Perfect Sense Page #3

of the right faith

will regain their sense of smell

in the final days.

Others talk of the degenerate

capitalist system

that has released a military virus

to stimulate the economy.

And there are other theories.

Wake up.

There is so much hatred in the world!

There's so much hatred!

- Easy.

- So much hatred in the world!

- They're f***ing plotting against us.

- Stephen, calm down.

They want to blow us up.

They want to destroy us.

F***ing so much...

- So much hatred.

- Ssh, ssh.

There.

So many sharp edges.

So many sharp edges.

- That's OK.

- Sharp things.

I've just given him

as much sedative as I dare.

- So many sharp edges.

- It'll kick in in a second.

So many sharp edges.

- Normally so soft. We are so soft.

- It's all right.

Hey, are you all right?

I can't die alone.

I'm here with you. I'm Barbara.

I work in research.

- I've seen you in the canteen.

- That's how it'll end.

Without anybody loving me.

Come on, now, just calm down.

What's your name?

Oh, no.

See, the thing is, your body, OK?

It betrays... It betrays itself.

- Stop, Michael.

- No, no, listen.

Your body,

it takes away the colour of your skin.

And... And betrays your... your spirit.

Michael, stop.

Can I get some water over here?

That's OK, it's OK.

Pissing and bleeding and f***ing puss

is coming out of your ear!

- There's no puss.

- I've seen it. I've seen it!

At the end, you're all alone.

Don't say that.

You die on your own and it gets all dark.

It's not true! Don't say that!

You're not on your own!

You're not on your own!

All your body, it turns...

it turns to f***ing soup.

First the terror.

Don't leave me. Don't leave me, Michael.

Don't leave me.

And then a moment of hunger.

Oh, my God. What's happened?

Oh, my God, what's happened?

What's happening?

This is how the sense of taste

disappears from our world.

They don't even have time

to give the disease a name.

Do you think

we'll lose our other senses too?

Smell and taste are related.

They're the two chemical senses.

So the other ones

might be all right, then?

They might.

Just have to wait and see.

That's right, sailor.

And what happens if you're wrong?

Then we're f***ed.

Hey.

Hi.

It's still out there.

What is?

The world.

What can you see?

People.

What are they doing?

They're heading off to work.

What should we do?

We go to work as well.

Do we kiss each other first...

Maybe.

...Say we'd like to see each other again?

We probably do.

Maybe even this evening.

Maybe.

And are we looking forward to that?

Yes!

I may not even have a job any more.

Forget it, Michael, we're closed.

We're closed.

We'll open again.

People can't smell, they can't taste.

They're going to buy flour and fat.

That's all you need to survive.

Take a hit on that. Go on. Go on.

Drink that.

Now, that is damned expensive brandy.

Damned, damned expensive.

But you might as well

drink surgical spirit or sniff glue.

It doesn't matter.

Flour and fat.

- And yet it does matter.

- There's no difference.

No, I think you're wrong.

Life goes on.

They'll come back.

People will ask each other

out to dinner again.

They'll toast each other

while we take care of their needs.

- Yeah, and serve them flour and fat.

- No, anything but flour and fat.

We'll be all right.

Slowly things return to normal

and life goes on.

People do what they did before

as best they can.

Within a few weeks,

taste becomes a distant memory.

And different sensations

take its place.

In restaurants, it's all about offering

another person dinner,

letting yourself be waited on,

listening to the trickle of wine

and the clink of glasses.

"Not only has the food

received special attention,

but also the temperature of the food

and its consistency.

And we tried it all,

from the freezing cold

to the scorching hot.

It was dry, it was moist, it was crisp,

it was spongy, it was crunchy

and it was all at the highest level,

up to and including the dessert...

a light pudding with caramelised knots

and a bright orange sorbet,

and a dark blue... dark blue coulis

on blackberries and blackcurrant. "

Chew on that.

Great.

Life goes on.

My dad let me shave him once.

I was eight.

I managed to do it

without a single scratch.

I was very proud.

And then...

he went to the sink

and he shaved himself all over again

as if I hadn't been there.

I was devastated.

Your turn.

Here, try. It's soft.

- Mmm.

- Yeah?

Mmm! Mmm.

- Want to go dancing?

- Sure.

- And get drunk?

- Sure.

- And smoke cigarettes?

- Always.

- There's still pleasures in the world, eh?

- Let's have them. All of them.

Here.

Oh!

I got soap in my eye!

No Voice Was Raised

? No-one sentenced us

Let's play a game, sailor.

What game?

It's called, "Make me special".

What are the rules?

Only one.

Just tell me something.

Something?

Something other people

don't know about you.

- Something secret.

- Like what?

? Unpoliced

My sister's got two kids

and sometimes I hate them.

? We drew uncertain breath

? The loss piled high unchecked

I can't have children.

My ovaries are crippled.

My eggs are no good.

Because of not eating.

I pretend that I'm not that into them,

that I have an interesting job.

Anyway...

...I can't have them.

Your turn.

? No-one jailed us

I had a girlfriend.

You don't get this game, do you?

No, we had erm... a wedding planned.

And she got sick.

She got really sick.

You could smell there was something

wrong inside her, like something damp,

something from a basement.

I didn't stay with her.

I didn't look after her, I ran away.

I make myself go and visit her grave.

At first it was once a week

and then maybe it was once a month

and now less.

I go there to feel guilty, you know?

I thought I would feel guilty

for the rest of my life but...

...actually it's starting to fade.

? And no song was sung

- You're an arsehole?

- I am.

? No voice was raised

It works.

It works.

You're making me yours.

- I'm an arsehole.

- So am I.

A couple of arseholes.

Mr and Mrs Arsehole.

? No song was sung

So this is the situation

here in Bangkok, Thailand.

We call it Severe

Hearing Loss Syndrome,

and we still do not

know much about it.

Anger, rage, hate.

And then they go deaf.

And how does it spread?

I can't hear you very well but! Do not

know what to do. Tell me what to do.

...standing there looking at me!

Why are you just looking at me?

You help us now!

...help us now!

...send some help quick!

Send some help now!

I think it's OK to panic now.

And that's basically

what the world does.

Severe Hearing Loss Syndrome.

Spreads from Thailand,

across India to China,

Russia and beyond.

Rage.

Anger.

Hatred.

And then the loss of another sense.

All the unaffected can do is wait.

Ta-da.

- Can you still get film for those?

- Yeah, I got some from my uncle.

He was a collector.

What did he collect?

Polaroid cameras.

Here.

Incubation period is dropping all the time.

It's down from 24 hours to about 11.

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