Scientists have reached the edge of the universe, but no one was prepared for such a discovery The story begins in a spaceship laboratory. An alarm sounds and the fire suppression systems go off. We hear two men arguing. One of them claims that his partner has lost his mind.
A fight breaks out and one of them grabs a pair of pliers and intimidates his colleague. We get a view of the strange ship outside. It’s round and emits a bright light. Meanwhile, on another ship, the clock reads six o’clock.
Lieutenant Colonel and pilot of the ship Harold Richards wakes up and immediately do a few push-ups before getting on the exercise bike. His partner, Dr Abe Anderson, wants to get some more sleep but still gets up reluctantly and makes himself some coffee. He adds some alcohol to the drink. After his workout, Harold goes to the lab and writes some data in a logbook, examining a flask of bees.
Then he feeds an electric eel that lives on the ship in an aquarium. Finally, he surveys his surroundings through a periscope, but all he sees is darkness. Their ship is also rounded, with one side absorbing light and the other producing something that looks like smoke. While Harold, who is in charge, does his work, his partner Abe does nothing: he drinks alcohol from sachets, tries on a pair of sunglasses, and watches TV.
After he finishes his duties, Harold makes himself a cup of coffee and sits down on the couch, pushing aside a whole mountain of booze sachets. Richards informs Anderson that they are getting close. Abe, on the other hand, thinks they are even further away from their destination and that their entire mission is pointless. Harold silently stands up and leaves the room.
On the following morning, Harold does his push-ups again and heads to the lab. Here he re-enters the data on the bees while Abe continues to sleep. Harold then tosses a fish into the aquarium with the electric eel and accidentally drops his pen into the water. The man tries to reach for it and the military tags on his neck end up in the water too.
Suddenly the eel touches the metal tokens and Harold is electrocuted. The man falls, and the ship loses power for a few seconds. Abe wakes up and goes to find Harold. Coming out of the room, the man immediately sees his partner’s body.
In a fit of hysteria, Abe throws a sack over Harold and pulls him across the ship. The man opens the airlock, and places his colleague’s body there, but is hesitant to pull the lever and throw him into space. He heads to the control room and tries to figure out how it all works. He sends a query to the computer to figure out how far they are from Earth and the edge of the universe.
However, the computer is unable to calculate this. The ship continues to fly into the darkness and the unknown. Anderson leaves the cockpit. He wakes up near the airlock compartment, where he apparently fell asleep missing his friend.
As he rises from the floor, he accidentally hits the lever and the ship throws the sack outboard. Abe runs to the periscope in a panic and validates his fears: his partner’s body floats away into outer space. Now the confused Abe has no choice but to continue on his own. The man falls asleep again, while some rough weather rages around the ship.
Lightning flashes wake Abe. The frightened man approaches the portholes and sees the eye of a huge electric stingray that has wrapped itself around the ship. The shocked man drinks another sachet of alcohol and lies on the floor again. After sobering up, he revisits footage of him and Harold filmed in the middle of their voyage.
Anderson tells the host that one of the secondary objectives was to observe the effects of weightlessness on honeybees. But the insects didn’t live long, so the results of the study are inconclusive. Harold adds that they also had a pinball machine, but it broke. The presenter clarifies how things stand with the main goal: Will they get to the end of the universe soon? Abe thinks it will be a long time before they see it.
But he’s sure they’ll reach their destination when they stop seeing stars. The transmission ends and Abe makes a noose out of wires. Putting it around his neck, he pulls out a picture of his wife and mentally says goodbye to her. Suddenly, something jolts the ship.
The man loses his balance and convulses. Abe climbs up into the window pod. He is dazzled by a bright white light. The man puts on his glasses and excitedly tries to distinguish what is outside the ship.
We are transported 13 years back in time to a conference where Dr Weatherford is speaking. She talks about the upcoming space mission, demonstrating theoretical calculations. She then calls Abe from the audience and introduces him to the other scientists as outstanding marine biologist. The doctor is happy that thanks to Anderson, they will soon be exploring all their theoretical hypotheses in practice.
One of the scientists in the audience thinks that such a mission is a huge unnecessary risk, and they should study their theories in more detail. Weatherford, however, calls the risk fully justified. He then summons Harold, who has already been selected to pilot the module, from the hall. The doctor is confident that they will surely achieve their goal.
Harold shakes Abe’s hand, and journalists and photographers capture this momentous event. What follows is the process of preparing Abe for his space voyage. Along the way, the scientist is examined, asked questions, and read his rights. Dr.
Weatherford is extremely fascinated by the multiverse. She looks at the board with her calculations and argues that the universe is much more complex than previously thought. She believes that the fictional nature of the universe should not be underestimated. But the very idea of reaching its end is beyond imagination; it is impossible to imagine.
Abe is completely confused and suddenly loses consciousness. The nurses try to revive him. They ask him to sign some papers, and the doctor says to consider the scientist’s low-stress tolerance. After practice, Harold returns.
He cheers Abe up and helps him up. Dr Weatherford becomes enthusiastic about the future astronauts, and then suddenly Abe loses consciousness again. The story moves back to the spaceship in the middle of their journey, when Harold was still alive.
He notices a malfunction in the airlock and tries to adjust the system. However, the automatic waste disposal doesn’t work, so they have to use the lever manually. Harold tells Abe that this will be tedious, and the latter examines the lever with a chuckle. The teammates are still enthusiastic and enjoy their time on the ship.
Anderson works as an equal to Richards and handles the bees. Suddenly he discovers that Harold, breaking protocol, is feeding sardines to the eel himself. The scientist reminds him that this is very dangerous, but Harold doesn’t listen to him, because he enjoys this activity. At night Anderson draws something in his notebook, goes to look through the periscope and one of the galaxies appears before him.
Later, while Harold is not looking, Abe pulls out a suitcase of supplies. Jars of sardines fall out of it and the man hurries to put them back in. He then places the suitcase in the airlock and tosses it into open space so that Harold no longer feeds the eel and puts himself in danger. Satisfied with his work, he heads to Harold’s control pod.
Harold pilots the ship while pressing many buttons. Abe walks in on him and asks why he is doing this, as the ship is flying itself on autopilot. Suddenly a red button on the control panel lights up. Harold rushes to press it, but Abe stops him.
He’s messing around and wants to see what will happen if no action is taken. Harold is angry at his partner and suddenly punches him in the face. Abe only laughs, because Harold still hasn’t pressed the button, but nothing really happens to the ship. This makes Harold question the usefulness of his work.
And when Abe leaves the man sends a query to the computer asking if he should press those buttons. On the following day, Harold asks Abe where he put the sardines. Anderson smirks and informs him that he sent them into space. Harold attacks his partner, but Abe notices that he’s already hit him.
Richards stops and instead takes a picture of Anderson’s wife and rips it up. Abe looks at the torn photo and suddenly begins to hear a strange noise coming from another part of the ship. The man goes to the sound and suddenly finds himself in a room filled with people. These are the people greeting the two teammates from the beginning of the movie as they are sent to the edge of the universe.
The astronauts thank those present and propose a toast to space. This is how he drinks a sachet of alcohol for the first time and soon starts drinking more. We are transported even earlier in time. It’s yet another day.
Abe goes to the lab. Here he examines several lifeless bees. After looking at one of them through a microscope, he finds that it has perished from an unknown cause. He goes back to the windowed room, where he is treated to a view of the star-filled cosmos.
Another morning arrives. The same daily routine that has been going on for years repeats itself. Abe lies down on the couch and falls asleep. Harold notices that the automatic eel feeder is broken.
He searches for his partner throughout the ship, goes up to the windowed chamber and sees that the stars are still visible. Shortly after, he discovers his colleague asleep. Abe says with regret that he hasn’t done anything for the day, but Harold argues that everyone needs a rest sometimes. The next day Abe decides to fix the arcade machine.
He deals with a lot of wires and sensors, but suddenly a short circuit occurs and he is unable to repair it. At the same time, Harold pulls out a can of sardines and feeds the eel himself. In the evening, Richards asks Anderson if he was able to fix the machine. Abe replies that he has not, but that he has made himself a necklace and bracelets out of wires.
Harold tells his partner not to do anything stupid. Abe opens his locker to admire his jewelry and a picture of his wife falls out. The man rejoices for he thought he had lost it. The story is transported back again.
It’s a new day on the spaceship. Harold cheerfully asks Abe what his plans are for the day. Anderson replies that he has to work on the bees today because the hive is already prepped for harvesting. Harold is happy about this news and says that he loves space, honey.
Anderson goes to the lab, where the bees are still alive. He records the data in the observation log and adjusts the flow of gas to the hive. After finishing up, Abe goes to the chamber with the windows. The view from the ship is very different now.
Everything outside is awash in orange light. Apparently, this is the very beginning of the journey and the astronauts can still see the sun. Mesmerized, Abe pulls out the photo of his wife and holds it up to the glass as he continues to admire it. Harold and Abe meet and happily share their observations: the ship is still flying and the bees are still buzzing.
Abe reports that as early as the next day it will be possible to collect space honey. The teammates enter the control cabin. This is Abe’s first time here. He looks around and asks Harold if he knows how it all works.
Richards gives a confident answer and compares steering the ship to driving a jet ski, only in space. Suddenly something occurs to the ship. In the evening, Harold plays on the still-working machine. He aims to set a new record in the game, but Abe distracts him and the game ends.
Meanwhile, the spaceship is approaching a huge orange object. A new day begins. Abe prepares to gather space honey, and Harold goes to the pantry for bread. Mysterious flashes occur repeatedly around the ship.
Abe goes up to the portholes again and sees Harold, who normally doesn’t like to be in the room. Harold doesn’t understand what Abe likes so much about this place. Anderson replies that he likes to look at the stars and planets because it’s beautiful. Richards says with sadness that his wife is more beautiful.
Abe becomes curious as to why he decided to embark on the mission and leave her. At first, Harold answers that his country asked him to but afterwards adds that the main reason is the large tax breaks for the family. He could not refuse such an offer. Abe, for his part, says that it was science that demanded him to go on this trip.
The men ponder on what are they going to find. Apparently, there’s more out there than they thought. Perhaps there’s even another reality and a completely different universe out there. By now Abe is enthusiastically setting records on the arcade machine.
Harold brings bread and reminds his partner about the honey. They taste the space honey and continue to discuss their families and their reasons for agreeing to the flight. Harold takes a picture of Abe’s wife and wonders how he could have left her behind. Anderson says with regret that his wife left him, which is why he wanted to fly as far away as he could, and not at all because of science.
Abe can’t seem to keep his hands off the arcade machine again. Suddenly the machine starts making strange noises, and Abe realizes that it is broken. At the same moment, an alarm sounds on the ship. The system reports that the number of insects in the lab has begun to decline.
All the bees fall lifelessly to the bottom of the hive. Through the night, Abe has trouble sleeping and is thinking about his wife. He turns on his side, and for a moment we see two other astronauts sitting at a table. On the following day, Harold finds Abe’s notebook and sees drawings of himself there.
He asks his partner what it is, and Abe confirms that it is the body of Harold, still alive. Anderson cheerfully reports that this is a good sign, but Richards doesn’t understand what “yet” means. Abe promises to explain later, but Harold suddenly lashes out at his partner, thinking he wants to hurt him. Richards threatens Anderson with a pair of pliers and demands that he explain why he keeps drawing his body.
Abe says that he drew Harold after the accident. He remembers different things and draws them. Harold thinks Abe is going crazy. But Anderson tells him it all started with the bees.
He made hundreds of sketches and then started drawing their bodies, and the bees did indeed pass away. Harold sees an image of himself where the eel is electrocuting him. And we observe several versions of this event in different universes. Abe is watching this with us.
Abe himself doesn’t know how to explain it. He is sketching and trying to remember what this event is and when it will happen. Also, Abe thinks that all of this is not just happening to them. Indeed, we see two other partners discussing the same problems, right in Abe and Harold’s room.
Richards can’t get over the idea that the eel will be the reason for his end. He still doesn’t understand how Abe knows about it. Anderson doesn’t know what’s happening to him. He shows his partner other drawings, among them white fissures in the darkness.
Harold, meanwhile, trying to figure out exactly how the eel can harm him fatally, dips his hand into the aquarium and receives an electric shock. Abe retrieves a sack but suddenly looks at his drawing with the fissure again. Suddenly he runs to the porthole to see what is outside but sees only darkness. The man rushes to a bundle of wires and tries to tear them apart, but realizes that Harold has taken the pliers.
He returns to his partner, turns the body over, and sees the pliers sticking out of his chest. Abe takes the tool, goes back to the wires and cuts one of them. Hearing a strange sound, he pulls the entire bundle toward him. The wires begin to spark and the ship shakes.
Abe runs to the porthole and watches as the ship veers off course and crashes into the darkness like a wall. The darkness begins to crack and soon shatters into splinters. Darkness is replaced by blindingly white light. Suddenly we see Abe at home.
He picks up the remote and turns off the TV, saying he’s already seen this before. He goes out into the yard and meets his wife. Suddenly, a telephone rings in the house. Abe returns to answer it.
Dr Weatherford informs Anderson that the position he applied for has already been filled. A confused Abe picks up a newspaper with a photo of two other astronauts printed on it. The story returns to the spaceship where the other astronauts are traveling.
They are in big trouble: one of the men is trying to fix a glitch in the system and cuts the wrong wire. The ship collapses and is swallowed by darkness. What do you think happened on the ship? Could everything that happened be just a figment of Abe’s imagination? Or did the protagonists discover the multiverse? Share your guesses in the comments.