113 WORDS FOR YOU TODAY

A team of workers, including Thatcher, is sent to planet Gliese 12b to build a gravitational portal. To conserve energy for survival on the frozen planet, each worker is allowed to speak only 138 words per day.

 

Thatcher chooses his words carefully. When he picks up the phone, he listens but rarely speaks. When a heavy lever bar falls on his foot, a reflexive groan makes him feel regret because it costs him a word.

 

A powerful blizzard hits, while evacuating with his companions, Thatcher chooses to return alone to retrieve a fallen crystal, not wanting to waste words asking for help. This leads him deep into the storm, where he barely survives by taking shelter in a crashed cable car.

 

After the storm clears and night falls, Thatcher finally returns to his sleeping pod. The first thing he does is call his wife back on Earth. When the call connects, the exhaustion on his face fades. He smiles and proudly says, “Hi sweetie, I saved 113 words for you today.”