The plan to construct a huge telescope on the sacred peak of Mauna Kea sparks controversy on Hawaii. Are we able to gaze up into the universe yet ignore the ground we’re standing on? This essayistic film reveals something of the colonial burden of contemporary Western science and places its advances in surprising contexts. Astronomers resemble mediaeval cartographers creating little maps for future expeditions. Polynesian boats might perhaps serve as a model for futuristic spacecraft. Flowing like lava, the film eclectically interweaves rational arguments with performative sequences, while the indigenous perspective is set in striking contrast to the dehumanised shots of hypermodern machinery and breathtaking compositions of the Hawaiian landscape.