Aniara

BASED ON A SPACE EPOS BY HARRY MARTINSON

- Toddler: (shouting) No! - Mother: He'll be here later.

Toddler: (shouting) No.

Mother: Want to wave goodbye to Earth?

Toddler: No.

Mother: You'll regret it if you don't.

Want to say bye-bye to Earth?

- Bye-bye, Earth. - Toddler: Bye-bye...

Man: (over PA) We will now begin docking with Aniara.

Please keep your belts fastened until the gangway is ready

and the seat belt sign is switched off.

Please note that checked containers

will not be available during the voyage.

We hope you've had a pleasant ascent

and wish you a happy new life on Mars.

Mimaroben: Excuse me, I work here.

- (machine beeps) - Hi.

CABIN - CHAMPAGNE BAR ENTERTAINMENT CENTER

FOREBODY

Welcome aboard Aniara.

A state-of-the-art transport ship

which will take you all the way from Earth to Mars

in three weeks.

ASTRONOMER

The air we breathe on the craft is completely natural.

It derives from our extensive algae farms.

And our 21 restaurants...

...also feature a spa, a tanning salon...

You'll want for nothing.

- (electric tri-tone chimes) - (indistinct chatter)

Pilot: (over PA) As we enter our set course,

please lie down with your seat belts fastened

until the gravitational load has adapted

to our cruising speed.

All communication systems will be down

until we've reached our destination.

- Hi! - Hi.

- So you're in my room now? - Yes, here I am.

Served my whole life. Still have to bunk.

That's how they treat astronomers here.

Yes.

Leave people behind on Earth instead

so I can have my own closet.

I don't care if they melt into the tarmac.

- I was only kidding. - I wasn't.

I've never been very impressed by people.

Sorry to hear that, but...

- you sure seem to enjoy books. - Hmm.

I took the top shelves.

- I hope you don't snore? - No.

Or... a little, maybe.

Then I'll have to change cabins

- on the way back. - (electric chime)

Goddamn it!

HOUR 1

ROUTINE VOYAGE

This is your Captain Chefone speaking.

We are now cruising at a speed of 64 kilometers per second

and are expected to dock with the space lift

Valles Marineris in 23 days, seven hours and 25 minutes.

Man: It's a pressure suit.

Woman: Not exactly designer stuff.

I guess these are all you have, so I'd like a size 104.

Please wrap it for me...

Mima Hall introduction?

I'm good, thanks.

Care to do the Mima Hall introduction, starting now?

No, thanks.

Okay then. Might as well get started.

I'm called MR. I work as a Mimarobe here on Aniara.

Um, quick back story:

Mima was originally created

for the first settlers on Mars, who...

Uh...

Simply put, she transports us back to Earth as it once was.

Right, shall we? Let's go inside.

If you tilt your head down. No one else do it.

You can tell, it gets more intense.

Is it okay if I have a look?

And look up.

What you see is personal to you,

since Mima has access to your memory banks.

Now, let me explain how to use this space.

Once you go into the images, you won't feel your...

Woman: Stabilization initiated!

Two, one...

Man: We've got protruding sections by the Saba reactor.

Stand by for cooling results.

- Passing field SARI-17! - Return to course.

Hondo, initiate course return.

Hondo!

Captain, initiating course return. Field egress ICE-12.

Woman: What's happening?

Not sure, but don't worry.

Why don't you lie down on the Mima pillow?

You can lie here for as long as you want.

- What happened? - No idea.

- Nuclear fuel ejected. - Good.

- Status on the back-up system? - Techs are working on it.

Copy that. Isagel, course?

Field SARI-16, angle YKO-9. Lyra constellation ahead.

Chefone: Copy that.

Mima Host: Just keep still! Everything is under control.

Nobody move. Just keep still.

Now, all is in order.

Need help?

IMPORTANT INFORMATION FROM CAPTAIN CHEFONE

Man: We will soon be going live

with Captain Chefone from the Light-year Hall.

The broadcast will also be delivered

across all audiovisual devices.

Excuse me, could you scooch over?

Good evening, dear passengers.

We've had an incident, and I understand your concern.

Let me get straight to it.

Something highly unlikely has occurred.

We had to make an emergency maneuver

to avoid a collision with space debris.

It saved our lives.

But our reactor took a hit,

as a screw penetrated the hull.

The power station caught fire

and we had no choice but to eject all our fuel.

This unfortunately means we can no longer steer Aniara.

We've been knocked off course and cannot turn back.

But... you can remain calm.

Once we pass a celestial body

we'll use its gravity to get back on course.

I can't tell you exactly when this will happen.

But you should prepare for the fact

that it could be a couple...

Definitely no more than two years.

Woman: Hey. Excuse me?

It was supposed to take three weeks.

I'm afraid things have changed. Listen to the captain now.

Woman: That's not possible.

I told my son I'd be there for his fourth birthday.

Chefone: You will of course be duly compensated upon arrival.

But for now we need to cooperate and be there for one another.

Remember we have much to be grateful for.

No one was hurt, and our voyage is still ahead of us.

In that sense, we've been lucky.

Come. - (water running)

Come here.

- Was her name? Chebeba? - No, that's me.

Her name is Libidel.

Libidel? Listen to me. Just let the images come to you.

Tilt your head down and they'll come at once.

Breathe slowly.

Lie down here. That's it...

I'll let you know as soon as I have more information.

In the meantime, help yourself

to a night snack from the management.

Have some snacks, courtesy of the captain.

How soon can we increase algae production

to cover our food needs?

Immediately. It won't burden the oxygen system.

Restaurants? How long can we last?