Bortus.
Bortus, I wish to talk.
Klyden, why are you awake?
It is early.
We have not discussed that which I have been wishing
to discuss for some time now.
Can it not wait until a later hour?
It has waited far too long, and you know it.
We have been over this.
My duties to this ship
require a substantial time commitment.
That is not good enough.
I am your mate, and I have needs.
I am aware of this,
but I am also a bridge officer.
You are saying that your job is more important than me?
More important than our baby?
No. But you were prepared for what our life would be
when you decided to come aboard the Orville with me.
I was not prepared for such neglect.
I cannot talk about this now.
Where are you going?
I am getting dressed. I cannot sleep.
I am going to begin my shift early.
Access ship's cultural library.
Cultural library accessed.
I wish to eat some...
What did commander Grayson call it?...
"depression food."
There are various foods
associated with this designation.
The xelayan people identify sweetened gupsela
with depression.
On earth, ice cream is often used as a means of alleviation.
I will try ice cream.
Identify flavor.
Which flavor is requested most?
Searching database.
For the assuaging of depression, rocky road is most consumed.
I wish to eat rocky road.
Access entertainment database.
Database accessed.
I wish to see something that will make me happy.
♪ I am 16 going on 17 ♪
♪ I know that I'm naive ♪
♪ fellows I meet ♪
♪ may tell me I'm sweet ♪
♪ and willingly, I believe ♪
♪ I am 16 going on 17 ♪
♪ innocent as a rose ♪
♪ bachelor dandies ♪
♪ drinkers of brandies ♪
♪ what do I know of those? ♪
♪ Totally unprepared am I ♪
♪ to face a world of men... ♪
Star-mapping has got to be the most
boring damn job there is.
I'd rather have brunch with my parents.
Uh, I'd rather have brunch with my parents and their parents.
I'd rather have brunch with my parents
and their really good friends who they haven't seen
in a while, who just got back from a vacation in Florida
and took lots of pictures while visiting their daughter,
who just had a brand-new baby.
That just made me want to kill myself.
You guys, we're on the edge of the frontier of explored space.
That doesn't excite you?
Bortus.
What are you doing here? Your shift doesn't start
for another hour.
I do not want to be in my quarters.
Why? Is something wrong? I do not wish to discuss it.
You and klyden fighting again?
I said I do not wish to talk about it.
Okay. Sorry.
Captain,
I am picking up a large, artificial mass
approximately 400,000 kilometers to port.
Holy crap. Yeah, I'm picking it up, too.
"Large" is an understatement.
Artificial? Like a ship?
Can't be a ship. It's too big.
There are no space stations this far out.
- Do you want to have a look? - That's our job.
Lieutenant Malloy, adjust our heading to intercept.
Aye, sir.
Approaching artificial mass, captain.
My god.
What are we looking at?
It is indeed a ship, commander,
of unusually large dimensions.
I have reduced viewer magnification
by a factor of 10,000.
Looks like it's drifting.
Its engines appear to be inactive.
The ship is traveling by inertia only.
Any life-form readings?
Unable to penetrate the outer surface.
It is composed of an unfamiliar alloy.
Who would need a ship that big?
Persian guy, maybe?
Wants to show off at the club.
Captain, analysis of the hull indicates the ship
is approximately 2,000 years old.
What? Sir, I've mapped the ship's trajectory.
If it keeps drifting in this direction, in about six months,
it'll collide with star j-2837.
Could be a derelict of some kind.
Isaac, is there any kind of a docking port for a shuttle?
There is a small port on the lower hull.
It is possible for our shuttle to dock,
but navigation will need to be precise.
I am the only crew member
capable of such rapid helm adjustments.
Well, you don't have to be a dick about it.
Explain "dick."
Check your monitor.
Ah, I see.
It is my understanding
that human males take pride in their sexual organs.
Yes. Sometimes.
Then lieutenant Malloy has complimented me.
You gonna pilot this shuttle?
Yes, sir. All right then. Let's go.
Alara, you're with us.
Bortus, you have the conn.
Tell Dr. Finn to meet us in the shuttle bay.
Aye, sir.
Have you been experiencing any dizziness, fatigue,
or a loss of sensation in your outer membrane?
Nah, it's just a sort of general malaise.
I've suffered from depression before.
Physically, you seem fine.
You think maybe you're just bored in your job?
I think I'm just lonely, you know?
I'm the only gelatinous crew member on board.
It's just tough to meet people.
Hey, you ever feel like coming by my quarters
and just getting weird and sloppy some night,
oh, my god, I would be so into that.
Bortus to Dr. Finn.
Please report to the shuttle bay.
On my way.
Sorry, yaphit. Duty calls.
Well, looks like it's another night
with just me and the toothpaste.
How big would you say that ship is?
I would estimate a cross section of the interior
to be approximately 790 square kilometers.
Whoa.
That's about the size of New York City.
And it's been drifting for 2,000 years.
Engaging electromagnetic seal.
Scans indicate breathable atmosphere
just inside the hull.
Let's check it out.
This door looks like it hasn't been used in centuries.
Alara, you want to open this jar of pickles for me?
Oh, my god.
What is it, doctor?
Uh...
- I'm afraid of heights. - Indeed.
Given your specie fragile construct,
an impact from this height would result in death
from severe trauma to the spinal cord and...
Oh, shut up, will you?
Oh, man.
Our ship looks like crap now.
It's a bio-ship.
Biggest bio-ship anyone's ever seen.
Isaac, life-form readings?
Yes, commander.
Millions.
I wonder who they are,
why they're out here.
If their engines are dead and they're drifting toward a star,
why wouldn't they be transmitting a distress signal?
Maybe it's not functioning either?
I mean, if the ship is that old.
Well, regardless, they're in trouble.
We're gonna have to make contact.
I mean, what do we say to 'em?
"Hi, we live in the trailer across the street.
We have jumper cables"?
We'll split up.
Kelly, you and alara head to starboard.
Claire and Isaac and I will take the port side.
Mercer to Orville.
Mercer to Orville, do you read?
It would seem neither the Orville's scanners
nor communications will penetrate the hull.
All right, Isaac, head back to the shuttle,
contact the Orville, tell them we're gonna take a look around.
We'll check back in three hours.
Aye, sir.
Okay, we'll rendezvous back here
at 1300 hours, ship's time.
Right.
Wait, that's...
1:00 P.M. 1:00 P.M.
Right, sorry, that always screws me up.
Okay.
Look at this landscape.
Who would build a ship like this?
And why?
Captain, since my primary function
as a member of the crew
is to study human behavior for my final report to kaylon,
I would like to ask a question.
Uh, sure, go ahead.
When you were married to commander Grayson,
what was it you failed to do
that led her to perform coitus with another partner?
Oh, you glad you brought him along?
Isaac, honestly, I don't think that's any of your business.
Were you not sexually adequate?
No, that's not it. No, just drop it, okay?
I do not understand.
Why is the topic of procreation
unpleasant for humans to discuss?
Can I ask you something?
How do your people procreate?
All kaylon are assembled by a central production facility
on our homeworld.
Oh, that's hot.
Do you intend to resume coupling with commander Grayson
now that she is serving on board the Orville?
Absolutely not.
No, look, Isaac,
sometimes two humans think they're right for each other,
and no matter how much in love they are,
for whatever reason, it just doesn't work out.
Sometimes one of them loses perspective on the relationship,
and sometimes the other one has sex with a blue alien.
Humans are very flawed animals that way.
Captain... look.
There are three life-forms
inside the structure.
All right, time to meet the locals.
Hi, I'm captain ed Mercer of the...
Jehovah's witnesses.
Well, that's not quite the greeting we wanted.
Perhaps she fears
you are not sexually adequate.
Look, it's fine, all right?
I'm just gonna try again.
- Hi, I'm captain ed Mercer... - holy crap!
Thanks, Isaac.
You are welcome.
Ma'am, we're very sorry.
Your husband's gonna be okay, he's only stunned.
You didn't kill him, right?
Of course not.
He's only stunned.
We'd like to talk to you for a minute if we can.
Who are you?
What is that?
I'm captain ed Mercer.
This is Dr. Claire Finn,
and that's Isaac.
Our ship encountered your vessel
adrift in space.
We know your engines are inoperative,
and you're heading right toward a star.
We'd like to help you try and make repairs,
and if that doesn't work, offer evacuation ships.
I don't understand.
Well, honestly, there's a lot
that we don't understand either.
We've never seen anything like this place.
What is it?
This is our farm, my husband and I.
I gathered that, but this ship...
Where did it come from?
I don't understand what you're asking.
Are you from the underland?
Please, don't harm us. We're good,
decent people. We embrace the word of dorahl.
Who's dorahl?
Mom?
Get back in your room,
tomilin, now.
Who are they?
I said now!
Tomilin, is it?
We don't mean your family any harm.
Well, we did just shoot his dad.
Aside from shooting your dad, we don't mean your family any harm.
He's only stunned.
Are you real?
Captain,
if I may...
Tomilin, my name is Isaac.
I am an artificial life-form.
Can you tell me what sort of vessel this is?
From where do you originate?
An artific... what?
Please, answer my question.
What is this place?
The hills, the trees,
the cities, all that we can see...
What is it?
What do mean? It's...
It's what it is. It's everything.
Captain...
I do not believe these people know
they are on board a spacecraft.
Are you from beyond?
You shut your mouth with that blasphemy, tomilin.
What if, what if we are, tomilin?
What if we're from beyond?
- Come with me. - Tomilin.
Tomilin!
Get back here! Tomilin!
God, this is so beautiful.
I can't believe a place like this exists.
Oh, it'd be a perfect place for a romantic afternoon picnic.
It would.
Speaking of,
how's it going with you and Josh?
Yeah, that's, uh, that's over.
What? I thought you were really into him.
I was.
But it turns out he has a massive hang-up
about the fact that his girlfriend
can beat the crap out of him with one finger, so...
Ah, I see.
You just, you have no idea what a-a social roadblock it is
being the strongest person on the ship, you know.
I mean, aside from Isaac, but even that's a toss-up.
A lot of guys are weird about it, yeah?
Oh, my god, it's ridiculous.
But then there's the captain,
and he doesn't even seem to care, you know?
I mean, whenever I open a hatchway
or lift something heavy,
he just gives me this gratified look
like I just cleaned up his dog's puke.
Yeah, well, trust me, ed has his own set of hang-ups.
Like what?
I mean, that, that's none of my business.
But you want to know.
Kind of, yeah.
I mean, honestly, everyone is wondering about
the whole story.
With the divorce. Yeah.
I mean, aside from the obvious. The obvious thing.
Yeah, that.
And please tell me if I'm out of line.
No, listen, you're fine.
Look, I mean, ed just...
He had trouble with balance,
you know, between work and home and...
I don't know. I just started to feel
like I was living alone.
And although I regret sleeping with darulio...
I don't know, in a weird way, it just...
It was inevitable.
As awful as that sounds.
That's really tough. I'm sorry.
Wait.
Do you hear that?
Yeah.
Commander, look.
May I see your identification?
Good afternoon to you, too.
Your identification.
I'm commander Kelly Grayson of the USS Orville,
and this is my security chief,
alara kitan.
We encountered your vessel... Your identification now.
Mine's actually in my other pants.
I'd rather not show you mine
'cause I look really bad in my picture. She does.
She looks really shiny and gross.
Have you ever heard of combination skin?
What?
Step into the vehicle.
Okay, if you could just put your weapons down
and let us explain...
Alara!
You want to tell us where we're going?
I had to get you away from there.
Yeah, I wouldn't want to be around when your dad wakes up.
There are those among us
who have begun to question scripture.
We believe that there may be more to the universe
than what we can see.
Your mother spoke of a dorahl.
Who is that?
Dorahl is the creator.
The creator of the universe?
That's what we're taught, yes.
The common impulse of biological life-forms
to attribute the origin of the universe
to an omnipotent being
is most curious.
Well, then, how do you think the universe began?
On the subnuclear scale,
it is quite natural for quantum fluctuations
to create matter and energy where none exist.
Where you come from, is it like this?
Our ship is similar to yours in some ways.
Um, the pollen count's a little lower.
You're not gonna get lyme disease
walking through our ship, but other than that,
it's more or less the same.
If you really are from beyond,
then the doubts of the reformers become impossible to ignore.
The reformers?
Who are they?
I'll show you.
My friends, our world
is about to change.
I don't know how they do it.
I really don't.
You just do it, I guess.
I don't know.
I mean, if I had to work alongside my ex-wife,
day in and day out,
man, I'd rather chew broken glass.
Wait, you were married?
Hell, no.
In fact, when I imagine the person I'd fall in love with,
the person who could bring me so much happiness
that I'd want us to spend the rest of our lives together,
god, it just makes me want to kill myself.
Huh. That seems reasonable.
Commander, we're receiving a priority one distress call
from the USS druyan.
Put it through.
To any union vessel
within range, we're under attack by the krill.
We've taken heavy casual...
Lieutenant? It's okay.
I got a lock on it.
Coordinates 3-1-9-Alpha,
mark 7.2.
Sir, the druyan is a colony transport.
They probably have children on board.
How quickly can we get there?
If we push the hell out of the engines,
we can maybe be there in 20 minutes.
Set course. Maximum velocity.
What about the boarding party?
We will have to hope they do not need us
until we return.
Launch a communication buoy
so they know what's happened.
We've long suspected that there is more
to the universe than we can see.
But until now, we had no proof.
Your arrival means more than you can possibly know.
That's why we have to take them to the city,
show everyone.
They'll have to accept it then. Really, tomilin?
How well did your mother and father accept it?
The concept of a beyond
has been heresy throughout all of recorded history.
People don't alter their beliefs easily.
Well, they're gonna have to if they want to stay alive.
If this ship drifts into that star,
your whole world is gonna fry.
Why would anyone ignore this
when there's a chance to stop it?
Many people refuse to accept an irrefutable truth
simply because that truth puts them in the wrong.
You can rest assured hamelac is such a man.
Who's hamelac?
First guardian of the word of dorahl.
He makes all law.
If he knew we were here speaking of this,
he would put us all to death.
Sounds like a dick.
A what?
It is a compliment.
You must be hungry after your journey.
Leiken, bring some food.
So your teachings tell you that this dorahl
is the creator of your universe?
- They do. - Captain,
it seems we have encountered a dictatorial theocracy.
Oh, great, those are always fun.
When you've eaten,
there is something we must show you.
In the meantime, anything else you can tell us
about your society would be helpful.
Um, this dorahl, for example.
How do the stories say...
Is something wrong?
Is the food not to your liking?
No, it's... it's good.
It's actually very good.
Um...
Do you have a napkin?
That's excellent.
Thank you.
Where's your garbage?
Mercer here, go ahead.
Captain...
Alara, you okay?
No.
I-I've been shot.
Where are you? Is Kelly with you?
No.
Transmitting homing signal now.
All right, we're on our way. Mercer out.
Come on. I'll go with you.
I know the territory.
And I ask you this.
Do you embrace the word of dorahl?
Yes!
Are we united as a people
by dorahl's truth and love?
Yes!
What of those who question...
...who deny dorahl's gift to the universe?
Can they be allowed to live amongst us? No!
To grow and fester and to challenge
the benevolence of dorahl?
No!
Bring him out.
This man is one of those
who call themselves
reformers.
He is charged with heresy.
He has distributed hateful material
right here within the city.
He openly defies
the benevolence of dorahl!
He is yours to sentence!
Take him!
She was carrying this.
Sit down.
I'll stand if you don't mind.
Who the hell are you, and why have you brought me here?
Interesting.
A weapon, is it?
Perhaps you can tell me how it works.
And what that clothing is
you're wearing.
Why did you kill that man out there?
I didn't kill anyone.
Do you see blood on my hands?
You incited that mob to beat him to death.
You killed him.
Why?
The people do as they wish.
And today, they wished to carry out the word of dorahl.
I don't know what the hell you're talking about,
but your goons shot my friend.
I don't know if she's alive or dead.
So let me go right now,
or I swear to god there will be trouble.
Trouble?
Yeah.
From whom?
Other friends?
I said sit down.
You're going to be our guest for a while.
There.
Oh, my god.
Alara. Can you hear me?
She's lost a tremendous amount of blood,
but she's alive.
There are three metal slugs
lodged in her upper chest.
I'm gonna remove them.
What sort of magic is that?
It's medical science, baby.
And with this,
I can accelerate plasma regeneration,
have her back on her feet in no time.
You found me.
Thank god for that tough
xelayan body of yours.
If she were human, she'd be dead by now.
Alara. Hmm?
Where's Kelly?
Uh, t-there were two uniformed men,
they must have taken her.
Enforcers.
They probably took her to the city, to hamelac.
Can you stand up?
I think so.
I imagine this hamelac is pretty well-guarded, yeah?
There'll be many more enforcers, yes.
We're gonna have to assemble a rescue team.
Isaac, go back to the shuttle,
contact the Orville, tell them we need backup, fast.
Yes, captain.
Isaac to captain.
Go ahead.
The Orville is gone.
What? What do you mean, it's gone?
According to the communication buoy they left behind,
there was a distress call.
They say they will return as soon as possible.
What kind of distress call?
Sir, quantum drive injectors have been compromised.
We can't take another hit on the starboard side.
Commander, we've knocked the hell
out of their engines, too.
If we concentrate fire there,
maybe we can get them before they get us.
We must disable their weapons first.
I don't think we'll have time.
Sir, trust me on this.
Very well.
Transfer weapons control to lieutenant lamarr's station.
Oh! Boom, bitch. That's what I'm talking about.
Right there. I'm like, "boom." Lieutenant.
Sorry.
Well done, lieutenant.
Boom.
What is the status of the druyan?
They report some injuries, but no fatalities.
Engineering to bridge.
We took a lot of damage to the starboard injector.
It'll be an hour before we can get underway.
We must hope the captain and his team are not in danger.
One more time.
Who are you,
and where are the others?
I already told you, you stupid son of a bitch.
Our vessel encountered yours drifting in space,
and we're trying to help you
before you fall into that star
and get your nuts burned off. And I told you
you're lying because there is no such place.
Again.
Where are your friends?
Well, last time I saw them, one of them was banging your mom,
and the other one was high-fiving him.
Where...
Are...
Your... friends?
Okay.
I'll tell you.
There's a little coffee shop
on Lafayette street in soho
called central perk.
My friends are there.
Just please...
Don't hurt the monkey.
That's the capitol building.
It's where they interrogate dissidents.
If hamelac has your friend,
that's where she'll be.
All right. Weapons on stun.
What's the plan?
I don't know.
Oh, my god, Nick?
Nick Lewis?
It's ed, from college lacrosse.
How are you?
Step back from the door. My god.
Look at you. You're a guard now, huh?
How long you been guarding?
Step back now.
What kind of talk is that?
Give me a hug, you big joker.
Ah, there we go. That's what I'm looking for.
God, it's good to see you!
You're more resilient than you look.
I've been through a divorce. This is nothing.
Do you know what my colleague here
is holding in his hand?
Scale model of your penis? That's good.
Get it all out now.
In that syringe is a compound
that we find to be a very effective
truth serum.
You see, it targets nerve endings.
Imagine
every nerve in your body feeling as if
it's being punctured by
a tiny little drill.
No...
Don't imagine.
Feel it.
This is the antidote.
All you have to do is tell me where the others are.
The choice is yours.
What, no jokes?
You were so amusing before.
- Kel. Kelly. - What's wrong?
Uh... What's happening to you?
What the hell did you do to her?
Talk!
Now.
All right. All right.
All right, damn you, give her this.
Oh, thank god.
You must be hamelac.
Nice name.
Just kidding, it's not.
You have a pretty messed up way
of welcoming your guests.
Especially when all we were trying to do is help you.
Why would we need your help?
Hamelac, your entire world is
a massive bio-vessel adrift in space.
And in less than six months,
it's gonna be sucked into the gravity well of a star.
You're insane.
No, you're insane if you don't listen to us.
We come from another ship. We encountered your vessel...
Do not blaspheme in these chambers.
Dorahl's creation is all.
He can pretend all he wants, but he knows the truth.
Or at least he suspects.
The kid's right. Why else would he have tortured me?
He knows what we are.
Well?
Is it possible that there's more
to the universe than what we see?
Yes, it's possible!
Then, for god's sake,
why don't you let us help you?
We can try to repair your ship.
To do as you say would shatter
our entire way of life.
This world is not ready.
No, you mean you're not ready
to give up control over these people.
What part of "you're going to die"
don't you understand?
Am I supposed to just take your word
that we're headed for catastrophe
without proof?
You want proof? I'll give you proof.
Look at this. That's our ship, the Orville.
Isn't that pretty? Look at that, with all the curves
and everything. It's real nice, right?
Now, look at this.
That's your ship. Huh?
Looks like a big metal turtle, doesn't it?
That's where you live.
I will not destabilize a system
that has kept order for thousands of years.
Torture, public execution... That's what you call order?
Well, then, I guess we'll be on our way.
You'll understand that we don't want you
sending the cops out after us.
Have a nice nap.
This is what we wanted you to see.
It is a forbidden place.
None of us have ever known what it is.
It appears similar in design
to the hatchway we encountered
when we entered the ship.
However, this keypad seems to be functioning.
If I can access the internal circuits,
the code should be easily obtainable.
It is a lift, captain.
Up or down?
Let's try up.
Any weekend plans?
Um, not really.
Might call my sister.
Cool.
Coo-cool. Coo-coo-cool.
A thousand light-years from earth,
and you're still awkward in the elevator.
Captain,
I believe we are on the bridge of the ship.
What's that?
Kid, that is space.
I used to imagine how it would be.
It was nothing like this.
How far does it extend?
No one knows.
Probably to infinity.
Captain, I have accessed a recording
left here by the last occupant.
To anyone hearing the sound of my voice,
this is captain jahavus dorahl.
Dorahl...
This vessel was constructed by my people
as a first attempt to visit another planet.
Our world is remote,
and we knew that a journey to even the nearest
habitable world would take over a century.
Three generations would live out their lives
on board this bio-vessel.
The third would be the one to reach our destination.
But we were hit by an ion storm,
and we've been unable to restart our engines.
We are marooned in space and drifting.
Unless we can repair the damage,
this ship is now our home.
Our air is recycled, so we will not suffocate.
Our food and water supply is sustainable
for thousands of years, if need be,
as we are a self-contained artificial ecosystem.
But unless we encounter help,
we are doomed to drift indefinitely.
For space is vast
and very dark and very lonely.
My god.
This society was never supposed to exist.
They evolved and grew until they simply forgot their origins.
Forgot they were on a ship.
How is that possible?
Well, if enough time passes.
Even earth is a little fuzzy
on some of its own history.
Damage records indicate the engine failure
is quite rectifiable.
It should take no more than 24 hours.
24 hours.
After two millennia.
There is one more thing, captain.
According to the ship's schematics,
it appears a portion of the upper surface
of the hull is retractable.
You're saying this thing has a sunroof?
Yes, sir.
Presumably to simulate night.
So they could look up and see real stars.
What's night?
Open it.
"If the stars should appear
"one night in a thousand years,
"how would men believe and adore
"and preserve for many generations
the remembrance of the city of god..."
Is that Shakespeare?
Emerson.
William Byron Emerson, yes, yes.
Ralph Waldo... Ralph Waldo.
Lord Ralph Waldo keats... David Thoreau, yes.
Sir,
communications are now clear.
We are being signaled by the Orville.
They have returned.
Captain...
What do we do now?
Well, we're gonna contact the union fleet
and have them send a special training crew
to help reacquaint you with your own ship.
You'll be driving this thing yourself in no time.
Where you go is up to you.
Thank you.
For everything.
Don't thank us.
We just gave you back what was already yours.
Yes.
Our future.
Captioned by media access group at wgbh