Signál

THE SIGNAL

I didn't buckle up.

Measure it.

- It's all packed up in the back. - Not a single bar, man.

- I'm leaving on Monday. - You'll be home on Sunday.

We said we were done, okay?

You got it?

- Those were my potatoes. - Chill out.

I haven't even packed my books.

So give me a definite no.

No.

Cops!

- Something wrong? - No, we were just wondering

if there was a pub around here where we could get some lunch...

Take the main road, there's a gas station and a roadhouse.

Excuse me.

So I guess it's some hick town, eh?

I assume your papers are in order.

Of course.

Let's start with the lights then.

Must you always fuckin' smoke?

Yup.

Here.

Let me lose my voice if there aren't two pussies in this town.

Why did you ask me if I wanted to go anyway?

You could've said yes, couldn't you?

If you didn't stop they wouldn't take our papers.

- They may take, but must return. - And return that grand back too?

Chill out, cuz. You are so uptight.

- Relax. Breathe. - Don't touch me!

You fuckin' piss me off.

Who are those idiots?

I hate when we agree on something

and then you do the exact opposite. You don't give a shit what I think.

Yes, I do.

- What if I say I won't do it? - Go ahead say it.

- What's wrong with it today? - The dishwasher dulls the glass.

Stop complaining, you're not in Prague. We all like it.

The only one who likes it is you, Mayor.

- You don't drink enough. - You don't draw enough.

So lower my rent and I'll draw more!

Over in the other village they have a patio and even cook.

It's always full. And there are ten fewer houses.

But they're not on the hill, Karel.

Sell me your half of the pub, I'll hire you and you can chill out!

I'd rather burn it down!

In case you lose the matches.

You won't take it down, it's plastered on.

It's our mayor back when he was a speedway racer.

He's been the king here so long that he's soaked into the wall.

Karel, say one word and you can be mayor yourself.

- And what would you do, Jirka? - Don't bother.

Good evening. Attention please.

- Guys, quiet! - Thank you very much.

Let me introduce myself and my colleague here.

My name is Filip Zachr and here kicking up his heels is

my colleague Nosex.

We're engineers. We work for NBWS,

National Broadcast Wave Split and Monitoring

which carries out signal localization

for international cell phone network providers.

One of the providers is looking to place their transmitter

somewhere in the vicinity of your village.

It only spoils the landscape. All those antennas, right?

We of course acknowledge all these objections

but one also must consider the advantages of wireless connection,

such as speed, internet access and eventually digital TV.

We've already got TV, right?

- What will the village get from it? - As a matter of fact, nothing.

According to the law we need your permission

to allow us to walk on your property.

- So you'll just trample the grass. - Excuse me, what's your name?

- Why? - So we know whose property we don't have access to.

Milan, it's Milan Pajdalík.

Please take Mr. Pajdalík off the list.

After evaluating the results, one place will be recommended.

The contract with the owner will specify the amount paid on the lease.

What lease?

The owner will get a monthly or yearly,

depends on the contract,

payment for the land he provided for building the transmitter.

And how much would it be?

Well, partner, we've come to the rental agreement, your turn.

According to Articles 151n - 151p, on easements,

the rent is from three to five grand a month, depending on the site.

- Euros of course. - Are you nuts?

It's more than a hundred grand...

Thank you for your attention. We'll start monitoring tomorrow.

- Just do it. Screw the grass. - Guys, you can stay at my place.

Why pay for a hotel in town? You'll save time in the morning.

- No thanks, the company covers it. - I have rooms in the back!

- I have five cabins in my garden. - Wait!

Let's put them up at the city hall. There is a sofa bed.

Let's go, Gentlemen.

Hey, Engineer, come here.

Stop by my place for breakfast. You won't be sorry.

Man, five thousand Euros. You're a total nut.

If there are any scratches, they'll kill me at school.

- You could have put a cap there, no? - What do you think they'll do?

Call the cops because they'll realize we've bamboozled them.

I was pissed, okay.

Great.

You're fuckin' up my vocal chords, you know that?

Let's spit then.

You hear it?

What?

The silence.

- Dad sends you... - Come in.

Hey, Engineer, let the young lady in, ok? Don't make her stand there.

Dad is sending you something to drink and eat tonight.

That's nice. Who is your dad?

He works in Mr. Pilka's pub. I mean in our pub.

- His name is Staněk. - I see, Staněk...

- Are you from Prague? - No.

Of course we are. Take a seat.

Here.

How old are you?

- Fifteen? - I'll tell mom we won't make it.

Sixteen?

Mom, I know what time my plane leaves.

In the Highlands.

I am.

Yes, I do.

I'll buy it at the airport.

It's not to spite you, we just happened to get another job.

Yes, apples.

I don't have a rash. Filip doesn't have one either...

Okay. Mom, I'm sorry, I have to go, there are people waiting.

I'm sorry too.

I said it wasn't to spite you.

Hello, Mom!

- Go ahead. - I don't want to use it...

I'm sorry, I just wanted to tell you that it steals coins.

- See. - Thank you very much.

I heard you're going to monitor the signal strength here.

That's right. Good night.

I'm sorry to bother you

but it doesn't happen often that someone like you comes here.

I can see that.

What type of multiple access scheme are you implementing?

Time division or code division? Or something completely new?

You know what it's about?

No. I just know what I've read in a magazine.

Stop by sometime. I live at the other end,

below the orchard.

I'd like to learn something.

If you don't mind. Good night.

I apologize. My colleague is a little... hot-tempered.

And you?

What's up? We're leaving.

You can't be scared of some old fart.

He knew the different types of MA schemes.

You know why that chick came?

Because they ate it up. You're a genius, Kája.

When he sees our meter he will know that we're measuring shit.

And why should he see it?

The strategy is still the same. Select, bang, split. SBS.

I hope you have enough hair for it.

No fruits or vegetables. It just rots in the car.

We take only smoked meat, jams...

and honey.

Mom was really upset.

No wonder. We promised her we'd come.

Sorry, I have to announce it before people go to town.

Dear fellow villagers, this is a municipal announcement.

Today between 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. a bookmobile will be at the pub.

Anyone who has taken out any books has until 3 p.m.

Old Šimková is selling cocker spaniel puppies.

They have no pedigree certificates and she wants five hundred.

A dumpster for bio-waste will come on Saturday so don't burn it,

wait till Saturday so we can breathe here.

She's teasing us.

Thank you for your attention and have a good day.

Electricity is in the front hall, so I apologize if it takes longer.

I hate wall plugs. They disturb the space.

So you are an engineer?

- Electrical. - I prefer particle physics

but people are not really into it; it's too small for them.

Going to the root is like digging a grave. You must overcome the fear.

I know that quote about the grave. But I don't recall its origin.

- You also got it in a magazine? - No...

ACCELERATORS, A JOURNEY BEYOND THE BORDERS

You built the first accelerator in this country!

Didn't work.

Josef Prokeš, Associate Professor! But they sold the idea to Canada.

Because the party and the government didn't have it on their agenda.

But we'd figure it out if we had the same conditions as Canada.

I got a research fellowship in CERN I'm flying to Geneva on Monday.

- I thought you'd graduated. - I'm getting... my PhD.

Are you ready for it?

I got a research grant. For the best project.

If you accelerate a particle and its energy increases many times...

...its potential weight increases

and it can set off a nuclear reaction

which enables us to study the most elementary parts of the nucleus.

- And? - And?

There are hadrons, quarks, neutria and strings there.

- And then? - Then, then...

Then the science has to prove it.

So far they're only hypotheses, like the Higgs boson.