A novelização oficial do filme (baseada no roteiro original) indica que a ordem de descartar e auto-destruir as cúpulas foi dada no dia 14 de novembro . Isso ocorre pouco antes de a tripulação sofrer seu "acidente" e o navio cair nos anéis de Saturno.
A clock/calendar on the wall read: 21:00 Wednesday 14 November
All at once the radio filled the room with whistling, howling static which finally gave way to a very distant-sounding voice . . . Lowell tried to tune it in, but Barker took over.
Da próxima vez que virmos um relógio, é pouco antes de a Berkshire chegar no dia 8 de abril, cerca de 5 meses depois.
Lowell’s laughter went on and on. It was uncontrolled and hysterical amidst his loneliness with only the companionship of the unfeeling drones. His eyes watered and his lips trembled and his laughter filled the recreation room and spilled out over the bronzed hull of Valley Forge, drifting through space under a sea of stars.
At last Lowell fled from the recreation room to the corridor and then to his room. He flopped on his cot . . .
Above his bed, on a shelf, a calendar clock read: 04:02 Tuesday 8 April.