Metamorphosis Page #2

when it's unequivocally successful.

Only then will I publish everything.

Don't worry.

We'll find the money somehow.

Even if I have to trade my shoes in.

Well, I certainly hope

it doesn't come to that.

I wouldn't be able to live with myself.

Look for the receipts, Willy,

with the bookkeeper's here.

Forget it, Willy.

I am not the bookkeeper.

Excuse the interruption.

That you are here?

Excuse me, I have some

things I have to do.

I got things I got to do, too.

From the little I understand of your

experiments, they're really extraordinary.

What's that?

That's a computer I supply

with molecular anatomy.

Fantastic. I know as much

about it as I did before.

What does it do?

Are you really interested?

Well, I am going to be 30.

I'd like to stay that way.

Every living organism,

from the moment it is born

begins a slow

and inexorable deterioration,

which I believe is predetermined

by genetic information.

Why predetermined?

From the moment that life

stirred in an organism,

it has no more or no less evolved.

Always adapting itself into

the environment in which it found itself.

Casual genetic errors of reproduction

produced mutations which

the environment selected,

rewarding the most adaptable

and suppressing the others.

Do you understand?

It's the environment itself

which establishes the rules of the game.

Try to imagine what would happen

if among many genetic errors occur

one produced an individual which

never aged,

therefore didn't die and who reproduced

other individuals like himself.

Well, first the environment

would reward such a species.

But before long, the species

would become so dominant

that every source known to man

and space would be used up.

Is that what you mean?

Right.

And in more or less time,

the race will become extinguished

and leave a desert behind.

Where did you go to college?

Columbia.

I'm convinced that the

process of life defends itself

by instilling the obligation

of death to each individual.

In other words, death is

the price we must pay

for the survival of our species.

At least until now.

If he had just followed

customary procedure,

nobody would have questioned him

about anything.

Foolishness.

Insubordination simply cannot be

tolerated in a university like this one.

However, before we shoot

this whole thing down altogether

I would suggest examining this

project without prejudice.

Now we have a lawyer for the defense!

I'm defending this institute.

It would be very unpleasant

to see his experiments

published by another university,

especially if it turned out to be correct.

Has his assistant been questioned?

What's his name? Willy Carson.

No, not yet.

Willy, are you on foot?

No, I've got my car parked

just a block down the street.

Get in, I'll give you a ride.

No, please, don't bother yourself.

It's only a few steps away.

Willy.

I insist.

How was lunch?

You were the main dish.

They served you up

in every possible sauce.

They'll have a bad case of indigestion.

They've decided to suspend

your research.

They want to verify all the experiments

that you've carried out till now.

They can't do it.

I have a contract which gives me the

liberty of leaving and going elsewhere.

They won't let you to leave.

Experiments with human fetuses

was not authorized.

If you leave, they will defer you

to the disciplinary committee.

That could block your work for years.

I'm sorry, Peter.

It's not your fault.

You're not to blame.

Lloyd's been trying to screw me

for a long time.

What will you do?

You'll be the first to know.

Yes?

Hey Peter, Lloyd stopped me today.

He asked me to work with him.

He doesn't lose any time, does he?

What's happening, Peter?

I'm trapped.

As soon as they get the authorization,

they'll be coming to stick

their nose in all of our work.

After which, the experiments

will continue under Lloyd's supervision.

Isn't there any way to stop them?

Yes.

By trying out the experiment

and proving that it works

before they can intervene.

There are too many unknowns.

It's too big a risk.

I know.

Okay, Dr. Houseman.

Tom, who came in?

Dr. Houseman.

Okay.

Thanks for the evening.

Mike, I care for you very much,

but sometimes...

Your wisdom is very discouraging.

Forgive me if I don't give up.

It never hurts to keep trying.

- Good night, Mike.

- Good night, Sally.

Calm down, Sally, it's me.

Peter, what are you doing here?

Well, I'm keeping my promise.

I told you that you would be

the first one to know when I...

It's after 1:
00.

Can we talk about it tomorrow?

I beat them all.

What do you mean?

The serum, it works. I tried it.

- Tried it on whom.

- On myself.

I used a small dose, but the results

were even better than I expected.

Now I can publish everything

and no one will dare to stop me.

Peter, that's fantastic.

I'm really happy for you.

That's all I really came to tell you.

- You're the only one who knows.

- Thank you.

- I guess I'll be going.

- Wait.

Do you want to come in for a minute?

- Sure, if it's not too late.

- No!

- I'll make some coffee.

- Okay.

Alice?

Oh, hello, Sally.

- Hello.

- Hello.

Oh, I went to sleep.

Where's Tommy?

He went to sleep too

and I put him to bed.

Hi, I wasn't sleeping,

I was waiting for you.

Well, I would've been

disappointed if you hadn't.

But now, let's go to bed.

I'll go now, Sally.

Call me tomorrow if you still need me.

- Bye, Alice, thanks.

- Bye-bye.

Good night, Tommy!

Why don't you say hello,

instead of staring at him

as if he were a rare animal?

His name is Peter.

Hello, Tommy, how are you?

I'm sleepy.

Okay. Off to bed.

Why don't you take off your coat?

I'll be back in a moment.

Can I sleep with you?

No, dear.

Mama has work to do.

That's why Dr. Houseman came over.

Get a good night's rest, dearest.

Tommy's a cute kid.

- Are you divorced?

- No.

I've never been married.

Tommy's father was.

Only I didn't know it.

Our romance was washed out

by the terror in his eyes

when I told him I was pregnant.

Is this what you are looking for?

Thanks.

What did you do to your hand?

I don't know.

Must have hit it against something.

At least it isn't bleeding anymore.

Thank you.

Do you want some coffee now?

In the years 1953

to 1955,

it was proposed what afterwards

came to be regarded as central dogma.

Which affirmed that DNA

did not directly participate

in protein synthesis.

But acted rather as a stamp

for the synthesis of a molecule

of RNA,

which then repeated the DNA sequence.

The authors of this dogma were...

Patricia?

Um... Oh, my God, um...

I have it at the tip of my tongue.

They were the same ones who discovered

the helical structure.

Yeah, exactly, I meant them.

Steve?

Watson and Crick, sir.

Very good, very good.

Okay, that will be all for today.

- Dr. Houseman?

- Yes.

- What's this?

- It's my address.

I'm having a party at my house.

I'd like it if you could come.

- When?

- Any day.

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