We begin with a shot of a tall snowy mountain and an orange sky serving as a backdrop. The soothing sound of the wind gives a sense of peace and tranquility. The first notes of a calming, ambiental song start to play.
We continue with several establishing shots of the mountain. As we reach the top of it, we can distinguish the silhouette of a man in a wheelchair. He sits there in awe, admiring the staggering view. Beside him, Dr. Eva Rosalene (Zazie Beetz) and Dr. Neil Watts (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) give him a reassuring smile.
He attempts to put his barefoot on the icy ground. As his foot touches the ground, a freezing tingle runs up his spine. Increasingly confident, he attempts another few steps. His feet tremble, but not because of his physical impairment. It's because he is overwhelmed with joy. As the music reaches its climax, the following line of text appears on screen: NAME OF SUBJECT: DAVID JOHNSON / DREAM RECORDING PROPERTY OF SIGMUND CORPORATION.
We discover that the previous scene was part of a broadcast on television, as the audience fills the studio with cheers and applause. The host introduces the next guest:
"Folks... We have just witnessed history in the making. This is amazing. The Sigmund Corporation has discovered a technology that allows doctors to weave artificial memories. Patients like the one in the video can request attempts to alter their mind, and wake up with memories of things that didn’t actually happen. But there's a catch. Because messing with our brains like that may cause conflict between memories and cease our ability to properly function, this operation can only be done to people on their deathbeds, to fulfill what they wish they had done with their lives… but didn’t. Now, beware! There have been a couple of knock-off machines on eBay and self-proclaimed specialists on Craigslist that claim to do something similar. These people are not authorized, they are either inexperienced or scammers that only claim to have fulfilled the wishes of your loved ones. The only authorized personnel are SigmundCorp employees. Their slogan is simply "To the Moon!" signifying that no dream is too ambitious for them. Here to tell you more about that, please welcome the CEO of Sigmund Corporation, Mr. Cornelius Dawkins" (John Goodman)
Eva and Neil are watching the show in the car, while their driver takes them to their next client.
"Am I getting fat or is that just how David pictured me in his dream?" says Neil jokingly.
Eva pays no attention to him.
"Are you OK, Eve?"
"I'm fine, Neil... just... turn it off, please! I'm tired of it."
"What happened?"
"It's just... this used to mean something, you know? Now I'm not even sure what we're doing anymore. We just... get there, try to implant a memory without much research, half of the time with no guarantee it'll actually stick and then we're off to another client. Not to mention that the requests are becoming less and less meaningful since we've gone public. We get so many cases and Dawkins prioritizes them based on the higher bidder, which means most of the time we deal with self-entitled rich idiots."
The car finally arrives at its destination. A man wearing a silk robe waits for them at the entrance of a giant mansion. He invites them inside and tells them what his request is:
"I want you to erase my mistress from my wife's memory" he says. "My wife, she runs her mouth a lot, I don't want anyone in heaven finding out."
Eva sighs in disappointment. Both of them silently agree that something has to change.
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