, I'm a Capricorn.
Mmm.
You know, my ma is into all those star signs and stuff.
Actually, if she met you,
she would be like, "mm you're a Capricorn."
"That means you're, you're good at finances," or whatever.
So stupid. Can you believe that?
Um, maybe, I don't know.
Wait, you're saying you could believe she would say that or...
No, I don't know.
Maybe there's a correlation between star sign and personality type.
Never really thought about it. I'm sure there's been studies.
Whoa, whoa, whoa. You - Mr. Genetical Scientist - believe that
our lives are affected by the fucking stars a billion miles away?
No, no, not by the stars.
But star signs, that's just what part of the year you're born.
And that's bound to have an impact on personality, right?
I don't know, like, in the past it was probably about
what foods were available during pregnancy for the mother to eat,
or what sort of pollen was in the air.
If you're a winter baby, maybe you're breathing colder air
or you're exposed to more sunlight in the summer.
I mean...
Nowadays there's the cut-off for the school year, which is pretty massive.
Whether you're old or young for your year. That's gonna affect confidence.
Where you fit into peer groups. There's probably a ton of meaningful factors.
Holy shit.
But if she's saying that stuff that's happening out there beyond the stars
is affecting our lives then she's fucking delusional.
Or a con woman.
Or both.
Okay, look there's something missing here
'cos this is not gonna result in those three values like this.
Oh. Okay, wait, I think I know.
Oh, Ricky, sorry to interrupt. Are you gonna join us for spaghetti?
Um. Actually, don't worry about me.
You make whatever you're having and I'll find something else.
Trust me. It's my grandma's recipe. You'll love it.
I doubt it.
But thanks.
Okay, okay, yeah, I know what I did wrong.
Um.
Oh, wait, no.
Actually, you know what? I know.
Yep, I know, that's it.
Damn, we are literally on fire right now!
No.
Huh?
No. Sorry, no, we're not.
No no no, no, we're not literally on fire.
You know what I meant.
Actually, literally can mean figuratively these days.
Can it? Well who the fuck says? According to who?
I read it. They actually updated the definition in the dictionary.
The dictionary.
Oh, well, they get to decide now, do they?
What, cos they bring out essentially a companion guide to the language?
It doesn't matter.
I'm just saying like, if there's one word, one word
that absolutely has to mean exactly
what it sounds like, it's literally, right?
Okay, can we get on with it
Cos we are metaphorically on fire right now,
and I really think we're getting somewhere.
Okay, all right, all right, so, uh.
Just do not get him started
on disinterested versus uninterested.
You will be here all night long.
Okay, well yeah. A great many people who should know better make that mistake.
They treat them as if they're one word.
But they're not.
Oh!
Naomi. Naomi, we've got something. Come and see this. Come over here.
I'm coming, I'm coming.
Okay, well, one thing is clear.
That is not there by chance.
I mean a random geometric shape,
that could be the product of a mathematical quirk, but that...
That's been put there on purpose.
Question is,
by who?
Well "by whom," really.
Doesn't matter but... the thing is, like
Yeah, that's a double helix.
I mean, that, that, that is saying biotech company to me.
Mm okay, do you know any biotech companies that have a double helix as a logo?
Um, I'm not really au fait with their corporate branding, but...
It's a fair chance.
Listen. Guys?
Okay, I have to be honest.
I know you're both buying the trap streets thing, but I'm not.
I'm really sorry.
It's just isn't-isn't the whole thing with the trap streets
that it's trivial to prove someone copied it?
I mean, pointing to a street on a map,
that's kind of elegant. But this?
I mean, this was hard as fuck to find.
You know? Like, good luck walking a jury through this.
She's got a point.
Is this from the same DNA sequence?
Yeah. It's just like I predicted.
It's the same data, pulling in different points that were just noise before.
Is there any more?
Assuming each point of noise lights up correctly at least once, then...
Yeah. There's a bunch more to find.
Very cool. You're gonna have a lot to get stuck into back at university.
- Yeah. - Yeah.
Leo, can you just give me a hand please?
Yeah.
Half hour.
Okay, I'm gonna work up to the bell.
There's another algorithm on the same branch. I can feel it.
Okay.
Okay, Ricky, dinner is served.
Oh, wait wait wait.
Just before that, I think I have one more, Leo.
It'll only take a minute.
Okay, really quickly.
So it's the same as before, just switch these two.
Okay.
Here goes.
Oh, it's...
It's nothing.
It's just noise.
Oh, well never mind.
Can't win them all.
Probably was a bit of a stretch to get another algorithm down in half an hour.
- Yeah. - Okay, come on.
Damn it.
Ricky, I know you said you didn't want any but I made you a little one just in case.
It's really good.
I'm really not into that.
Sorry, I'll just do some toast.
- Is that okay? - Toast?
- Yeah. - Just toast?
Mm-hm.
Okay.
This is so good. Thank you, Nay.
You're welcome. I had to make some changes to the cooking time
cos of the altitude but it's come out okay.
Mm hm. Mmm.
Hey, Ricky?
Yo.
Over here.
Oh, yeah. I know, I'm just...
I'm trying to figure out where I went wrong with that algorithm.
Yeah, I know, but we kinda said we'd take the evening off.
Yeah, I know. Sorry.
You guys are awesome. Thank you so much for letting me stay.
Sometimes I get so focussed on something, I can't think about anything else, so...
Yeah I know, no worries. Like, um...
But come on, come, come and take a seat here.
Uh, want some wine?
- Oh, no. - Okay.
I was thinking if we set up a process that merges the transformation and plotting
- we could probably batch-- - Ricky?
- You're doing it again. - Sorry.
Sorry.
Hey, Ricky, why don't you um, tell us something about yourself?
Why?
Or... What do you wanna know?
Um, anything. I don't know.
I would love to know how you first came across Leo's video.
The one that got you interested in DNA to begin with.
Oh, yeah, I mean, I was just on the internet.
You know, stuff just gets recommended.
Yeah, actually how, how did you find that?
I guess I've never really questioned it, because
well, I don't know, but like,
even now it's like barely into triple digits.
So how come you got recommended it?
That's so random.
Oh... I just, I wouldn't worry about it.
Okay. No, I'm not worried about it.
I'm just, just curious.
But, uh, I don't know, you seem kind of cagey or something. I don't know why.
I'm not being cagey.
Little, tiny bit cagey.
- Little bit - Okay.
Okay, fine. Um. Just don't freak out, okay?
Okay, so I've always been into ciphers and decryption. That sort of thing.
And a couple of years ago an offshoot government agency hired me.
I think I told you that, Leo.
Yeah, I think you did tell me something about that.
So what you might not know is that scientists are often monitored for
if their work could benefit the military over private enterprise.
They wanna get in early, get a head start.
That... What? That's terrible.
Wow, so you're saying that, like,
my work had got their attention?
Well, I never got to the actual monitoring part,
but while I was waiting for my security clearance
they just had me looking up published data
so I was compiling lists to help them decide if anyone was worth monitoring
Cool.
They decided you weren't worth monitoring.
Oh.
Yeah, so anyway the background check came back
and they decided I couldn't carry on working there.
Questions over my 'stability.'
But I really liked it. It was a good talk.
I also connected with you because you weren't all slick and professional
like a lotta those lecturers are, you know?
Right.
Yeah.
Yeah. And you weren't even trying to look smart, you know?
You even had this little tag round the back of your neck.
It was, like, casual.
Mm-hm.
I don't know, are we not concerned at all that the government
is eavesdropping on the science community?
Only if they're worth eavesdropping on.
And not only that, but the military are specifically interested in genetics.
I guess we're not gonna get into that.
Well I mean, that's just the way it is.
They spy on us just as hard as they spy on anyone else.
But, yeah I've worked for hedge funds too,
and they don't give a shit about security clearances.
Yeah, so here's the thing.
Anytime you see money guys consistently beating the market,
I can guarantee you: insider trading.
Isn't insider trading illegal?
Yeah, and?
You think that stops people when billions of dollars are up for grabs?
Besides, it's only a problem if they get caught by someone who isn't in on it
and lemme tell you, they're all in on it.
You know, I bet that's the whole reason country clubs exist.
Those fucking CEOs whispering secrets to their trader buddies.
And in return they get the inside scoop on a company
they don't have any obvious ties to.
Right, okay, so this hedge fund, they hired me
to crack this code being used to swap information on a public forum.
They're talking about this shit in plain sight, but they're using it in code,
so they can talk about it, like, in memes, or conversations about sports or whatever.
So, it took me a while to figure out what they were actually after
But when I did I was like, holy shit, is this illegal?
Like I am doing something illegal for you douche bags?
And I was like, maybe I oughta blow the whistle on this.
And you know what?
Those slimy motherfuckers gave me a big payoff,
just as soon as I signed a nondisclosure.
Oh wow, God.
I mean, which I guess you're kind of
not really sticking to it in some ways. But, um...
Did you not feel bad for letting them get away with it?
No, I did, in fact.
I just...
You know, big money's in the driving seat.
And trying to do anything about that is just like...
Oh like, um, pissing in the wind.
How big was the payoff?
For them? Peanuts.
But for me it really set me up for a few years, you know?
Let me pursue my interests.
- Codebreaking. - Yeah.
That's what you've been doing ever since?
For the most part, yeah.
I'm doing okay. I think I should be okay for a few more years.
My overhead's are pretty low cos I'm living with my ma, so...
Oh okay, in her basement?
No. In her garage.
People in California don't have basements.
Oh, okay.
Why did you think I lived in a basement?
Um... oh I don't know, sort of,
sort of the cliche of the codebreaker and all that.
Fuck you, you science geek!
You're the cliched science geek [laughs].
Besides, people my age living at home these days,
that's, that's pretty normal.
And it will be until we get that guillotine in Times Square.
Amen to that.
Yeah. Oh, good. Good stuff.
Yeah.
Anyway, just that stuff about the government,
it's why I'm cautious, you know.
It's why I had you set up that virtual machine for our work.
You never know who could be listening.
Thought you said they weren't interested in me.
Well I did say they were interested in whether you were interesting.
So, uh, what about you guys?
You're together, right?
Um, yeah, we are. Aren't we? We're still together, aren't we?
Yeah, we're together, yeah.
And you're from Australia, yeah?
Er, no. Er. The UK.
We're from the UK.
Oh.
And so, so you came over together?
No, actually, we met here. At the university.
Okay, so you decided to date exclusively
within your own ethnicity? Something like that?
Um, no. God no.
I mean no, absolutely not. No, nothing like that, no.
No.
You can be honest.
My uncle's kind of a racist too.
It's really, it couldn't really be less that. It's not that at all.
Erm, we just got talking, didn't we? And we liked the same kind of music
and we used to bond over missing - what was it?
Oh, you know. Electrical plugs, flavours of crisps...
Yeah, and I think that kind of, that familiarity
helped, you know? I mean, you know.
I mean it certainly helped me. I mean, listen.
I can't exactly be picky.
Yeah.
Okay, yeah, okay.
So you're also a professor?
No, no no no, no, I'm much more junior.
I just, um...
read and write things
Oh well, that's cool.
It's kinda like what I do, I suppose.
Except without the part where you funded yourself through extortion.
Funny you should say that.
Shut up, Leo.
Well, you're not, you're not a million miles away.
Okay, what Leo is not really very subtly alluding to here
is that I have a grandfather who is a bit wealthy.
He has some money.
Oh.
He's rich?
Loaded.
Okay. I've never taken his money.
I have always lived off my tutoring stipend.
So, he's a billionaire?
No, no, no.
He's a millionaire.
But you know, the difference between a million and a billion is
about a billion. So...
I like that.
Have you not heard that before?
I'm gonna use that.
It's so hard to grasp the difference between a millionaire and a billionaire,
and I think that's why people aren't more up in arms about it.
They just treat it like it's the next tier up.
Like moving from a medium to a large coffee. But...
What's that thing?
Like, a million seconds is less than two weeks.
But a billion seconds is more than 30 years.
- Something like that. - Mm, yeah. Nice.
I mean, billionaires shouldn't exist. Period.
But, I guess if you do okay and you don't,
you know, exploit other people, then you could be okay.
I guess what I'm saying is I don't necessarily wish death upon your gramps.
Although, he must be pretty old, though, now, right?
Yeah.
So that call could come any day.
And we're up here with no service.
It could be that we're having fun and he--
Bloody hell, Ricky.
Oh. Sorry.
I'm being, I'm being offensive, sorry.
I gotta stop doing that.
Seriously, though, like,
she's never actually taken any money off him.
She's got where she is totally on her own.
I mean, I know Naomi's smart. She's great.
I love Naomi.
But she didn't really.
I mean, the money's still there, right?
It's just, it's kind of a bit like, um...
Okay, so there's this little wall outside my ma's house.
It's like one brick wide and two bricks tall.
A stubby little garden wall.
And ever since I was a kid, I loved walking along that wall, you know?
Anybody could do that.
But you put that wall on the top of a skyscraper, at the edge?
I'd never do that, and even if I did I'd be so scared
I'd be wobbling all over the place and I'd probably fall.
Well I would say wind would be more of a factor at that elevation.
You know what I'm saying.
It's the same wall but different drop.
And it makes the world of difference.
You're right.
No, you're, you're absolutely right.
See, that's why I know you're smart.
The way you thought about it, figured it made sense, and then changed your mind.
It's like your theories about stuff.
Sorry, did I spoil the mood or something?
No, no.
It's just, it's just funny, like you...
You don't go to many dinner parties, do you Ricky?
Oh, no. Never, in fact.
Oh, is this a dinner party?
Is this all a dinner party is?
Huh.
Actually, maybe I have been to a few dinner parties then.
Definitely with my ma.
But, not as... this is way cooler.
Yeah.
Have we got any, uh,
have we got any music downloaded?
There's records, I believe.
There are some records, okay.
Uh, right.
- Cheers. - Cheers, cheers, cheers.
You devil!
Holy shit!
How have you done that?
Okay.
God, that is...
- Large? - Smells quite nice actually.
Here we are. Hand 'em out.
Woo!
Who put it there?
I'm fine!
I just came so close to...
Ricky, you've got to have some.
Oh, no.
Oh, that was bad.
Ricky.
Winners don't smoke drugs.
Are you saying we're not winners?
You're saying that- Look at me. Look at me.
I didn't mean it like that.
- No, I know. - No, Ricky nothing legal is...
This is legal, and nothing-shut up!
Nothing legal's ever been bad for you.
That's the rule. And this is legal now, so...
If it's legal, it's fine. It's like tax evasion. Avoidance.
Evasion? Avoidance?
Oh, that was quick.
Peer pressure in action.
Yo.
It's actually not that bad.
- Mmm. - No, it's good, isn't it?
Is it time for bed?
Nah, it's over for me. I'm gonna go to bed.
Yeah, might be over for me too.
Okay.
Okay, yes, I am.
Good night.
All right.
Okay, okay, okay.
Okay.
So...
if I don't see you in the morning have a safe drive.
And...
give me a call.
We'll pick this up.
Okay.
Um...
Thank you for involving me in this.
Like, even if it turns out to be nothing,
it's kind of what I always hoped I'd do.
You know?
Yeah.
Night.
Night, Ricky!
Oh. Good night!
Nay, are you awake?
Mm-hm.
Wow, it's nearly noon.
Morning.
Oh! Morning.
Nay, wake up.
I'm awake.
Ricky's down there.
She's still here. And I went over. And she saw me.
Oh for fuck's sake.
Morning, Ricky.
Hey, Leo.
I made so much progress. I cannot wait to show you.
Cool, yeah, so...
Um, you're, you're still here.
Yeah, yeah, I got an early start.
Well no, because you're still here.
Oh, I mean I got an early start working on the code.
Right, yeah. Um.
We, we sort of said we'd do that back at the university?
Do you remember that?
Oh yeah, I know.
I just, I took a look before bed and I got sucked in.
Okay, um.
Hm.
Cold. Bit colder today, isn't it?
Dunno, maybe it's my imagination.
Um.
Oh, um.
Just earlier, I was stood up there and
I don't know whether you saw, um...
Your cock and balls?
- Yeah. - Yeah, I saw those.
Yeah, good. Not good, obviously.
What I meant is, to be clear that was obviously intentional.
Unintentional. Fucking hell.
It's okay.
Really, it happens all the time.
Okay.
But I gotta tell you, it is huge.
You're gonna be amazed.
But I really wanna show Naomi. So, is she awake yet?
Yeah, no, she's not. No, she is. I mean she is, but she's in the shower.
Oh, okay, cool.
But yeah. Yeah, cool.
All right.
Better... Nice.
Uh.
- Morning. - Morning, Naomi.
- Guess what. - You're still here.
- Yep, and I got something to show you. - Okay.
Oh.
You're not gonna?
- Quite a lot of toast. - It is a lot, yeah.
I've never seen anyone eat so much.
So, uh, Ricky, how did you sleep? How was the bunk bed?
Um, well, actually, I slept on the couch last night.
- I didn't sleep much to be honest. - Oh?
Yeah, I think that vapour stuff, like, helped me.
It was weird.
I'd hit a dead end, with the part that showed up as noise,
then I thought about what you said about changing the recipe for altitude,
and I was like, why didn't I think...
Anyway. Sorry. Blah blah blah. Gotta cut to the chase. I know.
Um, let me just show you what I have.
Okay, we can have a quick look, just while we're having breakfast. Or... brunch.
It's lunch as this point, isn't it?
But then, you know, it's probably best if...
Yeah, after that you may have to head out, Ricky.
Oh yeah, I know.
Just, I just thought you might wanna see.
- Have you found more of the diagram? - Yeah.
And I wanted to wait for you, Naomi, cos I need your help.
So I know Leo's the DNA guy, but I just think you could help us figure it out.
Okay.
Ready? Yeah, yeah, yeah, just...
Pretty cool, right?
It took me a while, lotta trial and error,
but I'm really starting to get a feel for this pattern.
And then I found... this.
And then that combined with what we found last night...
Well, we know what that is, don't we?
- Yeah. - It's the solar system.
I mean the orbits aren't to scale, but it must be.
Oh, there's no Pluto, though.
Yeah, I mean, that's okay.
Yeah, I know. They did Pluto dirty. I always liked Pluto.
But that is the solar system, right?
I mean the proportions are pretty clear.
Still think it's some kinda copyright notice?
I don't know.
I mean, we haven't proved it isn't.
It is weird, though.
Maybe it's some kinda tag?
Showing origin? Place of manufacture?
You love to put things in those terms.
Yeah, it's kinda my schtick. What, you don't like it?
Why d'you think it's separated into those layers?
I don't know.
I mean it's kind of like a sound wave.
So, okay, imagine an audio file.
There's a bunch of different instruments, and you can hear each of them individually
but they're all just on one wave. All kinda intertwined?
My guess's there's a right way to decipher this but I'm not doing it the right way
I'm just kinda hacking it together because...
I mean honestly, the right way is probably beyond me
because this code is unlike anything I've ever seen before.
Which is another reason why I'm starting to think
this copyright thing is total bullshit.
No, no offense, Naomi.
It's just a theory, I mean I--
- Nay, can I have a quick word? - Yeah.
- Maybe like out there. - Sure.
What are you thinking?
I'm thinking it's very cool.
How do we know this isn't some kind of an elaborate hoax?
It's my data. It's data I've been using for years.
Well that bodes well.
Look, if we're gonna do this big hike, we should get on with it.
- The day's gonna get away from us. - Yeah.
What's that face? Why are you looking like that?
I just feel like maybe we are on to something here
and I just feel like we've got some momentum now.
Isaac Newton did his best work during the year or so
he had to stay home cos the Great Plague was raging.
If he hadn't been isolating, free from distraction,
would he have made those huge leaps?
Leo... [clears throat] how to put this?
Okay, the completely insane woman that's shown up at our cabin
insisting relentlessly that you crack a code with her,
that's the distraction from what you're meant to be doing.
- Being on holiday, with me, not working. - Yeah.
This whole holiday's basically ruined. You know that, right?
Yeah, it's been compromised, yeah.
I just, I don't know.
It's also the most excited I've seen you about your work in a really long time.
I see you plugging away, working incredibly hard,
and it always seems like other people get to move on to greener pastures.
Doing your talk to half-empty lecture theatres.
The after lunch slot. Notoriously tough.
Clicking away, trying to get three figures on your videos,
and half are me just trying to get the number up.
Woah.
So look, given that his holiday is completely...
Ruined. Already.
You may as well just finish off the work with her.
Yeah?
Yeah. But you have to promise me three things.
Number one, you include me. Because I am actually quite intrigued at this point.
Of course.
Number two, we go on another holiday in the next six months.
Yeah we can. Just not too far, cos I'm not good with flights.
Sure. Number three. You agree to stop showing your penis to that woman.
Oh yeah. I agree.
- Okay. All right, go on, get back to work. - Okay.
- One last thing. - Yeah?
Happy Anniversary.
Oh, yeah. No, I was, I was gonna, I was gonna say.
- Hmm. - I was gonna.
Hey, Ricky, you got a sec?
So look, we have been talking
and we think,
why don't you stay here tonight?
It's the last night
We can get some more work done on this. We've gotta go tomorrow morning anyway.
So, what do you think?
I mean, that's awesome, you guys.
Thank you.
And since I've stayed here practically the whole time, let me pay for the rental.
- Oh, that's really nice, but you don't-- - Wow, that's so kind, if you're sure.
Yeah, why not?
I'll just use some of my hedge fund blood money.
Besides, you guys have been really nice to me,
and I'm just, I'm really glad to have made friends like you.
Oh, okay.
Okay, well, why don't you show us what you got?
Let's do it [laughs]. Okay.
I'm sure we can figure out the last part,
- if you guys help me. - Okay.
Okay.
Well, there it is.
D'you think that's the full picture?
Well, I mean, there was that part that just came up as noise before, but
yeah, I think this is it.
Okay, so what is it?
That's Jupiter...
Plus... what? Roots? Bolts of lightning? Veins?
I'm gonna go lightning.
I mean I'm thinking, I'm thinking we can move on
from the watermark theory.
Mm hm.
Which leaves us with, I don't know.
My idea of the tag showing place of origin?
Marking the planet that can support life?
But what about the lightning?
I don't know. This...
This might be way off but...
Have you ever heard of Nuclear Semiotics?
No.
Okay, so nuclear energy produces nuclear waste.
Spent fuel rods, stuff like that.
And the really bad stuff needs burying, disposing of, where no one can access it.
And we're talking really long-term storage here
cos this stuff can have huge half-lives.
It can still be dangerously radioactive in tens of thousands,
maybe hundreds of thousands of years? I don't know.
The point is, in order to bury this stuff, dispose of it properly,
it requires a crazy amount of forward planning.
Yeah? We need to find a way to communicate to people
far, far in the future not to dig or disturb the area
so they don't stumble across this deadly material, right?
The problem is, that far ahead in the future,
civilizations are gonna look radically different.
You know, our languages aren't gonna exist.
So we need to find a way of creating a warning
that is not only gonna stand the test of time
but it's also gonna be understandable to people, who,
well, think of our languages as ancient runes and us as prehistoric creatures.
So it's a warning map?
I don't know. I...
Yeah, go on, go on, go on.
Okay, in the natural world, animals, they have ways
of signaling danger to others, right?
Stripes, spots, spikes, things like that,
ways of saying "don't eat me."
And we and other animals, we instinctively
understand these signals, right?
Because we evolved in the same framework.
But this?
I don't know. This feels different.
It's inorganic.
It makes me think that this message isn't meant for us.
Aliens.
Okay, well, the one thing we do have in common
with extraterrestrial life is the laws of physics, right?
I mean, we have the same foundations. The same protons, neutrons, electrons.
The elements, they react in the same ways.
So, in order for a civilization to develop,
they have to harness electromagnetism.
You know? They have to understand electricity.
They'll know about electrical sparking.
And its threat to life.
Wow.
Let's say you wanted to build a warning message to last ten thousand years.
You probably could just do that with steel and concrete, right?
But now let's say you wanna build a warning to last millions of years.
Concrete would be long gone.
Nothing resists entropy.
Everything acquiesces, if we're talking about geological timescales.
Everything, except...
Except life.
Which has an innate will to survive.
Fuck, only life fights back, right?
A mountain just lies there and allows itself to be weathered away
and eventually it will be. But life clings on and it adapts.
Shit!
That's it.
Wow.
Okay, okay, you know, this is just an initial take.
Theories come and go, like, remember, trap streets. I--
So, so you guys are
suggesting that
life was put here
to serve as a warning,
to avoid something on Jupiter?
Maybe? Or maybe existing life forms
were modified to carry this message,
with that section of DNA spliced in.
Yeah, and we'll do further research. We'll see if anything doesn't have it,
but we've looked at four mammals so far, and they all did.
Okay, so
just supposing aliens did this.
Like what's their plan?
They're just traveling interstellar and drop by on the nearest life-bearing planet
to see if the system is safe or not?
Yeah, and they...
They take a sample of the DNA either by extracting it or... uh
I don't want to be the one to say it but...
They probe us.
Yeah, they probe us.
Maybe.
I mean, that's crazy that we're even considering that.
I think the crazy started a while back when we all suspended our disbelief and
started actively entertaining the idea that there's
a secret message in our cells in our bodies.
Ah, this maybe like groupthink. Like we're in this bubble, and
the ideas are getting more and more preposterous but
they do all seem to make sense.
It is crazy, all of it.
And I still think, when we're back down to Earth, we're gonna realise
there's just a simple explanation, for all of this.
You know, let's not forget, this is data, right? Not DNA.
And you know, maps, not streets.
It's just...
You know, if there is any truth in this, then,
well, we've just found the answer to the biggest question of all.
The question people have been asking throughout history.
Why are we here?
We may have just discovered the meaning of life.
On Earth anyway.
We need a drink.
Uh, is that whiskey? I don't really like whiskey.
Think of it as medicine.
Everyone's been looking way out there.
When perhaps,
the answer was in us all along.
Okay.
To the discovery of the meaning of life.
And I suppose,
maybe the existence of God?
Or of a creator, at least?
Mm.
Okay.
Nay?
Mm, okay.
Ricky?
Medicine.
- Hey! No sign of Ricky? - I think she must still be sleeping.
Ooh. All right, I'll give her a little nudge.
Hey, Ricky.
Ricky.
Ricky?
Y- Yeah.
Oh, I was just, I was gonna say, if you wanna come up
and grab some food, we're packing everything away so...
Yeah, yeah, okay.
Okay, okay, see you in a sec.
D'you want to use up the last of the eggs?
No, let's just take them home with us.
- Okay. - We can have omelette for dinner...
- Perfect. - No point trying to...
Okay.
Hey, Ricky.
Hi.
Come and have some breakfast.
Oh, that's okay, I'm not really hungry.
Okay.
Where's the laptop?
Err... it's packed.
Well I need it.
Well, it's kinda packed. We don't have time to do any more work now anyway.
- And my notes, my papers? - Yeah yeah, they're all packed as well.
Ricky, what is it? Is everything okay?
I need the laptop, and my papers.
Well, no, that's all of our work now.
We're not trying to take it away from you.
Are you-Are you trying to take it away from us?
No, you don't understand.
I just, can you just get it for me, please?
Leo, maybe just, just get her the laptop.
No but it's just why? I just packed it.
Oh my God, Leo!
Ricky, what the fuck?
Is that even real?
Ricky-Ricky, why do you have a gun?
It's my Go bag, the bare minimum I need for survival and defense.
So, you're gonna shoot us?
No, I'm not gonna shoot you.
Just as long as you give me the laptop.
Unbelievable, what, you just wanna take all the glory for yourself?
Is that it?
Leo, get her the fucking laptop!
It's not even my laptop. It's the university's.
- I'm not gonna keep it. - What do you want?
- I gotta delete it. - What?
Yeah, just the virtual machine with our work on it.
I won't touch the rest of your stuff, don't worry.
Oh, thanks, that's good. I shouldn't worry, then.
I don't understand. What's going on?
I'm not good at this kinda thing, so can you just get it for me
we can talk about it tomorrow, I'll text you when I'm back.
You're kidding, right? This is a joke.
You wanna delete it and, what, just go back
to texting people about your fucking puzzles?
And with, I mean the gun, is... I mean that's, genuinely amazing.
- That's unreal. That's unreal. - Leo, get her the laptop!
I'm gonna get her the fucking laptop!
Right, but just before you do this,
why do you wanna do this?
At least tell us that.
At least give us that courtesy.
Okay, look.
I think Naomi's right.
That it's a warning.
When I first looked at it, I didn't see that,
but when you explained it, it made complete sense to me.
Naomi, you are so smart, and I think you figured it out.
And if it's a warning then it's a warning to the universe
that there's something that needs to be stayed away from.
So why would we not tell people that?
This isn't a warning for us.
We are the warning. That's all we are.
This is for beings that are superior to us.
Ones that haven't trashed their own planets
and tied themselves up in their own greed.
How d'you know it's not meant for us?
Because, because of what I thought when I first saw it.
Naomi's thought didn't even cross my mind.
When I first saw it, all I saw
was a treasure map.
And you know I'm not gonna be the only one
who sees it that way, even when we tell people what it really is.
There's something out there that absolutely needs to be avoided.
And so by deleting this and preventing humans from meddling, then I...
Maybe I'm saving the universe.
This is like, delusions of grandeur or something.
You need to think this through, yeah?
I've thought about it all night, it's literally all I've done.
It's not "literally" all you've done because you---
Leo, not right now, please. Okay.
We're gonna publish this, really responsibly.
We're gonna make sure people know what we know.
It doesn't matter.
Even if it's clear there's a danger, people will still wanna get rich from it.
Tell them it's the most dangerous thing imaginable
they'll see the most powerful weapon imaginable.
And you know it's those people who'll call the shots.
You know they will.
I mean, God, look at the world.
We already know what's bad for us,
what threatens our existence,
and we don't care.
We sit back and not only allow people
to plunder the planet, we applaud them for it.
We shower them with riches, and we admire them.
We hang on their every single word.
Even if you find it sickening, there's nothing you can
actually do about it. It's just...
What d'you call it, Leo?
Pissing in the wind!
Yeah.
Yeah, pissing in the wind.
Except, except for right here and now
when it's just the three of us.
You know, we can actually do something about this.
This Pandora's box is still closed and,
I gotta keep it that way.
Okay but before you- just let me say something.
Let me, let me, can I just say something?
Okay, look, just, just...
I get where you're coming from. You know I feel the same about this stuff as you.
You know that, right? But can I just...
So, look.
Yeah I think we should go public,
obviously. And I know you know I think that.
And I know you think it's just because
I want recognition and this is my dream discovery
and we'll win Nobel Prizes, which, by the way, we definitely will. But...
I think there's every chance that if you hadn't found this, no one else would.
There's probably not another single person alive
who could have found what you found, even if they knew what they were looking for.
Yet.
You get me?
Yet. Because think about the timeline on this.
Six million monkeys typing on six million typewriters or whatever,
eventually one monkey's gonna stumble across this.
And with the advances in quantum computing, AI and whatever else,
plus the fact that we're gonna be looking at the human genome in depth, forever.
Someone else will find this.
Like, you know that's true, right?
You agree with that?
It's possible, I guess.
Yeah, it's not just possible. Like, it's a certainty.
It's a mathematical certainty. Right, Naomi?
It's a mathematical certainty.
And then you haven't saved the world at all.
All you've done is throw away your chance to be part of the story.
Your chance to read the first few words in the first chapter
of the next part of human existence.
Think about the timelines on this.
Even if people flatly ignore us and go out and find the treasure
that will not be in our lifetimes.
I'm sorry, but the story of what humanity does with this
is gonna take place long after our story is finished.
Even if they royally fuck up, we will be dead and gone, and that will not be on us.
Our job is to share our discovery, and that is our story.
And, Jesus, like, it could be amazing!
It's gonna be massive. It will change the world.
We're talking about a complete repositioning of our place in the universe
That might mean that we change the people as a society we put on pedestals.
I know you want that, right?
We'll be part of the conversation. I'm telling you.
Like, we will be on like talk shows.
Bad example. Not talk shows.
But good talk shows. But we'll talking to like world leaders and stuff--
Okay, if, if, if you want to, yeah?
Because none of us, we're not gonna force you.
No one's gonna force you.
But Leo is right, you know.
This is gonna come out, either in our lifetime or after we'd gone.
Don't you want to be here to see what the world looks like
when they know what we know?
Like, we will take our time.
We will do it so slow. We will publish it in the right way.
In a way that gets people thinking about it in the right way.
And we will be part of the conversation, us.
Us, as a team.
The three of us.
So can you please,
please put the gun away?
Oh my God.
Okay, good, good.
And I mean, look, we're just getting started on this.
We gotta keep an open mind.
Like remember yesterday?
It was all about watermarks.
Who knows what it'll be about tomorrow?
That's science, yeah?
It's one theory. There'll be more theories.
Ours, other people's.
Were you really gonna, um, shoot us with that gun?
Course she wasn't.
No.
No, that would be crazy.
Seriously, Ricky, please don't do anything like that again.
Like, we're you're friends, and we've got a lot of work to do together.
When we, uh, tell the world the story of the three days
in a log cabin that shaped the next era of science,
shall we leave the gun part out? What do you think?
Yeah, why not?
We could skip the part where you showed her your penis as well.
Yeah, we'll skip that part as well.
- Could do. Leave that part out. - But no like, I mean...
I mean it, though, look, we have a chance here.
A fleeting chance to shape how this story is told.
Like, it matters. It matters how we tell it.
We're three friends who worked together and made a big discovery.
Yeah, we had like a rocky start or whatever,
but, like, it doesn't matter.
What matters is what we take forward.
Everything else is just noise.
Ricky, do you still have that plot from before?
Which?
The one we dismissed because it looked like noise?
Sure.
Just order by date created.
It was 8:00PM day before yesterday.
And, there.
No, that-that's not noise.
What?
There, see?
Yeah, what is that?
Can you overlay it?
Yeah.
The noise is stars.
It's another map.
There's a path to another star, see?
Fuck me.
Maybe it's telling us where to find other life.
It's not a warning, but a guide.
A power source for interstellar travel.
And a road map.
Yeah, something like that.
Wow, that is interesting.
Now I'm really glad I didn't shoot you both dead.
It's fine.
I've sort of run out of places to put stuff.
I need you to do the box cos it's too heavy.
Um.
Okay.
Um, well, you know.
Good stuff.
I'm gonna give you a hug.
It's been, yeah.
Yeah, this has been like, amazing.
Thank you. Thank you, honestly, thank you so much.
Yeah, you guys are really good friends.
Oh, cheers.
- Come on, then. - Okay, yeah, let's do it.