Predestination Page #2

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that kind of talk can get you in trouble.

No worse than I've already been through.

Now listen, you keep promising

the best story of my life.

But I'm not hearing anything.

All right.

Guess I'll start at the beginning.

When I was a little girl...

What?

What, you want me to tell my story?

No, I just, I thought...

I'm sorry. Yeah, sure. Go on, go on.

When I was a little girl...

You ever hear of Christine Jorgensen?

Roberta Cowell?

Yeah, yeah, they had sex change.

So you... Don't interrupt.

It was September 13th, 1945.

I was a foundling.

A newborn left on an orphanage doorstep.

City of Cleveland Orphanage.

That's a good girl.

Well, there's no signs

of trauma or exposure.

The child appears healthy.

If she shows any signs

of infection or excessive coughing,

she should be taken

to the hospital for a thorough examination.

Yes, Doctor.

She got a name?

Jane.

Jane will have to do for now.

I'll be back to check on Jane in a week.

I look forward to it.

Don't worry, sweetheart.

We'll take good care of you now.

I was just one

of a dozen babies who had no past.

But that was all we had in common.

I was never sick, not one day.

So I was never taken to a hospital.

Not until later in my life.

Slow down.

One chocolate ice cream

- for the cute little lady.

- Thank you.

When I was little, I

envied kids with parents.

I always wondered what it would be like.

Stupid kid!

Get off the damn street!

Little sh*t!

Jane!

Come here now.

Son of a b*tch!

I never understood

why my parents abandoned me.

What had I done that was so wrong?

But as I got older,

I knew something was different about me.

Sex confused me, you know?

The way it works, the way everything fits.

I felt different.

And even back then,

I knew that I was going to be different

from all the other girls.

I made a solemn vow

that any kid of mine

would have both a mom and a pop.

A real family.

It kept me pure.

Away from temptation.

So I focused my attention

on more important things.

Like learning how to fight.

Fight! Fight!

- Come on, Lucy, go!

- Come on!

What'd you call me?

Pinky, four-eyed, little b*tch...

I was tough.

Much stronger than any of the other kids.

Even the boys.

All right, break it up!

- Jane, come with me!

- Let go!

- What's wrong with you?

- I didn't do anything!

And I was smart too.

Top of the class.

Equals...

Jane!

Jane.

How do you ever expect

to learn anything if you never...

Fifteen.

Math and physics were my favorite subjects.

- That's correct.

- It all came easy for me.

Retard.

Enough!

When I got older,

I realized I stood

little chance of getting married

for the same reason I hadn't been adopted.

I was different.

A freak. A goddamn loser.

I stopped looking in the mirror.

I hated what I saw.

I have no photos of myself as a young girl.

I don't even remember what I looked like.

It's just more of a feeling now.

Well, you look better than I do.

Who cares how a barkeep looks?

Or a writer for that matter.

But you know how it is.

People want to adopt

a little golden-haired moron.

And later on, the boys,

they want big tits and pouty lips.

You know, perfect accessory.

I couldn't compete.

Jane,

Mr. Robertson has made a special effort

to talk to some of our

graduating girls today.

You will do him the courtesy

of listening to what he has to say.

Jane, I work for a new organization

seeking young women, like yourself,

to train in a career in government service.

We are what you might call

progressive.

I hear you're interested in space travel.

Well, they say that girls

can't be astronauts.

That's true.

We're seeking young ladies

who show great promise

in the fields of mathematics and science,

as well as strong physical abilities.

I hear you're a bit of a backyard brawler.

This was around the time the suits

finally admitted you can't send

men into space for months or years

and not do something to

relieve the tension.

They were looking for respectable types,

preferably virgins.

They liked to train them from scratch.

Above average mentally

and stable emotionally.

But most of the volunteers were hookers

or neurotics

who would crack up 10 days off Earth.

They weren't special.

Just relax, Jane.

Some of the ladies

before you got a little nervous

a little lost in thought.

Perhaps that's because

to them a thought is unfamiliar territory.

Do you see this as some kind of joke?

No, sir.

We've had some

of these Women's Lib types in here

causing a big fuss.

But that's not you, is it Jane?

No, sir.

Please take your glasses off.

I see you've had

some disciplinary problems in the past.

I've had nothing but straight As

in all my classes since the first grade.

Yes.

Have you ever been with a man?

Have you?

You understand what

this employment will require of you?

Will I get to travel into space?

If selected, yes.

No,

I haven't been with a man.

How do you see your role on this journey?

My role?

Well, many of the girls we've interviewed

see this as a paid vacation.

A chance to live the good life

and meet the man of their dreams.

Do you see yourself as a tourist

or a participant?

I've excelled

in advanced physics, biology and astronomy.

A tourist is someone who

travels across the ocean only to be

photographed sitting next to their boat.

I have no intention of being a tourist.

If they accepted me

they'd teach me how to walk and dance

and, you know,

how to listen to a man pleasingly.

Plus training for the prime duties.

Nothing's too good for our boys, right?

They made sure that you didn't get pregnant

during your enlistment.

You were almost certain

to marry at the end of your hitch.

Same way today's

Flight Angels marry Spacers.

Well, they talk the same language.

Right.

They gave me contact lenses.

I'd never seen the world so clearly before.

They tested our endurance.

Made sure we were fit for space travel.

Many of the girls struggled.

Not me.

How often do you think about sex?

A, not at all. B, rarely.

C, sometimes. D, often.

E, all the time?

C, sometimes.

D, often.

The testing went on for months.

They tested us on everything.

Many girls failed.

Not me.

Highest numbers we've ever seen.

Do you ever feel depressed?

- What do you mean?

- Sad.

Empty at times.

Sometimes...

I guess I feel

like there's something out of balance.

Like I'm living in somebody else's body.

I don't know how to describe it.

And none of the girls here like me.

You'll just need to give it some time.

They'll come round.

Get her back!

- Come on!

- Go, Marcy!

Come on!

Come on, Marcy!

- Throw her down!

- Hit her back!

- Hey!

- Hey get off her!

- Get off!

- Stop!

We have performed a more detailed

physical examination of the patient.

I see.

You do know that this will disqualify her.

You've not told the recruit?

- No.

- Don't.

I'll take care of it.

I don't get it.

I was just defending myself.

What was I supposed to do?

I know.

Believe me, it's not over yet.

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