On Earth in 2092, an adult Murph helps Dr. John Brand with his perennially unsolved gravity manipulation equation, which is supposed to help transport humanity en masse to potentially habitable worlds. On his deathbed, Brand confesses that the crew was never supposed to return and that the equation was a charade meant to keep humans from dissolving into anarchy out of panic for their eventual doom. Murph is frustrated and wonders if Cooper knowingly abandoned her. She decides to continue Brand's work and returns to her childhood home to search for clues.