PROJECT HAIL MARY

EXTREME WIDE — Darkness. A faint oval shape glows dimly in void.

INSERT — Abstract audio-wave UI. Computer voice emanates from void.

CLOSE-UP — Man's face in profile. Eyes closed. Deep unconscious sleep.

EXTREME CLOSE-UP — Lips parting. Garbled sound: "Lrmln"

EXTREME CLOSE-UP — Eyelid. Sealed shut. Slight tremor visible.

ECU — Eyelid twitches. A hairline crack of light breaks through.

POV — Blinding white resolving. Shapes emerge: ceiling, lights, arms.

LOW ANGLE looking UP — Two robotic arms hanging from ceiling, tools visible.

HIGH ANGLE / TOP-DOWN — Body covered in tubes and electrode pads.

MEDIUM CLOSE — Breathing mask tight on face. Hose snaking behind head.

AERIAL / TOP-DOWN — Circular room overview. Three hammock beds in triangle formation.

MEDIUM — Round hatch in wall with wheel handle. Ladder below it.

MEDIUM CLOSE — Eyes half open. Mouth forming words. "Where... am... I?"

LOW ANGLE — Ceiling camera/speaker. Cold light. Question repeating.

MEDIUM CLOSE — Subtle smirk. Testing computer's intelligence with complex math answer.

MEDIUM WIDE — Falls back asleep mid-thought. Body goes slack.

MEDIUM — Wakes to robot arm on face, shaving him. Wide-eyed shock.

CLOSE-UP — Hand. Fingers wiggle on command. First real motor control.

LOW ANGLE — Robot arms rush toward him from ceiling. Fast descent. Flinch reflex.

MEDIUM — Sitting up on bed. Only 3 tubes remain. IV, catheter, butt tube marked in red.

CLOSE-UP — Muscular arm raised. Doesn't match "coma patient" expectation.

MEDIUM CLOSE — Face: blank. Computer asks his name. He has no answer.

CLOSE-UP — Pulls IV from arm. Blood droplet. Defiant act against the computer.

MEDIUM CLOSE — Face screams in agony as catheter is yanked free.

MEDIUM WIDE — Curled on floor under bed. Robot arms hover at edge, can't reach.

HIGH ANGLE CLOSE — Eyes looking down at catheter on floor. Thin red line of blood.

INSERT — Phone screen. Email from Dr. Irina Petrova. Subject glows red.

INSERT — Diagram from email. IR arc rising from Sun's north pole, bending toward Venus.

MEDIUM — Snaps back to cold room. Sitting against wall, processing the memory flash.

SPLIT FRAME — Thin red blood line above / Thin red IR arc in space below. The connection.

MEDIUM — Slides out from under bed, pressing against wall. Arms converge.

MEDIUM — First clear view of "Ms. Mummy" in hammock bed. Desiccated. Long-dead.

MEDIUM — Second mummy, even more decayed. Skin crumbling. Dead far longer.

WIDE — Stands between two mummified patients. Small figure dwarfed by the dead.

CLOSE-UP — Rubbing half-shaved face. Deductive thinking mode.

LOW ANGLE POV — Looking up at the hatch. 10-foot ladder. Freedom above.

CLOSE-UP — Deductive thinking. Thought bubble: "10 ft." He thinks in imperial units.

MEDIUM — Shuffling along curved wall, back for support. Panting. Arms hover nearby.

CLOSE-UP — Hands grip ladder rung. White-knuckle effort. Foot finding bottom rung.

CLOSE-UP — Arm reaching for next rung. Hand trembling. Not strong enough.

MEDIUM — Falls backward off ladder. Arms flailing. Motion trail from point of fall.

MEDIUM — Robot arms catch him perfectly mid-fall. Body horizontal, suspended gently.

MEDIUM — Laid gently back into bed. Arms retract. Almost tender.

CLOSE-UP — Staring at ceiling. Thought bubble replaying the fall. Something is wrong with it.

WIDE — Bed gently rocks. Body relaxes. Drifts toward sleep again.

TRANSITION PANEL — CRT scan lines. Time jump marker. Duration unknown.

ECU — Eye opens wide without effort. Alert. Catch light. Fully awake.

MEDIUM SIDE — Pushes palms into bed. Torso rising. Sitting up under own power.

MEDIUM WIDE — POV from bed, seated. Two mummified patients visible in their beds across room.

MEDIUM — Second climb attempt. Higher than before. Green vs red progress lines.

CLOSE-UP — Face on ladder. Panting, sweating. Eyes strained but determined.

MEDIUM — Wakes to a toothpaste tube on chest. "EAT" printed on it. Computer: "Eat."

CLOSE-UP — Squeezes paste into mouth. Unenthusiastic side-eye. Survival, not pleasure.

WIDE — Seated alone in the curved room. Mummies flanking. Eating from tube. Solitude.

INSERT — Brain map. Nodes: English speaker, San Francisco, Imperial units. Center node: missing name.

WIDE — Full circular room. Annotated: no door, only vents and hatch above. Quarantine logic.

MEDIUM — Cupped hands around mouth, calling to other patients. Silence. They're dead.

CLOSE-UP — Attempting to guess own name. "J—John?" Hopeful eyes. Computer: "Incorrect."

CLOSE-UP — Eyes drooping mid-protest. Sedated through IV. "...waaaait..." fades.

MEDIUM WIDE — Looking down at own body. Muscular. No atrophy. Doesn't add up.

TOP-DOWN — Both hands probing skull for injuries. Fingers pressing. Nothing found.

CONCEPTUAL WIDE — Silhouette surrounded by floating unanswered questions in the dark.

MEDIUM — Sliding leg off bed. Bed wobbles. Arms hover in standby. Testing limits.

LOW ANGLE — First steps. Feet touch floor. Wobbling, barely upright. Huge milestone.

MEDIUM — Legs buckle. Sinks to floor. Arms barely catching himself. Knees down.

FULL WIDE — Complete room. Two dead, one alive. Ladder to unknown hatch above. Arms wait.

CLOSE-UP — Bemused expression. Thought bubble: "I know Liberia uses imperial units."

LOW ANGLE POV — Long upward gaze at hatch. Ladder below. Warm glow hints beyond.

INSERT DIAGRAM — Two fall trajectories. Expected vs actual. A delta. Something is off.

MEDIUM — Settled back in bed. Tube in hand. Eyes open, awake. LED above. Arms dormant.