The Universe Is A Goldfish Bowl is a science fiction short film considering Hugh Everett III's many-worlds interpretation of the universe - the idea that every time we make decisions, the universe branches out to create a parallel universe where the direction we didn’t take did happen - and what meeting a version of you from one of these parallel universes would make you realise about yourself.
SYNOPSIS
Driven scientist Vera Murphy wants nothing more than to prove the existence of the multiverse – the idea that there are several universes – by working out how to physically travel between universes. So, when a version of her from a parallel universe, Roni, appears in her lab, Vera should be thrilled. But, exhausted from constant work, Vera believes she’s going insane. And that Roni is just a stress induced hallucination. Her manifesting what she wants to be true. As Roni continues to insist that she is real, and that she needs Vera’s help to share information between universes, Vera sees her opportunity. If Roni is real, and a version of Vera, then it has to be possible for Vera to work out how she travelled to this universe.
In her living room, Vera gets to work. But getting up for work at 4:30 every morning, working day and night, and using coffee as a substitute for sleep begins to catch up to her. First as a headache, and later as sickness. As Roni tries to convince Vera that she should take a break, Vera becomes progressively more ill. Because Vera won’t listen. Her determination culminates when her illness does, as she decides to go back to the lab to work on solving how Roni got here, unfazed by what the other scientists might think if they figure out that she’s hallucinating. She storms out, Roni uneasy at this decision. But runs back into the house seconds later. Too ill to go anywhere. She ends up sitting on the bathroom floor, completely drained of energy. Roni tries to reason with her, but Vera still won’t listen. She believes this is all just one bad night. But Vera catches her reflection in the bathroom mirror. And at this moment she sees what her overworking is doing to her. Roni’s reflection shows her to be healthy, awake, and strong. While Vera looks pale, exhausted, and ill. Roni asks her, “is it worth this?”.
Overwhelmed, Vera runs back to the living room. Gets back to work. Because, for Vera, science is worth everything. So, Roni pushes Vera to come with her so they can share information between universes. Infuriating Vera. All she’s ever wanted is the feeling of discovering something no one else has ever known. Her own success. And by showing up because she’s figured out how to travel between universes, Roni has ruined this. Maybe Vera is just supposed to be the version of them who fails… Not seeing the point of all this anymore, Vera gives up.
Roni takes over Vera’s work. So, Vera wakes up to find Roni still in the living room. She can’t believe her eyes. But Roni isn’t able to use Vera’s work to devise a way to travel between universes either. She gives up too, her words, her mannerisms eerily close to Vera’s. But Vera tries to convince her not to. She finally accepts Roni is another version of her. And that travelling to other universes is possible. She convinces Roni to tell her how she got here, because they’ve already wasted enough time in this universe. There are others out there, just waiting for them. Roni’s curiosity gets the better of her, and she agrees to go with Vera.
Another universe. Vera and Roni meet another version of them, Veronica, who does nothing but watch TV and eat doughnuts. Roni frets about this because they have so much work to do. But Vera tells her to take a break first and then work. Veronica believes Roni is a workaholic. Vera and Roni share a smile. As Vera tells Veronica, “you have no idea”...
In her living room, Vera gets to work. But getting up for work at 4:30 every morning, working day and night, and using coffee as a substitute for sleep begins to catch up to her. First as a headache, and later as sickness. As Roni tries to convince Vera that she should take a break, Vera becomes progressively more ill. Because Vera won’t listen. Her determination culminates when her illness does, as she decides to go back to the lab to work on solving how Roni got here, unfazed by what the other scientists might think if they figure out that she’s hallucinating. She storms out, Roni uneasy at this decision. But runs back into the house seconds later. Too ill to go anywhere. She ends up sitting on the bathroom floor, completely drained of energy. Roni tries to reason with her, but Vera still won’t listen. She believes this is all just one bad night. But Vera catches her reflection in the bathroom mirror. And at this moment she sees what her overworking is doing to her. Roni’s reflection shows her to be healthy, awake, and strong. While Vera looks pale, exhausted, and ill. Roni asks her, “is it worth this?”.
Overwhelmed, Vera runs back to the living room. Gets back to work. Because, for Vera, science is worth everything. So, Roni pushes Vera to come with her so they can share information between universes. Infuriating Vera. All she’s ever wanted is the feeling of discovering something no one else has ever known. Her own success. And by showing up because she’s figured out how to travel between universes, Roni has ruined this. Maybe Vera is just supposed to be the version of them who fails… Not seeing the point of all this anymore, Vera gives up.
Roni takes over Vera’s work. So, Vera wakes up to find Roni still in the living room. She can’t believe her eyes. But Roni isn’t able to use Vera’s work to devise a way to travel between universes either. She gives up too, her words, her mannerisms eerily close to Vera’s. But Vera tries to convince her not to. She finally accepts Roni is another version of her. And that travelling to other universes is possible. She convinces Roni to tell her how she got here, because they’ve already wasted enough time in this universe. There are others out there, just waiting for them. Roni’s curiosity gets the better of her, and she agrees to go with Vera.
Another universe. Vera and Roni meet another version of them, Veronica, who does nothing but watch TV and eat doughnuts. Roni frets about this because they have so much work to do. But Vera tells her to take a break first and then work. Veronica believes Roni is a workaholic. Vera and Roni share a smile. As Vera tells Veronica, “you have no idea”...