"The most profound experience that I can think of is what you have given me."
These were William Shatner's words moments after returning from space, just beyond the edge, during an emotional conversation with Jeff Bezos, Blue Origin founder.
Canadian actor and comedian, the Canadian actor who played Capt. Kirk, the Canadian actor who played Capt.
Shatner stated, "It was so touching to me."
On Wednesday, Shatner was launched by Bezos' New Shepard rocket. The crew spent a few minutes in microgravity on the journey to space and back.
Below is the transcript of Shatner's conversation with Bezos. You can also watch the video.
Shatner: "Everyone in the world must do this." Everyone in the world must see that it was amazing.
Shatner: "It's the little things. The weightlessness. To see the blue color pass by, and then you're staring into darkness. This is the truth. This blue covering is the sheet, blanket, and comforter that surrounds us. You think, "Oh, that's blue sky" and then suddenly, you see through it like you are ripping a sheet off your body when you sleep. When you look down, you see the blue and black, Mother Earth, comfort, and death. Is this the way death is?
Shatner: It was so powerful to me. It was an incredible experience. Yes, I was weightless, my stomach went out. This was so strange, but not as bizarre as the blue covering. This is what I didn't expect. It's one thing for someone to say, "Oh the sky...and it's fragile", but it's true. What is true and what isn’t is that until you [go to space], this pillow will be this soft blue. That color is beautiful. It's so thin that you can get rid of it in a matter of seconds. Is it thick? Is it one mile?
Bezos says: "The atmosphere depends on how you measure it because it thins out, maybe fifty miles."
Shatner: So you go 50 miles, suddenly you are through the blue, and you're in black. It's mysterious, galaxies, and all that stuff, but what you see up there is black. That's the difference.
Shatner: "And to not have this?" You've done something... What you've given to me is the most profound experience that I can imagine. It is so overwhelming how emotional it made me feel about what just occurred. It is amazing. This is something I will never forget. I want to be able to feel what I feel right now. It is so much bigger than me and my life. It has nothing to do with the tiny green and blue orb. It is the sheer enormity, the rapidity and suddenness of life- and death. It's amazing, my God.
Bezos: It's so beautiful
Shatner: "Beautiful yes, beautiful in its own way but."
Bezos: I don't mean your words. It's amazing!"
Shatner: "I cannot even begin to express...what I would love is to communicate as much possible is the danger. It's small when you realize the vulnerability in everything. This air is thinner than our skin, and it is what keeps us alive. It's just a tiny speck. When you consider the entire universe, it's almost insignificant. This air is negligible. Mars has none, not one. It's so thin that you can only think about when carbon dioxide becomes oxygen. It's so thin."
Bezos: You shoot it so fast.
Shatner: "So quickly! 50 miles
Bezos: "And then, you're just as blackness."
Shatner: "You're in death."
Bezos: This is life
Shatner: "And this is death. This is the moment. That's it. In a split second, you'll realize that it's death. This is what I saw.
Bezos: Wow!
Shatner: I am overwhelmed. I had no idea. We were just talking and then I said, "Well, you know it's going be different." Is it possible that you have a different perspective on things, whatever that phrase may be? It's hard to explain it, but I can describe it.
Shatner: "This commercial is now. It would be so vital for everyone to experience that experience. You could put it on 3D or wear goggles to get that experience.
Shatner: We were lying there, and now I think one delay after another delay, and we're lying there. I'm thinking, 'yeah. I'm a bit jittery. They moved the page and said, 'Oh, there's an anomaly in our engine. We'll hold on a bit longer. This is what I feel in my stomach. The biome inside. I think I'm feeling nervous. The simulation is just that, a simulation. Everything else is far more complicated.
Bezos: "Doesn't capture it."
Shatner: "Doesn’t capture it... and besides. With the jeopardy. BANG this thing hits. It was nothing like the simulation.
Bezos: It's the G Forces!
Shatner: It's the G Forces. You're wondering "What's going to be my fate?" Are I going to survive the G force? That's what you feel. Do you think I will survive? It was enough to get up the [launch tower] gantry. Wow, that was quite an experience.
